An Arm Full of Prayers to Present to Our Lady

TWENTY CHILDREN'S ROSARY GROUPS TO MEET OVER THE NEXT 4 DAYS

PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER

First Meeting of the Children's Rosary in Sulphur, Louisiana USA

December 6th First Friday (Feast of St Nicholas) 
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Orange, TX to meet at 7:05AM
Children's Rosary at St. James Church in Madison Georgia to meet at 4PM during Adoration
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Adrian Michigan to meet at 5PM during Adoration

December 7th First Saturday
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis Oregon to meet at 9AM Pacific time
Children's Rosary at St. Agnes Church in Naples, Florida to meet at 9:30 AM EST
Children's Rosary to meet at Our Lady of LaSalette Parish in Sulphur, Louisiana at 9:30 AM
Children's Rosary at Holy Family Parish in Syracuse, NY to meet at 10 AM at the Daughters of St Mary Chapel
Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart Church in East Berlin, CT to meet at 10AM EST
Children's Rosary at ST. Pius Church in Wolcott CT to meet at 10:30 AM EST(FIRST MEETING)
Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart Parish in Middleboro, MA to meet at 2PM EST
Children's Rosary at the Immaculate Conception Basilica to meet at 3:30 PM EST
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Hartford CT to meet at 3PM EST
Children's Rosary at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Richmond, Virginia to meet at 4PM (FIRST MEETING)

December 8th (Feast of the Immaculate Conception)
Children's Rosary at St. Francis of Assisi Church in South Windsor CT 8:45 AM EST
Children's Rosary at Our Lady and St. Patrick's Church in Nottingham, England to meet at 9AM local time in England
Children's Rosary at St. Thomas the Apostle in West Hartford CT 9:45AM EST
Children's Rosary at St. Thomas in Thomaston CT 11AM EST
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church Hanover, PA 2PM EST (FIRST MEETING)

December 9th
Children's Rosary at St. Patrick Parish in Murphys California 4PM Pacific Time
Children's Rosary at St. John the Evangelist in Mahopac NY at 4:30 PM EST during Adoration

On this beautiful weekend when we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception it is wonderful to have so many children bringing Our Blessed Mother beautiful gifts of prayers.  It is Our Blessed Mother, conceived without sin, who takes these bouquets of prayers and presents them to her Son.  

Thank you all for helping to make these four days grace filled and blessed.

God Bless you all. Amen.

More pictures from the first meeting of the Children's Rosary in Sulphur, LA click here.

A Gift to Our Lady of Guadalupe from the Children's Rosary

In 1531 Our Lady appeared to a poor Indian, Juan Diego,  at Tepeyac Mexico and left her miraculous image on his tilma.  Our Lady is depicted in the local dress of the Aztecs and her black sash indicates she is with child.

Mary asked that a a Church be built at the site of her apparition.

Bl.  John Paul II visited the Basilica built on the location of the apparition four times during his papacy: 1979, 1990, 1999 and 2002.  During his visit in 1999 he entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.

Last year the Children's Rosary began a tradition where we requested a Mass to be said on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the Unborn. It is our hope and prayer that this year we may bring to Our Lady a great many Masses for this intention.  Just as Juan Diego dropped the Tilma in front of the Bishop and roses spilled out as a sign of Our Lady's visit.  We hope to humbly carry a bouquet of Masses before Our Lady and lay them out before her so that she may take them to her Son.

If anyone would like to request Masses for December 12th 2013 for the Unborn these can be requested through your parish or through many mission groups such as the Capuchins.  St. Padre Pio was a member of the Capuchins. Masses can be requested through them to be celebrated on December 12th.  The phone number to request a Mass through the Capuchin Missions is:  
1-(877)737-9050 or www.seraphicmass.org

Please send us an email to let us know if you have requested a Mass.  Send emails to blythe.kaufman@gmail.com

Thank you all and God Bless!!

What Do the Mysteries of the Rosary Mean to Our Children

AN INVITATION TO OUR CHILDREN

"I praise you Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to the little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do." (Luke 10:21)

What does the Nativity mean to you?
"After Jesus' birth the world is so Holy" -Asher age 6

As the Children's Rosary is a prayer group movement composed of children and led by children we would like to enlist their help.  On Wednesdays we currently highlight words from our Children.  In a special way I would like to ask the children to share what the mysteries of the Rosary mean to them.  We would like to begin with the Nativity as we are in Advent.  Artwork submissions should be approximately 8.5 x 11 in size either mailed or scanned and then emailed.  Any medium is fine: paint, colored pencil, marker etc.  Please try and have the picture bright enough to be appreciated. Sometimes pencil does not come out well when scanned.  The submissions will be highlighted here on our website.  Please have the children include in the bottom right hand corner of the page their: 
first name
age
town, city, state, and country

Submissions do not have to be in English.  The idea is to have a picture and phrase if possible.  Parents are welcome to help write the phrase the child is trying to convey if the child is too small to write.

