showeredwithgrace

 

We created a winter garden ~ pure and enclosed ~ for tomorrow's feast in honor of Our Lady Immaculate.

"O Mary! Ark of the covenant, built of an incorruptible wood, and covered over with the purest gold! help us to correspond with those wonderful designs of our God, who, after having found His glory in thine incomparable purity, wills now to seek His glory in our unworthiness, by making us, from being slaves of the devil, His temples and His abode, where He may find His delight. Help us to this, O thou that by the mercy of thy Son hast never known sin! and receive this day our devoutest praise."

 

 

We've been watching the lighting of the Advent candles at Mass this year and have this simple reminder of the season here at home.  We will be moving into our new home next weekend so all our Advent things stayed packed up this year.  Simplicity can be lovely though, don't you think?

 

Simple and humble are calling to our hearts this advent season.  We are beginning by simplifying our evening meals during Advent this year to soup and bread (except for Sundays, of course).  Tonight, clam chowder. 

Contemplating this beautiful, simple image of Our Lady and the journey she was called to make,  as the Christ child dwelt within her ~  growing within her ~ receiving his life from her life.   Just as she received her life from Him ~  eucharistic.  It's all there.  It's always there ~ if we have eyes to see and ears to hear . . .  his whisperings.

Where am I unmerciful?

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous;  love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seeks its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things .  .  . "

~ 1 Corinthians 13

Another Lenten friday morning. 

This is how we are marking the days of our Lenten journey with Operation Rice Bowl.  They provide a wonderful calendar with suggestions for prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and educating ourselves throughout the forty days of Lent.  I set this up in the format of a cross and as each day passes we turn the day's square over to reveal a flame.  When Easter arrives our Lenten cross will be a cross of light.  The countries whose needs we are contributing towards and educating ourselves on this year with Operation Rice Bowl are Guatemala, Mali, India, Haiti and Cameroon.

I set up these votive candles with the stations of the cross pictured on them here also to assist us when praying the stations. There is a votive candle for each station that we snuff out after that station is prayed, so that when all fourteen stations are prayed we are left in darkness.

I found the artwork for the stations here. 

Ash Wednesday we began our Lenten journey.  Throughout Lent, we will PRAY, FAST, LEARN, and GIVE with Operation Rice Bowl as we join with our local and global community to follow the light of Jesus' path and strengthen the bond of our human family.

Our Lenten Prayer

Good and Gracious God, You who are full of compassion, Help us to show compassion towards others this Lent.  During this Holy Season we:  Pray that we may be transformed, Fast in solidarity with those who are hungry, Learn to live with less, and Give so that others may live.  May we join in solidarity as one human family and love one another as you love each of us.  Amen.

 

Dawn has showered us with so many wonderful ideas for living the liturgical year with our children.  I have chosen to include a couple of the beautiful activities she has shared into our preparation this lenten season.

For our nature table ~ I love this simple idea ~ and think I'll probably place a stone atop the candle on Good Friday until Easter Sunday in remembrance of the stone that sealed Christ's tomb.  Tonight we'll burn last year's blessed palms and sprinkle the ashes on top of the dirt.  Right before Easter we will plant the grass seed so on Easter Sunday 'new life' will cover our dirt.

We will be burying our Alleluia's ~ one large Alleluia for our breakfast nook and a small one for our prayer space.  I painted our boxes black (for obvious reasons) and when we open our boxes on Easter Sunday the insides will be painted gold and our Alleluia's beautifully decorated.  This is actually an activity we do every year with our youngest children in our church Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atriums ~ but I love how Dawn surprised her children by making them so beautiful for Easter.

When my family awakened all our 'party' things were put away (except for these purple napkins) and a simple dish of hard pretzels were on the table for breakfast ~ to remember today is a special day for prayer and fasting.  I'm thinking I'll do the same on Good Friday and for the remaining Fridays of Lent we'll start the morning with soft fresh pretzels.

And our son, Wide Receiver, shall be reading to the family from Pope John Paul II 's 'The Way of Prayer' during our evening prayer time during this year's Lenten season ~ to give him a more 'mature' activity during this preparation time.

 

I've been preparing a special centerpiece for our Candlemas celebration dinner which will be taking place not tonight for us but at our Sunday dinner tomorrow.  Dh is at the Phoenix Open with a good friend today so Sunday just works out better for us.  I borrowed an idea I stumbled across over at Waltzing Matilda's.

The image I selected of Our Lady is 'The Mother of God of the Blessed Thunder Candle'

"This weekend we will bless candles - the traditional Gromniczna or Thunder Candle. The candle is kept in the homes of faithful Catholics and is used to ward off danger from storms and other threats. It is also used when the Holy Eucharist is brought to the home for distribution to the ill and home bound."    ~ Deacon's Blog

Prayer:                                                                                                                         O Lord, Jesus Christ, Who was presented by Thy parents in the temple, and Whom the venerable Simeon, illuminated by the light of Thy Spirit, recognized as his Savior, took into his arms and blessed: vouchsafe graciously to grant, that following the holy example of Simeon, we may always recognize Thee as our light and life, that we may always love Thee and follow Thee toward our way to salvation and eternal happiness. Who with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest God, world without end.  Amen.

