March 25th: Annunciation and an Anniversary!

Icon received on our First Anniversary --
 note that Mary is holding yarn and knitting needles!

Today is a great feast in the Church -- the Feast of the Annunciation.  It is such a feast that most all Catholics will not abstain from meat today (unless they want to).  The Feast of the Annunciation is very near and dear to my heart as it is also my wedding anniversary.

Here's the story, in case you haven't heard it before:

On May 26, 1992, my husband Mike died of cancer.  He died four days after his 31st birthday, leaving me with a just-about three-year-old boy and an 11-month-old baby girl.  I was devastated, but I had the love and care of family and friends who helped me through the time.  I was climbing the corporate ladder at Delta Air Lines and they couldn't have been kinder.

But more importantly, I had the Blessed Mother to wrap her mantle around me ... to pray for grace to see me through the ordeal ... the loneliness ... the uncertainties.  God was always near.

Fast-forward five years later and I decide to we need to jump-start our lives again.  It is time.  I prayed to God and through Our Lady's intercessions, we ended up in Raleigh, NC just when the principal of a parochial school needed a computer teacher (which I could do) and had space for my two parochial school children!

How good is God!

At this parochial school, there was a certain middle-school science teacher with whom I became instantly attracted.  Something pulled us together -- we credit our prayers to the Blessed Mother.  He was a conservative Catholic and so was I.  He had been married (and annulled) and had older children who didn't live with him and so accepted mine with open arms.

On March 25, 1998, we married in the parish church of the school where we taught ... with some of our family-member and many students, faculty and staff in attendance.  Friends came from near and far to wish us well and witness to this near-miraculous event.

And so, as our 14th year together begins today: we renew our "I Do's", our fiat to live together in the state of Holy Matrimony, to assent to our Lord's will and abandoning ourselves to Divine Providence.

Thank you, dear Lord, for the past 13 years ... for being with us on this journey together.  

Thank you, Blessed Mother, for your intercessory prayers and always wrapping us in your mantle of love.

Thank you, dear Rick, for loving me even when I am not at my most lovable and thank you, too, for the three "littles" we have together and the blended family we continue to love and pray for daily.

Feast Day: Our Lady of Lourdes

Our family is very tied-into the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes:  my husband and I met while we were teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes School .... we were married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church ... two of our children were baptized at Our Lady of Lourdes Church ... we've been very blessed to go to Lourdes as a family, twice -- once in 2000 and again in 2001.  My maternal great-grandfather came from the Basque village of  Oloron-Ste.Marie, about 20 miles west of Lourdes in the Pyrennes.

We have many connections.

This apparition of Our Lady to St. Bernadette in a grotto in the south of France 18 times in the 1850s is one of the most visited shrines in the world.  Catholics, Christians, Jews ... even pagans go to Lourdes to pray and become whole in mind, body and spirit.  Some are cured ... some are eased in their illness ... some are left with the crippling diseases which have brought them to this spot.  But all leave with a sense of peace and love and care that only the Blessed Mother and her Son can bring.

It is an amazing place like none other on earth ... a place of prayer ... a place of peace ... a place of love.  The candlelight prayer service everynight is amazing: singing and crying and praying in different languages, warmed by the glow of the thousands and thousands of candles that fill the area in front of the Cathedral.  There is a constant flow of penitents into and out of the Confessional Building, where the Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered all day every day in just about every language.  The Blessed Sacrament is available for adoration as is Holy Mass throughout the day.  The sick ... wheeled in on stretchers or wheel chairs, some even carried ... are all there for a special healing service in the afternoon, every afternoon. 

What a haven of peace and Divine love in the midst of our 21st Century.

Today, we'll read stories from The Wonders of Lourdes: 150 Miraculous Stories of the Power of Prayer ... we'll watch Bernadette and Song of Bernadette (we started last night by watching Loretta Young in Road to Lourdes).  We'll eat Tuna Lorenzo (tuna salad on homemade English muffins, broiled) and Gateau Basque (I'll post our version later) ... and of course, we'll pray for all those who are sick, suffering or dying as well as praying in thanksgiving for God's Love which allowed St. Bernadette to see Mary and God's Charity which continues the miraculous cures into the 21st century.

 

Feast Day: Feast of the Immaculate Conception

This is a BIG feast around here: the feast when we honor the fact that the Blessed Mother was conceived without the stain of original sin ... was pure from her conception ... so filled with grace that God chose her to be the mother of His son!

This is such a big feast that even dh "parties" -- on his way to work he stopped to get a sausage biscuit and coffee at McD's.  For those of you who KNOW my husband, this is really kickin' back for him.

