Invitation Video For Schools

We are excited to release our new Invitation Video for Schools. Listen to children from St. Francis Xavier School share their experiences with the Children's Rosary Prayer Group Movement. Principal Nathan Wright and first grade teacher, Julie Cannova, also discuss how the Children's Rosary has positively affected the children and the whole school. Please consider introducing this to a local Primary, Pre-Primary or Middle School near you. 

Click HERE to watch the short 3 minute invitation video. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

EWTN Interview about the Children's Rosary in Spanish

How to Start a Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary Collection 

How to Run Your First Children's Rosary Meeting in a School

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.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR NEW VIDEO:

A VIEW FROM HEAVEN 

UNA PERSPECTIVA DESDE EL CIELO

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

Pour plus d'informations sur le Rosaire des Enfants, visitez notre site Web:www.rosairedesenfants.org

A Lukewarm Soul

Dear Friends,

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration: the fourth luminous mystery of the Rosary. The fruit of this mystery is often listed as desire for holiness.  I always love thinking about this fruit. For such a grace to keep striving to move forward toward sanctity is indeed precious. 

As the Feast of the holy St. Jean Vianney was Friday, I thought I would include some portions of a sermon the Holy Cure of Ars gave about lukewarm souls. Please do not think I am preaching by including this here, far from the truth. The words of Jean Vianney challenge all of us. We are constantly battling attachment to the world. 
The sermon is quite lengthy so I will mention portions that drew me to pick up a pen and underline. I will even do a bit more pruning for the purposes of the post and select still fewer parts to share. 
Let us begin with the lukewarm soul. 

Nothing touches this soul: it hears the word of God, yes that is true, but often it just bores it. 

For the last twenty years this soul has been filled with good intentions without doing anything at all to correct its habits.

Yet it does not wish either to leave the world or to go to Heaven, and if it can just manage to pass its time without crosses or difficulties, it would never ask to leave this world at all. In this Matthew 6:24 comes to mind, "You cannot serve two masters either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." 

If God, in order to force such a a soul to detach itself from temporal things, send it any cross or suffering, it is fretful grieving and abandons itself to grumblings and complaints and often even to despair. It seems as if it does not want to see that God has sent it these trials for its good, to detach it from this world and to draw it towards Himself.

His mind is so wrapped up in the things of the earth that the thought of God has no place in it. 

Reading these words of the Holy Cure one could become discouraged, please do not. The world wants to draw us away. It keeps throwing cords around us...tying us down....distracting us. But there are also cords that Heaven sends down such as the Rosary. They are stronger than the earthly cords. They are made of a material not found on earth so there is no concern they will break at just the wrong time. They have been wrought over centuries through grace within the Church. St Dominic whose Feast we celebrate tomorrow was one such instrument that helped in the forging of the Rosary that we know of today. But do not doubt the strength of the gift we were given from heaven. Faithfulness in prayer will give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear where we have stepped off the narrow path and hasten to get back on it.

Let us keep each other in prayer. I humbly remember all the members of the Children's Rosary in my prayers each day.

Your Friend in Christ,
Blythe

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
"The Greater the Sinner, the Greater the Right He Has to My Mercy"
A Day of Incredible Blessings
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

What is the Rosary?

The word "Rosary" comes from the Latin word "Rosarium" meaning "a garland of roses" or, as it is often referred to, a crown of roses. According to St. Louis de Montfort, “Every time people say the Rosary devoutly, they place a crown of one hundred and fifty three red roses and sixteen white roses upon the heads of Jesus and Mary.” 

The Rosary was described by St. John Paul II as a "prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.” His words echo those of other Pope’s that preceded him, such as Pope Leo XIII who emphasized the Rosary as an effective spiritual weapon against the evils afflicting society.  Indeed, in spending time reflecting and contemplating the mysteries of the Rosary, which follow the life of Jesus, we begin to take on more and more of the beautiful characteristics and virtues that Our Lord exemplified.  With His dear Mother watching over us, each of us is guided and protected in a path of holiness.  

Bringing our children to pray the Rosary is a beautiful way to encourage the development of virtue.  Our Blessed Mother explains this in the promises given to St. Dominic to those who faithfully pray the Rosary:

It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

The promises attached to the Rosary have an Imprimatur.  The promise listed above is just one of 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary.  The Rosary is a rich source of grace.  Each mystery of the Rosary has a spiritual fruit associated with it.  The Annunciation (the first joyful mystery) yields humility, the Visitation increases love of neighbor and the third joyful mystery the Nativity increases poverty of spirit.  Poverty of Spirit is the drawing of one’s desires away from the world and increasing desire of things above. It is an emptying of oneself and an allowing Our Lord to fill us. It is wonderful that this fruit helps us to seek that which awaits us in heaven.

