Working with our youngest students in the Early Learning Program at St. Benedict Classical Academy, I am blessed to pray with them throughout the day and witness the great love they have for our Blessed Mother. Each morning begins in prayer, and we pause to pray together throughout the day. Our morning prayer includes an enthusiastic, “Good morning, God. Good Morning, Mama Mary!” followed by one Hail Mary. In the afternoon, we go to the chapel to pray the Angelus and sing “Immaculate Mary.” A beautiful picture of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus hangs above the prayer table in our classroom. During the day, the children often ask us to light the prayer candle so they can pray quietly on their own. This simple faith reminds me of Jesus’ call to “turn and become like little children” and helps me to turn to Our Lady and trust in her loving intercession.
I have had a special devotion to our Blessed Mother since my childhood. I had a statue of Our Lady of Grace on my dresser and surrounded her with little vases of flowers from my yard, just as my students love to decorate our classroom prayer table with images of Mary and flowers they arrange themselves. Our Blessed Mother is so loving and gentle with us. Her motherly heart knows exactly what we need. She invites us to pray the Holy Rosary each day because she knows it will help us grow in love and peace and lead us ever closer to her Son.
The Holy Rosary is the most powerful prayer after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It brings tremendous grace to our lives and families, and it has the power to stop wars and bring peace to the world. When Our Lady appeared in Fatima to three shepherd children, she encouraged us all to pray the rosary every day. October is the month of the Rosary, and a perfect time to grow in this devotion. You might begin with a single decade as a family, take a rosary walk after dinner, invite others to pray with you, or pray in the car or while doing dishes. (There is even a family rosary center in Easton where you can make a pilgrimage this month!) Your routine doesn’t have to be perfect; any effort to grow in this devotion will bear much fruit and help us to become like children – full of peace, love, and joy.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
AUTHOR: Tara Rohatgi, Early Learning Assistant Teacher
