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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Blessed Virgin Mary | Catholic Faith | pray the rosary
Meg Herriot looks back on how she has grown in praying the Rosary and the ways she and her husband have made the Rosary the center of family prayer.
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Family Rosary | Psalms | catholic devotions | pray the rosary
Here is a prayer method that combines a Psalm, a Rosary mystery, and a Canticle. This way of prayer creates a “liturgy of the present moment,” fostering emotional connection, contemplation, and praise throughout daily life. During a visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., I picked up a small paperback from Magnificat Press, The Abbey Psalms and Canticles. This booklet inspired me to a new way of prayer. While the Psalms and Canticles prayerfully express emotion in the movement of the human spirit, the Rosary, developed from these, is a prayer of contemplation.
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Rosary with kids | family prayer | pray the rosary
“All good giving and every perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17) We receive countless gifts from God in our lives, from food, clothing, and shelter to the graces He gives us each day. When we count our blessings, do we remember to return blessings and adoration to God? The prayer of blessing and adoration is one of the five forms of prayer designated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise) — the form in which we worship God or invoke His grace. “Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other.” (CCC 2626) The Catechism describes the prayer of blessing as an “encounter” between God and man. What is an encounter? The dictionary definition of the word is a meeting or experience with another person. As in a visit with a good friend, an encounter is an exchange, a back-and-forth between two people. In the Rosary, we engage in an encounter with Christ and our Blessed Mother, especially through the prayerful recitation of the Our Father and the Hail Mary. As our fingers move over the Rosary beads and our lips recite the words of these prayers, we listen and respond to Jesus and Our Lady.
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catholic family life | family prayer | pray the rosary
Both my husband and I were blessed to have grown up praying the Rosary with our families. Rain or shine, no matter what was happening, when it was time for the Rosary, all activities ceased, and we gathered to pray. My parents waited until we kids were older to have us join them in praying, so there were no toddlers present causing mayhem, and it was actually a peaceful rendition of a family Rosary. I’m not saying we would be on the front page of the Faith & Family magazine, but maybe somewhere near the back. Carrying On the Family Rosary with our Toddler With our upbringing, it was an easy habit for me and my husband to continue praying the Rosary when we started our journey as a young married couple. Now with a very active 18-month-old, the tranquility of our Rosary is — how shall we say — lessened. I have a feeling that Our Lord and the Blessed Mother share an amused glance when we begin our Rosary because it’s such a comedy routine these days. After dinner, one of us cleans the kitchen from all the gunk that has accumulated in the past 12 hours. The other one entertains our toddler with dominoes so she doesn’t run through the dirt piles that are being swept together in the kitchen. Both my husband and I are brain-dead at the end of our respective long days.
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family prayer | forming children of faith | pray the rosary
Prayer is difficult to explain and accomplish with squirming, young children. Mass can be an hour of tension trying to get little ones to sit still and be quiet, so much so that you have trouble listening or paying attention yourself. And trying to get through a whole Rosary with children can be frustrating. As a mother of adult children, I’d like to share three tips for praying with your children that worked for us when they were young. Encourage Personal Prayer at Bedtime When our oldest was very little, I made up a short prayer for us to say together every night while tucking him into bed. It was personal and pertinent to him, easy to remember, and taught him the key components of prayer: Awe, Thanksgiving, and Intercession. It went like this: “Thank you, Lord Jesus, for another fun day. Thank you for my health, my faith, and my family, especially Daddy, Mommy, [insert names of other loved ones]. Please help with [intention]. Amen.”
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Marian devotion | family prayer | pray the rosary
Mom! ... Mommy! ... Mama! If your house is anything like mine, you are called upon many times a day. My kids never tire of calling out, “Mom” for a variety of reasons. I find it funny when people say they are “tired” of saying the Hail Mary, especially as part of the Rosary: It’s so repetitive. Calling on our mother is innate. God wired us to cry out for our mothers, to seek comfort from them, and to depend on them throughout our lives. This includes not only our earthly mothers but also our heavenly Mother, Mary. "Mom, what’s for dinner?" The variety of statements that follow our “Mom” title can be: "Mom, I need x, y, z for school … did you fill out that paperwork for camp … where is my (fill in the blank) ... I am sad … I need help with (school subject )... can you untie this knot … what’s for dinner?
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