Month of the Rosary

The children cleaning the Church in
honor of the Month of the Rosary

May I share with you some good news.  In August a third Children's Rosary began in Pakstian at St. Peter Church in Musa Dughal.  This is a small poor Muslim town with some Christian families.  The organization of Churches in these rural areas is that Parishes have many smaller Churches that exist under the care of a Pastor in a larger more central Church.  Each smaller Church is visited by the priest as time allows.  In this case St. Peter's Church, it was often visited yearly around Chritmas time.  The Church had fallen under some disrepair and did not have a crucifix.  

Cleaning the Church

Babu Chand, father of 5 and the group leader for our other two Children's Rosary groups in Pakistan, introduced the Children's Rosary to this Church with the permission of the Pastor.  The children wanted to begin a group and the first meeting was held on August 9th 2015.  As the Church needed a great deal of work, the children set to helping to clean and paint the Church.  Flowers were brought in and the group leader even had a wooden cross made for the Church so as he said, "it would be more beautiful".  In many ways it felt like St. Francis at work in this Church.  The group at St. Peter's Church began small but more and more children wanted to be a part of it and now 36 children participate.

Two children who are part
of the Children's Rosary at
St. Peter's Church

The children were still on summer break when the Children's Rosary began in their Church.  Thus they were able to meet daily each afternoon at 2PM.  The group leader Babu Chand would travel by bike to the town each day.  As school has now started the group now often meets weekly or more frequently as time allows.  The group leader shared with me this week that, 
"As the month of October is declared the month of the Rosary, before starting this holy month we cleaned the church and then started the Rosary".  He sent along the pictures of the children sweeping and tidying everything up in the church in honor of this Holy Month of the Rosary.  Such a beautiful sweet gift that shows the respect and love the children have formed for the Rosary and their dear heavenly Mother and Father.  They take care of the Church as they see it as God's home which should be lovingly cared for and honored. The children also enjoy taking their rosaries in hand and going to visit poor families or those that are sick and praying with them.  The village people find great joy in these visits from the children and the Rosaries they give them to use in their families.

Good news came this week for the children.  The group leader shared that a special invitation has been extended to the children who are part of the Children's Rosary.  They have been asked to lead a Children's Rosary at 11AM local time on October 5th at a large regional event.  People will be attending from throughout the Province.  Children from the three Children's Rosary groups will be attending.  The children hope to share the Children's Rosary with more children from more distant towns and villages at this event.

In addition to the Children's Rosary groups in Pakistan we have many Children's Rosary groups meeting this month around the world.  A schedule of some of the groups meeting over the next several days is included below.  Please consider joining the children in prayer.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

Friday October 2nd (First Friday)
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Orange TX 7:05 AM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Pontiac, IL 9AM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Pine Bluff Wisconsin10 AM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Peter Church in Musa Dughal Pakistan 2PM local timeChildren's Rosary at St. Joseph Parish in Adrain, Michigan 5PM
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 9PM local 
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf Town Pakistan 6PM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Luke's Parish in Ogallala, Nebraska
Saturday October 3rd (First Saturday)
Children's Rosary in Cebu Philippines meets each Saturday.
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis, Oregon 9AM PT
Children's Rosary at St. Agnes Church in Naples FL 9:30 AM ET
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Sharon, MA 9:30 AM ET
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of LaSalette Parish in Sulphur, Louisiana 9:30 AM CT
Children's Rosary at S. Michael the Archangel Parish held in the Kibera Slum in Langatta Nairobi, Kenya to meet at 10 AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Rushden, Northants England 10 AM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Family Parish in Syracuse, NY to meet at 10 AM ET at the Daughters of St. Mary Chapel
Children's Rosary at St. Bridget Church in Cheshire, CT 12:30 PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Peter Church in Musa Dughal, Pakistan 2PM local time
Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart Church in Middleboro, MA 2PM ET
Children's Rosary at the Daughter's of Charity Convent Bridgeport CT 2PM ETChildren's Rosary at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Bristol, CT 2:15 PM ET 
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Tacloban City Philippines 3PM local timeChildren's Rosary at St. Thomas Becket Church in Cheshire, CT 3PM ET
Children's Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, CT 3:30 PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Peter's Church in Higganum, CT 4PM ET 
Children's Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Natchitoches, Louisiana 4:30 ET 
Children's Rosary at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Shrub Oak NY 4:45 PM ET
Children's Rosary at our Lady of Fatima Parish in Hartford, CT 5PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Richmond, Virginia 4PM
Children's Rosary at Mary Queen of the Universe Parish Comstock, TX 5:15 CT
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf town Pakistan meets 6PM local time
Children's Rosary at Immaculate Conception Church in North Delta, British Columbia 4PM PSTSunday October 4th
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6 AM local time
Children's Rosary at Our Lady and St. Patrick Church in Nottingham, England 9AM local time
Children's Rosary at Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Nairobi, Kenya 6AM ET
Children's Rosary at St Thomas Church in Thomaston, CT 11 AM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Trinity Church in Harlan, Kentucky 11:30 AM
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos, Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Bernard Church in Mount Lebanon, PA at 2PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Peter's Church in Musa Dughal Pakistan 2PM local time
Children's Rosary at the Daughter's of Charity Convent in Bridgeport CT 2PM ET
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 St. Joseph Church in Ashraf Town Pakistan 6PM local time
Monday October 5th
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Joesph Church in Wakefield MA 9:30 AM ET
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Grace Home for Children in Meru, Kenya at 10 AM ET

