Pope Francis Urges Families to Pray the Rosary

This past weekend Pope Francis sent out several messages to the world via his twitter account.  He began Friday with the following message “It would be a good idea, during the month of May, for families to say the Rosary together.  Prayer strengthens family life.”  On Saturday he went on to write “Let us ask Our Lady to teach us how to live out our faith in our daily lives and to make more room for the Lord.”

These beautiful words from Our Holy Father underscore the importance of the Rosary and Our Lady in strengthening our families.  In a time when so many families are sick and broken our Holy Father points to a medicine to heal our brokenness.  He points to the mother who will wipe away our tears and tend our wounds.  Under her care and protection she will safely lead us to rest and fullness in her Son.

In this month of May, a time dedicated to Our Mother Mary, let us find special moments each day to come together as a family and pray.  Might we find those Rosary beads tucked in a drawer and ask Our Heavenly Mother to help us in prayer.  We are her children and when we ask her to help us begin prayer in our families she rushes to our aid and provides when we ourselves do not see the way. 

You may also like the following posts:

How to Pray the Rosary

How to Begin Family Prayer

The Month of May is Dedicated to Mary

The Month of May is Dedicated to Mary

In the Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on Prayers during May he so beautifully describes how the month of May is a time “long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. Our heart rejoices at the thought of the moving tribute of faith and love which will soon be paid to the Queen of Heaven in every corner of the earth. For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God's merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother's throne.

We are delighted and consoled by this pious custom associated with the month of May, which pays honor to the Blessed Virgin and brings such rich benefits to the Christian people. Since Mary is rightly to be regarded as the way by which we are led to Christ, the person who encounters Mary cannot help but encounter Christ likewise. For what other reason do we continually turn to Mary except to seek the Christ in her arms, to seek our Savior in her, through her, and with her? To Him men are to turn amid the anxieties and perils of this world, urged on by duty and driven by the compelling needs of their heart, to find a haven of salvation, a transcendent fountain of life.”

Pope Pius goes on to recommend May as a time of special prayers.

“Because the month of May is a powerful incentive to more frequent and fervent prayers, and because our petitions more readily find access to her compassionate heart during it, it has been a favorite custom of Our predecessors to choose this month, dedicated to Mary, for urging the Christian people to offer up public prayers whenever the needs of the Church demanded it or some grave crisis threatened the human race. This year, Venerable Brothers, We in turn feel compelled to call for such prayers from the whole Catholic world. Looking at the present needs of the Church and the status of world peace, We have sound reasons to believe that the present hour is especially grave and that a plea for concerted prayer on the part of all Christians is a matter of top priority."

The Children's Rosary has planned several little gifts to give to Our Lady this month:

A novena of 9 daily Masses was offered for Our Lady's Intentions beginning May 1st and concluding May 9th.

There will be 11 Children's Rosary group meetings this month.

A new Children's Rosary group will have their first meeting May 12th.  On their first meeting the group will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Children receiving their first communion at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hartford, CT and in St Nicholas Church in Dighton, MA were given a Children's Rosary book to help encourage this devotion to the Rosary and Our Blessed Mother.





You may also like the following posts:
May Crowning
How to plan a May crowning
How to Start a Children's Rosary

Mother's Day Novena

The following is the same prayer being said during the Novena at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy.The Novena runs from May 3rd through May 11th. Mother's Day is May 12th.

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

We thank you for our mothers to whom you have entrusted the care of every precious human life. Grant that every woman may come to understand the full meaning of that blessing. Watch over every mother who is with child. Grant her love for her unborn baby. Give her courage in times of fear, understanding in times of doubt, and hope in times of trouble. Grant her joy in the birth of her child.We beseech you to send Your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to all mothers who sorrow for children that have died. Help grieving mothers to rely on your tender mercy and fatherly love for all your children. We ask your blessing on all those to whom you have entrusted motherhood. May they ever follow the example of Mary, mother of Our Lord Jesus, and imitate her fidelity, her humility, and her self-giving love.

We ask this through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

AMEN.

Five Children's Rosary Groups to Meet Over the Next Three Days

JOIN US IN PRAYER

Friday May 3rd (First Friday)

First Meeting of the Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Parish
 in Adrian, Michigan USA

The Children's Rosary at St. Peter Church in Steubenville, Ohio will meet at 4:30PM ET in the Church.

The Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Parish in Adrian Michigan will meet at 5PM ET in the main Church.  This group has chosen to hold their monthly rosary during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Recently the group shared a photo from their first meeting last month.

