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Putting Our Faith into Action

by Filed Under: 11 November, Faith, Pro-Life

Alicia Van Hecke has created a wonderful list to remind us that we must put our faith into action, 100 Things You Can Do to the Make the Country More Pro-Life (and Catholic) No Matter Who is President.  You can read her list and suggest updates at her blog, Living Differently.

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100 Things You Can Do to the Make the Country More Pro-Life (and Catholic) No Matter Who is President

Not trying to get into a political discussion here, just an opportunity to remind ourselves what we are capable of regardless of the political situation. A list in progress (in no particular order), please share your own Pray for Americasuggestions in the comments box…


1. Respond with Love.
2. In particular, keep the post-election conversations charitable.
3. Have children (and read about "The Roe Effect").
4. Support cool pro-life organizations like Save the Storks.
5. Talk to people. Keep it simple. Don’t try to fix everything at once.
6. Work on your prayer life and your relationship with God.
7. Watch how you talk about other people – especially people you don’t like.
8. Support the disabled.
9. Recognize what is good in others (and in our country and in our culture) and thank God.
10. Cut back on expenditures to share with others.
11. Donate to a pregnancy help center (a car seat or even a baby blanket can save a life).
12. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, food pantry or other outlet for the needy.
13. Live your life as a reaction to Christ’s love for you, not a reaction to the culture or the current political situation.
14. Live what you believe.
15. Pray for our politicians and for our country.
16. Remember that it’s not all up to you – you just need to do your part with love and leave the rest up to God.
17. Make friends with people outside your political or religious circles.
18. Cultivate joy in your family and in your community.
19. Adopt a baby or become a foster parent.
20. Help your parish become more life friendly.
21. Encourage each other!
22. Be Not Afraid!
23. Sponsor a needy child overseas (through organizations such as Caritas for Children).
24. Challenge yourself to be a better Christian.
25. Forgive someone who has hurt you.
26. Be a good witness to the Faith.
27. Love those who are suffering.
28. Donate your used belongings to organizations like St. Vincent de Paul Society.
29. Don’t just vote pro-life: think pro-life and act pro-life (to every person you encounter!).
30. Don’t despair at what is going wrong with our world – find what you can make better (and do it!).
31. Empower others with hope.
32. Stock your car with "Blessing Bags" to give to the needy.
33. "Replace Them".
34. Love Your Neighbor.
35. Share your gifts with others.
36. Be understanding, loving and helpful to those who have gotten themselves in desperate situations.
37. Cultivate hope in your own life.
38. Donate uplifting books about children with Down Syndrome (or other disabilities) to your public library.
39. Visit the lonely, the sick, and the elderly.
40. Tutor a disadvantaged or special needs child.
41…

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Consecration of America
Immaculate Mary, most Holy Mother of God and of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we the people of the United States of America at this historic moment stand before you in a humbled condition of love, loyalty,
affection, and thankfulness. To your Immaculate Heart we recommit and dedicate ourselves throughout the entire American nation. To your Son Jesus Christ we pledge to serve His teaching, His church, and to work for His kingdom on earth. O Mary, to you do we flee for protection. Surround the American family with your maternal care; enfold us in your arms. Give to this American land, built on the blood and tears of so many faithful forebears, a peaceful and praiseworthy existence in truth, love, justice, and freedom. O Mary, we submit to you as the Patroness of our beloved country. O Mary, Help of Christians, enfold the Holy Father and the Catholic Church within your protective cloak; be our shield in the days ahead. Give to the Church true holiness and freedom. Obtain for our leaders holy zeal, the ability to face the truth, and the courage to correct all abuses. Stop the flood of atheism, greed, heresy, impurity, lukewarmness, materialism, and selfishness that threaten our nation. Show to those who have strayed from the Church the way to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Mother of God, accept our personal consecration to you and, through you, bind us forever to the Holy Trinity. Gather us all into your Immaculate Heart and unite us forever with Jesus. O Mary, we love you. Amen.
God Bless America!

