Saint Francis of Assisi referred to himself as "the jester of God" -- God's minstrel, jokester, singer, tumbler, poet...

"God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." 
   -- 1 Corinthians, 1:27

The cross of this rosary is a little bit crazy-looking, decorated with randomly tapped circles -- a flurry of juggling balls in midair?
 
Pater beads of glossy Poppy Jasper...  Matte stone Aves of Mookaite. 

"The heart has its reasons,
and reason knows them not."  
  --Blaise Pascal, Pensees

Graceful, Triniform crucifix...

Each Pater is formed of three rippled disks of Rose Quartz -- these beads are just marvelous.  Alongside each Pater are faceted beads of Czech glass...

Aves of shining, translucent, speckled Czech glass -- a beautiful pale sage green...

"Joy is the most infallible sign
of the presence of God."
  -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

For Good Pope John

The Aves of this festive rosary are naturally speckled lotus seeds, interspersed with antique red Venetian Murano glass.

The Paters are vintage carved fruit pits, set between vibrantly colored rings of Greek ceramic.

The splendid Latin American cross has dangles and symbols representing the glory of God, the Persons of the Trinity, the Eucharist, and Our Lady...

Green is the color of the liturgical season we call "Ordinary Time."  We have this amazing blessing, this miracle of the ordinary moment -- this moment -- here and now.

Sterling silver cross, elegant in its simplicity...

Silvery leaves for the Pater beads... 

Green Aves of pressed Czech glass, through which light shines...

"Earth's crammed with Heaven
And every common bush afire with God." 

  -- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, from "Aurora Leigh," 1856

When, at the burning bush, Moses realized that he was standing on holy ground, he removed his sandals. On holy ground, we go barefoot.

The beads of this rosary remind us that all the world is sacred ground. God is everywhere. God is here. Pater beads of Ryolite stone look like our planet, swirling with greens, browns and blues.  Aves of Bayong wood.

"I know nothing except what everyone knows -- if there when Grace dances, I should dance."
    -- W. H. Auden

Beautiful bronze openwork Celtic crucifix, hand-cast from a late 19th century Irish original...

Large, dark wood Pater beads, hand-carved with spiraling curves...
 
Pale blue-green Aves of stabilized Chinese chalk turquoise...

Inspired by the wide, beautiful Mississippi River...


Stone rosary of Silverleaf Jasper, in silty-browns, ochres, deep reds, and beautiful grays...

Coptic crucifix and rosary center, both solid bronze, hand-cast from 19th century originals...

"Wherever two or three have gathered together in my name,  I am there in their midst."
  -- Matthew 18:20

Unusual 3-sided Pater beads, handmade in Peru, with a geometric motif inspired by Incan designs...  Alongside these are disks of black onyx and spheres of golden horn.

Aves of hand-cut burnt horn, in a variety of earthy-brown tones...

Simple, solid bronze Coptic cross...
 

"Then spoke the thunder...
 Datta.  Dayadhvam.  Damyata.
 Shantih       shantih       shantih "

  -- T.S. Eliot, "The Wasteland"

The blue-green of the Paters represents rain, hope, new life... Shantih, the peace of God.  

Coptic crucifix, marvelously textured on both sides...

Stone Aves of rosy brown jasper, cool to the touch...

Inspired by the return of the warmth.  For us in northern Vermont, the snow starts melting, water flows everywhere, the surface of the earth softens -- it's "mud season."   Walking gets squishy.   


The Kenyan Mud Batik Paters are the nicest ones we've ever seen... 

Openwork bronze Coptic cross, hand-cast from a 19th century Ethiopian antique...

Aves of Tiger Ebony...
 

"The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man."
     -- G. K. Chesterton

This rosary is made for larger hands -- with a tad more room between the Ave beads.

Strong, angular crucifix...

Lavastone Paters, with pocks and pits that formed when the molten rock cooled... 

Black jasper Aves...

