Children's Rosary to Air on Holy Spirit Radio

The Children's Rosary received a beautiful surprise.  After a great many prayers from members all around the world that we would be able to bring the Children's Rosary to the airwaves, good news comes just before Christmas.  Holy Spirit Radio, which airs in regions of Pennsylvania USA (Philadelphia/Doyleston area on WISP 1570 AM, Coatsville/Chester County WCOJ 1420 AM and live online), wrote to us that our Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary led by the children will air on three days during their 3PM Holy Hour.  The dates which were chosen are beautiful:

Sunday December 28th Feast of the Holy Family
Monday December 29th (OM) St. Thomas Becket
Monday January 5th (M) St. John Neumann

While we have released the Glorious and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary led by the children on CD we have yet to release the Luminous or Joyful.  These we hope to release in the spring of 2015 as we are still recording some original music which we hope to include on the CDs.  However the Rosary tracks led by the children set to beautiful instrumental music are complete and available to radio stations who would like to air them.  There is something special about the voices of young children praying. Through their innocence their voices touch hearts in a very special way.  

December 28th will mark the first time the children's recordings of the Joyful mysteries will be heard. 

Taking this gift of the three airings to prayer one begins to see there is a treasure of beautiful tiny gifts packed into this package of three. Our Lord in His wisdom hands out these gifts after much prayer and sacrifice that we may savor each one, carefully looking at it and appreciating each facet. Praying about it further one sees how carefully and deliberately He selected the gifts that are given.  
The Feast of the Holy Family is a most glorious date to to have been given for our first full airing of the Children's Rosary Joyful Mysteries.  The Feast of the Holy Family usually is celebrated on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year. A little know fact about the Children's Rosary is that the first meeting of the Children's Rosary was held in 2011 in a chapel named after the Holy Family.  Many are aware of the name of the parish (St. Thomas the Apostle) but few are aware that the lower chapel where the children met is actually named after the Holy Family. It is beautiful to contemplate Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus leading our children in their journey of prayer. Indeed as each child, together with other little ones, prays and contemplates the life of Jesus in the mysteries of the Rosary, they come to know and love Our Lord and their heavenly family.  The love within this Holy Family embracing them and leads them in love which flows into their own families at home.   

The 28th of December is also a special day as it remembers the Holy Innocents that were killed as Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt with the baby Jesus.  Indeed a reminder of the important role little children played in the life of Our Lord. 

December 29th the Eastern Church remembers the Holy Innocents.  It is is a Monday within the Octave of Christmas.  It is also an optional memorial of St. Thomas Becket.  He was an English Bishop who was martyred. St. Thomas was known for his love of Our Lady, his piety and generosity to the poor. All beautiful qualities to mirror. Interestingly he was born on the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. 
  
January 5th is the Memorial of St. John Neumann.  Originally from Bohemia in Europe he traveled to the United States to become ordained a priest as there were so many priests in his home region that the local Bishop had decided not to ordain any more priests for a period of time.  As St. John Neumann could find no Bishop in Europe to ordain him he traveled across the Atlantic to New York.  His desire to reach out to all individuals drew him to learn 6 languages so that he could offer the sacrament of reconciliation to diverse group of people.  He also was committed to Catholic Education of young people and helped to open many Catholic schools throughout the United States. He would become Bishop of Philadelphia which interestingly is the city where our Children's Rosary will air on his Feast.  We have found St. John Neumann to be a powerful intercessor for the Children's Rosary with many little blessings occurring throughout our journey. 

Indeed there are so many special things about these dates.  As one spends more time in prayer and reading, more and more connections are made.  That is the beauty of Our Lord His gifts are rich in meaning and show us that He is watching over every detail.  

May we humbly ask all who are reading this to request that your local radio stations air the Children's Rosary near you. We make available all the Children's Rosary recordings free to the stations to air. Please direct then to our site and also ask them to email us at contactchildrensrosary@gmail.com

Thank you so much.  Please know that you are in our prayers.

Packages for Kenya

This week the children sent boxes to our 6 Children's Rosary groups in Kenya.  Each box was tenderly packed with Rosaries, handmade cards and many other goodies.

Each box contained a read aloud children's Bible for each group.  Additionally our Children's Rosary CDs and prayer books were also included with sheet music for our theme song "Rosary Children".  As we have a first class relic of St. Anne the grandmother of Jesus and St. Therese the Little Flower visiting our home each item was touched to the relic and prayers said for all those who receive them.

As the children wanted everything perfect, the assembly of these boxes took several weeks.  Other groups from around the world also joined in making cards in their Children's Rosary groups which they sent to Kenya.  Indeed as the letters and packages were mailed one could imagine the journey each would take.  In much the same way the wise men set out for their long journey.

One of the destinations of the boxes is our Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Grace Home in Meru, Kenya.  Over 190 children live in this orphanage. They hold a Children's Rosary each Monday. 

