Last week's dedication of the Chapel of Divine Mercy

An article from the Bowling Green Daily News, with photos (above photo by James Kenney).

Gabriel

Just a favorite photo, taken in the van.

Fr. Wade Menezes, CPM--on EWTN

Fr. Wade Menezes, CPM, (The Fathers of Mercy) will be doing a series on EWTN on The Ten Commandments of Family Life, offering practical advice for growing in holiness as a family, with a look at the nature, meaning and purpose of marriage. Parts 1-5, each 30 minutes in length, will air September 1-5 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time and 3 p.m. Pacific Time.

I don't have television, let alone cable, but I have the series on CD and it is very good.

The Fathers of Mercy Bi-Centennial Conference

Next weekend, 5-7 September, the Fathers of Mercy are celebrating their 200th anniversary with a family conference. There will be masses, various talks, and concerts by Marie Bellet and Tatiana. Meals will be provided, and there will be some activities for the kids. Find out more here .

The Martyrdom of John the Baptist

Like you've never heard it before.

(Tip of the hat to the Carolina Cannonball)

Toddlerese

Adrian: "Can I have clocklit milk and a faw?"
Translation: "Can I have chocolate milk and a straw?"

Adrian: "I want Oompa Fares!"
Translation: "I want [Quaker] Oatmeal Squares!"

Adrian: "Mama! Hurry! It's a Bown Weckless Fider!"
Translation: "Mama! Hurry! It's a Brown Recluse Spider!" (apologies to Danette)

Adrian: "It's a facesip wif a mote contol."
Translation: "It's a spaceship with a remote control."

I do so hate it when they finally learn to speak English...

Attention lovers of traditional catholicism

Pro Multis Media is having a sale from now until September 15th: 25% off all their DVDs and CDs, no restrictions or minimum purchases.

Unbelievable...

The anti-Christian violence in India is hard enough to swallow, but this? This almost beyond belief.

Random acts of kindness--from a five year old

Last night we told Adrian that he could sleep in our room. Of course, everyone vies for that privilege, and Gabriel was sulking because he wanted to sleep in our room (we only have floor space for one in our room, and our bed, being a double, barely accommodates a nursing infant along with two adults).

I grabbed Adrian's pillows off his bed and searched for Dolly, the ragged little terrycloth doll he's had at his side since birth, and I couldn't find it, so I took his monkey and put it and the pillows in my room. "I can't find Doll," I called to Adrian, "but I have George here." Then I went into the boys' room and called Gabriel in to bed, as he was missing from the room. He came in and climbed into bed, a pout on his face. I kissed him and the others goodnight.

Adrian was in the livingroom, so I corralled him into my bedroom. He plopped down on his pillows beside my bed and began looking at the first book of a stack there on the floor. And there was Dolly, too. And I realized that Gabriel, the envious brother, had placed Dolly and the books there for Adrian.

My Jersey milk cow is the best!

Yesterday while the two little boys were napping, I went out to look for the older kids who were nowhere in sight and had been out of earshot for way too long. I went around to the back of the barn, as I figured they were looking at the Beau, the new calf.

Well, the cow and calf were in the box stall, as were Sebastian and Una. Una was milking Nuala and Nuala was just standing there patiently, not even tied up, stall door open so that she could have just walked away. I asked Una what she was doing milking Nuala into a dirty bowl, and she said she was getting some milk for Jake, one of our two barn cats.

That cow is so sweet! She is even more patient with the kids than she is with us adults, making me wonder whether she actually senses that they are children.

We are rushing to finish up the last gallon of store-bought milk today. Bret milked out 1.5 gallons this morning. We will be sharing with the calf until he weans at about 3 months.

Catholic to the Max T-Shirt Contest

Here's an opportunity for all you really clever moms (or moms of really clever kids) to display your wit, good taste, and love of your Catholic faith. Come up with a design for a Catholic T-Shirt (no art skills necessary) and if Catholic to the Max decides to use it, you get a $500 shopping spree at CTM. Time to brainstorm!

St. Monica

Monica, a saint especially revered by mothers because of her tireless prayers for the conversion of her wayward son, Augustine, was born of Christian parents in Tagaste, North Africa in 333, and died in Ostia, near Rome, in 387. She was married young to a government official, Patricius, who was not a Christian, and had a bad temper, though she bore her burdens patiently, and their life together was relatively peaceful. Three children were born to, Augustine, Navigius, and a daughter, Perpetua.