 

This handsome rosary reflects the colors of October, on the hillsides and in the woods, here in New England...  Gleams of sunlight, showers of russet leaves, branches of the trees back in view...

The rosary's bronze cross is angular, heavy, and deeply textured, with a botanical motif.  It's hand-cast from a 19th century original.

Ebony Paters, set among textured beads of brass...

The Aves are natural carnelian...

"Search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity."
"Everyone has his Lambaréné."
    --  Albert Schweitzer

An extraordinarily beautiful and unusual natural rosary. 

Rare, handmade Pater beads of heavy, old African brass...

Bronze cross hand-cast from a 19th century Coptic original...

Stone Aves of Picture Jasper, in a shape that affords great flexibility...

Inspired by the ripple and flow of shallow waves when the ebb tide turns.

Aves of clear, water-blue Czech glass, with a lovely swirled shape...

Stone Paters of very pale pink quartz, between beads of faceted purple glass...

The elegantly simple crucifix is adorned with lilies, symbolic of the Resurrection...

The double-sided center depicts the Gate of Heaven and Our Lady of Grace...

"Where I go, you cannot follow Me now;  but you will follow later." 
   -- John 13:36


The burnt horn Pater beads of this rosary suggest acorns;  the pattern of the acorn caps beautifully complements the pattern of the crucifix...

The crucifix is solid bronze, hand-cast from an antique European original...

The glossy Aves are bloodstone, in naturally varied deep blue-greens and reds...

"Be still,
and know that I Am..."
     -- Psalm 46:11

The Pater beads of this rosary are slim, naturally tumbled pebbles, found along the shores of the North American Great Lakes.

The mossy green stone Aves are copper rhyolite.  They're lovely -- each slightly different in color and shape.

The solid sterling silver cross is simple in design, interesting, and pleasantly dimensional.  It's cast by hand from a very old, worn Coptic original...

"Landscape is the first scripture. "
  -- John O'Donohue

Landscape here is represented by beautiful beads carved in the shape of trees.  These stone beads are earth-toned jasper, in variegated greens, browns, and ochre.

The Aves are ebony, among matte glass beads in olive and blue-grays...

The cross arises from an open heart, a traditional Latin American motif.  It's cast by hand from a vintage original, in solid bronze.

"...Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning."
  -- Psalm 30:5

Beautiful turquoise Paters, coupled with multicolored jasper...

Stone Aves of carved black onyx...

Coptic crucifix and rosary center, hand-cast from antique 19th century originals in solid bronze...

"World-mothering air, air wild,
Wound with thee, in thee isled,
fold home, fold fast thy child."
  -- Gerard Manley Hopkins

The spiral pattern of this crucifix winds all the way around the cylindrical cross.  The crucifix feels very pleasant in the hand.

The earth-brown Pater beads are also carved with a spiral motif... 

The Aves are mossy-green ryolite, each slightly different in shape...

Tranquility.  Snow clouds, tree bark, twigs and pinecones... This rosary brings to mind the pleasant, quiet colors we enjoy on a walk at evening in wintertime, alongside the woods, not long before snowfall.

Stone Ave beads of Natural Agate, in quiet blues, pale grays, and browns.

A gathering of five carved-wood beads forms each Pater.

Elegantly simple crucifix, with stylized lilies...

A graceful Miraculous Medal center.

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there.  The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord."
  -- Book of Job, 1:21
  
The power of storms is beautifully suggested by the materials and colors of this rosary.

The pocks, pits and hollows of the Lavastone Paters were formed when bubbly molten rock cooled.

Superb stone Aves bring to mind thunderstorms at night...

"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
  -- John 15:13

In honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero, Servant of God. 

Pater beads of unpolished Andean White Onyx, between beads of Andean Black Onyx -- all hand-cut and hand-drilled in Peru...

Aves of Black Ebony, interspersed with antique red glass...

