Little Furnaces of Love

May we be like my cat, Baby,
warm and content by the heat

Today most of the United States is under a deep freeze. Reports of Atlanta, Georgia being colder than Moscow today.  Areas of the country dipping into the minus 40 degrees F range.  For our little area in Connecticut we are hovering in the single digits but will probably be well below zero with the wind chill factor.  A day of heavy rain yesterday brought large puddles that now are like mini ice rinks.  A light snow last night covers everything. My way home from work which involved a city bus ride and some walking was a bitter one and I was thankful to reach the house which was warm inside.  After such an arctic adventure home, I grabbed my Rosaries and headed to the basement where we have a pellet stove.  The flame is visible and seated squarely in front of it I could feel the wonderful warmth and watch the flames flickering.  My old cat, Baby, couldn't resist and came to sit in my lap.  Such is how I spent the last bit of the afternoon into the evening.  The kids came down also interested in saying prayers near the fire.  For in such times like this it is hard to stay far from the fire.  There is a homing beacon if you will, drawing you to the warmth.  Sitting looking at the stove I was reminded of a little prayer I like to say walking to Church.  Often as the wind blows in the winter, I offer up all the times of being cold, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to be unified to the times Jesus was cold during the Passion.  We know it was cold that last night as we are told Peter came to the fire to warm himself.  I ask the Lord for the times I am cold let my heart and all the members of the Children's Rosary be consumed by the love of Jesus, may we be like little furnaces giving off love in this world.

Tonight sitting in front of the fire looking at the little stove all warm. I was reminded of that prayer.  For it is a wonderful way to view these little Children's Rosary groups as furnaces of love.  Those of us cold are drawn to be near them.  We find rest and comfort in the radiance of their heat.

Please consider joining the Children's Rosary which will meet Wednesday Jan 8th at 4PM Pacific time at St. Patrick's Church in Angels Camp, California.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

Feast of St. André Bessette

Today is the Feast of St. André Bessette 

Br. André Bessette was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 .  He is known for his wonderful devotion to St. Joseph.  St. André struggle to read and write and was assigned to man the door at the College of Notre Dame in Montreal.  His jobs also included scrubbing floors and tending to the garden. St. André joked: “At the end of my novitiate, my superiors showed me the door, and I stayed there for forty years.” 

Another one of St. André's quotes makes me think of little children in prayer and the importance of these little ones.  

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures,” said St. André Bessette.

The Children's Rosary at St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Parish in Lawrenceburg, Indiana USA will hold their monthly Children's Rosary tomorrow (Tuesday January 7th). They will meet at 6:30PM EST.  Please consider joining the Children's Rosary either at the Church or from your home.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.  Thank you so much.

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Prayer to St. Joseph by Br. André 

A Call for Help

Image: NASA/NOAA

Imagine you are a Children's Rosary group leader.  You have no small children of your own.  Each time you prepare to meet you pray that children will come.  As you have no small children there is no certainty anyone will meet you at the Church.  You may have put notices in the bulletin and you wonder what will folks think if they see me all alone with no children.  Lord, I want to bring you children in prayer...help me.  Yet you arrive to find either no children or one child.  In this case, the child stays for one decade and then has to go to prepare to assist at Mass which is beginning shortly.  Others are filing into Church and see you alone trying to lead a Children's Rosary with no children.  Disappointment takes hold and doubt bites at your heal.  You wonder am I really meant to do this Lord.  If you want me to do this then bring children.  Week after week this continues.  Through faith alone you continue.  The story I share is a true one.  

The struggles of this little Children's Rosary are not unique to this group.  Even the most established groups may find a meeting when either only the host family is there or maybe if the leader has no children they are alone.  Even our little group at St. Thomas the Apostle the flagship group had several meetings where very few children came.  I know the disappointment first hand.  It brings a particular pain that goes deep to the soul.  It is an exposed vulnerability and when one feels no one hears it or responds to it there is a deep pain and sadness that comes.  What if you were to come home from such a disappointment and a message was waiting for you. A person writing that they had joined you in prayer from their home.  Would joy flood into your heart. Yes, I believe it would.  For over the past few weeks I too have seen this happen.  One mom who had asked for prayers for her  4 year old son and his father, wrote that she often unifies prayers with the groups especially on Saturdays.  I mentioned this to our group in Corvallis, Oregon who meets weekly on Saturdays.  This group was so happy to hear this.  