Augustine, the eldest son, though brilliant, was, according to his own account, a lazy and dissolute youth whose bad behavior caused his mother much grief ­ especially so after he went away to school at Madaura and to Carthage. Although Patricius became a Christian not long before he died, Augustine persisted in his pursuit of pleasure, and, as a nineteen-year-old student, joined the heretical Manichaean sect. When he began to spout heresies, Monica became alarmed, and intensified her efforts to bring him to Christ. In the Confessions, Augustine recounts Monica's dream which consoled and encouraged her:

"In her dream she saw herself standing on a sort of wooden rule, and saw a bright youth approaching her, joyous and smiling at her, while she was grieving and bowed down with sorrow. But when he inquired of her the cause of her sorrow and daily weeping (not to learn from her, but to teach her, as is customary in visions), and when she answered that it was my soul's doom she was lamenting, he bade her rest content and told her to look and see that where she was there I was also. And when she looked she saw me standing near her on the same rule." (Confessions, Book III, 9.14).

During this anguished period of prayer for her son, Monica consulted a bishop who had himself been a Manichaean before he became a Christian. He declined to intervene with Augustine, whom, the bishop correctly observed, was not open to hearing the truth. She persisted tearfully, but he refused to intervene. Nevertheless, the bishop consoled Monica that "the child of those tears shall never perish", which she took as a sign from God. Though he continued in his heresies for nine years, Monica followed Augustine to Rome and then to Milan.in an effort to rescue her son from his errors. In Milan she met Ambrose, who helped lead Augustine into the true faith.

A few months after his conversion, Augustine, Monica and Adeodatus, set out to return to Africa, but Monica died at Ostia, the ancient port city of Rome, and she was buried there. Augustine was so deeply moved by his mother's death that he was inspired to write his Confessions, "So be fulfilled what my mother desired of me--more richly in the prayers of so many gained for her through these confessions of mine than by my prayers alone" (Book IX.13.37)

An account of Monica's early life, her childhood, marriage, her final days and her death, is given in Confessions Book IX, 8-12. He expresses his gratitude for her life:

"I will not speak of her gifts, but of thy gift in her; for she neither made herself nor trained herself. Thou didst create her, and neither her father nor her mother knew what kind of being was to come forth from them. And it was the rod of thy Christ, the discipline of thy only Son, that trained her in thy fear, in the house of one of thy faithful ones who was a sound member of thy Church" (IX.8.7).

Centuries later, Monica's body was reburied in Rome, and eventually her relics were interred in a chapel left of the high altar of the Church of St. Augustine in Rome.

[From the website Women for Faith and Family]

The Geometry of Sainthood

Stumbled across this on The Ironic Catholic. I love it!

Patch O' Dirt has a new resident

Bret went out this morning to do the chores and came back in asking, "Do you want to get your camera?" I knew at once that the calf had been born. So I ran out in my nightgown and rubber boots (gotta love living in the country!) into the rain (yes, for the first time in weeks) to the barn. The calf, a red half-Angus bull, was wobbling about on his feet, still wet, and nursing.

Nuala was duly rewarded with a big bucket of water and molasses. Her udder is huge, poor gal!The kids all came out to the barn in their pajamas to see the new guy, whom we have named Beau. We don't give too much thought to names for the animals that are destined for the freezer. I thought I was going to call him "Ino", as when I asked the kids what we should name him, I was bombarded with hand waving and a chorus of "I KNOW! I KNOW!"

Today I'll be reading the little guys this book:

Saint King Louis IX

Why has no one made a movie on the life of this saint? Am I alone in thinking that a king who wore a hairshirt under his royal garments and who assisted at Mass twice a day deserves to have a film made about his life? Okay...who would you cast in the role of St. Louis?

I am so tired of feeling tired...

Is it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or just age? Hard to tell what it is, since I haven't really slept well lately. I just can't remember the last time I didn't feel tired. Here it is, not yet 11 a.m., and I feel like I need a nap. Can't stop yawning.

I'd better get moving before I doze-zz-zzz--zzzzz.......

The Chapel of Divine Mercy is Done!

