Mass Above the Clouds

 

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He has been spending the month of July at La Salette Shrine in the Alps. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

On Wednesday morning, some of the volunteers decided to climb up to the summit of Mt. Gargas, which reaches 2,208 meters high, next to La Salette Shrine for Mass at dawn. We left the Shrine at 4:30 am. It was my first time reaching the very top of the mountain, and the view on the way up was quite splendid. One can see from the pictures that we were above cloud level, and it was cold with a strong wind. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, a T-shirt, a sweater, and a winter coat, and I was still quite cold. 

La Salette Shrine was visible far below, and I really felt like this was probably the closest thing people had to being in a plane before the twentieth century. We had Mass, which was quite nice, although the pall and corporal very nearly blew away more than once. 

Not all of the volunteers went on this hike, but I daresay those who did consider themselves quite blessed for the experience.

A Familiar Face

 

Asher began a year-long journey to help spread the Children's Rosary on June 28. The month of July he is spending as a volunteer at La Salette Shrine in France. Today he was praying in the chapel when Janet Vogel entered. He recognized her. We met Janet last summer in France at the Adoratio Conference in Toulon. She has since begun a Children's Rosary prayer group in Switzerland. Both Asher and Janet will be attending the Adoratio Conference which begins July 13 at Notre-Dame du Laus. Asher will only be able to attend on July 14 but he looks forward to seeing other Children's Rosary group leaders who will be attending. 

Children's Rosary Participates in Corpus Christi Procession in Germany

 

We received these lovely pictures today from the Children's Rosary group in Fulda, Germany. They participated in the Corpus Christi Procession on Thursday June 19 from the Church "Rabanus-Maurus-Kirche".

Heights of the Hills

"In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also" (Psalm 95:4)

Dear Friends,

As many of you may know Asher Kaufman, age 18, left on June 28 for a year-long trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He is spending July in the French Alps at La Salette Shrine. Primarily he is assigned to volunteering at their welcome desk but he has also been helping in the housekeeping section of the Shrine making beds and in the kitchen washing dishes. After making 50 beds his first day, he happily reported he knows how to make a hospital corner properly. 

As La Salette is a pilgrimage site he has had the opportunity to meet many pilgrims and priests and share with them about the Children's Rosary. After six days of work volunteers at the Shrine are given a day off. Each day there is an excursion to various villages in the region. Only those on a day off can travel to the excursion. Last Friday Asher went on one of these excursions. 

The village was on the mountain next to the shrine but on the far side of the mountain. As the crow flies, it was 14 kms but it took them 1 hour by car to arrive there. As they approached the village they saw a group of people walking with some purpose across a field. 

At first they thought they might be looking for something and one person joked that they were looking for gold. But once Asher arrived, he did speak with this group and found out they were botanists from Grenoble taking plant samples from the mountain. 

This small village had a swift moving river running through it. The views are beautiful and give glory to God for all He has made. "In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also" (Psalm 95:4).

Please keep Asher and this trip in your prayers. May it be fruitful.

Thank you,

Blythe

Arrival at La Salette Shrine, France

Dear Friends,

We are continuing to provide updates of Asher Kaufman's journey. He is spending a year spreading he Children's Rosary through Europe and Africa. His first destination was La Salette Shrine in the Alps of France where he will be a volunteer. We have good news that the Rector has given him permission to provide informational sessions about the Children's Rosary to the pilgrims. The details are still be arranged and more updates will follow about this aspect of his time at La Salette. Below is Asher's dispatch about his arrival. 

After I managed to get myself and all of my bags onto the right train, the rest of my travel experiences were quite seamless. The train ride to Grenoble was about three hours long, and once we had exited the city, the scenery was quite bucolic. I arrived at Grenoble at around 3:00 pm, and then took the bus to up to Corps, which is a village just below the Shrine. As there was a group of us on the bus going to La Salette, a very nice volunteer was there to pick us up in a van, and so I arrived at La Salette on Monday evening just in time for dinner. 

I imagine some of those reading this might not have heard of La Salette, or if they have, they might not know the story of the apparitions, so, as with the other dispatches, I will include some historical context.

In September of 1846, in the mountains of southeastern France, two peasant children from the village of Corps named Maximin and Melanie were pasturing their sheep one day when a "Beautiful Lady" appeared to them. At first, they just saw the lady sitting on the mountainside, sitting on a rock, crying with her head in her hands. She had a crown of roses and a white headdress on her head and a golden chain about her neck. There was on her chest a crucifix with pincers on one side and a hammer on the other. She wore a golden apron and a white dress. The children recounted that the chain around her neck seemed heavy and pulled down her shoulders. They were at first quite frightened, but then the lady rose and spoke to them.

