Just doesn't get any better than this ...

for helping live the liturgical year: Tan's 2011 Mary and the Saints wall calendar.  I REALLY like this calendar and am anxious to start 2011 so that I can post it in a central spot in our living room.

Published by Tan, this is not just a work of art calendar but also a great way to track (and celebrate) the liturgical year. The calendar (a nice sized 12x12) has a different Marian art picture for each month, with a 12x12 monthly calendar filled with saints' feasts (both Novus Ordo and Tridentine), liturgical year information and other information. This is not the type of calendar for use with tracking schedules -- this is a calendar to exhibit in a central spot in the home or classroom to remember whose feast day or how best to celebrate. I particularly like the image for December -- a large image of Our Lady of Guadalupe -- one of our family's patronal images of the Blessed Mother with a quote of the message of Mary to St. Juan Diego.

The images are beautiful and would make lovely, framed pieces for my husband's classroom -- he does a collage of holy cards, and this would be a great addition to these collages. But he'll need to wait until next December to get his hand on these!

The final page of the calendar includes info on how to pray the rosary and Fatima prayers. This is just a wonderful calendar: printed on quality paper with large classic images of the Blessed Mother. The images also include a scriptural verse, hymn or prayer from the collect of the main feast for that month. I also appreciate that the publishers included more than one saint for each day, rather than limiting the choice to one saint. Each day, as appropriate is marked for fasting, feasting or ember days.

I highly recommend this Catholic calendar -- I can't wait to see next year's edition!

I wrote this review of 2011 Mary and the Saints Wall Calendar for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.  For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.

 

Homeschool Connections: go check it out .... such a deal they have for you!

If you look to the left of this post on my blog page (please click thru if you read this thru the rss or other reader service), you'll see a graphic on the sidebar for Homeschool Connections, a marvelous online resource for education -- middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults all benefit from the various offerings that HC has available. 

Here's an email I just got from Walter Crawford (he and Maureen Wittmann are the brains behind this education endeavor):

Homeschool Connections offers a discount for early enrollment in our live, interactive classes for middle and high school. For the Spring 2011 semester this discount ends November 1, 2010. Enrollment in our Subscription Service can take place anytime. Please scroll down for a full list of courses.To register for any of our live classes please go to our site and click on the course you wish to enroll. Early enrollment discount runs from $10 to $20 per course.  Please don't hesitate to contact either Walter or Maureen if you have any questions, comments or advice.

These courses are a wonderful opportunity for school credit or just for use as continuing ed for us older students! 

Here's a list of the courses currently available:
Live Courses: Fall 2010

(There are still a couple of fall courses open for registration. Please visit the course page for more information or to register by clicking thru the sidebar link.)
Literature: Sophocles and Tragedy starts Tuesday, Nov. 9
Theology: Moral Theology starts Tuesday, Nov. 30

Live Courses: Spring 2011
These courses are currently open for enrollment and eligible for the Early Enrollment Discount. Please click the sidebar link for more information or to register.(Registration stays open until the class reaches maximum capacity.)

Theology: Social Ethics with Monica Ashour, MS, MHum
Middle and High School Latin I & II with Alecia Rolling, MA
Middle and High School German I with Alecia Rolling, MA
Literature: The Scarlet Letter (American Classics Series) with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Middle School History: The Romans; A Day in the Life with Kenneth Rolling, MA
Middle School Literature: Myth in Drama with Kenneth Rolling, MA
Science: Immunity in Sickness and in Health with Kris Correira, PA
Theology: Introduction to the Bible; New Testament with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
History: Catholic Middle Ages with Phillip Campbell
History: Church History; The Early Church Fathers with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Government: Government, Democracy, and Citizenship with Ed Rivet, MPA
Theology: Sacred Scripture II with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Literature: The Great American Novel; Moby Dick (American Classics Series) with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Philosophy: What Do Philosophers Do and How Do They Do It? with Jean Rioux, Ph.D.
Literature: The Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Theology: Ecclesiology with Monica Ashour. MTS, MHum
Theology: Sacramental Theology with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum

Subscription Service: Recorded Courses
These are the currently available recorded courses. As the live classes finish, they too will be available as part of the Subscription Service. Please visit HC's website to subscribe by clicking the link in the sidebar.