Exceptionally beautiful, double-sided crucifix, cast from a 19th century original...

"...And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."

    -- Exodus 3:2-3

Each Pater is formed of three Tiger Ebony petals. Their form and movement remind us that there is a time to keep to the path, to carry on with the work we have planned -- and there is a time to notice, to pause in our work, to turn aside from the path and to listen...

Ave beads of Tiger Ebony, hand-carved in triangular prisms... reminders of the Triune God.

The Jesus Prayer Rosary, a wonderful prayer book by Fr. Michael Cleary, inspired the design of this rosary.

Celtic Cross, substantial and marvelously detailed, embellished with spirals, of hand-cast solid bronze...

The Jesus Prayer beads are cubes of Burnt Horn in beautiful shades of brown...

The Lord's Prayer beads are dark, naturally striped Palm Wood, between smaller stone beads of Silverleaf Jasper...

"You will find something more in woods than in books.  Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters."
-- Saint Bernard, Epistle 106

Thank you, St. Bernard.  50+ years on the face of the planet, and we only just now noticed that the leaves of different trees make different sounds -- sing different songs. 

Joyfully radiant crucifix, hand-cast from a 4th century Balkan antique...

Speckled-green rhyolite beads, each one different in shape, size, and color -- a reminder of the variety of tree songs... 

"If the only prayer you ever said in your whole life was 'thank you,' that would suffice."
    -- Meister Johannes Eckhart (c.1260–c.1328)

A strong, stone rosary... The colors of the beads around the Paters bring to mind the Eucharist.

Aves of matte Picture Jasper, in naturally varied browns and tans...

Hand-carved wooden Paters, between beads of dark red jasper and pale wood.

"Leap, and the net will appear."


A rosary to celebrate the leap -- The net is represented by the cross-hatchings carved in the bone Paters, and the latticework of the bronze crucifix...

Stone Ave beads of carved Black Onyx...

"Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living;  for all live to Him."
  -- Luke 20:38


Plain and simple Jerusalem cross, solid bronze, hand-cast from a vintage piece...

Lavastone Pater beads, naturally textured -- their pocks, pits and hollows formed as the molten rock cooled...

Aves of of brick-red jasper, among interesting triangular beads of matte black glass...

"I saw...all things bound in a single book by love
of which creation is the scattered leaves...
I know I saw the universal form, the fusion of all things,
for I can feel, while speaking now, my heart leap up in joy."

    -- Dante Alighieri, Paradiso, Canto XXXIII,  lines 85-87, 90-93

A handsome rosary of Bodhi seeds and carved Mali wood, interspersed with subtly colored stones...

Crucifix of the Risen Christ, in the vestments of a priest.

"I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself."

  -- from Exodus 19:4

The Aves of this powerful rosary are Hawk's Eye -- a stone of deep blues, brown, and bronze, with a slight chatoyancy.

Each Pater is formed of three beads of carved coco wood, between disks of black horn.

The cross is solid bronze, cast by hand from an antique Coptic original.

"Praised be my Lord for our Brother Wind, and for air and cloud, calms and all weather..."
    -- Saint Francis of Assisi, from "The Canticle of Brother Sun"

Ave beads of matte Picasso stone in naturally varied shades of gray...

Pater beads of beautiful, smooth, polished bone in combination with red and golden horn...

"Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi, Beati, qui ad cenam Agni vocati sunt."
    -- from the Communion Rite of the Mass

...Happy are we who are called to His supper.

Beautiful, glossy Bloodstone forms both the Pater beads and the Ave beads of this rosary. The stone is so-named for its red inclusions, traditionally considered symbolic of Christ's blood.

At the top of the substantial crucifix, we see the Chi Rho; and at Christ's right hand, the anchor cross...

This rosary honors Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Morenita, who gave Saint Juan Diego roses in December.

Ave beads of rosy brown jasper...

Pater beads of Ebony...

