The National March for Life:
Youth Rally and Mass for Life:
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January 18, 2013
40th Annual March for Life
Youth Rally and Mass for Life:
Facebook:
USCCB's Novena for Life
Get all the details here at the USCCB's official website!
January 6, 2013
Epiphany
How often in our own lives are we called upon to venture out into the unknown and trust a presence in the heavens to guide us on our way? How often are we rewarded at the end of our task by a personal meeting with Jesus, the King of Kings?
I think the famous journey of the wise men is a microcosm of the purpose of any of our lives. Each of us is called upon to embark on our life's journey with no road map, no trip tick, and no cross country flight times. If we are fortunate, we either have been raised to or discover on our own the useful tool of literally and spiritually looking up to the heavens for guidance. The Wise Men knew that.
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| Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy |
"Keep your eye on the prize," they say. But, it seems to me that the Wise Men, initially, didn't. Remember when they used their own earthly intellect and stopped (ultimately unwisely) at the palace of King Herod to ask directions, assuming that the newborn king whom the star's appearance signified surely must reside there? They noted that they "saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage," (Matthew 2:2).
Whoa. Big mistake there, fellas.
I don't think the star obviously was atop the palace in the night sky that evening, or the Wise Men would have referenced that instead, as opposed to having last seen the star at its rising. And when they realized their mistake and that it was time to go, well lo and behold, guess what appeared in the night sky outside!?
"After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star." (Matthew 2:9-10)
Ta-da!
So, let that be a lesson unto each of us. When journeying to Destinations Unknown In Life, keep your eye on the star, the heavens, your guide, the Infant Christ, the Creator of it all, Him, the One.
"....the Savior...who is Messiah and Lord!" (Luke 2:11)
First, an entire site dedicated to the Magi:
The Original Christmas Gift
Next, the Magi from the perspective of art history, by Carolyn McDowall over at The Culture Concept Circle:
3 Wise Men Or 3 Kings - Celebrities Having An Epiphany
And then, several brief thoughts on Epiphany, courtesy of Dr. Taylor Marshall over at "Canterbury Tales":
The Adoration of the Magi Proves the Divinity of Christ
Ephiphany Debate: St. Augustine vs. the Donatists
Does the Word Epiphany Appear in the Bible?
The Three Magi Were Likely Arabs, and Why Is One of the Magi Dark-Skinned?
The Mummies of the Three Wise Men
Epiphany House Blessing
Many churches distribute blessed chalk with which to bless your home at Epiphany, or you can ask your parish priest to bless your own chalk. Families inscribe the following above or on their door inside the house:
20+C+M+B+13
The translation is the present year, around the initial of each of the three kings (Caspar, Melchoir, Balthazar). The "CMB" also represents the Latin, "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" or "Christ Bless This Home." Here is a blessing you can use for both your chalk and your house on Ephiphany:
Blessing of Chalk
Let us pray. O Lord God, bless this creature chalk to make it helpful to man. Grant that we who use it with faith and inscribe with it upon the entrance of our homes may enjoy physical health and spiritual protection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
House Blessing
Lord God of Heaven and Earth, who hast revealed thine only-begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star: Bless this house and all who inhabit it. Fill them with the light of Christ, that their love for others may truly reflect thy love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In our house, we also like to cut out the front of the first Christmas card we receive, which bears a likeness of the three kings. We tape the card to the upper left corner of our front door inside. Thus placed, each time we open the door, it reminds us to open the door and welcome whomever is out there as we would welcome the three kings.
If you'd like a good read on this with your children, try Tomie DePaola's The Legend of Old Befana. Enjoy!December 28, 2012
St. Andrew Christmas Novena....Ooops.
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayers and grant my desires, through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
Well? Did you make it? Were you able to pray the novena prayer 15 times per day, as prescribed!?
....yeah, me neither.
I must say, it really did help to break up the novena into praying it five times at three separate meals. The kids were super about reminding me. "Mom!" they'd gasp. "The prayer!" However, the further we ventured into the busy preparations of Advent, the more often I found myself forgetting about the novena until well after midnight and into the next day, thus having missed the present day's 15 times requirement. Again.
I was getting quite discouraged about this, until a little urging from my guardian angel reproved me for my disappointment in not fulfilling the novena.
"Really?" it said. "Is that the reason you were praying this novena? So that you could recite a particular incantation and win a prize? Is that what you think!?"
Well, no! Of course not!
And there, my dear friends, was my humble reminder that there is a big difference between superstition and prayerful petition. To wit, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2110
The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has
revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion.
Superstition in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion
is the vice contrary by defect to the virtue of religion.
Superstition
Thus, praying a novena, or any other prescribed set of prayers, is in no way a guarantee of the requested results. Conversely, if a novena or prayer is not fulfilled in precisely the correct manner, that, too, is no guarantee that the Lord will not grant your desire.
