A School Principal's Experience with the Children's Rosary

Recently, I was able to speak to Principal Wright about his experiences with the Children's Rosary at his school: St. Francis Xavier in Birmingham, Alabama USA. They held their first Children's Rosary in May of 2017. The school has chosen to hold their Children's Rosary each Friday at 2:30 PM. The children all meet in their respective classrooms at 2:30. Over the intercom a group of children lead and then all the children respond. They rotate who leads each week. The children taking turns at the end of each decade, placing paper flowers they have made before an image of Our Lady as a teacher asks for the fruit of that mystery. In October and May the children often come together outside for a Children's Rosary before a statue of Our Lady.

Principal Wright was able to share some of the benefits he has seen since beginning a Children's Rosary in his school.
"Our school's participation in the Children's Rosary has had a significant influence on the direction and culture of our school.  Our school has become more peaceful and focused on Jesus, as the Blessed Mother changes hearts and gently directs our desires towards greater devotion to her Son."

Principal Wright liked having the children of his school all meet at the same time to pray each week. He explained, "I feel it is very important to have the children all praying at the same time in the classrooms. They are little prayer groups and yet one unified voice together."

When asked if he thought there is a benefit to participating in an international prayer group movement compared to an individual school implementing the Rosary?
Principal Wright responded, "The Children's Rosary is unique for three reasons: the Children's Rosary's promotes children praying the rosary for themselves, it's a prayer movement that unites children together all over the world in prayer together, and it models praying the rosary with reverence, devotion, and beauty."
Twice a month a Children's Rosary in Fairbanks, Alaska USA holds their Children's Rosary at the same time as the school in Birmingham, Alabama. This has been a special experience for the children. Both groups know they are unifying prayers. 
Principal Wright also mentioned,
"One of the things I very much like about the Children’s Rosary is that it is child led. This is important because the children take the leadership role. When they go home they are comfortable leading a Rosary and can lead their family in prayer."

We are very grateful to Principal Wright for sharing his experiences. While St. Francis Xavier has their Children's Rosary weekly during the school day there is flexibility in implementing the Children's Rosary on a monthly or even daily schedule. Some schools have chosen to meet together monthly prior to a first Friday Mass for example. Some groups may not be able to meet during the school day and for them meetings before or after school are an option. We did want to share the experiences of St. Francis Xavier school as it seems to be an implementation that has worked very well. The addition of using an intercom may also not be possible in some schools but for others they may like to use it.

More and more we are trying to reach schools and introduce the Children's Rosary. To this end, we just completed a new Welcome Letter to educators. If you would like a copy to share with a school please let us know by emailing Blythe at blythe@childrensrosary.org

"When you commit to a weekly Children's Rosary during the school day, you are inviting the Blessed Mother into the life of your school.  She will not fail to gently and powerfully move your school towards a greater devotion to her Son." ~Principal Wright

"Cuando te comprometes con un Rosario de Niños seminal durante el día escolar, estás invitando a la Santísima Madre a la vida de tu escuela. Ella no dejará de mover tu escuela de manera suave y poderosa hacia una mayor devoción hacia su Hijo". ~  Señor Wright (Director de Santo Xavier Escuela)

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

Children's Rosary Theme song with Lyrics

Nuestra Fe en Vivo interview

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

Children's Rosary in McAllen, Texas

This past week we received this picture. It is from the Children's Rosary at Holy Spirit Church in McAllen,Texas. They created this poster at their parish to feature pictures of their Children's Rosary. The group leader shared with us that they have a special Children's Rosary planned for Saturday October 13th. It will be an international Children's Rosary. They explained they were going to try to do Our Lord's prayer in different languages: Portuguese, Filipino, Spanish, and English. She explained that later they may try to increase the number of prayers in those languages. We hope to feature in upcoming posts some of the photos shown on the poster above. It is beautiful to see glimpses from different groups and the ways they are trying to make the month of the Rosary special.

Children's Rosary resources:
How to Pray the Rosary printable flyer in English, Spanish and French.
Instructional Video on how to run your first Children's Rosary in English or Spanish.
Children's Rosary theme song
Children's Rosary full collection of books, CDs and DVD.
Children's Rosary T Shirts
Children's Rosary Christmas Cards.

Celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary 2018

Today is a beautiful Feast, one that is very special to the Children's Rosary. We wish to celebrate and share pictures of the children. We often share pictures of boxes of Rosaries being sent out. Prayers are said and we pray that these efforts are fruitful. Today we share pictures of the result of these boxes. We see the reaction of children receiving a rosary of their own. 

