Start off the New Year with Graces!

Remember my post about THIS BOOK of prayers?

Even Father Z is posting about taking advantage of these indulgenced prayers....

On December 31st, the faithful can gain a Plenary Indulgence by public recitation or singing of the Te Deum.

On January 1st, the faithful can gain a Plenary Indulgence by public recitation or singing of the Veni Creator, the Come, Holy Ghost prayer...

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,and in our souls take up Thy rest;come with Thy grace and heavenly aidto fill the hearts which Thou hast made. O comforter, to Thee we cry,O heavenly gift of God Most High,O fount of life and fire of love,and sweet anointing from above. Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;Thou, finger of God's hand we own;Thou, promise of the Father, ThouWho dost the tongue with power imbue. Kindle our sense from above,and make our hearts o'erflow with love;with patience firm and virtue highthe weakness of our flesh supply. Far from us drive the foe we dread,and grant us Thy peace instead;so shall we not, with Thee for guide,turn from the path of life aside. Oh, may Thy grace on us bestowthe Father and the Son to know;and Thee, through endless times confessed,of both the eternal Spirit blest. Now to the Father and the Son,Who rose from death, be glory given,with Thou, O Holy Comforter,henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.

Happy, blessed and Holy New Year to all. May Jesus Christ be at the center of our 2009!

Fall on your knees

O hear the angel voices,

O night Divine.

O night, when Christ was born! Blessed Christmas, dear friends!

...right down Santa Claus lane!

We've had many visitors of late.

Sleepovers with cousins, aunts, uncles and a grandmother ...all gifted us with joyful fun and memories.

Today, another special visitor checked in!

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus....

The Jolly Ol'elf delighted my "littles" with some candy.

We're still waiting for the Most Special Visitor of all, the One who brings salvation!

For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. IS 9:6

Miracle... in the year of Saint Paul?!

My Uncle.

Stage 4 lung cancer.

Today's consult with Doctors...NO sign of any cancer. No sign of any previously biopsed and malignant cancer tumor!

Doctors in awe. They came in each with $20 bills asking him to play the lottery.

I wonder...my Uncle is heading a fundraising campaign to renovate a historic St. Paul Basilica. The Cardinal and Monsignors told him they would pray, that they needed him for this work.

Perhaps, in the year of Saint Paul, St. Paul himself interceded! There is still work to be done...

Thank you Lord for prayers answered!

OREO biscotti

Easy and tasty biscotti!

Ingredients for 28 cookies
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
2 ounces semisweet chocolate or white chocolate, melted

Directions
1 - Beat sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until blended.
2 - Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
3 - Fold in chopped cookies.
4 - Divide mixture in half.
5 - With floured hands, shape each half into a 9x3-inch loaf on a lightly greased large baking sheet.
6 - Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the centers come out clean.
7 - Remove from oven; cool for 10 minutes.
8 - Cut each loaf diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch thick) slices.
9 - Place slices, cut side up, on same baking sheet.
10 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes more on each side or until lightly toasted.
11 - Drizzle tops with melted chocolate.

Marie Antoinette Award

Merci!

I've been nominated for the Marie Antoinette Award by Therese @ Musings of a Mom!

The rules for this award are to display the icon and send it on to 7 other bloggers I feel are real in who they are.

I tag:

Christine at Meet Me at the Gates

JOT at Ora et Labora

Jessica at Shower of Roses

Kimberly @ Catholic Family Vignettes

Jenny @ Just a Minute

Renee at Go East, they said

Cecilia @ Little Saint in the Making

but I HAVE to add another... if you're talking Marie Antoinette, the list MUST have...

Elena Maria @ Tea at Trianon

Go forth and BE counter-cultural; show/live Catholicism to the world!

"Make it nice...make it even" ~ love this Christmas tree video

We found it last year and we watch it all the time...maybe too much. It's funny, but wish we could extract two colorful words, *WARNING*)

Our Lady will comfort...