Aquinas Connections: The Gospel of Luke with Fr. Mitch Pacwa
Math: Algebra I
Apologetics Boot Camp with Gary Michuta
Economics: Principles of Economics and Catholic Perspectives with David Harris, Ph.D.
Government: American Government, Democracy, and Citizenship with Ed Rivet, MPA
History: Roots of the Revolt (1417 to 1560) with Phillip Campbell
History: The Age of Religious Wars (1560 to 1648) with Phillip Campbell
History: Foundations of Historiography with Phillip Campbell
History/Theology: Church History I (Trinitarian) with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Latin I & II Boot Camps with Alecia Rolling, MA
Life Skills: SAT/ACT Prep I & II with Kenneth Rolling, MA
Life Skills: Job Search Skills for Teens with Derek Prentice
Literature: Beowulf with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Literature: Canterbury Tales: Trust God and Tradition with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Literature: The Catholic Shakespeare with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Literature: Chesterton; Man of Letters with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Literature: Homer's Odyssey; Soul of Pre-Socratic Wisdom with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Literature: King Arthur and Christ; Heroism and Holiness with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; ; Chivalry, Courtesy, and Chastity with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Literature: Tolkien and Fairy Stories with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Literature: Virgil's Aeneid; The Founding of Nations in the Will of God with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Philosophy: Fallacies and Paradoxes with Jean Rioux, Ph.D.
Philosophy/Logic: Introduction to Formal Logic with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Science: Blood: In Sickness and In Health with Kris Correira, PA
Science: Immunity; In Sickness and in Health with Kris Correira, PA
Theology: Christian Anthropology with Monica Ashour, MTS
Theology: Catholic Spiritual Writers with Rober Gotcher, Ph.D.
Theology: Christian Anthropology I with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Theology: Ecclesiology I with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Theology: The Mass Explained with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Theology: Moral Theology with Monica Ashour, MTS
Theology: Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body I with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Theology: Social Ethics I with Monica Ashour, MTS, MHum
Writing: College Preparatory Writing with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.

Can you think of anything more you could need?  This is an amazing resource ... something you can tap into anytime. 

Go ahead, check it out!  (Oh, and if you subscribe or enroll thru the sidebar link, I get a small commission -- but I'd recommend these folks even if you don't go thru my link!)

Feast Day: Sts. Simon (the Zealot) and Jude, Apostles

Simon, called the Zealot to distinguish him from the apostle whom Jesus renamed Peter, was one of the original 12 apostles.  He was sent to spread the Gospel in Egypt, Persia and Mesopotamia. Jude, also an apostle, was a nephew of Mary and Joseph and preached with St. Simon.  St. Jude was a healer and an exorcist; he is now best known as the patron saint of lost or impossible causes. Tradition teaches that both Simon and Jude were martyred, although the exact places of their martyrdoms are unknown.

Saint Simon and Saint Jude ... you carried the good news of Jesus throughout the eastern regions with no thought to your own safety ... please help us to be as fearless in our daily living of the Gospel.  Saints Simon and Jude, pray for us!

 

October ... what a whirlwind!

Today is the first day this month that we're home by 11:30 a.m. and NOT GOING OUT ANYWHERE!  What a wonderful feeling to be home all together (well, dh won't be home till dinner), working together and separately, eating together, being together. 

Things really started heating up with busy-ness back on October 16th when the boys and dh went to a UVA home game ... it was a slaughter, but fun for the guys to do the "real life" college football (especially since the tickets we got from our neighbor included great seating and a parking pass!).  BTW, the tough-love look on BamBam is due to mom taking a picture ... he just wanted to leave!

