Crushed, Stepped on and Then...

I grew up with a mother who loved flowers--perennials in particular. These are the type of flowers that come up year after year. We also put in a vegetable garden when I was a child but this was of secondary importance to the flowers. When I became an adult I shared my mother's love of gardening but I always had a desire to grow food. Everything in the yard had to make something even bushes. If a bush did not make food, it was my preference to replace it with something that could pull its weight in food production. This was tempered by my husband's like of some of our more mature bushes that simply remain green and look attractive. Yet last fall, my heart began to change. My heart began in a special way to open to the beauty of flowers. Of course, I always loved blossoms especially in the spring and admired them. But now the value and importance seemed to carry a new weight in my heart. There was a mix of seeing a value they brought and also a feeling that Our Lord was speaking to us through their beauty. By planting them myself I was giving God greater glory by bringing more beauty. Creating beautiful spaces where we carried out our mission work was important. Last fall there was also a strange thought that kept coming...the thought that in the spring we would need these flowers. That they would be important. And so my son helped me planting many bulbs. I sat poring over the different colors of flowers one could get and which ones we would plant. In October planting began in earnest. There was not immediate gratification that comes when one goes to a garden store and plants an annual flower plant in the summer that is in full bloom at the time of planting. The bulbs we planted were dormant and needed the cold of winter and to be under the ground to show us any flowers the following spring. We had to wait. But there was an anticipation within our hearts.

This past winter was strangely very mild and the bulbs began to poke through the soil in February, something almost unheard of in our region of the Northeast of the United States. Most commented about the early sprouts, that this was bad because cold weather might be in store and this could damage or kill the buds  and we would have to wait another year for them to bloom.

Yet the cold snap people feared never came. Through March the bulbs continued to mature and then even little flowers began to be visible. It was then, just a few weeks ago that we had some plumbing work done. On returning we found the bulbs we had been following all this time crushed. They had been stepped on. The beautiful buds were destroyed. A couple of intact flowers remained. It was a sad sight. We were so disappointed. Trying to keep my spirits up I tried to let go of it and had the happy thought that maybe the following spring we would have flowers. Not this year I thought but next. We had to wait. It would be okay.

Yet we were to have a big surprise. As the rains came and the warm sun, something amazing happened. The bulbs did not give up. They kept growing. Even the bulbs we thought were completely destroyed managed to display amazing beauty. The smell! Who could describe the smell of hyacinth? This is the best part of these bulbs. Even more important than their beauty is their smell. They smell heavenly. We did not have to wait until next year. The flowers seemed even more precious since they defied all the unfortunate effects of being trampled upon.

Today during Palm Sunday Mass I thought of these flowers. I thought of how they were crushed. Yet despite all adversities such as we are undergoing with the Coronavirus Pandemic, the bulbs bloomed and gave off a heavenly fragrance. As we go into Holy Week, let us not give up on this blessed time and say, "We will have to wait until next year to have a true 'Holy Week.'" Let us see that we are not counted out. We can still come close to Our Lord even if we cannot step foot in a Church. We can spend time with Our Lord in prayer. Our Lord does not forget us. God's Providence never fails in its designs. I would never have wished for the flowers to be trampled but something very beautiful indeed followed. Unexpected surely but possibly more precious as a result.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

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

Little Ones Becoming Leaders in their Faith

How to make a cross out of Palms

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 Puddle

Occasionally on this blog I have shared a bit about the journey of an illness that pulled me from an active career as an Endodontist and bit by bit simplified my life. At the time it did not feel like my life was becoming simpler. Rather it felt like a terrible road that was leading away from my ability to live life. Through a genetic condition that was diagnosed during the pregnancy with our son, I was warned that my body might deteriorate. Indeed this is what happened. Not only would I lose the ability to do many of the things I wanted to do to care for myself such as even tying my shoes for myself. I could not even open a refrigerator to get something to eat. This was due to instability of the joints in my hands and other parts of my body. This instability caused injury and even joint dislocation. There were periods of time when I was in excruciating pain. It was through this process that Our Lord was breaking down deeply rooted ideas that I could do things on my own and did not need to rely on God. 

After reaching the worst of my physical decline, often I would think of myself as a puddle. I was brought low, so low in fact that nothing solid remained just a puddle of my former self. I thought of this puddle as the lowest point. One could get no lower at least in the way I thought of myself. 