On this the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an image dear to me, I am reminded of supernatural qualities of this image! Are you aware of THIS?

I am also reminded of how Our Lady spoke to St. Juan Diego.

“Listen and let it penetrate your heart…do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?”

Our Lady's words make these pillows seem even more restful and comforting. They were made from THIS fabric and for little babies to hug as they grow to love Our Mother. (And with a pocket to hold a rosary, a holy card and prayer...or even a tooth!)

Happy ~ 6 things Meme

Thanks Jennifer for the tag.

Six things that make me happy...will bore you. But there's nothing more true or higher on the list, for me.

1. The Traditional Latin Mass and my Catholic faith.

The big picture, at last. Sigh. Peace. I know.

Finding the "full expression of our beliefs in the timeless liturgy of antiquity, the Extraordinary Form" as my friend Kimberly would agree, is a gift not to be overlooked. I would be lost without it, it's silent reverence in a world of crass cacophony.

2. My husband, most excellent and saintly partner.

He loves...he serves....

He does so much for me I'd be lost without him. I do not know where I end and he begins, we are "we".

3. My children, gifts from God. Wish I had more. They are each so unique and lovable.

We are a team. They are the meaning of life and have given me my best job. Being together and being home makes us all happy.

4. Loved ones.

Like my mom, who would walk through fire for me... and my friends (online and from my homeschool group) who nourish me with their smiles and ideas, living out their faith. It's good to know there are many of us "out there" to support and uplift the Catholic homeschooling life.

5. Morning Coffee.

This truly is next. Love it. Love the taste, the aroma, the mood, the effect...the sensory explosion it provides. Especially love it on weekends when my husband and I are sipping it in pajamas with crazy hair. We get a little giddy finding a spot to sit across from each other to get into a good conversation, while the kids play and don't notice us. :)

6. The beach.

I used to be a winter girl, a ski girl. But I have switched teams. I'm a beach bum now, waiting again for that time when I ride another sensory explosion of sand between my toes, salt breeze in my hair, camera in my hands and smile on my face as I enjoy us all enjoying the surf, sand, sea life and family time of summer vacation.

But, there are many others things that make me happy as well...

I tag...YOU.

Let me know if you participate so I can read your list. :)

The Handbook of Indulgences

Got indulgences?

This wonderful book should come with our initiation in to the Catholic Church!

To understand what indulgences are and are not, read THIS and THIS.

While I have this book, I have not used it enough. Today, I was reminded of it. On one of my Catholic homeschooling yahoogroups we were "talking" about poetry memorization. In the classical curriculum, the focus is that exposure to poetry encourages a love of the true and the beautiful; memorization of poetry trains the intellect and the imagination.

As my 6th grader memorized and recited Psalm 23 and my 2nd grader recited Psalm 100 recently, I was touched by the voices of my children speaking God's word and hopeful that it would be imprinted on their hearts. I have decided to interject more Scripture and prayer into our Catholic homeschooling. Remembering the Handbook of Indulgences and the promises it has for the Holy Souls, this really goes beyond school work. The pages and pages of prayers and psalms that could be prayed while memorizing *could* be efficacious in releasing a holy soul from purgatory! That soul would then pray for my child, eternally, and before the face of God! What a recognition lesson that would be in the true Communion of Saints!

Here's a LIST of prayers to pray yourself and teach your children.

These may garner indulgences as well:

- Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist for at least half an hour
- The pious exercise of the Stations of the Cross .
- Recitation of the Rosary in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, an association of the faithful and, in general, when several people come together for an honourable purpose.
- Piously reading or listening to Sacred Scripture for at least half an hour.

And there are many, many others....get this book for Christmas, First Holy Communions, Easter baskets and make every prayer one that could participate in eternity!

Here's one for the kiddies Christmas list

m-m-m-m-mmeal...meal?

Polish Madonna Art

Watching the squirrels at our feeders today, their acrobatic antics, reminded me of this unusual picture of Our Lord and Lady by a polish artist.


Something about this charms me.