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=========================================================== IN THIS ISSUE
===========================================================
This months issue grew without a plan and before a plan could be
made. That's probably not the best way to put an e-zine together, but it seemed to work
this time.
Several articles grew out of inquiries from subscribers and
letters to the editor. We encourage this involvement. It helps to make the e-zine more
responsive to your needs.
This issue is "heavy" on devotions and web subjects.
That's not a bad thing. Subscribers seem to want this information. We plan future issues
with more tips. Let us know what you want to hear about.
We welcome back Deacon Prestwood with an excellent article about
the Rosary. We hope he will contribute his expertise regularly.
Last week I attended the Catholic Marketing Network tradeshow in
Baltimore. The weather took its toll on attendance, but the suppliers did a superb job in
displaying their wares. My head is still reeling from all there was to see. From icons to
music and of course rosaries. It was all there. Their next tradeshow is in Chicago in
June.
God bless your Rosary Making efforts in the coming month!
Mike
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters to the Editor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your lovely pages on the WEB,
and in particular, for the newsletter or "e-zine". I make rosaries here in
Africa and my wife Ingeborg and I promote devotions to the BVM. We ship about 200 rosaries
a month to people we enroll in the Living Rosary here (under the Pontifical Mission
Societies).
I would really like to get in touch with MJF - BECAUSE I AM ALSO
A HAM CALLSIGN ZS6QL : I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO CHAT WITH HIM (OR HER) ON THE AIR. How
strange - two hams and both make rosaries! I operate an amateur radio mission net here in
Africa and have helped save some 90 American missionaries women and children when they
were escaping a bloodbath in Africa - I acted as their link with America for a week while
they escaped to the Cameroon.
If you REALLY know people who want to give away TOOLS and
anything to do with rosaries, they can send them here - we have many people who are
unemployed and who would like to start making rosaries - the devotion here is very great
and keeps me very busy! This devotion is in the poverty stricken areas and not in the
well-heeled cities ...
Thanks for a great publication, and please place us on your email
list.
Thank you.
May the Lord turn His countenance to you and
bring you peace, may Mary the Mother of God intercede for you in all your intentions, and
may Jesus Christ bless you and all those at your home.
He who is nothing greets you
Your brother and servant in Christ
Roger Gould-King
_________________________________________________
P O Box 167540
Brackendowns 1454
Republic of South Africa
Telephone +27 11 900 2107
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
P O Box 167540 Brackendowns 1454
République d'Afrique du Sud
Téléphone +27 11 900 2107
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Eye on Devotions and History of the Rosary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help with Focus
We have Shannon to thank for
this suggestion. She pointed out something on page 23 of the book: The History and
Devotion of the Rosary by Richard Gribble, C.S.C. The December issue gives all the
details about the publisher, etc.
This page tells of the legend of Eulalia. When the Blessed Mother
appeared to her, she said: "...I caution you that if you wish the services you render
me to benefit yourself more and to be more acceptable to me, then do not in the future
pronounce the words [of the Hail Mary] so rapidly, for let me tell you that when you greet
me with the Angelical Salutation, I experience a great thrill of joy, and more especially
when you utter lingeringly the words Dominus tecum [the Lord is with you]. The
delight I feel then is more than can be expressed in words. For then it seems to me that I
feel my Son within me even as He, true God and man, was with me when he vouchsafed to be
born of me for the sake of sinners " ......
I had read this but didn't practice it until I reread it
recently. Now, it has become a means of focusing on the true meaning of the words. We
thank you Shannon!
This month we will
focus on rosary devotions different from the traditional five decade rosary. There are
many different devotions that have been carried on as traditions for various Catholic
Orders. One of these orders is The Servites who have promoted the Seven Dolors (Sorrows)
Rosary since the 13th century. The official name for this rosary is the Rosary of Our Lady
of Sorrows but many call it the Rosary of Seven Sorrows.