It sure does look nice, don't you think?Oops. Wrong photo. This is what it looks like now:Still not too shabby for being out in the sticks in Kentucky, eh?
The dedication is set for tomorrow, and no, we will not be attending. Two hours travel round-trip, a three hour Mass and then another two hours for the reception...no, I don't think my kids could handle that long a day out (I know I couldn't handle my kids for that long a day out!), so we will skip the dedication and just go to Mass there on Sunday and attend the picnic/potluck afterwards.

Art appreciation on Friday

Fridays we usually reserve for art or music, "life skills" (which for Una usually means baking, cooking or sewing), and our spelling tests. Sometimes there is history or science in the more fun form of a VHS or DVD.

Today for art we learned a little about Hieronymus Bosch, a 15th century Dutch painter who was just weird enough to capture the kids' imagination. First we read the children's book, Pish-Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch. Then we looked at some of his works in my own art books. I found a very high-definition image of his Garden of Earthly Delights tryptich on Google and we scanned it over looking at all the fascinating details. Then I challenged the kids to come up with their own Bosch-like creations, things that were part animal and part household item. We had a lot of fun with that. It was a good day. Adrian fell asleep on the floor and Dominic took a three hour nap, too. Wow. I love it when that happens.

The Queenship of Mary

"Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of men...we believe, that in the glory over which thou reignest, clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, thou art, after Jesus, the joy and delight of all the angels and of all the saints; and we, from this world through which we pass as pilgrims comforted by our faith in the future resurrection, look towards thee, our life, our sweetness and our hope. May thy gentle voice lead us, so that one day, when our exile is over, thou mayest show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary."

(Extract for the prayer of Pius XII on the occasion of the Definition of the Dogma of the Assumption--November 1st, 1950)

One more reason not to buy overpriced, goofy Hallmark cards

Unless, of course, you happen to have gay friends who are getting married. Instead, buy your cards here.

The new baby has arrived!

What, you didn't actually think I was talking about a real, human, flesh and blood baby, did you? I'm not that good at keeping those kind of secrets. This baby marks the coming-of-age of my husband. He no longer ogles motorcycles. As he gets older, his girlfriends seem to get older (and heavier), too.

Wow. We're like a real farm now...

Pope St. Pius X

O God, Who, in order to preserve the Catholic Faith and to restore all things in Christ, have filled Saint Pius, Your Supreme Pontiff, with heavenly wisdom and apostolic zeal: grant, we beseech You, that we, who follow his precepts and examples, may attain eternal rewards. Amen.

Raising souls for Heaven, not Harvard

Catholic schools must strive to form saints, says bishop.

Kansas City, Aug 19, 2008 / 12:50 pm (CNA).- In his column in the Catholic Key, Bishop Robert W. Finn from the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph emphasized that “Catholic schools exist for a supernatural purpose:” to assist students in developing virtue on their path to ‘eternal salvation.’

Read the rest of this excellent little article here.

Read my own reasons for homeschooling from a previous post here.

Three of my kids

out for a joy-ride on the very chic, red lawn mower.
I've been married to the one with the six-shooter for twenty-one fun years.

Clever me...

Hey, I won a caption contest on The Ironic Catholic! Not a huge thing, but being someone who seems to crave affirmation enough to engage in the narcissism of having a blog, it feels pretty good!

Happy Birthday, Darlin'!

We've declared my husband's birthday a school holiday (nice thing about homeschooling...you can celebrate with a day off when and for whatever reason you choose, be it a kid's baptismal feast or National Fig Day in the Canary Islands...), and it should be pretty relaxing. He is a cheesecake fan (is there a man out there who doesn't like cheesecake?), so I am making him this for his birthday. And here is the "card" Una made for him. She thought up the design and made it herself(sorry it's fuzzy):
Happy birthday, sweetie. May God grant us the joy of growing old in one another's company. I love you!

I am changing my youngest's name...

...from Dominic to Demonic. After his antics at Mass to day, the name would seem a fair fit. It didn't help that Adrian, age 3 1/2, thought his behavior exceedingly entertaining and kept giggling and egging him on. We had to keep the two separated, but that wasn't easy. I barely followed the Mass today.

Of course, tomorrow he will be his darling, affectionate little self, and this will all be forgotten as he wraps those little arms around my neck and rests his head on my shoulder.

Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

What a beautiful Feast.
We drove to Russellville, KY, to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, to attend Mass there. Brother Joseph Aytona, CPM made his perpetual vows there today with most of his community present plus the addition of some Dominican nuns and Franciscan friars and a large group of very lovely people. As always on this Feast, the celebrant for the Mass was Fr. Bill Casey, CPM. He wore a 200 year old fiddleback chasuble that belonged to Fr. Jean-Baptiste Rauzan, the founder of the congregation. I always get all choked up when the Brothers prostrate themselves during the Litany of the Saints and today was no different. It happens to me during the Veni Sancte Spiritus, too. There was a lovely reception afterwards, good food and excellent company.

A priest of whom I am quite fond was there and I was delighted to see him; even more so when he told me he had a box of books for me! I couldn't be happier. The box held such treasures as 4 books by Archbishop Fulton Sheen, three old books on our Blessed Mother, two St. Joseph Daily Missals, one St. Andrew Daily Missal and various other gems. With these latest additions I think I now must have at least a hundred books in my library that I have yet to read. It will give me something to do when the kids are all grown up.

All the unpleasantness of the last few days--my being unwell, the kids' colds, feeling overwhelmed by housework and school--it all melted away in the beauty of the old chants and prayers. I felt, even without my preferred Latin rite--that connectedness to all the saints of past centuries.

Dang, I like being Catholic!

Oh, yuck...

I've had, shall we say, intestinal issues for three days now. Not nice. I've lost a couple of pounds, but I wouldn't recommend it as a weight-loss program.

And the kids, who haven't been even the least bit ill since Easter Monday, and before that the first week in December, all have colds.

So I'm not complaining. I suppose we've been long overdue to get something.

In the meantime, we are going through the gel hand-sanitizer in a big way.

St. Maximillian Kolbe, Knight of the Immaculata

I highly recommend that you watch this 3 1/2 minute film on the martyrdom of our dear Saint Maximillian on the Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschool blog. For all its brevity, it is very moving.

Our friend, Hollie...

...now Sr. Joseph Marie of the Divine Infant Jesus (on the left) and with her Sr. Angela Marie of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Yesterday, after a one-year postulancy with the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word, the two girls received their habits and their new names.

We have known Sr. Joseph for six years, since we moved to these parts, and her mom is my dear friend Cindy, whose new daughter's picture I posted a couple of weeks ago (Abbie Clare). Hollie, as she was then known, was everything I hoped my Una would turn out to be: bright, cheerful, affectionate, thoughtful, always looking for a way to be helpful. Even when she was suffering frightful headaches and pains from undiagnosed fibromyalgia (now under control), one could never detect anything from her demeanor. She was always warm, friendly and helpful.

We could not be more proud or happy for her. Jesus Christ be praised!

If you are wondering what I look like...

...you won't find out here.

Sebastian is climbing the walls (and doors)!

And here is another Monkey Boy in training:
Thanks to Old Woman for posting shots of her boys doing the Spider Man thing.

More Munich Churches

Waxing nostalgic for Munich, where I spent the better part of my formative years. Here is just a little of what I miss.

Driving into Kentucky

Perfect weather. Beautiful sky.

08-08-08 Feast of St. Dominic

My little guy's 2nd birthday was actually on Monday (St. Dominic on the old calender), but as we had dental appointments and Bret had to go to work, we decided to celebrate it today--his baptismal feast and nameday--instead. When he saw the lit candles on the cake he was so excited!

St. Cajetan's

The Church of St. Cajetan in Munich, also known as the Theatinerkirche, was always one of my favorites. There are so many beautiful Baroque churches in downtown Munich, all within walking distance from one another, most painted, carved and gilded to the extreme. But the Theatinerkirche is all white stucco. It reminds me of an elaborate buttercream creation.

The Way to Inner Peace

via my new guru, Paul, at Alive and Young.

So, what's your blogging space look like?

Can't look half as abysmal as mine...The inspiration behind this embarrassing revelation was Old Woman's photo of her blogging spot. Anyone else want to play?

Actually, he's not much deeper in real life...

History Timeline resources

I've been wanting to do a timeline for ages. I have finally put aside the thought of having one on the wall, as anything within a toddler's reach gets pulled down (i.e., the wallpaper in our dining room). Maybe in another year when Dominic is 3 or so. For now, a notebook timeline seems more convenient and durable. I found some excellent instructions on how to set up a notebook timeline on Donna Young, ordered a quality sketchbook from Rainbow Resource, and found a special offer on Hold That Thought for CDs with printable cutouts for timelines. I only hope that I am not biting off more than I can chew. I tend to do that, as I get so excited about all the homeschool resources out there and I want to try them all!

