A Mentor's Noel

This rosary was written when I worked in youth ministry in 2019. We were blessed with an incredible group of young adults and we would meet up regularly to pray for our teens, share fellowship together through prayer, discernments and Mass. One of my most fond memories was praying this rosary before and after a retreat that we were able to provide for the teens. The word Noel is God's resting place in us.

Today, many youth ministry programs are led by parents. I am hopeful a rosary like this could be easily adapted to fit your prayer needs in ministry or family in general. The words in (parenthesis) are intended for you to insert any group, family or special loved on that you would like. We called our young adults mentors but they were family and I am still close with them. They will always hold a very special place in my heart. Praise be to God.

Disclaimer: This is a longer post because several had asked for the full version of the rosary. I have also included a link at the bottom to learn more about praying the rosary through the USCCB. Enjoy!

Opening Prayer: We offer this Rosary to our Lord Jesus Christ through our Mother Mary. We pray with all the saints in Heaven and with our (mentors) here this afternoon, as well as all our brothers and sisters around the world who are most poor andvulnerable. May the grace of the Holy Spirit fill us with those virtues modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ and his BlessedMother, that we will reflect on in this rosary, that we may more fully love and live as God has called us to,

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27) May the Holy Spirit strengthen us as (mentors) and open our minds and hearts more fully to the reality that we are all children of God, we are all tender and broken in some way and we are called to live as one global family and as (mentors) through Christ. Nothing separates us from all the other (youth ministry mentors) in the world and especially our parish family community. We thank you Lord for calling us to participate in (youth ministry) and we pray YOU will guide us in carrying out your word and fellowship with those around us while remembering the importance of respect and dignity for each other. Give us the grace to imitate and live the virtues exemplified by the Holy Family in our daily lives and to find that internal peace, that Noel, that place of rest within you so we can offer you rest within us….as we pray... Give us the grace, the confidence and trust in each of our (mentors) here and those not with us to imitate and live the virtues exemplified by the Holy Family in our daily lives as we pray... OUR FATHER who art in Heaven..... We pray for our faith to be strengthened as one mentor family as we pray... HAIL MARY ... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. We pray for a vibrant hope in life eternal as we continue to walk forward knowing we as (mentors) in Christ are allbroken and need you Lord in all ways ...as we pray... HAIL MARY... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. We pray for the grace to more fully and completely love our (mentor) family and each one of us individually as we pray ... HAIL MARY... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. GLORY BE to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shallbe, world without end. Amen.

First Joyful Mystery: THE ANNUNCIATION

WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE OF HUMILITY.

Our Blessed Mother said yes to God. This humble virgin lovingly said yes to God’s call and yes to her giftedness. We thank you Lord for helping us to say yes to being a mentor and bringing us all together once again. Each of our (mentors) has been uniquely and irreplaceably called and gifted by God. We all need one another's gifts. When one member of our immediate family is suffering, everyone in the family suffers; the same is true when one member of our (mentor) family is suffering, we are all suffering. In our mutual need, we stand together and pray for one another while trusting the confidentiality for each other. We recognize that we are not only called to share one another's needs, we are called to share our gifts as a (mentor) family with one another in that same confidence. May the grace of the mystery of the Annunciation fill my soul and help me to be truly humble, to recognize our place of rest within you Jesus so we can offer you rest within us. Help me also to recognize the unique gifts God has given me and to use those gifts to serve my (mentor family). We pray... OUR FATHER... deliver us from evil. Amen. HAIL MARY ... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (10)

GLORY BE... world without end. Amen.

OH MY JESUS…

Second Joyful Mystery: THE VISITATION

WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE TO BE MORE CHARITABLE. Mary, pregnant herself, crossed rough terrain to be with Elizabeth in her need and she stayed with her for threemonths. Both women were in need and both gifted the other with love. Mary and Elizabeth are such beautiful examplesof true charity based upon mutual giving and receiving one another's gifts. Lord, it can be so difficult to receive help fromour mentor family when we are in need. We pray for the grace of true charity to fill our hearts. Help us reflect duringour meditation on this decade of the Rosary on how we as one mentor family, like Mary, can not only go the distance forour (mentors) through Christ, but also recognize what beautiful gifts we receive from our mentor family within our parish. May the grace of the mystery of the Visitation fill my soul, help my heart rest in peace, help me offer rest to you Lord and help me to be truly charitable. We pray ... OUR FATHER... deliver us from evil. Amen. HAIL MARY... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (10)

GLORY BE... world without end. Amen.

