In parishes and households throughout the Diocese of Allentown, the faithful are rallying to Bishop Alfred Schlert’s Jubilee Year call to promote and pray the Rosary. Answering that call in a unique way is Ally Musike, a parishioner of Sacred Heart, Bethlehem and owner of the Cottage of Christian Curios online shop.
While Musike’s store offers beautiful handmade Rosaries, chaplets, and bracelets for purchase, its stated “heart, soul, and purpose” is the Donation Rosary Project.
Proceeds from all sales made at the Cottage of Christian Curios are used to support the Donation Rosary Project, an initiative that supplies free Rosaries to the disadvantaged, as well as to churches, senior care facilities, and schools.
“The ultimate goal,” said Musike, “is to make sure that everyone who wants a Rosary, has one.”
The idea for the Donation Rosary Project “just happened,” she reflected.
“I made Rosaries for my family as Easter presents, and after I finished, I just didn't want to stop. Next thing I knew, I had a pile of about 100 Rosaries. I donated them to my parish, and then I thought: What if I made and sold Rosaries, and then used the profits to make more Rosaries to donate to people who needed them?”
Each knotted nylon “donation Rosary” is made with wooden Hail Mary beads and either amazonite or sodalite Our Father beads, and finished with a silvertone centerpiece and crucifix. Musike handcrafts Rosaries “at the end of every day, pretty much.”
Rosary donations have been made, not only to groups and parishes in the Diocese, but to communities beyond diocesan boundaries. Recently, Musike sent 200 Rosaries to a parish in Africa. “The more Rosaries I can distribute, the better,” she said.
The “fan favorite” among Cottage of Christian Curios retail items is the “Celestial Grace” car chaplet, a pale blue two-decade Rosary with a clasp for attaching to a rearview mirror. Each of Musike’s devotionals carries an evocative name, such as “Heavenly Branch” and “Walk on the Water.”
Musike called the partnership of her shop with the St. Monica Ministry a “providential” response to Bishop Schlert’s invitation to pray for the return of those who have left the Church. The St. Monica Ministry is a support community and prayer network for families and friends of fallen-away Catholics.
“I felt like the partnership was divinely inspired,” she said. “Before it happened, I prayed for months that God would reveal His will for my life."
One day she ran into Sister Margaret, theology teacher at Bethlehem Catholic High School, and then made 100 Rosaries for her class.
A few months later, Sister emailed and said, “The St. Monica Ministry is looking for a Rosary instructor. Would you be interested?”
“Then it all clicked,” said Musike. “I thought, Oh, that’s why I didn’t want to stop making Rosaries. There was a bigger purpose behind it.”
To encourage praying the Rosary, especially for those who have drifted from the faith, Musike and the St. Monica Ministry are collaborating on parish-based “Hands & Hearts” events.
Participants not only create specially-designed St. Monica Ministry Rosaries under Musike’s tutelage, but also take part in a giveaway, listen to a talk, pray the Rosary, and enjoy fellowship and refreshments. “Hands & Hearts” events are offered free, though donations for materials are gratefully accepted.
“I love the Rosary,” said Musike. She quotes St. Thérèse of Lisieux: “The Rosary is a long chain that links heaven and earth. One end of it is in our hands and the other is in the hands of the Holy Virgin.”
For more information, go to www.cottageofchristiancurios.com/.
To schedule a “Hands & Hearts” event at your parish, email StMonicaMinistry27@gmail.com.
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