One reason to mention this rosary this month is that February
17th is the Feast of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order. This order is also called
the Servants of Mary. I won't get into the details of the story of how the Servites
received this rosary, but do want to mention that it is the ONLY rosary method
actually given to an order by Our Blessed Mother in person. Some could argue that the
Dominican Rosary was given to that order through St. Dominic. Recent research (beyond the
scope of this short article) indicates very strongly that the five decade rosary was in
use before the apparitions to St. Dominic.
The Rosary of Our Lady of Sorrows uses the form of seven groups
of seven beads rather than the use of decades or groups of ten. It also distinguishes
itself from the traditional rosary in the the prayers for the pendant are said after the
other prayers. Strictly speaking, this rosary is actually a chaplet.
Another rosary that
uses the seven groups of seven format is the Rosary of Our Lady of Tears. One reason to
mention it this month is that the Feast of Our Lady of Tears is on February 20th. This
feast is not on the Church calendar here in the U.S. but it is celebrated on this date in
several countries in Western Europe.
The Rosary of Tears is not a rosary at all but a chaplet. The
prayers said on the beads are not Our Father's and Hail Marys. They are rather short
petition type prayers.
The Rosary of Tears was received by a nun in Brazil in 1929 and
1930. Our Lord actually gave it to Sister Amalia while Our Lady gave the details. One
powerful thing that Sister was told by Our Lord is that he could refuse no petition
requested for the sake of His Mother's tears. An eBook we recently published entitled Our Lady of Tears tells the whole story.
The Seeds of Faith
website is dedicated to both Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Tears. For more
information of these two "seven groups of seven" chaplets, visit the Seeds of
Faith online shrines devoted to Our Lady under these titles.
Another devotional
tradition has been the 'Rosary of the Seven Joys of Mary' promoted by the Franciscans.
This rosary is also called the Franciscan Crown. There is no feast celebrated this month
for this rosary to our knowledge. It is mentioned because it uses seven in it's form as
well. The Franciscan Crown is a seven decade rosary (seven groups of ten).
Recently, a beautiful booklet was given to us called The
Rosary of the Seven Joys of Mary by Brother Sean Mary Fitzwater, T.O.R. Go to the Suppliers and Resources Page for an address to order this booklet.
Next month's plan is
for a discussion of the St. Louis de Montfort "method" or his Secret of the
Rosary. If you have knowledge of this method or would like to share your thoughts or
experiences, we welcome them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Featured Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ROSARY Part I
By Rev. Harry Prestwood Past President of Our Lady's Rosary
Makers hprestwood@worldnet.att.net
The rosary is a very
scriptural prayer. Also a very churchy prayer. It embodies all the basic articles of our
Faith. We begin to pray the rosary with the sign of the cross, which is the sign of our
salvation. (In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit) This formula
teaches us that in God there is Three Divine Persons. This does not mean there are three
people, or three gods but that in the One God there is three distinct persons. It is
because of the actions of this one God that all creation has its being. It is because of
the actions of this Trinity that the Second person of the Trinity became man and lived and
died and rose again and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. We look with great
expectation for His return in Glory.
The second thing we do when praying the rosary is recite the
Apostles Creed. Creed come from the Latin (Credo) which means we believe. We as Catholics
must believe all the Church teaches because what the Church teaches comes to us from
Christ Himself though the Apostles and their successors the bishops of the Church. Peter
was the first Pope or physical head of the Church, so the Bishop of Rome is the successor
of Peter and he has full authority in the Church. His is the office of teacher as well as
shepherd. Bishops in their own dioceses are the teachers and shepherds of their people as
long as they are in communion with the Pope. This Creed is a way we have of giving our
assent to their teaching authority.
There are six beads on which we pray the Lord's Prayer. This
prayer is taken from the gospels and teaches us how we are to pray. The disciples of Jesus
came to Him one day and said, "Teacher, teach us how to pray." They had seen
Jesus praying in many different places and ways. They also knew that St. John the Baptist
had taught his followers to pray, but Jesus prayed differently. Jesus said "When you
pray say: 'Our Father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy Name ....... ' The word
Jesus used here in Aramaic was ABBA, Papa or Daddy. We render this Aramaic word in Latin
as pater and into English as Father.
