I am sure we can all recall when and how we heard the news – along with our emotional response to it – of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It was a horrible event that will not be forgotten and has resonated with so many around our nation.
People all over the country were asking almost immediately what they could do to help. We all wanted to be there for the people of Newtown. St. Rose of Lima Parish, the Catholic Church in Newtown, responded incredibly, with priests going immediately to the school to minister to and love the families of the victims. The leadership coming out of St. Rose of Lima parish has been inspiring – and Rodd Blessey, the youth minister, has asked for your support in one specific and tangible way.
Rodd, the Core Team, and the teens of St. Rose of Lima are simply asking for your continued prayers – and to gather as a group to pray a rosary for all those affected by the shooting in Newtown last December.
To go along with this praying of the rosary, he’d love for you to take a picture of the group who prayed together (perhaps holding a sign with your parish name & location). You can then forward that photo to me – joec@lifeteen.com – and I will send them all along to Rodd, who will share them with his community. If you are able and willing to participate in this prayer with us, please send your photo along by January 31.
If you’d like to include a message from your ministry, or the names of teens who prayed the rosary together, all of that would be appreciated by Rodd and his Life Teen ministry. This is a tangible way for our parishes and teens around the country to support St. Rose of Lima and to feel connected to the teens there. Rodd feels strongly that our faith in the Eucharist and in praying for each other is what binds us.
Saying that we are praying for someone can sometimes seem cliché without really doing anything. But I can think of nothing more powerful than to ask the Mother of our Savior to hold this community in her arms. Christ gave His mother to us – and Newtown needs to be wrapped in Mary’s mantle now, more than ever.
We invite you to join us in this prayer for Newtown. Please, gather your teens. Share with them about the power of praying the rosary. Pray together, with one heart, for this one intention. Share that prayer with those who are struggling in so many ways right now through a photo and a message.