Unfortunately my littles are sick!  String Bean has been down with a horrific cold since Friday -- she's getting better but her voice sounds like a bad impression of Lauren Bacall.  BamBam is sneezling and generally icky while poor LegoManiac has been feeling the pangs of a horrific cold that has his stomach so upset that he's been in the bathroom off and on for about 2 hours now (it's 6:00 a.m.) and generally unable to sleep.  The poor kids ... we don't even know if we'll make it to Mass today, that's how pitiful all are.

But, as the kids awaken and feel like it they'll be joining me in a new tradition: on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we will each make our own Nativity sets as well as put up and decorate our family one.  My plan is that each year, as the children's skills improve, the Nativity sets become more and more elaborate -- something that will become an heirloom collection that they can take with them as they grow into adults. 

This year, String Bean and LegoManiac have opted to make theirs with felt, making sewn 3-d shapes and stuffing them.  BamBam wants to make his from wood -- painting a simple, thin-wood set.  I'm going to make a "bread dough" set.  We will at least finish the Baby Jesus figures today as our Pastor will bless Jesus at Sunday's Mass (which is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) -- so those kids better get better!  Although, somehow when we have a school day that includes crafting, miraculous cures take effect.

Prayers that your day is blessed with the intercessions of Our Lady and that you continue to experience a holy, healthy and happy Advent season.
 

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.

 

Feast Day: Our Lady of Ransom

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Ransom, also known as Mother of Mercy.  Established in the 1200s, this feast commemorates the apparition of Mary to St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymond of Penafort and James, king of Aragon, asking them to found a religious order dedicated to freeing Christian captives from the Moors.

The order founded by King James of Aragon came to be called the Mercedarians, and is still active today.  Here's an excerpt from the CatholicCulture.com page:

The Order of Our Lady of Ransom, called the Mercedarians, and founded by St. Peter Nolasco, ransomed 490,736 slaves between the years 1218 and 1632. St. Vincent de Paul, a slave himself, led his priests to save 1200 Christian captives in the short period between 1642 and 1660 at the staggering cost of 1,200,000 pounds of silver. An even greater achievement was the conversion of thousands in captivity, and steeling them against the sufferings of a cruel martyrdom for the faith.

Mary, Our Lady of Ransom and Mother of Mercy,

help us to work for the freedom of today's captives!

Our Lady of Ransom, please pray for us.

 HT:  Michele Q. at Family-Centered Learning for the mention in the Catholic Daily Planner of this little-known Marian Feast!

Feast Day: Our Lady of Sorrows

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows ... when we take time to stand at the foot of the cross with the Blessed Mother and thank her for her YES to God ... a yes that saved the world.  The seven sorrows of Mary include:

1. the prophecy of Simeon the flight into Egypt
2. the loss of the Child Jesus in the Jerusalem
3. the meeting of Our Lord on the way to Calvary
4. the standing at the foot of the Cross
5. the taking down of Our Lord from the Cross
6. the burial of Our Lord

Evelyn Vitz at Continual Feast has a wonderful Bittersweet Chocolate Cake (gluten free, yet!) recipe for this day, which we're going to try (I'll keep you posted!).  We'll also be doing a little activity today to help us remember the Seven Sorrows: a neat project from That Resource Site

This feast celebrates and shows that Mary was steadfast ... never forgetting her faith in God's love and mercy ... even through these horrific times.

Please God, may I always remain steadfast in my faith, no matter the trials and tribulations!  Holy Mother, pray for me and mine that we may always walk the path of sorrows that lead to the path of True Joy!

Happy belated birthday ...

...to Mary, Mother of God!  Yesterday was the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary ... a celebration in the Catholic Church and a Marian feast day.  We had a wonderful day ... morning Mass, van re-check (I HATE getting my car hit as it takes FOREVER for things to be right), library run, grocery run and home for school-work, read-aloud, and playing time.

Lest you think I forgot the Blessed Mother in all this fun and frolicking, I didn't ... instead I whipped up a tasty treat that will be used often for Marian feasts (and there are many and since my name is "Mary", I claim 'em all). 

I call this treat "Cool Mint Pie" ... 

Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate cookie crust (I used an Oreo one but you could certainly make your own; make a graham cracker crust recipe, just substitute chocolate wafers or oreo cookies)
• 1 bottle of Smucker's Magic Shell (Chocolate Fudge)
• 1 16-oz container Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 cup Breyer's Chocolate Chip ice cream, softened
• 3 cup Breyer's Fat-free Vanilla ice cream (which is amazingly healthy AND tasty!), softened
• blue food coloring -- about 5 drops or more, depending on how blue you'd like it
• pure mint extract -- 1 tsp

Prep chocolate-cookie crust by spreading the Magic Shell (I used about half the bottle) on bottom and up sides of crust.  Place in freezer while mixing up the other ingredients.

Place whipped topping, ice creams, mint extract in a bowl and mix together completely. Add blue food coloring, a drop at a time, until the mixture is  a cool-blue shade (think toothpaste). 

Whip all together completely and pour into chilled crust.  Squirt remaining Magic Shell across top of pie -- I used just about the whole bottle on this, but you can certainly use less if you're not as into chocolate as we are!

Chill pie for at least 4 hours, or till solid.  Remove from freezer about 5 (if a WARM day like we had) or 10 minutes before serving and serve up slices. 

It is SOOOO good .... guess what I'm having for lunch today?

So Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother and please pray for us all!

 

 

Feast Day: Feast of the Visitation ....

 

Feast Day: Our Lady of Fatima

The feast of Our Lady of Fatima is a wonderful proof of God's love for us all ... and Mary's maternal love and care for each and every one of God's children. 

We were fortunate enough, back in 2001, to take the family on pilgrimage to the site of the Fatima apparitions.  The Cova, where the children saw Mary, and the surrounding area is still much like what it would have been back in 1917 when the children saw Mary the 13th of the month, from May through October.  We walked all around the village, did the Stations of the Cross, visited the homes of the children, and participated in the processions and Masses at the Basilica.  [Here's a link to the official Shrine site's pictures of these spots.]  We saw the statue of Our Lady to which Pope John Paul the Great added the bullet that could have killed him ... saying that Mary's protection kept him from dying on May 13, 1981.  

Pope Benedict, arriving in Fatima this past Tuesday, said:

"It is a profound consolation to know that you are crowned not only with the silver and gold of our joys and hopes but also with the 'bullet' of our anxieties and sufferings."

Since the pilgrimage in 2001, I pray the Fatima Prayer everyday (at least once, usually more often throughout the day; Our Lady asked the children to pray this prayer after each decade of the rosary):

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell. 

Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us all .... 

Our Lady of Fatima still has such meaning for today ... when we have such turmoil, war and distress.  Mary's message is simple -- turn to God in all things.  Just think if everyone did that, what a wonderful world we would have!

FEAST DAY: Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord to Mary

We love this feast ... not only is it a great solemnity honoring the fact that Mary said "YES!" to God and the Word was made Incarnate ... not only is it a beautiful gift to us honoring and reminding us of Mary's great faith and obedience ... not only is it a harbinger of Spring and the soon-to-come Easter season ...

it is also our wedding anniversary! 

12 years ago today, Rick and I stood before a couple of wonderful priests, with a church filled with family, friends, students, and faculty, with my sister cantoring and my dear FIL as best man and my dear friend Kris as matron of honor ... and we spoke our vows to love, honor and obey.  That day we placed roses before the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa and placed our family under Mary's protective mantle.

We, too, said "YES!" to God that day ... and we continue everyday of our married life to say "YES!"

I love you Rick more today than I did 12 years ago ... may we continue to grow old and grey together, handsome!

---

BTW, the image at the top is a shrinky-dink plaque I made a few years ago ... it's the size of a postcard and I made a series of Marian plaques which we take out each feast to adorn our family altar.  The original picture was one from Waltzing Matilda -- but I added Mary knitting (how else did Jesus get a "seamless garment" that the Romans couldn't rip?)....

Feast Day: Our Lady of Lourdes!

Enough with the snow ... let's party! 

We're on day seven of the Blizzard of 2010 ... no more snow in the forecast for today, but so much on the ground that we're still on snow days.  But that's ok, especially as today is an especially important feast day for me and mine:  the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Dh and I met at a school named Our Lady of Lourdes ... the family has taken two pilgrimages to visit the Shrine in Lourdes, France ... my maternal great-grandfather is from a small village just above Lourdes ... and whenever we really need to pull out the stops for a prayer intention, we often do a novena to Our Lady of Lourdes!

Here is a beautiful prayer which Venerable John Paul the Great prayed before the Grotto in 2004:

Hail Mary, poor and humble Woman, Blessed by the Most High! Virgin of hope, dawn of a new era, We join in your song of praise, to celebrate the Lord’s mercy, to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the full liberation of humanity.

