Every Victory is Won by....

This morning my son and I were listening to the King of the Golden City audio book.  This is an allegory for children.  One we have listened to many times.  Yet every time we hear it there are so many parts that seem fresh and new and speak to the heart.  Today these two lines caught my heart.  
I share them humbly below:

"The worse the war the younger are the soldiers that are called out to fight."

"Every victory is won by prayer."

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Have You Read the Promises of the Rosary to Your Children?
"Without Humility there is no holiness"

Join Us for the 24th International Week of Prayer and Fasting

Children's Rosary held at the 21st International Week and of Prayer
and Fasting Vigil at the National Shrine  of the Immaculate Conception in DC 2013

Consider joining us in this years 24th International Week of Prayer and Fasting.  This week of prayer and fasting for Peace, the Protection of life and the conversion of Nations has received support and blessings from such individuals as St. John Paul II, St Teresa of Calcutta and Pope Francis.  

The Children's Rosary has participated for the past three years.  Beginning in 2013 with a group of children traveling by bus to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC to lead a Children's Rosary at the kick off vigil.  We have continued our involvement by participating each year in the prayers and fasting.  

This week of prayer and fasting will extend from October 2 -10. We hope many of the members of the Children's Rosary will consider being a part of this.  

We would like to humbly ask you to include two additional intentions for your week of prayer and fasting:

May Our Lady's plan for you, your family, the Children's Rosary and how the Children's Rosary affects the world be realized.
May the Children's Rosary, their families, those associated with the Children's Rosary including our priests, Bishops and Our Holy Father the Pope be the extended hands of Our Blessed Mother and Her Son.  May we gather a great many souls especially young people for the Lord.

While many will be fasting on bread and water individuals especially children may consider smaller renunciations that are age appropriate such as sweets or other little sacrifices.

We have found over the past few years more and more members of the Children's Rosary participating.  Families have written that both parents and children have joined in for the week of prayer and fasting.

Pope's have also spoken of the benefits of the holy practice 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.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
Reflections from the International Prayer Vigil 2013
Beautiful Gifts We Received Following the Week of Prayer and Fasting 2014

A Spiritual Gift for the Children's Rosary

Today the Children's Rosary received a wonderful gift.  A card arrived from our Children's Rosary group leader in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania.  She had enrolled the Children's Rosary into a special Novena of Masses offered through the Capuchin Missions. The Children's Rosary is being remembered in a Novena of Nine Hundred Masses offered in honor of St. Pio beginning on September 23 and concluding on October 1st 2016.

In thinking about this gift to the Children's Rosary a Scripture quote comes to mind:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
(Matthew 6:19-21)

We are very grateful for this generous gift.  More and more there is a yearning to turn our full attention to our true home which is heaven. It does not make sense to focus on earthly riches. Instead it is gifts like this that are the post precious.

Through the Children's Rosary and this tapestry of prayer it is our hope that all the members of the Children's Rosary will be sanctified and assisted spiritually in getting to their true home in heaven. 

A special thank you to the group leader who shared this gift with all of us. We are all weak and need grace to help us. To have others praying and offering gifts such as these helps each one of us on our journey. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Avenue of Grace
Children's Rosary Materials

Mass Offered on September 25th 2016 for all the Members of the Children's Rosary

On the 25th of every month a Mass is offered for all members of the Children's Rosary and all those who help the Children's Rosary.  It is a small thank you to the many who have helped this prayer movement.  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us so beautifully the importance of the Holy Eucharist:
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life. The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch." (Catechism 1324)

The picture above is of one of our new Children's Rosary groups in Hardupur, Pakistan. This was their first meeting on June 26th 2016. They meet weekly on Wednesdays from 4-5PM local time in Pakistan.

A special thank you to all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary. May Our Lord bless you. Amen.

Other Posts You May Enjoy
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Theme Song for the Children's Rosary
Why Does the Lord Test Us?

