Introducing our New Children's Rosary Bumper Sticker

We are excited to introduce our new bumper sticker.  This is just another effort to help increase awareness of the Children's Rosary and help give children the opportunity to develop a deeper prayer life with their peers and family.

As you can see it is not an overwhelming sticker and has a simple message: Help Bring Our Children to Prayer.  To include the message limited the size of the lettering but it can easily be read walking by the car.  It is also visible if one were directly behind the car at a light.  Please let us know if you would like to have a bumper sticker sent to you and the quantities desired.  

Recommended donation is:
1 Bumper sticker plus large envelope and shipping $6.00
Each additional bumper sticker $4.00

If you are interested in bumper stickers please contact us at: www.contactchildrensrosary@gmail.com  
Please provide your name and address and how many you would like.

Donations for the bumper stickers can be made online with our donate button present on the right margin or made out to Children's Rosary Inc and mailed to PO Box 271743 West Hartford CT 06127

What continues to impress me is how members of the  Children's Rosary take every little resource available and use it to the maximum extent to get the word out about this Apostolate.  Pictures I have sent to new groups later I have seen have been used for posters in their parish.  

Thank you all so much for your tireless efforts to help bring children to prayer and spread this prayer movement to every corner of the world.

Join the Children In Prayer

Today we are blessed to have at least three Children's Rosary groups meeting.  Two groups are meeting at the exact same time despite being in different time zones and many miles a part. Please consider joining the Children in prayer from your home.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lago, Nigeria 1PM ET
The Children's Rosary at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Brentwood, California will meet at 6:30 PM ET in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Children's Rosary at St. Martin Church in Kingsville, Texas will meet at 6:30 PM ET.

Introducing our Newsletter: Vineyard

Recently we released the first edition of the Vineyard.  The newsletter is available electronically.  All those interested in receiving a copy please contact us at the following email address and we would be happy to send you a copy: www.contactchildrensrosary@gmail.com  

As today's Gospel reading was part of Scripture that inspired the name of our newsletter, I thought it would be a fitting time to introduce our newsletter on our website.

First grapes grown in our yard after extensive pruning

Why is the Children's Rosary Newsletter called the Vineyard?

This is a reasonable question as the two do not at first glance seem to naturally fit together.  In settling on a name for our newsletter I was reminded of how St. Francis of Assisi came on many of the founding tenants of his order.  A Bible was randomly opened and direction was found straight from Sacred Scripture.  The same approach was taken here.  After praying to the Holy Spirit for direction a Bible was opened at random and the first word which came into view was vineyard.  Further reflection and contemplation brought a wonderful treasure of possible reasons for such a name. 

In the Gospel of John, Our Lord shares:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples".(John 15:1-8)

There is something beautiful about the phrase, “apart from me you can do nothing”.    A child in so many ways embodies this sentiment as a small child has total dependence on a parent.  Little ones would perish if they were not continually fed and cared for by their parents.  Such is the way our Heavenly Father desires us to abandon ourselves to Him.  Our Lord Jesus invites us, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”.(Matthew 11:28) 

It is through the hands of these little children and the Rosary that we may all be led to the warm embrace of Our Lord. For it is said, “whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it”(Mark 10:15).

Children's Rosary Today

Today we are blessed to have two Children's Rosary groups meeting:

Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate, Lago Nigeria 1PM ET

Children's Rosary at Holy Redeemer Parish in Menominee, Michigan 5PM CT

Please consider joining the children in prayer.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

Priests for Life

Recently we had the pleasure of speaking with Fr. Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, about the Children's Rosary.  He spent a great deal of time speaking with Asher, one of the members of the Children's Rosary.  Fr. Pavone was very excited to hear of the many Children's Rosary prayer groups that now exist across the globe and wanted to share this message.

"Children praying the Rosary give great encouragement to the Pro-life Movement!  They are closer in age to the children we are are all trying to protect, and they remind us of their preciousness. Therefore I encourage all to participate in the Children's Rosary Prayer Group Movement!" -Fr. Frank Pavone

One of the prayer intentions that each Children's Rosary group lifts up during their prayers is for the protection of the unborn.  It is very important for our children to pray for these little ones and by their presence celebrate life.

Early in the day we had several opportunities to speak with Fr. Pavone and he truly showed such kindness and humor with little Asher who very much enjoyed speaking to Fr. Pavone on various topics.

Candid moments with Fr. Pavone

Wonderful Discussion

Fr. Pavone was so kind as to offer to pray over Asher and I before parting. As some of you many have read Asher's health took a down turn later in the day with a terrible stomach flu.  These blessings we received certainly helped us on our return bus trip. 

For more information about forming a Children's Rosary group in your parish click here.

A Grandmother's Experience with the Children's Rosary

"St Francis of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica"
by Nate age 5

Recently I received a lovely note from a grandmother who has been a part of the Children's Rosary.  Her own daughter was very sick through her pregnancy and had reached out to our groups for prayers.  It was our joy to pray for her daughter and the little baby she carries.    Her note below is a beautiful example of the amazing capacity children have for prayer and love of Our Lady and her Son.  It also so wonderfully shows how grandparents can foster faith in their grandchildren through beginning a Children's Rosary.