Many have prayed, sacrificed and fasted. We thank you. I hope you take joy in seeing the children. The picture above is of one of our new Children's Rosary groups. It is at St. Benedict Parish llungu which is in Southern Tanzania. We had sent a large box of 500 rosaries and Children's Rosary materials including Children's Rosary books this past summer. 

Br. Peter a seminarian from the Mbeya Diocese, carried these materials to the parish which is located approximately 43 miles east of Mbeye. The region is rural and most of the economic activities are centered around potato farming. The weather is not very hot in this mountainous area which is why potatoes grow well. 

This new group has been meeting weekly on Sundays after the 8:30 AM Mass. Now during the month of October they are meeting on both Tuesday and Fridays at 4PM local time. Some of the children attending are from the Safwa Tribe. 

We also want to share pictures from one of our Children's Rosary groups celebrating their one year Anniversary today. This is our Children's Rosary in Malay Aklan, Philippines. The children had written out the words to our theme song "Rosary Children" and posted them on the wall for the children to learn and then sing.

They held a celebration today of their Anniversary, October 7th, with prayers and food. 

We thank the Children's Rosary in Malay and all the groups that continue faithfully in their meetings. This is a great gift to give to Our Lady both the new groups and the groups that continue faithfully. We imagine Our Lady smiling to see the children with Rosary in hand praying. 

May God bless you all on this Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

"Whoever Sows Bountifully will Reap Bountifully"

Nuestra Fe en Vivo interview

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

Children's Rosary T-Shirts

We are excited to announce  that our official Children's Rosary T-Shirts are now available to order online. 

ORDER HERE

The shirts are available in English, Spanish and French. Bulk discounts are available. Orders over $75 have free shipping within the continental US. This is automatically taken off at check-out. International orders can also be placed. 

These shirts are perfect for Children's Rosary groups and group leaders. We also encourage others to help spread word of the Children's Rosary by wearing these shirts. This summer at both the World Meeting of Families and the CMN Conference we were able to wear the shirts. The response was wonderful. We even found people on the street smiling as they saw them. 

We thank Our Lord for the grace which has allowed us to have these shirts available.

Many blessings to you all on this Feast of St. Faustina and Bl. Bartolo Longo.

Leaving the Freezer into the Light of the Sun

Today is day 6 of our 9 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Through this journey we see many beautiful things happening. Earlier this week I shared a little experience. After receiving Communion on Saturday, an image or shall I say a thought came. It was of a snowball. I began to understand as I thought about this snowball that although a certain number of souls had begun the fast others could be added...much like a snowball being rolled through the snow which gets bigger and bigger. We shared a few days ago a picture of a snowball that my son had kept in our freezer since winter. In prayer this week I began to think about this little ball of snow that we took from the freezer. When we took it out it was dirty. The container it was kept in had developed a crack and then a hole. I suspect the container and its contents had fallen out of our freezer several times accidentally. When we took it out I was sad to see it had bits of dirt on the surface. I wondered how to get rid of them. As it was warm we decided to just take it outside and snap some pictures despite the dirt. We wanted to capture the snowball before it was gone. 

The picture above is of the snowball when we first came outside. If you look closely you will see the dirt. Something interesting happened as we were outside. With the bright sun shining down, not only did the snowball get smaller as it melted but the traces of dirt seemed to vanish. As my daughter took the pictures we were sad to see the snowball get smaller but we were happy to see it was clean. It had a new look to it. It seemed translucent in places and reflected in a more beautiful way... more like a crystal. 

In prayer this week as the fast has progressed I was reminded of this little snowball. In reality it was more like a hunk of ice after all these months. I began to see this hunk of ice in our freezer as my heart. A heart on ice so to speak with lots of dirt on its surface. This fast was bringing my heart out of the freezer. It was bringing to light all the flaws and imperfections. Our Lord was melting away all these things with the warmth and light of His love. 

When life is busy and the world is around you it is sometimes easier to just leave your heart on ice. It is hard to crack it open. It is hard to recognize one's blemishes. By the grace of God, a fast with prayer brings the grace to be cleansed of even our unknown faults. I humbly thank all of the souls who are joining us on this 9 days of prayer and fasting. If you haven't begun there is still time. Today during Mass a thought came. Our Lord was able to remove the dirt very quickly when the ice was brought into the sun. He can do a lot with even a small amount of time. Put great trust into the fast and Our Lord will not disappoint. To learn more about the fast click HERE.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

"Whoever Sows Bountifully will Reap Bountifully"

Nuestra Fe en Vivo interview

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

Happy Feast of the Guardian Angels!

