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Family Centered Cesarean & Surgery Info

by Filed Under: Cesarean, Pregnancy, VBAC Leave a Comment

And in these moments, a C-section mama must hold onto the strong and fierce love she has for her baby. She lets fear wash over her… and then she lets it drift away. She knows that in this moment, this is what is best for her child, even though “what’s best” means a major surgery with real wounds and scars.” ~Monet Moutrie

 

This is a draft of a Family-Centered Cesarean Birth Plan.

CONFIDENTIAL VBS CSECTION BIRTH PLAN – Sample

 

 

~~~

 

I’m sharing what has been given to me in prep for my c-section on May 8. Our Lady of Grace, ora pro nobis. This info and supplies were given to me 5 weeks prior to my csection, after I received final approval of my family-centered cesarean birth plan.

***This info is not to replace your own medical directions but merely to share what is being done elsewhere in the country.

——
This is the email that was sent to me about 4.5 weeks prior to my scheduled birth.

Hi Lena,
I have scheduled your Cesarean Birth as requested by Dr. J—. We are so very happy that you have chosen ——– as the place to have your baby and want to help make it a wonderful experience. I’ve included some important information about your special day. Let us know if you have any questions. Congratulations!
Warmly,
——– CNM

Your cesarean section has been scheduled for
May 8th at 09:30 AM!

Please arrive to check in no later than 07:30 AM

Important things to do:

Beginning 1 week before your cesarean section, do not shave or wax your legs, underarms, or the pubic area

The day before your surgery:

Please go to the lab to complete the necessary pre-operative labs your doctor has ordered

The night prior to your surgery:

One of our Labor and Delivery nurses will be calling you around 7PM to confirm your appointment with us and address any questions or concerns you may have regarding your appointment or preparation for it
Please shower or bathe and shampoo your hair
One hour after your shower, use one package of antiseptic wipes (“SAGE”, Chlorhexidine or “CHG”) provided by your clinician’s office per the instructions given. Note there are 2 wipes per package.
Do not use lotions, moisturizers or cosmetics
Brush and floss your teeth 2-3 times per day
You may eat solid foods up to 8 hours before your scheduled arrival time

The morning of your surgery:

Stop eating solid foods 8 hours before your scheduled arrival time
First thing in the morning, repeat antiseptic wipe using the remaining package (SAGE)
Brush and floss teeth, use mouthwash
Do not use lotions, moisturizers or cosmetics
Wear clean underwear and clothing
Drink carbohydrate beverages up until 2 hours before your scheduled arrival time. If you have diabetes, drink only non-carbohydrate liquids

*While we do our best to stay on time with surgeries, due to unforeseen circumstances your anticipated surgery time may be adjusted.

Please don’t hesitate to call Labor and Delivery at (—) — – MOMS (6667) should you have any additional questions or concerns.
We look forward to caring for both you and your baby.
——— CNM

  • http://www.healthjourneys.com/kaiser/download/download_successfulSurgery.asp?kp_shortcut_referrer=kp.org%2Fsurgerypodcast
  • http://www.healthjourneys.com/kaiser/easePain_flash.asp?kp_shortcut_referrer=kp.org/easepainpodcast
  • https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/mdo/presentation/common/healthToolPage.jsp?path=healthtool_560569.xml
  • https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/pregnancy/index.html#/weekly-content/trimester/3

Lenten Calendar 2017

by Filed Under: Lent, Lent 2017, Lenten Calendar 6 Comments

Almighty God! I unite myself at the beginning of this holy season of penance with the Church militant, endeavoring to make these days of real sorrow for my sins and crucifixion of the sensual man. O Lord Jesus! in union with Thy fasting and passion, I offer Thee my fasting in obedience to the Church, for Thy honor, and in thanksgiving for the many favors I have received, in satisfaction for my sins and the sins of others, and that I may receive the grace to avoid such and such a sin, N. N. and to practice such and such a virtue, N. N.

Lent begins on March 1 this year!  I hope this calendar helps you get a jumpstart on your Lenten journey.

This Lenten Calendar follows the Traditional Calendar (1962) of the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy with some Historical (H) feast days noted. It extends from Shrove Tuesday to Easter Sunday.

We only celebrate First Class Feasts during Lent.  The other saints are included for private devotion and will be called upon for intercessory prayers. 

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I print my calendar at Costco Photo in 16×20 ($6.99) for our family altar display and 11×14 ($3.99) or 8×10 ($1.49) for my children upstairs.  The calendar can also be printed at an office store or at home.

  • You may download and print the calendar for your personal use.
  • You may also link to this post but please do not link directly to the file download.
  • Email me at JOYfilledfamily{at}gmail{dot}com if you need my assistance.  

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Click the image to download the calendar jpeg file or the box link for the PDF version.

 

 

O most benign Jesus! who didst so desire to suffer for us, grant, that we may willingly suffer for love of Thee; that we may hate and flee from the detestable pleasures of the world and the flesh, and practice penance and mortification, that by so doing we may merit to be released from our spiritual blindness to love Thee more and more ardently, and finally possess Thee forever.

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2017 Lenten Calendar Guide

  • The bottom portion of each day represents the feasts and ferias proper to the season for the Extraordinary Form
  • Saints listed without notation are from the Extraordinary Form liturgy
  • Saints listed with (H) are from the Historical calendar
  • Each saint featured with a picture is identified by the name immediately above the image
  • This calendar is the work of a lay Catholic for one’s personal observance of Lent and private devotions

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Resources for Children:

 

Lenten Resources:

 

Lenten Plan {Printable}

by Filed Under: Lent, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