Quite simply, the Lord knows your heart. And if the desire of your heart is within His will, then He will fulfill it....no matter what lil' ole YOU do.
So, after reading the Catechism, I not only renewed my efforts to remain faithful to praying the St. Andrew Christmas Novena, I have continued to recite it even after the great feast of Christmas, during the following Twelve Days of Christmas.
Did I then subsequently fulfill it every day? Um, still no.
But, thank God for the Magisterium of the Catholic Church! I now pray this prayer with so much more JOY and true LOVE in my heart for the Infant Christ Child, ever since I refined, researched, redefined, and renewed my focus on what it means to truly and prayerfully participate in the St. Andrew Christmas Novena.
Besides, God willing, there's always next year!
December 25, 2012
Is It REALLY Happy Birthday to Jesus Today?
- It would have been too cold outside in December for the shepherds to have been abiding in the fields.
- It's really just the Catholic Church usurping and replacing the pagan feast of Saturnalia.
- The Church just wanted to combat the pagan superstitions associated with the Winter Solstice.
- Etc., etc., etc.
Well, here's a (bit lengthy, but thorough and concise) explanation as to exactly why the Church set the feast day for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ squarely on December 25th:
http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2012/12/yes-christ-was-really-born-on-december.html
So celebrate with confidence and enjoy!
December 8, 2012
Finding Peace with the Prince of Peace
As a compulsive list-maker and cookie-baker myself, I completely understood her frustration with not being able to "accomplish" or "do" the things she wanted to achieve, in order to prepare her family for Christmas.
But, let's also be practical here:
Schoolwork always will be there, whether you do it today or tomorrow or ten months from now. Your child's good health might not be. See to him, see to your souls, and see to the internal preparations that God wants you to make this Advent. Remember, the Bible doesn't say that Mary baked the shepherds some cookies and sent out The First Christmas Cards (that would be Jesus's Shutterfly, photocard, birth announcement).
But it DOES say that she treasured all these things in her heart.
We all should do the same.
I've often found that when God allows all my plans to go completely awry, it's because I was facing in the wrong direction. Turn your face toward Him, trust in His guidance and Will, and know the inner peace of the Christ Child, the Prince of Peace!
December 4, 2012
10 Ten Things About Advent
http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2012/12/10-things-you-should-know-about-advent.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+taylormarshall+%28Canterbury+Tales+by+Taylor+Marshall%29
May your Advent be blessed with joyous preparations for the Christ Child!
Enjoy!
December 1, 2012
Christmas Novena
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was
born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in
piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and
grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
His Blessed Mother. Amen.
The novena is not actually addressed to Saint Andrew, but to God
Himself, asking Him to grant our request in the honor of the birth of
His Son at Christmas. You can say the prayer all 15 times, all at once,
or divide up the recitation as necessary (perhaps five times at each
meal).
Prayed
as a family, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is a very good way to
help focus the attention of your children on the Advent season.
(source: by Scott P. Richert at Catholicism.about.com)
November 30, 2012
Christmas Novena - START TODAY!
The novena is not actually addressed to Saint Andrew, but to God
Himself, asking Him to grant our request in the honor of the birth of
His Son at Christmas. You can say the prayer all 15 times, all at once,
or divide up the recitation as necessary (perhaps five times at each
meal).
Prayed
as a family, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is a very good way to
help focus the attention of your children on the Advent season.
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was
born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in
piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and
grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
His Blessed Mother. Amen.
(source: by Scott P. Richert at Catholicism.about.com)
Please also include in your prayers Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, O.P. and all the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist! Happy Feast Day, Sister! You can visit them right now at http://www.sistersofmary.org/index.php
Please also include in your prayers Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, O.P. and all the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist! Happy Feast Day, Sister! You can visit them right now at http://www.sistersofmary.org/index.php
November 29, 2012
Christmas Novena - START TOMORROW!
The novena is not actually addressed to Saint Andrew, but to God
Himself, asking Him to grant our request in the honor of the birth of
His Son at Christmas. You can say the prayer all 15 times, all at once,
or divide up the recitation as necessary (perhaps five times at each
meal).
Prayed
as a family, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is a very good way to
help focus the attention of your children on the Advent season.
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was
born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in
piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and
grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
His Blessed Mother. Amen.
(source: by Scott P. Richert at Catholicism.about.com)
November 26, 2012
Christmas Novena
While
a novena
is normally a nine-day [or nine hour] prayer, the term sometimes is
used for any
prayer that is repeated over a series of days. The Saint Andrew
Christmas Novena is often called simply the "Christmas Novena" or the
"Christmas Anticipation Prayer," because it is prayed 15 times every day
from the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (November 30th) until
Christmas. The First Sunday of Advent is the Sunday closest to the Feast
of Saint Andrew.
