Getting ready for November 6th

Starting today I begin a 40 day fast to hopefully add some "oomph" to my prayers for a positive outcome to the elections in November.  I hope there are others out there who are doing something similar...think about joining in.

Love, Creativity and Beauty--a re-post from 2009

[In honor of this week marking four years of blogging here, I am re-posting a few favorite posts from the past.]

Love, Creativity and Beauty

We mothers frequently complain of never having time enough to get things done, and yet most of us with the ability will easily give up a portion of our precious time to such activities as knitting or sewing clothes for our children--even when we can pick up a nice thrift-shop baby sweater for a dollar, and if you look at the investment of time, quilt-making is not really a cost effective means of keeping your child warm at night. The investment of time is like the planting of a garden, and we hope that our efforts will show themselves in a colorful bounty. Love is the force behind Creation, and it displays itself in a blossoming of Beauty.Love is the cause behind a man and a woman becoming a father and a mother, the cause of another person coming into creation. And what, one may ask, of children born into loveless situations, such as are a result of rape or casual fornication, with violence or lust as the motivation rather than love? Even when love is not present between man and woman, God’s love is there, ever desiring to pour itself out into the creation of a soul, a soul He wishes to embrace and shower in His graces, wrap in His beauty.


We desire to give ourselves to the beloved. In marriage we forsake all others in order to give ourselves exclusively to the one we love. As our Lord taught us, sacrifice is the very nature of Love, the ultimate outpouring of the heart. Mothers do this naturally, giving our bodies to our unborn babies and nursing infants, putting their needs before our own, continuing to give ourselves throughout our lives to the families we so love.

Love desires to bestow beauty on the beloved.

This is the impetus that lies behind such wonders as Chartres Cathedral, Corelli’s Christmas Concerti, the Taj Mahal, The Song of Songs and countless other masterpieces of art, music, poetry and architecture. It is also the cause behind the creation of the universe, made in love for us, our Creator’s beloved children; beautiful in its dazzling variety, from galaxies and nebulae down to each little beetle and Forget-Me-Not. Proof of God’s love for us.


Having been made in His image, we also have this desire to create beauty and surround those we love with it. If we are endowed with some God-given talent, we knit, sew or paint. We write poems or compose music. We put much of ourselves into our efforts. If our talents lie elsewhere, we still strive to create order and beauty in our homes, and we point it out to our loved ones wherever it is to be found--in music, beautiful books, in butterflies and daffodils. And we are delighted when our little ones begin to point it out to us in return.

Why are so many works of art, architecture, music and literature in our day lacking Beauty? Simply because they are not created out of love. They are created out of a desire for fame or fortune, a desire to be “original” or to grab attention. They are not about the outpouring of one’s self for the beloved, but about self-aggrandizement. Has Satan’s envy of us something to do with God having given us this beautiful world? No, of course not, for the Enemy already has possession of so much of it, and in any case, an immortal being is hardly impressed with finite things that will pass away one day. No, his envy, at least in part, has to do with us being endowed with our Creator’s gift of creation. We love, and we create. Hatred is impotent. This is why Satan has so distorted everything having to do with creation and made it sterile and ugly, attacking marriage, fertility, parenthood and the Arts.

God wished to give us, His dear children, beauty and to give us Himself. And He did so, giving us the epitome of created Beauty in Mary, and then giving us Himself in Jesus Christ. As we are made in his image, we find ourselves compelled by the same urge to give beauty and ourselves to those we love.

A conference on Spiritual Motherhood

Fr. Joseph Aytona, CPM, will be offering a women's conference on the topic of Spiritual Motherhood for priests on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at the Chapel of Divine Mercy in Auburn, KY.  It will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  There is no cost, but you must register by January 19th.  A pdf for the conference is available here, and to find out more about what Spiritual Motherhood is, please use this link here.

I plan to be there!

Am I seeing a pattern here...?

Just stopping in quickly between multiple loads of laundry and house cleaning.  Finally having some dry and sunny weather, albeit cold, after so much rain.  Winter here is mud season.

We have water again after three days, and we actually managed to squeeze in showers before going to Mass last night (I am so grateful).  It cost us month's worth of living expense money, but we got the new pump in, and it is so nice to be able to flush a toilet again.

The thing is, something BIG always seems to go right around the holidays.  Last year we also were without water for a time, but Bret managed to get it fixed.  The big thing was our van, which died on us while we were visiting friends.  The year before that, it was my oven that went dead on us.