The next day, tech week (aka, hell week) started with a vengeance:  25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a wonderful musical but tech week is always tough ... especially for this stage manager!  Lego Maniac has a bit part and the stage-managing isn't really hard, just takes time away from family.  But, you'll be happy to know I have been able to fit in knitting while ensuring props are where they are supposed to be ... mics are on ... and helping actors don various costuming effects.  A great cast and wonderful director make my job fairly easy and rewarding.

Later last week, Thursday was a prime example of the down-side of tech week:  dh teaches ccd, String Bean had embroidery club and Lego Maniac and I had to be at the theater -- all at the same time!  Thanks to God's providence, we do have a second car so (altho we ate dinner rushed, we did eat together) and the two younger stayed with dh while LM and I headed to practice.  Not ideal, but does work!

Friday, Oct 22nd will live in infamy as the day I started a new venture with my knitting: three hours of talking with the owner of Spring Gate Farm, a cashmere goat rancher down in Barboursville!  Seems she was looking for a designer to create unique designs for her cashmere yarns ... and I'm it!  She left me with about 15 skeins of the gorgeous, luxurious yarn and a head-ful of ideas of eactly what to design.  You'll be hearing more about this on my knitting blog, By Hand, With Heart! 

Saturday, brought the Mary's Shelter Craft Bazaar that we've been working on since August.  String Bean and I headed over at 7:30 to help set-up ... I left around 11 to pickup Lego Maniac (who was serving a Confirmation Mass) and then do the grocery shopping ... back to get String Bean when she finished (about 3) ... heat up some game-day food to watch LSU play Auburn ... than off to do the musical ....

Sunday brought 7:30 a.m. Mass (Lego Maniac served) where we heard that we gathered over $3400 in monies from our craft fund-raiser!  Not bad for 4 hours of selling handmade baked goods, hand-crafted items (including many made by our kids) and other items.  After a family brunch at Panera (our favorite bagel and treats place) LM and I went to the matinee of Spelling Bee and home for dinner and playing with Max (who really misses us when we're at the play!) till an early (we're talking 8:30 p.m.) bedtime for this cowboy!

On October 25th, we were graced with a visit from dh's sister and bil on their way home from a Clemson alumni event (he's a dean down there).  A four hour visit was just not enough ... but at least we had some good quality time with our favorite relatives.  They hadn't been to "the farm" since we moved in June 2009, so it was fun to show them how much we've done (and how much we still have to do).  That evening, BamBam had his first fencing scrimmage -- he placed  a very respectable third ... fencing against kids who have been fencing much longer than his five months!  Lego Maniac fences tomorrow in HIS first scrimmage ... but I won't be there since pick-up rehearsal starts up and then we kick off performances for this weekend (ending just before Halloween activities Sunday evening!).

Always fun to be busy ... but I'm loving the pace of today ... slow and steady ... surrounded by my family ... with dinner prepping and an evening of relaxation and family movie viewing (Sound of Music ... thanks to Netflix)!

Whoops ... guess I need this one tattooed on my arm ....

My homepage, the page that comes up when I click to enter the wonderful world of the world-wide web, is MyCatholic.com.  It's a great site since I can pick and choose which news feeds, rss', personal links that I want to see each time I get online. 

One of the choices is "One Minute Meditations" from St. Josemaria Escriva's writings ... today's was a real thwack upside the head for me:

You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the centre: you have a stomach-ache, or you are tired, or they have said this or that...


Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others?

– St. Josemaria Escriva, Furrow, #74

Ouch!  He always puts things so succinctly ... 

And the knitting content pictured above is because it makes me happy to add a bit of knitting to everything I do ....
 

Feast Day: St. Isaac Jogues and Companions

Today is the feast celebrating the martyrdom of Jesuit missionaries who came to the New World in the mid-1600s to evangelise the Native North American tribes as well as ministering to the French immigrants who were attempting to settle these lands.  These brave men became known as the North American Martyrs.  Isaac Jogues, the leader of the group, was captured and spent 13 months in slavery, rescued and brought back to France.  A few years later, feeling that God still wanted him to evangelize, Fr. Jogues went back to the Manhattan Island region (now part of Canada and the United States) to negotiate peace with the Iroquois.  He and his companions were seized, tortured and decapitated.