So, who does timelines, and what resources do you use? Got any photographs?

Just me and the boys

Una is spending the day with her friends Anna and Serafina. She is such a diligent child that she did her school work before leaving with Bret (who dropped her off on his way to work) at 8:30 this morning. I hope I can survive the day without her...the little guys think she's the alternate mama and I think she is the nicest packaging for an extra set of hands a mother could ask for!

Sebastian and Gabriel are pretty much done with school for the day. I still will read to them a bit for history, there is prayer memorizations and a Bible story for religion (we will read about today's feast), and a VHS tape on bees that I picked up at a thrift shop for 50 cents, but all the "heavy" subjects are out of the way.

I ought to do something nice with them, like bake cookies, but I feel tired and lazy, and I still have housework to to...

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord

This Feast day is always a reminder to me that no matter how much we wish to remain with Jesus in glory (as in those times when we experience great consolations), if we seek Him truly and wish to reach the true summit of perfection, we must put aside those consolations and travel the only real road to Him, which is Calvary. Even those saints who experienced the sweetest of consolations knew that we could really only reach Him through surrender and suffering, which is the path our Lord took and that upon which we must travel if we are to follow Him, our Good Shepherd.

Adrian the Big Boy

Forgive me, any of you who may find bathroom photography offensive, but I just thought this cute to the point of being almost kitsch. Unfortunately, for the sake of decency (and my boy's modesty) I had to censor the cutest part of the photo. Let me know if I ought to pull this one after a couple of days...

I'm back...

Got back late-ish on Sunday. The shopping wasn't too bad, and Sebastian and I enjoyed a nice lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with my mom. The mall we went to is pretty upscale (Brooks Brothers, Tiffany & Co., J. Crew, Restoration Hardware, Williams-Sonoma, etc.), so there was quite a lot over which to salivate. I saw a very lovely pair of shoes at Dillards and looked at the sticker on the bottom. Thought there must be a mistake: $465.00. I tried them on just to feel what $465 feels like on the soles of my feet. My feet felt great, but the accompanying nausea wasn't good. That sum is more than what I spent on my school materials this year. My mother and I have a knack for picking out the most expensive Italian-made shoes.

Sebastian got his jacket and was fawned over like a little prince at Brooks Bros. That is part of what one pays for when one shops there. Want a piece of irony? I found a beautiful, white Brooks Bros. shirt for Sebastian at Goodwill for $1.75. Beautiful, with French cuffs, but the little French knot buttons for the cuffs were missing, so my mother got a pair at Brooks Bros.: $9.00. I'd have thought twice about paying that for the shirt.

Yesterday we had dental appointments for the three oldest, and I am so sieve-brained that when I made the appointment weeks ago, I didn't even think about the fact that it would be on Dominic's birthday. So we are putting off the celebration until Saturday, which is actually better since Bret will be able to celebrate with us and we can make a bigger to-do of it. I can bake something and buy a gift (yes, I actually have NO gift for the little guy, but he's two and there are so many toys in this house already that I'm not sure what to get). I won't get things that make a lot of noise, require lots of batteries or will cause huge arguments with his 3 year-old brother.

As a side note, this is the first time I've celebrated(?) a two-year birthday for one of my children without being pregnant with another. I can't say I feel dreadful about it, but there is a bit sadness attached to that fact. Truly, the years since I became pregnant with Una a decade ago have been the best of my life. I will really miss my babies...

I am burnt out...

Too long a shopping day. Two thrift stores, two stops to look at tractors, a stop for lunch and then Wal-Mart. I wish I'd brought my camera: the two little guys were so good, and instead of having a total meltdown at Wal-Mart, they fell asleep lying together on a 20 lb. bag of cat food in Bret's cart.

Tomorrow I go shopping after Mass with my mom and Sebastian to look for a jacket for his First Holy Communion (planned for October). I do not like shopping. I order many things on line because we live in a rural area and one has to drive half an hour even to get to a Wal-Mart, but there are some things you just have to shop for in person. Like clothes for your son's First Holy Communion.