Our Lord did not leave me alone...in fact I am certain I was never alone at any point in that spiraling decline. But once I hit rock bottom and I turned everything over to God hope flooded in. I would never get back my ability to do many things such as practice dentistry, drive or even open a refrigerator, yet the future seemed bright. In some ways my body began to stabilize and I again could walk more then across a room and even could walk to Mass each day. Yet as I would speak of those darkest moments I would often relate the feeling of being a puddle. The image of myself never seemed to leave me. The sadness was gone. It was rather just a way to describe a feeling I had. 

Today when after Mass I found myself needing to lay down I was reminded of the puddle. As I thought of the puddle Our Lord showed me the beauty of even a simple dirty puddle. The water that fell was clean but the world had in many ways sullied it. Yet even in this rather pitiful state when the sun peeked out from behind a cloud this dirty little puddle could reflect that which is above. It surely had no beauty of its own.  Of itself the puddle is to be avoided by most people of good sense as one wants to keep your shoes clean and dry. Yet God can use even this little puddle for His Glory. The puddle could do what many of the things in the yard could not do. It could reflect the beauty of the sky in such a way. 

I have always felt that Our Lord kept my limitations always present to keep me always aware at how dependent I am on Him. He had taught me in a very hard lesson, hard because of my stubbornness. He had taught me the beauty of the response of Peter to Our Lord's question: "You do not want to go away also, do you?" and Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go?"(John 6:68)  I had through many tries attempted many other paths. I found none satisfying save one that Our Lord was leading me on. So today in my bed I called to my daughter to go out and take some pictures of puddles. As a good daughter she indulged me. What she brought back was just what I suspected in my heart. There were small puddles that shown beautifully the sky with all its splendor. As I mentioned before, most people try to avoid puddles. This is of course save for the little child who loves nothing more then jumping in puddles. What can be more fun? Maybe this is why Our Lord has put me among so many children through the Children's Rosary. It is there that His little puddle can serve Him best.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

A Day of Incredible Blessings at the Shrine of Divine Mercy

Nuestra Fe en Vivo interview

How to Plan a May Crowning

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

"Blessed Are They That Hope in the Lord"

The children above are from our Children's Rosary in Muhammad Pura Pakistan. This is an outpost of St. Francis Xavier Parish. The outpost in Muhammad Pura has no structure so the children have been meeting for over two years outside. The weather in Pakistan is warm most of the year but in the winter it is cold and this year they have even had significant snowfall. 

We received word this past week that the children would like to build a Church in their town. They have even decided to name it after St. Anthony of Padua. They have begun to save for the building of the Church. People from the village have contributed. Today in Mass as the Responsorial Psalm was read, "Blessed are they that hope in the Lord," I thought of this Children's Rosary group. I thought of the hope these children have in their hearts. They pray and trust and through this Our Lord can do amazing things. 

The first Children's Rosary group to build a Church in Pakistan was in Sago Bago. Last year, a second Children's Rosary group successfully built a Church located in Kotly Raet Wali, Pakistan. They named their Church after the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the children give a beautiful example of how Our Lord does bless those that hope in the Lord. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

Rebuilding Our Church

Children's Rosary T Shirts

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.

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

Special Release of Our New Video: A View from Heaven

We humbly release this video: A View from Heaven.  

In the gospel today it said, "...ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9)  The children have been knocking.  This video is a fruit of many prayers. And yet it is an invitation for more prayer.  Our Lord and Our Lady are very generous with us. "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?" (Luke 11:11) 

So many these days speak of how crazy our world is becoming. Watch this video and one sees a different vantage point. A different way of looking at our world.  The lens to see this through is prayer.  When one looks at our world that way it looks very different. Indeed the world seems to get very small when so many are praying.

Hear the invitation of the children. Join us in prayer. We ask you to find a time each day and unify prayers. Click "join in prayer" on our website www.childrenrosary.org and say in your heart that you would like to unify prayers with all the members of the Children's Rosary.  As more and more add their light something beautiful happens.  A joy comes to the heart.  One feels they are not alone. Another soul is there praying and unifying.   
Link to watch the Video in English

Link to watch the Video in Spanish

Please consider joining the children in prayer. The children are asked to pray for those unifying prayers with them.  See a schedule of meetings on our website: www.childrensrosary.org or www.rosariodeninos.org or www.rosairedesenfants.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
Month of the Rosary
EWTN Interview about the Children's Rosary in Spanish

A Child Makes a Request that Seems Impossible, but Is It?

In June we received a note from a 14 year old boy from the Philippines. I will call him "Courageous" for privacy reasons. He wrote "I'm from the Philippines I like your Prayer movement because this way the Children, through the Rosary can reach God." He was interested in starting a Children's Rosary in his parish and let us know that he would be asking permission from his pastor.

He received permission to begin a Children's Rosary from the Pastor at St. Joseph the Worker Parish. Preparation began and Rosaries were sent to him along with some Children's Rosary books. The materials arrived in record time. Praise God!  

Courageous wrote to us "Thank you for your generous help for me, I prayed for you and the Children's Rosary groups everyday".

He also had a request for 400 Children's Rosary books, 10,000 Rosaries, a Joyful and Sorrowful Children's Rosary CD, a Children's Rosary DVD, 2 read aloud Children's Bibles, 900 Children's Rosary bookmarks and bumper stickers.

The sheer number of Rosaries he asked for left me wondering how many children were there in his group?

Courageous would explain that these were not all intended for the group in his parish. But rather he hoped for others to use them in his city who could begin Children's Rosary groups in their parishes. These were not all meant for him, but many.  Some of what he requested seemed possible to fulfill but the Rosaries and the 400 Children's Rosary books would be more difficult. But what I have learned through the Children's Rosary is not to underestimate what  a child can do or what God can do through a child. Tran in Vietnam taught me this. Children have a wonderful innocence in their hearts to see all that is possible. It does not occur to them that such things: as spreading a prayer group movement for children throughout one's city would be too difficult. Instead it seems wonderful!  This excitement is just what we need. There is no need to give lessons in the possible or reasonable but rather take a lesson from the children and remain open to what God can do. 

The materials we send all come through Divine Providence. So the scale of what we have to offer is not dictated by us. We send what we receive. So in this way the sky is the limit. In the school of Our Lady I have learned not to dismiss any request as too much. Anything is possible with God. I have also learned that God works through people. Rarely does money or Rosaries fall from the sky. But in a way it does because through the hands of many we have received so many beautiful handmade Rosaries.  Some have come from people we have never met but through some means heard of the Children's Rosary and wanted to help. Maybe you are just that person who makes Rosaries or knows someone who makes rosaries and is willing to send them where they are needed. Or maybe you are a person who is able to make a donation to help us send Rosaries that are donated.  The need is great. But that is part of the good news of this post. The fact that we have many priests and individuals waiting for materials to begin groups is actually incredibly hopeful. So in the face of much bad news in the world there is good news. The children are helping to bring a bright light of hope. They have dreams to see many more children like themselves praying. My hope is that we can keep saying yes to each request. The requests are coming from many places such as the United States,  Australia, Tanzania, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico, Uganda, Venezuela, Pakistan, Vietnam to name just a few locations.

Information on how to help HERE.

The pictures included in this post were sent from Courageous. This is the outpost of St. Joseph the Worker where he plans to begin his Children's Rosary on September 2, 2017. This outpost is a Chapel named after Our Lady of Lourdes. Courageous told us that the children will meet in the Chapel for the Children's Rosary. Five flowers will be given, one at the end of each decade to Our Lady. Then all the children will go outside to the garden to give Our Lady more flowers (the garden is pictured above). 

The pictures Courageous sent are very interesting. They look as if they were taken through a thick bottle...almost as if one was looking through a small port hole in a ship and the view outside has some distortion. There is a sense that what one is seeing is a far off place....a glimpse to something very beautiful. 

Indeed it is beauty that we are seeing. We are seeing a young soul hoping, praying, wishing to help other children like himself come together in prayer. Yes 10,000 rosaries is a lot. But is it impossible?

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
A Window to the World Through Prayer
Hear from the Children
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

Mass Offered for Seminarians on April 1, 2017

A Mass was offered today 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.