Special Prayers for the Members of the Children's Rosary on the Feast of St. Padre Pio

The Children's Rosary received a beautiful grace today.  On this Feast of St. Pio of Peitrelcina our Children's Rosary group leader in Vietnam was able to venerate a first class relic of St. Pio while praying for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary.  He also prayed for all the families of the members of the Children's Rosary.

We are very grateful for these special prayers. The group leader wrote that the relic of St. Padre Pio "is a piece of cloth that was used to clean his wounds. On the cloth there is a little blood of St. Pio".

St. Padre Pio is known as a stigmatic and mystic but also one who carried a heavy cross of suffering.

"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials." (St. Padre Pio)

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Sacrificing for Our Lord
Children's Rosary Collection of Materials

Praying with the Saints

The Children's Rosary in an orphanage in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam which met for the first time last Sunday, had a wonderful grace. On the day Mother Teresa was canonized they were able to meet before a first class relic of Mother Teresa.  

These children who were meeting for the first time knelt in prayer before their Blessed Mother. After their prayers each child had a turn venerating the relics.  The little boy pictured right seems taken with a picture of Mother Teresa. These little ones were not alive when she was working with the poorest of the poor. Yet on the day when her life was honored they were holding her relic.  It seemed perfect that little hands should be so close to Mother Teresa. Little hands that have not had it easy yet ones that now know the motion of praying a Rosary. These little children are innocent little souls just learning the ways of the world. To have such saints so close is indeed a great blessing.  Seeing these pictures last Sunday morning brought joy as we ourselves headed to the Church to hold a Children's Rosary.  Maybe it was these images of the children praying with the saints that were still lingering but when my children and I were praying in the quiet time before the Children's Rosary an idea came.  Maybe we too could invite the saints to pray with us. We became excited and thought, yes, I am sure they will come to pray with us if we invite them.  And so my son began inviting aloud a great many saints. He became very excited.  
He invited St. John Paul II, St. Faustina, St. Patrick, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. John the Baptist, St. Gabriel, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Matthew. St. Peter Claver, St. Brigid, St. Peter, St. James, St. Paul, St. Kolbe, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Bosco, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Augustine. Then my daughter jumped in to invite more: St. Constantine, St. Margaret Mary, St. John Vianney, St. Bernadette.  For my small part I invited some saints too: St. Raphael, St. Xavier, St. Thomas Moore, St. Thomas Becket, St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Padre Pio, St. Pius X.  This list is not complete.  
We finished by inviting the angels to fill any open space.  While we were still finishing our invites a stream of musicians and singers who are part of our Church choir arrived.  With an unplanned move of Mass to the lower Church with summer heat still lingering it seemed that two things were planned for the same space: choir rehearsal and the Children's Rosary.  As we had far less things it seemed to make the most sense for us to go upstairs and allow the musicians the space.  As we hurried to move everything upstairs we found another member of the Children's Rosary coming into the Church.  In total there were four of us for the Children's Rosary.  A small group and yet we were moving up to the large Church above that can seat hundreds of people. To hold our little Children's Rosary group in such a large space one could feel a little silly. Yet we have always felt in our heart that numbers do not matter. Even if no children come we always ask the group leader to stay and pray the Rosary. With our small group of four we were still happy.  A thought came as the children quickly placed the statue of Our Lady before them as they were kneeling.  Maybe it was Divine Providence that we had been moved to the larger space. In the smaller lower Church maybe there was not enough space for all the Saints we had invited to pray with us.  Indeed maybe as we looked at the large church largely empty save for two adults and two children we were actually looking at full pews.  Such were the joyful thoughts as the children took turns leading the Rosary at the podium. Every once and a while I leaned over to ask one of them to speak a bit louder. I reminded them that their voices had to be heard in the back of the Church. Nothing more needed to be said they lifted their voices just a bit more in hopes everyone could hear.  

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

Our Lady of Sorrows Pray For Us