I reread last year's post from December 7th, Meeting Him With Empty Hands, and so much of what I said makes such good sense.  But the year goes by, and we forget, and so we are destined to repeat the lesson over and over again.

Humility.  Trust.  Gratitude.  Those seem to be the lessons that I am supposed to be learning as we head into Advent each year.  Why am I so obtuse?

Anyway, I am filled, once again, with a sense of how lacking I am in humility, thinking that life should somehow be easier than it is.  I am aware of my lack of trust in God, and how much more my prayers are of petition and not thanksgiving.

But now I will give thanks...because I am aware, and perhaps repeating the lesson again this year, it may begin to sink in, and one day I will come to the Feast of the Nativity with a truly humble, trusting and grateful heart, one like Mary's.  And with a heart like hers, I can love her Son as she does: perfectly.

The wisdom of Solomon

(You may wish to watch this in Full Screen and turn up your speakers--it is impressive)


El Cielo de Canarias / Canary sky - Tenerife from Daniel López on Vimeo.


"For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; 
and they were unable from the good things that are seen
 to know him who exists, 
nor did they recognize the craftsman
while paying heed to his works; 
but they supposed that either fire or
wind or swift air, 
or the sircle of the stars, or turbulent water,
or the luminaries of heaven were the
gods that rule the world.


If through delight in the beauty of these things
men assumed them to be gods,
let them know how much better 
than these is their Lord,
for the author of beauty created them.


And if men were amazed at their
power and working, 
let them perceive from them
how much more powerful is he who 
formed them.


For from the greatness and beauty 
of created things
comes a corresponding perception of
their Creator.


Yet these men are little to be blamed, 
for perhaps they go astray
while seeking God and desiring to find him.
For as they live among his works
they keep searching.
and they trust in what they see.
because the things that are seen
are beautiful."


Wisdom of Solomon, 13:1-7

Selling it all for the Pearl of great price

If you have the time to download this MP3 file, please listen to this homily by Fr. James Costigan, CPM.  I am privileged to listen to the Fathers of Mercy every Sunday, and I thought this homily especially good.

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Twelve promises to those who consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as given by our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:



1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
12. I promise thee in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that its all-powerful Love will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of Nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

Right here I have the prayer for consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, along with a lovely, prinable, vintage image you can print out and frame for your home.  Click on the image to enlarge it (it looks really lovely on off-white paper).

Corpus Christi

Adoro te Devote

Adóro te devóte, látens Déitas, Quæ sub his figúris vere látitas, Tíbi se cor méum tótum súbjicit, Quia Te contémplans tótum déficit.		O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee, Who truly art within the forms before me; To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee, As failing quite in contemplating Thee.
Vísus, táctus, gústus in te fállitur, Sed audítu sólo túto créditur: Crédo quídquid díxit Déi Fílius: Nil hoc vérbo Veritátis vérius.		Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived; The ear alone most safely is believed. I believe all the Son of God has spoken : Than Truth's own word there is no trucer token.
In crúce latébat sóla Déitas, At hic látet simul et humánitas: Ambo tamen crédens atque cónfitens, Péto quod petívit látro paénitens		God only on the Cross lay hid from view, But here lies hid at once the manhood too : And I, in both professing my believe, Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.
Plágas, sicut Thómas, non intúeor: Déum tamen méum te confíteor: Fac me tíbi semper mágis crédere, In te spem habére, te dilígere.		Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see; Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be. Make me blieve Thee ever more and more, In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.
O memoriále mórtis Dómini! Pánis vívus vítam praéstans hómini! Praésta méæ ménti de te vívere, Et te ílli semper dúlce sápere.		O Thou, memorial of our Lord's own dying! O living bread, to mortals life supplying! Make Thou my soul henceforth on Thee to live; Ever a taste of heavenly sweetness give.
Píe pellicáne, Jésu Dómine! Me immúndum múnda túo Sánguine: Cújus úna stílla sálvum fácere Tótum múndum quit ab ómni scélere.		O loving Pelican! O Jesu Lord! Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood : Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt, Can purge the entire world from all its guilt.
Jésu, quem velátum nunc aspício, Oro fíat íllud quod tam sítio, Ut Te reveláta cérnens fácie, Vísu sim beátus túæ glóriæ. Amen.		Jesu! whom for the present veiled I see, What I so thirst for, oh, vouchasafe to me : That I may see Thy countenance unfolding, And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

On this, the last day of Christmas...

I have been feeling a bit reflective, even amid the chaos of our return to school this week.