Today, when one would expect the warmth of spring, we have ice and snow falling in the Northeast part of the United States.  Yet, through this we see the beauty of spring peeking through. Just so there is great beauty in the hearts of men saying, "Yes" to a life in service of Our Lord. Today we would like to share the stories of two such men.  These are beautiful stories and I hope many will want to share these with their children and also pray for these young men.


Kevin Camilo
"Hello, my name is Kevin Camilo, and I am currently in my sophomore year of the minor seminary studying for the Archdiocese of New York. I was born on September 19, 1995 in Brooklyn New York. I lived there for most of my life before spending some time in Missouri, California, and settled back again in New York. My mother was always very devout and she tried her best to instill the faith in my siblings and I. Now I first felt the call to the priesthood when I was about 10 years old. I have memories of looking at the priest all wide eyed as he would elevate the body and blood of Jesus. As I went through middle school into high school I put the idea of priesthood more and more on the back burner, until I found myself walking somewhat far from God. During my senior years of high school, the good Lord called me back to Himself and I rediscovered the faith of my mother and the love of that God had for me. As I started to practice the faith and take responsibility for it, our Lord once again brought the thought of priesthood back to my mind. I ran away at first but after a while the love of God caught up with me and with great peace I realized that this was something I had to at least take a look at. So I spoke to my parish priest and he spoke to me about what a vocation is and what it means to feel called to the priesthood. After about two years I decided to take the leap of faith and apply for the seminary. By the goodness of God, I was accepted and not a day goes by that I regret it. Seminary life is not without out its difficulties and even doubts at times, but I know that God is always faithful and more and more He has become my daily strength regardless of where He may lead me."

Niall McDonagh

Childhood
"I was born in Westminster, London, to Irish parents in 1984. I am the middle child of three boys. I received the sacraments as I attended Catholic Primary and Secondary school. My mother brought me to mass as a child, and did her best to ensure I was exposed to the faith. 
My priority as a child was soccer, either watching it or playing it. Like most young boys it was always my dream to be a professional soccer player.

Moved to Ireland as a 14 year old
My family and I moved to Galway, Ireland, in my teens. I found this initial move hard to take. As with most teens all you want to do is fit in with the crowd, at that age your peers mean everything to you. Playing a high standard of soccer allowed me to make friends and feel accepted among my peers. I was captain of the school soccer team. As I made friends I developed a social life at a young age and my Catholic faith played no role in my life.
School was becoming less important to me as my social life was taking over. I received a sport soccer scholarship while at university. I had a girlfriend, many friends and popularity. Mass and prayer were not things I would have wasted my time with! My lifestyle was earning me popularity for the wrong reasons, and I was beginning to isolate myself from the rest of my family.

Over the space of 9 months my life was turned upside down.

I left the University course I was studying as I realized it wasn’t for me. Shortly after, while playing a soccer match I sustained a serious leg injury. I was on the wrong end of a bad tackle, and broke my leg severely, it was a compound fracture of my tibia and fibula. I had three surgeries, where I had a metal rod inserted through my knee and 4 screws to hold it in place. This was a painful experience for me on many levels. My priorities were really challenged, as I had lived for playing soccer, and it had been taken away from me.

Then the dreaded news came, "Niall, worst case scenario, we are going to amputate your leg." This news hit me badly, it was like a knife to my heart. My biggest worry up to that point was what soccer team I would sign for, and now I was faced with the prospect of having my leg amputated. 

The night before the surgery while lying in my hospital bed, I really started to enter myself for the first time in years. I began to ask questions regarding my existence, "Why is this happening to me?" "What's this life all about"?!  For the first time in years I began to pray, "God if you are real then please save my leg. I’ll be good from now on and I’ll change my life, please help me"...and thank God after three more surgeries and plastic surgery, my leg made a recovery. For some reason I believed that God had heard my prayer.

Conversion

After this event that occurred in my life I began to seek out a meaning and purpose to my existence. I had a Bible that I began to read regularly. I began to compare passages in the Bible to my own life, and the more my existence started to make sense. I became more curious about my faith and regularly discussed it with my mother, and started to attend Catholic events.

I had by this time established a prayer life and a relationship with God. My focus was changing from the materialistic things of today’s world to Christ himself.