When I think back to the group I shared with you from England I am reminded of the first notes.  While the first meeting brought a few children subsequent ones were sparsely attended.  This group leader was so disappointed.   I encouraged her not to give up for many graces are given to a soul trying to bring children to Our Lord in prayer.  Such abandonment is particularly cherished by Our Lord as He too found himself alone thirsting for souls during His passion.  There was a feeling if we kept praying Our Lord would help us.  Something interesting happened.  Usually I try to unify prayers with each group that meets, often with my children.  However this group was meeting in England and the time of the meeting would mean they often began at 3:45 or 4 AM my time.  While I try to unify prayers with groups I did not think I could join her.  Yet something unexpected would transpire.  Several weeks ago I found myself awakened in the early hours of Sunday morning.  There was no light coming around the window shade so I knew it was not yet dawn.  There is no clock visible from where I sleep and I did not want to wake up my husband to check the time.  With my disabilities I need help getting out of bed so I am a bit confined during the night.  The first thought that entered my mind was that this little group in England must be meeting so I began saying the Rosary in unity with them.  Later I wrote to the group leader that I was able to join them in part for the Rosary.  This brought her much joy and encouragement.  Again last night I was awoken this time I was so tired I dismissed the idea to pray but twice more was awakened and thus began praying hoping to unify with the group.  I recall after the first time I woke up several weeks ago I told the Lord in prayer that if this group needed my prayers then wake me up.  Finding myself awake last night, which is somewhat unusual for me, I realized that there was a soul in need.  

At Mass today we celebrated Epiphany and we heard of the wise men who came from a far distance to all come together to pay homage to Our Lord.  The responsorial psalm was "Every nation on Earth will adore you Lord".  There was a feeling Our Lord had held His hand from bringing more children to this group for He wanted the help to come from us.  How can we help a group in England when many of us live thousands of miles away?  He was showing us that we can help from where ever we are if we unify together in prayer.  There are several small groups that I am thinking of who would so love to have people join them but then I remember larger groups that unexpectedly had a short drop off of attendance which hits a group leader hard.  Therefore I know that to say there are only certain groups that need our prayers would be wrong.  Rather I am sending out an invitation to all, inviting you to stay close to our website and when a group is listed to meet please try to join them.  I think of my own children often we are not at home when a group meets yet whether in the car or walking we just begin praying.  The children are now used to this break in our routine if they hear a group is meeting.  They understand that there are children somewhere or a person doing what they do monthly.  They can imagine the children and they understand the urgency to just begin prayer where ever we are.  There are times when one cannot join in the Rosary such as times during work or doing school. This too is a humbling fact to accept we cannot do everything ourselves.  While I would always like to be able to unify prayers with all the groups this may not be possible and that is why Our Lord shows us we need each other.  If we all try our best to unify prayers with the Children's Rosary groups think of how many people will be joined together.  I like to I imagine the light of a group shining up to heaven...then another family joins them and brings a twinkle..another family from another part of the world and so on.  Such a sight from Heaven looking down.  Little lights sparkling together unified in prayer of the Rosary led by a child's voice.  Yes I believe this is the lesson Our Lord is trying to teach us...a unity in prayer from all corners of the world.  

Image: NASA/NOAA

If you our able to unify prayers with a group please consider doing this.  In these small little ways we help each other.  We show through our spiritual presence that they are not alone...what they are doing is important to you.  A list of the groups and when they meet can be found here.  Thank you all so much.  Through all of you we can illuminate the world in a unity of prayer.

Upcoming days schedules of when Children's Rosary groups are meeting are posted frequently on this site. 

Mass Offered Today for Renewal of Family Prayer

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
by Rebecca Pearl

On the 1 year anniversary of the Children's Rosary we began a prayer initiative to renew family prayer. The children began saying novenas to different saints for renewal of family prayer.  Over 780 nine day novenas have been said each to a different saint. Over 500 Children's Read Aloud Bibles have been given out to families to encourage family prayer.  During each Children's Rosary group meeting the children also pray for renewal of family prayer.  A very special way we are trying to bring back family prayer is by offering Masses for this intention. Many Masses have already been requested and going forward a Mass will be offered on the first Saturday of every month for Renewal of Family prayer. 