But if there be one Season of the Year more than another in which the Faithful ought to reflect upon what is taught us both by faith and experience, as to the existence and workings of the wicked spirits,—it is undoubtedly this of Lent, when it is our duty to consider what have been the causes of our last sins, what are the spiritual dangers we have to fear for the future, and what means we should have recourse to for preventing a relapse.”    ~The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Gueranger concerning the Season of Lent

Here is a simple printable that we use for the Lenten & Advent seasons.  It serves as a tool to help us stay committed to our Lenten plans.  We sit down as a family to discern and finalize our family Lenten Program.  Then Dad sits with each child to discuss what they want to offer Jesus and how they are desiring to grow in virtue during the Lenten season.

This year’s family Lenten program will be focused on the Nineveh 90 Challenge, in preparation for the 100th Anniversary of Fatima.

The daily section is designed to list the commitments to be done at least 3x per week.  While the weekly section is reserved for those commitments that change from week-to-week in Lent or must be performed only 1-2x per week.

I print 2 copies/page times the number of weeks in the Lenten season/Nineveh 90 Challenge for each child.  You could also laminate and use a wet erase pen.  A full sheet is printed each week for the master family list.  A child rotates the weekly duty of leading us in our Lenten program and checking off the items for the day/week.  This shifts the accountability and gives each child another opportunity to grow in virtue.

Having shared all that, there is no one way to use this printable.  You are free to use this printable as you see fit for your own personal use and share.

Dearly beloved Brethren: you know that the day of Scrutiny, when our elect are to receive the holy instruction, is at hand. We invite you, therefore, to be zealous and assemble on N., (here, the day was mentioned) at the hour of Sext [the sixth hour of the day]; that so we may be able, by the divine aid, to achieve without error, the heavenly mystery, whereby is opened the gate of the kingdom of heaven, and the devil is excluded with all his pomps.”  ~ The Roman Sacramentary of St. Gelasius

 

This Lenten season, we pray for a complete transformation, total abandonment to God’s will, with child-like trust in His fatherly care, and readiness for service in profound humility after the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

We also pray that your Lenten journey be all that the good Lord wills for you and that you may joyfully cooperate with His grace.

+Ad Jesum Per Mariam+

Advent Plans 2016

by Filed Under: 12 December, Advent Leave a Comment

The focus of Advent is preparation for the coming of the Lord — both in commemoration of His Nativity and His coming again at the end of time… The Christmas season does not begin until the first Mass at Christmas Eve, and doesn’t end liturgically until the Octave of the Epiphany on January 14. It goes on in the spiritual sense until Candlemas on February 2, when all celebrations of Christ’s Childhood give way to Septuagesima and Lent.

 

Advent: advent-calendar-and-plans

 

Christkindl {Christ Child}

by Filed Under: 12 December, Advent, Christkindl Leave a Comment

The beautiful thing about this particular custom is that the relationship is a reciprocal one. The person whose name I have drawn and who is under my care becomes for me the helpless little Christ Child in the manger; and as I am performing these many little acts of love and consideration for someone in the family I am really doing them for the Infant of Bethlehem, according to the word, “And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.” That is why this  particular person turns into “my Christkindl.” At the same time I am the “Christkindl” also for the one I am caring for because I want to imitate the Holy Child and render all those little services in the same spirit as He did in that small house of Nazareth, when as a child He served His Mother and His foster father with a similar love and devotion.                                                                                                                             

~ Around the Year with the TRAPP FAMILY

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This is such a simple tradition but it provides a beautiful and joyful anticipation within our home as we prepare for Jesus Christ.   Each child gets a checklist to help them stay accountable (see printable link at the end of the post).  The numbered boxes represents a day in Advent (this year Advent starts on Nov. 27) to Christmas Day.  
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Here is how it works!
INSTRUCTIONS:
  1. Write names of all family members on pieces of paper. *
  2. Place all family member’s names (on folded paper for secrecy) in a container.
  3. Take turns drawing a name.  The person whose name one has drawn in now in one’s special care.
  4. From this day  (Start of Advent) until Christmas, one has to do as many little favors for him or her as one can.
  5. One has to provide at least one surprise every single day — but without ever being found out. Use the printable Christkindl checklist for accountability.
*Adjust who is included in your Christkndl as it works best for your family.  For families that are smaller, include other distant family or friends.  One could even adopt a neighbor, single or windowed parishioner, etc..
This creates a wonderful atmosphere of joyful suspense, kindness, and thoughtfulness. Perhaps you will find that somebody has made your bed or shined your shoes or has informed you, in a disguised handwriting on a holy card, that “a rosary has been said for you today” or a number of sacrifices have been offered up. This new relationship is called “Christkindl” (Christ Child) in the old country, where children believe that the Christmas tree and the gifts under it are brought down by the Christ Child himself.
Get your printable at the link below, share freely!  I’d love to hear about your family’s experience with Christkindl or other favorite family traditions.
christkndl-printable
Print as a single page or 2 copies per page

Advent Plan {Printable}

by Filed Under: 12 December, Advent Leave a Comment

