Mass to be Offered on August 1st 2017 for Seminarians

A Mass will be offered tomorrow for all seminarians that they will grow in holiness and lead us all in love. Every month we have a Mass offered for this intention. As our seminarians will be the future shepherds and our children are the future flock, it seemed a beautiful way for the children to help. 

We have been periodically featuring different seminarians on the first of the month by inviting them to share something of themselves - a beautiful sharing of faith and love of Our Lord.

The Seminarian we will feature this month is Collins Ashu. He is attending seminary in the Archdiocese of New York.

He shares:
I am Collins Ashu, born and raised in Cameroon, Africa. I am the 6th child from a family of 8. I moved to the U.S in 2015 and I joined the seminary in the fall of 2016. 

My love for the priesthood actually started when I was 7 years old. The Pastor at my parish was very active and he loved his job. His actions and works made me to admire him and dreamt of being like him one day.  His love for the Scriptures also influenced me a lot. At this age of 7, I was attending CCD classes for my first holy communion. I received Jesus when I was 8 and I grew more deeper in the vocation because that's when I actually confirmed my vocation. I also started serving Mass with this priest at this age.

My family played a great role in my vocational discernment. As a family we had daily morning and evening prayers and for those who would not attend the morning prayers were oblige to go to morning Mass which I usually do. At morning prayers we prayed the psalms 5, this also influenced my love for the Holy Scriptures. My mother dedicated the family under patronage of St. Faustina of the Divine Mercy and so she prayed for me through her intercession.

I had loved praying the rosary. At that age I prayed the rosary though not daily.

Collins also shared our hope to see the Children's Rosary begin in his home country of Cameroon. As we keep featuring seminarians it is interesting to see many, including Collins, first felt drawn to the priesthood at a tender age. In his case between the ages of 7 and 8. These seeds that Our Lord sows in the hearts of men need protection and cultivation. Families are the perfect nurseries for these vocations as one can see in Collins family. One can also imagine a prayer group such as the Children's Rosary might be a help as well. Having an opportunity to come together and pray with other youngsters is an affirmation of ones faith and a support during trials which most certainly come through youth. 

May I humbly ask those reading this to pray for Collins Ashu. These men surely need our prayers. Collins wrote expressing his gratitude for our prayers for him. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

Featured Seminarians from July 1 2017

Mercy in Action: Children Visit a Leper Community

How to Start a Children's Rosary

Don't forget to unify prayers with the children during their meetings. A schedule of meetings is present on our website. By clicking "Join in Prayer" you can add your gold flashing light to our View from Heaven map.

For more information about the Children's Rosary visit our website: www.childrensrosary.org
Visite nuestro sitio web en español para obtener más información: www.rosariodeninos.org

Visit to the National Shrine of St. Kateri

Last Monday we were able to visit the National Shrine of St. Kateri in New York. This was one of our stops on the drive from Illinois to Connecticut. The day was a cool one, unseasonable for July in this area. The kids immediately ran to a small little building to the far right of the St. Peter's Chapel pictured above. When we entered this little structure there stood a statue of St. Kateri. 

The place was cozy and warm with a delightful smell of pine. It was a place one could spend a long time in prayer. Before the statue was a basket for petitions. 

Asher wrote out an intention for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary.  

The excitement was high with the kids to explore so after a time we left the tiny chapel which Asher named the Candle Chapel (as there were many candles along the walls) and we resolved to come back before leaving. Our next stop was to do the Stations of the Cross that spread across the open lawn and followed up a hill. 

We heard that one could walk from the edge of where the Stations ended up a dirt path to the village of St. Kateri and the stream where she was baptized. As we began the walk it started to rain. The rain became heavier and the grade steeper. With my joint disability walking on steep inclines is very difficult so we had to turn back.  We were told there was an access to the village by car.
We then stopped at the gift shop meeting a lovely women who welcomed us. We made our way to the St. Peter's Chapel which you see pictured at the top of the post. It was there that we prayed the Rosary. We included in our intentions all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary. We then made our way downstairs to view the Indian Museum. The rain had stopped at that point and we had a little lunch we had brought on a picnic bench. While the rest of the gang was finishing their meal Asher helped me to get back into the candle chapel. There we lit some candles and I had some time to pray but not long as a family entered. A mom with four of her 5 children. She shared that the children are quadruplets...all 10 years old. What a happy meeting with children visiting the Shrine. It was a blessed time and I wished not to leave but we had one more stop before heading home, it was the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, NY. As we pulled out of the driveway of the National Shrine of St. Kateri we circled around the property to see the Indian village of St. Kateri before leaving. 

