Works of Art

“Eat a bit ah. Don’t eat all,” Lilian said as she passed a box to me just after Mass ended today. “You’ll get fat.”

I looked at the T-shirt that was hanging loosely on me and told her I could afford to put on some more weight. Inside the box was a stocking-shaped cookie. It looked too good to be eaten. When I got home and showed to my niece Elaine, she was thoroughly impressed. Among others there is a panda and a candy cane popping out from the stocking. Little colourful hearts, holly berries and leaves together with a bell adorned the outside. Baby Ryan’s grandaunt made this. Christmas has come early for me this year. Thank you Lilian.

The Daughters of St Paul was at the Cathedral yesterday and today to sell religious books and items. Click here for more information on the work and mission of the Paulines, as they are affectionately called. After we bid Lilian goodbye, Peter and I went to browse the items that were on sale. There were books, crucifixes and medallions. I got a handmade wood rosary for Wuan. Its ordinariness belies the effort and time that was put into making it. That is the beauty of this rosary.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

7 thoughts on “Works of Art”

  1. yes that is a beautiful rosary. most certainly hand-made rosary that looks ordinary will be much appreciated than those rosaries that are made of expensive materials like pearls, jade, silver or any other stones.

    i’m using a wood rosary too but i am not sure they are hand-made or not. it’s a gift from my ex parish priest who bought it when he was in jerusalem.

  2. Lucia,
    There were “nicer” rosaries but this somehow caught my attention. Nowadays, it is difficult to find such handmade items. I am glad I found one.

  3. Mdmafia,
    There is a limited selection here also. A good time to hunt for these religious items is during feast day celebrations like the Feast of St. Anne when stall are set up to sell them. I got two very nice rosaries a few months ago during that feast.

  4. actually peter, the stall where you get the rosaries from at the feast of st anne, is the ‘catholic information service’ bookshop in penang road. they have lots of religious books and articles on sale there. but maybe they could specially order more different type of rosaries specially for sale on the feast.

  5. Lucia,
    That is right. I have never been to the CIS because it is very inconvenient for me to travel all the way to town.

    Marita,
    Too good to be eaten huh? Until now I still have not decided when I want to eat it.

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