Pondered In My Heart

Feast of the Annunciation

As Father said at Mass this morning, it is kind of startling what the Church does to us - here we are in the middle of Easter celebrations (or more typically, Lent) and suddenly we have the Feast of the Annunciation. And yet it is fitting and proper that nine months before Christmas we should celebrate this glorious feast that started it all.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God... And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,2,8,9

The Incarnation is what began our redemption through the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and so we can't not celebrate it. The Annunciation was moved from the 25th this year because every day in the Octave of Easter is a Solemnity, the Church's highest form of feast day, and no other feast can be observed during this time. But just like families sometimes do due to other circumstances, birthdays and celebrations get moved but we don't just forget about them. Today's readings are just so beautiful I have included them here:

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!”

Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10

Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrew 10:4-10

The beginning of our beloved Hail Mary or Ave Maria prayer comes right out of today's gospel reading-

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38

And so this year we have a little Angelus celebration in the middle of our Regina Coelis.

This of course makes perfect sense!

Some ideas for feast day goodies can be found in my post from last year. Find a coloring page here or a more detailed one here, courtesy of Jenn at Family in Feast and Feria. And Alicia has reminded us that now it the time to start the Impossible Novena which will end at the celebration of the Nativity.

Blessed, happy feast day to all of you!

Divine Mercy Sunday

O Blood and Water,

which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us,

I trust in You!

Here's a 'vintage' picture from Divine Mercy Sunday four years ago:

I've explained how Eliza was baptized the night she was born, but she had her baptism 'completed' and received her anointing on Divine Mercy Sunday when she was four months old. It was very special to have this ceremony on this day so important to us, and I held a relic of St. Faustina clutched in Eliza's hand as she was anointed with the holy chrism. Divine Mercy Sunday was 'coincidentally' the only day that our priest and the godparents and my family were all available to have this done before Eliza's upcoming heart surgery. We had forgotten to plan ahead and order a cake for a little bit of celebrating. When we called the bakery just before 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon they said they were just about to close, but offered to keep the store open until we arrived to purchase the cakes!  Eliza's life has been filled with innumerable moments of Divine Mercy, large and small.

The devotion to the Divine Mercy was revealed by Our Lord to St. Faustina, a Polish nun who lived from 1905-1938. A simple, uneducated girl, she was lead by the Lord to give up her worldly life and enter a convent. She subsequently received numerous visions of Our Lord who instructed her to have a painting created as a visual representation of His mercy, showing the rays of Blood and Water issuing forth from His Heart as a fount of mercy for all, and with the words Jesus, I trust in You. Sister Faustina was to be His "Secretary of Mercy', and she was to record all that the Lord was teaching her and share it with the world so that all may come to His mercy. She faithfully recorded the story of her soul and all of her interactions with Our Lord in her diaries.

It was then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla who opened the cause for Sister Faustina's sainthood and he was instrumental in arranging for the diaries to be properly translated. From the beginning of John Paul II's pontificate he saw himself on a mission to spread the message of God's infinite mercy. He wrote an encyclical on mercy. St. Faustina was beatified on April 30, 2000 and Pope John Paul II declared 'this is the happiest day of my life'. As our homilist pointed out today, the message of mercy is really the message of the Gospel as so succinctly summed up in John 3:16- For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. There are five aspects to the Divine Mercy devotion; the Image, the three o'clock hour, the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the practicing of works of mercy. Read more about John Paul II and Divine Mercy here. General information can be found at The Divine Mercy website, with a timeline of St. Faustina's life here.

The Diary is a lengthy tome but it so very rich and inspiring to read. There is also a book of excerpts  from her diary, broken down into daily readings. There are so many beautiful images and quotes from St. Faustina's writings, but I think one of the most astounding is Our Lord's words referring to His ocean of mercy. When we visited the sea last fall I sat on the beach and meditated on these most precious words. The ocean is such a sight to behold - we stand before it and try to imagine it all - how big it is, how deep it is, how it seems to just go on forever. No amount of water removed could make a dent in its vastness. The waves just keep coming, lapping onto the beach with gentle regularity, sometimes with more force, always receding quietly to rejoin the waters from which it came. Nothing can stop the waves; nothing can take anything away from them and each wave takes nothing from the ocean. That's what His infinite mercy is like. An ocean of mercy, and He calls us to immerse souls in it.

