Mary's Month and May Crowning

The month of May, for Catholics everywhere, is considered the "month of Mary".  And usually, close to the beginning of the month (or in our case, the first Friday in May) groups of Catholic children celebrate Mary's Month by crowning a statue ... bringing flowers of the fairest ... to crown the Queen of the Angels.

Today, our parish had the homeschoolers participate in our own crowning -- crowning the lovely outdoor statue of Mary after 12 Noon Mass. 

It was a gorgeous 70+ day, not a cloud in the sky,

while Father blessed the crown of roses (Lego Maniac, not pictured was one of the dozen altar servers ....)

, two children who made their First Communion this year crowned the statue

.

and we prayed a full Rosary and sang Marian hymns. 

So while the big girls were doing this: 

The little girls were doing this: 

and my youngest was doing this:

 

(facing 90 degrees from the action!)

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Here's Mary's Court:

After the celebration, we ate:

and socialized and enjoyed this uniquely Catholic celebration!

Blessed Mother, please watch over all who look to you for succor ....

Feast Day: Our Lady of Guadalupe

One year ago today, I put the final period on the page and sent my book, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home, off to my publisher, Hillside Education.  I placed the book and my writing of it under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe and it has been well-received. 

Never hesitate to go to Our Lady for help in any situation ... as she told St. Juan Diego almost 500 years ago in Mexico, "I am your merciful mother ... [I will] remedy all their miseries, afflictions and sorrows"!

Feast Day: Immaculate Conception of Mary

Jean Bellegambe (1470-1535) -- St. Anne Conceiving the Virgin Mary

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception -- the day that Catholics celebrate Mary's conception as being without sin in order that she would be worthy to carry the Christ Child in her womb.

Prayer of Pope John Paul II

December 8, 2003

Queen of peace, pray for us!

Our gaze is directed toward you in great fear, to you do we turn with ever-more insistent faith in these times marked by many uncertainties and fears for the present and future of our planet.

Together we lift our confident and sorrowful petition to you, the first fruit of humanity redeemed by Christ, finally freed from the slavery of evil and sin: hear the cry of the pain of victims of war and so many forms of violence that bloody the earth. Clear away the darkness of sorrow and worry, of hate and vengeance. Open up our minds and hearts to faith and forgiveness!

Mother of mercy and hope:

Help every human being of every race and culture to find and embrace Jesus, who came to earth in the mystery of Christmas to give us 'His' peace.

Mary, Queen of peace, give us Christ, true peace in the world!

Frugality is NOT a four-letter word

There is no doubt that the American economy continues to tank.  Personally, we have been staunching the flow of red-ink since we sold the house in Denver, but it will take time for us to recover our hard-earned nest-egg ... a nest-egg built when dh and I (before we even met each other) left our corporate ladder-climbing jobs to do what we believed (and still believe) was God's will for us.  In fact, that's what brought us together over 12 years ago ... so we must have been doing something right.

But now-a-days, if you tell people "Oh, we can't do that, we can't afford it" or "well, that's not in the budget this month" or "sorry, we don't have any money" ... the proverbial "they" think you're broke ... or are being overly negative.

Not at all.

Yes, I am on a budget.  Yes, I have to be careful with the resources God has given us.  Yes, I have to be frugal.  And, you know what?  I actually enjoy it.  I like thinking of ways to stretch a dollar ... either through inexpensive meals, creative gift-giving or simply by doing without.  These are not bad things. 

But American society would say differently, don't you think?  In this country, we've come to believe that if you don't take your kids out to fast-food joints at least weekly, you are depriving them of something.  If you don't buy them everything they WANT (not what they need, but what they want), you are being unfair.  If you make your kids (or yourself) wait till a special occasion to get something, you are being cheap.  If you have left-overs for supper, somehow you must be on the way to the "poor house". 

Me and mine are trying to re-order our priorities away from STUFF to a deeper something ... a deeper Someone.  We are trying to have less and do more.  We are trying to, in the words of Mary Englebreit, "Let Go ... Go On". 

As we finish off the last week of the liturgical year and begin Advent 2009 ... we seek the Way to happiness through a "less is more" mentality.  But we can't do it alone ... we need to use prayer to help us know the needs from the wants ... the must-haves from the nice-to-haves.  And God has that covered for us ... Jesus gave us His mother to help:

Before, by yourself, you couldn't. Now, you have turned to our Lady, and, with her, how easy it is!

– St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #513