On Scalia and Family

I couldn't have said it any better.  Enjoy this (brief) lovely article regarding U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on the noble vocation, generous virtue, important accomplishment, and need for a great sense of humor there is in raising a family:

http://family-studies.org/justice-antonin-scalia-on-family-life/

On the Mass

The Eucharist and the Mass are the source and summit of our Catholic Christian faith.  Unwavering belief in the authenticity of the Eucharist as the actual Body and Blood of Christ (not a mere symbol) was absolute from the very origin of Christianity.

"Then He took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.' " (Luke 22:19)

Hoc est corpus meum.

This IS my body.

Do this in memory of me.

So.  It's Lent.  And here's a nice Lenten habit for you: try to get to Mass at least one other time during the week besides Sunday.  Really.  You can do it!  Even if you can't do it every week, continue to try.

Why?

Here's why, courtesy of Dom Gregory Dix* in 1945, and I quote:

Do this in memory of Me.

Was ever another command so obeyed?

For century after century, spreading slowly to every continent and country and among every race on earth, this action has been done, in every conceivable human circumstance, for every conceivable human need from infancy and before it to extreme old age and after it, from the pinnacles of earthly greatness to the refuge of fugitives in the caves and dens of the earth.  Men have found no better thing than this to do

for kings at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold;

for armies in triumph or for a bride and bridegroom in a little country church;

for the proclamation of a dogma or for a good crop of wheat;

for the wisdom of the Parliament of a mighty nation or for a sick old woman afraid to die;

for a schoolboy sitting an examination or for Columbus setting out to discover America;

for the famine of whole provinces or for the soul of a dead lover;

in thankfulness because my father did not die of pneumonia;

for a village headman much tempted to return to fetich because the yams had failed;

because the Turk was at the gates of Vienna;

for the repentance of Margaret;

for the settlement of a strike;

for a son for a barren woman;

for Captain so-and-so, wounded and prisoner of war;

while the lions roared in the nearby amphitheater; on the beach at Dunkirk;

while the hiss of scythes in the thick June grass came faintly through the windows of the church;

tremulously, by an old monk on the fiftieth anniversary of his vows;

furtively, by an exiled bishop who had hewn timber all day in a prison camp near Murmansk;

gorgeously, for the canonisation of St. Joan of Arc --–

One could fill many pages with the reasons why men have done this, and not tell a hundredth part of them.  And best of all, week by week and month by month, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, faithfully, unfailingly, across all the parishes of Christendom, the pastors have done this just to make the plebs sancta Dei – the holy common people of God.

To those who know a little of Christian history, probably the most moving of all the reflections it brings is not the thought of the great events and the well-remembered saints, but of those innumerable millions of entirely obscure faithful men and women, every one with his or her own individual hopes and fears and joys and sorrows and loves – and sins and temptations and prayers – once every whit as vivid and alive as mine are now.  They have left no slightest trace in this world, not even a name, but have passed to God utterly forgotten by men.

Yet each of them once believed and prayed as I believe and pray, and found it hard and grew slack and sinned and repented and fell again.  Each of them worshipped at the Eucharist, and found their thoughts wandering and tried again, and felt heavy and unresponsive and yet knew – just as really and pathetically as I do, these things.

[End of Dom Gregory's passage.  We now return you back to my comparatively exceedingly lame blog post.]

That's why.  

Try to get to Mass.  Go on Sunday, of course.  But, TRY to get to Mass just one other time during the week this Lent.  Or perhaps Eucharistic Adoration.  Even if you just pop in for 10 mintues!  He's there.

Waiting.

Patiently.

Waiting for YOU!

Why?

Because.

Don't you remember Who made you?

God made you.

Why did God make you?

God made you to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.

How can you possibly get to know Him, soften your heart to love Him, and learn how you are to serve Him if you don't even VISIT Him?  Jesus is waiting patiently for YOU in all the tabernacles of the world.  Through the miracle of the Eucharist, the person really truly present -- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity -- is Jesus Christ Himself.

'Tis Himself!

For YOU!

Go see Him.  Glimpse Heaven on Earth.  Get to church.  Go!  Run!  Your creator awaits you, filled with love.  For you!

