The Inherent Goodness of People

While it is often more the case that we notice the evil in the world, the corruption, the wars, the disasters, the disregard for life, today I was blessed to be surrounded by people's goodness.

My dear sister and my unborn nephew were ambulanced to the hospital today. As the deary rain seemed to give color to the darkness of our worry, the bright warmth of caring others turned around the day.

"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like."

~ St. Augustine of Hippo

Prayers are still needed for this child... that he stay in longer. Prayers of gratitude for the transfusion which helped my sister. My sister and her wonderful husband need to hold this son in their hands, and watch him grow in the way they were not able to with their first, miscarried before.

I will be praying for all of that and for the gift of praying friends. As my email inbox and Facebook filled up with heartfelt comments promising prayers, people so ready to pause their day and pray for another, and in most cases someone they had never met, I was overcome with the inherent goodness of people.

The school of Christ is the school of charity. On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus.

St. Robert Bellermine

Thank you.

From the bottom of all of our hearts.

May God reward you all for your mercy, for holding us up in prayer, for your commitment to Christ, who is our True Hope in this valley of tears. You inspire, humble and strengthen us, all at the same time.

Blessed be He, Who came into the world for no other purpose than to suffer.

St. Teresa of Avila

'Tube Tuesday - Fathers of Mercy ALL OR NOTHING

I was just responding, commenting and confessing my lenten challenges to a blog friend saying...

I find it hard to pray as I know I should. My husband's saintly faith can be hard to see in comparison to my own weaker faith. Every day I just try. I surrender like MUCH brighter minds of generations and generations have done for the truths of our Catholic faith.

I go to confession often for the graces I know I need and I go to Mass on Sundays knowing that many saints experienced dryness...a dark night of the soul, but kept moving forward.

The honeymoon of my reversion is over. But I cannot give up on my "marriage" to my faith. I love it and know I should love it better...the way I am teaching my children to love it. That too keeps me tethered, thank God for homeschooling. I've often said it saves me and God knows that it is the path to my hopeful sanctification.

And I do sometimes feel like when I make an effort to say read something spiritual or pray my daily rosary, I come out of a fog in those moments. There is a battle being waged. Somewhere deep down, inside, I know I can not let the other side have me.

And then I stumble upon a video like this. Thank you, God. God bless the Fathers of Mercy.

The video, the Fathers, they remind me. They too lift the fog.



Thank you http://catholicnotebook.blogspot.com/

Lent ~ 12 Steps After Falling Off Lent Wagon

“The observance of Lent is the very badge of the Christian warfare. By it we prove ourselves not to be enemies of Christ. By it we avert the scourges of divine justice. By it we gain strength against the princes of darkness, for it shields us with heavenly help. Should mankind grow remiss in their observance of Lent, it would be a detriment to God's glory, a disgrace to the Catholic religion, and a danger to Christian souls. Neither can it be doubted that such negligence would become the source of misery to the world, of public calamity, and of private woe.”

—Pope Benedict XIV

Twelve Steps to recommiting after falling off the Lenten wagon
1. Admit we are powerless —that our lives have become unmanageable. - Act of Humility

2. Believe that the Holy Spirit can restore us to sanity. - Come Holy Spirit

3. Decide to turn our will and our lives over to the care of Jesus thru Mary - Daily Consecration/Morning Offering

4. Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. - Marian examination of conscience

5. Admit to God, to ourselves, and to a Priest the exact nature of our wrongs. - Confession

6. Become entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. - Act of Contrition

7. Humble ourselves, ask Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Restitution. Do good and ask forgiveness of those we've hurt.

9. Call on the intercession of the Saints! ~ Litany

10. Continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly admit it. - Nightly Examination

11. Seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. - The Lord's Prayer

12. Work toward a spiritual awakening/deeper conversion as the result of these steps, practicing these principles and recommiting every time I fall off the wagon.

Mothering ~ 12/52

Joining Barb in 52 weeks of daily life in pictures: trials and celebrations, the extraordinary and mundane --

Yes, the Lysol image indicates germs....sickness...
This week we've had an intestinal illness effect my 2nd son and my little girl. As one of the boys notes, "Ah, the smell of Lysol...who threw up?!" That's a logical sequence in our house.