I dedicated my time to helping the homeless, reading and learning more about my faith. In 2014 I came to the South Bronx, New York to work with the Missionaries of Charity in a homeless shelter. It was while serving the homeless and the forgotten that I felt the Lord inviting me to discern my vocation at a deeper level. In 2015 I entered seminary for the Archdiocese of New York.

Reflecting on my life, it is evident that invoking the Saints has played a pivotal role on this journey. Praying to Ignatius Loyola, who also found God through a leg injury brings me great courage. St Damien of Molokai, the ‘suffering servant’ who lived and died with lepers exiled on the island of Molokai, is a true example for me, an example of how to live with joy and solidarity with the outcasts of the world. St. Teresa of Kolkata, and my experiences with her congregation, has laid a foundation for my faith ‘to do small things with love’ and to ‘see Christ in everyone.’ And my devotion to our Blessed Mother, has brought me closer to her son Jesus.

I feel it must be mentioned that none of the above took place on my own merit, but simply by God’s grace working in my life. Surrendering my own will, and cooperating with God, has brought me on a journey that I could never have imagined. I have done nothing to deserve the way He has blessed me, or the way He continues to act in my life. There has been a major transformation, and a complete renewal of my mind, and none of it has been my doing, but simply saying yes, and surrendering my will to Him. I hope to always wholeheartedly try, with the grace that I receive, to do the will of God."

A special thank you to Kevin Camilo and Naill McDonagh for sharing their beautiful vocation stories. Please keep them in your prayers.

Other Posts you May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
"When the Impossible Becomes Possible"
Tears of Joy

Honey for the Heart

This morning upon coming home from our monthly Children's Rosary at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hartford Connecticut,  there was a surprise: more beautiful pictures and videos from the first meeting of the Children's Rosary in Vietnam with the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Holy Redeemer. These sisters take care of orphans and disabled children.  
Through the invitation of Tran, a 16 year old boy who is helping to spread the Children's Rosary, they began a group today on September 11th 2016.  They met at 10 AM with many unifying prayers with them from around the world.  The little ones who have very little, each had a rose to place at the foot of Our Lady.  They knelt in prayer of the Holy Rosary as a new Children's Rosary group.  They prayed for all of us who are part of the Children's Rosary, a humbling thought indeed.  They entrusted all their worries to their heavenly Mother and Father.  They came with hope that all their efforts to make the morning special would bring Our Lord and His Mother joy.  Tran, the boy who only two weeks ago lost his beloved Pastor, held his guitar and played for Our Lady and the children.  The new group began by being Consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.


In watching the videos of the children praying and placing roses before Our Lady, there were no words to express what this evoked in my heart.  I could find only a few to utter: beauty, joy, thanksgiving....  nothing seemed to be enough. The children ended their meeting by venerating the relics of two beautiful saints: St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. Padre Pio.  

Those children who were unable to get out of their bed due to their disabilities had a special visit from Tran to say a prayer with them and venerate the relics. 

Seeing the children barefoot in the chapel one is reminded of Mother Teresa who always removed her shoes as she entered a chapel as she consider it holy ground.  The beautiful reverence of these children is an inspiration.  They have so little and yet they pray and thank God.  

From my own little heart I simply say:, "thank you, thank you, thank you God for such a gift today.  Surely this is from You as it is a taste of heaven to see such things. 

Please watch the two video clips of the children:
Placing Roses Before Our Lady
Praying





Other posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary begins airing Daily on EWTN Radio Classics
The Passing of Fr. Augustine

"Simple Children Asking Our Loving God for Great Things"

Children's Rosary in Corvallis, Oregon

Recently I received a wonderful little note from our Children's Rosary group leader at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis, Oregon.  The group leader is a father and began the group on November 2nd of 2013.  Since beginning the group, only his two children have attended.  They meet each Saturday at 9AM PT in a little library within the Church.  The children kneel before a large picture of Our Lady.  Despite the fact that their group has remained small, just the two of them, the children have remained faithful to their meetings.  

This past weekend the children had a wonderful surprise another little girl joined them.  They were so excited and the family shared that they would like to attend each week.  Such a gift for the two sweet children and their father who have always hoped more children would come.  The father spoke so beautifully in his note of the grace he has come to experience through the Children's Rosary. I asked his permission to share his note:

"It feels like God's grace is like a flood ready to pour out and He gives us the little latch of simple, confident prayer to open the floodgates."