God as being in Heaven might be a little confusing for God is
everywhere.....qui es in coelis. Without God being everywhere nothing would exist. Heaven
is not out in outer space. Heaven is the realm of God while we live our lives in the realm
of physical reality. But this physical reality would not be possible without the presence
of God who created it in the first place.
This month let us try to meditate on these things especially the
first two phrases of the Lord's Prayer. In the months to come I would like to build on
different parts of the Lord's Prayer. When we are finished then we can tackle the Hail
Mary and the Glory Be To The Father. I pray that these meditations will be of help to you
as we approach Lent and the Holy Season of Easter.
A few suppliers' names
have been added to the Supplier & Resources page. Check it
out.
Last month we showed you photos of Jubilee Rosary Centers. Since
then, we have located centers in color. I don't know why it has been so difficult to find
these Jubilee centers. But finally a source has been identified. Go to the following link
to see photos: Jubilee & Millennium Rosary Centers
& Crucifixes. The first shipment due in 2 - 3 weeks is already sold out, so please
send an email to preorder against the next shipment.
Self promotion is not the intent of this e-zine. Rather we offer
these items as a service to Rosary Makers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Rosary Making Tips, Hints, Ideas, etc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submitted
by Janine LaRose. Thank You!
BEAD HOLES -- I have run into the problem of MOP and pearls and other semi-precious stones
having holes that are either not meeting in the center or of varying diameters. At first I
tried using 24 gauge wire, but found it to thin and easily breakable. Recently, I bought
an inexpensive bead reamer and worked on some of the stone beads that way. It takes a bit
of doing, but it does work to enlarge the holes enough to accept the 20 guage that I
usually use. I think that if I had put out a bit more money on the reamer and bought a
better quality one (diamond dust grit) it would take less time and elbow grease to fix the
holes. But it is worth it if you run into this a lot. I got a whole extra african Jade
rosary from beads that I once figure were unusable. One other thing I did was pick up a
beading needle (very thin) and string some beads with tiny holes on beading thread with a
knot between each like they do with fine jewelry. It makes a nice soft rosary, smaller in
length, but quite pretty and a good way to use up those beads that may not fit on the
wire.Pax et bonum,
Janine LaRose http://www.bibletech.com http://pages.slic.com/larose
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. The Rosary on the Web
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEB PAGE TIPS -- I think this is excellent as many of us are
struggling with this. Being a rosary e-zine, it might be good to keep it as the last
section so that those who have no interest in it can just skip it.
AUCTIONS -- My experience so far. -- I am fairly new to this
auction stuff as are many of you. I started by listing one or two rosaries. Howard Secher
helped me immensely in learning how to use a bulk loader and with many other tips and
hints. I have been bulk loading 1 to 2 dozen rosaries a week onto Amazon's auction site
and I would sell 1 to 2 per week. My prices usually run between $30 to $40 for a starting
price. Usually what happens is on the last day, I get a bid for the amount I start at and
that is it. I tried setting the prices much lower hoping for some bidding, but the same
thing happened and I got much less than I had hoped for. I could probably sell more that
way, but I guess I am being a bit prideful. It is just that I see these bulk made rosaries
going for $20 and I figure if they are worth that, then the ones we make with prayer and
love and so much care for the quality and finished look should be worth more. As you can
see, I struggle with this. Because I support my family of 4 on the salary of a parish
secretary, I am kind of hoping to supplement our income this way. This is another reason I
hate to get less than what they are really worth, and I struggle with this too. Is is
right to sell prayer beads to support yourself? Anyway -- selling has slowed down
considerably on Amazon. I am getting a spreadsheet ready to bulk load at Yahoo and as soon
as the bulk loader is up on Ebay again, I will try there again also. Does anyone know the
tax laws on income from auctions? Is it added to your regular income, or is there some
special form you need to file?