Saturday May 4th (First Saturday)
The Children's Rosary at St. Agnes Church in Naples Florida will meet a 9:30 AM ET in the chapel.

The Children's Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception will meet at 3:30 PM ET in the Main Church. A small reception of treats and refreshments to follow.

Sunday May 5th
The Children's Rosary at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, CT will meet at 11 AM ET.  A reception will follow provided by the Legions of Mary.

If you cannot attend one of these Children's Rosary prayer groups consider unifying your prayers with theirs from you home.  All the children pray for those joining them in person and those joining them from their home.  They also always pray for the intentions of all the members of the Children's Rosary.

New Prayer Initiative for the Children's Rosary

PRAYING FOR OUR SEMINARIANS

The second year of the Children’s Rosary was dedicated to renewal of family prayer.   Over 40 Masses were said for this intention.  Seven Hundred and seventy individual Novenas were said to different saints for renewal of family prayer by members of the Children's Rosary.  Over 500 read Aloud Children's Bibles have been given away as part of this effort.  For when our families are strong then our Church will be strong, too.  As we have just celebrated our third birthday on April 10th there was a feeling that we should continue these efforts as this is an important part of the Children's Rosary.

Recently in prayer, Our Lady seemed to be pointing to another area where she would like our help.  A novena of 9 Masses was begun on April 1st for Our Lady's Intentions with the hope that she would clarify her wishes.  In many very small ways she has continued to put things in place that reinforce this first inspiration that she wishes for us to pray for: her seminarians.  Just as Our Lady in her wisdom started with the children to increase prayer in families and parishes she is now looking to the priests for healing.  But to begin, she is going to those early years while they are still young and in formation.  These young men are the future shepherds of our Church and our children are the future flock.  It is my hope that the Children's Rosary this year can be a source of prayers for these young men studying to become priests. How beautiful are the plans of Our Lady which weave these two groups together. 

These efforts are three-fold:

A Monthly Mass will be offered on the first of the month for all seminarians that they may grow in holiness and lead us all in love.

Children's Rosary groups will pray over all of the names of individual seminarians that they may grow in holiness and lead us all in love.

Members of the Children's Rosary will have the opportunity to choose a seminarian to pray for daily in their home.  

St. John's Seminary in Boston MA

More than a month ago we began these efforts by reaching out to a seminarian that the children knew well as he had been my son's music teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle School.  He is now a first year seminarian at St. John's Seminary in Boston, MA USA.  We shared the Children's Rosary book with him and inquired whether the seminarians would be interested in having the children pray for them in their rosary groups and also have individual children pray for them as well.  They overwhelmingly welcomed the partnership. Beginning on April 4th Children's Rosary group leaders were sent close to 100 names of seminarians from St. John's Seminary with the intention that they may grow in holiness and lead us in love.  The seminarians which attend St. John's are from different Dioceses and Archdioceses both in the United States and abroad.  

In the coming weeks children will be given the opportunity to choose a seminarian to pray for in their home as well as correspond with if they feel inclined. 

We are beginning with St. John's Seminary but would like extend to other seminaries.  Additionally if any seminarian would like us to pray for him please contact us and we would be happy to include him in the list being prayed over by all our Children's Rosary groups.  We will also be happy to pair him with a child who will pray for him as well.

Yesterday Pope Francis released his prayer intentions for the month of May.  He included as one of his two intentions to pray for seminarians.  This was such a happy thing to read as we move forward with our new prayer initiative.

Saint Joseph the Worker

Today we honor Saint Joseph the worker.  In the Wednesday Catechesis with the Pope Francis, Our Holy Father had some wonderful reflections on the role of work in our lives.

"Jesus comes into our history is among us, born of Mary by the power of God, but with the presence of  Saint Joseph, the legal father who cares for him and also teaches him his work. Jesus is born and lives in a family, in the Holy Family, learning the craft of carpenter from Saint Joseph in his workshop in Nazareth, sharing with him the commitment, effort, satisfaction and also the difficulties of every day.

This reminds us of the dignity and importance of work. The book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it, but nurturing and protecting it, caring for it through their work (cf. Gen 1:28; 2 15). Work is part of God's loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way participate in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person."

Other posts you may like:

Prayer to St. Joseph for Success in Work

Litany to St. Joseph

Pope Francis' Prayer Intentions for May

(AP/L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO)

Pope Francis just announced his prayer intentions for the Month of May:

General Prayer Intention:
That administrators of justice may act always with integrity and right conscience.

Missionary Intention:
That seminaries, especially those of mission Churches, may form pastors after the Heart of Christ, fully dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel.