Tercets: February 2013

"I’m participating in the Keeping LOVE in LENT Blog Link-Up 2013, hosted by Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints, Truly Rich Mom and Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families. We'll be sharing different ways, tips, stories and real-life experiences that will help us focus on Lenten sacrifices, prayer and good deeds, and how to carry them out with LOVE instead of a GRUMBLE. Please scroll down to the end of the post to see the list of link-up entries.”

This Lenten season, I have resolved to pray the rosary with my children, at least several times a week. I am always thinking about new ways to keep my children interested in the rosary, so we are going to focus our prayers this season on loved ones. Each time we pray, we will think about a family member or friend who needs our prayers, or for whom we wish to pray.

I am hoping this will enable us to sacrifice our time with more prayer, to consider how we can help those we love by praying for them, to help them by performing good deeds, or to dedicate acts of kindness to them.

My children don’t have much patience for the rosary yet, so we usually only pray one or two decades at a time. Last month, we made a rosary decade out of simple materials: long pipe cleaners and pony beads.

I placed the pony beads on a small plate to keep them from rolling off the table. My four year old strung the beads (she put 12 instead of 10, but I’ll explain how that works later).

Then, I formed the pipe cleaner into a heart shape by bending the ends over each other at the top of the heart and made a loop out of curling ribbon. My daughter added four beads to the curling ribbon before I tied the loop. This gives us the starting place for the rosary, so we can use one bead for the opening prayers, three for the opening Hail Marys, and then move onto the beads in the heart shape. This also gives us a convenient way to store the rosary between uses.

The extra 2 beads on our decade rosary represent the prayer to Our Lady of Fatima and the Salvation prayer (often part of the rosary when it is prayed in Spain), which we pray to close our rosary when we say only one or two decades. You could also make a full rosary this way by stringing beads on five hearts and linking them together before you close the pipe cleaners.

While I was preparing for this post, I also thought about another way to mark our rosary prayers during Lent. I drew a heart on a paper plate, and drew circles to represent the Hail Marys around the heart, as well as reminders for the other prayers to create a visual to mark the decade.

In a previous post, I suggested marking your progress through the rosary on a tabletop with beans or pasta or other small items. Creating a pattern on a plate to mark with objects as you go gives smaller children a visual to follow along, and can offer them variety during rosary time. A quick an easy version could also be made using heart shaped paper plates (maybe you will find some on clearance after Valentine’s Day) and round or heart shaped stickers.

With our heart shaped decade rosary and our heart rosary plates, I hope we will remember to face Lenten prayer time with love this season.

We may also try the rosary prayer sheets designed by my friend Jennifer at Catholic Inspired; these sheets include images of the mysteries and also contain a pattern to mark progress through the rosary. In another post, she shares great tips for praying the rosary as a family.

Welcome to those of you visiting from the Keeping Love in Lent Blog Link up and Follow Frenzy. I look forward to your comments about whether you think this type of rosary aid might be useful for your family. Also, do you find your children are able to think about others during prayer time, or do they tend to focus on themselves (what they want, how they need help, how they will do penance)?

Check out the Lent reflections participating in the Keep LOVE in LENT Blog Link-Up 2013! We'll be sharing different ways, tips, stories and real-life experiences that will help us focus on Lenten sacrifices, prayer and good deeds, and how to carry them out with LOVE instead of a GRUMBLE.

Discover new Catholic Blogs to follow!
Equipping CatholicFamilies: Keep LOVE in LENT

Call Her Happy:40 Simple Lenten Activities for Kids

Lenten Love: Little Acts of Love

Building Rocks (pending)

Grow the Roses: Keep Love in Lent

Family At The Foot Of The Cross: Loving Service

Catholic Homeschooling Joy: A Lenten Activity

JOY:Keep the Love in Lent

Twenty Tuesday Afternoons: Tuesday # 11: Pancake Tuesday / Keeping Love in Lent

Campfires and Cleats: Why a Failing Lent Really Isn't

Harrington Harmonies: Make a Lenten Holy Hour

A Mommy of Three:Good Deeds for Lent

Loving the Semi Country Life: Lent:special time to reflect and keep the love in lent

Written By the Finger of God: A 7 Step Lenten Plan

Mommy Bares All: Giving Up and Making Space for Love this Lent

The Irish Lassie Shop: Seek God Everywhere

Hand-Maid with Love: Living Lent, Loving Lent

Words On Heaven: IN THE DESERT FOR 40 DAYS

On The Way Home: Keeping LOVE in Lent

Homeschooling with Joy: Keep Love in Lent

Mountain Grace: Keep Love in Lent

Eyes On Heaven: I am Choosing to Live

Joy Alive in Our Hearts:"God's Love at Work"

Life of Fortunate Chances: Love is Fun: Keeping Love in Lent

Fifth of Five: Keep the LOVE in Lent

I Blog Jesus: for Praying our Loud!

Overflow: Loving Lent with Little Ones

This Cross I Embrace: Keep LOVE In Lent

Sole Searching Mamma: 15 Ways to Experience a More Meaningful Lent
Catholic All Year: My Biggest Lent Fails and How I Learned Mortification...
Four Little Ones: Keeping Love in Lent
Gaels Crafty Treasures Keeping Love in Lent
Bear Wrongs Patiently: Lent for the Scrupulous
Rosary Mom: Keeping Love in Lent
LoveLetters 7.10: Teacups {Keeping the Love in Lent}
Little Saints in the Making: Keep Love in Lent
Blessed with Full Hands: Keeping love in Lent- Praise Him
Normal Chaos: Our Own Personalized Lenten Journey
These Little Blessings: Gifting Love this Lent
The Cajun Catholic: The our Father; a lenten reflection
Truly Rich Mom: Keeping Love in Lent... Even When It Is Difficult
GATHERING GRACES:Keeping LOVE in LENT
SaIsa Pang Sulyap - Fullness Of His Love

Liturgical Time: Keeping Love in Lent - Finding Balance
Grace Loves Iggy: love in lent
Sacred Oysters: Empty (Keeping LOVE in LENT)
Tercets: Make Heart Rosary Decades to Pray for Others
The Diary of a Sower: Our Lenten Prayer Tree

A Living Garden -- Giving for Others with Love: Keeping LOVE in LENT

Homegrown Catholics: Motivated by my childrens' activities {Lent}

MyBroken Fiat: Keeping Love in Lent... Barely

Journey to Wisdom: Keeping Love in Lent: Bands of Love

Softening My Heart: An Anniversary Lesson during Lent

Coffee Moments With Sam: Alot about Love...

In 2014, I am linking with: What are you doing this Lenten Season?

In 2013, I linked with: CatholicBloggers Link up Blitz, Faith Formation in Young Children, What are you doing this Lent?, Better Mom Monday, Welcome Home, Saints and Scriptures Sunday, Motivational Monday, Tactile Tuesday, Kids Get Crafty, We Made That, For the Kids Friday, Weekly Kids Co-op, New Evangelists Monthly

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