The image I found of Simeon and the baby Jesus is Ron DiCanni's 'Simeon's Moment' .

Note to self:  Don't be cheap and buy the white mats at the dollar store and then try to paint them black so the light shines from the darkness ~ rather, buy black mats and save myself the hassle and mess of painting them, drying them, trying to flatten the now bowed mats, and then trying to touch up dripping black paint.

"My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." ~ Song of Songs 2:10-13

We celebrated the last day of Christmas today with Mass and brunch at our home with friends and family.  We crowned our baby Jesus to remember today on the Feast of the Epiphany that he came to establish a Kingdom ~ The Kingdom of Heaven ~ as a seed here among us.  The wise men of the Gospels came and gave him homage as the newborn king of the Jews and as our priest at Mass today reminded us ~ after encountering the child Jesus they did not continue on in their journey as they had intended but changed direction and journeyed on by a new path (to avoid the evil of King Herod).  As the old year passes and the new year continues I will ponder this in my heart and consider ~ has my encounter with Him this Christmas season impacted my journey this coming year?  In my daily choices which path am I choosing ?

We spent our Catholic feast day of 'All Souls' fingerpainting with our friend 'Romeo'.

The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is discord, harmony.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sorrow, joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

Assisi

The Hermitage of St. Francis of Assisi

The rock bed where St. Francis slept at the Hermitage.

Crucifix

Life size statue of St. Francis ~ as you can see he wasn't a large man (my dh in red is 6 ft).

St. Francis statue in garden.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

Michaelmas lore and treats!

Today is the memorial feast of 100 Catholic Korean martrys ~ Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest, the lay apostle, Paul Chong Hasang and their companions.

"The splendid flowering of the Church in Korea today is indeed the fruit of the heroic witness of the martyrs. Even today, their undying spirit, sustains the Christians in the Church of silence in the North of this tragically divided land." ~ Pope John Paul II

We will honor their memory today by creating a Korean meal we read about in one of Rose Red's favorite books ~ Bee-bim Bop!  by Linda Sue Park

And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed.

A birthday tea!  For our Blessed Mother's birthday.  We were thinking of making cupcakes to celebrate but somehow we ended up making these blueberry and ice-cream tarts ~ perfect for a hot late summer day (106 F today).  We sat down to our tarts and sang a round of 'Happy Birthday to You' to Our Lady the Queen of our hearts !

St. Gianna, protectress of mothers              and families,  pray for us! Today is the feast day of Rose Red's special patron saint ! Feast Day: April 28

Gianna Beretta Molla made a heroic choice, but it was something her family members and friends testified she prepared for every day of her life. Her heroic virtue, genuine holiness of life, selflessness, and quiet joy remind all of us that God entrusts us with a personal vocation. Each and every day presents us with choices that have the power to prepare us to take heroic action whenever it will be called for. We can do that, however, only if we surrender ourselves and what we desire to God and His will for us. " Dr. Molla threw light on the importance of the Christian family, by her life and conscious sacrifice. She threw light on the importance of Christian schools and Catholic  Action, in the formation of the human being in Christian values and it gives us guiding principles, to which the Christian subordinates his own life, as Dr. Beretta Molla knowingly did. The heroism of her Christian life will bear fruit." This example of lay sanctity, lived in the Sacrament of Matrimony, as the Vatican Council II teaches, will encourage many Christians to seek God in holy Matrimony. The exemplary fame of Christian conduct, lived by Gianna Beretta Molla is valid proof.

It's Holy Thursday .  .  .  is it just a coincidence that Rose Red was drawn to this particular piece at Grandma and Grandad's house today?!

.  .  .  and guess who's 2 today!

Happy Birthday Rose Red!

Happy Holy Week!

This post is a little late but we  spent this last week down in Mexico lounging in the sun and eating hot tamales on the beach.

Palm Sunday we went to Mass at the local church in town and I wanted to share with you just a few of the beautiful things the locals created for Palm Sunday. 

Aren't they lovely?!

This crucifix is tiny ~ no more than a couple of inches long ~ but notice the beautiful details!

This was fresh and green on Sunday ~ we think it is supposed to be a candle ?

And a gentleman at Mass was kind enough to give Rose Red this lovely little crosss ~ which Rose Red kissed all through Mass.

The Mass was all in Spanish of course ~ but  just beautiful!  Everyone purchased these beautiful items before Mass began and they were blessed during the Mass and raised on high in praise and joy.  A wonderful way to begin Holy Week!

If you have a minute swing by and see this wonderful Palm Sunday post by Amy Welborn.  I just love to see how our Catholic celebrations are shared all over the world ~ don't you?!

Check out Catholic Fire  for some good suggestions on reading material as we prepare and purify our hearts this lenten season. 

Aert de Gelder. Simeon's Song of Praise. c. 1700. Oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, the Hague, Netherlands.

"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;  for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."

Luke 2:29-32

Be sure to hop over to Blessed Among Men to read more on this beautiful feast we are celebrating   'The Presentation of our Lord' otherwise known as 'Candlemas'.