Children Who Have Been Waiting Since July 16th Receive Rosaries!!

January 18th the members of the Children's Rosary at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Kaka Basty, Pakistan received rosaries. The long purple ones were given to the group leaders, the smaller ones to the children. This group had their first meeting on July 16th 2019. They have been waiting for rosaries since the summer! Winter is upon them and through all their patient prayers finally each child has his or her own rosary.

All the families gathered in the Church for the special meeting when rosaries were given out.

Children lined up patiently to each receive a rosary.

These children have been meeting weekly on Sunday mornings at 7AM to hold their Children's Rosary.

We wish to thank all those who with love and care make the rosaries that are sent to the Children's Rosary. We in turn share the rosaries with the children in new and existing Children's Rosary prayer groups around the world. Thank you also for those who make donations that allow us to cover the shipping expense to send these boxes of rosaries and materials both within the United States and throughout the world. 

Children's Rosary in Saroky, Pakistan Receives Rosaries!

This week we are sharing pictures from Pakistan. We received news on January 5th 2020, which was Epiphany, that a box with 419 rosaries we sent had arrived. Children in 11 new Children's Rosary groups were waiting to each receive a rosary. On January 17th we received the first pictures of the children receiving the rosaries. The group that was visited on January 17th was the Children is Rosary in Saroky, Pakistan. They held their first meeting on November 24th 2019. But the children had been meeting all that time without a rosary. Special preparations were made for the day the children were to receive their own rosary. The Church was decorated with a Children's Rosary banner.

When I asked Babu Chand, who oversees this group, if the children had been waiting a long time for their own rosary, he answered simply, "Yes." 

The rosaries for this group were laid out in a beautiful way before the children. The children lined up and each had a turn receiving a rosary.

This group has a weekly meeting time of Fridays at 5PM. 

We feel it is important to show these pictures so individuals realize how the donations that are given to the Children's Rosary have been helping children. 

These images are also hopeful. They show the faces of the young children of our next generation. These children will not only keep the rosary they received but they are using the rosaries each week in their Children's Rosary prayer group. 

If you would like to help these efforts consider making a donation to the Children's Rosary. To make a donation click HERE.
Handmade rosaries can be sent to the Children's Rosary at:
PO Box 271743
West Hartford CT 06127 USA

Good News Came from Pakistan on January 5th 2020

We received exciting news from Pakistan on January 5th: the Feast of Epiphany. A box of Children's Rosary materials had arrived including 419 rosaries. Almost all of these rosaries were handmade.This box had long been anticipated and children in new Children's Rosary groups had been waiting as long as 6 months to have rosaries with which to pray. The groups continued to meet while they waited and faithfully prayed. Our Lord did not disappoint the children. Their prayers were heard. On Epiphany we were told the long awaited box had arrived. 

This week we will be highlighting the visits Babu Chand, a Catechist and Children's Rosary group leader, made to these different Children's Rosary groups that waited for so long praying and hoping to receive a rosary of their own. 

We thank all those who help to make rosaries and those who donate to the Children's Rosary. This allows us to keep sending boxes such as the one pictured above.
To make a donation to the Children's Rosary click HERE.
Handmade rosaries can be sent to the Children's Rosary at:

PO Box 271743
West Hartford CT 06127 USA

Sunday of the Word of God

Pope Francis instituted a new observance on the third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Word of God Sunday is dedicated to the celebration, study and spreading of the Word of God. It is interesting in our family that over the last 5 months we have found ourselves focusing more on the gift of the Word of God. One of the things that has helped us was the discovery of a book. Occasionally we order used religious books from a convent. Sometimes we have heard of the books, sometimes we take a chance and order a few books we know nothing about with hopes we will be pleasantly surprised. We have found many gems in this way. Recently, we obtained a book that was new to us and I began reading it to my children. It is called: Surrounded by Angels. It is the true story of a Bible courier behind the iron curtain. It takes place in the late 60s or early 70s in Eastern Europe. An individual finds himself given a large number of Bibles in Bulgaria and takes the chance of crossing the border to return home to Romania. This crossing becomes the first of many he will make in order to secure and bring Bibles to those who were in need of them. As the story unfolds, many of his trips are mostly unplanned but the families and people he meets often share that they have for years prayed they might receive a Bible. Often there are tears shed by those given a Bible of their own. Hearing these stories has created an increase awareness of the gift we have been given to have access to a Bible from which we can freely read.

Sometimes it seems that Our Lord brings different things together in a short period of time to teach a person or family. Such it seems has been happening with the Word of God in our family. Even with this new attention to the incredible gift of the Word of God there is still the appreciation that we have only just begun to scratch the surface of the blessings and graces available to us through study and reading of Scripture.