This was the place we had tried to walk to but the hill was too steep. When we drove to it the access was very easy and the ground level. The village was marked out by stakes (pictured above). There had been some excavation of the location to confirm the identity but now there were no visible structures only a clearing marked by cut grass. Yet in this wooded place with the clearing and a stream running very close one could imagine a village alive with people coming and going. We share these pictures and our visit that you may know you were with us. We prayed for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Beauty
Little Hands Rescue Mary and Jesus

Don't forget to unify prayers with the children during their meetings. A schedule of meetings is present on our website. By clicking "Join in Prayer" you can add your gold flashing light to our View from Heaven map.

For more information about the Children's Rosary visit our website: www.childrensrosary.org
Visite nuestro sitio web en español para obtener más información: www.rosariodeninos.org

Bearing Fruit

Today at daily Mass the Gospel included this passage,"the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty fold." (Matthew 13:23) The priest at daily Mass asked us to look at our prayer life and ask if it is bearing fruit in our lives.  

His words reminded me of something Fr. Jude had shared Wednesday evening. He had written about the Children's Rosary in his parish in Uganda. He has a Children's Rosary prayer group in the main parish and also in several of the outpost stations of the parish. The picture above is of a Children's Rosary group at Our Lady of Fatima Mwera Parish - Mayirye.  This is one of the outposts at Fr. Jude's Parish. The children had their first meeting on Feb 18th 2017. They meet Saturday and Sunday evenings at 6PM local time. I asked Father Jude to tell me about these children. Did they have anything to share or anything he has observed. 

This is what he shared: "The children feel happy when they pray together. Some have learnt how to lead others in prayer. The parents also are grateful. 
Some have asked to start taking readings during Mass. Others have shown willingness to join religious life. Some encourage their fellow children to recite the rosary when they meet at school. Mother Mary is doing miracles in their respective families. Some things are working out in a miraculous way. Got good results about the fruits of the Rosary from the groups! I'll be informing you. God is good all the time."

Fr. Jude also shared that the numbers in the groups are growing. I asked him if the children are encouraging others to join the Children's Rosary. He answered,
 "In our parish the pastor is so grateful because he is seeing the fruits. It's true they encourage others. That's why the numbers are increasing in all groups."

It is beautiful to see how fertile is the soil in the hearts of these children. Their meetings to pray are indeed fruitful in their lives. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."(Matthew 7:18)

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
A Child's Interview about the Children's Rosary (in Spanish)
Resources to Help Begin a Group

Don't forget to unify prayers with the children during their meetings. A schedule of meetings is present on our website. By clicking "Join in Prayer" you can add your gold flashing light to our View from Heaven map.

For more information about the Children's Rosary visit our website: www.childrensrosary.org
Visite nuestro sitio web en español para obtener más información: www.rosariodeninos.org

CMN Conference 2017

Last week we had a Children's Rosary booth at the CMN Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois USA. We drove out as a family from Connecticut to the conference. As I have a joint disability that prevents me from driving our ability to go to events is somewhat limited. But my husband has been so kind as to help us on the trip each year. This was our fourth year attending the CMN. 

Our three kids are invaluable in running the booth. They are pictured above. They help set up and also answer questions from those who want to know more about the Children's Rosary. The View from Heaven map which we handmade out of cloth is a focal point of the booth (you can see it hanging behind the kids).  It shows each group as a light in the night sky. This map is now also an interactive feature on our website www.childrensrosary.org 

While we were at the Conference the children were able to lead a Children's Rosary on both Wednesday and Friday mornings. The flowers pictured in the lower right of the photograph above were given to Our Blessed Mother during the Rosary. The children took turns at the end of each decade placing a rose at her feet.  

Please know that at both Rosaries that were held at the Conference we prayed for all the members of the Children's Rosary. So in this way you all were very close to us on this trip.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Beauty
Little Hands Rescue Mary and Jesus

Don't forget to unify prayers with the children during their meetings. A schedule of meetings is present on our website. By clicking "Join in Prayer" you can add your gold flashing light to our View from Heaven map.

For more information about the Children's Rosary visit our website: www.childrensrosary.org
Visite nuestro sitio web en español para obtener más información: www.rosariodeninos.org

St. Anne and St. Joachim Pray For Us!

