Catholic Virtue Training for Children Using the Rosary

J.M.J.

For years now, I have been helping families and the occasional Catholic school and parish teach children a few of the treasures hidden in the Rosary: The virtues!  St. Louis de Montfort has shown us in his book, The Secret of the Rosary, that each Mystery of the Rosary has within it a virtue or grace to be prayed for.  Our Lady emulates each virtue and grace perfectly within the Mysteries, teaching us how to imitate her.  She is a perfect example of who we should strive to become.  Don't we want to show our children her example as well?

To celebrate October - the month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary - I am giving you the complete lesson plans and workbook pages for the first Joyful Mystery, which we pray for humility.  I never claimed to be an artist but humility calls me to post my pictures of the Mysteries online anyway LOL Anyway, below is a sample of my Rosary Quilt program, along with some extra files to enhance your family rosary time.  Couldn't we all benefit from a lesson or two in humility?  (Be careful how you answer that one!  LOL)  Enjoy these pages!

ROSARY QUILT LESSON PLANS

1.    The Annunciation: For the Love of Humility Activities

Read Isaiah 10:15. Talk about what kinds of jobs can be accomplished by using such tools. Lay out a few tools your child may use for her own talents. For instance, a pianist needs a piano; a painter needs a brush, a writer needs a pencil, a carpenter needs sandpaper and a saw. Explain that your child is the piano, paintbrush, saw, etc. and God is the pianist, artist, carpenter, etc. Your child is simply the tool for the things God wants done. Just as it is silly for a paintbrush to take credit for a painting, it is also foolish for us to take credit for the work God does through us.

Practice responding to compliments. When someone compliments you on one of your talents, respond with something that directs all glory to God instead of to yourself: “Thank you! I have been very blessed.” If pride/boasting is a temptation to your child, make sure he/she receives a petal for responding appropriately to compliments.

**(WB pg 4) Help your child make a list of her God given talents. Have her write God a thank you note, thanking Him for these talents and noting how she might use them to bring Him glory.

Have your child look in the mirror and pretend to be “snooty”. It should not be long before he closes his eyes and sticks his nose up in the air. When he does, say, “Freeze! This is what a prideful heart looks like.” Explain that turning one’s nose “up” at someone else shows pride. It tells other people that you think you are better than they are. Now ask him what he is looking at when his eyes are closed. (“Nothing” or “My eyelids”) Ask him where his nose is pointed. (“Up” or “Towards the sky”) Explain that when one is not humble, one is sticking his nose up towards God. When children’s eyes are closed, they are not looking for God’s will, nor are they able to see God’s hand in whatever success they are being “snooty” about. They are, in essence, snubbing God and denying God’s hand in their successes.

Have your child look humble. This usually looks like a shy look: head cocked to the side (listening for God’s will); chin down (and not vain or prideful), eyes looking upwards (towards God above). Tell him that a humble heart looks like this. Which heart did Mary have? Which heart should we have? Take pictures of your child “acting” out these two traits. Put them in your scrapbook and label each feature and what they are saying to others.

Discuss the fall of Adam and Eve – Satan tempted them with the idea that they too could be like God. What a thought! One of the effects of Original Sin is a temptation to make ourselves into our own gods! The Catechism tells us that the meaning of life is: To know, love and serve God in this world so that we may be happy with Him in the next. Original Sin makes us want to make others know, love and serve US in this world so that we may be happy in this world. Make your children more aware of how we all make ourselves into gods during the day. Discuss how this makes others feel. What happens when our entire household is filled with people trying to make themselves into gods?

Discuss with your children the trend our society has to build and protect self-esteem at all costs: schools adjusting test scores or passing students who may need to be held back, bombarding children with over exaggerated compliments, etc. How is this harmful to souls? How can this be harmful to society? How does this affect a person’s earthly life? What will happen to these children when they grow up and live “in the real world”?

Discuss Proverbs 15:33.

Examples of humility

The fall of Lucifer: Aside from being pure spirits, angels also have a perfectly informed intellect. Because of this, the angels knew God’s plan for humans and for our salvation. They knew of God’s power, too. He gave the angels a chance to serve Him and two thirds of the angels joyfully announced that indeed they would serve Him! Unfortunately, Lucifer, who was the brightest and most beautiful angel, dared to say that he would not serve God. A third of the angels also made this decision. Why would they do such a thing? They knew of God’s power and His love, yet they would not serve Him! Lucifer was full of pride. He was bright, powerful, and beautiful, but he was created to serve God. He thought he was better than a servant – he wanted to be a god. And not just any god, but he wanted to take over God’s throne in Heaven and be God Himself!