St. Isaac Jogues and Companions, you never let fear deter you from doing what you believed was God's will, always striving to give yourself to the work and remain faithful to God.

please pray that we, too, may never fear, never give up the good fight.

St. Isaac Jogues and Companions, pray for us!

 

Review: We Have a Pope: 2000 Years of Preserving the Faith

First, let me say that I really enjoy Steve Ray's apologetics books and videos.  This booklet, We Have a Pope: 2000 Years of Preserving the Faith, is a great example of what I like best about Ray's work:  he has a quirky sense of humor and a way with words that is only excelled by his deep love and understanding of the Catholic faith. 

We Have a Pope is a short booklet ... only 32 pages ... but each page gives a clear and concise (often with just a touch of humor) explanation for the question asked.  The topics discussed include:

• why do we need a pope
• who instituted the papacy
• why Peter
• what's so important about a name change
• what authority did Peter have
• who actually led the early Church
• Rome, not Jerusalem or Antioch
• how do we know that Peter had successors
• how were successors chosen
• what does "papal primacy" mean
• did the early Church think the pope had primacy
• what about the pope's titles
• what does the pope do
• do Catholics always have to agree with the pope
• infallibility
• if popes sin, how can we trust what they say
• should the pope matter to non-Catholics
• why the pope should matter to you

These questions are all clearly answered, making this a great booklet to have on hand for answering Catholics and non-Catholics alike when they question the papacy.  Ray (and his co-writer, R. Dennis Walters) quotes scripture extensively to prove their arguments when answering the above questions.  It's hard to refute scripture and Ray is a master as using the Bible to elucidate Catholic truths.

This is one of those booklets that should be in every home and Catholic classroom.  Many people (both Catholic and non-) just really don't understand who the Pope is and why we must follow his teachings on faith and morals, why we have a Pope at all. 

Boy, 32 pages sure can pack a punch!

---

Disclaimer:  This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on We Have a Pope and be sure to check out their great selection of baptism gifts while you are there.
 

Feast Day: St. Luke

Today is the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist.  Luke was a Greek physician, sculptor and painter. He journeyed with St. Paul as an evangelist, and visited Paul frequently during his imprisonments. After St. Paul's death, he wrote one of the four gospels, the one that tends to be the most Marian in content. 

Tradition has it that St. Luke, a known painter/iconographer, painted miraculous paintings of the Madonna and Child (including the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa). I've always thought it cool that the first iconographer's feast day is the day after the birthday of my brother Paul, who is also an amazing artist.

Today, we'll get out acrylic paint and paint some icons of our own ....

St. Luke, evangelist and iconographer, pray for us!

BTW, the painting I used for the prayer card above is by an Italian painter named Guercino (1591-1666). Here's a link to a beautiful post from 2008, written by Fr. Mark (prior of the Diocesan Benedictine monastery in Tulsa, Oklahoma) on his Vultus Christi blog.  What a wonderful, relaxing blog to read!

Feast Day and a new knitting design up ....

Today is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila [1515-1582] (also known as St. Teresa the Great for her writings and actions which reformed the Carmelites ... St. Therese of Lisieux, Edith Stein, and Mother Teresa chose her as their patrons).  St. Teresa of Avila is also one of the few "doctors of the Catholic Church", which means:

that the writings and preachings of such a person are useful to Christians "in any age of the Church." Such men and women are also particularly known for the depth of understanding and the orthodoxy of their theological teachings.  Catholic Online

There are only 33 "doctors", only three of whom are women (St. Teresa, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Therese of Lisieux).  St. Teresa's writings are amazingly complex and yet filled with such truth and beauty.  Rick has studied her Interior Castle and her Way of Perfection.  I tend to go more for explanations of her works such as The Four Teresas and movies about her life and writings: St. Teresa of Avila  and John of the Cross (which is a great one for showing how much they influenced each other).

