Children's Rosary Book Available in Braille

We are very excited to share that our Children's Rosary book in English is now available in Braille through the Xavier Society.   

The Xavier Society is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1900 in New York City USA. Its mission is simple: to make writings on religion and spirituality available to the blind. This is continued today. All materials available to the blind through the Xavier Society are free.  One only needs to register with them and both braille and audio materials can be sent throughout the United States and in some cases abroad.  

Our Children's Rosary book and Glorious Mysteries Cd which contains our theme song Rosary Children are now available through the Xavier Society and they have offered to make these available to both Domestic requests and those outside the United States as well.  

The timing of this braille transcription of our English Children's Rosary book is perfect as a request had just come two weeks ago from a blind women wanting to begin a Children's Rosary prayer group in her parish.  She was requesting Braille materials and so beautifully these are now available.

Looking back to our first meetings of the Children's Rosary many of the children who attended had disabilities and even as founder of the Children's Rosary, I myself have a disability involving my joints.  As the Pastor of my parish is fond of saying, every set back is a set up for the glory of God.  There has been an appreciation that Our Lord is calling all His children to Him.  In a special way, those with disabilities must have a tender place in His heart.  To have materials for blind children and those with disabilities that allow them to participate in the Children's Rosary is very important to us.  In this way we are celebrating this new Braille transcription as we hope it will be an invitation to more children especially those who may be blind to join the Children's Rosary.  

We also would like to humbly ask those who may be blind to prayerfully consider beginning a Children's Rosary prayer group in their parish.  

We thank all of you for your prayers.  This gift of the an English Braille transcription of our book is a special gift and one that is the fruit of many prayers.

Please also prayerfully consider making a donation to the Children's Rosary to help with our efforts to make our CDs and printed books available to the Xavier Society at no cost to this organization.  Donations can be made electronically with the donate button on the right margin of our website or mailed to:

Children's Rosary
PO Box 271743
West Hartford CT 06127 USA
Checks can be made out to Children's Rosary Inc.

For more information about obtaining materials through the Xavier Society they can be reached at:
www.xaviersocietyfortheblind.org
Xavier Society for the Blind
Two Penn Plaza Suite 1102
New York, NY 10121
Phone number: (212) 473-7800

Thank you all

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Do You have Thirty Minutes a Month?
What is the Rosary?

Relics of the Passion

Last Tuesday evening we were blessed to have the Relics of the Passion visit a Church near us.  I was grateful to be able to attend.  Among the relics present was a piece of the True Cross as well as many other beautiful relics from Our Lords Passion.  In a special way I prayed for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary.  

Several other members of the Children's Rosary were also present that evening.  One was a young girl and her mother.  They were present at the very first meeting of the Children's Rosary on April 10th 2011 and continue to be a very important part of the Children's Rosary.  For privacy reasons I would like to refer to this young girl as Little Flower as in many ways she is a sweet innocent flower whose mission it would seem is to to bear a heavy burden of suffering and yet always praise Our Lord.  Her ways of praising Our Lord come from the Heart as she is nonverbal.  She is completely dependent on the care of Our Lord which comes many times through the selfless hands of her mother.  The gentle and loving way her mother cares for her is a witness to us all of the bounty of Love Our Lord has for each of us especially those that are the most fragile and weak.

Last Tuesday as the veneration of the relics began, Little Flower was brought by wheelchair to each relic.  The Knights of Columbus stood with reverence holding each piece.  Tenderly she was allowed to approach the relics.  When she came to the relic of St. Longinus, the centurion who pierced the side of Jesus, she passionately took the case before her and kissed it with so much love.  All present were amazed.  The fact that a photograph was taken at just that moment was also providential.  

In thinking about the Little Flower and her mother this week,  I began to appreciate the mystery of Our Blessed Mother and her Son.  This little girl was called to the very first Children's Rosary.  With the help of her mother she has placed roses at the foot of Our Lady when a decade is prayed during our meetings.  Through the Rosary Our Lady leads her children to her Son.  In a special way I could see this innocent child clinging to the bone that released so much mercy upon the world as a little hand opening a door once again to a bounty of love not just for herself but for all of us.  How precious must be the prayers of these little children.  

In a special way I hope the Little Flower is a quiet witness of simple love and an invitation to all children especially those who many might think are not capable to pray or honor Our Lord to come to the Children's Rosary.  All children big and small have a home in the Children's Rosary.

Thank you all and please know you are all held in the prayers of the children.

Other posts you may enjoy:
How to Start a Children's  Rosary
No one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord
Give and it will be given to you

Why are Some Children Born with Disabilities?

Patty Schweitzer

This is a question that I found myself asking some years ago.  As I myself was born with a genetic disability that in my 20s began to fully manifest itself into significant limitations requiring help from my family for many normal tasks.  Recently, my 6 year old son was diagnosed with this same genetic condition.  Yet there are children born with even more severe disabilities than mine which present in a profound way from birth.  Why should these children suffer from the moment they enter the world?  What would be the reason for this?  Several years ago I heard an answer at Mass which came from the Gospel of John: 

As He passed by He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him” (John 9:1-3).

Today at the funeral Mass of Patty Schweitzer I understood these words in the most beautiful way.  Little Patty was born with severe disabilities preventing her from speaking or caring for herself.  The doctors told her parents that she would never be able to do anything or understand what was being said to her.  However, Patty came from a loving Lord and was born into a loving family with two gentle parents and later 5 siblings.  Today at her funeral Mass her siblings would say she was the center of their family.  Patty taught them compassion and love.  For those who knew her and her family we would say her family taught us so beautifully through their example the deepest and most sincere form of love tested through suffering and sacrifice.  Yet all this was done with a joy that could not be missed.  Despite the heart break that clearly was visible on the faces of Patty’s parents today there was a joy that their sweet angel was flying high.  Although Patty was on this earth 51 years she looked very much like a child.  Her casket was tiny and one would expect it only to fit a 6 or 7 year old child.  During visitation hours last night she lay with her favorite doll and stuffed animal in her pretty pink tulle dress. 

During the funeral there was so much love present in that Church that for a time the Kingdom of Heaven dipped down right into our midst.  Tears rolled down my face but not out of sadness.  To be in the presence of that much love brings weeping of joy at the taste of something so pure and good.  Yes, this is when I understood the words the Lord had said to the apostles.  As Ave Maria was sung I looked at Our Lady depicted holding baby Jesus and one could feel the love of Our Lady for her children.  Through Patty the love of Our Lord could be felt and that of His Mother for her children.  It was true, through children such as these “the works of God might be made visible”.