Matthew 8:5 – 10: In this story, the Roman Officer, though pagan, acknowledges Christ as an important person. He admits he is not worthy to receive Him in his home, but has faith that all his servant needs to be healed is Jesus’ word. Recall the words we speak before receiving Communion at Mass, as the priest holds the Blessed Sacrament up: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” Both this story and the words we speak during the Mass represent the degree of humility we need to strive for.

Philippians 2:1-11: Paul challenges us to imitate Christ in His humility. The verses also show us how great Christ is because of His humility.

The Cure’ of Ars: This Saint performed many miracles in his life. When each miracle occurred, he humbly, and appropriately, directed all eyes to God instead of to himself. He shied away from praise from the villagers and always credited other Saints’ intercessions and God for the miracles for which he himself prayed. His humility did not even allow himself to believe that it was his own prayers that God was responding to – he always believed that it was another Saint’s intercession on his behalf that the miracles occurred.

Verses for memorization

Proverbs 30:32

Proverbs 16:5  

Proverbs 22:4

Luke 18:14


WORKBOOK PAGES  (Pages correspond to activities above)

BEADS PAGES  Family members suggest their intentions for each Hail Mary.  Who suffers from pride?  Who needs to accept God's will instead of forcing their own will?  etc.  Read the prayer at the top to announce the Mystery.  Announce each intention before each Hail Mary. Recite the prayer at the bottom of the prayer to end the Mystery.

Here is the page with the Annunciation bead.  Print and laminate it for your younger children to hold as you pray this Mystery.  It can also be used along with the Rosary Quilt itself.  (The activity blanket which is explained in the manual)  The blank beads may be copied and used to help young children keep track of their prayers.  (There are actually 10 blank beads in the file, not 2)

What is NOT pictured here is the Virtue Chart which goes with the set.  All I could get was a portion of it, pictured below so you can't really use it, but I wanted to at least show you what it is.  Its purpose is to help keep track of your child's progress, whenever you catch your child being good.  The manual explains this concept in a little more detail, but you get the idea.

I hope you enjoy using these prayer aids!  I would love to hear how you like these pages. 

If you are interested in obtaining the 4 digital file set (Manual, instructions and workbook plus virtue chart) for $17 and the color painting Beads files which supplement the program for $5,  please contact me at

poppe clan at gmail dot com 

Rosary: A New Way to Pray

J.M.J.

Today you will do it.  You will get through it.  You will pray the Rosary!  Queen of the Holy Rosary, you have deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three shepherd children the treasures of grace hidden in the Rosary… 

 Suddenly, the world intrudes.  Your husband can’t find his socks.  You start to compile your grocery list instead of meditating.  When your toddler bumps is head and needs a kiss,  you decide you will finish praying later.  But later comes and goes, and suddenly it is 11:30pm and you have not finished the Rosary.  Those hidden treasures of grace will have to wait for another time.

 Sound familiar?  No matter where you are in your Rosary devotion, novice or expert, I am sure that you have experienced some form of distractions or interruptions while praying and perhaps have even given up praying because of this.  These stumbling blocks are scattered along everyone’s path, but with the grace of God they can be overcome.  I present to you will open up new possibilities for you, to give you a way to find the time and inspiration throughout each day to pray an entire 15 Mysteries, and offer a simple, prayerful and gentle way of sanctifying your soul.

 Prayer has commonly been compared to breathing and for a good reason.  Prayer is as important to the soul as breathing is to the body.  Yet, unlike breathing, you have to make a conscience effort to pray.  And for busy homeschooling mothers, we are sometimes tempted to skip the Rosary and toss up a few quick prayers instead, forgetting how prayer gives life to our souls.

I myself was plagued with stumbling blocks and I actually stopped praying the Rosary for about a year.  When I finally picked up my Rosary again, I went to St. Louis for advice.  I read his book, The Secret of the Rosary and realized that it was a direct answer to my prayers.  He tells souls who are unable to pray 15 decades all at once,

“I advise you to divide up your Rosary into three parts and to say each group of mysteries (five decades) at a different time of day.  This is much better than saying the whole 15 decades all at once.