As our first vocation in life is to holiness, prayer of the Rosary will help in this path.  Recently,  the Children’s Rosary® was formed.  It is an effort to begin Rosary prayer groups for children in Parishes and schools. These little groups meet weekly or monthly for approximately 30 minutes.  Yet this time in prayer has been so important for these children.  There are so few places that children today can come together to pray with other children and have other children pray for them.  For many children this grounding in prayer and fostering of love for Our Lord and their heavenly Mother will serve to help them for a lifetime.  

Other posts you may enjoy:

How to Start a Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary Book
How to Pray the Rosary

Jesus Make Us Holy

Children's Rosary at Immaculate Conception Church
North Delta, British Columbia, Canada
Photo taken on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Do we want to be holy?  Indeed it is a decision we make to ask for the graces to become holy.  We have to give Our Lord our yes as each of us is given free will.  If we wonder if Our Lord intended each one of us to be holy we have only to remember Our Lord's words: "Be perfect just as My Heavenly Father is perfect"(MT 5:48).  The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states "All are called to holiness."(Catechism #2013) 

Pope Francis, also encourages us "Do not be afraid of holiness, do not be afraid to aim high, to let yourself be loved and purified by God, do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit."

Today in the gospel we heard of the transfiguration "And He was transformed before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them"(Mark 9:3).  

Indeed let us ask Our Lord to make us holy.  Please know that your prayers are joined by the many children who are members of the Children's Rosary.  We pray in a special way for holiness. We stumble along but through the prayers of so many and the generosity of Our Lord we are assisted.  The road is not easy.  As Our Lord knows us so well, He probes us and tests us just as Abraham was tested in the readings today.  But this is done with love.  The Children's Rosary and its members are no stranger to suffering but we also have received so much grace and love that it is difficult to contemplate a different road.  Where else would we go but towards the loving embrace of God. 

We have many Children's Rosary groups meeting this week.  Please consider joining them in prayer from your home.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

Friday March 27th 
Children's Rosasry at St. Mary's School in Orange TX 7:05 AM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Pontiac IL at 9AM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Saturday March 28th
Children's Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel Parish and held in the Kibera slum in Langatta Nairobi Kenya 10 local time
Children's Rosary at St. Michael's Church in Garden City, South Carolina at 10:30 AM ETChildren's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis, Oregon 12 PM PT
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at the Daughters of Charity Convent in Bridgeport CT 2:30 PM ET
Sunday March 1st
Children's Rosary at Our Lady and St. Patrick's Church in Nottingham, England 9AM local time  (4AM ET)
Children's Rosary at Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Nairobi, Kenya 6 AM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Luke's Church in Ogallala, Nebraska at 8:30 AM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, CT 11AM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Trinity Church in Harlan, Kentucky 11:30 AM 
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lago Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Bernard Church in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania at 2PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Anthony Church in Lorain, Ohio 3PM ET in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Children's Rosary at St. Joachim Parish in Madera, California 5:30 PM ET
Children's Rosary at Assumption Church in Umoja, Kenya 2PM local time 
Children's Rosary at Immaculate Conception Church North Delta, British Columbia 6PM ET
Monday March 2nd
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Grace Home for Children in Meru, Kenya at 10 AM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Trinity Academy in Shenandoah, PA 12:20 PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Family Church in Gladstone Michigan 4:30PM  ET
Children's Rosary at St. John the Evangelist Church in Mahopac, New York 4:30 PM ET
Children's Rosary at Rose of Mystica House in Edmeston, NY 4:30 PM ET
Tuesday March 3rd
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate, Lagos Nigeria 1PM ET

Children's Rosary at Holy Redeemer Parish in Menominee, Michigan 6PM EST

Children's Rosary at St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in Lawrenceberg, Indiana 6:30 PM ET

Wednesday March 4th

Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Martin de Porres Church in Jensen Beach Florida.  The Rosary will be held in their Adoration Chapel at 6:15 PM ET (FIRST MEETING)

Thursday February 5th
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate, Lagos Nigeria 1PM ET
The Children's Rosary at St. Martin Church in Kingsville, Texas will meet at 6:30 PM

Presentation of Mary

Caleb pictured in green is one of our younger members of the
Children's Rosary

Today after Mass a familiar face came into the back corner of the chapel: a sweet grandfather and his little granddaughter.  Every day they arrive just after Mass and spend at least an hour in the chapel.

Several of us usually stay to pray the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy after Mass. Today I was enjoying very much watching this little girl no older than a year old toddling around beneath a first class relic of St. Faustina and a large Divine Mercy picture.  The little girl would make her way sometimes crawling sometimes walking with the help of her grandfather over to the kneeler and look up to Jesus and a beautiful statue of Our Blessed Mother.  There were several vases of flowers beneath the pictures and she would look at those as well.  All the while we were praying in the background.  The wonderful soft sounds of the Rosary a backdrop for her exploration.  