If our holy mother the Church spends the time of Advent in this solemn preparation for the threefold coming of Jesus Christ; if, after the example of the prudent virgins, she keeps her lamp lit ready for the coming of the Bridegroom; we, being her members and her children, ought to enter into her spirit, and apply to ourselves this warning of our Saviour: ‘Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands, and ye yourselves be like unto men who wait for their Lord!’ [St. Luke xii. 35, 36]. ~Dom Prosper Guéranger

advent-plan-printable-2016-joyfilledfamily

We observe a “mini-Lent” throughout Advent, a “Lent” with a joyful Alleluia.

It is evident, from what we have said, that Advent is a season specially devoted to the exercises of what is called the purgative life, which is implied in that expression of St. John, so continually repeated by the Church during this holy time: Prepare ye the way of the Lord! Let all, therefore, strive earnestly to make straight the path by which Jesus will enter into their souls. Let the just, agreeably to the teaching of the apostle, forget the things that are behind [Phil. iii. 13], and labour to acquire fresh merit. Let sinners begin at once and break the chains which now enslave them. Let them give up those bad habits which they have contracted. Let them weaken the flesh, and enter upon the hard work of subjecting it to the spirit. Let them, above all things, pray with the Church. And when our Lord comes, they may hope that He will not pass them by, but that He will enter and dwell within them; for He spoke of all when He said these words: ‘Behold I stand at the gate and knock: if any man shall hear My voice will open to Me the door, I will come in unto him.’ [Apoc. ii. 20].  ~The Liturgical Year, by Dom Prosper Guéranger

Our days are not perfect but we seek to persevere in daily prayers, spiritual readings, and almsgiving – all in joyful waiting and desire to prepare our hearts for the coming of JESUS CHRIST.

Below is a printable that we use to help us along our Advent journey.  You’re invited to use it as it best suits your family and Advent plans.

advent-plan-joyfilledfamily

advent-printable

May you have a holy and fruitful Advent.

advent-printable

For a more complete planner system – check out our Advent Planner.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

by Filed Under: 11 November Saints, Marian, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Leave a Comment

Hail Mary, in your presentation! As a pure Host of Abandon. O Virgin and Mother, by this mystery give me devotion. ~Saint Louis de Montfort

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THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

November 21

GREATER DOUBLE / WHITE
An ancient tradition holds that Our Lady was conducted by her parents to the Temple at Jerusalem to be consecrated entirely to God when she was three years old. This meeting of the ancient Temple of God and the new “Temple of the Savior” reminds us of the continuity between the Old Law and the New. For Mary, the Mother of God’s new People, was the personification and completion of all that was good in the Old Testament. Her Magnificat shows that she was steeped in the Scriptures and Law of her fathers: Even as He spoke to our fathers — to Abraham and to his posterity forever”(St. Luke 1:55).

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Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin

The Blessed Virgin was presented in the temple at Jerusalem by her pious parents, Joachim and Ann, there to be educated in the service and the law of the Lord in order that she might be guarded against the defilements of the world. From this we learn: nov-21-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-reflection

  • Joachim and Ann offered to the Lord their only and most beloved child, and gave her up entirely to His service. Great as the sacrifice was, they yet made it. The preservation of the innocence of their daughter was to them above all else. Parents, God requires of you that you should not merely offer your children to Him in the temple, but that you should take care to keep them pure and holy, as living temples which have been consecrated in Baptism.
  • Mary gives and dedicates herself to God as soon as she is capable of serving Him, and that without any reservation, for all time, and irrevocably. When, then, shall we give ourselves in earnest to God? True, we have been given to Him in holy Baptism, we have been consecrated as His temples, we have renounced the devil and the world, we have vowed to live only for God, and this vow we have, perhaps, often renewed; but have we kept it? What we gave with one hand, have we not taken it away with the other? Have we not defiled the temple of our hearts by shameful lusts, lived for the world and vanity more than for God? Ah, when shall we give ourselves up to God sincerely and forever? Perhaps when we are old! But will God accept our offering then? Will He be pleased that we begin to serve Him only when we can no longer serve the world? that we first begin to live for Him when our life is soon to cease? No; God is a jealous Lord, and is not pleased with a heart divided between Him and creatures. He requires us to love Him with all our heart and all our soul, and to serve Him with all our powers. Let us, then, do this, and do it from our youth; let us keep ourselves in body and soul undefiled for the Lord; such love, and such love only, will He reward as perfect.

Prayer

O God, Who wast pleased that the blessed Mary, ever virgin, the habitation of the Holy Ghost, should on this day be presented in the temple, grant, we beseech Thee, that by her intercession we may deserve to be presented in the temple of Thy glory. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Epistle: Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16

From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before Him. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God His inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

Gospel: Luke 11:27, 28

And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifting up her voice said to Him: Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck. But He said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.

Explanation

By His answer Jesus would have us understand that His Mother was not to be blessed merely because she bore Him, the Son of God, but rather because she at all times endeavored to keep the word of God in her heart and to observe it in her life. If you would be blessed, learn to be not only a hearer, but a doer, of the word of God.

 