Today is day four of our nine days of prayer and fasting. After receiving Communion on Saturday, the image of a snowball came. The fast began on Saturday with a certain number of souls participating but as those who have pushed a snowball through the snow know...as you push it more snow is added. It keeps getting bigger. We hope the same will be true of this fast. May Our Lord keep drawing more and more souls to offer a sacrifice through prayer and fasting. If you read the story entitled, "An Invitation" several days ago, you might consider reading it again. We have included the story again below. If you have started the fast it may give you more resolve. If you haven't started you may find yourself getting drawn in. The snowball shown above was made by my youngest son last winter. Thinking of the summer to come he put it in our freezer. There it stayed...save for the occasional time it came falling out of our freezer. Well on Saturday it saw the light of the strong sun. It was melting quickly but we got a picture of it. The snowball illustrated something else... time is going fast.

Don't waste time. There is not time like this moment to start something like a fast. I am praying in a special way for those reading this that they may be assisted in fasting if they choose to begin. 

Also ask your guardian angel tonight to help you. We still have 5 more days to go. 
Angels Pray for Us!

An Invitation

Recently in prayer an image came. It was of a young child swimming in the ocean. He moved along well. His destination was clearly ahead of him. It was an island. The child knew this was his home and he put all his effort into getting there. In prayer a scene began to unfold. Time was elapsing. The child was aging and growing older. As the child swam something took hold of his leg. It was much like sea weed. The weed was anchored to the bottom of the water. It seemed to make every effort to wrap itself around the boy’s leg. More of these weeds began to do the same thing.

The weeds not only stopped the progression of the swimming towards the island but also pulled the boy lower into the water. He struggled. But with so many weeds now around the boy he was pulled down below the surface of the water. Now imagine that the boy was able to remain under the water without perishing. As more weeds continued to take hold and others tightened, the boy was drawn deeper and deeper under the water. While at first the boy could see just beneath the surface of the water the light and at times he even could caught a glimpse of the island in the distance, however, as he sank lower he could see nothing. He began to forget which direction was the island. Was it in front or behind? He was disoriented. After a time he forgot about the island and even began to not notice the weeds. He became comfortable under the water. He began to enjoy some of the things that were around him. He no longer realized he was disoriented in his direction and was content where he was and made no effort to resist the weeds.

This general scene was something that seemed to come in prayer…prayer mixed with imagination perhaps. But the idea was something I rolled around in my head some weeks ago.

The idea came back this week in prayer and more unfolded. I thought of each of us..myself perhaps in the situation of the world. When we are born in our innocence we see things in simplicity more clearly. Our hearts are open to prayer and love. When exposed to prayer and God through our parents we move quickly along the spiritual journey toward the home we seek: union with God and eternity in heaven. As we grow the world tries to tie us down. If we are not careful, we begin to be drawn more toward the world then to God. We begin to have attachments in the world. We lose our direction and often do not even realize how many attachments have taken hold and how strong they have become. 

I thought of the young person in the story beneath the water. He certainly is not alone. Many may be under the water as well. I imagined Our Blessed Mother, always watching with concern for her children, wanting to help them, wanting to guide them. A safety line is lowered to the boy. It is a Rosary. It is moored to the island….to his true home. When he prays the line pulls him toward the correct direction. The more he prays and trusts the stronger the pull. With more prayer some of the newer weeds become loose and give way. The boy now begins to perceive the weeds and that he is tied down. This is an important step because an awareness of the weeds will help in breaking free. More prayer allows the tightness of some of the weeds to lessen and he moves higher. He begins to see the light. The pull of the line has now become very strong. As the intensity of the prayer and frequency of the prayer increases the boy can move more and he is beginning to be able to help in pulling free. 

Yet there may be some very strong weeds that have been there for so long and become so thick that they still resist. These may be things that are hard to give up. Areas we protect. Sometimes we do not even perceive the things that have the tightest hold on us.

One of the promises of the Rosary states: “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”. Indeed the Rosary has an incredible power to rip us from the attachment of the world. It is thus of great benefit for all souls especially young ones. 

There is something else that can help cut those thick weeds, especially the old ones that have a firm hold. It is fasting. 