"It is beautiful that God wants to pour out so much grace upon this world, but He respects our free will and He also wants us to share and collaborate in His work of redemption, so He does not force His grace upon the world.  Rather He asks us for simple things like prayer and sacrifice as the little keys that unlock the gates and allow the flood of grace to pour out into so many souls.  Once we see that God has given us these little keys, we feel bolder and stronger to ask bold and great things from God because He wants them.  We are not trying to twist His arm to help us rather we are confidently asking our loving Father for all the good things that He wants to give to us, knowing that all He wants for us is to ask with trust and be patient and persevering to allow God to act in His time.  This is the beauty of the Children's Rosary is that it is simple children asking our loving Father for great things that His heart so wants to give to us."

Other posts you may enjoy:
How Can One Draw Himself Away from Love of the World?
How to Start a Children's Rosary

Just When You Were Thinking to Give Up

As many of you may have read,  several years ago the children planted a Peace Rose as a gift to Our Lady on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.  We asked Our Lord as a gift to His Mother that with every pedal that forms on the bush that 1,000 families would return to family prayer.  Renewal of family prayer has been a particularly special prayer intention of the Children's Rosary.  The Rose the first summer surprised us by blooming on many beautiful Marian Feasts.  Last summer there was construction at our Church and a bulldozer was brought in which ran over the rose bed.  At first we thought all the roses were destroyed but a week later Our Lady's rose along with the other roses in the bed were found in buckets on the side of the Rectory.  They stayed in the buckets for several months and then were replanted in the garden maintained by the Knights of Columbus.  Mary's rose bush didn't seem to make the transplantation process very well and looked like it might be dying.  Through the long cold winter I wondered how the Rose was doing and when spring came all the other bushes began growing and bloomed though June.  The bush the children planted remained a small stump about 2 inches tall.  The Knights are so good about caring for the rose bed I thought for sure the rose stump would be removed at any time.  Yet the stump remained through July. Each day as I passed the stump on my walk to daily Mass I wondered if there was some reason this died, a meaning perhaps. As was read in the Gospel today,  "Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).  

It was still sad though that the children's Rose planted for Our Lady was dead.  Last Sunday morning we arrived from Chicago at 1AM and the children, my husband and I went right to sleep.  Then bright and early that morning a call came.  It was a member of the Children's Rosary calling to say something wonderful had happened.  There was a brand new shoot coming out of the ground by the Rose stump.  The rose thought to be dead might actually be alive.  The children and I were excited as we walked to Church that morning anxious to see if indeed the rose was alive.  As we bent over to look we could see two shoots.  The smaller of the two actually seemed to be pushing the ground up.  We came prepared with a camera to document such a happy find.  

I began to think of a homily I had recently heard about Saint Faustina who during her life had a vision of St. Therese.  She asked the Saint if she herself would also become a saint to which St. Therese told her, yes.  She asked if she would be raised up in the Church and St. Therese told her yes.  But St. Therese also told Sr. Faustina to have more faith. It occured to me that all those months through the spring and summer I had thought the rose was dead and nothing was happening.  It reminded me of the effort so many make to run their Children's Rosary groups.  Sometimes it is hard to gather children and there is a feeling nothing is happening.  One feels that they should give up.  But Our Lord shows us even when something looks dead there are things happening out of view.  Change is occuring,  a renewal in fact.  

In looking at the other roses which dwarf this little stump with a few tender young shoots,  one can see how such a little bush might seem insignificant but what is remarkable is that Our Lord often chooses the small and wounded to work great change.  This is so beautifully evident with  St. Therese who is the patron Saint of missionaries even though she lived in a convent.  In our efforts to bring the smallest among us, our very children, to the Rosary the Lord blesses these efforts even if by worldly standards nothing appears to be happening.  Through this beautiful story of the little rose, may we all hold on and not give up.

Other Posts you may enjoy: 
The Children Plant a Rose for Our Lady

"I Will Love Them Freely"

This was a portion of the first reading today at Mass.  It is from Hosea in which God speaks of His love for Israel despite periods of faithlessness.