~Goffine’s Devout Instructions

 

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Image credit: Presentation of Mary by Titian, 1538. Public Domain via Wikimedia.

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to God, His divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some among the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the Temple, to be brought up in quarters attached to the Temple, attending the priests and Levites in their sacred ministry. There were special divisions in these lodgings for the women and children dedicated to the divine service. (III Kings 6:5-9) We have examples of this special consecration of children in the person of Samuel, for example. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is very probable that the holy prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who witnessed the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, as we read in the second chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke (verses 25 ff.) had known His Mother as a little girl in the Temple and observed her truly unique sanctity.

It is an ancient and very trustworthy tradition that the Blessed Virgin was thus solemnly offered in the Temple to God at the age of three by Her parents, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. The Gospel tells us nothing of the childhood of Mary; Her title Mother of God, eclipses all the rest. Where, better than in the Temple, could Mary be prepared for Her mission? Twelve years of recollection and prayer, contemplation and sufferings, were the preparation of the chosen one of God. The tender soul of Mary was adorned with the most precious graces and became an object of astonishment and praise for the holy Angels, as well as of the highest complacency for the adorable Trinity. The Father looked upon Her as His beloved Daughter, the Son as One set apart and prepared to become His Mother, and the Holy Ghost as His undefiled Spouse.

Here is how Mary’s day in the Temple was apportioned, according to Saint Jerome. From dawn until nine in the morning, She prayed; from 9:00 until 3:00 She applied Herself to manual work; then She turned again to prayer. She was always the first to undertake night watches, the One most applied to study, the most fervent in the chanting of Psalms, the most zealous in works of charity, the purest among the virgins, Her companions, the most perfect in the practice of every virtue. On this day She appears as the standard-bearer for Christian virginity: after Her will come countless legions of virgins consecrated to the Lord, both in the shadow of the altars or engaged in the charitable occupations of the Church in the world. Mary will be their eternal Model, their dedicated Patroness, their sure guide on the paths of perfection.

Reflection: The consecration of Mary to God presented all the conditions of the most perfect sacrifice: it was prompt, generous, joyous, unregretted, without reservation. How agreeable it must have been to God! May our consecration of ourselves to God be made under Her patronage, assisted by Her powerful intercession and united with Her ineffable merits.

~Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950); Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

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Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to the divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some amongst the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the temple, to be lodged in apartments belonging to the temple, and brought up in attending the priests and Levites in the sacred ministry. It is an ancient tradition, that the Blessed Virgin Mary was thus solemnly offered to God in the temple in her infancy. This festival of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, the Church celebrates this day. The tender soul of Mary was then adorned with the most precious graces, an object of astonishment and praise to the angels, and of the highest complacence to the adorable Trinity; the Father looking upon her as His beloved daughter, the Son as one chosen and prepared to become His mother, and the Holy Ghost as His darling spouse. Mary was the first who set up the standard of virginity; and, by consecrating it by a perpetual vow to our Lord, she opened the way to all virgins who have since followed her example.

Reflection – Mary’s first presentation to God was an offering most acceptable in His sight. Let our consecration of ourselves to God be made under her patronage, and assisted by her powerful intercession and the union of her merits.

 

~Pictorial Lives of the Saints with Reflections for Every Day in the Year, a compiled from “Butler’s Lives” and other Approved Sources

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When she was only three years old, the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem by her holy parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne.  Mary’s whole life was to belong to God because He had chosen her to be the Mother of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Blessed Virgin was happy to begin serving God in the Temple of Jerusalem, even though she had to leave her dear father and mother.  And St. Joachim and St. Anne were content to offer their saintly little girl to God, for they knew that He had sent her to them.

In the Temple, the High Priest received the child Mary among the maidens who were dedicated to prayer and the service of the Temple.  He kissed and blessed the holy child, seeing that the Lord had great plans for her.  Then he set her down upon the altar step.  Mary did not weep or turn back to her parents.  She came so happily to the altar that everyone in the Temple loved her at once.

St. Joachim and St. Anne went back home, praising God for their blessed daughter.  And  Mary remained in the Temple, where she grew more beautiful and holy every year.  She spent her days in loving God, reading the Bible, praying and serving the priests of the Temple.  She made beautiful linens and splendid vestments, and was loved by all the other young girls because she was so kind.  In doing each of her duties well, to please God, the Blessed Virgin Mary gained immense grace and gave glory to the Lord.

~ Every morning I will offer myself to God with my whole heart. ~

                                                          ~ Saints for Young People, Imprimatur 1963