Children's Rosary Pakistan 11AM local time (Meeting of regional groups)
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 Ave Maria Quasi-Parish in Ave Maria Florida 4PM ET

Children's Rosary at Holy Family Church in Gladstone Michigan 4:30 PM 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 4:40 PM ET
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Victory Crestview, Floriday 6PM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf town in Pakistan 6PM local time

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start the Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary Book
Children's Rosary Song Video

Going Out To Pray With the Poor

The Children's Rosary groups continues to grow in Pakistan with a second Children's Rosary group in St. Joseph Church in Ashraf Town.  This group meets daily. The children of this group felt moved to not only meet and pray in the Church but also to go out and pray with the sick and also the poor families.  As they go out each day to pray with a different family they share the very little they have giving away the rosaries that have been shared with them.  The group leader has told us that these families are so grateful for the rosaries.  The children check in with the families they have prayed with and they find the families are continuing to say the Rosary daily.  The children are slowly transforming this town with their prayers and the joy and comfort they bring. 

The picture above is of an older man whom the children prayed with one afternoon.  The children all gathered before him kneeling together to pray. 

The Children's Rosary in Pakistan is a beautiful unfolding story.  Please see how it all began and continues to spread.

First Children's Rosary in Pakistan  link

More good news from Pakistan  link

Our Lady surprises the children  link

It is spreading... Link

Praying with a sick family Link

Tears of Joy

Yesterday I received a call from Sr. MaryAnn Perpetua.  She was calling full of excitement to share more details about her trip to Nigeria.  Her voice is like a warm hug embracing you from the first moments you hear her voice.  This was my first time speaking to her since she had returned from Nigeria.  Sr. MaryAnn is currently studying in Missouri USA and had reached out to the Children's Rosary the day of the Children's Rosary EWTN airing in May hoping to bring information about the Children's Rosary to the Eastern part of Nigeria where she grew up.  The children and I had sent her a box of Children's Rosary books and Rosaries.  Another kind women who had reached out to help the Children's Rosary sent Sr. MaryAnn 250 more Rosaries.  These two packages added to the materials she had already collected reached more than 750 Rosaries in Sr. MaryAnn's suitcase!  A blessed suitcase indeed.  Sr. MaryAnn had sent along pictures from Nigeria of 500 children gathering for their first meeting but to hear Sr. MaryAnn's story of how all this came to pass was so beautiful.  May I humbly share it here.

The children crowned Our Blessed Mother
decorating her with ornate gowns and headdress

Sr. MaryAnn returned to her home parish in Ogbodu-Aba village in the Nsukka Diocese of Nigeria.  The Church is named after St. Anthony of Padua. She told her Pastor about the Children's Rosary prayer group movement and her hope to begin a group in their parish.  Her Pastor embraced the idea.  Word quickly spread to the more remote outposts that a Children's Rosary was forming.  Each child would receive a Rosary.  Excitement grew and families and children began the journey to attend the meeting.  Many children that would normally be working in the fields made the trip to come to the Church.  

May 30th arrived and it was a spectacular sight to behold....more children than Sr. MaryAnn had ever seen in the Church were there. The Church was brimming over. The children had come in their best clothes.  They were grouped by the region they had come from...eight regions total.  As the first meeting was in May Sr. MaryAnn thought it would be wonderful if they held a May Crowing before their Children's Rosary. The children from each region had a turn of crowning Our Lady with the special materials they had brought.  The children in anticipation had been gathering materials during the prior week. One group decorated Our Lady with a theme of Divine Mercy, another group decorated her with their local vibrant clothes, another group in a more tranditional attire.  Sr. MaryAnn took a picture of each group's crowning as each group had to remove their decorations for the next group of children to tenderly crown their Heavenly Mother.  Sr. MaryAnn with a heart so full of love told the children she hoped to make a calendar of their different crownings and bring it back to them next year.  A project she is praying very hard to make a reality.  After the crownings, the Pastor blessed the new Children's Rosary group.  He also celebrated Mass in Honor of Our Blessed Mother and for all the members of the Children's Rosary.  Not only did the Pastor Consecrate the group to Jesus through Mary he also Consecrated his parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that day.

