A Perfect Prayer for Children
Contributed by Sheila Setter
I was surprised last First Friday to see three mothers, with their young children in tow, congregating in the sacristy after mass. With rosaries in hand, from the smallest to the tallest, we all knelt in prayer to say the rosary. It got me thinking about why the rosary is such a perfect prayer for children.
* First of all, the Hail Mary starts with a birth announcement of the Heavenly kind: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1). Repeating this prayer 53 times during the course of saying the rosary is a wonderful way to help our own children understand the beauty of God’s gift to us: life. It is also a marvelous way to help our children understand why we cherish them so much!
* Secondly, as we meditate on the each of the decades of the rosary, we are reminded of the gospel readings we hear each week in Sunday mass. It is a particularly exquisite irony that, as we pray to Our Blessed Mother, she is asking us to meditate on the “mysteries”—Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous—that are the events in her Son’s life. Saying the rosary is a wonderful way to teach our children about Jesus.
* Finally, repetition…oftentimes, this is the stumbling block when it comes to the rosary. People find it difficult to say the rosary because it is monotonous. Yet, many educators place validity in the “drill and practice” method, using it to teach children the alphabet and multiplication tables. Repeating the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Oh my Jesus prayers can help children learn their prayers in a very effective way.
While doing a little research on the Internet, I learned some interesting facts about the rosary. I was surprised to discover that, in the earliest times, rosaries were made from rose petals. I can only imagine the beautiful fragrance imparted on the fingers of those who meticulously rolled these petals into little beads and then strung them together into continuous circles of prayers.
The following link provides several suggestions for making rose petal rosaries: Rose Petal Beads. With Advent upon us, this might be a meaningful project to share with your children. It would make a wonderful Christmas gift, and it might just get someone else thinking about saying the rosary.
I was surprised last First Friday to see three mothers, with their young children in tow, congregating in the sacristy after mass. With rosaries in hand, from the smallest to the tallest, we all knelt in prayer to say the rosary. It got me thinking about why the rosary is such a perfect prayer for children.
* First of all, the Hail Mary starts with a birth announcement of the Heavenly kind: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1). Repeating this prayer 53 times during the course of saying the rosary is a wonderful way to help our own children understand the beauty of God’s gift to us: life. It is also a marvelous way to help our children understand why we cherish them so much!
* Secondly, as we meditate on the each of the decades of the rosary, we are reminded of the gospel readings we hear each week in Sunday mass. It is a particularly exquisite irony that, as we pray to Our Blessed Mother, she is asking us to meditate on the “mysteries”—Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous—that are the events in her Son’s life. Saying the rosary is a wonderful way to teach our children about Jesus.
* Finally, repetition…oftentimes, this is the stumbling block when it comes to the rosary. People find it difficult to say the rosary because it is monotonous. Yet, many educators place validity in the “drill and practice” method, using it to teach children the alphabet and multiplication tables. Repeating the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Oh my Jesus prayers can help children learn their prayers in a very effective way.
While doing a little research on the Internet, I learned some interesting facts about the rosary. I was surprised to discover that, in the earliest times, rosaries were made from rose petals. I can only imagine the beautiful fragrance imparted on the fingers of those who meticulously rolled these petals into little beads and then strung them together into continuous circles of prayers.
The following link provides several suggestions for making rose petal rosaries: Rose Petal Beads. With Advent upon us, this might be a meaningful project to share with your children. It would make a wonderful Christmas gift, and it might just get someone else thinking about saying the rosary.
posted by Cheri Lomonte at 3:01 PM
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