I have not managed to do a post on the handmade gifts of this Christmas yet.  I still intend to, but since some of the gifts were costumes and clothing, and since pictures of clothing are much less interesting when not covering an actual person, it will take rounding up some willing models before I can do a complete post.

I thought that I might post, too, on my resolutions for the new year.  Other than the rather mundane one of trying to learn to knit socks, I haven't really made any but one:  that I will trust God more than I ever have before.  I really think that He is calling me--and my family--to a new level of trust.

I have always been exceedingly security-minded in the past.  Insecurity made me crazy with anxiety, and a few years ago our current situation would have had me sick to my stomach with nerves. But I am slowly learning to trust, and it hasn't come easily for me.

 The insecurity of my childhood instilled a distrust in me that has been hard to shake.  But slowly, through His many blessings and providential care, God has taught me how to trust. Or  at least to begin to trust.

I still have a long way to go.

For many people of faith, trusting God is like taking the hand of a loving Father; for me, it has always felt like falling backwards over a dark precipice and hoping that you will not hit the bottom.  And although I cannot say that this year I will trust God with all that I have, and all that I do, and all that I am, I do resolve to try and  keep my mind from dwelling on the black pit of despair, and to keep my eyes on my God, who has loved me enough to patiently wait for me to trust Him and return His love.

So, whereas one could look at our start in 2011 and say, "Well, that's not very auspicious," I am full of hope. Hope that God is drawing us closer to Himself.

One of our priests recently said in a homily, to enlighten our understanding of the incarnation, to explain the madness of God's great condescension, "God loves man as if man was His god."  What a thought.

May 2011 deepen your trust in God and bring you closer to Him.

"Children are a reward..."

An acquaintance of mine just miscarried this morning. She is my age, and childless, and although she was only nine weeks along, this was a greatly-desired baby. She had names picked out and was full of hope.

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth."

I was ruminating on this line of scripture shortly after this lady called with the news that she was suffering symptoms that seemed indicative of miscarriage. I have never felt comfortable with the word "reward" as it is used here in this passage. It seems to imply that children are like merit badges given out by God for pleasing Him, which would of course imply the opposite for the state of childlessness. Lack of children is not, we know, a punishment. So what to make of the word "reward" here? Maybe "gift" would be a better word to understand the meaning; after all, we also know from scripture that all things are gifts from God for those who love Him and strive to do His will. Everything is intended for our sanctification. It is the carrying of the Cross that sanctifies us and purifies us, making us over in the image of Christ, our Lord. For some the Cross is childlessness, and for others, caring for the children they have. Those on both sides of the fence will have times when the Cross seems much too heavy to bear.

Christianity is strange, isn't it? Embracing the Cross sounds like foolishness to the world, but the world's wisdom is foolishness to Christ. Embracing the Cross isn't easy, but it can be easier when we try to see from Heaven's viewpoint rather than our own. And that isn't always easy, either. but God doesn't tell us that any of it will be easy. Only that it will be worth it.

Please say a prayer for C. and ask the Lord to give her peace. My heart--so enlarged by Him through love of the children He has granted me--aches deeply for her.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

We have been watching this dvd (it is over 3 hours long, so we will finish tonight), and I do recommend it.

St. Francis is one of those saints who has unfortunately suffered from syrupy sentimentality, perhaps more than any other, and this because of his immense popularity. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of images of him talking to birds; his Canticle praising God's creation is well-known, and sweetly amusing stories of his life have been left to us, but what grips me most about him was his uncompromising obedience to the Gospel and desire to live it out in his flesh, so much so that our Lord rewarded him by sharing His wounds with Francis. Francis embraced the cross, and wanted to carry it with Jesus. He suffered immensely and did not shy away from it, but actually sought it out in order to be more like Jesus. That is not the stuff of a two-dimensional holy-card saint.

Happy Feast of St. Francis, everyone. Pax et Bonum.

First Sunday Reminder

Read more about it here at Spiritual Motherhood for Priests.

God Said No

I found this on Rural Revolution and loved it. Thank you, Patrice, for passing this along.

I asked God to take away my habit. God said, “No. It is not for me to take it away, but for you to give it up.”

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, “No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.”

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, “No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations. It isn't granted, it is learned.”

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, “No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.”

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, “No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.”

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, “No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.”

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, “No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.”

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me. God said, “Ahhhh, finally you have the idea!”