The Children held their first Children's Rosary meeting praying the Rosary together.  To celebrate the day Sr. MaryAnn had invited some local musicians that sing praise and worship music in the missions. The children danced and sang.  One women had made a cake in honor of Our Blessed Mother.  Sr. MaryAnn could not contain her joy.  She said seeing the children brought her to tears.  The care and love they brought touched her deeply.  

At the end of the blessed day the children and families would be returning to their homes, some in distant outposts.  Sr. MaryAnn met with the Pastor and identified eight regions or zones.  Smaller Children's Rosary groups were created for each zone with a unique group leader.  On holidays and special Feasts the 8 groups would travel to meet as one very large group but weekly they would each meet as a smaller Children's Rosary prayer group.  

There is very little to say to such a story other than thank you Lord.  Thank you for such beauty and tears of joys.  

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary

"No One is Excluded from the Joy Brought by the Lord" -Pope Francis

At the close of 2014 there is much to be thankful for. This year has brought many new Children's Rosary groups sprinkled across the globe.  Each one a special gift from Our Lord.  There is also celebration of groups that are now reaching their one and two year anniversaries and some even longer.  There has been the taste of pure joy and the reality of great suffering.  Pope Francis says it well in his Apostolic Exhortion Evangell Gaudium “No one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that He is already there, waiting for us with open arms." 

We should not be afraid of our weaknesses and doubt when we are trying to help Him.  It is not always easy to take a chance such as starting a Children's Rosary prayer group or continuing a group when many challenges arrise. Yet Pope Francis reminds us to have confidence in the Lord and realize that when we are weak and dependent on the Lord this is when He can work most perfectly. Much like a child who depends entirely on his or her parents. Pope Francis goes on to say, "Nobody can go off to battle without confidence, we have already lost half the battle and we bury our talents.  While painfully aware of our own frailties, we have to march on without giving in, keeping in mind what the Lord said to Saint Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2Cor 12:9). 

Over the next week we are blessed to have many Children's Rosary groups meeting.  These groups cover each one of us in a blanket of prayers.  

FridayJanuary 2nd (First Friday)
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Orange, TX 7:05 AM CT

Children's Rosary at St. Paul's School in Odell, IL 8:35 AM CT

Children's Rosary at St. Mary's School in Pontiac, IL at 9AM CT 

Children's Rosary at St. Stephen Church in Lilburn, GA 9AM CT

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

Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Parish in Adrian, Michigan 5PM ET

Saturday January 3rd (First Satruday) 
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 ET
Children's Rosary at Blessed Sacrament Church in Walpole, MA 9:30 AM ET
Children's Rosary to meet at Our Lady of LaSalette Parish in Sulphur, Louisiana to meet at 9:30 AM CT 
Children's Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel Parish and held in Kibera Slum in Langatta Nairobi, Kenya to meet at 10AM local time. 
Children's Rosary at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Rushden, Northants England 3PM GMT or 10 AM ET 
Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart Church in East Berlin, CT to meet at 10AM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Bridget Church in Cheshire CT 12:30 PM ET

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

Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart Church in Middleboro MA 2PM ET
Children's Rosary at the Daughter's of Charity in Bridgeport, CT 2:30 PM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Thomas Becket Church in Cheshire CT 3PM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Shriub Oak 4:45 PM ET

Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Hartford CT 5PM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Luke Parish in Ogallala Nebraska 4:30 PM CT

Children's Rosary at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Richmond Virginia 4PM

Sunday January 4th
Children's Rosary at Our Lady and St. Patrick's Church in Nottingham, England 9AM local time  (4AM 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 the Daughter's of Charity in Bridgeport, CT 2:30 PM ETChildren'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 January 5th
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Grace Home for Children in Meru, Kenya 10AM 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 Lago Nigeria 1PM ET
Children's Rosary at Holy Family Church in Gladstone Michigan 4:30PM  ET
Children's Rosary of St. John the Evangelist Church in Mahopac, New York 4:30 PM ET

Tuesday January 6th

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 ET
Wednesday January 7th 
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate Lagos Nigeria 1PM
Thursday January 8th
Children's Rosary at St. Augustine Church in Iba Estate, Lagos Nigeria 1PM ET
The Children's Rosary at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Brentwood, California will meet at 6:30 PM ET in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Children's Rosary at St. Martin Church in Kingsville, Texas will meet at 6:30 PM