St. Padre Pio and Our Blessed Mother

Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of St. Padre Pio.  He was born on May 25th 1887 in the little farming town called Pietrelcina, Italy. 

As we come to the close of the month of May, which is dedicated to Mary, I thought it would be wonderful to reflect on the words St. Padre Pio used when speaking of Our Lady.

"Hold on tightly to the Rosary. Be very grateful to the Madonna because it was she who gave us Jesus".

"The Madonna is the shortcut to get to God".

"Love our Lady and make her loved; always recite the Rosary and recite it as often as possible".

"Give yourself up into the arms of your Heavenly Mother. She will take good care of your soul".

"The Mother of Sorrows is my confidante, my teacher, my counselor, and my powerful advocate".

"How many time I have entrusted to this Mother (the Virgin Mary) the painful anxieties of my heart. And how many times she has consoled me…..With what great attention she accompanied me to the altar this morning. It seemed to me that she had nothing else to think about but me, filling my heart with holy sentiments. I felt a mysterious fire in my heart, which I could not understand. I felt the need to put ice on in in order to extinguish the fire that was consuming me".

"May the Most Holy Virgin, who was the first to practice the gospel perfectly and in all its severity, even before it was proclaimed, spur us on to follow closely in her footsteps".

Consider Donating Rosary Beads to the Children's Rosary

A member of the Children's Rosary praying with rosaries
handmade by a religious eduction class and donated to the Children's Rosary

The Children's Rosary is a prayer group movement for children.  Children's Rosary groups are sprinkled across the United States and are spreading into other countries.  As new Children's Rosary groups form we make every effort to help them if they are in need of rosaries or supplies.  The Lord has blessed us with new groups forming.  Most recently we sent 25 rosaries to a new group which is forming in Kenya.  Some of the rosaries which were sent were made by children, others by a member of the Knights of Columbus and a few others were ones our Children's Rosary group in West Hartford, CT were using.  Last week after praying the Rosary following daily Mass one of the women who prays with us mentioned that she receives free rosaries in the mail frequently and did not know what to do with them.  I told her that the Children's Rosary could really use them. Often when children come to the Children's Rosary prayer meetings they don't have rosaries of their own.  After using the rosaries we provide during the meetings they ask if they can take them home.  It gives us great joy to see children and adults asking to bring a rosary home to use in prayer alone or as a family.

• Maybe you have extra Rosary beads in a drawer or are like our friend who receives rosaries in the mail free.  
• Maybe you have a youth group or religious education group looking for an activity to help others and would like to make rosaries.
• Maybe you have a relative who passed away and in going through their belongings you find rosaries or other religious items.  

Please prayerfully consider sending these extra rosaries to the Children's Rosary at:

Children's Rosary c/o Blythe Kaufman
146 Four Mile Rd.
West Hartford CT 06107 USA

Additional contact information: blythe.kaufman@gmail.com

In thanksgiving to all those who through their efforts help the Children's Rosary we would like to give you a special gift.  Each month a Mass will be offered for all those who help the Children's Rosary in any way and for all members of the Children's Rosary.

*Please note if you are in need of rosary beads please contact us and we will make every effort to help you.

Favorite Prayer of Pope John Paul II

In the Apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II describes his early love of the Rosary and how it has remained his favorite prayer. 

"I myself have often encouraged the frequent recitation of the Rosary. From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life. I was powerfully reminded of this during my recent visit to Poland, and in particular at the Shrine of Kalwaria. The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. Twenty-four years ago, on 29 October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted: “The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvellous prayer!"

You may also like the following posts:
Favorite Quotes of Bl. John Paul II
How to Pray the Rosary
How to Start a Children's Rosary

Fr. John Blackall: Remembering a Dear Friend of the Children's Rosary

 A Priest Committed to Serving the Poor.