Today we attended the Divine Mercy program at our cathedral. This is always a beautiful gathering for Adoration, confession, chanting the chaplet at 3 o'clock, prayers, reflections, a homily and closing with Benediction. We arrived right at 3; the plan being the littles would conveniently nap (don't laugh). Kateri fell asleep on the way there but then woke up when I took her out of her car seat. She continued to fuss and cry and wrestle and scream for 45 minutes or so in the sling, completely inconsolable. I was really getting tired of pacing in the vestibule, trying to keep her quiet, and she was so tired and miserable. I am very grateful that God sent me an angel of mercy before the Hour was up- a kindhearted Maw Maw from Oklahoma who came to my assistance. She walked over to me and patted Kateri, who immediately settled down with her head on my shoulder, resting peacefully. Until Maw Maw left. So Maw Maw came back and stood next to me chatting in hushed tones for quite some time, all the while rubbing Kateri's back until she fell sound asleep. I made it inside just in time, last in line before Confessions ended! May God richly bless Maw Maw for her kindness.

A Little Disenchanted

Here is a thorough review of Enchanted (including spoilers). It does still seem like a wonderful story but there's a fair bit of icky stuff thrown in for, well, I don't know what for. Just wanted to clarify that we have not yet seen this movie, and you should check out all the details and see how they mesh with your family's movie standards.

You Just Never Know...

...where the blogosphere will lead you.

I just ordered our first animated Disney movie (besides Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition) , of course). Yes, my five daughters are so deprived they couldn't tell Belle from Jasmine from Mulan.

I couldn't either - I just looked those names up on the web. ;-)

But dear Mrs. Foss posted this delightful clip on her blog and Kateri was, well, Enchanted with it. She wouldn't fall asleep last night so the blog post in my head dissolved as we sat watching the lovely Giselle over and over. I clicked over to find this charming number and we watched that several times as well, and every time I found myself breaking out in a grin. Today Eliza danced along with the clips and asked for mess! mouse! again and again. Imagine, a movie where the only warning is about scary mice, and we surely are not afraid of mice.

So, sometime soon we will all be taking in all of this:

I am having too much fun teasing telling my children (especially the boys) they are going to watch a Disney princess movie. They do think I'm completely off my crumpet.

And I do hope no one noticed me singing and sashaying around the garage this morning, with a little jeté thrown in here and there.

A grand tip of the tiara to Elizabeth!

Edited to add: Please see my next post and read the comments on both posts for more information about this movie.

Easter 2008

We attended the Easter Vigil at our parish, and we were blessed to have the boys serving at the altar. Kateri was delighted with the flowers.

After a late night, Michael wandered downstairs at 7:30 on Easter morning, sleepy and bleary-eyed and startled to find this sight:

Jonathan was up and working on transposing the organ part of the trumpet voluntary he was going to play as a postlude after Mass. We were very blessed to have Jonathan play the organ for the Traditional Latin High Mass on this most splendid of feast days.

After feasting on our traditional Easter goodies we all enjoyed a most delicious nap. (Not all bliss is made of chocolate you know.)

A tip of the Easter Bonnet goes to Molly for inspiring our centerpiece:

 

It is so wonderful of our holy mother church to give us fifty days to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord. Forty days of Lenten penance and fasting may seem like a long time, but our scheduled time to rejoice is even longer! Like Father said this morning, it's so wonderful we don't want the party to end, so the church commands it to go on for fifty days, until the great feast of Pentecost.

We are happy to oblige.

Happy Easter from all of us to all of you!

He Is Risen!

Resurrexit sicut dixit!

Be sure to click over and read this: Easter Vigil, one year later from Et tu?.

And Happy 23 Years Later to my honey!

Blessed Easter to you all!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Deo Gratias, Alleluia!

What We're Doing Today

If you could peek in our door today you would find we are doing the same things we did last year.

(That's what makes it tradition.)

Our cross is in place.

The countdown to the Vigil has begun.

And if you didn't start the Divine Mercy Novena yesterday, you can still start it today and finish on Divine Mercy Sunday.

Hope you are enjoying this blessed time of final preparations!

Thankful Thursday: The Eucharist

On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper. We commemorate the Last Supper when Our Lord gave us the Eucharist and the holy priesthood. Thus begins the Sacred Triduum. We were blessed to have Jonathan playing organ for the Traditional Latin Mass this evening, and even the organ music ceased after the Gloria. No bells are used at the consecration, but are replaced by somber sounding wooden clappers. At the end of Mass the altar is stripped of its usual cloths and adornments. The Eucharist is taken to an altar of repose where the faithful may pray in silent adoration until midnight.

