striving to radiate Him always
O.k., so this dish isn’t really an Italian dish but it is the closest we’ll come to a pasta dish these days.
It reminded me of a veggie lasagna. Dad had to acquire a taste for it since I overcooked the zucchini and they were a bit mushy. My four year old son and six year old daughter, loved it. In fact, she is still talking about it. (Two of my girls were out the evening we had this dish.)
The meat sauce was divine.
~~~
Saint Felicitas was a widow. She was tried with her seven boys before the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Rome. She encouraged every one of her sons to shed his blood for the Catholic Faith. She stood by and watched each one of them as he suffered and died. Four months later, on November 23, she was herself beheaded. But it is beautiful to put her in commemoration along with her seven sons on July 10, in the month of the Precious Blood of Jesus.
~~~
We did not meet on our regular date, First Saturday, for our third meeting. I had severe allergies and was on a tight timeframe to move. Praise God that my move is complete and I was able to meet the second Saturday of November.
There were twenty girls in attendance. We focused on St. Felicity and Her Seven Sons ~ Self-control.
Each girl received a piece of candy before the start of the meeting. They were instructed to not touch the piece of candy. It sat in front of the girls throughout snack time and lesson time.
LESSON:
That blessed woman Felicity, whose Birth-feast we are keeping today, had as much dread of leaving her seven sons living after her in the flesh, as have carnal minded mothers of seeing them go dead before them. When she was taken in the strong pains of persecution, she braced up the hearts of her children by bidding them cleave to the Fatherland above, and became their mother for the spiritual, as she had aforetime been for the fleshly life, bringing them forth for God by her exhortation, as she had brought them forth for the world by her body. And shall I not call this woman a Martyr? Nay, more than Martyr. The seven whom she trusted to God were seven children sent before her to death. She suffered first and triumphed last. ~Breviary
I introduced the girls to St. Felicity and Her Seven Sons.
“My sons will live forever if, like me, they scorn the idols and die for their God.” ~St. Felicity
Felicitas Seven Sons (all of whom were martyred)
- Alexander
- Vitalis
- Martial
- Januarius
- Felix
- Phillip
- Silvanus
Patronage – against the death of children, against sterility, martyrs, to have male children, widows
Representation – woman in widow‘s weeds holding a palm of martyrdom, woman with a palm, book, and children at her feet, woman with Saint Andrew the Apostle, woman with seven sons
Learn how meritorious it is to die for the King (Christ). This woman (St. Felicity) feared not the sword, but perished with her sons. She confessed Christ and merited an eternal renown. ~Ihm, Damasi Epigrammata (Leipzig, 1895)
We honed in on the love of God and self control that St. Felicity and her sons demonstrated. C volunteered to share her definition of self control. Before she gave her definition of self control, I called for others to raise their hands if they new what self control meant. Few girls raised their hands. I invited them all to raise their hands since they had already demonstrated their understanding of self control.
Self-control: The act, power, or habit of having one’s desires under the control of the will, enlightened by right reason and faith. ~ Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary
According to C, self control is not doing something that you really want to do. The girls wanted to eat the candy before them but they exercised their self control by not touching the candy placed before them. The girls shared other ways that they have exercised self control. They always enjoy this time of sharing.
CRAFT:
I worked my way into the craft of the month by asking what the girls do each morning upon waking. There were numerous answers before I pinned, the morning offering. I encouraged each girl to exercise self control this month by saying their morning offering upon rising in the morning. Even before, they use the restroom, eat breakfast, go to mom’s room, etc…
I created an iron-on image of a Morning Offering and holy image (found at Holy Reflections). The girls (with the help of a mom) ironed their selected image onto their pillowcase.
We had three stations for ironing so all the girls could complete their craft before the close of the meeting. Rose assisted to prep the binders as girls crafted. I also took the opportunity to paly another self-control game. The girls played two rounds of a staring contest with their neighbor. Then I selected one LF to go before the entire group to attempt to make the group laugh. She had full reign to be silly and the audience had strict instructions not to laugh. A good time was had by all. Upon completion of this round, the girls discussed their strategy to exercise self-control so they did not laugh despite the silly antics.
We held one more round. This time the silly girl could not get her audience to laugh. We discussed the reason for this outcome, was it because A was not funny or was it because it becomes easier to exercise self control after time of practice?
The meeting ended and the girls were rewarded their candy and sent off to exercise self-control.
St. Felicity & Her Seven Sons ~ orate pro nobis
~~~
Handouts:
Resources:
Here is a simple and quick craft that I had my Little Flowers group complete for the virtue of self-control. My hope was that they exercise self-control by saying their Morning Offering daily, upon rising. The Morning Offering Pillow Case is to serve as a reminder to the girls.
It would also make a great gift on any occasion.
