Today the Children's Rosary received a wonderful gift. A card arrived from our Children's Rosary group leader in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. She had enrolled the Children's Rosary into a special Novena of Masses offered through the Capuchin Missions. The Children's Rosary is being remembered in a Novena of Nine Hundred Masses offered in honor of St. Pio beginning on September 23 and concluding on October 1st 2016.
In thinking about this gift to the Children's Rosary a Scripture quote comes to mind:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
(Matthew 6:19-21)
We are very grateful for this generous gift. More and more there is a yearning to turn our full attention to our true home which is heaven. It does not make sense to focus on earthly riches. Instead it is gifts like this that are the post precious.
Through the Children's Rosary and this tapestry of prayer it is our hope that all the members of the Children's Rosary will be sanctified and assisted spiritually in getting to their true home in heaven.
A special thank you to the group leader who shared this gift with all of us. We are all weak and need grace to help us. To have others praying and offering gifts such as these helps each one of us on our journey.
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On the 25th of every month a Mass is offered for all members of the Children's Rosary and all those who help the Children's Rosary. It is a small thank you to the many who have helped this prayer movement.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us so beautifully the importance of the Holy Eucharist:
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life. The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch." (Catechism 1324)
The picture above is of one of our new Children's Rosary groups in Hardupur, Pakistan. This was their first meeting on June 26th 2016. They meet weekly on Wednesdays from 4-5PM local time in Pakistan.
A special thank you to all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary. May Our Lord bless you. Amen.
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The Children's Rosary received a beautiful grace today. On this Feast of St. Pio of Peitrelcina our Children's Rosary group leader in Vietnam was able to venerate a first class relic of St. Pio while praying for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary. He also prayed for all the families of the members of the Children's Rosary.
We are very grateful for these special prayers. The group leader wrote that the relic of St. Padre Pio "is a piece of cloth that was used to clean his wounds. On the cloth there is a little blood of St. Pio".
St. Padre Pio is known as a stigmatic and mystic but also one who carried a heavy cross of suffering.
"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials." (St. Padre Pio)
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The Children's Rosary in an orphanage in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam which met for the first time last Sunday, had a wonderful grace. On the day Mother Teresa was canonized they were able to meet before a first class relic of Mother Teresa.
These children who were meeting for the first time knelt in prayer before their Blessed Mother. After their prayers each child had a turn venerating the relics. The little boy pictured right seems taken with a picture of Mother Teresa. These little ones were not alive when she was working with the poorest of the poor. Yet on the day when her life was honored they were holding her relic. It seemed perfect that little hands should be so close to Mother Teresa. Little hands that have not had it easy yet ones that now know the motion of praying a Rosary. These little children are innocent little souls just learning the ways of the world. To have such saints so close is indeed a great blessing. Seeing these pictures last Sunday morning brought joy as we ourselves headed to the Church to hold a Children's Rosary. Maybe it was these images of the children praying with the saints that were still lingering but when my children and I were praying in the quiet time before the Children's Rosary an idea came. Maybe we too could invite the saints to pray with us. We became excited and thought, yes, I am sure they will come to pray with us if we invite them. And so my son began inviting aloud a great many saints. He became very excited.
He invited St. John Paul II, St. Faustina, St. Patrick, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. John the Baptist, St. Gabriel, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Matthew. St. Peter Claver, St. Brigid, St. Peter, St. James, St. Paul, St. Kolbe, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Bosco, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Augustine. Then my daughter jumped in to invite more: St. Constantine, St. Margaret Mary, St. John Vianney, St. Bernadette. For my small part I invited some saints too: St. Raphael, St. Xavier, St. Thomas Moore, St. Thomas Becket, St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Padre Pio, St. Pius X. This list is not complete.
We finished by inviting the angels to fill any open space. While we were still finishing our invites a stream of musicians and singers who are part of our Church choir arrived. With an unplanned move of Mass to the lower Church with summer heat still lingering it seemed that two things were planned for the same space: choir rehearsal and the Children's Rosary. As we had far less things it seemed to make the most sense for us to go upstairs and allow the musicians the space. As we hurried to move everything upstairs we found another member of the Children's Rosary coming into the Church. In total there were four of us for the Children's Rosary. A small group and yet we were moving up to the large Church above that can seat hundreds of people. To hold our little Children's Rosary group in such a large space one could feel a little silly. Yet we have always felt in our heart that numbers do not matter. Even if no children come we always ask the group leader to stay and pray the Rosary. With our small group of four we were still happy. A thought came as the children quickly placed the statue of Our Lady before them as they were kneeling. Maybe it was Divine Providence that we had been moved to the larger space. In the smaller lower Church maybe there was not enough space for all the Saints we had invited to pray with us. Indeed maybe as we looked at the large church largely empty save for two adults and two children we were actually looking at full pews. Such were the joyful thoughts as the children took turns leading the Rosary at the podium. Every once and a while I leaned over to ask one of them to speak a bit louder. I reminded them that their voices had to be heard in the back of the Church. Nothing more needed to be said they lifted their voices just a bit more in hopes everyone could hear.
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Members of the Children's Rosary group at St. Paul Church in Fenton, Missouri made a pilgrimage to the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Perryville MO on July 13th 2016. Yesterday the group leader sent these pictures from their pilgrimage. The associate Pastor of their parish was able to lead the pilgrimage of 50 people.
The children from the Children's Rosary at St. Paul Church were able to hold their monthly Children's Rosary at the Shrine.
The children also had the wonderful grace to walk through a Holy Door of Mercy at the Shrine.
Today the Children's Rosary at St. Paul Parish will hold their monthly meeting at 7PM CT. This group holds their meetings on the 13th of every month. Please consider joining the children in prayer. The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.
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This morning upon coming home from our monthly Children's Rosary at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hartford Connecticut, there was a surprise: more beautiful pictures and videos from the first meeting of the Children's Rosary in Vietnam with the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Holy Redeemer. These sisters take care of orphans and disabled children.
Through the invitation of Tran, a 16 year old boy who is helping to spread the Children's Rosary, they began a group today on September 11th 2016. They met at 10 AM with many unifying prayers with them from around the world. The little ones who have very little, each had a rose to place at the foot of Our Lady. They knelt in prayer of the Holy Rosary as a new Children's Rosary group. They prayed for all of us who are part of the Children's Rosary, a humbling thought indeed. They entrusted all their worries to their heavenly Mother and Father. They came with hope that all their efforts to make the morning special would bring Our Lord and His Mother joy. Tran, the boy who only two weeks ago lost his beloved Pastor, held his guitar and played for Our Lady and the children. The new group began by being Consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In watching the videos of the children praying and placing roses before Our Lady, there were no words to express what this evoked in my heart. I could find only a few to utter: beauty, joy, thanksgiving.... nothing seemed to be enough. The children ended their meeting by venerating the relics of two beautiful saints: St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. Padre Pio.
Those children who were unable to get out of their bed due to their disabilities had a special visit from Tran to say a prayer with them and venerate the relics.
Seeing the children barefoot in the chapel one is reminded of Mother Teresa who always removed her shoes as she entered a chapel as she consider it holy ground. The beautiful reverence of these children is an inspiration. They have so little and yet they pray and thank God.
From my own little heart I simply say:, "thank you, thank you, thank you God for such a gift today. Surely this is from You as it is a taste of heaven to see such things.
Please watch the two video clips of the children:
Placing Roses Before Our Lady
Praying
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