Traditionally the faithful visit these altars in various local churches, following Our Lord's call to stay awake and pray with Him.

 

We are able to get to five churches on this night - a tradition our family looks forward to with great anticipation.

 

 

We pray in silence as we contemplate the great sacrifice made for us, and also in thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist, Christ remaining with us even until the end of time.

 

Wordless Wednesday: Tenebrae

Pondering Parables

Cheryl has tagged me for the Favorite Parables meme. I didn't think I would blog during Holy Week but who can resist being asked to post about your favorite parables? Surely not I.

1. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Matthew 20:1-16

I love this parable because it so clearly shows the infinite mercy and generosity and wisdom of our God. We read this and our flesh cries out it's not fair! Even our intellect wants to rebel at the seeming injustice of it. But the ways of Our Lord are not our ways. We cannot fit His mercy and generosity into our little human thinking box of fairness. This parable is Our Lord's answer even today for those who do not know Him and think it's too late....I've ignored Him my whole life...I can't come to Him now when I need Him... I can't turn to Him now just because I'm sick and dying... This parable shows us that God's mercy and generosity and loving care are sufficient for all of us, no matter when we come to Him. He gives us a day's wages - that is all that we need for the day, our daily bread. Just come. No matter if the sun is setting, no matter what else you've been doing all day, no matter how the others who have been working hard all day make you feel. Just come.

2. The Parable of the Sower Matthew 13: 1-23

This familiar parable of the sower has so much to teach us. We all know people who have heard the Truth of the gospel and have reacted in the various ways described in the parable. Most of us at one time or another has played the various types of soil regarding different issues or revelations or things the Lord is trying to teach us in our lives. But the reason this parable is one of my favorites is the last line: But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty fold.  This is the line that gives me comfort in life in general and this Catholic homeschooling life in particular - the line that frees me from any temptation to compare myself to my sisters in this journey. The seed that fell on rich soil can bear thirty or sixty or a hundredfold. We can hear the word and bear fruit, but our 'produce' is not all going to be equal. We can all be faithful followers, good rich soil, but our fruit baskets are not necessarily going to all look alike and we should each be happy with what each one of us is equipped to produce.

3. The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Luke 13:6-9

I love this parable because it is such a beautiful example of God's care and patience and mercy. He tenderly cares for us and gives us what we need to be able to bear fruit that is pleasing to Him. Just as the gardener is reluctant to give up on the fig tree, Our Lord does not want to give up on us. On the contrary, He is willing to help us, whether it is by pruning, extra feeding, or just giving us more time. This story is also constant encouragement for us as parents if we are tempted to fret or judge our own little fig trees too soon.

4. The Parable of the Friend at Midnight Luke 11:5-13

This parable is the answer to all that we want in life. Just. Keep. Praying. Need more grace? More holiness? Running low on patience? Wisdom? Trust? Need to grow (or is it shrink?) in humility? The Lord will answer in His time. This parable more than any other shows the power of prayer - consistent, persistent prayer. He will answer if we keep asking. And asking.

5. The Parable of the Lost Sheep Luke 15

The parables of the lost sheep, coin and the prodigal are all presented together in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. They all are to teach us how happy the Lord is to go after us when we have gone astray, and Isaiah 53:6 tells us that would be all of us. Sometimes we are like the prodigal, and we come to our senses and can see our need to change and come to Him. It is the rumbling pit in the prodigal's stomach that makes him think of home and see how foolish he has been. Surely we all love the story of the prodigal. But I love even more the classic picture of Our Lord as the Good Shepherd rescuing the sheep stuck in the thicket. Sometimes we are like that sheep. We get ourselves into a perilous position and we are just stuck and we can't do a thing about it on our own. It's not always sin - it can be sadness or depression or lukewarmness or laziness or procrastination or busyness or fear or whatever that gets us stuck on the side of that cliff, away from Him. And even then, He comes to rescue us. He leaves all the others and comes to find us when we are lost. He comes right to the edge of the cliff, right up to the mess of the tangle of the thicket and He sets the lost sheep on His shoulders with great joy. All we have to do is let Him snatch us up and gently carry us home.

And those, dear friends, are my favorite parables. I'm looking forward to reading more of yours. If you are reading this, please consider yourself tagged. Wouldn't it be wonderful to find favorite parables on every blog you visit this week?!