St. Teresa of Avila, you knew what God wanted you to do dispite criticisms and calumny from your fellow Carmelites.  Help us always to do the good and avoid the evil, discerning God's will and making His will our priority.  St. Teresa, pray for us!

On a completely secular-note, I have another knitting design up at Knit Picks:  Fun Felted Saddlebag is a beautiful purse that uses two-color knitting, steeking and slip-stitch patterning to make this one a wonderful, practical excerise of your knitting skills.  The end result is a gorgeous, useful bag -- I'm using mine as a knitting bag! 

Check out this one and all my knitting designs on Knit Picks or in my online  Ravelry Shop!

Feast Day: St. Callistus ... and a quote ... and birthday wishes

Today is the feast of St. Callistus, 16th pope, who died (tradition says) as a martyr.  He was known for his mercy and love of all.

Today I have a quote from St. Peter Julian Eymard which has nothing to do with St. Callistus but alot to explain about why I try and take the kids to daily Mass:

Hear Mass daily; it will prosper the whole day. All your duties will be performed the better for it, and your soul will be stronger to bear its daily cross. The Mass is the most holy act of religion; you can do nothing that can give greater glory to God or be more profitable for your soul than to hear Mass both frequently and devoutly. It is the favorite devotion of the saints.

And, finally, a great big happy birthday to John Laurence .... remember, don't worry about getting older ... I will ALWAYS be just a few years your senior!  Hugs and prayers to you and all the family ....
 

So, what to do on a gorgeous, sunny, hot Columbus Day ....

how 'bout a trip to a friend's farm and their pumpkin patch ... add a dozen or so other homeschool families ... and let 'em loose!

and then we just had to pick up some amazing fresh apples, squash, organic sausage and other goodies (including McCutcheon's Cream Sodas (!)) since we had to buy the one-pumpkin-each gig!  Best of all?  Dh got to come since he had today off .... gotta love Columbus Day!

[Just so you don't think we ALWAYS have 90-degree days in October, here's a link to last year's trip to the Farm when the weather was rainy, cold (40s) but still fun!]
 

Recipe: Rick's Take on Tollhouse

Rick's bithday celebration isn't quite over since we all have today off for Columbus Day and we're going Pumpkin Picking at Miller Farms with a great group of friends.  One of the specialties of the weekend was "Rick's Take on Tollhouse" cookies; this is the traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, edited to Rick's preferences, and BOY are they delicious (and a bit better for you than the traditional).

Rick's Take on Tollhouse (makes about 2 doz large cookies)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• /2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet choc chips
• 1 cup walnuts

Cream together butter/oil, sugars, eggs, vanilla. Sift and stir in flours and soda. Mix till thoroughly combined. Add chips and nuts, distributing evenly.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet. Chill while warming the oven to 375.  Bake about 8-10 minutes till golden brown and slightly soft. Cool slightly before removing from sheet.  ENJOY! [BTW, did you know if you place a home-baked chocolate chip cookie on a plate and re-heat for about 10-15 sec, it takes just like fresh-baked? ]

I love Sacred Heart Books and Gifts

I do love this online shop run by Linda & Greg Nelson (who used to homeschool their own now-adult children) who understand the tight budgets of us all.  Here's part of an email I received today:

30% off SALE!
Sacred Heart Books and Gifts has discounted OVER 100 items to help you start on your Christmas shopping! CCC of America, We Are Catholic, Cherub Wings, My Catholic Family and many Christmas DVDs are part of this sale! We have selected a variety of historical fiction, books and DVDs on church teaching, family life and apologetics to edify you. Sale ends November 15, 2010. Click on the link to see what's on sale:  30% OFF SPECIALS
IN STOCK SALE 
If it's on our shelves, you get an extra 10%* off if it's not already on sale!  When ordering online, please put the code 10INSTOCK in the memo section at check out and we will deduct 10%* from any regularly priced items that are currently on our shelves. OR, you may call ahead to find out if an item is in stock and we will be happy to take your order over the phone.  Either way, you get an extra 10%* off regularly priced items we have in stock from October 11th to November 1st!  Click to order .... Sacred Heart Books and Gifts.
[NOTE:  *We are unable to include Saxon Math, Didache and All About Spelling in this sale. *30% off specials excluded.]

