Feast Day: St. Timothy and St. Titus

St. Timothy (1st century)

Timothy was an early Christian, and the recipient of two letters now found in the New Testament. The son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, he was a companion of St. Paul. He was first bishop of Ephesus, where he was martyred for opposing the worship of Dionysius.

St. Titus (1st century)

A disciple and companion of St. Paul to whom the great saint addressed one of his letters. Titus was later left on the island of Crete to help organize the Church, although he soon went to Dalmatia, Croatia. According to Eusebius of Caesarea in the Ecclesiastical History, he served as the first bishop of Crete. He was buried in Cortyna (Gortyna), Crete; his head was later translated to Venice during the invasion of Crete by the Saracens in 832 and was enshrined in St. Mark’s, Venice, Italy.

St. Timothy and St. Titus, companions of St. Paul, pray for us!

Motto: our new mottos for 2010

This will be our motto for 2010 ... the kids will be using this motto for copywork and memory work.  They'll be learning this quote from Philippians that sums up both our reason for prayers and all about which we should be thinking and learning.  The "sign" in the graphic above is a Christmas decoration which we will keep hanging in our dining room all year ... to remind us of the joy and love of the Christmas season throughout the darkness of Lent and the Passion! 

This is my personal motto for 2010 ... from St. Therese's "little way" as described in Story of a Soul.  I know that if all I choose is what God wills, than all will be well and I will be at peace ... even in the midst of controversy and turmoil!

Blessings to you all and prayers for a holy, healthy and happy 2010 .... from all of us here at Hillside Farm!

Motto: our new motto for 2010

This is our motto for 2010 ... taken from the readings on the 3rd Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday ... or Rose Sunday).... here's the full scripture quote that the kids will be learning and, God-willing, taking to heart this year of 2010:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.


Philippians4:4-9

Each line of this particular scripture reading tells so much about our Catholic faith!  You'll be reading more about this as 2010 blossoms ....

Home Blessings and Gratitude

For all who have asked, we are settling in nicely to our new home. We are loving the lake environment and can't wait to see the changing seasons, plants and wildlife which we'll be able to play with for years to come ...

We're planning out our gardens and living outside as much as possible, marveling at the difference in environment from a northern Virginia town-home subdivision to a home near a lake, packed with deciduous tress, evergreens and lovely plantings all round.

Tonight, our favorite priest came and blessed our home -- using a large aspergillum to bless every corner inside and out (including the attic, the screened porch and the boxes still stacked in the garage). He even threw in a confession session so we were purged inside and out! We fed him a great meal (prepared by dh who is, truth be told, a much better cook than I) and then took a lovely evening stroll down to the lake and chatted about his upcoming trip to Chile (where he'll go to visit the shrine of St. Teresa of the Andes, arriving on her feast day in time to con-celebrate mass at the shrine!).

All of this brings me back to our new Pastor's sermon on Sunday ... based on St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians (2Cor 12:7-10) where St. Paul talks about contentment and gratitude:

"Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints, for the sake of Christ"

Father Taylor talked about being grateful for all that God has given -- the good, the bad and the ugly. That we should be content and not always grasping for more. This is something I do need to work on ... something that became very clear this past year of "hardships and persecutions" in trying to sell and buy houses. Father challenged us to daily, before noon, think of three things to thank God for.

Here are my three from this morning:

1. for my family, especially my dh who loves me even when I'm not very lovable


2. for Hilltop Farm and the beauty of God's creation right outside our front door


3. for the challenges that I'll face today ... which will only serve to make me stronger if I turn them over to God's mercy and love

So what three things are you grateful for?