Our personal experience has been one where my husband reads the Old Testament to our family each night. As he is Jewish, he reads to us the Old Testament. This has been a tremendous gift since so often through my own childhood as a Catholic I often heard the Gospels but knew far less about all the old Testament stories. 

Initially when we began family prayer with our children my husband read a Children's Bible but as the years have gone by we progressed to an adult Bible. We keep a Bible out in our Living Room.  I have included a picture of it above. 

One of the things that has beautifully complemented the reading of the Bible has been the praying of the Rosary. Since the Rosary is based in Scripture it has helped our kids contemplate the Life of Jesus. 

Everything is a process and we have seen in our family that consistency with any endeavor has been important. So we humbly invite families to try to integrate the reading of Sacred Scripture into their evening routine and also the prayer of the Rosary as a family. 

Take as Much as You Want

Shortly before Christmas we purchased a bird feeder. Our youngest son has taken an interest in bird watching. The bird feeder was very simple and attached to the window of our prayer room. On a few occasions a bird was seen feeding but it was a rare sight. The food we put also never seemed to disappear. Today things changed. 

Recently I have been wanting to do a day of silence and a recent illness that has kept me home seemed to open the door for just such a day today. Thus sitting in the prayer room, I began to notice birds coming to the feeder. A brilliantly red cardinal caught my eye and then the mate which was a brown color with a red beak. At first the birds seemed nervous and approached cautiously. They perched and were quick to fly away. A sparrow came and fluttered even fearing to land. But as the day progressed the birds got more bold. They came and ate their fill. When the feeder became empty we were happy to refill it. To see the birds eating made the kids and I happy. Sitting in the prayer room the following Scripture came to mind:

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?"(Matthew 6:25-26)

It seemed interesting to me that today of all days the birds would discover the feeder. Sometimes Our Lord helps us to understand things too complicated for us by allowing us to observe certain things in Nature. Today in prayer, I began to see the birds in many ways as souls who may come to Our Lord hungry. While the birds may be struggling at this time of year to find food on the ground or in the trees, since our recent snow cover, here was an abundance of food only waiting to be eaten. Likewise, does God stand with an armful of grace only waiting for us to come to Him in prayer and ask for it? Today with a day of silence there was more time to appreciate such things. There was time to be quiet. Many of us think about the New Year and think of physical conditioning but the New Year is also a time for conditioning of the Spirit. 

Recently in starting to read the book by Cardinal Sarah, "The Power of Silence" there were many observations made in regard to the fruits of silence. Here is one observation made in the book: No prophet ever encountered God without withdrawing into solitude and silence....The true desert is within us, in our soul.

Grace is available to each one of us. May we make good use of our time. God is generous with us and invites us to ask and promises that we will receive. (cf. Matthew 7:7)

May God bless you this New Year.

This is the Next Generation!

Following up our visit to Kenya, a large box of rosaries was sent this fall to Fr. Wachira and Br. Cleophus. This has helped to start a Children's Rosary prayer group at an orphanage in Masimba, Kenya. The orphanage is named after St. Clare. There are 30 children who are participating in this new Children's Rosary. The group was launched on December 22nd 2019.

We thank those who send us handmade rosaries and have made donations that allow us to cover the shipping expenses to places such as Kenya. From the smiles you can see how excite the children are to receive their own Rosary. It is so hopeful to see the faith strengthening amongst the next generation.

In the Arms of Our Lord

On Epiphany, the Children's Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Connecticut USA was asked to help with a living Nativity at the Parish. The Rector, Fr. Sullivan, arranged to have animals present. He emphasized all would be done in a reverent way. Members of the Children's Rosary dressed up to re-create the scene in Bethlehem. 

Fr. Sullivan for half of the Mass held a newborn lamb in his arms. I found myself watching both the lamb and Fr. Sullivan closely. 

The lamb surprisingly was very docile in his arms and never seemed to struggle or want to get away. He sometimes would close his eyes and rest against the chest of the priest.

Other times the baby lamb would raise his head and his ears would swing forward or relax back. In turn, there were times when Fr. Sullivan would close his eyes and hug the little lamb tight. 

It seemed like the cover image on our Children's Rosary book with Our Lord holding a lamb was coming to life before us. The priest is Christ's representative on earth. To see the priest holding the lamb with such care and love helped to bring to life that relationship that we are called to have with Our Lord. The lamb as I watched did not work to support his own weight. His legs hung gently down. Even when incense was brought and swung before the little lamb he did not seem to worry or become agitated. He clearly trusted the arms that held him. These moments and images that I witnessed during the Mass on Epiphany have helped my disposition in prayer. Seeing this tiny helpless lamb so safe and cared for by the priest is a reminder of the simplicity and trust we are to have as we approach Our Lord. 

A special thank you to all the children who helped with the living Nativity at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on Epiphany Sunday. We also thank Fr. Sullivan for inviting the Children's Rosary to be a part of this Mass.