October Is the Month of the Rosary [Free Rosary Coloring Page]

In honor of the Rosary, I'm sharing my free Rosary coloring page. Use it to help teach your children to pray the Rosary and to keep track of the prayers.

Or they can color each bead ("rose") as they say a prayer, or they can make copies of the little flowers at the bottom of the page and cut them and paste them onto the bead.



Inspired by my grandmother's Spanish prayers, I also created El Rosario coloring page (a coloring page in Spanish):

My earliest memory of the Rosary is wrapped in the scent of lavender, the whisper of beads passing through wrinkled fingers, the murmured Spanish of my abuelita Blanca.

We shared a room, and the Rosary filled my every evening. For the years that she lived with us, she'd pray the Rosary nightly, the repeated "Dios te salve Maria, llena eres de gracia..." embedded into my sleep.

The set prayers, rather than dulling with repetition, formed a cadence of sweetness, a litany of love. My grandmother often told me that she loved me, and I understood that the rosary was like her repeating to Jesus that she loved him.

One cannot say that enough.

Unfortunately, when I grew older and further from the Lord, I stopped praying the rosary nightly, stopped saying "I love you" to the One Who Loves Us Best.

“Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” (St. Padre Pio)

Yet, whenever I was in trouble and needed Him, I turned to the  Rosary. Always. Sometimes, I prayed all the mysteries. Other times, just the set prayers. In great difficulties, I'd just clutch the rosary in my hand as tightly as if I were clutching Mama Mary's hand.

Thanks to the Holy Spirit's intervention, my husband's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program, and the piles upon piles of books I read, I returned to the Catholic Church in 1995 and have remained in the family.

Since then, the Blessed Mother has truly become my mother. And through the Rosary, she teaches us, not to worship her, not to focus on her, but to turn to the main events in the life of Jesus and our relationship with Him.

* * *

I also have the following free Rosary activity ideas:

• Rosary index-card ring (prayer helper)
• Pro-Life Novena activity page
• Roses for Mother Mary

Happy coloring and praying!
Vee

Rosary for the Littles

In the evenings, as we've been praying the novena for the unborn, the five-year-old and a two-year-old participate in their own way. What we've been using to keep them focused and looking at pretty pictures that turn their minds and hearts to God is this:

The Rosary pictures PDF were provided generously by The Bookworm (on the First Heralds blog long ago). Just click on the link then scroll down a spell to see the PDF link to download. Actually, while you're there, check out the fabulous post for creating a rosary box. It's wonderful.

Our Rosary ring was easy-peasy to make:

1. Download the rosary pictures and laminate them.
2. Hole punch the top left corner.
3. Slip the cards onto the ring. (A plain silver key ring works or something like this.)
4. Pray them!

If you laminate them, they should last for quite a long time. I started using these cards when my oldest child was five, and now she's eleven years old. Now, her little siblings use the rosary ring.

Blessings galore,

Vee

October: Month of the Rosary

It's the month of the Rosary! (And if you need a refresher for praying the Rosary, here's a quick, solid article from EWTN.)

All right then.  Here are a few Paper Dali activities from the archives related to the rosary.

My Pro-Life Novena Worksheet is a popular one. You print out the two pages: one of Mary with open arms and the other of the babies. Each day that you pray the rosary is a day you get to add the baby to Mary's care. It's a sweet little craft to track days of your novena.

 I also have a coloring sheet of Mary, Queen of the Rosary. Just visit the link, download it and print it out.

 I also have an easy sewing craft to do to keep little one's hands busy while praying the rosary. (Xhonane of Familia Catolica took my idea and gave it a prettier, easier spin ... and glitter! Go see her nicer version if you've time. )

And let's remember to pray for one another!

♥
Vee

Pro-Life Novena: Activity Sheet

On this feast day of the archangels,  St. Michael the Archangel Organization's Novena for the Protection of the Unborn begins.

To help children participate in this novena, I drew up a little activity for tracking days of the novena. (I drew it for myself, too. I tend to lose track of days.)  Here's a glimpse at the completed project at the end of nine days: 

What You Need:
To use this pro-life worksheet, you'll need to print out:

• the Pray the Novena sheet (Mary with her arms ready to cradle children)
• the Bundle of Joys sheet (a printable of nine different babies)

Directions:

• Color the picture of Mary and put it in an accessible place (such as a prayer corner).
• Pray a rosary for the protection of unborn children. (Here's a refresher for praying the rosary, just in case!)
• Color a picture of a baby then cut and paste the baby in Mary's arms.
• Do the same for the eight remaining days, and you've just prayed a novena.

Add the Archangels, too!
And because this is the feast day of the archangels, you may want to download and color a picture of St. Michael the archangel, too. Print three out, color them differently, and you've got Gabriel, Michael and Raphael!

Shalom! ♥
Veronica Maria (aka Vee)