AUCTIONS FOR BEADS -- Unusual beads can be found at the auctions.
I check most auction sites once a week or so just to see what is there. One I found that
has some interesting stuff is justbeads.com . Like the name says, that is what they
auction there. You have to be careful and know your prices. Sometimes you can get a real
deal and sometimes you can get ripped off big time. Watch the shipping charges. Last week
I saw some great beads at a fabulously low price that I would love to have bid on. Problem
was, the seller wanted $5 shipping and handling.... It would not have been worth it once I
added the shipping. All said and done though, you can find some really great beads at the
auctions.
Pax et bonum,
Janine LaRose http://www.bibletech.com http://pages.slic.com/larose
KISS
Web Design Essentials, by Susan
Rarick KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid.
This should be taped to every web designers monitor.
When I first started to design websites seven years ago that was simple to do. We didn't
have too many choices with HTML 1.1. Today there is a wealth of tools available to the
webdesigner. But just because they are available doesn't mean they need to be used.
We tend to forget that the Internet is still basically a media
form that is based on information transfer. And in this age of soundbites, this means that
people want to get their information fast. While all the latest graphics are very cool to
see, they slow down page downloads. And this means that the slower a page loads the less
likely a visitor will stay at your site. What good is it to have a website that many don't
hang around to see the information you have to offer?
In print media it's an accepted fact that you have six seconds to
grab a person's attention. On the Internet you have about fifteen seconds. As download
time increases past this fifteen seconds, fewer people stay around to see your page. A
graphics laden page may look great, but it's sort of like a pearl handled pistol. It sure
looks good, but it will still let you shoot yourself in the foot.
More important though is that too many websites are now using
graphics to hide bad basic page layout. I have been in design for over 30 years and
have found over the years that without a good basic layout I will expend a lot of wasted
effort trying to 'art' my way to a good design when a good basic layout would have made it
a very simple project.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't have graphics or animations on
a webpage, but you should use them sparingly. You can load a page with so many graphics
that they lose their effectiveness and all you've done is to slow down loadtime. My
suggestion is to pick just a few graphics and place them artistically.
Years ago when tables became available I was fooling around and
added BGCOLOR to <TD>. It was a neat way to add color to a page. Today I often use
that same trick in place of button graphics, especially if I have a good sized list. It
loads almost instantly and has the same appearance as buttons on a proper layout.
I tend to probably overuse tables, but find they are great for
placement. I can put text in artistic patterns and place graphics exactly where I want
them without increasing loadtime.
I've recently revised my page size upward. It used to be I had a
10 KB limit. Now, with the majority of people using faster modems, I have a 15 KB limit on
my pages, although I still try to keep them down to 10 KB. Graphics can easily raise total
page size to 100 KB. Still a decent load time but getting near the limits. Many of my
pages, minus banners, have a total size under 50 KB. One trick I've found thats worked
over the years is to use thumbnails when numerous pictures are called for. The trick here
is to remember that a thumbnail can be of remarkably poor quality, hence the low file
size. It only has to be good enough quality to encourage a visitor to view the larger
picture or photo. If the visitor is interested, he/she can click on the thumbnail to see
the enhanced version.
Finally, I have to mention my pet peeve about bad web design -
using graphics to pass along information. There is nothing I find more annoying than to
have a graphic that contains valuable information fail to load. Factual information should
be provided in simple HTML text, not a graphic. This is especially annoying on data-based
web sites. Many visitors who are serious information seekers will turn off graphics in
their browser to speed up searches, only to find they have to turn graphics on again and
reload a page to obtain the information they need. Personally, unless other choices are unavailable, I just go on to another site.
I hope these few suggestions will help you speed up your load times and
result in increased page hits and positive site feedback.
Susan
Rarick is chief cook and bottle washer of SRDesign. A small web design company. She has
been designing websites for 7 years and has been in the design field for over 30 years.
Article used with author's
permission
From Jayde.com Member Newsletter
January 3, 2000 http://www.jayde.com
Scanner or
Digital Camera?