Large, extraordinary, Trinity-form rosary center depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe...

The thistle "has become one of the symbols of the Passion of Christ, and particularly of His crowning with thorns."
  -- George Ferguson, Signs & Symbols in Christian Art

These lanceolate Lord's Prayer beads are Bronzite.  They have a beautiful natural chatoyancy -- light is reflected from within the stone.  They're set between deep purple beads of pressed glass -- suggestions of thistles. 

The Aves are shining, translucent Czech glass.  Among the Aves are matte glass beads in purples, olives, grays and blues.

"And now here is my secret," said the fox, "a very simple secret:  It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;  what is essential is invisible to the eye."

   -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Fox-brown stone Ave beads, of natural dark Carnelian...

Roses on the bronze crucifix and rosary center;  roses carved on the Our Father beads...

And the Prince, certainly, on the cross...

"Dance, then, wherever you may be -- I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be --  And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he."
    -- Sydney Carter, "Lord of the Dance," chorus.

A joyful rosary, fit for the dance.

Oval Ave beads of Olivewood, carved in Israel of wood pruned from the ancient Olive trees in Bethlehem...

Pater beads of beautiful, smooth, polished bone, combined with beads of vibrantly colored Greek ceramic...

Pope John XXIII, on his deathbed, reflected on the meaning of the crucifix -- the meaning of Christ's outstretched arms.  Christ's outstretched arms are an embrace, Pope John said, "For all, for ALL."

This jubilant rosary, vibrantly colored and highly textured, celebrates the fact that we are -- really, simply -- one people. 

Christ's embrace is beautifully symbolized by this Latin American cross -- arising from an open heart.

Aves of Rudraksha seeds... Paters of hand carved MaLi wood.

"...And may the light shine out of the two eyes of you,  Like a candle set in the windows of a house,  Bidding the wanderer to come in out of the storm."
   -- from the Irish Blessing of Light, Rain and Earth

Handmade Peruvian Paters, with a geometric motif inspired by Incan designs.  Their 3-sided shape is quite unusual, and pleasant to the touch. 

Deep blue African glass beads, in a variety of shapes, separate the ebony Aves...

"Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."
   -- Psalm 84:3

His eye is on the sparrow..."
  -- from the lyrics of an old Gospel hymn by Civilla D. Martin, 1905;  also see Matthew 10:29.

A beautifully simple rosary, in quiet, woodsy shades of brown and olive green. 

Small, elegant Tau crucifix...  Wooden Aves...  Paters of smooth bone.

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
    -- Matthew 6:28-29

This rosary is a celebration of Easter, springtime... and all that we may learn by considering how the lilies grow.

Gorgeous, double-sided Renaissance crucifix... Easter Lily centerpiece... Spring-green Aves... Paters of Mali wood handcarved with leaves...

"Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light."
    -- Theodore Roethke (1908-1963)

Ave beads of Silverleaf Jasper, speckled and swirled with colors and shapes that bring to mind galaxies, nebulae and stars...  They bring to mind the Light shining in the darkness. (John 1:5)

Pater beads of tea-dyed bone, hand-carved with lovely little flowers...  On each side of the Paters are purple beads of pressed glass, saucers of red horn, matte tortoise glass, and a touch of spring green...

Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings."
-- Psalm 61:4

Dove Crucifix, from a 19th century Russian original... Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Mount Carmel rosary center, from a late 19th century or early 20th century European original... Both cast by hand in solid bronze.

Pater beads of carved burnt horn...

Stone Ave beads of variegated Epidote...

"Preach the Gospel at all times.  If necessary, use words."
  -- Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with these instructions. 

This rosary is easy to pray, and extra flexible, thanks to the shape of the Aves.

We're very fond of the Paters.  The band around the equator of each bead suggests, to us, the Gospel preached "at all times" to "all people."

The Coptic crucifix and rosary center are solid bronze, hand-cast from 19th century antiques.