I think mothers suffer along with their children. There's this immediate impulse to drop everything, love them more, fuss over them....

Brings back memories of my childhood. My mother would immediately draw the sick child a bath. The coolish water, aimed to bring down our fever, would upset us to tears in the tub. But she'd come for us with fresh pajamas. She'd stripped our beds also and the linens would be crisp and cool. She'd tuck us in warmly and the shivers would recede to a feeling of well-being. And when she said, "See, I told you this all would make you feel better," it built the foundation of all the times, in fact, she had been right...would be right.

She'd bring up a fancy bed tray with tea and toast on it. On occasion I remember her running out to buy puzzle magazines, Archie comics or TigerBeat magazines from the pharmacy and Matza ball soup from the nearby Jewish deli. (I still feel better at the thought of Matza ball soup.)

For my children, I wonder if they'll remember the sick bell and the cozy blankets I cover them with? My girl is hugging her bucket. The same one many brothers barfed in to, pardon the expression. That's probably what they'll remember most. Yet, she's getting to watch a Garfield movie as a treat. But there's no Jewish deli near here. I know they all will remember the smell of Lysol and, hopefully, my loving attention.

But as I am now on the mother side of the situation, I know something now that my mother probably knew and that I know my friends know. A mother suffers along, too. The suffering isn't so much in the cleaning up of the vomit as it is in the worry. What's wrong? Do they need to see a doctor? How sick are they? Am I missing something serious here? Do I have the faith to go wherever God's will may take me?

As for the rest of the week, two ideas to share.

1. As I can no longer force them, all, to drink out of color coded cups, I am trying something new to take a stand against a bajillion cups used per day.
This is the new, official cup spot. Your cup goes on your color. Let's see how long this lasts...or if it works.

2. Last weekend a mom in our homeschool group organized a group party called game night. What a hit! You should try it with your friends and their children. The moms had a great time playing Pictionary. One of the Dads taught the boys to play Risk. Little kids did puzzles together, and color/shape bingo. Older kids played Apples to Apples and some soccer and football while it was still light outside.

And so another week comes to a close, a memorable mix.

Hope yours was Lysol-free.

CIA - Catholic Integration Agency

With thanks to http://hellburns.blogspot.com/

Teaching Tuesday ~ Sharing Educational Resources

My daughter, 6 years old and in 1st grade, is loving this DVD series.

Also, her 9 year old brother in 4th grade is joining her to watch these.

We're fans of multi-media learning and often add DVDs to layer curriculum concepts.

For other posts sharing our educational DVD favorites use the Search this blog feature on the right column of this blog. Put in DVD.

11/52

Joining Barb in 52 weeks of daily life in pictures: trials and celebrations, the extraordinary and mundane --

whatever is unique to the week.

Unique to this week is a blog redesign from Christie! Thank you Christie for your incredible customer service. I was so impressed with your can-do attitude and the time you took with me. Very professional! (And thank you Mom, for this gift to me...lucky Irish girl!)

Our week started with a beautiful baptism for the 4th son of beautiful, parish family, our friends.

Spring must be almost here as spring fever has hit upon a wee lass. Her 9 year old brother came up with this way to keep her in her school chair.

Out with a bang.

Memories of the boys shooting with their older cousin, visiting from college. He brought a case full of different guns for them to shoot. He made them feel so special, catering to them.

I imagine them as older men later in life meeting like this and sharing this enthusiasm.

Pray For My Unborn Niece/Nephew

My sister and her unborn baby are...once again....fighting for life. May it be God's will for a different outcome this time.

Would you join me in praying for this newest life within her?

St. Gerard,
You worshiped Jesus as the Lord of Life.
I ask you today to pray
for my sister's fertility.
Lift up to Jesus
All those who seek to conceive a child,
All those having difficult pregnancies,
All who have suffered the loss of a child,
And all who lovingly lift up their children to God.
Pray that all of us,
By caring for mothers, fathers, and children
born and unborn
May build a Culture of Life,
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mother of Christ, you know, as no other mother can, the high dignity of motherhood. You know how immensely great is the privilege to call into this world a tiny soul destined to praise God forever in heaven. This is the privilege I now seek for my sister, Dearest Virgin Mary!

