Mary is always our Advent

"Christmas is always with us, and therefore Mary is always our Advent. She is always announcing the coming dawn." - Fr. Angelo M. Geiger, FI "The Morning Star of Advent" from the magazine Missio Immaculatae International, November 2007 edition

Thanking The Catholic Lifeguard....

WAS IT WORTH IT?

Understand the purpose of your life.

C.S. Lewis once said that “Christianity, if false, is of no importance; and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

So, away with “moderate” love for the gospel;

away with “moderate” love for Jesus Christ.

Time is too limited, too valuable, too important. At the end of every day we need to ask ourselves this simple question: I have paid one day of my life to do what I did today. WAS IT WORTH IT?

At the end of Good Friday, Jesus Christ could say “yes.”

How will we answer today?

— Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

The Catholic Mass - Where Heaven & Earth Meet

What a spectacular thing to participate in, the Holy Catholic Mass of history! How sad it would be not to experience it.

These saints, many of whom have given their lives for just one article of the faith, can not be wrong. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus is made present on the altar...heaven and earth meet.

Sunday Silence ~ Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

Saturday Prayers - Consecrating our Children

SATURDAY Prayers - The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary. Offer your children in consecration to Mary, our mother.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help me in all my problems. Help me to attain and practice all the virtues so that I may become more like you. Show me how to train my children to be worthy children of God.

Let me be kind and loving, but keep me from foolish indulgence. Pray for my children, dear Mother. Pray they never lose their faith or leave Holy Mother Church. Keep them from all danger, especially from spiritual danger. Help them to become virtuous citizens of their country, but let them not forget the Kingdom of God.

Jesus of Bethlehem, make my children love each other and their home. Help them to work and pray together in holy peace. Holy family of Nazareth, be with us all, father, mother and children all the days of our lives. Help our home to be a “little Nazareth."

I humbly greet thee, faithful Guardian Angels of my children. I give thee heartfelt thanks for all the love and goodness you show them. Continue to watch over them. Provide for all their needs of body and soul. Pray also for me, my husband, and for my whole family, that we may all one day rejoice in thy blessed company in Heaven.

Blessed Mother Mary, guide us in our prayers for the vocations of our children. If their vocation be to the religious life, pray they answer quickly and faithfully. If their vocation be marriage, please protect and guide their future spouse. May they meet each other at the altar of God pure and undefiled.

Oh Mary, my Queen and my Mother, to Thee I confide the children God has entrusted to me. While they are young, provide for them safety of body, mind and heart. When I shall no longer be with them, when the responsibilities and greater temptations of life shall be theirs, pray dear Mother for them, keep them always close to your most loving heart. Be with my children when the angel of death hovers near. I beg Thee to take my children into eternity in the arms of Thy loving providence so that forever they may praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Final Moments to Vote - Thanks for Your Support

Thank you, kind readers for this blog's nominations in 2 categories.

Best Current Events, Opinions or Politics Blog <-- click link to vote

Favorite Homeschool Mom Blog <--click link to vote

I do not expect to win either but I am so grateful and surprised by both nominations. Thank you!

Welcome Home Dinner

The colors of fall, adorning the dinner table.

My daughter and my mother set this tablescape together.

What a festive surprise for me to come upon...and for her Daddy, home from a business trip.

She was so excited to have a "Welcome Home" party. She insisted we make a cake, as Daddy loves them so.

I decided to make one I had seen on Pinterest. You make the cake WITH melted icecream ...what an ingredient! My husband said it was the Best. Cake. Ever.

Curious? See the recipe and photos here --> http://www.omnomicon.com/ice-cream-cake

Revolutionary Objectors, Rebels of Love

“Today it is not enough for men and women to be good. Moreover, whoever is content to be nearly good, is not good enough! It is necessary to be revolutionary. Faced with hedonism, faced by the pagan and materialistic wares that we are being offered, Christ wants objectors — rebels of love!”
— St. Josémaria Escriva


Taking it apart.

"Not enough to be good." We should all go beyond good...beyond the bare minimum to offer our best. We need to examine our motives for not giving our BEST to God.

"Be revolutionary," how radical is radical enough for Christ? What insult, what criticism would you not take for the tenets, the beliefs of your faith? Do you stand for something or do you easily give up? Are you committed to the Good, the True and the Beautiful?

"Objectors - rebels of love," yes...we must object to evil and love enough to educate others in a way that brings them to revelation.

A 180.