If you cannot find the time to say a third part of the Rosary all at one time, say it gradually, a decade here and there.  I am sure you can manage this; so that, in spite of your work and all the calls upon your time, you will have said the whole Rosary before going to bed.” 

I was so freed when I read this!  With my priest’s blessing, I incorporated the Saint’s first method of praying the Rosary by asking for specific graces and virtues with each Mystery, and broke up the Rosary into manageable pieces.  I was actually praying the Rosary again, and I was astounded at my rapid growth in virtues.  At last those hidden treasures were being revealed to me! 

I soon spent each day completely immersed in Our Lady and Our Lord’s life, living the Rosary and actively working on the sanctification of my soul as I went about my day.  I learned to breathe the Rosary -  to inhale the Mysteries and exhaled the grace.

Lets take a look at how easy and fruitful this method really is.  Begin the Rosary in the morning, around 6:00am if you can.  St. Louis announces the Mysteries with a little prayer, asking for the grace or virtue attached to each one.  The Annunciation prayer is:

We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this first decade in honor of Thy incarnation and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy most Holy Mother, a profound humility.

Place yourself in the room with Mary as the Annunciation takes place.  Inhale the scene, absorb the lesson, let it fill you.  Ponder the perfect acts of humility unfolding before you.  “Let it be done to me according to his will…”  Pray the decade as reverently as possible, inhaling deeply the entire Mystery.

As you pray the Annunciation, try to picture the usual situations you run into in the morning and visualize an actual plan on how to handle them with humility.  Ask Mary to obtain for you the humility you need to get through the next hour of the day.  Just one hour. 

After the Glory Be, stop and then go about your usual activities.  For the next hour you are going to exhale the grace you just prayed for.  Humility.  In every interaction you have with others, whether it be your children, your husband, the garbage man or just yourself.  Humility. 

The Annunciation is a joyful moment, a challenge, and a heroic chance to say “Yes!” to whatever it is God is calling us to do at any moment.  Talk to Mary.  She will begin to show you pieces of the Annunciation that mirror your own situations during this hour in the most amazing ways.  Live humbly from 6 to 7:00am.  That is all.

So what happens at 7:00?  If you are in the middle of changing a diaper or chasing the dog, don’t’ panic.  Live humbly through the interruption and know that God is asking something else of you at the moment and you will return to your prayer in a minute.  But right around 7:00am, return to your room or prayer space for a moment.  Kneel down and review your hour.  Where were you blessed with humility?  Where did you fall?  This is a mini examination of conscience for you.  Make the Sign of the Cross and pray, the Fatima Prayer:

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of Hell.  Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”  Then pray, “Grace of the mystery of the Incarnation, come down into my soul and make it truly humble.”

Have about 5 seconds of silence and then inhale the next Mystery:  the Visitation, for perfect charity towards our neighbor.

The beauty of this method, for me, is that I can spend the whole day with Our Lady.  I spend from 6 to 6:05 inhaling the Annunciation.  From 6:05 to 7:00 I am exhaling the grace, trying to live in the example of humility Mary is showing me.

From 7 to 7:05 I make myself account for my failings, ask for forgiveness and then inhale the Visitation.  From 7:05 to 8:00am I exhale, in my own imperfect way, charity towards my neighbors.  My husband, the children, the person who just pulled out in front of me on the highway, and to myself.  I relive the Visitation during that hour and try my hand at being charitable.  I am reminded that the greatest act of charity is to bring Christ to others, just as Mary brought Christ to Elizabeth.  At 8:00 I take another moment to recollect the past hour.  How did I do?  Can I gather strength in my successes, thanking Our Lady for showing me how to be humble?  Can I find my failings and pray for guidance next time I am tempted to pride? 

 The following is a list of the 15 Mysteries and their “treasures” as St. Louis de Montfort presents them.  Use this list as a basic framework for your day.

Annunciation - Humility

Visitation – charity towards our neighbor

Nativity – detachment from things of this world, love of poverty and love of the poor.

Presentation  - the gift of wisdom and purity of heart and body.

Finding in the Temple - to convert us and help us amend our lives, and also to convert all sinners, heretics, schismatics and idolaters.

Agony in the Garden of Olives - perfect sorrow for our sins and the virtue of perfect obedience to Thy Holy Will.

Scourging -  the grace to mortify our senses perfectly.

