October 7.  Our Lady of the Rosary.  “Do those people selling rosaries on street corners really know what it is?” Ann asked her mom. “Maybe you’d be surprised. We don’t know where they came from?  Do you know?” was mom’s reply. “Yes well…… “ “Some families do pray the rosary at home, some in church and many pray as individuals.  ‘The family that prays together stays together’ was the slogan of the Rosary campaign of the 1950s.  We still need to pray and stay, but also to play together, don’t you think?  The Rosary is not only a recitation of prayers but a reflection on events in the life of Jesus and Mary, dedicated to God and at Mary’s request offered for peace in the world.  Why not teach that to those street sellers. We all need to work for peace.”

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:   Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Pope Francis: The most diverse messages and the most unpredictable experiences rapidly make their way into the lives of children and adolescents, and parents can become quite anxious about the dangers their children face. At times parents suffer acute disappointment at the failure of their children to resist the seductions of the drug culture, the lure of an unbridled hedonism, the temptation to violence, and the manifold expressions of meaninglessness and despair.  To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for prayer” with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. John Paul II : ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE 2002   Her hymn of praise was dedicated to the mercy of God which extends from generation to generation. We too are included in those prophetic words. MV24.   Jubilee: the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City is preparing to celebrate, in 2031, the fifth centenary of Our Lady’s first apparition. Through Juan Diego, the Mother of God brought a revolutionary message of hope that she continues to bring to every pilgrim and all the faithful: “Am I not here, who am your Mother?” [20] That message continues to touch hearts in the many Marian shrines throughout the world, where countless pilgrims commend to the holy Mother of God their cares, their sorrows and their hopes. SNC 24.   Act and Pray for the needs of families and our calling to become true missionary disciples.