As two of my own children spent a good bit of their childhood living in an orphanage before we adopted them, they were eager to share their favorite books with the children when we realized there was a bit more room in the box.  Kostin our 10 year old son wanted them to have his favorite book on saints.  When I asked if he wanted to part with it he said emphatically, yes.  All the books were also touched to the relics before packing them away. It is a beautiful thought to imagine the children gathering around to see a package that has come from so far away.  Additionally, with other Children's Rosary groups sending Christmas cards it is our hope that the children will feel embraced by love by their friends from around the world who join them in prayer. 

Children's Rosary at
Our Lady of Grace Home

Other posts you may enjoy:
Help keep the Children's Rosary spreading
How to Start a Children's Rosary

What Are They Waiting For?

At the beginning of Advent the children placed a simple sign they made in the window.  It read: Patiently Waiting.  We invited others to do the same.  Over the past three weeks it has been interesting to see what has happened.  

Recently our babysitter told us that her boyfriend, who often picks her up in the evening, wanted to know what we were waiting for.  He had seen the sign and was curious about it.  Another friend gave me a ride home from Church last week. She too wanted to know what patiently waiting meant.  Each little inquiry brings a little joy to the heart.  An excitement to know that on December 25th a new sign will be in the window one that reads: Christ is Born.  It is beautiful to imagine people walking and driving by.  Those who had seen the sign for weeks and wondered...what is this family waiting for?  

What is particularly special about the patiently waiting sign is that it is a gentle way of saying this home is in prayer. We are keeping watch with Our Blessed Mother. The Children's Rosary in many ways is in the school of Our Blessed Mother.  We want to grow in love and holiness. We wish to have her mold us in sanctity as she formed her own Son.  Through prayer and time spent with her praying the Rosary and contemplating the life of Jesus we learn these gentle ways.  This little sign(Patiently Waiting) is in keeping with Our Lady's gentleness, it is a way of witnessing through our life that which is the most important to us.

The manger stands empty in front of our Church.
The children run up and look at the empty crib.  On Christmas morning
they can't wait to be the first to check and see if baby Jesus is present. 

It is certainly not too late to put up a sign in your window.  Until the moment when Our Lord is born we are being called to draw close and ready ourselves in prayer.  To place such a sign in ones window sends a ripple out.  It is not a ripple of doom or gloom it is a ripple that brings joy to the heart.  

Help the Children's Rosary Keep Spreading

Dear Friends,

We are excited to share that over the following few weeks we have an exciting opportunity to raise funds to help the Children's Rosary keep spreading.  Any donations made until March 25 2015, the Annunciation, will be matched dollar for dollar by a friend of the Children's Rosary (up to $2,000). Donations can be made electronically by paypal or credit card through the donate button.  

Donations can also be mailed to:

Children's Rosary

PO Box 271743

West Hartford, CT 06127 USA

Checks should be made out to Children's Rosary Inc. 

Please know that the Children's Rosary prays for all its members and anyone who helps the Children's Rosary.  Our hope is to help carry all of us along the journey to sanctity. With Children's Rosary prayer groups meeting all around the world, all our members and supporters are being covered in layers of prayer each day.  It is a wonderful thought to contemplate.  

The Children's Rosary is truly a grassroots prayer group movement.  We try to do a lot with very little.  The children help with almost everything. If materials are sent out they are packaged by the children and carried to the post office by children.  Often a red wagon is seen being pulled when there isn't too much snow. Indeed the children are at the center of everything.  As some of our young members grow they are becoming more and more excited about sharing this prayer group movement with others. They have helped run information booths in parishes, Christmas Bazaars and larger meetings.  But  most importantly they pray.  They provide support for each other in their faith journey.  Few peer support systems exist for children in their prayer life.  For many children, they might never know there are other children who pray.  They might feel alone.  For others prayer is something distant from them..something they know little about yet given an invitation they would be happy to join.  As Fr. Apsotoli, one of our advisory board members once said,  if we do not plant the seeds today there will be no harvest later.  LET US MAKE GOOD USE OF THIS TIME.  There is truly no time to lose. Please help us spread the Children's Rosary to another parish and another.  Let us create a resurgence of prayer amongst our children.  

We humbly thank you and keep you and all your prayer intentions in our prayers.

It is a beautiful thing to see a child so in love
with her heavenly Mother.

Other posts you may enjoy:

May we be a joy for God

May We Be a Joy for God?

The birth of Our Lord is truly our Christmas Joy.  For even the Rosary highlights Christ's birth as the third joyful mystery.  This morning on the walk to Mass a little thought entered my mind, Our Lord is our joy but wouldn't it be wonderful if we could be a joy for Him.  There must be so many things that pain His heart.  Things we ourselves have done to offend Him during our life.  Yet there was a hope that we the Children's Rosary might be a joy for Him.  As He looks down might he see little children kneeling before a manger, praying and waiting with His Mother for His birth.  Children praying a prayer, the Holy Rosary, given to them by His own Mother.  This includes the Our Father prayer He himself taught to the apostles.  Indeed it is a wonderful thought to ponder.  Could we be a joy for Our Lord.  Oh yes, this is a prayer I have for all of us.  May we be a joy for you God.  

The children place roses before the manger at the end of each decade
of the Rosary. Our Lord is not there yet but they wait patiently
in prayer.

Over the next week there will be many children kneeling in prayer, waiting for a tiny baby to be born to a humble women named Mary and her husband Joseph.  A crib stands empty but those children that meet on Christmas and after will find a surprise.  The crib will be full and there will be much celebrating for such a gift will be remembered for all time.

Thursday December 18th
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate, Lagos Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at Resurrection Parish in Rye NY 5PM 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
Friday December 19
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Orange TX 7:05 AM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Paul's Parish in Odell, IL 8:35 AM CTChildren's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Pontiac, IL at 9AM CT 
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Saturday December 20th
Children's Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel Parish and held in the Kibera slum in Langatta Nairobi Kenya 10 local time
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis Oregon 12 PM PT
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at the Daughters of Charity Convent in Bridgeport, CT 2:30 PM ET
Sunday December 21st

Children's Rosary at Our Lady and St. Patrick's Parish in Nottingham, England 9AM local time (4AM ET)
Children's Rosary at Assumption Church in Umoja, Kenya 7AM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston CT 11AM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Patrick's Church in Tacoma, WA 11:30 AM PST
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at the Daughters of Charity Convent in Bridgeport ,CT 2:30 PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Anthony Church in Lorain, Ohio 3PM ET in front of the Blessed Sacrament
Children's Rosary at Annunciation Church in Hanover, PA 4PM ET in front of the Blessed Sacrament

Monday December 22nd
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Grace Home for Children in Meru, Kenya 10AM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Trinity Academy in Shenandoah, PA 12:20 PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lago Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Family Church in Gladstone Michigan 4:30PM  ET
Children's Rosary at St. John the Evangelist Church in Mahopac, New York 4:30 PM 

Tuesday December 23rd

Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate, Lagos Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Redeemer Parish in Menominee, Michigan 6PM ET

Advent Event

On December 6th Holy Cross Family Ministries and the Children's Rosary joined together to hold a special event: Advent Journey with Mary and with Your Family. Members from our three Children's Rosary groups in Massachusetts were welcomed to the Fr. Peyton Center in Easton, MA.  Holy Cross Family Ministries beautifully hosted all the children and families.  It was a full afternoon with many activities:
Family Advent wreath prayer and lighting of the Advent wreath
Movie on the life of Servant of God Patrick Peyton
Why do we ask saints to help us in life?
Reflection on what Mary teaches us about the birth of her son, Jesus
















Members of Holy Cross Family ministries helped teach the children and parents how to make Rosaries.

The children also joined together to create handmade cards for our Children's Rosary groups in Kenya.

The children concluded the afternoon by gathering together in the chapel for a Children's Rosary. 
It was a special day of making friends from different Children's Rosary groups, joining together in prayer and sharing experiences.  The children also were able to learn about Servant of God Fr. Patrick Peyton who had a deep love of the Rosary and made famous the saying: the family that prays together stays together. 

Many thanks to Mary Amaral our Children's Rosary group leader from Sacred Heart Church in Middleboro MA who helped plan this event and all those at Holy Cross Family Ministries.

A special thank you as well to all who traveled distances to attend the Advent Event!

For those who have not visited the Fr. Patrick Peyton Center there is much to explore:
Fr. Patrick Peyton, Servant of God Grave site:  located just a few minutes drive from the Fr. Patrick Peyton Center
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto:  Located 300 feet on the left beyond the cemetery.
Outdoor Rosary Walk: Located next to the Fr. Peyton Center.  
Gift Shop:  There is a small gift shop located in the center.
Chapel:  There is a beautiful little Chapel in the Center. Hand carved wall pictures of each mystery of the rosary surrounds the inner walls of the chapel.
Museum:  There is a small enclosed room depicting Fr. Patrick Peyton's office with many of his belongings.

Other Posts you may enjoy:
How to start a Children's Rosary

Honoring Mary's Immaculate Conception

Our Children's Rosary group at Immaculate Conception Church in British Columbia, Canada met on the eve of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception last week.  The children had a special evening planned to honor Our Lady.  They dressed in white and processed into their church named after Our Blessed Mother's Immaculate Conception. Each child held a white rose and carnation which were placed at the foot of a Statue of Our Lady.  All around the statue Our Lady was beautifully decorated with flowers. The children then gathered to lead a Children's Rosary.  At the conclusion of the Rosary the choir sang Salve Regina in Latin.  

Process of members of the
Children's Rosary

It is truly a beautiful thing to see children surrounding Our Lady and so tenderly showing their love for her.  With gentle prayers and song these little ones must bring a smile to Our Mother and her Son.  For as St. Maximilian Kolbe was fond of saying, "Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did."

We are extremely grateful to the group leader of this Children's Rosary group. Inez spent her summer helping to spread the Children's Rosary in Kenya during a summer trip there with her husband, daughter and niece.  She now reports, "My mission for 2015, is to spread the movement in other parishes here in Vancouver. I’m organizing an advertising group of children who will join me in presenting the idea at all Sunday Masses in other parishes. We will offer to help them organize and be present at their first rosary, then they can continue from then onward."

The children all dressed in white with their sweet smiles... such a picture brings
joy and hope to the heart.  

Other posts you may enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary group
How can one draw himself away from love of this world?
Pure joy comes from the Lord.