The novena is not actually addressed to Saint Andrew, but to God
Himself, asking Him to grant our request in the honor of the birth of
His Son at Christmas. You can say the prayer all 15 times, all at once,
or divide up the recitation as necessary (perhaps five times at each
meal).
Prayed
as a family, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is a very good way to
help focus the attention of your children on the Advent season.
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was
born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in
piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and
grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
His Blessed Mother. Amen.
(source: by Scott P. Richert at Catholicism.about.com)
November 22, 2012
A.M.D.G. - Why We Homeschool!
http://www.setonhome.org/3344/ad-majorem-dei-gloriam-to-the-greater-glory-of-god/
I'd love to hear YOUR homeschool and faith-based stories (both triumphant and terrifying!) so we may share some mutual inspiration.
Thank you for the gift of your gracious company here at my blog! Know that when I count my Thanksgiving blessings, you indeed will be among them!
November 17, 2012
Hostess Gift: Fudge!
Well, a friend graciously shared the following recipe and I couldn't resist sharing it with you! Give it ten minutes to make, then 20 minutes to cool in the freezer while you run upstairs and change, and *voila!* You're off to your party with a delicious, festive, homemade, hostess gift in hand!
I've used this several times already, with great success (and my skill level in the kitchen ranks, "Inept"). Enjoy!
MACKINAC ISLAND FUDGE
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
- Mix milk, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in heavy saucepan.
- Cook at medium heat until boiling. Boil exactly six minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla, cocoa, and confectioners' sugar.
- Beat with mixer until smooth and thick. Add nuts, if desired.
- Pour into a buttered 9x9 pan and freeze just 20 minutes (otherwise it's too hard to cut).
- Cut into pieces and enjoy!
May Our Lady be
your Joy this Advent as she leads you through
the Rosary to the Manger, ever closer to the Sacred Heart of her Infant Son,
the Prince of Peace, Jesus! Vive Jesu!
November 9, 2012
Pray. Hope. And Don't Worry!
As you might guess, I'm not happy about the election results.
Although not Catholic, Mitt Romney is a man of integrity and faith, who understands that God ALREADY has blessed America, and that we therefore must be good stewards of those blessings. I think Mitt and his wife, Ann, both would have been a blessing to the White House with their gracious presence.
(....*sigh*....)
But, all
authority comes from God, so He must have His reasons for allowing the United States' election outcome. Maybe, as a
whole, our country just got what it richly deserves, in return for our culture of death and
promiscuous ways. Remember how often the Israelites got a spanking
whenever they strayed?
Fear and despair, however, are from the evil one. I also hold fast to the faith and
fortitude of the remnant Church and the firm hope that, in the end, Our
Lady's "Immaculate Heart will triumph!"
.....I just have a feeling it's
not going to be very pleasant to get there.
Pray! Pray! Pray! And in the words of St. Padre Pio, "Pray. Hope. And don't worry."
Onward Christian soldiers! Amen!
Pray! Pray! Pray! And in the words of St. Padre Pio, "Pray. Hope. And don't worry."
Onward Christian soldiers! Amen!
November 5, 2012
On Subtlety and Grace
And here's how Old Scratch does it in my world:
".....the idea that somehow this is all pointless. I think one way that the devil distracts and dissuades mothers of many, who came to mothering with the best intentions, is to suggest to them that their wide-eyed optimism and extraordinary openness to life was really a very silly propostition. He teases them with the apparent 'failures' of their mothering experiences, the ungrateful children who hurl ugly words, the stumbling sinfulness of every day life. He taunts them with the little ones yet to raise and undermines every last shred of confidence. And he says, 'don't you think you better look for something more? Clearly, this magnum opus isn't turning out so great.' " (Elizabeth Foss, "In the Heart of My Home", blog post 11/05/12)
Wow! Was Elizabeth at MY house today!? How did she know this? Well, she probably could hear us. Because in my house, we don't have the Richter Scale. We have the Screech Scale. And the more frustrated Momma is, the higher the register on the Screech Scale.
Thankfully for us all, Elizabeth addresses conversely, with grace and gratitude, the vocation of being "A Servant Mother" in this post:
http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/2012/11/a-servant-mother-31-days-to-remember-the-mission-resumes.html
I must remember that God's purpose for me as a mother is not to mold into Perfect People the precious children He has placed on loan to me, but rather to give those children the unending and unconditional love that encourages them to blossom into the perfectly unique people God already knows they have the potential to be.
Oh -- and before you think I can just stand idly by and calmly watch it all unfold, like magic sparkles in a Disney cartoon, let me assure you of this. I am well aware that I still have to wipe hineys, correct manners, dispense hugs, referee arguments, grade papers, and make semi-palatable dinners.
But that's not the mission. The mission is to seek God's Will. And then get out of His way.
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." (III John 1:4)
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