Inch by Inch, Row by Row

A couple of decades ago I had a friend who was a wonderful gardener. She had a huge vegetable garden out in the yard and a house surrounded by lovely flower beds and beautiful landscaping. Mary would start many of her plants indoors, growing them from seed. I remember peering in amazement at her rows and rows of seedlings neatly planted in paper cups and tucked cozily inside those zippered plastic bags that blankets come in. She grew a wide variety of flowers and vegetables and was always trying new varieties.  She would say a seed packet only costs a dollar or two, so it's worth a try. I was a young newlywed living in an apartment at the time, but I knew I wanted to be just like Mary someday. I wanted to grow things.

I've been growing things for many years now and it never ceases to delight me. I love to plant my own seeds and watch in wonder as they grow. By starting my own seedlings I can start the gardening adventure months before it is time to plant anything outside. There is also a far greater variety of seeds available, and it is far less expensive to buy seeds than plants. If you've been reading here for any length of time you know I firmly believe that you can never have too many flowers. The same goes for tomatoes.

Seed starting is fairly straightforward and the children will surely love to help. I usually buy one of those gigantic bags of potting soil from the warehouse club and that usually gets me through the seeding season. You can buy seeds from the store, or from the numerous seed catalogs available. You can plant your seeds in just about any kind of container as long as you make drainage holes in the bottom. Some options include: fancy seed starting trays with individual cells and humidity domes, peat pots, or any type of small household container(like cupcakes or tomatoes). We have an infinite supply of yogurt cups (Eliza lives on La Creme) so I'm using those a lot this year. You can start off by sowing seeds in a 'flat' - a lot of seeds scattered in one large common container, such as a cut off milk jug. Then when the seeds have sprouted and the seedlings are getting their true leaves you can transplant them to individual containers. Some plants such as the curcurbit family (squash, cucumbers, melons) don't like to have their roots disturbed and are very sensitive - these types should be directly sown into individual containers. Individual peat pots are good in this case as you just bury the whole pot and don't need to disturb the roots at all.

The seed packets will tell you when it's time to plant the seeds in relation to the last frost date for your area. For example, most flowers and vegetables will tell you to sow them indoors 6-8 weeks before the last expected frost date for your location. I usually start things a few weeks earlier than the packets say to get a good head start on the growing (and because I can't wait!). In general the smaller the seed the earlier you start it, with the giants like squash and melons and cosmos only needing a couple of weeks start indoors. Follow the directions on the package for the correct depth to sow - some seeds need light to germinate and some need darkness. Some like it warm and some like it cool.

Place your pots in a sunny window and keep them moist but not soggy. You can use plastic wrap or place the pots in the abovementioned zippered plastic bags to keep the humidity level high. Once they sprout you can leave off the plastic. I so enjoy growing seeds that I delight in checking over my myriads of cups every day, peeking to see who's 'up', how the sprouting rates look, is there anybody stuck with a seed coat on it's head that needs a little nudge. The little ones love to keep the plants well misted, attacking tending them several times a day with the sprayer.

I always like to transplant my tomatoes and peppers. See how leggy they look? I re-plant the seedlings in individual cups, burying their stems right up to the lowest leaves. This way the plant will grow roots all along the buried stem, and a larger root system makes for a larger, stronger, healthier plant.

I will transplant them again when they grow tall and spindly again, using the large Solo party cups for their final home before the garden. When I plant them out in the garden I also 'sink their stems' once again, removing the lower leaves and planting them deep to allow for greater root development. You can get an infinite supply of cardboard boxes from your warehouse club to use as trays - just line them with plastic grocery bags to make them waterproof. Extra seedlings can be shared  with friends and neighbors.

When it is close to outdoor planting time you need to 'harden off' your coddled seedlings. This means you have to gradually expose them to the outdoor elements (sun, cold, wind, rain...) and give them time to get acclimated to the great outdoors. Start with just a couple of hours, and each day increase the length of time spent outdoors. Take about five days to do this, allowing them to sit outside overnight at the end. It's also good to transplant them outside on an overcast, mild day to make their transition easiest.

We all enjoy these little garden traditions, and who can resist the opportunity to play in the dirt in the kitchen? The first whiffs of the tomato seedlings on our hands are a delightful enticement for the goodness to come. Some of our favorite tomato varieties are Juliet, yellow pears, and the heirlooms Aunt Ruby's German Green, Brandywine and (Prince) Caspian Pink.