Dearest Blythe,
Know that you and your family and Apostolate are ever in my heart and prayers.  I have begun praying the Rosary with my grandson Nate who is 5. For the very first time last week he prayed the entire Rosary with me using your booklet.  He loved the Luminous Mysteries and read them and the Thinking of portion of the prayers.  It was so beautiful and I knew we were united through the Immaculate Heart of Our Holy Mother in a very special and powerful way to all the groups. So I would like to register as a group.

Barb goes on to share a bit about her grandson Nate.
He has loved "Mama Mary" since he could talk and loves the Saints.  He is a little prayer warrior! At 5 he has composed prayers and songs to Jesus that he has typed himself, printed, and inserted in a binder. He has 42 pages so far.  He also loves to build cathedrals and basilicas dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I have included one picture but I have many(see above).  After receiving this note I asked her if Nate had a name for this Basilica he had built?  This was her response:
He wanted me to tell you the official name: St Francis of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica".    I knew it was important to him so I am dashing this off to you with love and prayers! Nate said to tell you "Thanks".  :)

Other Posts you may enjoy:
A lesson Pope Francis learned from his grandmother
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Here is what Clergymen, Parents and Children have to say about the Children's Rosary
Collaboration with the Catholic Grandparents Association.

A Long Winter

As many of you may be aware of who live in the United States it has been a long cold winter.  Even today on May 16th there is word of some snow in Chicago.  Strange but apparently true. As we celebrated the Memorial of St. Isidore, the Patron Saint of farmers this week, I thought it might be timely to share some experiences from our garden.

Now I must tell you we live on a very small piece of land in a town so garden space is precious.  Two years ago our family tried to grow parsnips for the first time in one of our raised beds.  The seeds were planted in the spring.  All summer and fall we waited and watched as these tiny seedlings barely grew. As fall harvest came we looked at these tiny little plants and realized for some reason they had not made any parsnips.  It was generally a great disappointment.  Not wanting to pull out living plants at the end of the season we left them in the ground.  The next spring we noticed some very thick green shoots that looked much like a carrot green but thicker.  I wasn't sure what it was for a while.  By the time I realized that indeed these were some of the parsnips from the previous summer the plants had "bolted" a term referring to the plant sending up a shoot to form seeds.  The children pulled out the plant to reveal a tiny parsnip too tiny to eat. I was disappointed but in reading a very old gardening book written by a gardener from our area, it explained that if a plant makes it through a winter it will indeed produce fruit but harvest quickly as it will go to seed very fast.  It has been through so much it quickly tries to ensure the next generation before harsh weather kills it.  With this piece of knowledge I was poised for the following year.  We left the remaining parsnips that had gone to seed and left them alone.  In the fall the whole bed looked like snow with parsnip seeds through the whole bed.  There were also some random little parsnip plants as well. With record cold this year I wondered if any of the plants would live through the winter.  As the snow melted one of the first things to emerge were 5 strong shoots.  There was no mistaking them this year.  A few parsnips had made it.  

As my hands are too weak now for gardening due to a disability with my joints I called our son Asher who is in first grade.  He came over and with all his might he pulled.  One of the medium sized parsnips on the table came out.  We were intrigued by the many extensions that came out of the parsnip.  The one he had pulled out had three distinct roots all attached at the top.  He began to try to pull another one out but could not.  Later our 13 year old daughter Alina and my husband set to work to remove the others.  It was comical to see them sinking their hands deep into the ground trying to get under each root.  Pulling very hard they came to light. These larger parsnips were even more unusual looking then Asher's first one.  This was all new to us.  We wondered how these strange looking parsnips would taste.  With a roast chicken these roots were cut up.  The roots were so big we needed a second glass dish to cook the remaining ones.  As our family sat down to dinner we all could not believe how sweet these parsnips were.  My husband said he thought they were the sweetest parsnips he had ever tasted.  A couple of things struck me about these parsnips.  
Through the severe weather of the winter with extreme cold and harsh conditions a few things happened.  The parsnips lost their "normal" appearance and were deformed.  This deformation allowed them to extend like many tiny fingers into the soil so removing them was a difficult task indeed.  As weather broke and fair weather came they were the strongest looking parsnips I have seen with thick healthy shoots.  Their mission was not to sit around and enjoy the weather but to pass on what they had to future generations...quickly.  Upon removing them despite their disfigured appearance they were tender and sweet.  

The effect of "suffering" or trials on these plants seemed much the same as the effect suffering has on us when we unify it with the suffering of Our Lord.  We may less and less resemble our old selves but to Our Lord these sufferings produce sweetness in our soul when endured with love.   Our ability to sustain and survive further trials increases and when the sun comes out our leaves are thick and lush.  We care less and less for the material things of this world.  Instead we have our eyes looking upward and also have a desire to pass on such faith to our children and the next generation.  It is beautiful that Our Lord who spoke often of farming in the Gospels, helps us understand many things through nature around us and toiling with the land.  These lessons are particularly helpful for our children who love to work in the garden and who in a special way seem to understand many of these things easily.

You may also like the following posts:
Finding Answers to Our Spiritual Questions in the Garden.