Crowning with thorns - a great contempt of the world.

Carrying Thy cross  -  give us great patience in carrying our cross in Thy footsteps every day of our life.

Crucifixion on Mount Calvary - a great horror of sin, a love of the Cross and the grace of a holy death for us and for those who are now in their last agony.

Resurrection  -  a lively faith.

Ascension - a firm hope and a great longing for Heaven.

Pentecost - Thy holy wisdom so that we may know, really love and practice Thy truth, and make all others share in it.

Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Thy Holy and Blessed Mother - the gift of true devotion to her to help us live and die holily.

Coronation  -  the grace of perseverance, an increase in virtue until death that we may receive our eternal crown.  Ask the same grace for all the just and for all benefactors.

If you want to honor Our Lady and make an honest effort to try to overcome bad habits and develop a virtuous soul, this method keeps you right on track.  Vigilent, in fact!  Every person you come across, every situation, every moment of every day is an opportunity for sanctification.  Do not try to go throughout day on empty lungs.  Really take in Mystery when praying.   But do not hold your breath too long, either. Exhale the graces that come to you from your prayers throughout day.  You must exhale to practice the virtue!

When I die, I want to die somewhere between inhaling and exhaling, so that my last dying breath that leaves my body will be filled with an effort and attempt to practice and spread the grace.  We are all called to sanctity and many paths to choose from on our way to Sainthood.  I choose to take my path one breath at a time.  Fifteen stairs and 15 breaths a day brings me closer to Our Lady and to Him.  Progress.  Success is not as important as the effort.  The effort comes from what is in your heart.  When you inhale these Mysteries and exhale the grace, it all passes through our hearts, doesn’t it?  And that is what Our Lord will be looking for when we go to meet Him.

Put your hearts in Our Lady’s hands and breathe the Rosary to help us know God, so that we can love Him and find ways of serving Him, surely we will find the hidden treasures of grace she promises are there.

For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. Mtt.6:21

Video Thank You from the Poppe Family

JMJ

I cannot believe we are almost at the one year mark for Fulton's accident.  Getting ready for Christmas reminds me of how precious Fulton looked after we returned from Christmas Eve midnight Mass.  The tree was buried in presents, but all he was fascinated with was the infant Jesus who appeared under the tree.  He couldn't take his eyes off of the Infant.

2 weeks before the accident

Time has flown by so quickly, I feel like I haven't been able to catch my breath and properly assess all that has happened this year.  The blessings, the crosses, the new friends in our lives, and dreams lost.  My cup runneth over, for even through the tears I see it is all from God and it is all good.
Thy will be done, Lord.

I am a complete organizational mess, as most of my real life friends and family know, and while I have tried to keep track of addresses for thank you notes, I think about half of the hundreds of well-wishers have gone unacknowledged.  There were so many I wanted to respond to personally, and that special pile has disappeared into the abyss, and I am left here unable to hug each of you and write to you to tell you how grateful I am for your love and support.  This pains me deeply, as every prayer, Mass, card, and pack of stickers has brought such grace to Fulton and our family.  The medical supplies (oh the needed medical supplies!), skin creams and salves, and all of the necessary but unglamorous gifts we have received were in many ways the most important.  The fundraisers, the generous donations people have made, the angels in disguise who have helped us with difficult scheduling and travel issues...  I am the unworthy recipient of such graces.  And I am so, so thankful.

Fulton, in his own way, is thankful as well.  He just does not know it yet.  But I think he can feel the love and has certainly benefited from your prayers.  He recently drew 2 self portraits (which I will post soon!) that proves how happy he is and how well he is doing.  Thanks be to God!

Until I get those pictures posted, I will simply post the video for you all to see.  Please pass this along to anyone you know who has prayed for Fulton or has followed his progress in the past - your churches, prayer groups and homeschool groups, friends and family members.  I shed many tears as I created it, but they are tears of gratitude and were shed for all of you.

Thank you, everyone, and have a blessed Advent!

***UPDATE:  I was just informed that some people are having trouble viewing the video on my blog.  You may do a search on YouTube and find it there if you type in the words Fulton Thank You.  Sorry!***

We Are Safe!

J.M.J.

Praise God, we have been spared the tragedy of a tornado once again.  Our tears and prayers pour forth for our fellow Oklahoma families who were struck by tonight's terrifying fury.