I was reminded of a little boy (pictured above in green) who from a tender age of several months old used to come to Mass with his mother.  As he grew she would push his carriage back and forth as we prayed the Rosary after Mass.  As he grew he began coming to the Children's Rosary.  He would watch the older children praying and kneel with them.  Often he would place a rose before Our Lady at the end of the decade taking turns with the other children.  I began to marvel at what a wonderful thing it is to grow up spending time in Our Lord's home.  So often you enter a chapel and it is empty during the day.  For an hour each morning during the week there is a grandfather and a little tiny child learning to walk keeping Our Lord company.  I can imagine Our Blessed Mother smiling to see such a sweet soul and a grandfather who lovingly brings his little granddaughter to Church.  As I was praying today in Church I began to wonder when is the moment when a child has their first lasting memory.  Would't it be wonderful if one of the first memories a child has is looking into the eyes of Our Lord and hearing the prayers of the Rosary echoing in the background.  Such experiences must create a wonderful garden for virtue to grow and flourish in a soul.  

Recently more and more I have been thinking about our Children's Rosary CDs which have little ones praying the Rosary with soft instrumental music behind.  In many ways the prayers are like a lullaby one might play for a child.  I began to wonder if such prayers gently prayed in the background would be wonderfully soothing for a a baby or young child.  So often our children our exploring in their own room or laying down trying to fall asleep.  It might be a wonderful thing to put the Children's Rosary CD on so they might be bathed in the sound of prayers.

Tomorrow as we celebrate the Presentation of Mary I am reminded of the wonderful role St. Anne and St. Joachim played in raising a pure soul which would bring Our Lord into this world.  To contemplate bringing children to Our Lord's home to spend time and just be with Our Lord is something beautiful to reflect on.  Many may not be able to come to the Church each day but you might consider a monthly or weekly Children's Rosary.

We are blessed to have a first class relic of St. Anne visiting our home.  Tonight in a special way I would like to pray for all members of the Children's Rosary and in a special way all parents and grandparents that we may be given the grace and assistance to help guide our own children and grandchildren in holiness. Amen.

Pope Francis Invites Us All to Holiness

Pope Francis blesses a boy as he leaves his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In a recent General Audience by Pope Francis on October 2nd the Holy Father speaks simply and beautifully about our universal call to holiness.

A final question: what can I, a weak fragile sinner, do? God says to you: do not be afraid of holiness, do not be afraid to aim high, to let yourself be loved and purified by God, do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us be infected by the holiness of God. Every Christian is called to sanctity (cf. Dogmatic Constitution); and sanctity does not consist especially in doing extraordinary things, but in allowing God to act. It is the meeting of our weakness with the strength of his grace, it is having faith in his action that allows us to live in charity, to do everything with joy and humility, for the glory of God and as a service to our neighbour. There is a celebrated saying by the French writer Léon Bloy, who in the last moments of his life, said: “The only real sadness in life is not becoming a saint”. Let us not lose the hope of holiness, let us follow this path. Do we want to be saints? The Lord awaits us, with open arms; he waits to accompany us on the path to sanctity. Let us live in the joy of our faith, let us allow ourselves to be loved by the Lord... let us ask for this gift from God in prayer, for ourselves and for others.

The Holy Father's invitation to us to walk on the path of sanctity with Our Lord is reminiscent of the words Pope John Paul II uttered at the World Youth Day in 2000 when he proclaimed, "Do not be afraid to be the saints of the new Millennium!  If you become who you are, you will set the whole world on fire."

To read a complete transcript of Pope Francis' General Audience from Oct 2nd please click here

You may also like the following posts:
Pope Francis and the Rosary
Pope Francis Urges Families to Pray the Rosary
How to Start a Children's Rosary

Monthly Mass to be Offered for Seminarians Tomorrow

As part of our new prayer initiative to pray for seminarians there will be a Mass offered tomorrow for all seminarians that they may grow in holiness and lead us in love.  

Since April all Children's Rosary groups have been praying for the seminarians attending St. John's Seminary in Boston.  We are planning to expand this prayer initiative to include more seminaries.  The most recent addition is Holy Apostle Seminary in CT.  Members of the Children's Rosary are also being given the opportunity to choose a seminarian to pray for in their home.  So far we have more children then seminarians participating and hope to continue to grow this initiative.  Recently some of the seminarians we have been praying for in Boston were ordained.  I've inlcuded some pictures that were taken during some of the ordinations.  

Photos by George Martell, Pilot Media Group.

You may also like the following posts:
New Prayer Inititiative: Praying for Our Seminarians

How to Start a Children's Rosary