St. Catherine of Siena ~ Faith

by Filed Under: Faith, Little Flowers, St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena meeting table

I held my first Little Flowers meeting for the 2010-2011 year on Saturday, Sept, 11.  My parish’s Little Flowers groups has doubled.  I now have 27 girls, 23 of which were present.

LF group blur

I have decided to complete Wreath I this year.  Our first meeting was on St. Catherine of Siena & Faith.  As always, we attended mass prior to our meeting.

 st catherine faith craft pageThis is a virtue memory page.  My inspiration was taken from Jessica.

The meeting started with some social time and snack.  They ate their sunflower seeds as we discussed the significance of the sunflower.

sunflower lookin gat the sun“Our faith may be compared to this flower, since its gaze is ever fixed above, and turned towards the glorious sun of divine truth.” ~ Fr. Lasance – Catholic Girl’s Guide

St. Catherine of Siena was then introduced.  She was the last one standing.  That is , she had the most siblings out of all the Little Flowers present, 24.  CP was a close second with 11 siblings.  The girls were amazed with this little fact about St. Catherine of Siena.

exchanging-her-heart-w-christ

Saint Catherine of Sienna Exchanging Her Heart with Christ ” by Giovanni di Paolo, part of a three part altar panel, hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

We covered; St. Catherine of Siena’s early call to serve God at age 6;  her joyful demeanor and willingness to please; her nick name – Joy; her parents’ wish for her to marry; her hair cutting episode in response to her parents constant desire for her to marry*; St. Catherine’s private visions; the ring that was placed on her hand by Mary and Jesus which was invisible to all; her call to inform the Pope to move back to Rome; and the stigmata that did not become visible until the time of her death at age 33.

father l blur

Father L visited the girls.  He spoke of the LF’s patron saint, St. Therese and St. Catherine of Siena.  He clarified a concern that one of the Little Flowers had regarding St. Catherine cutting her hair to show her parents that she was not going to marry.  The Little Flower questioned if this act was disobedient.*  Father explained that we are all to follow God’s call and that parents are supposed to lead us to God’s will.  Parents are not supposed to force their children into a vocation.  He of course, put it much more eloquently.

Father gave the girls a special blessing (that extends to their family) before departing.  We are blessed to have devoted shepherds.  Please continue to keep Father L and all the FSSP priests in your prayers.

Before moving on to our craft we played a a nice game of musical chairs.  We used the Little Flowers Memory Verse CD as music.  MB, AA, Sweetie and EH were the winners (displaced from their chairs first).  They were awarded the privilege of taking the craft supplies to their table.

Faith key tag necklace

I chose a simple craft to start with, Key Tag Necklace.  The girls did a great job assembling their necklaces and were pleased with their creations.

Little flowers blur

LF Wreath I binderEach new member received their Little Flowers binder.  This binder is to be used for their entire stay as a LF.   All members were given the handouts for Faith.  They are to work on the activity sheet as mom sees fit.  If participating, each girl will report back to me once their mom/father deems them worthy of having earned the badge for the virtue of Faith.

The binder is an Avery Durable 1.5 inch binder.  I purchase the binders at Wal-Mart once the school items go on clearance.  I do not pay more than $2.50 per binder.  I’m able to find them there every year in a variety of colors.

The meeting was wrapped up with a treat, sunflower cupcakes.  They speak for themselves…..YUMMY!  (Just ask EH!  She loved them so much that she wanted to eat the paper.)

sunflower cupcake JOY

The meeting was a success!

I give all thanks and praise to GOD.

 

Handouts (in order)

 

Bio

 

MISC.

 

Additional Sunflower Activities:

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Patron: Against fire; bodily ills; Europe; fire prevention; firefighters; illness; Italy; miscarriages; nurses; nursing services; people ridiculed for their piety; sick people; sickness; Siena, Italy; temptations.

Symbols: Cross; heart; lily; ring; stigmata.

St. Catherine of Siena, Ora pro nobis.

