Encouragement

Dear Friends,

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk to a mom who has been a part of the Children's Rosary for many years. She has sacrificed a great deal to help the Children's Rosary.  Read the post "when the impossible becomes possible" to give you just one example of the sacrifices she and her family have made to support the Children's Rosary. 

Well a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to share with her on the phone some of the beautiful blessings that have been coming. There have been so many people writing and calling with hopes of beginning Children's Rosary groups in their parishes. She was very excited to hear all that has been unfolding through the grace of God. A little while later she called back to share that after our conversation she had shared all this good news with her children. After this conversation a few minutes later the kids were calling from outside. A huge rainbow with extra rings extended across the sky.  Her youngest child Marianne immediately proclaimed "I think it is for the Children's Rosary". Her mom shared that she also agreed, feeling that the rainbow was an exclamation point to the conversation!

The following reading from Mass was read only two days after this beautiful moment of encouragement:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God."

The reading went on to state: "For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer." (2 Cor 1:3-6)

So amidst suffering, Our Lord also sends His encouragement. We are not meant to hide these little gifts given but share these blessings that others who may be at that moment in a time of trial, may be lifted up in Spirit.  

In this blog it is our hope to share the encouragement that Our Lord is sharing. We suffer, yes, but Our Lord's generosity abounds. I thank you all for all that you do to encourage me through this journey. 

So many are writing, sometimes with moments of trial when it seems difficult to find children who want to pray but then there are moments of sweetness when the difficulty and perseverance yields a beautiful moment.... a time when one feels God's pleasure with all the efforts and prayers that have been done to bring more little children together in prayer. So I thank you. 

We are on this journey together. I have heard it once said, satan's most worn tool is discouragement. So when we recognize such moments are not from Our Lord and we can help each other to get past these trials it is a good thing. In this way we can continue to pray and work in service of God.  Thank you all for your witnesses of encouragement. 

Your Friend in Christ,
Blythe 

* Note we did not have a picture of the rainbow mentioned in the post above. The picture included in this post is of a rainbow that was present on another day at our home. On a side note, we saw a rainbow again today! Praise Jesus for such beauty.

On the Shoulders of the Good Shepherd

Recently we were introduced to a Sister Mary who has begun an orphanage in Tanzania.  The orphanage is named after St. John Vianney.  Through a series of emails we shared with her the Children's Rosary prayer group movement.  Providentially she was visiting the United States and will be returning to Tanzania on April 30th.  

We have been praying for some time that a Children's Rosary might begin in Tanzania after meeting a missionary priest this past summer who spoke about the region.  Yet shipping materials to Tanzania is both difficult and expensive especially to more rural regions that do not have postal delivery.  Yet Our Lord would take care of every detail.  Through a series of beautiful threads woven together we are now in communication with a priest from Rombo, Tanzania and now Sr. Mary who lives in a nearby region. If you read our earlier post from yesterday you will recognize the name Rombo, Kenya.  The towns are neighbors separated by a national border.  The question of how to get materials to the priest in Rombo, Tanzania was resolved by our providential meeting of Sr. Mary who is returning to Tanzania in just over a week.  

With a unique moment of opportunity to bring Children's Rosary materials to the region of Tanzania we asked Sister Mary how many Rosaries she would need. She gave us a number.  At first we did not know if we had that many to send.  The children began counting.  Providentially several packages had arrived last week with Rosaries.  

As each new box was filled with Rosaries the children counted.  Three large boxes in total filled.  All the rosaries requested were all accounted for and when the final count came in the the goal was met plus twelve extra Rosaries.  The twelve extra Rosaries brought a smile to our faces.  Had the apostles been helping us as well?  Indeed we felt more than ever that Our Lord had been seeing to every detail.  We were on His shoulders and the tasks that lay before us had been arranged so that the children could fulfill the request.  Such a task might have seemed too big and with such short notice but the children were not alone... Our Lord was helping.  

On Saturday my husband read from the Bible to our children during family prayer.  The portion of the Bible we had reached that night was Psalm 92.  

"I shout for joy at your handiwork. 
How great are your words, O Lord, 
how very subtle your designs."  (Psalm 91: 5-6)

As we do each night we ask each person in the family to pick out the part of the reading they like.  Our youngest son Asher liked the portion I have included above and in particular the phrase, "How very subtle your designs".  He commented that to some God's designs may seem subtle or small but to another they may be big and very important.  The people who sent the Rosaries to us may not have known when they would be used.  Yet Our Lord through His designs and handiwork would allow everything to be present and ready when the request came.  Today we rejoice in the kindness of Our Lord who chooses to carry us on His shoulders when we are in need.

