So, are “bullet rosaries” a thing or not?

So … are bullet rosaries “a thing” or did somebody make it up?

Atlantic Monthly recently published an article discussing what it called the “weaponization of the rosary.”

The reaction from right wing Catholics was immediate and predictable. They latched onto the article as an opportunity to generate outrage — and clicks and donations and revenue from advertisers — among and from their followers. The whole thing reached such a crescendo that Bishop Baron hopped onto Fox News, to excoriate the article as a “resurrection of anti-Catholic bigotry.” 

Anti-Catholic bigotry is a real thing. I’ve experienced it. But I don’t think that was either the intent or the effect of the article in question.

Of course, none of this answers the question I asked at the top of this post. Are bullet rosaries a real thing?

I asked this question of my on-line friends yesterday and got an immediate response. Someone gave me a link and I quickly found two online stores that were selling Rosaries made of what appear to be .22 shorts. These rosaries are expensive, and according to the numerous buyer reviews praising their workmanship and expressing satisfaction with them, they are selling. 

I don’t know if they are available in other, larger, venues or not. I got my answer with these two outlets. Yes, bullet Rosaries are “a thing,” and yes, people are buying them and seem to be happy with them once they have them. 

Personally, I reacted to the images of these bullet rosaries with sadness. I pray the Rosary often. It is a powerful meditative prayer that leads to the heart of the Gospel under the tutelage of the Immaculate Heart. The Rosary leads to deep conversion. It convicts you of your sins and then brings you to the grace of forgiveness. It is not a weapon. The Rosary is a cleansing gift of grace. To conflate it with an instrument of killing is appalling.

This mis-labeling of the Rosary as a weapon has been growing. Lately, I’ve seen absurdities online such as Catholic grandmas, posting photos of their unpretentious little glass bead rosaries on their Facebook pages with comments such as “this is my weapon.” I’ve actually seen that. A number of times. 

It’s becoming the newest thing to refer to our beautiful and comforting Rosaries as “weapons.” I suppose this is based on the patent nonsense that we can engage in direct “warfare” with Satan ourselves, on the power of our own faith.