The Living Rosary

My daughter, Cathy, came home from her religion class very excited about a special project on which her class was working. This project was called the living Rosary. I am sorry to say that I had never seen a living Rosary in my whole life.

This is the way it was presented. After the last Mass on Sunday, all the children of the Parish gathered together at the back of the Church. Their family, relatives, and friends sat in the pews inside the Church. We began by standing and singing a hymn to Mary.

Immaculate Mary (Or other appropriate hymn)

One of our altar servers entered the church carrying a cross up high. When she reached the front of the church she turned to face the congregation. Together we recited the Apostles' Creed.

Then five children followed. The first child recited the Our Father. The next three said Hail Mary's. The last child said the Glory to the Father.

These were followed by five groups of children. Each group said the Our Father, ten Hail Mary's and the Glory to the Father.

What made this recitation of the Rosary a "Living Rosary" was that the children all held on to and were connected by a beautiful blue ribbon. They really looked like a Rosary.

We ended by reciting the Hail, Holy Queen together.

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy;
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To you do we cry, Poor banished children of Eve;
To you do we send up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.

Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Your eyes of mercy toward us;
And after this our exile, show unto us
The blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
That we might be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray
Pour forth, we beseech thee, O lord, Your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection through Christ our Lord. Amen