~~~

RESOURCES:

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

by Filed Under: 11 November, 11 November Saints, Patron Saint, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Leave a Comment

“How can I, a wretched creature, continue to wear a crown of earthly dignity, when I see my King Jesus Christ crowned with thorns?” ~St. Elizabeth of Hungary

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Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Widow
(1207-1231)

November 19

Daughter of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth was taken at the age of four to the castle of her future husband, Louis IV, Duke of Thuringia, who was then eleven. The pair grew up together, loved each other deeply, and were married in 1221. During their brief married life, Elizabeth extended her ceaseless charity toward the needy and the sick of the kingdom. After Louis had joined Emperor Frederick II on the Fifth Crusade, he caught the plague at Otranto and died. His uncle drove Elizabeth and her three children from the court in midwinter. After she had suffered great hardships, the Duke’s companions returned from the Crusade and she was restored. Her children provided for, Elizabeth became a Franciscan tertiary. She died at the age of 24.

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St. Elizabeth of Hungary on All Saints Day 2010

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St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Landgravine of Hesse and Thuringia
(by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876)

St. Elizabeth, a model of devotion and purity to those who live singly, a mirror of love and retirement for married people, a most perfect example of patience for widows, and whose virtues deserve to be followed by all, high and low, was born in Hungary. She was a daughter of Andrew II., King of Hungary, and of Gertrude, daughter of the Duke of Carinthia. According to the Roman Breviary, Elizabeth began in early childhood to fear God, and increased in piety with age. The walk she loved best of all was going to church, where she prayed with angelic devotion, and whence it was a difficult task to bring her home, as her greatest delight consisted in praying. At the door of the church, she always took off the jewelled coronet which she wore, and when asked why she did this, she replied: “God forbid that I should ever appear with such a crown before the face of Him who was crowned with thorns, and who, out of love for me, was nailed to the cross.” She called Mary, the divine Mother, her mother, and entertained great devotion towards St. John, the Apostle and Evangelist, whom she chose as the special protector of her chastity. She never refused what was asked of her in the name of the Blessed Virgin or in that of St. John. The money allotted to her for her recreation, she gave to the poor, requesting them to say the Ave Maria. She was an enemy to luxury, vain adornments and idleness. Nature had not only bestowed upon her unusual personal beauty, but had also endowed her with great qualities of mind.

In obedience to her parents, she gave her hand to Louis, Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia, and lived with him in continual harmony, her conduct being as blameless in the married state as it had been during her maidenhood. She gave one hour every night to prayer, and spent the day in attendance at the divine service in the church, in devout reading and in working for the poor. She always treated her husband with love and respect, and was a model of all virtues to her subjects. She watched over her domestics with a most careful eye, in order that they might lead a Christian life ; but took always a mother’s interest in seeing that their wages were punctually paid. She herself carried to the church the princes and princesses to whom she gave birth; and it was her custom, on these occasions to lay a rich offering on the Altar, and to give abundant alms to the poor. Under her royal robes, she continually wore a garment of hair-cloth.