Love, Creativity and Beauty

Forgive me for this somewhat lengthy post. I was making something for the kids a while back, and these thoughts kept bouncing about in my head, and it became something of a meditation. It's not very polished, but I haven't had time to do much more with it, and I really wanted to put it up for my one year anniversary on the blog. I dedicate this little rambling to all those creative mothers who have made beautiful things and beautiful families, and who are an inspiration to me.

Love, Creativity and Beauty

We mothers frequently complain of never having time enough to get things done, and yet most of us with the ability will easily give up a portion of our precious time to such activities as knitting or sewing clothes for our children--even when we can pick up a nice thrift-shop baby sweater for a dollar, and if you look at the investment of time, quilt-making is not really a cost effective means of keeping your child warm at night. The investment of time is like the planting of a garden, and we hope that our efforts will show themselves in a colorful bounty. Love is the force behind Creation, and it displays itself in a blossoming of Beauty.Love is the cause behind a man and a woman becoming a father and a mother, the cause of another person coming into creation. And what, one may ask, of children born into loveless situations, such as are a result of rape or casual fornication, with violence or lust as the motivation rather than love? Even when love is not present between man and woman, God’s love is there, ever desiring to pour itself out into the creation of a soul, a soul He wishes to embrace and shower in His graces, wrap in His beauty.
We desire to give ourselves to the beloved. In marriage we forsake all others in order to give ourselves exclusively to the one we love. As our Lord taught us, sacrifice is the very nature of Love, the ultimate outpouring of the heart. Mothers do this naturally, giving our bodies to our unborn babies and nursing infants, putting their needs before our own, continuing to give ourselves throughout our lives to the families we so love.

Love desires to bestow beauty on the beloved.

This is the impetus that lies behind such wonders as Chartres Cathedral, Corelli’s Christmas Concerti, the Taj Mahal, The Song of Songs and countless other masterpieces of art, music, poetry and architecture. It is also the cause behind the creation of the universe, made in love for us, our Creator’s beloved children; beautiful in its dazzling variety, from galaxies and nebulae down to each little beetle and Forget-Me-Not. Proof of God’s love for us.
Having been made in His image, we also have this desire to create beauty and surround those we love with it. If we are endowed with some God-given talent, we knit, sew or paint. We write poems or compose music. We put much of ourselves into our efforts. If our talents lie elsewhere, we still strive to create order and beauty in our homes, and we point it out to our loved ones wherever it is to be found--in music, beautiful books, in butterflies and daffodils. And we are delighted when our little ones begin to point it out to us in return.Why are so many works of art, architecture, music and literature in our day lacking Beauty? Simply because they are not created out of love. They are created out of a desire for fame or fortune, a desire to be “original” or to grab attention. They are not about the outpouring of one’s self for the beloved, but about self-aggrandizement. Has Satan’s envy of us something to do with God having given us this beautiful world? No, of course not, for the Enemy already has possession of so much of it, and in any case, an immortal being is hardly impressed with finite things that will pass away one day. No, his envy, at least in part, has to do with us being endowed with our Creator’s gift of creation. We love, and we create. Hatred is impotent. This is why Satan has so distorted everything having to do with creation and made it sterile and ugly, attacking marriage, fertility, parenthood and the Arts.God wished to give us, His dear children, beauty and to give us Himself. And He did so, giving us the epitome of created Beauty in Mary, and then giving us Himself in Jesus Christ. As we are made in his image, we find ourselves compelled by the same urge to give beauty and ourselves to those we love.

Men's Day of Recollection at the Fathers of Mercy

If the men in your life can make it to south-central Kentucky on Saturday, May 16th, this promises to be a great mini-retreat. Click on the poster for a larger version.

From the trenches

Most mommies have been there, and I would think that just about every mommy with several kids has been there: those days that seem like they will never end and which are one long litany of "What Else Can Go Wrong?" By evening one's nerves are raw and one is just dying for bedtime and an end to it all. Yesterday was one of those.

1) On Friday something happened with my left foot and ankle--I don't recall injuring it, but I have trouble putting pressure on it. I limped around the Homeschool Conference this past weekend, and it is no better. In combination with varicose veins acting up, I feel like I'm nearly crippled. So be it.

2) Una slipped on a patch of ice (yes, ice--it actually snowed a bit Monday evening) while putting out mail yesterday morning and came in muddy and teary-eyed. She'd hit the pavement hard. I got her into a hot tub and gave her homeopathic arnica. She has a half-dollar sized bruise on one kneecap.

