Mary calls young children to Wainwright rosary club

Founder inspired on feast of Our Lady of Fatima

- photo supplied Some of the 38 children in the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Club pray during their weekly meetings.

By ALLISON BENNETT
Special to the WCR
Wainwright

When 38 children joined the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Club in Wainwright it was obvious to the club leaders that the devotion to the rosary is making a comeback in rural Alberta.

Club organizer Rhonda L'Heureux says, "It's definitely more children than I thought! Mary definitely called the children to come."

The club started with an inspiration L'Heureux had in the spring of 2007. She felt called to teach children how to pray the rosary.

At the time L'Heureux wasn't sure how the idea would manifest itself. But she knew she had to do it so she turned to her Father Raymond Guimond, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish.

Guimond offered his complete support and suggested they take some time and let Our Lady guide them.

Eager volunteers

Within several months L'Heureux had a team of volunteers eager to assist her in making the club a reality. They drafted up a rough outline and decided it would be run as a novena or a nine-week session.

When it came to deciding on a name L'Heureux was pleasantly surprised when she looked back in her diary and realized that it was on May 13, 2007 (feast of Our Lady of Fatima) when she was inspired to start the club. So it was fitting to name the group after Our Lady of Fatima who appeared to children in Portugal and asked them to pray the rosary.

Bryan Boos, the vice-principal at the Blessed Sacrament School, was supportive of the club. He agreed to let club leaders distribute flyers to the children via the school.

The response was amazing. Each day another parent would call to register their children and before they knew it more than 35 children were registered. Our Lady clearly wanted this club to happen.

Hunger and desire

With children ranging from four years of age to 12, the group is diverse and energetic. The club meets for one hour and follows a structured format with opening prayer, songs, a teaching from the Bible, crafts and games. The meeting closes with praying the rosary in the chapel.

For some of the children it has been their first experience of praying the rosary while others come from families where it is prayed daily. For the leaders it has been a beautiful thing to witness the hunger and the desire of the children to learn more about Jesus and Mary.

Timothy Artymko, the second oldest of five children, asked the leaders one night, "Could we pray more than one decade next time?"

The older children have been a vital part of the club's success because they have assisted the younger ones in learning how to hold the rosary and follow the beads. On Mother's Day the club sang two songs for the parish in honour of Our Blessed Mother Mary and all mothers.

In his homily on June 1, Father Guimond expressed his happiness with the club as he explained to families the importance of prayer and the role of Mary in leading our families to Jesus.

"Our Lady, when she is welcomed into a home, she leads us to Jesus," he said. "That's why I'm very pleased with the little club that is started, the little rosary club, because if these children pray with Our Lady they will learn about Jesus."

He continued, "In families we help the children to know Jesus, read some of the word of God especially the Gospels with them, have images in the home that remind us of Jesus, to ensure that there is prayer in our homes.

"And I would say the rosary because sometimes we think that Mary is over here and Jesus is over here, if we pray to Mary we are ignoring Jesus. Well, that is a heresy. Our Lady is not interested in herself. If we turn to her, she will lead us to Christ."

Touching the heart

Guimond's words touched the heart of a community that has seen the joy of children learning to pray and grow in their faith.

To wrap up the first session of the club each child received a t-shirt and rosary. Janet Klasson, one of the club leaders, is producing a unique DVD recording of the children praying. This will be available for purchase at a later date.

The club has been such a success that it will run again in the fall. When asked what her favourite thing about the club is six-year-old Brooklyn Kohle said, "Praying the rosary."

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