I have been making rosaries since May 1992, a month after being received as a full member of the Catholic Church.  As a new Catholic, I wanted a rosary where I could tell the difference between where to say "Hail Mary" and where to say "Our Father".  When I couldn't find what I was looking for, I decided to try making my own,.  So many people who saw mine wanted me to make one for them, that I decided to make them as a fund-raiser for the parish that had brought me into the faith, and continued to do so over the following 15 years.

The Blessed Mother has guided me every step of the way.  In 2002, while praying the rosary, I "felt" the Blessed Mother tell me, "For 10 years you have given it all to me, now let me take care of you".  At the time, I did not know what she meant.  I didn't think I needed taking care of.  However, I did feel a strong directive to begin marketing my rosaries outside of my own parish and so I put up a website and named it "Magnificat" after the prayer spoken by Mary when Elizabeth acknowledged her as the mother of the Savior:

"My soul magnifies the Lord;
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Because He has looked upon the lowliness of His handmaid,
Henceforth all generations shall call me Blessed
For He who is mighty has done great things for me
And holy is His name"
(Luke 1:46-49)

Then unexpectedly, I began to have various health problems to the point that finally I could no longer continue to work a regular job.  Mary's words came back to me, "now let me take care of you".

I knew that God would provide for me, as is promised in scripture, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it: and "All things work together for good for those who love God and live according to his purpose."  When my paid sick leave ran out, I suddenly began getting a lot of orders on my website.  Although I didn't qualify for retirement at the time I had to stop working, in time I was able to apply my unpaid sick leave to my years served for partial retirement.

God's plan for me continues to unfold. Although there are days that the pain, dizziness and fatigue make it difficult to accomplish much of anything, I am blessed with many loyal customers who offer to pray for me, and ask me to pray for them.

As Mary said in her beautiful prayer, one of the few times that our Mother is quoted in the Bible, "The Lord who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name".

Charitable Work

I believe that it is important, that this is a work of faith that must be shared, that I need to "pay it forward" and share the blessings God has given me with others.  So I donate gemstone and glass beads to Monasteries where the nuns make rosaries for their gift shops as a means of supporting themselves.  I think it is especially important to supply the nuns with beads that they otherwise could not afford, in order for the art of rosary making not to become lost in monastic life. I have donated wire wrapped sterling silver rosaries to one of the Monasteries for their raffle fundraisers and to various parish and archdiosesan fundraisers.  I have also donated Trinity bracelets to local charity auctions such as the Humane Society and Habitat for Humanity.

I started Rosary Makers Guilds at two parishes in my area.  Both of these groups made plastic on string rosaries for the missions, primarily for my home parish's sister parish in Haiti, but also for Prison Ministries and other mission efforts in the US and abroad.  In both parishes we sold rosaries I made and other religious articles to fund the mission work.  I also donate base metal and glass rosaries I make for the RCIA class at my home parish every year.