For the sick and the forsaken she had more than a mother’s care and solicitude. She erected a hospital in which she nursed the sick and sheltered orphans; besides feeding nine hundred poor people, every day, at the palace, and sending alms to the dwellings of those who were ashamed to beg. She also visited the sick in their houses, and served them most tenderly even when they were leprous. She kissed their hands and feet, and encouraged them to patience. Never did a poor person leave her without receiving alms, and more than once, when she had no money with her, she gave away the veil from her head. She did not hesitate even to mend the clothes of the needy, and during a severe famine, gave all her corn to the sufferers. In one word, she did not neglect anything that Christian charity could do; so that she was universally called the mother of the poor.

There were at court many who, on account of her great charity, laughed at and derided her; some even accused her of extravagance. Elizabeth, however, did not allow herself to be diverted from her deeds of kindness, and the Landgrave dismissed her accusers with indignation, probably because he perceived that the more charitable his spouse was, the more he was blessed with temporal goods. Hence he not only abstained from disturbing her in her kind deeds, but assisted her in them as long as he lived. He ended his life in a crusade, in which he joined with several other Christian princes in order to conquer the Holy Land from the infidels. Elizabeth grieved deeply when the news of his death reached her, but submitted to the will of the Almighty, saying: “It is known to Thee, O my God, that I loved no one on this earth more than my husband; not only because he was my husband, but also because he loved Thee with his whole heart. But as it has pleased Thee to call him, I am well contented with Thy holy will; and if I could, against Thy decree, raise him from the dead by reciting one Pater Noster, I would not do it. I only beg of Thee to give him eternal peace, and bestow upon me the grace to serve Thee faithfully until the end of my days.” After this heroic submission to the will of God, she caused many masses and prayers to be said for the deceased, gave large alms to the poor, divested herself of her royal robes, and, though but twenty years old, she vowed to live in chaste widowhood for the rest of her days.

It pleased the Almighty to try His zealous handmaid most painfully. The nobility made the brother of the deceased Landgrave regent, and accused the holy princess of having impoverished the state by her charity to the poor. Under this pretext, they deprived her of all her possessions, and banished her from the Court, with three children, a son and two daughters. Her former vassals, fearing to draw upon themselves the disfavor of the new government, durst not give her lodgings. Even the hospitals, which she herself had founded, were closed against her. Hence she had to lodge mostly in a stable and to live on the bread she begged. In such unexpected and more than painful circumstances, St. Elizabeth showed a truly heroic, and, to the children of the world, incomprehensible strength and patience. She complained to no one of the injustice of the nobility, not even to her royal father, who was still living; but rejoiced that she could suffer for the love of God. After the first night of her banishment, she went to the Church of the Franciscans and requested them to sing the “Te Deum,” or “Great God! we praise thee,” to give thanks to God for the sorrows with which He had visited her.

The wrongs and outrages which the holy princess suffered, besides her banishment, can hardly be described. An old woman, who had formerly received clothing and nourishment from St. Elizabeth, dared to push her into a pool of stagnant water, in the street, abusing her at the same time most shamefully, for not having immediately made way for her. This outrage aroused not in the least the wrath of the holy princess; she quietly raised herself out of the pool, cleansed her garments, and offered herself to the Almighty for more suffering. God did not fail to comfort His handmaid in her adversity. Christ appeared to her, during her prayers, encouraged her, and promised never to abandon her. After some time, through her father’s influence, a dwelling, suitable to her rank, was conceded to her, and her downov-19-st-elizabeth-of-hungary-joyfilledfamilyry was refunded. The Saint immediately used one part of the building for a hospital, made her home in the same, and nursed the sick, as if she had been a servant, hired to wait upon them. All her spare time was employed in prayer and other devout exercises. She also chastised her body by fasting and other penances.

