Touching Heaven and Earth: From Rose to Rosary
Step 1: Drying the Rose Petals
Join us in reading a guest blog series by Sr. Orianne Dyck, a Novice with the Daughters of St. Paul, as she reflects upon the process of creating Rosary beads from rose petals.
You might think that “Step 1” would be procuring the roses, but hang tight – we are saving that bit ‘til the end!
When God created the Sabbath, he sanctified and made holy a particular time. And when the Son of God became Incarnate, he entered earthly time, sanctifying the times and seasons of our lives in a particular way. We often think of the prime time of our lives as being our youth, but nature tells us a different story. As God reveals through his creation, there is an immense beauty and value even in what we might consider ‘faded and dried up.’
Ecclesiastes tells us that “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted” (Eccles 3:1-2, NRSV). The journey of a rose from its bloom to the time it’s ready to be made into a rosary reminds us of this very powerfully.
As Daughters of St Paul, we live a vow of poverty, so we can’t just skip out and buy a bouquet of roses to make rosaries from. We wait for God’s providence to bring them to us, at the time he knows is right. Just like we trust God to provide for us from the earth through the rhythm of seasons, we trust him in this too! This time around, as we waited for the required materials for Sister Helen to teach me the ropes, we were surprised with two generous donations of roses: one came the night before St. Thérèse’s feast day (coincidence?) and the second the night before the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (extra-coincidence?). God was providing roses, and he was letting us know what they were for, too!
We put the roses in chapel for a bit to “let them give glory to God,” as Sr Helen said. When they began to fade, at the point most people would simply throw them away, Sr Helen smiled and said “It’s time.” The roses were not done giving – they were entering a new season, where they could give in a new way.
We removed them from chapel, and cut off the heads. When possible, the stems can be put in the compost where they can keep on giving in a new way too!
To remove the petals, we twisted the little green part left on the flower until it disengaged from the petals. That way we could pull out the core of the flower and were left with the gift of petals.
Then the operation of drying the petals began!
To dry the petals, we spread towels out over several long tables that we had available. The same could be done over a floor, or any other surface in the driest available. Then we separated the petals of each flower, laying them out individually over the towel to allow them more exposed surface area to dry thoroughly. Separating the rose petals is really quite amazing. I realized that each rose is completely unique – some roses are layered seamlessly, some have petals that cling to one another, some are full and some are sparse, some have petals that grew together and are attached… each one is unique. I was reminded that just as God knows each sparrow and each hair on our head, he knows and treasures each petal of these flowers. (Luke 12:6-7)
Drying rose petals takes time. How long depends on many factors, such as how thick or thin the petals are, how fresh they are when first spread out, how dry or damp the air is, and how much space is afforded to them on the towel. But no matter what they conditions, they do dry in their time. Once a petal is thoroughly dried out, with no leathery feel or elasticity left to it, it’s ready to be collected into a basket and wait for its fellow petals to join it. Since we were donated bouquets of 4 different coloured roses, Sr Helen advised that I divide them by colour. Darker roses will create dark brown or black beads, while lighter roses may create honey-brown or wine-coloured beads. Each batch of beads will be unique, just like the flowers that went into them.
With all the flowers donated so generously by our benefactors, I had to set aside a little time each day to work on cutting the roses, laying out petals, and collecting dried petals. As I began to develop a rhythm of work, I also developed a rhythm of prayer. Handling the rose petals each day, feeling and smelling them at each stage of their drying process, I remembered some words from the Song of Songs: “I am a rose of Sharon… Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away… let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely” (2:1,14 NRSV). This became my prayer as I lay out, tested, and collected each petal: that each person who will one day hold these beads to pray with will hear that tender call to speak with familiarity, confidence, and sincerity to the one who loves them.
Thank you. I will share with our Faith Formation Community. I am excited to watch and learn the process as well as to grow.
Bless you, Jeanne!