A Call for Help

Image: NASA/NOAA

Imagine you are a Children's Rosary group leader.  You have no small children of your own.  Each time you prepare to meet you pray that children will come.  As you have no small children there is no certainty anyone will meet you at the Church.  You may have put notices in the bulletin and you wonder what will folks think if they see me all alone with no children.  Lord, I want to bring you children in prayer...help me.  Yet you arrive to find either no children or one child.  In this case, the child stays for one decade and then has to go to prepare to assist at Mass which is beginning shortly.  Others are filing into Church and see you alone trying to lead a Children's Rosary with no children.  Disappointment takes hold and doubt bites at your heal.  You wonder am I really meant to do this Lord.  If you want me to do this then bring children.  Week after week this continues.  Through faith alone you continue.  The story I share is a true one.  

The struggles of this little Children's Rosary are not unique to this group.  Even the most established groups may find a meeting when either only the host family is there or maybe if the leader has no children they are alone.  Even our little group at St. Thomas the Apostle the flagship group had several meetings where very few children came.  I know the disappointment first hand.  It brings a particular pain that goes deep to the soul.  It is an exposed vulnerability and when one feels no one hears it or responds to it there is a deep pain and sadness that comes.  What if you were to come home from such a disappointment and a message was waiting for you. A person writing that they had joined you in prayer from their home.  Would joy flood into your heart. Yes, I believe it would.  For over the past few weeks I too have seen this happen.  One mom who had asked for prayers for her  4 year old son and his father, wrote that she often unifies prayers with the groups especially on Saturdays.  I mentioned this to our group in Corvallis, Oregon who meets weekly on Saturdays.  This group was so happy to hear this.  

When I think back to the group I shared with you from England I am reminded of the first notes.  While the first meeting brought a few children subsequent ones were sparsely attended.  This group leader was so disappointed.   I encouraged her not to give up for many graces are given to a soul trying to bring children to Our Lord in prayer.  Such abandonment is particularly cherished by Our Lord as He too found himself alone thirsting for souls during His passion.  There was a feeling if we kept praying Our Lord would help us.  Something interesting happened.  Usually I try to unify prayers with each group that meets, often with my children.  However this group was meeting in England and the time of the meeting would mean they often began at 3:45 or 4 AM my time.  While I try to unify prayers with groups I did not think I could join her.  Yet something unexpected would transpire.  Several weeks ago I found myself awakened in the early hours of Sunday morning.  There was no light coming around the window shade so I knew it was not yet dawn.  There is no clock visible from where I sleep and I did not want to wake up my husband to check the time.  With my disabilities I need help getting out of bed so I am a bit confined during the night.  The first thought that entered my mind was that this little group in England must be meeting so I began saying the Rosary in unity with them.  Later I wrote to the group leader that I was able to join them in part for the Rosary.  This brought her much joy and encouragement.  Again last night I was awoken this time I was so tired I dismissed the idea to pray but twice more was awakened and thus began praying hoping to unify with the group.  I recall after the first time I woke up several weeks ago I told the Lord in prayer that if this group needed my prayers then wake me up.  Finding myself awake last night, which is somewhat unusual for me, I realized that there was a soul in need.  

At Mass today we celebrated Epiphany and we heard of the wise men who came from a far distance to all come together to pay homage to Our Lord.  The responsorial psalm was "Every nation on Earth will adore you Lord".  There was a feeling Our Lord had held His hand from bringing more children to this group for He wanted the help to come from us.  How can we help a group in England when many of us live thousands of miles away?  He was showing us that we can help from where ever we are if we unify together in prayer.  There are several small groups that I am thinking of who would so love to have people join them but then I remember larger groups that unexpectedly had a short drop off of attendance which hits a group leader hard.  Therefore I know that to say there are only certain groups that need our prayers would be wrong.  Rather I am sending out an invitation to all, inviting you to stay close to our website and when a group is listed to meet please try to join them.  I think of my own children often we are not at home when a group meets yet whether in the car or walking we just begin praying.  The children are now used to this break in our routine if they hear a group is meeting.  They understand that there are children somewhere or a person doing what they do monthly.  They can imagine the children and they understand the urgency to just begin prayer where ever we are.  There are times when one cannot join in the Rosary such as times during work or doing school. This too is a humbling fact to accept we cannot do everything ourselves.  While I would always like to be able to unify prayers with all the groups this may not be possible and that is why Our Lord shows us we need each other.  If we all try our best to unify prayers with the Children's Rosary groups think of how many people will be joined together.  I like to I imagine the light of a group shining up to heaven...then another family joins them and brings a twinkle..another family from another part of the world and so on.  Such a sight from Heaven looking down.  Little lights sparkling together unified in prayer of the Rosary led by a child's voice.  Yes I believe this is the lesson Our Lord is trying to teach us...a unity in prayer from all corners of the world.  

Image: NASA/NOAA

If you our able to unify prayers with a group please consider doing this.  In these small little ways we help each other.  We show through our spiritual presence that they are not alone...what they are doing is important to you.  A list of the groups and when they meet can be found here.  Thank you all so much.  Through all of you we can illuminate the world in a unity of prayer.

Upcoming days schedules of when Children's Rosary groups are meeting are posted frequently on this site.