Today is the Memorial of St. Anne and St. Joachim, parents of Our Blessed Mother and grandparents to Jesus.

Recently on our drive back from Chicago we stopped at a parish in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Church is named after St. Stanislaus. This statue of St. Anne and Mary stood near the front of the Church. There was something so dear about how St. Anne was looking over the shoulder of Mary. She was tenderly holding her yet also pointing something out in her book. 

As St. Anne and Joachim are the Patron Saints of Grandparents I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the many grandparents who have  helped guide their children and now grandchildren in faith. Their role is a great one. We have seen this so clearly in the Children's Rosary. Many grandparents have begun groups or helped to bring their grandchildren to meetings. May I humbly say, thank you. The fruits of your prayers and efforts will have lasting effects.  

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
A Grandmother's Experience with the Children's Rosary
The Power of the Prayers of Grandparents
How to Start a Children's Rosary

Mass Offered on July 25th 2017 for Members of the Children's Rosary

A Mass was offered today for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary.  We continue to have a Mass said for the this intention on the 25th of each month. The Eucharist is such a powerful gift from Our Lord that when I wanted to extend thanksgiving to all of you I knew of no better way to express my gratitude.  May Our Lord's love be poured down on all of you through the powerful sacrifice of the Holy Mass. 

The picture above is of our new Children's Rosary (Rosario de Niños) en el Santuario de la Misericordia Divina pquia. Ntra. Sra. de la Asunción, Resistencia, Chaco - ARGENTINA.  They held their first meeting on June 10th 2017. In the picture above the new group is being Consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. In this way the group is under the protection and guidance of Christ and His Mother. We ask that each new group be Consecrated in this way. The picture below are the flowers the children brought to give Our Blessed Mother during the Rosary. At the end of each decade a child or several children are invited to place roses before Our Blessed Mother.

Twenty-five children attended this first meeting. We welcome them to the Children's Rosary (Rosario de Niños). Please keep them in your prayers and also consider unifying prayers with them. They meet the first Saturday of each month. A full schedule of the meeting times of groups is present on our website: www.childrensrosary.org and www.rosariodeninos.org

The meetings are listed in your local time zone. Meetings also appear as a blue flashing light on our View From Heaven map when the children are meeting in their prayer groups. By clicking "join in prayer" you can add your gold flashing light to the map.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
"Their Love for God is Great"
Resources to Help Begin a Group

A Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Therese

Last Monday evening we reached Schaumburg, Illinois our destination for the CMN Conference. Tuesday morning was set up for our Children's Rosary booth although the conference would not start to the following day.  The afternoon we had a very special treat. We were able to participate in a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Therese in Darien, Illinois. This is run by the Carmelite order. Upon entering the Shrine one of the most breathtaking sites is this mural on the wall depicting important moments in the life of St. Therese.  Beneath the mural was a collection of relics of St. Therese including bone, flesh, and even dust from her coffin.

As we had driven from Connecticut, we had a car and decided to go a bit early of the buses to the Shrine as we might have some time to explore and also pray. This proved very providential. The heat outside kept us mostly inside and we had time to pray before the relics. Not only were there relics of St. Therese but also her parents who are also saints.

Zelie and Louis Martin taught their children to respect God's providence both in fulfillment and disappointment  This line in their biography caught my attention. For my own small part, my heart has been falling in love more and more with the Providence of God. To see these two beautiful saints impress a respect for God's providence in their children seemed a further confirmation of its great importance. 

Later as the buses arrived we were able to hear a talk about the life of St. Therese. As the children and I together had read her autobiography this year, the stories were fresh in our minds but hearing them again was very special. We were taken through many items that were hers as a child including drawings and clothing she had made. 

We were able to see a room made up just as her room had been in the convent. It even had the door of her room and several items that existed in her real room.  The evening concluded with a Mass celebrated by Fr. Andrew Apostoli CFR. In a special way I prayed for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary. You were very close with us there. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Beauty
Resources to Help Begin a Group

Don't forget to unify prayers with the children during their meetings. A schedule of meetings is present on our website. By clicking "Join in Prayer" you can add your gold flashing light to our View from Heaven map.

For more information about the Children's Rosary visit our website: www.childrensrosary.org
Visite nuestro sitio web en español para obtener más información: www.rosariodeninos.org