By Michael Wellik
In Response to an email
I started out with a digital
camera - Olympus D320L. It was $449 with rebate two years ago. I searched long and hard
for the right one with many many Internet searches. The best at the time two years ago was
the Epson 550 for closeups but they were out of them at the time and the money was
"just burning a hole in my pocket".
BTW, the worst at the time for closeups was (is?) the Sony. I
wanted a Sony in the worst way so I could take advantage of the floppy disk and zoom
lense. It made no sense to get one though. Sony had the worst color rendition and the
poorest photo quality. A new Internet search would be worthwhile. Maybe some of those
things have changed in two years.
The digital camera is not cheap but is more versatile than the
scanner. Make sure you have and use a tripod if you get a camera. It will make all the
difference in the world for making clear focused photos.
The scanner works great for MOST rosaries. Ones with larger beads
don't show up well because the focus is right at the glass level. When most of the rosary
(or any item) is above the focus level it doesn't work and everything is fuzzy. One note
about scanners. Don't put rosaries right on the glass. If they scratch the glass that
scratch will show up FOREVER. Put a plastic sheet protector or something similar on the
glass first.
I like the scanner for something quick with a rosary only or for
booklets and flat items. When I want a photo with a rosary and a box, the camera is the
only choice. All in all, the scanner is probably best to start with for rosaries only. If
you want to photograph your place of work, and rosaries, choose the camera. My reason for
saying that a scanner would be first choice is that you don't have to fool with focus and
all. With a camera the lighting is critical as are the colors. Not all scanners give true
color, but the variability is more with cameras. Mine (camera) tends toward greens. Others
have other tendencies.
Another thing I spent a LOT of time on was background colors and
textures. Because my camera tends toward green, I tend to use off white backgrounds with
little or no texture. You can also add color and backgrounds to the scanner. I usually
just put a sheet of white paper over the rosary to get the crucifix to lay flat but that's
not always the best picture. A colored cloth with some texture works well and adds to the
interest of the final product on the web.
As for scanners, the $99 ones are ok but don't give the clearest
picture. The ones I've seen this cheap are 8 bits. Get the highest bits you can get. The
more bits the larger the image file and the higher the resolution. It's impossible to
improve an image with poor quality.
I have a HP-5200C. It was $249 with rebate. It broke down once
under warranty and they fixed it ..... Had Fed Ex pick it up and bring it back within 6
business days and didn't cost me anything. I save the pic to an image file at the highest
resolution possible. I work with it from there. If you start out with poor resolution, you
can never improve it.
One other hint. I don't use photo editing software anymore for
working with the photos. I use FrontPage 98 to put together my web pages to save time. I
use its thumbnail features and its limited image editing features. I usually have an
"image page" where I work with the images preparing them for the webpage. The
best feature of all is the thumbnail feature. You can set the options to any size for a
thumbnail. I use from 250 - 500 pixels for the width of the final photo, but use a 75
pixel image with a hyperlink to the larger file. The file size comes out VERY small with
the click of a button. When you start with a 4+ meg file and reduce it to 20k, you get
pretty good quality "thumbnail" ....
Send your comments
and experiences with online auctions related to rosary making. People are making a living
with auctions. How do they do it? What are the secrets? What about selling rosaries on the
auctions?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Events Calendar - Conferences, Congresses, Shows, Etc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expo New York
The Latest in Jewelry Supplies, components, services and finished products.
March 5-7, 2000
Pier 94
The UnConvention Center
12th Avenue at 55th Street
Phone: 1-800-444-6572
email: exporeg@mjsainc.com
May 21 - 24, 2000
14th Annual The Santa Fe Symposium
Albuquerque Marriott
Albuquerque, NM
The Premier International Conference on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology
U.S. Callers: 1-800-952-6222
International Callers: 505-839-3249
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Contact Information
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEEDS OF FAITH
Attn: Michael J. Wellik
70 Ivy Lane
New Castle, DE 19720-2339 mikew@seeds-of-faith.com
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