As we enter 2014 may I make a humble request.  May we all try to renew family prayer in our homes.  Through this coming together as a family Our Lord will bless us.   Through prayer more love will blossom where division exists. When the family is strong then the Church will be strong.  Our Lord has the medicine for the family it is prayer.  Pope Francis recently made reference to the healing power of prayer when he gave out Rosaries in pill boxes and likened himself to a pharmacist prescribing medicine for the heart.  May we  also reach out to other families and encourage renewal of family prayer. Such efforts please Our Lord and Our Lady.  For so many Saints and Popes have expounded the necessity for family prayer.

Today January 4th, the Church honor's St. Elizabeth Ann Seton who spent a great deal of her life trying to educate children.  She also had a strong devotion to the Rosary.

"We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty."-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

You may also like the following post:
How to begin family prayer

Children Bearing Gifts of Prayers at the Crib of Our Lord Jesus

First Children's Rosary at St. Bernard Church
Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania

January 3rd First Friday (The Most Holy Name of Jesus) 
Children's Rosary at Epiphany Church in Cheshire Connecticut to meet on the first Friday.
Children's Rosary at St. Stephen the Martyr in Lilburn, Georgia.
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Adrian, Michigan to meet at 5PM in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
January 4th First Saturday(St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Timor Leste to meet on 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 10:30 AM Central time
Children's Rosary at Holy Family Parish in Syracuse, NY to meet at 10 AM EST 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 10:00 AM EST
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 4PM EST
Children's Rosary at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Richmond, Virginia to meet at 4PM 

First Meeting of the Children's Rosary
 at St. Pius Church in Wolcott, CT

January 5th (Epiphany of the Lord)
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 in Thomaston, CT 11AM EST
Children's Rosary at Holy Trinity Church in Harlan, Kentucky 11:30 AM EST
Children's Rosary at St. Bernard Church in Mount Lebanon Pennsylvania to meet at 2PM
Children's Rosary at St. Anthony Church in Lorain, Ohio to meet at 3PM EST in front of the Blessed Sacrament (FIRST MEETING)

January 6th (St. Andre Bessette)
Children's Rosary at Trinity Academy in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania to meet at 12:20 EST. 
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

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE CHILDREN IN PRAYER EITHER AT THE CHURCH OR FROM YOUR HOME.  THE CHILDREN ALWAYS PRAY FOR THOSE UNIFYING PRAYERS WITH THEM.

Gentle Women

Today is the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God.  It also is the Marian Feast which we chose to end our 33 Day Consecration to Jesus through Mary.  Like many members of the Children's Rosary we said our prayers as a family. Today our plan was to attend the 9AM Mass for which Alina my 13 year old daughter was altar serving.  I also happened to be assigned to lector as well.  After Mass we had arranged to join with other local members of the Children's Rosary to say the Consecration prayer.

My daughter, who we adopted with her biological brother from an orphanage in Kazakhstan almost 5 years ago, is now 13.  She has many cognitive disabilities including short term memory loss.  She has been an altar server for a number of years however this has always been a struggle for her.  Many have come up to her with a smile and asked if it was her first time serving as she is often somewhat unsure of all the steps.  Yet she has persisted and not given up even though sometimes she feels embarrassed.  One thing which has been extremely intimidating for her are the bells.  She has on occasion served alone and from the pews I would raise my arms when it was time to ring the bells but she always knelt like a statue and would never try to ring them.  If she was with another server the other server always rang the bells.  

Today seemed to be unfolding in its typical fashion.  There was some confusion about the water which brought the priest over to the side table.  I was thinking that I should write to our Pastor and explain Alina's disability to him so he would understand why things were always somewhat confused.  Then something happened that took me so by surprise.  The priest said, "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you." The bells rang but it was Alina bent over ringing them.  This time, it was I that was like a statue, watching in disbelief.  Then the priest raised the wine and again Alina bent over and rang the bells.  After she finished she looked at me with a big smile.  The rest of the Mass I was somewhat in shock.  After Mass we went over to the statue of Mary with some other members of the Children's Rosary including two boys from the Children's Rosary group at St. Peter Claver Church.  One of the women began singing Gentle Women.  The children knelt at the rail.  We then all together said our Consecration prayer to Jesus through Mary.  Then each person brought a flower and placed it on a small altar under the statue of Mary and the baby Jesus.