Enjoy the early Christmas shopping!

We love our UPS man ...

... and today was a real haul ...

• a gift for the birthday man ... not sure what that is ...
• BamBam, after much scouring of Amazon to find just the right use of money from N&P, finally decided on Wed that what he absolutely must have was Mr. Potato Head's Silly Suitcase.  He got up at 6:00 a.m. to do this:
So he could do this as soon as Mr. UPS arrived ...
• and I finally ordered the book that I got for my birthday (thanks to N&P and Kotch! as well as some well-earned Amazon credits):  The Worldwide History of Dress ... a mammoth 600+ pages, packed with ethnic costumes from all over the world!  These are the kind of garments I like to replicate with my knitting ... so this book is VERY VALUABLE to me and mine.

 

Don't you just love the UPS man?

Happy Birthday, dearest ...

Edited at 8:21 p.m. -- poor dh ... it took him 2-1/2 hours to get home (a drive that usually takes 45-60min) ... but we treated him well when he got home:  crabmeat in cheese sauce over whole wheat pasta, salad and instead of the traditional birthday cake: Rick's "take" on classic Tollhouse Cookies!  He received lovely cards, text messages and facebook comments as well as The Clint Eastwood Collection, The Alfred Hitchcock collection and Hershey's chocolate bars -- what more could he want?

Happy birthday to my dear husband who keeps me on the straight and narrow, loves me even when I'm not lovable, and cares for us all with a sacrficial love that is amazing in this world of selfishness.  I thank God every day (usually more than once each day) for the gift of this man ....

Happiest of birthdays, my love ... and many, many more!

Review: The Power of the Sacraments

This is one of those books that proves the adage "don't judge a book by its cover" (or size, in this case).  This unassuming volume -- small in size (5"x5") and few pages (only 64) -- is packed with great information.  The Power of the Sacraments by Sr. Briege McKenna is an excellent resource for reviewing the meaning behind the seven sacraments.  Sr. Briege McKenna, a Sister of St. Clare, is well-known throughout the world in her vocation of ministry to priests and her healing ministry.  An Irish woman, Sr. Briege has brought her ministry to all parts of the world, using some of these experiences to illustrate the efficacy of each of the sacraments.

After explaining exactly what a sacrament is (an outward sign of God's grace and unconditional love for us), Sr. Briege goes on to explain each sacrament with specific examples of how the sacrament has worked in the lives of real people.  Each of these examples is excellent in pointing out God's infinite love for each of us when we ask (by receiving the specific sacrament).

This book is a great  "refresher course"  for those of us who may be a little "rusty" on the need for the various sacraments; it is also a great overview for introducing the sacraments given to us by Jesus.  I will be using this book for introducing each sacrament as BamBam prepares for the reception of his First Reconciliation and his First Holy Communion in the Spring 2011. 

Highly recommend.

---

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Power of the Sacraments and be sure to check out their great selection of baptism gifts while you are there.  The comments in the review above are my honest opinion of this book by Sr. Breige.

Feast Day: Our Lady of the Rosary (aka, Our Lady of Victory)

To commemorate the victory of the Christians over the Turks on October 7, 1571, Pope Pius V instituted the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Victory (which he renamed two years later to reflect the impact from praying the rosary prayers consistently in achieving victory).   The Battle of Lepanto, immortalized in the poem by GKChesterton, stemmed the Turkish armies from coming further into Western Europe, stopping them in Austria.

October is a month dedicated to praying the rosary ... and it is especially so today!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us ....