Gifts

Several members of the Children's Rosary

This past week during our 9 days of prayer and fasting, the Lord has showered a great many gifts down on the Children's Rosary.  I would like to humbly share some of those blessings.  The first 5 days of the fast we spent in San Antonio, Texas.  During those days in San Antonio we met a great many people who interested in helping spread the Children's Rosary.  With members of the Children's Rosary intensifying prayers and also fasting it seemed that many hearts were open to hearing about the Children's Rosary. I would like to share several of the meetings that have happened during the fast.

On our third day in San Antonio, we met a beautiful young blind women in San Fernando Cathedral.  She was very interested in the Children's Rosary and immediately thought of three children she gives singing lessons to at the Cathedral who might be able to help her begin a group.  When I offered to have braille materials sent to her about the Children's Rosary through the Xavier Society for the Blind, she said she could not read braille as her blindness is very new.  My eight year old son and I felt our meeting with her a very special blessing.  She also mentioned that she would be going to a conference in the New Year of cantors from around the country.  She expressed interest in telling those she might meet about the Children's Rosary.  To see such a heart so open to help especially when she was dealing with her recent loss of her sight seemed overwhelming to us. Yet the Lord would continue to show us the charity and love in the hearts of many we would meet on our trip. 

Later in the week during Adoration at St. Joseph Church in San Antonio a father approached my son and asking for prayers for his own 11 year old son who he is having trouble bringing to Mass.  We told him we would pray for his son and shared with him about the Children's Rosary.  Indeed it was also a gift to see a father reaching out and asking the children for help and prayers.  We are all broken in some way and we need each other.  To see another soul asking for help especially from a child was very special.  

The following day we met a mother of eleven after Mass, she was there with several of her young children.  In talking to her about the Children's Rosary I noticed she was having problems hearing and had her daughter repeat many parts of what was said back to her.  She told me she is going deaf.  I felt an immediate connection to this mom and seeing her daughter helping her, it reminded me of my own daughter who is always helping me as I have a joint disability that prevents me from much use of my hands.  

This mother of 11 was very excited to help begin a Children's Rosary in her parish and took some of our materials and also was quick to tell her friends visiting from Sydney, Australia about the Children's Rosary.  

Photo taken by a member of the Children's Rosary

The blessings continued as we were flying home to Connecticut.  A kind women sitting next to my son began to talk to him.  We were preparing to land and she mentioned that she had a rare medical condition that leads to progressive loss of sight.  She said prayer really helps. I asked her what type of prayer.  She said the Rosary.  This opened up a conversation about the Children's Rosary and the possibility she might be able to bring this to her parish and grandchildren.

Indeed it would seem that Our Lord was bringing us special gifts all week.  Showing us the many people who have so much to give.  It would seem since the beginning of the Children's Rosary those with disabilities have had a special place.  As founder of the Children's Rosary, I have a disability and many children and group leaders that have been involved with the Children's Rosary have disabilities as well.  No matter what a person's physical, mental ability or age it would seem Our Lord has a beautiful role for them.  Recently we have been in contact with the priest who is in charge of outreach to deaf community in the Archdiocese of Boston.  This priest is also deaf.  We had the special grace of meeting him at the World Meeting of Families and have subsequently been in touch with him.  He is looking into holding a Children's Rosary monthly with the children who are deaf that gather together for catechises in sign language. To imagine a Children's Rosary composed of all deaf children signing the prayers is a magnificent thought to contemplate.  We pray that in the future this will indeed become a reality. 

May I humbly thank all of you who have increased your prayers this week and also given sacrifices to Our Lord as part of the International Week of Prayer and Fasting.  As a special thank you a Mass is being offered tomorrow, October 25th, through the Capuchin Missions for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary.

Thank you all and God Bless!

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary Book
EWTN Interview About the Children's Rosary