This morning I had the honor to attend the Funeral of Fr. John Blackall.  Fr. Blackall was ordained in 1951 and was sent to St. Thomas Church in Waterbury CT.  He quickly noticed that there was a growing Hispanic community in Waterbury and in his parish and committed himself to learning Spanish.  In 1957 he was sent to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, a Church home to one of our Children's Rosary groups today.  Fr. Blackall celebrated the first Spanish Mass in Waterbury on September 29th 1957.  Shortly after this he was transferred to St. Cecilia's  Parish where he resided for over 40 years. His nephew today shared that Fr. Blackall came from a prominent family yet he chose to empty himself and live simply and spend his life serving the poor of his community.  Fr. Blackall came from a family blessed by many priests.   During his youth his father who was an important lawyer and politician would leave his office each day at noon to visit the Church and pray the Stations of the Cross.  This love of the Stations of the Cross was beautifully passed on to Fr. Blackall.

During the years I knew him in his retirement in West Hartford, he frequently attended daily Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle in West Hartford where I would see him.  Either before or after Mass he would be seen quietly saying the Stations of the Cross.  Fr. Blackall also had a strong devotion to Our Lady and the Rosary. He was so kind to the Children's Rosary and even read over the Children's Rosary book before it was published providing wonderful feedback.   

On the day of his passing, his nephew shared with us that the family gathered at his home.  After he had passed they together brought him out of the house.  It was a dry day with a few clouds and diffuse light.  All of a sudden Fr. Blackall's little grandniece who is 4 pointed to the sky and said rainbow.  All looked up and were amazed to see a rainbow spread over them.  Now Stephen, Fr. Blackall's nephew, shared that during his years in Catholic high school he was taught you need two things for a rainbow: rain and bright sun.  If both are present look to the opposite side of the sky as the sun and you often will see a rainbow.  However, on this day there was no rain and the sun was somewhat blocked by clouds yet there was a rainbow over Fr. Blackall's house.  It was then that Stephen realized there is another circumstance when a rainbow can be seen...when the Lord calls home a faithful servant and shows him the Kingdom.

Thank you Fr. Blackall for being a shepherd who so beautifully lead us in love.  May you continue to be a wonderful source of blessings and guidance for the Children's Rosary as you did while living here with us. Amen.

A Special Moment with Our Lady

Yesterday was my son's First Communion.  After the Mass my husband suggested that Kostin take a picture with his mom.  So Kostin and I posed together followed by a family picture.  On the way back to the car Kostin stopped and asked if he could be in a picture with Mary.  As we were just getting to our car the first reaction was to tell him it was too late and it was time to go home.  However, there was something that made me pause and say, yes lets just wait a minute so Kostin can visit Mary.  Kostin then ran off to the outside garden planted by children of the parish for Our Blessed Mother.  When my husband and I turned the corner Kostin was kneeling in prayer.  He then stood up and gave Mary the the rose that had been given to him during his First Communion and then kissed her head.

It was such a beautiful moment to see that Kostin didn't forget his dear Mother Mary.  Daily he prays with her in his rosaries.  Over years she, as the most perfect of mothers, has been preparing him for the day when he would meet her Son present in the Holy Eucharist.  To see Kostin kissing Our Blessed Mother's head in such a tender way was such a beautiful reminder of how much our children need their heavenly Mother and how much they love her when they spend time with her in prayer. 

Other posts you may like:
Preparing for Your First Communion
How to Pray the Rosary
How to Start a Children's Rosary

Mass Requested for Members of the Children's Rosary on Pentecost

A Mass is being offered on Pentecost for the following intention:
May the Holy Spirit descend and guide the Children's Rosary and all its members in all things.

Two Children's Rosary Groups to Meet on Pentecost

JOIN US IN PRAYER

There are two Children's Rosary groups meeting tomorrow.

The Children's Rosary at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Hopkinton, MA USA will meet in the lower Church at 11:15 AM ET.

The Children's Rosary group at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, CT USA will have their weekly Rosary at 11:00 AM ET. There will be a small reception following the Rosary provided by the Legions of Mary.

Please consider joining the children in prayer from your home.  They always pray for those joining them in person and unifying their prayers from their homes.

God Bless you all!

You may also enjoy the following posts:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Litany to the Holy Spirit
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Novena to the Holy Spirit