3) Adrian being better, he was back to fighting with his brothers yesterday and teasing Dominic into shrieking fits. Dominic began throwing up at naptime and could hold down nothing more than ice chips. Two teaspoons of Chamomile tea came up on him. He dozed on the sofa yesterday, waking every twenty minutes or so with dry heaves and tears. I also had to change 5 diapers in 2 hours. I think he is empty now...

4) Since I was rather stranded in the living room due to these sudden gagging spells of Dominic's, I decided to try to work on a craft at the coffee table--and promptly sliced through the skin between my thumb and index finger with a scalpel. No stitches needed, thank God.

5) At 6 p.m., Bret still wasn't home. We don't have cell phones, so I had no idea where he was. I was trying to fix the older kids something to eat and noticed our milk cow way out on our neighbor's pasture. In heat, she apparently jumped the fence.

It was after 6:30 when Bret got home and got the cow in (Una and Sebastian had not been able to do it) and then fixed the fence until dark. He ate dinner at 7:45.

I lay in bed, Dominic finally sleeping deeply on the floor beside me, feeling depressed and despairing for the first time in ages. I was thinking of the future of this country and wondering what it would become as my children get older. I thought about what life would be like should anything happen to Bret. It seemed that every negative thought hit me all at once. Truly, the Enemy had found a little foothold in my soul and was trying to get a good grip.

I fought it with all my being. I thanked God for an opportunity, albeit a bit late in the day, to offer all of it up in reparation for the sins of this nation and begged him to keep His little flock pressed close to His heart and safe. I thanked him for Una, who did her schoolwork without any need for me to press her, and who also kept Adrian busy with his own "school", and who made peanut butter and jam sandwiches for everyone when I was sitting on the sofa with a crying toddler on my lap. I thanked Him for my faith, without which I think I would have found a day like yesterday utterly pointless.

Maybe if I'd been better at mortifying myself during Lent, the Lord would have found little reason to mortify me so and the devil wouldn't have found a way in. But I haven't been really good about it. Yes, I have for the most part stuck to my little sacrifices, but my spirit has been far from our Lord. It is not the sacrifice, but the intention that is of any value on God's sight. I have known all through Lent that my spirit and intention were faulty, but I have done little or nothing to set it right.

And so, I accept these little crosses, although they feel so heavy, with all humility and acknowledging my weakness and need; I express sorrow for my tepidity and beg for deeper faith, hope and charity. With the Blessed Mother and my patroness, St. Mary Magdalen, I will stand at the foot of the Cross and try to keep my eyes on the Lord these last few days of Lent, and I pray that I will merit some of the joy of the Resurrection come Easter Sunday.

Divine Mercy Sunday at the Fathers of Mercy

If anyone out there can make it out to south-central Kentucky on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Fathers of Mercy have something special going on at the Chapel of Divine Mercy. Mass is, as usual, at 10:00 a.m., but at 2:00 p.m. they will have special devotions including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a blessing of the Divine Mercy image, opportunity for confession (there are four confessionals and they plan to have a priest in each), and I know not what else.

As you can guess by their name and the name of the Chapel, the Fathers of Mercy have a special dedication to the message of God's tender mercy to us, his creatures and adopted children, and they spend most of their time preaching that message on their missions. We are fortunate enough to get not just homilies, but mission talks just about every Sunday (this can sometimes be a little much for the younger kids--the fathers never give a mere fifteen-minute homily on a Sunday!)

It ought to be a very grace-filled afternoon.

On this day, sixteen years ago...

...I came into the Catholic Church. I was thirty-three when I received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Eucharist at the Easter Vigil in 1996. Only God knows my gratitude.

Today is also the 20th birthday of Sr. Joseph Marie of the Divine Child Jesus, in her canonical year with the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word. She is my friend Cindy's oldest child and a dear, sweet, holy girl. Happy birthday, sweetie! I am so grateful that my family has your prayers!

A Blogger's Examination of Conscience

Posted by Marianne, here. Blogging can become a source of grace to others, or a real spiritual detriment to ourselves. Here's a chance to see how you're doing.

We prayed the Stations of the Cross tonight

I love this. When we began six years ago, Una was only nearly four and Sebastian two, and I was lugging baby Gaby around the house. This year, Una asked to lead the Stations. The toddlers especially love it, the moving from place to place through the house and singing the Stabat Mater (well--they don't know the words, but they sort of bluff their way through). It's one of the things we do that is really becoming a tradition I know the kids will carry with them throughout their lives. And it is so decidedly Catholic! You have to be a convert to the Faith like me to truly appreciate what that means. I revel in it. I wish I could exude church incense from my pores. Know what I mean? What, are you a convert too?