Since we will be putting in new gardens this year Michael surprised me with two new gardening books for Valentine's Day. He picked these out himself and they are both proving to be delightful treasures, full of beautiful inspirational photos and practical information. I have enjoyed perusing their lushness and dreaming of big things to come.

Some favorite seed sources: The Cook's Garden, Park Seed, Jung Seed.

Happy gardening!

Priceless

Some recent treasures I want to remember-

Kateri found a small figurine of Our Risen Lord in front of an empty cross and called it "Happy Jesus". She's well-catechized for a not-quite-two-year-old, no?

When I told Lydia my old bones were achy she promptly retorted that I should go out to a Kentucky bluegrass pasture and not race again for six months.

Mary Rose has got her life all figured out. She declared, I can divide my life into little pieces. I can be an author until I'm eleven. Then I can be an artist from twelve to fifteen. How old do I have to be to be a Carmelite? I said I thought about twenty. Hmmm...she pondered. What can I be from fifteen to twenty? I know! I'll be a cook. I'll cook for you starting when I'm sixteen until I'm nineteen, then I'll be a Carmelite. And then I'll be an old lady, but I'll still be a nun. What a plan.

Our Suzuki tape has bit the dust so Jonathan thoughtfully decided to make a new recording for his little sisters. The sight of him sitting and working his way through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Honeybee, The Cuckoo etc. etc. was absolutely priceless. Everyone came to peek in wonder through the window of the music room to see why Jonathan had abandoned the Waldstein for Go Tell Aunt Rhody.

Eliza frequently amuses us with her well-intended but misguided signs at Mass. During the creed she signs 'pay attention' for resurrection, 'butterfly' for glorified, and 'whiskers' for scripture. Don't tell Rachel. At least she has stopped signing 'peas' at the sign of peace. Progress! (and you should hear how nicely she sings the Agnus Dei - dona nobis paaaaaa-cem!)

And if I've heard any good tidbits from the other two lately I can't remember them. Which is why I'm writing these down. ;-)

The Hiding Place

We recently finished reading The Hiding Place. It felt like visiting with an old friend whom I hadn't seen for a long time- I knew all of the stories she would tell and the things she would say but it was a delight to sit down and hear them all over again.  The book tells the story of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch watchmaker who ended up in a concentration camp after being arrested for helping Jews escape from the Nazis. The book describes the life of this family with the faith so solid that the ravages of Ravensbruck only served to strengthen it.

The story starts off with a delightful and delicious description of the watch shop's hundredth birthday party. I've read this book so many times I can practically smell the coffee alongside Nollie's buttery cookies and hear the little ker-plinks of five sugar lumps dropping into Pickwick's coffee cup. I can picture all the rooms and squeaks and creaks of the Beje and its twisted stairways. I can smell Eusie's pipe and Betsie's soup and I can see the little Alpina triangle in the window. In my head I can hear Peter playing the piano and the bicycle wheels turning to power the headlamp and Mary Itallie's wheezing. I know all the characters so well in my mind - practical Corrie and her beloved Betsie, who could 'make a party out of three potatoes and some twice-used tea leaves'. Dear Father, so kind and gentle and wise and faithful. I love them all dearly. The stories are so familiar to me that they form a standard repertoire of object lessons in my mind, frequently called upon for their wisdom and nail-on-the-head accuracy for so many situations in life. The traveling case, the train ticket, the broken heart, the fleas. Oh, the beauty of the fleas.

So much of what we want in life is beautifully portrayed, like a lavish feast to be savored, in the stories in this book. How to love beauty. How to choose joy. How to know and love God's word so deeply that it flows in you and all you do, giving life as it courses through you. Trust. Love. Forgiveness. Unselfishness. That I Thessalonians 5:18 really is the secret to all joy and happiness. That I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me finally becomes real when we are faced with something we Absolutely. Can. Not. Do. And then we let Him do it through us. Grace. Encouragement. Little gifts from the Father's hand to give us a glimpse of His tender, loving care for us. Knowing Truth really does set us free.

Lent is a good time to re-read this book and reflect on the darkness of this life on earth and how we are called to be light. As Holy Week approaches and I contemplate the cross I marvel at the mystery that we are invited to enter into suffering with Him, and some of us greatly so. Suffering takes us right to the cross, right to Him - if we let it. It is through suffering that we are most intimately and expediently united with Him. 