Supplies:
Directions:
Be polite, amiable and friendly to
every one; but be all this in reality. A young
woman who behaves with great friendliness toward
any person she secretly detests and talks about in
an unkind manner, plays the part of a hypocrite.
In the Garden of Olives, Judas greeted and kissed
the Redeemer, at the very time when he was
treating Him with shameful ingratitude and dis-
graceful treachery. ~ Father Lasance, Catholic Girl’s Guide
We met in October for our second meeting of the 2011-2012 session. Ruth & Naomi were the saints chosen for the month.
We had 30 girls in attendance. Two new girls joined us. We are now at a grand total of 37.
As always, we started with Mass. The girls are working on showing their Love of God by reverently entering the Church, participating in Mass, and exiting the Church. We had a small hiccup on the exiting. It required us to make another attempt and shorten our snack/social time. All for!
We recapped what we learned last month, Mary-Mother of God and cheerfulness. A few girls volunteered to recite the designated memory verse.
We then discussed the lives of Ruth & Naomi. I retold their story from this recap. The girls were drawn into Ruth’s selflessness and devotion to her mother-in-law and friend, Naomi. The girls further discussed the virtue of friendliness. As always, the girls enjoyed sharing their ways to show friendliness.
Father L was able to make a visit this month. Father spoke about the Holy Rosary, Guardian Angels, and he offered a Q&A session. The girls were allowed to ask Father anything that their heart desired. They were delighted to learn more about Father L. He closed his session with a blessing.
I chose a craft that tied in friends and the Rosary (since it was the month of Our Lady of the Rosary),a single decade friendship rosary. I had plenty of help from moms.
I divided the girls into groups of six. The cord was pre-cut and knotted so that the girls could begin their beading. One girl would take her rosary cord around the table. Her fellow Little Flowers would place a bead of their choice onto the cord. Once all the ten beads were threaded, the mom helper would tie another knot and assist the LF with the remainder of her decade rosary. This process was repeated for each LF at the table.
~~~
Handouts: (in order)
Resources:
"Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” ~Ruth 1:16
The kids are loving dinner prep. There’s much more work for them to do in the kitchen since we’ve dumped the processed foods.
They were thrilled to make tonight’s dinner, Mulligatawny Soup.
The recipe made enough for the entire family. Everyone loved it. Dad and I ate for lunch the following day.
Rose went on her first, and possibly her last, college visit in October.
She is completely smitten by this beautiful and faithful college. Dad and I remain steadfast in prayer, praying for God’s will for this young girl who is so quickly becoming a young lady.
~~~
PRAYER FOR YOUTH TO BEG THE DIVINE DIRECTION
IN THE CHOICE OF A STATE OF LIFE.
O ALMIGHTY God! Whose wise and amiable prov-
idence watches over every human event, deign to
be my light and my counsel in all my undertakings,
particularly in the choice of a state of life. I know
that on this important step my sanctification and
salvation may in a great measure depend. I know
that I am incapable of discerning what may be best
for me; therefore I cast myself into Thy arms, beseech-
ing Thee, my God, Who hast sent me into this world
only to love and serve Thee, to direct by Thy grace
every moment and action of my life to the glorious
end of my creation. I renounce most sincerely every
other wish, than to fulfill Thy designs on my soul,
whatever they may be; and I beseech Thee to give me
the grace, by imbibing the true spirit of a Christian,
to qualify myself for any state of life to which Thy
adorable providence may call me. O my God! when-
ever it may become my duty to make a choice, do Thou
be my light and my counsel, and mercifully deign to
make the way known to me wherein I should walk, for
I have lifted up my soul to Thee. Preserve me from
listening to the suggestions of my own self-love, or
worldly prudence, in prejudice to Thy holy inspirations.
Thy good Spirit lead me into the right way, and
Thy adorable providence place me, not where I may
be happiest, according to the world, but in that state
in which I Shall love and serve Thee most perfectly,
and meet with most abundant means for working out
my salvation. This is all that I ask and all that I
desire; for what would it avail me to gain the whole
world, if, in the end, I were to lose my soul and to be
so unfortunate as to prefer temporal advantages and
worldly honors to the enjoyment of Thy divine presence
in a happy eternity?
Most holy Virgin Mary, take me under thy protection.
My good angel guardian and patron saints, pray
for me. Amen.
God, through the intercession of St. Isidore, the holy Farmer, grant that we may overcome all feelings of pride. May we always serve You with that humility which pleases You, through his merits and example.
We made costumes out of our everyday attire since we were deep into our move. Papi was St. Isadore and Dragonfly was his Holy Cow. Sparkles was Mary Magdalene and Sweetie was Mary, Queen of Heaven.