OH MY JESUS…

Third Joyful Mystery: THE NATIVITY

WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE TO BE DETACHED FROM WORLDLY TIDNGS AND TO LOVE THE POOR. Jesus Christ was born in a stable and laid in a manger. God, who became man, could have chosen anywhere to be born; he did not choose a palace, but a stable. Simplicity helps us to focus on what is truly important in our lives. What in my life is cluttering my heart and keeping me from focusing on what is truly important as a (mentor) through Christ? What in my life keeps me from fully opening up my heart for our loving God, for my (mentor) brother and sister and parish family? What does it mean to be detached from the world? What do we as (mentors) really need in life? What did God need that day when God became man? Something to be wrapped in, a place to sleep, food ...and the angels- sang nearby.

"And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'" (Luke 2:13-14)

It was not by chance, it was by God's choice -a choice to live simply. And there was rejoicing! There was song, there were stars, and there was beauty in it all. May the grace of the mystery of the Nativity come into my soul as a true (mentor) through you Jesus Christ, who finds rest in you and brings rest to you within me. Help makeme truly poor in Spirit. We pray... OUR FATHER... deliver us from evil. Amen. HAIL MARY ... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (10)

GLORY BE... world without end. Amen.

OH MY JESUS…

Fourth Joyful Mystery: THE PRESENTATION

WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE OF PURITY IN BODY AND MIND. The ritual at the time of Jesus' birth was to present the firstborn son in the Temple. And so Mary and Joseph did. This ritual was done by all members of their community. Today we as Catholics perform the ritual of baptizing babies inorder to give them new life and to welcome them into our faith communities. So many of our (teens and their families) have been given new hope, new life and new beginnings while being a part of our (youth ministry)! We thank you Lord for choosing us, for giving us the gift of each of our (mentors) through Christ, and we pray you will continue to guide us, mold us, and use us in all your ways Lord and be there for each other. We pray for the strength to listen to you. To follow your plan, not ours. May the grace of the Presentation fill my soul and make mepure in body and spirit, so I am able to offer rest for You to lay within me. We pray ... OUR FATHER... deliver us from evil. Amen. HAIL MARY ... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (10)

GLORY BE... world without end. Amen.

OH MY JESUS…

Fifth Joyful Mystery: FINDING JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

WE OFFER YOU, JESUS, THIS FIFTH DECADE -IN HONOR OF YOUR FINDING IN THE TEMPLE. And we ask You, through this mystery and through the intercession of your Blessed Mother, to make us truly wise. Mary lost Jesus for three days; imagine what she must have felt. We are reminded of the times when we as (mentors) through Christ have lost something dear to us. We are reminded of our (fellow mentors and teen families) that have lost something dear to them. This is not meant to cause us to feel guilty or to break our hearts; Rather open to pour out more compassion and love for our (mentors, our teens and each of their families). Sometimes, in a culture that is so consumer-oriented, we feel pressured to "need" things that really are not needs. I do not need anything like I need God and my family. How can I amend my life to live more simply and build community amongst my (mentor family) so that others may not just simply live but live life to the fullest? Let us pray for the wisdom and grace to live more simply, to be mindful of and share our resources with our (mentors). God, give us the strength to clear the way in our hearts to see and love what is truly important in our lives, to find peace within you, to find rest within you and may our souls become that manger for you Lord to rest within us. May the grace of the Finding in the Temple of the Child Jesus make us truly wise.

We pray...

OUR FATHER... deliver us from evil. Amen.

HAIL MARY... now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (10)

GLORY BE... world without end. Amen.

OH MY JESUS…

Closing Prayer

Thank you for the gift of each of our (mentors) through Christ. Thank you for the gift of our (mentor family and our parish community).

"And I have given them the glory You gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and You in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that You sent Me, and that you loved them even as you loved Me." (John 17: 22-23)

Help us to see the gifts we have to give our (mentors), as well as the gifts we are called to receive from each of our (mentor brothers and sisters and parish family).

Give us the grace to live as one, to seek rest, to share rest with one another and to find that everlasting Noel in your arms and in your eternal hold.

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, Mother of Mercy!

Our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus; 0 clement, 0 loving, 0 sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, 0 holy Mother of God that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Amen

My prayer for you today is that you feel the love and grace that God has poured on to you as the mentor you are in other's lives. May you always know your worth, understand your wisdom and share in your passion to serve others through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Together in prayer. Hand in hand.

Learn more about praying the rosary HERE