May your Lenten practices and sacrifices bring you abundant blessings!

_______________________________

*  Dix, Dom Gregory, OSB. "Throughout All Ages, World Without End." The Shape of the Liturgy. Westminster: Dacre, 1945. 744. Print. 
 

Walk Softly and Carry a Great Bag

Teresa Tomeo has written a lovely little book to add to your Lenten devotional arsenal called Walk Softly and Carry a Great Bag: On-the-Go Devotions

The book already has been endorsed by numerous reputable Catholic authors, speakers, and EWTN hosts.  It's a small, portable gem, full of quick-read anecdotes followed by brief, two-sentence prayers written to raise both your heart and your mind to the Lord and His intentions for every aspect of your life.

The book's small size (only 6 1/2" square and 201 pages) makes it ideal for popping it into your purse (thus the "...Carry a Great Bag").  Its humorous and uber-quick devotions make it a lovely companion at all times, much more edifying and eminently more refreshing than that screen-based game you're tempted to turn to on your phone when you have just a moment or two to kill.

Instead this Lent, reach into your purse and open up a spiritual little ray of sunshine, illuminating your heart and your mind with God's love for you.  Teresa Tomeo's book will be the easiest thing you do for 40 days!

Enjoy!

R.I.P. Antonin Scalia

Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia
b. March 11, 1936
d. February 13, 2016

On February 13th, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia passed away unexpectedly of natural causes in his sleep while on a hunting trip in Texas.  A lifelong devout Catholic, Scalia was happily married and the father of nine children and fifty grandchildren.  His son, a priest, Father Paul Scalia, will celebrate his funeral at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, February 20th.  The Mass of Christian Burial will be carried live on EWTN.

In a speech before the Knights of Columbus, Baton Rouge Council 969 on January 29, 2005, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a lifelong, devout, Italian, Catholic, said the following on religious faith in public life:

"[H]ave the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity.  Be fools for Christ.  And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world."

And (for any of you young people still discerning your vocation in life), on why he became a lawyer, he also said this on April 9, 2008 in his remarks to Virginia high school students:

"I had an Uncle Vince -- most Italians have an Uncle Vince -- who was a lawyer. And he seemed to have a good life so I thought I'd give it a shot. And it turns out it was what I loved. Don't do it if you don't love it, it's not the most exciting profession unless you love the process, you love words."

In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

"May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once poor, may you have eternal rest."
 

FREE Shutterfly Photo Book

Here's a nice little FREE offer for you (and something to do with all those wonderful memories you took snapshots of over the Christmas holidays!).  Shutterfly is offering both you and me a free photo book!

Here is the link for this offer:

https://invite-shutterfly.com/x/Oi9N3v

Assembling your photo book from your digital photos is as easy as 1-2-3, with Shutterfly's photograph upload and their drag-'n-drop, on-line, photo book design program.  A simple photo book makes a wonderful gift or a keepsake.  We make one each year and our children regularly flip through them, enjoying and sharing happy memories ("Awww!  Look how tiny So-and-So was back then!").

Enjoy!

FREE Bible Study on the BVM

I received this offer from Scott Hahn's St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.  It's a FREE offer for twelve, weekly, scripture-based, video lessons about the Blessed Virgin Mary, beginning on Ash Wednesday (next week...already!?).  I think there is a "complete" study that will be available later for purchase, but this is for twelve free video lessons from that full study.

I have not seen the videos yet, but even if they're just an "introductory peek," I thought this might be a nice perk for anyone looking to draw closer to Our Lady during Lent, as well as some stirring, scripture-based, Catholic, food-for-the-soul for the penitential season.

...and I don't know about you, but "free" is always within my budget.  ;-)

"Grow With Mary" - The Bible and The Virgin Mary

Enjoy!  May your Lent be blessed with His peace!

The Wedding at Cana

"Do whatever He tells you," (John 2:5)

I've always loved this part of the Wedding at Cana story! Mary, IS the ultimate mother. She knows her Divine Son like no one else. She knows He'll do SOMEthing to help their friends in need.

She also knows that WE need to be told what to do, too. "Just be obedient to Him," she reminds us as she simply says, "Do whatever He tells you."

