Feast of St. Dominic

August 8th is the Feast of St. Dominic, a very special saint in our family because we have a little Dominic of our own, and we also have a strong devotion to the rosary which became popular due to St. Dominic. In the year 1214 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic while he was praying for the conversion of sinners. Tradition has it that Mary handed St. Dominic a rosary and told him: "This is the weapon which the Blessed Trinity wants you to use to reform the world."

Our family tries to pray the rosary together each night around our bed, and on Fridays we started a fun tradition of praying ON the bed...which often results in Daddy falling asleep and the rest of us giggling in between the Hail Mary's! :) Praying a nightly rosary has truly become a beautiful tradition for us, even though some nights Dominic gets a bit distracting as he jumps on the bed or talks to his toys while the rest of us try to "meditate" on the mysteries of Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection! :) I sure hope Our Blessed Mother smiles at our feeble attempts at praying. I can't help but believe that the honest and innocent prayers of children are extremely powerful, and I hope that this tradition will be firmly rooted in our children's hearts so that they continue to pray the daily rosary long after they leave our home. Pope Pius XII once said, "There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family than the daily recitation of the rosary." Perhaps his words will inspire some of you readers to try praying a family rosary together. I know it can seem like an impossible task at first, especially if you have small children. When we started, we only did one decade for a few weeks, then gradually increased the number until we were finally praying 5 decades a night. We also found that it helps to let our older boys lead a decade and read aloud a little excerpt from a children's rosary book that explains each mystery. Actively involving them makes them feel so proud and also helps them to understand the rosary in a deeper way (it also helps them practice their reading skills at the same time!) :) It only takes about 20 minutes, but the blessings are innumerable!

Pope John Paul II also loved Mary and the rosary very much. JPII added the Luminous Mysteries to the traditional 15 mysteries and was often called the Marian Pope. One of his favorite sayings was "TOTUS TUUS," which is Latin for "Totally Yours," and he daily committed himself totally to Mary's care, knowing that she would always lead him perfectly to her Son and to true holiness. As JPII says, "To recite the rosary is nothing other than to contemplate the face of Christ with Mary." Imagine how our world would change if more people would take the time to pray the rosary and contemplate the face of Christ with Mary. Truly, the rosary could be the most powerful weapon to reform our families and the world if more Christians (Catholics and Protestants alike) would simply use it.

St. Dominic, pray for us!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

Totus Tuus,
~Maria