Family Rosary Time

My 8 year-old daughter, Rebecca, came to me last week and asked, "Daddy, why don't we pray the rosary at home?"

I replied, "Would you like to pray the rosary at home as a family?"

She answered, "Yes. We pray the Hail Mary at school every morning and since we all have rosaries I thought we could do it together as a family."

Since we always try to make time to have dinner together as a family every evening, I told her I would work out a way we could all say the rosary after dinner each night. I talked with her about the decades and the mysteries and what the rosary really means. She and I worked out the following plan:

We would say a decade a night, focusing on a mystery per week. For example, the first week of each month we would say the Joyful Mysteries, one mystery per evening, Monday through Friday. The second week we would focus on the Luminous Mysteries, the third would be Sorrowful, the fourth, Glorious.

We decided that each member of the family would lead the prayers each evening: I on Monday, Kathy on Tuesday, Nicholas on Wednesday, Rebecca on Thursday and Emily on Friday.

We started last Thursday and the kids love it. They get a blanket and sit or lay on the floor and get quiet. They say the prayers with such reverence and awe and with the innocence of children. It's inspiring to both my wife and I.

These few minutes of quiet prayer as a family really sets the tone for the rest of the evening.

Why didn't we say the rosary at home before this? It's hard to find time in between homework and practices and games and meetings and all the running around we do. It was exactly what we needed at a time when we think we are in control of things and shut God out - intentionally or not.

So take time each day to pray. Quiet yourself and talk with the Lord. It's amazing how much better everything will be.