Confidently I beg you to assist my sister, for we know that motherhood is so precious in your sight. And confidently too, I hope for this blessing through your divine Son, since Jesus is the lover of the little children and has said that we should allow them to come to Him.

It is for this blessing that I beg you to join to my petitions your own holy intercession, that my sister and brother-in-law might be privileged to bring to Jesus a little one such as He so dearly loves, that He may bless it, that He may bless my sister, also, in motherhood, and that He may then make them both grow in the wonders of His Divine Life.
Mother of Mothers, Pray for my sister...

Family Dinners (10/52)

Re-joining Barb in 52 weeks of daily life in pictures: trials and celebrations, the extraordinary and mundane --

whatever is unique to the week.

Lately I am remembering the Sunday family meal, making it a bit more special than other nights.
The picture at the top of this post I purchased as a poster when I was away at college. I must have missed home and the family dinners we had every night as this was clearly a reminder of it to me. I imagined myself the older sister with the long dark braid and the young girl with lighter hair was clearly my little sister helping me set the table. Our childhood dining room was that color of blue, too. We ate in there more often than not. My mother always made/makes the ordinary special and we were her accomplices.

Here and now, my daughter is my accomplice but I am not the tireless woman my mother is and we are not as regularily "fancy." But, hold fast I do to the importance of family meals. I believe those times define us and strengthen our family identity. We don't eat as often in the dining room, ours is our schoolroom. While I have accommodations to make it look more like a dining room on special occasions, (and will post pictures of that transformation some time) our meals are most often in the kitchen pictured here.

Rarely do we use the fine china or crystal, but I like linens and placemats during the week and tablecloths for a weekend meal...I like that very much. Somehow it actually feels like time slows down and the weekend seems more relaxing when we are home...all together and I have the leisure to cook and set the table.

I feel a bit protective of our family dinners as the statistics on it's benefits are so well documented.


Benefits of Family Dinners and Why Mealtimes Matter

• 19% of teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week report that there is a great deal of tension or stress between family members, compared to 7% of teens who have at least five family dinners per week.
• More mealtime at home was the single strongest factor in better achievement scores and fewer behavioral problems in children all ages. More meals at home also resulted in less obesity.
• Because feeding is the most basic animal form of caring, sharing meals is one of the most central family bonds.
• Through the mini lessons of table manners, children learn to share and think of others. By saying “please” and “thank you,” we recognize the humanity of our tablemate, acknowledging the fact that we both deserve respect.
• More than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less like they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University researched the benefits of family dinners and found clear results. Specifically, researchers compared the responses of children who reported having family dinners fewer than three times a week with those who have family dinners five times or more per week. The study concluded that children who enjoy frequent dinners with their family are far less likely to develop substance abuse problems. If a child has family dinner time on a regular basis, he or she is:

• Half as likely to try cigarettes or marijuana
• One-third less likely to try alcohol
• Less likely to have friends who drink alcohol or use marijuana
• More likely to say they won't ever try drugs

In addition to avoiding substance abuse issues, children who have regular family dinners earn better grades [source: CASA]. They're also more likely to claim that their parents are proud of them and less likely to report tension among family members. Furthermore, when asked which adult they would confide in over a serious problem, children who have frequent family dinners typically say they'd go to a parent [source: CASA]. Researchers for the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found that adolescent girls who have frequent family dinners are less likely to use diet pills or develop eating disorders, such as binge eating or self-induced vomiting [source: Neumark-Sztainer].

As we enter into a time of increased baseball and ice hockey practice/game schedules I bristle at how it might effect these cherished times.

Lord Jesus, come and be our guest,
And take your place at this table.
...keep our family connected and protected from anything that would rob us of our peace, our faith and our unity.

Amen.

Do I have to Give Up Charlie Sheen for Lent??

Gosh, that "tiger-blooded, adonis-dna'd warlock" is "duh, winning!"

But I really should focus and here are some links I'll be revisiting.

http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/2010/02/soup-for-friday-in-lent.html

http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/2010/02/lenten-reminders.html

http://patchodirtfarm.blogspot.com/2009/02/lent-is-coming.html

http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/2008/01/family-lent-tradition.html

http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/02/printable-lenten-calendar-for-kids.html

not this!

Latin Mass Thugs

My poor son...on the way out from Latin Mass no less!

Is NO place safe anymore?

Comment with your caption.