5.26.11
i’m feeling much better without carbs and sugar. i’m hoping to see more weight loss by my official weigh-in on mon.
i’m trying hard to give thanks for where i’m at despite the fact that i’ve missed my major WL goals. i am pre-preg weight of baby #4. i have two more babies to go, 20 lbs. i ran for 2.5 miles today. this my first run since the onset of my vertigo. i felt much better than anticipated. my callouses are fading so my feet were slightly raw and sore.
thanks for giving me a tip on the vertigo. it prompted me to look it up again. i came to the conclusion that my vertigo was triggered by a head injury. i’ve had similar symptoms post pregnancy but nothing like what i recently experienced. my condition started immediately after a soccer game. i headed the ball on 2 occasions. both were high impact and caused some immediate dizziness. i was able to regain my composure and continued with the first half. i became extremely light headed at the start of the second half. i wanted to sit out but thought that my dizziness was due to my lack of fitness and hydration. i continued to play. i lost my vision on my way home while driving. rose and i prayed the whole way. still, i passed it off and thought i was in need of food. i stopped at the nearest fast food, taco bell. i could barely take in 2 bites. i was nauseous. finally i arrived to where dad was and i couldn’t even keep my eyes open. i felt like i just stepped off a roller coaster. i couldn’t even walk without guidance. dad thought i had a concussion. it was worse than labor. ok, maybe not that bad but you know what i mean. i experienced excessive vomiting. i slept for the entire weekend.
the symptoms continued up to the present time. they were much milder and intermittent.
i found this link after your post. i decided to perform the simple exercise that was suggested. i haven’t had any symptoms since.
i’m praying that it’s gone for good. i desperately need to get back to training. also, my family will be embarking on a pilgrimage that requires us to walk 13-15 miles a day for 3 days. we will be camping along the way. i need to be free from the dizziness.
lets keep moving!
5.23.11
**raw**
i was frustrated with my lack of results and i gave up. it’s not a place i want to be at spiritually or physically, although, i’ve been there before.
i give praise and thanksgiving to God that i’m working my way out of the darkness.
i have 3 more changes for this phase.
i’m going to keep it simple and take it one day at a time. i’ll be using our motto to help me along the way.
today’s intentions are for all the mothers struggling with incorporating fitness into their daily lives. may the Good Lord provide them (us) with the direction and grace needed to persevere.
**published**
5.27.11
The new phase of my fitness journey has begun. This is the phase that comes after I reached a plateau and lost motivation. It’s the phase in which a new conviction is born.
I’ve been at this phase before. The difference this time around is that I desire to do more than just drop the pounds and develop healthy habits. I desire to grow spiritually and produce His fruits.
I am halfway there in regards to my weight loss. I have already lost baby weight from Dragonfly and Papi. I have two more babies to go, totaling 20lbs. After that, I will set my next weight loss goal, as I am no longer sure what my ideal body weight should be.
Here are some of my commitments for this phase in my journey.
Plan of Action:
- put the focus on the journey (spiritual and physical fitness) not the end result (weight loss).
- ditch the all or nothing attitude
- take it one week at a time. focus on weekly goals so that i do not become discouraged.
Goals:
- 30 min exercise 3x week in addition to my running program
- 2 races by the end of Aug. (any length will be fine with me)
- 20 lbs loss by Aug.
Diet:
- no sugar!
- eat small meals throughout they day – before i get into hunger mode.
- only water. 10-14 glasses a day.
I have been dedicating each day of sacrifice to a specific intention. You are invited to share your intentions with me. I would be more than happy to pray and sacrifice for your intention. You can be as descriptive or as general as you desire. Leave your intention in the comments or email them to me at JOYfilledfamily{at}gmail{dot}com.
My primary goal is to glorify Him!
Christus Rex
Sunday, October 26, 2011 is the feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. One may gain a plenary indulgence by the public recitation of the Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
~~~
The kingship and empire of Christ have been recognized in the pious custom, practiced by many families, of dedicating themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; not only families have performed this act of dedication, but nations, too, and kingdoms. In fact, the whole of the human race was at the instance of Pope Leo XIII, in the Holy Year 1900, consecrated to the Divine Heart.
We institute the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be observed yearly throughout the whole world on the last Sunday of the month of October – the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints. We further ordain that the dedication of mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which Our predecessor of saintly memory, Pope Pius X, commanded to be renewed yearly, be made annually on that day.
~ Quas Primas, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI
~~~
Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart. 
Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: "Praise be to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honor for ever." Amen.
~~~
Additional info and resources can be found here, my post from 2010.
Hi! I'm Lena, mama of JOYfilledfamily.
We are a traditional Catholic family striving to live for Jesus Christ in everything we do. We pray to completely surrender our will to His and to become His servants. Our mission of this blog is to share our JOY.
This blog serves as a journal of us making good memories, living the liturgical year, and our spiritual journey.