I love it!

Bible Verses for Sundays in Advent

I'm sorry to post this so late!  I thought I already had.  Here are some lovely Bible verses for your children to memorize and color for each Sunday in Advent!  The Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Day will be finished soon and posted here, too.

Blessed Advent!  O Come, Let Us Adore Him!  Enjoy!


1st Sunday of Advent - Manuscript
1st Sunday of Advent - Cursive

2nd Sunday of Advent - Manuscript
2nd Sunday of Advent - Cursive

3rd Sunday of Advent - Manuscript
3rd Sunday of Advent - Cursive

4th Sunday of Advent - Manuscript
4th Sunday of Advent - Cursive

Christmas Day! - Manuscript
Christmas Day! - Cursive

Happy Hanukkah!

Saint Pope John Paul II The Great once noted that the Jewish people are our elder brothers in faith.  What a strong and beautiful heritage!

Happy Hanukkah!

"George Bailey Syndrome" for Parents

Remember the movie, It's a Wonderful Life! ?  Every year at Christmastime, I watch that movie.  I know it by heart, and yet I never tire of it and still love every minute of it.  And the older I get, I love it even more!

Why?

Because, as a parent, I think it's very easy for us to get, "George Bailey Syndrome."  And not just at Christmas.  We look like this.  We feel like this.  We look and feel like George Bailey.  Dr. Taylor Marshall articulates it well here:


http://taylormarshall.com/2014/01/the-george-bailey-syndrome-gbs-why-parents-get-discouraged-and-how-they-can-find-joy.html

By the end of the movie, however, I look and feel like this!  I look and feel like George Bailey again, this time infinitely more mindful of the mind-boggling blessing that God has given me in the form of my life.

Though my life has been easy, I'm not Pollyanna (...okay, close, but not completely).  Sometimes, life can be hard work.  And dirty.  And tiresome.  Watching this movie never fails to remind me, however, that each of us has a role in life, many roles in life, specific roles and jobs and tasks to fulfill, some of which we might not even be fully aware right now, and certainly not the ripple effects thereof.

Watching this movie reminds me that life is about people first, then things.

Watching this movie reminds me that, believing in each other, we can move mountains together, or at least whole families and towns.

Watching this movie reminds me that things can always be worse, so be grateful when they are better.

Watching this movie reminds me that there always is something more you can do for just one more person who comes into your life.

Watching this movie reminds me that faith is essential to our lives.

This last reminder is one of the most important.  Remember, to Whom does George cry out on the bridge?  To Whom does he appeal for a better life for himself, his family, and his friends?

Who made George?  God made him.

Why did God make him?

God made him (and you, and me, and everyone else) to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.

So, why hasn't George learned this by now?

He's certainly lived it.  George has spent his entire life (which he views as wasted, at the time) in service to others, whether it's his parents, his father's community-serving business, the townspeople, his wife Mary, or his children.  Despite his determination to gallivant around the globe in a self-serving gluttony of travel and indulgence, George spends every day of his life -- every, single, day -- in service to others in his little hometown of Bedford Falls.

And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about.  (...oh, wait; that's for another post...)

Most of all, watching this movie reminds me that, ultimately, God always has our best interests in mind.  Always.  And that I've still got a lot to learn.

Christmas Novena!

Allison H. over at, "Catholic Sistas," wrote a beautiful, succinct blog post last year about the St. Andrew's Christmas Novena, "where the theological truths of our Holy Faith crash like waves upon the rocky shores of our real lives."  You can read it quickly here:

http://www.catholicsistas.com/2013/12/23/vouchsafe-omg/

Are you still praying your novena?  Remember, 15 times a day can seem overwhelming, so you always can break it up into five recitations, three different times throughout the day, etc.

Blessed Advent to you and those whom you love!

Hail and blessed by 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.

Christmas Novena - START TODAY!

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)

Give Thanks for Our Creator!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here we are again, starting the Church's New Year (the first Sunday of Advent) immediately on the heels of a uniquely American holiday, Thanksgiving, a day specifically ordained for the cause of giving thanks as a nation to our Creator.  What a joyous union of our great country's secular and religious priorities!

To start off your Church New Year, I'd love to share with you a cherished novena, commonly known as the "Christmas Novena" or the "St. Andrew's Novena" (the former so named for its last day; the latter so named for its first).  This novena is to be recited 15 times per day (yes, you read that correctly -- fifteen times per day...I know, whew!) from Monday, November 30th (the Feast of St. Andrew) through Christmas Day (the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord).

This is piously believed to be a powerful novena!

Think it's too much?

So, break up your recitations -- pray five at breakfast, five at lunch, and five at dinner or bedtime.  Maybe post a few copies of the prayer throughout your house (scroll down for a copy!), along with your Christmas decorations, praying it as you move throughout your day.  Maybe pray it as a family, assigning each person or child to pray it at least one, two, or five times per day to make a family total of fifteen.

Is it magic?  No.

Is it fool proof?  No.  (Remember, I'm praying it, too!)

Does it not "count" if you miss a day or miss a recitation?  Who knows.

No --I meant "Who" purposely with a capital "W."  God knows.  Only God knows.  Only God knows what's in your heart and mind this Advent and Christmas season.  Only God knows why you might need this novena and actually were inspired to click on this e-mail from that crazy lady in Savannah.  Only God knows the efficacy of our prayers.

Only God, the Creator of the universe and of YOU, came down from on high as a helpless Infant Child, specifically to rescue YOU from the insanity of life as a flawed human being.  Remember, He made you.  He made you to know, LOVE, and serve Him and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.

He loves you.

Please join me in TRYING to pray this novena, TRYING to focus at least a portion of our increasingly busy December days on the Infant Christ, Who is to come.  He is coming to save the world -- to save YOU!

Hail and blessed be that incomprehensibly vast and singular moment of His arrival.

Please join me in prayer for a very merry Christmas, indeed!  Enjoy!  :-D

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.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

A new homeschool mom recently contacted me and expressed her insecurity about getting it "right" or doing "enough" for her kids.  I thought she, like so many of us homeschool moms, was being a little hard on herself.  I know this is easy to say, but -- DON'T BE!  Any time you think you're not doing "enough" or not doing it "right" (even on days when your kids don't "want" to be homeschooled), remember:

Remind yourself of your original or core reasons for homeschooling.

Remind yourself of the cess pool of cultural garbage in government schools and be glad your kids aren't being corrupted by those influences.

Remind yourself that God specifically has endowed YOU, as YOUR children's parent, to be their best teacher!

Are you an expert on every academic subject?  No.
Are you an expert on elementary education?  No.
Are you an expert on child psychology?  No.

Are you an expert on YOUR children?  YES!
Are you capable of learning alongside your children?  YES!
Are you available to be your child's personal tutor 24/7?  YES!

So.  The next time you're "should - ing" on yourself ("I should be doing this," "I should be doing that,"), follow these simple steps:

Take a step back.
Take a deep breath.
Look up at God.
And smile!

There is SUCH an overwhelming wealth of academic and co-curricular materials available out there nowadays to homeschool families.  Neither you (nor ANY teacher) can possibly teach her child(ren) everything that's offered at every grade level.  But, that's one of the many beautiful aspects of homeschooling -- YOU get to choose your child's subject matter, focus, and interests.  It's not chosen by the least common denominator, Common Core, or teaching to the standardized test.

What freedom!

Remember, all things are possible with God!  He made us, right!?  And He made your kids and gave them to YOU, because He knew you could do it!

Remember, God made you to know, love, and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him forever in Heaven.  But, not just you.  Your children, too!  When you stand before the Lord, I don't think He will ask you how Jane did on her 8th Grade Algebra Test.

I think He will ask you, "What did you do with the souls I entrusted to you?"

Your answer should be, "I did my best, Lord, to bring them home to You."

The rest is just gravy.

Shutterfly - 101 Free Prints!

I just ordered a photo book from Shutterfly and they gave me this coupon for 101 Free Prints to pass along to friends.  With Christmas coming (what!? already!? yes, only 69 days!), I thought this might be economical and useful for anyone who likes to tuck a family photo into their Christmas cards.

Here is the link for you:

https://invite-shutterfly.com/x/p93JXT

Enjoy!