I do not dare question God's Holy Will.  I only pray that each soul that was called Home was in a state of grace and will one day enjoy the Heavenly abode Our Lord has won for them through His most Precious Blood.

 

Enter not into judgment with Thy servants, O Lord; for, save Thou grant them forgiveness of all their sins, no man shall be justified in Thy sight. Wherefore suffer not, we beseech Thee, the sentence Thou pronouncest in judgment upon the ones whom the faithful prayer of Christian people commends to Thee, to be a doom which shall crush them utterly. Rather succor them by Thy gracious favor, that they may escape Thine avenging justice who, in his lifetime, was signed with the seal of the holy Trinity. Who livest and reignest world without end.

R.: Amen.

Mother's Prayer For Her Sick Child

J.M.J.

O Heart of Jesus, merciful and compassionate Heart, look with an eye of pity upon my sick son. 

O You, Who endured upon earth all that was most painful, relieve his sufferings!  In memory of the bitter desolation You endured in teh Garden of Olives, console him in his misery.  For the sake of Your cruel scourging and frightful crowning with thorns, grant him patience in his tribulations.  By Your most wearisome carrying of Your cross, grant him unshaken constancy in this trial and perfect resignation to God's holy will.  By Your cruel death, grant him a calm and peaceful departure from this life, if so it is best for his eternal welfare. 

But if, O Sacred Heart, it be not opposed to Your greater honor, grant him a prolongation fo life and restoration to perfect health.  I beg this of You by Your own infinite goodness and mercy.  It was for his welfare that You cast him upon this bed of sickness.  Give him light to discern Your loving designs and, with great ardor, to seek the salvation of his soul.  Take from him his former tepidity in Your service and fill him with a loving zeal for Your honor.  Grant that in this present tribulation he may understand how insignificant and transitory are all earthly joys.  Strengthen his heart to live henceforth solely for You and heaven, O God; and when You have given health to his soul, restore likewise the strength of body.  O Jesus, You Who healed so many sick, heal him also, that he may gratefully magnify Your name and, after a long life of piety and good works, depart happily in You, O Lord, to love You and praise You and glorify You forever adn ever!
Amen.

Prayer for a Sick Infant

J.M.J.

I received 2 amazing prayers in the mail from a friend the other day.  Both are prayers from a mother asking for healing on behalf of her sick child.  The mother's pleas so perfectly express where I am at right now, I thought I should post them here for any other parent suffering for their child. 

The first prayer is for a sick infant, still in baptismal innocence.  The second is a prayer for an older child no longer in baptismal innocence.  Since only Our Lord knows which of these my son falls under, I have both of these prayers at my bedisde.  But be warned:  these prayers are not for the faint of heart and take on a tone unfamiliar to most people these days.  Yet despite the 'harshness', I can't help but think that such prayer, when prayed sincerely, must be very pleasing to God.

A Mother's Prayer For Her Sick Infant

 

O ininitely merciful God, with contrite hearts we acknowledge before You that we have deserved not only this but far more grievous suffering!  My family and I have often and deeply offended Your infinite justice and holiness.  It is right that we should be chastised.  But, notwithstanding, we fly to Your paternal Heart to implore Your mercy, to beg for a remission of our indebtedness. 

Behold this innocent child, Yours by far stronger claims than ours!  Release him from suffering.  He could not yet offend You.  Ah, free him from pain!  The grace of Holy Baptism is still all his own.  O bless Your tenderly loved child!  With the blood of Your Son he was dearly purchased.  O then, for Jesus' sake, take pity on him.  He is the pure and unprofaned temple of Your Holy Spirit.  We are firmly resolved never to commit sin and, for the rest of our life, we will serve You with fidelity and gratitude.

 

Have mercy, good Father, on my poor sick child, and restore him to health!  You can do all things.  If You will it, this sickness will disappear.  One word from You, and health will be restored.  I promise to train him carefully to the utmost of my ability, to use every means to make him know, love, and serve You.  Assist me by Your grace to preserve him in his innocence, to fortify him in all virtues.  But if O Heavenly Father, You forsee that he will ever deviate from Your Commandments and lose his precious soul, rather take him at once to Yourself in heaven.  I could far rather see him die in his innocence than behold him a victim of sin and eternal damnation.

 

Amen

My apologies, as I do not have the information about the book from which the prayers came, but if anyone recognizes them, please let me know!  I will be posting the other prayer tomorrow.