Our Plans Are NOT His

by Filed Under: Faith, Praise and Thanksgiving

We are far from perfect.  This day served as a reminder for us all.  It definitely did not go as planned.   Dad arrived home at 7am from his 2pm-9m clinical and his 10pm – 6:30 am evening shift.

Rose was on the ball as usual, dressed and starting to get the littles prepped.  I on the other had was not.  I had a surprise visitor the night before.  Papi joined me in bed around 3am and I didn’t get back to sleep until 5:45am.  Needless to say, I was in no way ready to face what we had planned for the day, May Procession & Mass.

We had 30 min. to get to our destination, the Cathedral which is 60min. away.  Dad and I were optimistic that it would work……we were wrong!

My body was barley able to role out of bed.  I could see the exhaustion in dad’s eyes and could hear the unraveling from our GFG begin.

This was my queue for an ejaculation, “Jesus, answer my door.”  He did so promptly, giving me the strength to set my pious plans aside and attend to those in need before me – including myself and precious load.  (This is not an easy act for me and has been an area that I’ve been trying to grow in.  I’ll leave that for another time and post.) This decision did not sit well with the girls who had their hearts set on walking for Mary.

Thus, the morning served as an opportunity for training hearts and family devotion.  Yes, restrictions were also implemented after apologies were made.

He continues to refine us toward His will.  His mercy is endless and His blessings are plentiful.

Father, ruin any plans of ours that are not Yours.

Some of the blessings that were bestowed upon us today:

opportunity to train hearts

meditated on our Family’s Yearly Spiritual Focus – to become servants to one another

patience!!!!

cooked meal for breakfast v.s. the bagel and juice on-the-go

GFG had some great quality dad time

completed some of the baby prep

rested!

dad finished baking home made bread with our GFG

GFG found two puppies that they cared for until their owners were found.  This was a big treat since they do not have warm-blooded pets and may never again while in our home due to allergies and other circumstances.

celebrated the Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker

baked a cake

visited with Nana

had car cleaned and serviced

Lastly, were are all blessed with faithful priest and a parish that offers the Sacrament of Penance* before Mass.  Sparkles is especially thankful for this blessing which is new to her.

DEO GRATIAS

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A New Day

by Filed Under: Faith, Homeschooling, Prayers

Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2
It’s that time of year again….to plan for the next school year. This has been an anxious time for me most recently with a new high schooler. All the self doubt started to creep in; Am I doing enough, should I attend another conference, will she be better off elsewhere, must I enroll in a program, is public school (AKA charter school) our financial reprieve….. I trust that I’m following our Lord’s call to disciple our children at home but darn it, where’s my blue print? Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. DT 6:7
My initial tendencies were to pile on the academics and extracurricular. However, I was called to surrender these things and detach from desires and worldly ties. At one time it was for self denial. More recently, it has been out of financial necessity. This, I believe, has been one of the biggest test: will I trust in Him for everything, including schooling? If my family does not have the financial means to sign up for all the extracurricular activities, enroll in the best program, or buy the litany of prescribed texts, should we accept it as a gift from God or should we seek reprieve from mammon to fulfill our desires? I trust it is a gift and He has made our path clearer to choose Him. “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mt 6:24
Now if I only I could completely TRUST and SUBMIT EVERYTHING to Him!!!! Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not. Proverbs 3:5
This includes school, our own intelligence, finances….EVERYTHING!!!! Why has this been so difficult for me? I’ve cheated our Lord. I’ve given just enough, right where it’s comfortable and trusted in myself for the rest. My goal of homeschooling is to take my children to a place of refuge where they can fall in love with Jesus, with training and instruction befitting the Lord. Eph 6:4
How is this possible, if I’m not under complete instruction from Our Lord? I trust He will provide the grace but I know He calls me to more and I desire to answer His call, immediately.
I’m making a commitment to give Him everything and I’m choosing now!!!! I’m not going to wait till our next school year to implement what has been placed on my heart. I will make my move, one step closer to Our Heavenly Father and I will take my family and we will not look back. …”No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” Lk 9:62
This is a new day. PRAY FOR US!

SANCTA MARIA ORA PRO NOBIS!!!

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