Sunday, January 2, 2022

Epiphany 2022


Today in the Archdiocese of Hartford, we celebrated the Feast of Epiphany. In anticipation of the Feast my mother gave us a special gift. She long has had a star which she has displayed at her farm. In the past she tied it to a tree and hoped one day to build a Nativity scene to display under it. On New Year's eve she had a surprise. She gifted us the star. We put the star over our nativity inside. It was magnificent and cast a beautiful light on the Holy Family.

Today on the Feast of the Epiphany we moved the star outside so many could see it. Interesting as the kids and I walked to Mass we could hear the Church bells chiming to the song "Star of Wonder". The same song was sung at Mass and then tonight Bishop Keenan led his nightly Rosary and concluded with the same song. It is beautiful how Divine Providence can see to bring a star to the crib of Jesus on the beautiful Feast of the Epiphany!







Thursday, December 30, 2021

Sixth Day of Christmas 2021

 

The Octave of Christmas seems to pass so quickly. One must savor the moments. Members of the Children's Rosary in Derry, Ireland participated in the Children's Rosary "Patiently Waiting" Campaign. They sent us a picture of their home with the "Patiently Waiting" sign in the window (see video below). This sign remained in their window through Advent. On Christmas they replaced the "Patiently Waiting" sign with one that read "Christ is Born" (see above). We are grateful to all those who participated in this year's "Patiently Waiting" Campaign. 

The video explaining the "Patiently Waiting" Campaign is below or one can click HERE.



Tuesday, December 28, 2021

A Journey from Kenya to Tanzania to Retrieve Rosaries for the Children

 

Today we received this beautiful picture of the Children's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Simba, Kenya (see above). Br. Cleophus traveled 6 hours to Moshi, Tanzania to retrieve 2,000 handmade rosaries we had sent. These rosaries were part of a shipping barrel we had sent to Fr. Ruwaichi in Tanzania. 

Br. Cleophus' trip was one that began yesterday (December 27) leaving on the journey at 3AM. Br. Cleophus returned safely to Kenya today (December 28) with the rosaries. The children were very excited to each receive one. Fr. Wachira held a Mass today at St. Mary's Church in honor of the Holy Innocents. Fr. Wachira offered the Mass for all the Children's Rosary group members all over the world. 

May everyone have a blessed fourth day of Christmas!

Christmas with members of the Children's Rosary at St. Stephen School, Kenya

Br. Cleophus sent pictures from his visit to members of the Children's Rosary at St. Stephen School. 

The school was named after St. Stephen whose feast was December 26th.

We had an opportunity to visit this school while in Kenya in the summer of 2019. St. Stephen school is in very rural region of Kenya bordered by a large wild life preserve with no fences. There are no formal roads leading to this school. When we visited we shared rosaries with them and they shared their beautiful handmade necklaces with us. They are members of the Maasai tribe and live primarily by herding small animals. 

Monday, December 27, 2021

St. Mary's Messenger Magazine Features Children's Rosary "Patiently Waiting" Campaign

We are excited to share that St. Mary's Messenger recently featured an article about the Children's Rosary "Patiently Waiting" Campaign in their Christmas 2021 issue.

St. Mary's Messenger is a magazine similar to Highlights but with Catholic content for children ages 7-12 years old. We have a subscription in our home. A special thank you to St. Mary's Messenger for helping us invite more people to participate in our yearly "Patiently Waiting" Campaign.


 

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Happy Feast of the Holy Family 2021

 

During the Octave of Christmas the Feast days come one after the other.  It is such a blessed time of the year one might become overwhelmed.  However, the Feast of the Holy Family is something that deserves particular attention.  Something that I became aware of at least a year after the Children's Rosary formed was that the chapel where the first meeting of the Children's Rosary was held some 10 years ago is named after the Holy Family.  In our parish we rarely call it by its formal name the Holy Family Chapel but rather call it simply our chapel and so its true name was not known to me until shortly after the Children's Rosary began.  In reflection it seemed a perfect home for the Children's Rosary.  For children are the heart of the family and the family is the lungs of the Church.  If our families are strong then our church will be strong.  And so I could see the wisdom of Our Lord in bringing the children to prayer in a space dedicated to the Holy Family.  Through these little innocent prayers the coals in our families of love and peace would be stoked and a renewed commitment to family prayer would begin.

The pictures in this post were taken at the December 2021 meeting of the Children's Rosary at Holy Family Chapel at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Hartford, Connecticut USA. This is the chapel where the Children's Rosary began.  At our last meeting one of the children decided to dress as an angel. The children gathered around the Holy Family placing roses as they led each decade of the Rosary. 


We wish you a blessed Feast of the Holy Family and may many graces flow into your families. 

Saturday, December 25, 2021

A Christmas Gift from the Children's Rosary 2021

 

Merry Christmas from the Children's Rosary. Here in West Hartford, Connecticut, USA, the home of the Children's Rosary, we had a white Christmas. Snow began falling just after midnight on December 24 and continued through the morning allowing everything to have a beautiful coating of white snow.
We thank all those who participated in the Children's Rosary "Patiently Waiting" Campaign. People sent us pictures with Patiently Waiting signs in their windows from Scotland, Ireland, England, Kenya and the USA. These signs can now be taken down and replaced with ones that read "Christ is Born." These can stay up for the whole Christmas Season.

We have a special gift from the Children's Rosary. A Christmas Mass was celebrated for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary at 8:00 p.m. on December 24.