Let's be "revolutionary objectors and rebels of love" by making sure we get others to watch this video above...to consider a 180 from worldly thinking.

Lord, help us take a step to direct our lives from good to best.

Sunday Silence~Our Lady Queen of Peace Shrine

Reach out for the hands of your Mother...

A Day to Renew Baptismal Promises & Pray for the Holy Father

My husband dubbed the Lateran Basilica his favorite church that we visited while in Rome. It was spectacular. The statues lining the inside are huge, each a masterpiece. Today the church commemorates the Dedication of the Basilica of St, John Lateran in Rome.


From CatholicCulture.org...

"Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. This is not St. Peter's, but it is the Pope's cathedral. Also called the Church of Holy Savior or the Church of St. John Baptist, it was the baptism church of ancient Rome. It was built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called "the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world" (omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput) as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter.

---

The Temple of Stones is a Symbol of the Living Church
Today the liturgy celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.”

On this solemnity the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a “spiritual edifice,” built by God with “living stones,” namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the “cornerstone” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians 2:20-22). “Brothers, you are God’s building,” St. Paul wrote, and added: “holy is God’s temple, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:9c, 17).

The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human beings, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.

Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love.

— Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, November 9, 2008

Things to Do:

• Learn more about St. John Lateran;

• This basilica represents the place of baptism, so it would be a good time to renew your baptismal promises;

• It also represents heaven, so we can meditate on the joys of heaven and God's generosity in giving us sufficient graces to be saved;

• Since St. John Lateran is the Pope's church, say a prayer for our Holy Father;

• From the Catholic Culture Library: Mother Church of the World.

Spiritual Suicide

How many leave the faith because they hold it to the standard of their fellow worshipers holiness? Yet, people will always disappoint you...at some point. We all fall short. We fail because we're sinful, all of us. Singularly, we're not worthy to worship. But the Church....Christ's Church...the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. No matter what we do to tarnish it, Holy Mother Church is, as Mother Angelica once wrote, "the Bride of Christ the Mother from whose womb of grace each of us was born to a new life a life of Sonship....When we hate her we only hate ourselves for we are part of her Body and Jesus is our Head. To alienate ourselves from Him and His Bride is to cut ourselves off from the Vine."

My wise and caring Pastor had words today, for such a situation...

"When such disappointments strike the household of faith, they remind us of our ongoing need for God and his mercy. Too many people use sin and human failure in the Church as an excuse to commit spiritual suicide, to write off the importance of faith. Our reaction should be the opposite, for we all stand together in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. Our thanksgiving is first and foremost for the gift of God’s mercy."

When you are brought down...look up.

Would Love Your Vote At Homeschool Blog Awards

So happy to hear I was nominated for Favorite Homeschool Mom Blog. Thanks!

I hope you will vote for Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschool at http://hsbapost.com/favorite-homeschool-mom-blog-2/

How Old Is The Catholic Mass

A teaching video on how all the parts of the Catholic Mass match early Church documents describing what Christians do. Followed up by support for the Eucharist in scripture and early Church documents and beliefs.

This is what those closest to the time of Christ believed!

Sunday Silence ~ My Lord & My God

WordlessWednesday ~ Overbrook

Type 1 Diabetes Day

A week after his 14th birthday this August my 2nd son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

The Ebbs & Flows ~ Adjusting to Diabetes (<- the post from that time)

While we are getting used to the constant blood glucose testing and the insulin injections for every meal (at least 4 times a day) especially for my son being a pin cushion has not become routine.

It stinks.

Every time.

The moments that bring him down, I pray that God would give me the words to help him. Sometimes he questions his faith and yet it is this very struggle that will make him stronger and more compassionate. God is molding him in the refining fire and will bring good out of any suffering...

We look to the cross.

Providentially we also have others to look to for inspiration and help.

Saint Jose Maria Escriva and Saint Paulina of Brazil are heavenly intercessors.

There's this yahoo email group - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CatholicT1/

There's this Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moms-and-Dads-of-type-one-diabetics/285243471492005

There's this blogger - http://aussiecoffeeshop.blogspot.com/

And many others....

Even Twitter has been a source of instant links to updates for the cure.

Once again, the internet can be used for good to serve us and we are grateful for that....while we pray for a cure. November is National Diabetes awareness month. http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/programs/american-diabetes-month/

Understanding the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes - http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/programs/american-diabetes-month/

Do you have a resource to share. Please leave a comment, if you do. We continue to learn....