"He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease" (John 3:30)

How do we do this? How do we become smaller?  If we are praying and contemplating the third joyful mystery of the Rosary, the Birth of Our Lord, the fruit of this mystery is poverty.

This poverty is not loss of earthly wealth, instead it is a gift.  It is a desire within the soul for things above and not of this earth.  When one begins to think less and less of the things of the earth and the flesh then ones heart begins to be focused on its permanent home in heaven.  As Jesus is born in our hearts we think less and less of ourselves and more and more about Him.  We should not worry about how this transformation takes place.  Rather we should quiet ourselves and pick up our Rosary.  In contemplating the birth of Our Lord and the mysteries of the Rosary our hearts will be transformed to do just as St. John the Baptist said, "He must increase but I must decrease".

"Where Sin Increased, Grace Overflowed all the More"

Many will agree we are raising children in challenging times.  The secular culture seems to be very pervasive.  Often many families are so busy, prayer seems to lose its place in the home.  Many may become discouraged at such a view of the family or the parish.  Many will ask what will happen to the next generation?  

May I humbly share that there is prayer bubbling up in places all around the world among our young people.  To see these children meeting together in little Children's Rosary prayer groups in parishes throughout the United States and now 5 continents, one sees such hope and joy laid before us.  For we know through Scripture that God will not be outdone, "where sin increases, grace overflowed all the more"(Romans 5:20).  Indeed these innocent ones who are still so young have the capacity to draw down such incredible graces both in their hearts but also into their families and parishes.  As children are the heart of the family a strengthening of prayer amongst our young ripples into a renewal of prayer in the family and hence the parish.  

We hope that many will prayerfully consider bringing the Children's Rosary to their parishes.  

We have many Children's Rosary groups meeting over the upcoming days.  Please consider joining the children in prayer.  The children always pray for those unifying prayers with them.

Friday October 30th
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 time
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf Town Pakistan 6PM local time
Saturday October 31st
Children's Rosary in Luanda, Angola
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, held in the Kiberna slum in Langatta Nairobi Kenya 10 AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis, Oregon 12PM ET
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 time
Children's Rosary at the Daughters of Charity Convent in Bridgeport, CT 2:30 PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Peter Church in Higganum, CT 4PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf Town Pakistan 6PM local time
Sunday November 1st

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 November 2nd
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 at St. Peter Church in Musa Dughal Pakistan 2PM local time
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, Florida 6PM CT
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf town in Pakistan 6PM local time

Tuesday November 3rd

Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6AM local time
Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart School Queensland, Australia 8AM local time.
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 Holy Reedemer Parish in Menominee Michigan 6PM ET
Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf town Pakistan 6PM local time 
Children's Rosary at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in North Adams MA 6PM ET

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

Wednesday November 4th

Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura Pakistan 6AM local time
Children's Rosary at St. Keirans School Queensland, Australia 8AM local time
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 time

Children's Rosary at St. Gregory the Great School in Bluffton, South Carolina 3PM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf town Pakistan 6PM local time.

Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Crestview. FL at 6:30 PM ET in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Children's Rosary in Quito, Ecuador to meet at 7PM local time.

Thursday November 5th

Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Butanpura, Pakistan 6AM local time
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 time
Children's Rosary at St. Martin Parish in Kingsville, TX 6:30 PM ET

Children's Rosary at St. Joseph Church in Ashraf Town Pakistan 6PM local time

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
EWTN Interview "Let the Children Come to Me"
"With these Beads We are Building a World of Peace and Love"

"It is Not the Will of Your Heavenly Father that One of These Little Ones Be Lost"

This was part of the Gospel reading Tuesday at Mass.  The full Gospel is so beautiful but this little part seemed to grab hold of my heart.  

This is such a special gift Our Lord gives us.  He gives us the opportunity to all make it to heaven.  Unlike many things in this world there is no competition, no quota of losers.  Such a mentality is something I came to know during my four years of training in dental school. Unlike many dental schools the one I attended was pass/ fail.  There was a hope that we all could pass.  This created a very unique atmosphere of team work.  We all pooled our knowledge, helping to share notes or approaches to learn the material.  We all wanted each other to make it through.  Although the four years were indeed rigorous we rarely felt alone going through it.  

Our Lord shows us that getting to heaven is attainable for everyone.  He doesn't desire that anyone be lost.  He gives us each other for support.  He teaches us the power and strength of praying together, a Gospel we also heard this week at Mass.  

