Modestia awards: Nicky Hilton
catholicinfilmschool on Aug 7th 2008 01:41 am
Why yes, it is the apocalypse. I am applauding Nicky Hilton on this blog (at least for five minutes.)
I was parousing a fashion blog when I saw this photo:
Cute shirt, cute shades, very cute bag, and…do my eyes deceive me? Is that…a rosary necklace? I wanted t
o cry from joy when I saw this. There are all kinds of individuals both famous and non-famous alike who wear rosaries as jewelry. Don’t misunderstand me here, it is not improper to wear a rosary around your neck. As a matter of fact, I’ve read that historically rosaries were typically worn around the neck. I myself do it on occasion tucked into my shirt as a reminder to pray it sometime during the day like Eduardo Verastegui here on the right.
However, for some reason in our modern age, the rosary has become a fashion statement. I’ve seen rosaries in music videos, on TV and in movies, etc. There are actual rosary necklaces (like this one here) that are in the style of a rosary if that’s the look you want. But an actual rosary is a prayer, it’s a devotion to our Lady, not something to show off.
For your proper wearing of a rosary necklace Nicky, you win a Modestia award. 
Filed in Random | Comments (1)
Interesting point, Rebecca. I choose not to wear rosaries because, for me, it’s a matter of setting an example. As you said, most people wear rosaries now as a fashion statement, like the cross or crucifix appeared in the fashion world years ago. Personally, I would rather not wear the rosary around my neck simply because of that fact. I want to teach people that the rosary is not some fashion statement. I am not going to wear it simply because “it compliments what I’m wearing today.”
Now, I will admit that I have a rosary bracelet. Again, personally, that’s a different story. I make sure that if I wear that bracelet, I’m intending to pray it wherever I’m going that day.
In my Hispanic culture, it’s been popular to wear rosaries around your neck for a few years, especially in gang culture. So sometimes I’ll see some of the kids in my Catechism class come in wearing them. I usually make a point to ask them about it – “why do you wear that?”; “do you know how to pray the rosary?”; “do you ever pray the rosary?”; “have you ever explained to anyone why you wear it?”; “is the rosary important to you?”
For me, it’s vital that, as a Catholic, when we see someone wearing a rosary, we should ask them about it. We cannot allow the Queen of Heaven & Earth’s prayer to be separated from the beads upon which we pray it, in case it becomes the symbol of something we musn’t let it symbolize, such as gang violence, or new age practice.