Hail Mary, lowly handmaid of the Lord, Glorious Mother of Christ! Faithful Virgin, holy dwelling-place of the Word, Teach us to persevere in listening to the Word, and to be docile to the voice of the Spirit, attentive to his promptings in the depths of our conscience and to his manifestations in the events of history.

Hail Mary, Woman of sorrows, Mother of the living! Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve, Be our guide along the paths of the world. Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ, to stand with you before the innumerable crosses on which your Son is still crucified.

Hail Mary, woman of faith, First of the disciples! Virgin Mother of the Church, help us always to account for the hope that is in us, with trust in human goodness and the Father’s love. Teach us to build up the world beginning from within: in the depths of silence and prayer, in the joy of fraternal love, in the unique fruitfulness of the Cross.

Holy Mary, Mother of believers, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Amen.

So, on this snow-day, we'll head to Mass this morning (maybe even get in some Confessions) and we'll make Clafouti tonight.  Clafouti is a wonderful custard/souffle kind of dessert that is made with cherries (which we don't have) so we'll make it with blueberries (which we do have ... and since blue is Our Lady's color, this is more appropriate anyway!).

Holy Mary, Mother of believers, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!

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!

Advent: Plans for Week 2

Advent Week Two -- plans for Week 2 in the heart of our home .... [note:  for book resources, please see the post "Plans for Week 1"]

Advent 2009 Theme:
Christmas Traditions from Around the World -- thru legends, facts, foods and crafts!

Chapter Book Read-aloud:
 The Christmas Donkey: a story of France (finish from Friday);
A Grandma for Christmas: a story of Norway both by Alta Halverson Seymour
The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens

Saint of the Day:

• Sunday, Dec 6 -- 2nd Sunday of Advent; St. Nicholas
• Monday, Dec 7 -- St. Ambrose
• Tuesday, Dec 8 -- Immaculate Conception
• Wednesday, Dec 9 -- St. Juan Diego
• Thursday, Dec 10 -- Our Lady of Loreto
• Friday, Dec 11 -- St. Damasus
• Saturday, Dec 12 -- Our Lady of Guadalupe (fyi -- it is under this particular Marian title that I placed my book, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home, which was published this Spring.)
• Sunday, Dec 13 -- 3rd Sunday of Advent; St. Lucy

This week: Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, France

Make dough for St. Nick cookies (Speculaas) on Saturday ...

Sunday: 2nd Sunday of Advent -- St. Nicholas -- treats in shoes and St. Nick cookies with icecream.

Monday: St. Ambrose feast -- make beeswax candles and honey cookies.  DB: Chapter 8; W: 17 "St. Nicholas"; CSRW: The Netherlands pg 46-53; continue reading The Christmas Donkey; prepare animals for the Nativity.  Jesse tree: coat of many colors.  Evening:  stories and hot chocolate.

Tuesday:  Feast of the Immaculate Conception -- attend Mass; make Marian ornaments.  DB: chap 9-10; W: 9 "Nativity Plays"; CSRW: Iceland pg 18-23; continue reading the Christmas Donkey (finish up today); make animals for the Nativity.  Jesse Tree:  cup of plenty.  Evening: game and popcorn.

Wednesday:  St. Juan Diego feast -- make santos after co-op.  Co-op Christmas feast.  Jesse Tree: whip for persecution of Jews in Egypt.  Evening: cider and stories.

Thursday:  Our Lady of Loreto -- make graham cracker "house of Loreto".  DB: chap 11-12; W: 10-11 "Christmas Crib" and "Symbolic Lights and Fires"; CSRW: Norway pg 54-59.  Read A Grandma for Christmas (we'll read in one-sitting).  Jesse Tree:  bundle of wheat for Ruth.  Evening: performance of one of the stories this week and tea.

Friday:  Damasus -- making Christmas cards.  DB: chap 13-14; W: 12-13 "The Christmas Tree" and "Christmas Plants and Flowers"; CWRW: Sweden pg 88-93; L: pg 28-29.  Start The Cricket on the Hearth -- a lead-in to our study of Christmas in the British Isles next week.  Jesse Tree:  lamp.  Evening:  snacks and family movie night.

Saturday:  Our Lady of Guadalupe -- Mexican food for dinner.  Make LuciaPepparkakor dough. Jesse Tree:  sling (David and Goliath).

Sunday:  3rd Sunday of Advent and Feast of St. Lucy -- make LuciaPepparkakor. Jesse Tree: crown for King David.

 O Father, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Your only begotten Son, that through His coming, we may be made worthy to serve You with pure souls.  We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.