Such words took beautiful meaning today during an interesting series of events.  Our local Parish some time ago had to cease holding Friday Masses due to a shortage of priests.  Thus in order to attend Mass on Friday I must travel a further distance to another parish.  Reaching places not within a close distance of my house is a bit more challenging as I do not drive due to a genetic joint disability. However, my husband is so kind as to drive me each Friday around 7AM on his way to work.  After Mass I walk usually walk about a mile and then catch a city bus which takes me to the town center from which I can walk home.  On occasion I have missed the bus and had to walk all the way home.  With my disability such a walk is hard but with frequent breaks on park benches I can make it home slowly.  There has been a feeling, if the Lord gives me the grace to be able to walk then such a journey is a blessed one.

Today something interesting happened.  I decided to stay after Mass and go to Confession.  A decision I realized that might mean I could miss the bus.  Yet I had the time today and so I thought if such a thing happens it will be okay.  After Confession I was very glad to have stayed and the priest's parting words were to thank those around me and Our Lord frequently.  Off I went on a rather brisk pace in hopes of reaching the bus stop in time.  As I approached the intersection I saw the bus coming.  The bus stop was far in the distance.  I could see it would be impossible for me to make it to the stop in time.  The bus turned in front of me.  I caught a glimpse of the bus driver.  It was not someone I knew.  A quick thought entered my mind to try and wave him down but just as fast I remembered how the bus drivers really don't like stopping at unofficial stops.  Not that they are unkind but this is part of the bus company policy.  As the bus went by me my heart took a sigh.  Oh, I had a long walk ahead of me but all was still okay.  Then something unexpected.  The bus put on its blinker and pulled over not at a bus stop.  It seemed to be waiting for me.  I almost could not believe my eyes.  As I came to the door it opened.  Stepping on I asked, "How did you know?"  He said, "I didn't, she told me".  And then I looked behind him and their was a young women sitting right behind him.  She smiled at me.  She was the only person on this long articulating bus (this basically means it is a bus the length of two normal buses with a connector in the middle).  I knew the women, her name is Lourdes, and she occasionally is on the bus and sometimes goes to our church.  I immediately thanked them both.  She asked me if I had just come from Mass and I answered, yes.

As I sat down so much love welled up in my heart.  I could not help but feel this intervention had been at the hand of Our Lord.  As I mulled it over something struck me.  If I had missed the bus I would have struggled home but by the grace of God I would have made it.  I was in no obvious danger merely some small bit of suffering possibly.  Yet I felt the Love of Our Lord saying, today I wanted to show you that I love you and although you could have walked I wanted to give you some rest just because I love you.  While I heard no vocal words to this effect this was the sentiment that came in my heart.  It was love given freely.  It was not a prayer that I should catch the bus.  I had not thought to pray for such a thing.  It was Our Lord's idea.  A gesture to remind us that He is always there,  always watching, always caring for us.  Even when there is no absolute need, He may intervene just because He wants to show us how much love He has for us.  These things as we are reminded in Scripture come not because we have warranted such acts of kindness and love for so often I truly feel I disappoint Our Lord.  But in spite of all this there is an abundance of love and kindness showered down upon us.

For Those Outside the Church Who will Open the Door?

It is an interesting question.  I relate it to an experience I had several weeks ago.  Arriving at Church as I usually do, I found I was a bit later then most days and I feared that all had already entered the Church for Mass.  See I have a genetic condition which affects joints and results in joint instability.  Although I can no longer drive I can by the grace of God walk to Church.  However, my hands are too weak to open the Church doors.  So I stand and wait at the door until someone comes along to let me in.  There have been a few instances such as this particular day, when I arrive close to the start of Mass and all have already entered.  It is at such times, when the large wooden doors stand closed and I am outside that I wonder how I will get in.  There is a no way I would attempt to open the door myself as this would surely result in a joint dislocation.  And so I remain outside.

This one particular day, a few weeks ago, a cold wind had kicked up and I stood praying with a little prayer book by the door.  Looking up I noticed a child walking toward me with her mother at a distance.

Her mother inquired if I needed help and I said, yes.  Her daughter ran on and opened the door.  As I passed through she smiled at me.  I did not know the little girl or her mother.  They had been waiting in a car for school to start, as there is a parochial school associated with our Church.  I marvelled as I prayed at Mass that it was a child who opened the door to the Church for me.  It occurred to me that many stand outside the Church unable to open the door themselves.  The cause of the obstacle is different for each person.  Yet there is a comfort and ease of accepting help from a child.  They do not judge the one in need and seem only to happy to be of assistance.

