Epiphany 2023

 

Last Sunday, the Children's Rosary at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hartford, Connecticut, met for prayers. A tiny nativity scene was set up. As six-year-old Abigail entered the chapel, she immediately saw the Holy Family statues and carried over a gift she had brought. It was a tiny soccer ball for baby Jesus. She positioned Jesus with the ball between his arms (see above). As we began the prayers she returned Baby Jesus to his crib and put the soccer ball beside Him.

She was pleased with her gift. It was a very sweet scene. 

Abigail also decided that she wanted the roses standing around the Holy Family instead of piled on the floor as we usually do. As the rosary was prayed and children took turns placing flowers, all were careful to follow the example she had set (see flowers standing up in the picture above).

Abigail's sister helped her lead two of the decades. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany to have the children lead us in the Rosary. We prayed in a special way for all the other members of the Children's Rosary. In this manner we covered the other members of the Children's Rosary in prayer as they do for us when they meet. 

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!

In the Arms of Our Lord

On Epiphany, the Children's Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Connecticut USA was asked to help with a living Nativity at the Parish. The Rector, Fr. Sullivan, arranged to have animals present. He emphasized all would be done in a reverent way. Members of the Children's Rosary dressed up to re-create the scene in Bethlehem. 

Fr. Sullivan for half of the Mass held a newborn lamb in his arms. I found myself watching both the lamb and Fr. Sullivan closely. 

The lamb surprisingly was very docile in his arms and never seemed to struggle or want to get away. He sometimes would close his eyes and rest against the chest of the priest.

Other times the baby lamb would raise his head and his ears would swing forward or relax back. In turn, there were times when Fr. Sullivan would close his eyes and hug the little lamb tight. 

It seemed like the cover image on our Children's Rosary book with Our Lord holding a lamb was coming to life before us. The priest is Christ's representative on earth. To see the priest holding the lamb with such care and love helped to bring to life that relationship that we are called to have with Our Lord. The lamb as I watched did not work to support his own weight. His legs hung gently down. Even when incense was brought and swung before the little lamb he did not seem to worry or become agitated. He clearly trusted the arms that held him. These moments and images that I witnessed during the Mass on Epiphany have helped my disposition in prayer. Seeing this tiny helpless lamb so safe and cared for by the priest is a reminder of the simplicity and trust we are to have as we approach Our Lord. 

A special thank you to all the children who helped with the living Nativity at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on Epiphany Sunday. We also thank Fr. Sullivan for inviting the Children's Rosary to be a part of this Mass.

Epiphany Surprise!

This is a follow-up to the Epiphany Sunday 2018 post. In that post we shared that there was a new Children's Rosary group which had formed at Mary Mother of Divine Shepherd Parish in Uganda. Two additional Children's Rosary groups had also formed in the outposts of this Parish. 

We shared the story of these children on Epiphany Sunday as we celebrated the gift of these new groups to Our Lord. God in His generosity had a surprise for the children when they arrived for their Children's Rosary Sunday. A new baby goat had been born that day at the Church. This brought excitement for the children. Both pictures shown above were taken on Epiphany Sunday. The children shown in the photo are members of the Children's Rosary at Mary Mother of Divine Shepherd Parish in Uganda. The Parish has a few goats but a new baby always brings joy. It is wonderful to think and marvel at the care Our Lord takes to give gifts to us at just the right time. He does it not because we deserve the gifts but because He takes pleasure in sharing His love with us. One can imagine the children laughing and playing with the baby goat. It gives me great joy to think of them. Oh, how kind Our Lord is to us... we think to give Him gifts on Epiphany and it is He who comes bearing gifts.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

How to Start a Children's Rosary

Gathering Flowers for Our Lady and the Baby Jesus
A Countryside Transformed through Prayer

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

Epiphany Sunday in Kenya!

Yesterday we received these beautiful pictures from two Children's Rosary groups in Kenya. They held their Children's Rosary meetings yesterday on Epiphany Sunday. The group above is the Children's Rosary from Holy Family Church Entarara, Kenya. 

The picture below is from the Children's Rosary at St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Rombo, Kenya. The group in Rombo had some new members who attended this weekend and they each were given Rosaries. In honor of the Feast of the Epiphany several books we had sent were given to this group. Two read aloud Children's Bible were given to the children. In addition two books that were graciously donated to the Children's Rosary were presented to the children.  One was called "Gifts from Our Father" and the other "Counting on Faith". A special thank you to the authors for donating these books.

Please consider joining the children in prayer.  The Children's Rosary in Entarara meets each Sunday at 3PM local time. The Children's Rosary in Rombo meets each Sunday at 2PM local time. You can see a schedule of upcoming meetings in your local time zone on our new Children's Rosary website.  You can also see the children meeting in prayer as a blue flashing light on our View from Heaven map.  By clicking "join in prayer" you can add your gold light to the map as well. We have asked the groups to pray for those unifying prayers with them!

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Resources to begin a Group
Celebrating Music and Dance on the Feast of St. Cecilia

Humbly Bringing Our Gifts Before the Lord

Drawn by a 10 year old member of the
Children's Rosary