Theme Park Rosary

Maria Riley explains how she turned a trip to Disney World into prayer time.

Summer is such a wonderful time. My favorite thing is not waking up and going through the rushed morning routine. There is joy in the leisure of rolling out of bed, staying in your pjs, and actually sitting down for your morning cup of coffee. I love the break in the routine.

The trouble is, there is a significant break in our routine. While some of those breaks are blessings, the truth is, it is hard to maintain a regular prayer life with the kids. I often find that I am getting to bedtime before I am consciously taking time to pray with my children. I know that if I want regular prayer time with my kids, it is my responsibility to make it a priority.

But there are just those days and weeks when our schedule is so busy that it feels completely out of my hands. So instead, I take a rosary into my hands and get creative.

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Our family recently enjoyed a trip to Disney World, and rather than throwing in the towel on spiritual time, I let all that time waiting in line be turned into prayer time. Each time we were in a line, we prayed a decade of the Rosary! Each day we prayed an entire Rosary, and I prayed for all of the souls who surrounded us at each park.

The first line of the day we started with the Apostles Creed, the first Our Father, and the first three Hail Marys. The next five lines were each of the decades, and I took a few minutes to explain each of the mysteries to my kids. My kids love to take turns leading a decade, so we always pray in echo format. Finally, the seventh line concluded our Rosary with the Hail Holy Queen and St. Michael the Archangel prayer.

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If I want regular prayer time with my kids, it is my responsibility to make it a priority. #catholicmom

I loved this new tradition that we created, for so many reasons. By breaking the Rosary up into just one decade at a time, the kids were more receptive. Not only did it help pass the time while we waited, but we taught our children to not be afraid to pray in public (we received some inquisitive looks, but no comments). Most importantly, by praying through different lines, our minds and hearts were drawn back to God many times throughout the day in a place where it is easy to become distracted.

The real miracle happened when my daughters started reminding me that it was time to pray our decade once we were in a line. I’m sure that is partially because I passed out a piece of candy after each time we prayed, but any time my kids are reminding me to pray, I send up a huge, “Hallelujah! Thank you, God!”

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