I clipped
the notice from the newsletter of one of our sister Roman Catholic churches. It
read: “FREE ROSARY REPAIR: Leave your
broken rosaries in the marked box by the statue of St. Theresa in the back of
the church. Repaired rosaries will be returned in a week.”
Since I am
not a user of a rosary, I am not fully aware of what can happen to a rosary
that requires repair. Are we just talking about a broken clasp or a chipped bead?
Or is there a sense in which a rosary can be spiritually “broken,” ineffective,
not working any more? And in those cases, does it require more than a jeweler,
maybe even the help of St. Theresa? How broken does a rosary need to be before
it is brought in for repair?
I don’t
mean to make fun of the rosary, because the ad actually did speak to me. I’m
wondering how broken our prayer life needs to be before we bring it in for
repair. Do we just need a new link or a new clasp, or do we really need a
complete overhaul, calling for the work of the saints? Maybe that’s the
invitation of Lent—to bring our broken spirit and weakened prayer life and
offer them up for repair.
During this season, I invite you to bring your
brokenness, even if you just come to the back of the church. Even though we don’t
have a statue of St. Theresa, I invite you to come. I can’t assure you the
repair work will all be done in one week, but I can assure you that the repair
work can begin right here, right now. And…it’s all free.
Join us in
the repair shop this week.
Jack Harnish
Senior Pastor