At the age of twenty-four years, she learned by revelation, that her end was approaching, for which she prepared herself by most devoutly receiving the holy sacraments. She exhorted all those who were around her death-bed, to love God with their whole heart and to assist the poor to the best of their ability. After this, she continued in prayer, until her soul, richly adorned with virtues and merits, went to her Creator, in the year of Our Lord 1231.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

I. The life of St. Elizabeth may serve as a model to persons of every age and station. Children may learn to fear God from their earliest years, and to increase their devotion with their age; single persons, how to live chastely in their state; married people, how husband and wife ought to live together; and the widowed how to sanctify their solitude. Masters and mistresses may learn how to take care of their domestics, and pay their wages regularly. Those of a higher station may learn to set a good example to others, and not to be ashamed to appear at public worship. All Christians can find instruction in it, for employing their time well, helping the needy, and bearing crosses and trials sent by heaven. God permitted a Landgravine, a royal princess, to be banished unjustly from court, to beg her bread, and, besides other ignominies, to be refused a shelter among her own subjects. Still she complained not; but, submissive to the decrees of Providence, gave humble thanks for the Almighty for all that He, in His wisdom, had sent her. Even at the death of her husband, what fortitude, what submission to the divine will she manifested! Oh! that all would endeavor, in trials of much less severity, to unite their will with that of God, and patiently bear the cross that He has laid upon them.

II. The favorite walk of St. Elizabeth, when she was still a child, was to go to church, where she manifested most angelic devotion, and was so happy, that she could hardly be persuaded to leave. What is your favorite walk? Where do you like to remain? And when you do go to church why are you in such haste to leave it again? Why do you much oftener go to theatres, frivolous societies, vain amusements, bar-rooms and ball-rooms, than to Church, to prayers, to sermons, or to public worship? Why does the sermon, the mass, or conversation with God in prayer so soon become wearisome to you, when many hours, nay, even half the day or night seem not long, when you occupy them in gaming, dancing, or silly conversation? Answer these questions if you can; and then tell me, do you expect to justify yourself before God, and to enter the same heaven into which St. Elizabeth entered? “Ah! truly, heaven becomes not the dwelling of those who sleep and are idle, but of those who earnestly endeavor to gain it.” Thus speaks the holy pope, St. Leo.

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Prayer to St. Elizabeth of Hungary
(Can be prayed as a novena for nine consecutive days)

Blessed Elizabeth, vessel elect of exalted virtues, thou dost show forth to the world by thy example what the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity are able to do in a Christian soul. Thou didst employ all the powers of thy heart to love thy God alone. Thou didst love Him with a love so pure and fervent that it rendered thee worthy to taste upon earth beforehand those favours and those sweetnesses of Paradise which are communicated to souls invited to the nuptials of the Divine adorable Lamb of God.

Thou, illuminated by supernatural light and faith immovable, didst show thyself to be a true daughter of the Holy Gospel, by seeing in the person of thy neighbour the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, sole object of thy affections; and therefore didst thou place all thy delight in holding converse with the poor, in serving them, in drying their tears and comforting their spirits, in assisting them with every pious good office, in the midst of pestilence and the miseries to which our human nature is subject.

Thou didst make thyself poor in order to succour thy neighbour in his poverty–poor in the good things of earth, to enrich thyself with the goods of heaven. Thou wast so humble that, after thou hadst exchanged a throne for a poor hovel, and a royal mantle for the modest habit of St Francis, thou didst subject thyself, innocent though thou wast, to a life of privation and of penance, and with holy joy didst embrace the cross of thy Redeemer, with goodwill accepting with Him insults and the most unjust persecution: thus didst thou forget the world and thyself, to remember thy God alone.

Dearest Saint, who wast so beloved by God, vouchsafe to be the heavenly friend of our souls, and help them to become ever more and more acceptable to Jesus. Cast down upon us from the height of heaven one of those tender looks which, when thou wast upon earth, healed the most distressing infirmities. In this our age, so depraved and corrupt, and at the same time so cold and indifferent to the things of God, we have recourse to thee with confidence, in order that we may receive from our Lord light for the understanding and strength for the will, and thence obtain peace of soul.

Whilst we bless the Lord for having glorified his name in this world with the splendour of thy heroic virtues and the eternal reward accorded to them, do thou bless them, O dear St. Elizabeth, from that Blessed throne which thou dost occupy close to the Saint of Saints; protect us in our dangerous pilgrimage; obtain for us the pardon of our sins, and open for us the way to enter and share with thee the Kingdom of God. Amen.

(Indulgence 300 Days)
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This young and delicate princess made herself the servant and nurse of the poor. Let her example teach us to disregard the opinions of the world and to overcome our natural hesitation, in order to serve Christ in the person of His poor.