I would meet this girl again only a week ago.  She again saw me waiting at the door and this time seemed to know just what to do.  I asked her name and she said Hannah.  She mentioned she was in second grade, probably 7 or 8 years old.

It gave me joy to see this little one with smiles so eager to help. I did not feel silly needing the help as so often I do when asking the help of a stranger. 

It occurred to me that our children are uniquely suited to reach out to others who silently wait for help.

Recently such a thing happened within the Children's Rosary. A member of our group asked for prayers for a man whose knee joint replacement had failed.  He was without a joint and in horrible pain.  The children began praying for this man and his wife who was caring for him.  Something beautiful happened.  The wife felt so moved that children were praying for her husband that she encouraged her daughter to begin a Children's Rosary, buying the books needed for the children.  She herself is not Catholic but her daughter had recently converted.  An unlikely individual to encourage a group to form but children have a way of bringing people together.

As more Children's Rosary groups form it is my hope that more people will experience the help and love of our children and through them they will be drawn closer to the warm embrace of Our Lord. 

Other posts you may enjoy:
Children's Rosary turns 1
How to Start a Children's Rosary
A Grandmother's Experience with the Children's Rosary

“Lord to Whom Shall We Go”

These are the words Simon Peter spoke to Jesus in the Gospel reading from Mass today.

These words invoke a deep interior reflection for this would be a phrase that has come to give me much consolation.  May I share that as an individual who has spent a great deal of my life in the study of the sciences in particular dentistry and the specialty of Endodontics,  my mind has been trained to work in testing hypothesizes and working with facts.  This training fosters a mind keen to details and solidly pragmatic.  Such was the way I responded to an illness that took me by surprise.  It would turn out to be a genetic condition that brings with it a deterioration of ones collagen prematurely due to a genetic defect.  Such deterioration brings with it joint dislocations, pain, weakness and a host of other manifestations.  As a trained clinician my mind began sifting through the details of the case.  What were the factors that seemed to trigger such a rapid decline in function.  How could these be slowed, mitigated and even reversed.  There must be a dogmatic answer or a doctor to right that which was clearly dysfunctional.  Such was the path I set out on.  To talk and speak to anyone who was doing research in this area and to study the condition myself through review of scientific literature. Yet this journey in the world of details seemed to lead no where.  No one had the magic bullet to slow the rapid deterioration in health I was experiencing.  

As a practicing Catholic attending Sunday Mass only, I vividly recall picking up a prayer card with prayers honoring Our Lady’s seven sorrows.  It lay for a long time right by the back door.  One day on the way out the door I picked it up.  I looked at it and interiorly said, I am not bad enough.  It reminds me of a hair dresser I once talked to who complained of back pain but was wearing designer shoes.  I suggested she wear a pair of orthopedic shoes like mine.  She looked at my shoes and said, my back would have to get much worse before I would ever consider wearing those.  I laugh at such a statement because this is what I thought deep in my heart.  Things would have to get much worse to change my pursuit of a scientific solution to my problems and look elsewhere for help.  Yet such would be my fate.  All the things I held on so tightly to: my fierce independence and self reliance would be stripped away layer by layer.  Slowly, I would have to ask for help with everything.  Luxuries such as driving would be lost and even the strength to open the refrigerator.  Yes I would find that place where I would finally give up my pursuit of the details and begin to look elsewhere.  

The gate that opened began with a confession which was long overdue. A pamphlet on Divine Mercy was the wind that blew the door wide open.  Indeed all the despair which seemed to be swallowing me up was washed away by an enveloping feeling of hope.  This began a road in a different direction.  One that ended with a the phrase spoken today, "Lord to whom shall we go"(John 6:68) or the way I find myself saying it in prayer, Lord where else would I go.  Yes this is such a comforting phrase to me. For it is a truth that has been tested in the fire of intense suffering and has shown never to fail.  After exhausting all earthly directions only one place remained...to live and rest in the heart of Our Lord. To not only seek out His love but to be consumed by His love.

When a soul finds this truth it is such a consolation and strength.  Many souls I suspect find out this fact with far less resistance but such was my path.