Submissions can be mailed to:

PO Box 271743
West Hartford CT 06127

Email submissions should be sent to:
blythe.kaufman@gmail.com

Over the next three weeks we would like to highlight drawings from the children on the Nativity.  The question to ask them is: 
What does the Nativity Mean to them?

If you are not able to send in pictures now we will be seeking pictures of other mysteries in the upcoming year. Submissions deadlines for other mysteries are included below:

Schedule of Submissions for each upcoming Mysteries:
Joyful Mysteries
Annunciation (submissions by March 15th 2014)
Visitation (submission by May 24th)
Nativity deadline (submissions during Advent no later than December 23rd)
Presentation (submissions by January 25th 2014)

This request for artwork comes out of seeing my own children who love to draw the mysteries of the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross.  It seems to be a way that they process what is going on.  Plus as adults we can be enlightened at what is revealed to them as is the wish of Our Heavenly Father.

Readings which may be helpful for the children when thinking about the mystery of the Nativity or Birth of Christ: Luke 2:1-21

St Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier honored by the Church on Dec 3rd

"It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards a one's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken".-Saint Francis Xavier

St. Francis is considered one of the wonderful missionaries of Our Church history.  He is known as the "Apostle to the Indies"  and also the "Apostle of Japan".  He was of Spanish birth but spent his life evangelizing the world.  He died in 1552 and his body was later found to be incorrupt.

Today we ask St. Francis Xavier to pray for our families and the Children's Rosary.  May we be a docile instrument in the Hands of Our Lord and be guided in all things by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Please consider joining our children in prayer tomorrow.  The Children's Rosary at Trinity Academy in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania will be meeting at 12:20 EST.  Our Children's Rosary at St. Patrick's Parish in Angels Camp, CA will meet at 4 PM Pacific Time.  The children always pray for all those unifying prayers with them.

Thank you all and God Bless.

The Children's Rosary Welcomes Our Lady of Czestochowa

Procession of Our Lady of Czestochowa led by
the Children's Rosary

A traveling Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa which has journeyed from Poland through Russian and across Europe arrived in the US on August 24th 2013.  It has been traveling to Churches throughout the Northeast.  This past weekend the Icon was hosted by the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury Connecticut.  The Icon was brought into the Basilica led by members of the Children's Rosary and the Knights of Columbus.  The Basilica is a special home to the Knights of Columbus as their founder Ven Fr. McGivney celebrated his first Mass in the Basilica.  

Once Our Lady of Czestochowa was carried up the aisle and seated on the altar, the Children's Rosary led hundreds who had gathered in prayer of the Holy Rosary.  At the conclusion of the Rosary the children humbly carried vases of flowers and placed them before Our Lady. This was followed by Holy Mass celebrated by pastor Fr. Bevins and Fr. Peter West.  Fr. West of Human Life International has been traveling with the Icon while it is in the United States.

Members of the Children's Rosary placed flowers before Our Lady
at the conclusion of the Rosary

The story of Our Lady of Czestochowa affectionately called the Black Madonna holds that St. Luke painted the image on a cypress table used by the Holy Family.  The Icon was later discovered in a cave by St. Helen and brought to Jerusalem.  The icon later traveled to the Ukraine where it remained for approximately 600 hundred years until its final resting place in Poland in 1382.

Pope John Paul II visited Our Lady of Czestochowa four times during his papacy.

Members of several different Children's Rosary groups were able to attend the Procession and Children's Rosary on November 30th at the Basilica.  One of the special prayer intentions of this ocean to ocean pilgrimage of Our Lady of Czestochowa is one of respect life at all stages.  Seeing the children leading a Rosary before Our Lady was such a wonderful celebration of life.  These little ones as young as 5 led the Rosary.  Seeing these little faces one feels in the heart that our children are a treasure given to us and their prayers are particularly special to their Heavenly Mother and her Son.