St. Albert the Great

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“My soul, if you wish to be intimate with Mary, let yourself be carried between her arms and nourished with her blood . . . . Let this ineffable, chaste thought accompany you to the Banquet of God and you will find in the Blood of the Son the nourishment of the Mother.” ~ St. Albert the Great

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SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT (1280 A.D.)
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

November 15

Albert the Great, Universal Doctor and Patron of the Sciences, was born in the castle of Lauingen on the Danube early in the 13th century. Under the inspiration of Bl. Jordan of Saxony (St. Dominic’s successor), the young count entered the Order of Preachers from the University of Padua, despite family opposition. Following ordination he taught in Dominican houses of study at Hildesheim, Freiburg in Breisgau, Ratisbon, and Cologne, achieving greatest distinction at the Priory of St. Jacques affiliated to the University of Paris. He was a pioneer in the experimental scientific method as well as in Aristotelian philosophy, and his solid achievements in science are acknowledged today. He was probably the most prolific writer on scientific and spiritual subjects in the medieval period. He was also bishop of Ratisbon, and preacher of the last Crusade in Germany. He died in Cologne in 1280, some time after an arduous walk to Paris and back to defend the memory of his greatest disciple, Thomas Aquinas.

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“Do this in remembrance of me.” Two things should be noted here. The first is the command that we should use this sacrament, which is indicated when Jesus says, “Do this.” The second is that this sacrament commemorates the Lord’s going to death for our sake. This sacrament is profitable because it grants remission of sins; it is most useful because it bestows the fullness of grace on us in this life. “The Father of spirits instructs us in what is useful for our sanctification.” And his sanctification is in Christ’s sacrifice, that is, when he offers himself in this sacrament to the Father for our redemption to us for our use. Christ could not have commanded anything more beneficial, for this sacrament is the fruit of the tree of life. Anyone who receives this sacrament with the devotion of sincere faith will never taste death. “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and blessed is he who holds it fast. The man who feeds on me shall live on account of me.” Nor could he have commanded anything more lovable, for this sacrament produces love and union. It is characteristic of the greatest love to give itself as food. “Had not the men of my text exclaimed: Who will feed us with his flesh to satisfy our hunger? as if to say: I have loved them and they have loved me so much that I desire to be within them, and they wish to receive me so that they may become my members. There is no more intimate or more natural means for them to be united to me, and I to them. Nor could he have commanded anything which is more like eternal life. Eternal life flows from this sacrament because God with all sweetness pours himself out upon the blessed.

~ from a commentary by Saint Albert the Great on the Gospel of Luke

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O God, Who didst make blessed Albert, Thy Bishop and Doctor, great by his bringing human wisdom into captivity to divine faith: grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow the guidance of his teaching that we may enjoy perfect light in heaven. Through our Lord…

Pope Pius X

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Truly we are passing through disastrous times, when we may well make our own the lamentation of the Prophet: “There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1). Yet in the midst of this tide of evil, the Virgin Most Merciful rises before our eyes like a rainbow, as the arbiter of peace between God and man. ~Pope Saint Pius X

We’ve been blessed to have a First Class Relic of Pope Saint Pius X in our home for veneration so I thought it only fitting to share what we’ve been reflecting on.  (Pictures to come.) 


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Pope St. Pius X

September 3

The future pope and saint, Joseph Sarto was born in poverty in the northern Italian village of Riese in 1835. He was successively curate, parish priest, bishop of Mantua, patriarch of Venice and Pope. As Vicar of Christ (1903-14) he intrepidly defended the purity of Christian doctrine, his one aim being to restore all things in Christ. He returned sacred music to its rightful place in the liturgy; fostered Catholic popular action; directed a codification of Canon Law; urged in his Eucharistic Degrees early and daily Communion; and spent himself to sanctify the Catholic clergy. In his universal charity, Pius X considered it his mission “to have a care, not only for all the faithful, but for every soul for whom Christ died.”

Omnia Instaurare in Christo ~ To Restore All Things in Christ.

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Novena Prayer

(By Fr. Lawrence Lovasik)

Glorious Pontiff, Saint Pius the X, devoted servant of Our Lord and loving child of Mary, I invoke you as a saint in Heaven. I give myself to you that you may always be my father, my protector and my guide in the way of holiness and salvation.

Aid me in observing the duties of my state in life. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life after your own example.

Pope of the Blessed Sacrament, teach me to love Holy Mass and Holy Communion as the source of all grace and holiness and to receive this Sacrament as often as I can.

Gentle father of the poor, help me to imitate your charity toward my fellowmen in word and deed.

Consoler of the suffering, help me to bear my daily cross patiently and with perfect resignation to the will of God. Loving Shepherd of the flock of Christ obtain for me the grace of being a true child of Holy Mother Church.

Saint Pius the X beloved Holy Father, I humbly implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.

I recommend to you in particular this favor…   

(mention your request)

Great Pontiff, whom Holy Mother Church has raised to the honor of our altars and urged me to invoke and imitate as a Saint, I have great confidence in your prayers. I earnestly trust that if it is God’s Holy Will, my petition will be granted through your intercession for me at the throne of God.

St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death.  Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be, 3 x each

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