Even Our Lord said in the Gospels that certain demons can only be expelled by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). For my own part, I have seen the fruits of the Rosary in my life…a drawing away from many distractions. Yet the world is strong and things are always trying to take hold even when you think you are free. Fasting has been of great benefit in my own life. While weekly fasting is good to help prevent new weeds from taking hold or remove newly attached weeds, longer fasts have the ability to break through the thick, toughest older weeds. Coupling prayer and fasting allows each to become more effective then one by itself. Imagine that through a longer fast the boy is able to break free of all the weeds. While praying his Rosary, he can follow the “life line” to the surface. The pull of the Rosary now has nothing holding it back. The boy moves quickly and without impediment to Our Lord. It is a direct way home. There is no getting lost. 

How many of us have things that weigh on us that hold us back. Things we struggle with interiorly and in our family. How good it would be to purify ourselves. 

It has been a yearly tradition within the Children’s Rosary to do 9 days of prayer and fasting in the fall. This year it will begin on September 29 and end on October 7th. We hope many will want to join us. Bread and water fasting is very effective. Some may not be able to fast on bread and this is okay. Prayerfully discern what is the best fasting for you. In the past, we have had adults and children join this fast. We do ask that you prayerfully consider what is safe and reasonable for you and your family. Some may be able to do a traditional bread and water fast. This is unlimited bread and water. Others may find another thing in their life that would be a great sacrifice to give up for that period. One of the most important things when one begins a fast is the disposition.  One must approach fasting as an act of love to God. 

Some may want to do this fast but have not fasted before and wonder if they could complete 9 days. What I have found is that the first two days are the hardest. There is this portion of each of us which I will call “self” that will complain and nag that you should give up. Do not listen to this. After several days that voice will lessen. I would like to give up some of the merit of my fast for those of you who would like to do this fast but who might at first be intimidated by the duration. I wish to ask Our Lord to grant souls the grace and the strength to say, yes. This is a humble invitation to each soul, an invitation to help to rid yourself of all the things holding you back spiritually. I will be praying for you.

The fast will begin on September 29th the Feast of the Archangels. 

1) Pray one Rosary each day meditating on the life of Christ

2) Fast for 9 days

Listed below are the intentions for this 9 days of prayer and fasting:

*Lord please purify our souls from the attachments of the world. Jesus we surrender all we have, please take control of our lives and our families. May Jesus be born in our hearts and may He renew us. May the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts and actions. May our hands be the extended hands of Mary and Jesus in this world. May the members of the Children’s Rosary also be the extended hands of Mary and Jesus in this world and gather a great many souls especially young people for Our Lord.

*Personal Intentions (      )

*May all that Our Lady wishes to accomplish through us and the Children’s Rosary be accomplished all for the glory of God.

*May the Children’s Rosary View from Heaven never go dark…may it always be illuminated in prayer.

*For a special Children’s Rosary intention.

*In thanksgiving

Popes Have Spoken Beautifully About the Value of Fasting 

Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the value of fasting in his message for Lent on Feb 25th 2009:

The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord.

Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a “therapy” to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God.

By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger. 

Pope John Paul II spoke about fasting on Sunday Angelus March 10th 1996:

Fasting is to reaffirm to oneself what Jesus answered Satan when he tempted him at the end of his 40 days of fasting in the wilderness: “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt 4:4) 

Children's Rosary Christmas Card!

On the Feast of the Archangels we are excited to release our Children's Rosary Christmas card. This announcement comes at the end of a 9 day novena to the Archangels and all the choirs of angels.
The painting on the card was done by one of our Children's Rosary members, Abigail, pictured below who is 10 years old. The photograph does not capture the beauty of these cards in person. They are exquisite. There is a tenderness in the faces of the angels that comes through. Children have a unique and beautiful way of seeing things. The inside of the card reads:

May Jesus be born in your heart this Christmas

 and may He grant you joy and peace.

We are excited to make these cards available. They stand as a witness of all that children can do to honor Our Lord. Each card also is like a tiny seed ... a way to evangelize. On the back of each card there is our Children's Rosary logo and contact information. As these cards are sent out we pray that many will providentially find out about the Children's Rosary. Many prayers are being said that the angels will help in our efforts to reach souls. We also have spiritually gifted the image of the card to Our Lady. 

These cards are available to order through EWTN religious catalogue in the United States.

ORDER HERE

EWTN does ship internationally. If you are in Europe and have interest in the cards please let us know via email (blythe@childrensrosary.org). We may be able to inquire if EWTN Great Britain could carry the cards. Likewise, if you are in Australia and have an interest we can also explore options for the materials to be carried locally. With each box of cards that is purchased, one dollar goes to help the work of the Children's Rosary.
* Please note that the watermark present on the photograph above is not present on the cards themselves.