In thinking about what had transpired I was struck by something.  Alina had been for years frightened to ring the bells at the sacred moment of consecration during Holy Mass.  On the morning of the Feast of Mary Mother of God and the final day of the 33 day Consecration to Jesus through Mary,  Alina had found courage.  The other altar server who was with her, as I would discover, had encouraged her this morning to ring the bells and said he would help her if she needed help.  Our Lady, through the hands and words of others, had found a way as a mother to support this child and help her more perfectly honor her Son.  This to me seemed to sum up the whole consecration process.  Mary did so gently, not with reprimands as I often find myself doing as a mother, but through gentleness and kindness.  How wonderful that the song Gentle Women was chosen to sing this morning for truly Mary is a gentle and loving Mother.  She takes our hand and gives us courage when we are frightened,  she steadies us and points us always toward her Son, Jesus that we may more perfectly honor Him in all things.

photo courtesy of http://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/#!gentle-women/c7ed

Top 10 Favorite Postings from 2013

Dear Friends,

First Children's Rosary in Sulphur, Louisiana

At the close of 2013 there is much to be thankful for.  This year has brought many new Children’s Rosary groups spreading across 5 continents.  We saw the first copy of the Children’s Rosary book..the closure of Neumann Press ending our books short run of availability and then the wonderful solution Our Lady led us to which was having the students at the American School for the Deaf help to print the books in their vocational print shop.  Through the help of many members we had the Children’s Rosary book translated into Spanish and also published.  We had the introduction of our Spanish Children’s Rosary website: www.rosariodeninos.org  Most recently we had the beautiful gift of our Children’s Rosary song: Rosary Children which was recorded and can be heard on our Spanish website (release of a CD is scheduled for early 2014).

The Children who traveled to the Basilica of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington DC

Other wonderful blessings for our group included the children leading a Children’s Rosary at the Little Audrey Santo Eucharistic and Prolife Conference, a special Rosary on Father’s Day at My Father’s Retreat House in Moodus, Connecticut and this fall traveling by bus to Washington DC to lead a Children’s Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.  Yet maybe the greatest gift of all are the prayers that have floated up to heaven from each of these children carried by Our Blessed Mother and presented to her Son.  The true effect and importance of these prayers may never be known to us in this life.

First Children's Rosary meeting in Nairobi, Kenya

In looking back over the year I wanted to share some favorite posts from Our Blog.  Some may have found us recently and may not have seen some of these postings.  Each one has been chosen for a different reason.  Some mark a particular milestone others share stories of grace and inspiration.  My top choice of the year is a post that recently I went back to after many months.  After reading it again I found such consolation in it and have found that spiritually I am never far from the feelings shared in it.  I give it the top place as I pray it may help another soul feeling the same thing.

1. Stop Asking Questions and Pray

2. Pure Joy comes from the Lord

3. EWTN Interview about the Children’s Rosary

4. Our Lady is Going on a Big Trip  and  Our Lady has Arrived and Signal Graces

(three separate posts but are part of a story so to speak)

5. Our Children are Open to Prayer they only Need an Invitation

6. Under the Care of Our Heavenly Father

7. Children’s Rosary Book

8. An Unexpected Meeting with St. Therese

9. Under the Watchful Eye of Our Blessed Mother

10. Children and the Diary of St. Faustina

Honorable mentions:

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners

Finding answers to our spiritual questions in the garden

A True Mission Story of Faith

Start the New Year by Blessing Your Children

First Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Timor Leste

Looking forward to the new year I am reminded of a portion of the Gospel of John:

“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

The words of the Gospel seem to assure us that there is little use in spending time trying to predict the direction the Holy Spirit will carry something.  One only has to be ready for the Spirit to open the door and then be ready to move with it. As we enter this year there is no way of knowing where the Spirit will carry the Children's Rosary or each one of us.  Yet we take our Rosaries in hand and pray that the Lord will guide each step and send his Mother to always keep a firm hand on the other end of our rosaries that we may always be moving closer to Him.