I want Him to always be my hiding place.

Wordless Wednesday: Passiontide

Good St. Joseph

As Elizabeth and Kristen (and do click over to read of this family's beautiful devotion to this great saint) have reminded us, today is the day to start the novena to St. Joseph in anticipation of his feast day, celebrated on March 15th this year. The entire month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph, a good time for praying the beautiful Litany of St. Joseph. One of St. Joseph's titles mentioned in the litany is Guardian of Virgins, as he was the protector and caretaker of Our Lady. It is for this reason that each year on the feast of St. Joseph I entrust each of my children to good St. Joseph and ask him to be the protector of their purity. I also ask that St. Joseph intercede for their future spouses, that they too may be kept spotless and pure. St. Joseph is also known as the Head of the Holy Family, and I ask him to be head of our family and to help us grow in holiness.

St. Joseph is also patron of the dying, and as such I pray and exhort my family to pray to him for a happy death. Years ago it was common for people to pray for protection from a sudden death, whereupon one may perish unprepared. Though it is not often spoken of today, it is a good and wise practice to pray for a happy death. We pray to St. Joseph for a good death - in the state of grace, for our loved ones to be prepared and to have the opportunity to say goodbye, to have others calling upon God's mercy and praying for us, and to receive the sacraments at the time of death.

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector
of thy chaste spouse, the virgin Mother of God, I choose thee this day to
be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor thee all
the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy
client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction,
to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus,
and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen

   

Wordless Wednesday: Fine Motor Skills

Lamb of a Day

It was 63 in the shade today.

Lesson plans consisted of Mass and math followed by making vitamin D.

I want to remember Kateri's delight at looking up, up at

the blue, blue, blueness while soaking up the sunshine.

I want to remember the children basking.

It was a day so glorious, the sunshine so unusual, that they even got big brother to abandon his giant textbooks and grab a cloak and come out and play.

I want to remember the sight of robes flying in the glinting sun. I want to remember their feet covered in mud, their cheeks and noses flushed pink, the wisps of hair escaped from braids to fly free.

I want to savor the sight of them all together, playing. I want to remember the sound of the bugle.

I reckon they'll remember too.

 

Halftime Joy!

Today is Laetare Sunday!
I confess we've been calling it Pink Day, as the church's liturgical color for the day is rose. Everyone has been looking forward to this little foretaste of the upcoming joy of celebrating the Resurrection. Someone here mentioned cake and Jonathan turned this sweet little rumor into a scrumptious blueberry coffee cake. We enjoyed it at afternoon tea and Jonathan explained there is still a piece left for everyone this evening so we can finish it off before tomorrow.

We have decided to become a little more austere in our sacrifices for the remainder of Lent as we draw nearer to holy week. We are halfway through this time of penance and preparation, and it's a good time to take stock of how we are doing. How can we do better? Can we sacrifice more? Can we pray more and serve each other better? Can we abandon more of our self-centeredness and stretch more towards holiness? If we are not pleased with how we have been doing we can still redeem the rest of this time.

I have long loved the words of today's reading from Ephesians:

Brothers and sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore, it says:

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

Hope your day was a joyous one!

My Saturday Night

So the five older children went out with Dad to the symphony and I'm left home with the littles. After trying in vain to get the floor mopped, I gave in to Eliza's begging for 'animal song', her current favorite ditty. But after four plays I needed a little diversity, so I searched for 'children', hoping to find another video that would please Eliza. But instead I found this. Have you ever gotten sucked into You Tube (do be careful visiting there)? You know how one song can instantly transport you, whirring you helplessly back through the decades and you find it's kind of fun to hang around back there just for a bit.  Didn't Danielle recently remind us what it's like to Feel the Music? So I listened to this and then this (Harry would have liked homeschoolers, no?). I figured, everyone else was out enjoying music. So I indulged in some of this and this (Jonathan used to bang on a toy piano while his parents listened to that sort of thing.) By then everyone came home and Michael and I enjoyed going back to our dorm rooms and listening to quite a bit of Joni, because after all, that's where we started. I always used to love this picture of a cheery, joyful morning full of love and sunshine. We don't always have rainbows on the wall, but the sun does pour in like butterscotch and we have milk and toast and honey. And a bowl of oranges too. And so very, very much more.

Ah, music.

Edited to add: Just one more. This one's for Maria, my college roommate and maid-of-honor who I think might even read my blog.;-)