The Icon of Our Lady will leave the Northeast in the New Year and begin its migration across the US. Every day more parishes are added to its journey.  Please consider inviting Our Lady to your parish.  In a special way this night I pray that members of the Children's Rosary from across the US will consider inviting Our Lady to visit their parish.  

Thank you as always dear Friends in Christ.

More information about the traveling Icon: http://www.fromoceantoocean.org/
Those interested in scheduling  a vist please contact: blackmadonna@hli.org

Prayers of the Children Spreading Coast to Coast

Children's Rosary at St. Patrick Parish

In a small mission parish in the Sierra foothills children can be found in prayer.  Yes the prayer so loved by Our Lady and her Son the Holy Rosary. This little parish is small in size but bountiful in our most precious gifts: those of our children.  Several weeks ago the formation director from St. Patrick Parish in Angels Camp, California contacted me with an interest in forming a Children's Rosary in her parishes faith formation program.
  
The scenario was this: she had 80 children meeting Wednesday evenings at 4PM for one hour and another 20 children in the neighboring town of Murphys meeting on Monday evenings at 4PM.  She had heard of the Children's Rosary through a friend who knew a Children's Rosary group leader from St. Mary's Church in Corvallis, Oregon USA.  She had watched our EWTN show and felt a call to begin a Children's Rosary.  

Together we spoke about her classes which include children ages 5 to 13.  With such a large group of children there was a hope we could bring the intimate feel of a prayer group yet involve all the children in her program.  Our plan was this.  As her faith formation class meets weekly, she would hold her Children's Rosary for the first 20 minutes of class with all the grades assembled together in the Church.  Two classes totally approximately 20 children would be the leaders .  A Younger class would be paired with an older class as this would provide mentorship in both directions, the older children helping with the prayers and the younger children sharing their innocent openness to prayer and Our Lady.  The two classes leading would kneel before the altar and a small statue of Our Lady.  In turns the children would go to the podium and lead a decade.  At the end of each decade a flower would be placed at the foot of Our Lady while an adult was saying Mary we humbly place this rose at your feet and ask for the grace of faith if it were the first glorious mystery(the graces asked for correspond to the fruits of the mysteries).  Pairs or triplets could lead each decade so all 20 children could be involved with either leading a decade or placing a flower.  The remaining children in the grades not leading would be participating in the pews kneeling in prayer of the Rosary as well.  The parents of the children leading that week could be invited to join and pray the Rosary.  As there are 4 weeks per month each group would lead once a month and all the children could be included.  The Children's Rosary groups would therefore still have that small feel yet function within a larger group.  The pairing of classes would persist year after year until a class graduates in this way relationships could be established just as in an adult prayer group.  

On Wednesday November 20th Angel's Camp held their first Children's Rosary.  The children leading are pictured above just before starting the Rosary.  The roses and Our Lady carefully held by two sweet angels.

A picture was also taken of the many children kneeling in prayer from the pews.  So many prayers going up to Our Lady to present to her Son.  It is a beautiful image to contemplate.  Each prayer drifting heavenward. 

The Holy Rosary is a wonderful way to ground a faith formation program.  Bl. John Paul II in his Apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae describes the Rosary as "Christ-Centered" as it followes the beautiful events of the life of Our Lord.  In prayerful contemplation of these mysteries subsequent discussions of Christmas and the Passion begin to fall into place.  Our Lady is also present in prayer to assist in the faith formation of these little ones as she did with her own Son.  Our Blessed Mother's assistance in raising children either at home or in a school or catechism program is such a beautiful grace. As a mother of three who struggles daily with patience and love I take such solace knowing that through the Prayers of the Rosary Our Lady makes up for so many deficiencies and provides that love that at times we feel unable to give.  

Today we have two Children's Rosary groups meeting.  The Children's Rosary at St. Patrick's Parish in Murphys, CA will meet at 4PM Pacific time. The Children's Rosary at St. John the Evangelist in Mahopac, NY will meet at 4:30 PM EST. This group in NY has chosen to meet weekly in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  Please consider joining the children in prayer.  The Children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

You may also like the following posts:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Our Children are Open to Prayer They Only Need an Invitation

Monthly Mass Offered for Seminarians

Today a Mass was offered for all seminarians that they may grow in holiness and lead us all in love.  This year the Children's Rosary has chosen to pray for seminarians in a special way.  They are our future shepherds and the children are the future flock.  Each month on the first of the month a Mass is offered through the Capuchin missions.

A special thank you to all the men who have answered Our Heavenly Father's call.  You are all a special gift to us and we pray for you.