She said to them, "Come forward, my children, do not be afraid, for I have great news to tell you." Nevertheless, the news which the lady bore was quite serious and grave. If my people do not wish to submit, I shall be forced to let fall the arm of my Son. It is strong and so heavy, I cannot hold it up any longer."

She would go on to say that she had interceded so often and so much for her children, but they heeded her not. Then she said, "However much you do, you pray, you will never be able to repay the pain I have endured for you."

The main message she had for her children was to abstain from two grave sins in particular, namely the use of Our Lord's name in vain and the lack of Mass attendance on Sundays. She told the children to pray daily, morning and evening, at least an Our Father and a Hail Mary if nothing more could be managed. She warned that the bad harvests the region had had would continue if the people did not repent but that there would be a period of great abundance if they did repent. This was during what has been termed the "European Potato Failure." During this famine, in France, 10,000 people were estimated to have died. The privation of the famine is considered one of the contributing factors to the revolutions of 1848 across Europe. Thus, one can see that Our Lady's message was certainly meant for more people than just the local peasants of Corps, France. 

After the apparitions, in 1852, the order of Missionaries of La Salette was founded by Philippe de Bruillard, the bishop of Grenoble. The order has steadily expanded and now has a significant presence all across the world, particularly in Angola, the Philippines, Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, and of course France. There is an order of priests and an order of nuns, and their mission is to make known the message of Our Lady at La Salette. 

This month there are a large number of La Salette seminarians here because they are preparing to take their vows at the end of the month; they will be ordained priests next year. I met two Slovakian seminarians on the way up, and I have met many Angolan seminarians since I have arrived, as well as a few Brazilians and some from Madagascar. 

The natural beauty of the location is stunningly beautiful, it being nestled right in the French Alps. The Shrine is surrounded by hiking trails and paths. There is a large basilica that was built beginning in 1852 until 1865. There is also holy water, like at Lourdes. It bubbles forth out of the ground and was not controlled until 1996, so now it flows through some piping out into a basin where pilgrims can collect some. (Below is a picture of sheep near the Shrine being shepherded)

I have been enjoying it very much here. I have been working at the welcome desk for the last several days, and it is a real joy to see so many pilgrims coming from all over Europe; in the last few days, there have been pilgrims from Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Croatia, and Chile.

Children's Rosary Procession in Dormitz, Germany

The Children's Rosary group leaders from Dormitz, Germany shared this report from their May Children's Rosary meeting where they held a procession. 

We held the procession again, this time with a small niche/box housing the statue of the Virgin Mary, who led the way, escorted by two children and their banners (it was an honor for the children to do so).

Along the way, four banners/stops were placed for the reading of the Joyful Mysteries (the first was at the church in our village of Dormitz), as well as stones painted with the symbol of the Children's Rosary. All of this was done to the rhythm of songs. Thank God, the weather was good; however, the sharing took place in the parish house.

Our Lady of the Mantle, the monument erected and built by our people in gratitude for not having been bombed in World War II, was once again our destination and arrival point. It is undoubtedly a place very dear to our people. I must say that among the 15 children, two girls from our village of Dormitz were present: Elena and Francesca. The Virgin Mary received a bouquet of red roses in gratitude from one of the Rosary mothers, and another mother gave all the children pencil cases with the Jesus Loves Me logo and personalized names.

These are beautiful gestures that fill us with joy, as each family, in their own way, responds with their children to the Virgin Mary's call to pray the Holy Rosary. We also thank you, Blythe, because through this means, which you founded, we are able to grow as a community, which is taking shape in the spirit of God. They, growing closer, share their experiences, difficulties, and challenges with their children, making us part of this family of Christ on earth, and thus also give us a glimpse of what will be (God willing) in heaven.

Remembering Rev. Sr. Gloria Okoye, OP

On June 24, 2025 Sr. Gloria Okoye, OP passed away after a long illness. She was 43 years old. She has been a great friend to the Children's Rosary. She is shown above receiving rosaries we sent her on the left. We received this note from Fr. Paul Miapkwap:

She was very much part of the Children's Rosary in Shendam, Nigeria. She was the head teacher of the Immaculate Heart Nursery and Primary School Nbuan, Shendam. Pray for the repose of her soul. 

Fr. Paul Miapkwap went on to share that shortly before she died she wrote to him, "sickness wants to cut short our mission of the Children's Rosary." Clearly the Children's Rosary was important to Sr. Okoyo and we pray others will pick up where she left off in the Shendam, Diocese. 

Sister Okoye is shown above to the left of the picture and below to the right. We are grateful for her help launching the Children's Rosary at her school and for all her help with the Children's Rosary throughout the Shendam, Diocese of Nigeria. Please say a prayer for her.