Indeed our journey here on earth is difficult but as Our Lord said, "it is not the will of your Heavenly Father that one of the these little ones be lost"( Mt 18:14).  Yes we can all make it!! There is no quota of souls that must fail. Recently at Mass I heard a priest say, We don't make it to heaven or hell alone we always take someone else with us.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could make it to heaven and bringing with us a great many souls.  
Yes, in many ways it is my hope that the Children's Rosary will be a place where children can come together to pray and be that support for each other.  It is my hope that together we may end our journey in the embrace of Our Lord and find our dear ones there with us.

Having been in a prayer group as an adult, I have experienced those dark times of suffering and struggle when you feel the weight of the cross on your shoulders and the voices of those praying around you are the most comforting sounds you could hear.  When you feel your own strength too weak to say the prayers aloud so you rely on your friends in the group to carry you.  

There were times of uncertainty and illness when a person in the group would say they were praying for me and that brought such comfort, hope and overwhelming gratitude.  It is at such a time that knowing another person is praying for you creates a spring of hope in ones soul. One is humbled to know that others are taking their time to pray in a special way for you alone.  Yes this is what a prayer group can do for a soul suffering.  We know each of us will be given a cross and to have others there to support us in this journey is a safety net.  Our children today need a safety net like never before.  They need to know that someone is praying for them and in turn they can offer prayers to another person when they see someone suffering.  A prayer group creates such an atmosphere of support.  

Our children need that same support.  Our Lord wants not one of these little ones to be lost.  
Please learn more about starting a Children's Rosary prayer group in your parish.LINK

"Whoever Sows Bountifully Will Also Reap Bountifully"

Lettuce from our family garden

"Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,for God loves a cheerful giver"(2 Cor 9:6-7)

This was a portion of the first reading from Mass yesterday.  I love Scripture that involves references to working with the soil as the children and I spend a good deal of time in the garden.  It is there that the children see some of God's most beautiful miracles taking place.  Indeed they see how a tiny seed as mentioned in last Sundays Gospel can turn into something so large "that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." (Mark 4:32)

Tiny lettuce seeds sprouting in the spring

Recently the children and I have been marveling at one of the gifts we have been given in the garden:
a bountiful harvest of lettuce.  It is an interesting back story of how we came to have such lush lettuce.  Several years ago we began trying to grow lettuce with modest results.  Our soil wasn't very good as we had brought some in from our town dump compost.  We found the soil quality poor and many diseases present in the soil.  We tried to grow many things with fair results.  Initially when we planted lettuce it came up but throughout the season it remained tiny, too small to ever harvest.  We continued to add bits of left overs from our meals such as bits of extra vegetable stalks, coffee grounds, egg shells to improve the soil and ash from our fire place.  Constant little bits were added here and there that the children would bring to the garden each day.  The following year we again replanted.  This time the lettuce grew a little better.  Still nothing remarkable but some lettuce grew.  With the warm weather in the summer the lettuce sent up shoots flower and went to seed.  Many would advise you pull out your lettuce at this point.  This process of sending up shoots and flowering is called: "bolting".  Once that happens the leaves become bitter and don't taste good so most gardeners would remove the plants and plant a summer or fall crop of something else.  Well the children and I decided to leave the lettuce.  It flowered and made seed.  As the fall came the seeds seemed to be carried in all directions by the wind.  They have a little fuzzy end that seems to act as a sail with a little dark seed attached.  The children watched all this beauty taking place with wonder.  What would happen to these seeds?

The little seeds in the picture above have now grown

Our fall close of the garden was simple: we left everything that had fallen without a traditional clean out of the garden beds.  In the spring there was a beautiful surprise just as the weather turned warm,  much earlier than most would think to go out and plant, up popped hundreds of little lettuce plants.  They were tiny but very numerous.  In only a few weeks time they grew vigorously, almost like weeds.  They grew in our garden and even the grass.  It was amazing to see so much lettuce and it was so strong.  The children and I were astonished.  Our early attempts had yielded very little.  Yet the children did not give up planting.  They kept working on the soil to make it fertile.  Then they began to do something else different.  They stopped trying to force the garden on to their schedule but rather let the Will of God act in the garden.  They let Him act and simply cared for the little seeds that our Lord had guided.  The children had planted the first seeds but now Our Lord had multiplied them a hundred fold.  They were spread a great distance and were strong and fruitful.  Indeed, it was a wonder to us all and for the children and I, it helped to bring Sunday's Gospel reading to life before us:

"This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.  And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come." Mark 4: 26-29)

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Finding Answers to Our Spiritual Questions in the Garden
A Long Winter