March 2011 Archives

Courtesy of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

FOR TODAY...March 21, 2011

Outside my window... the weather is cold and rainy. I haven't seen the sun in four days. Unusual.

I am thinking... about going through labor again. On one hand, it is easier because I know what it will be like. On the other hand, it is scarier because I know what it will be like!

I am thankful ... that I have no appointments today and I can try and rest a little.

I am wearing... black yoga pants, a blue preggers top and bare feet. (Barefoot and pregnant. There's a cliché.)

I am remembering... that throughout the day I must continually turn my mind and heart to Christ for strength.

I am going... to try and put JP down for a nap if Andrew can keep himself quiet for ten minutes.

I am hoping... well, it would be more like "wishing" I could take a nap myself. I am so exhausted!

I am reading... over some of the past entries in my pregnancy journal for Baby RoL.

I am hearing... the sounds of "Dino Dan" on TV and Andrew's roars as he animates his plastic dinosaurs.

On my mind... too much to narrow down.

From the kitchen... dinner is ready to go - Brian Boitano's Cheese Cart Mac & Cheese, ham steak, broccoli and a green salad.

Around the house... are various train tracks and Thomas the Train engines.

One of my favorite things... when Brian comes home and gives me a knowing hug without me having to say a word.

Pondering these words... "I love you, Mommy." Somehow it makes all the inconveniences and tiredness worth it. (And as if to prove it, outside my window the clouds are moving. I can see some blue sky now. At this rate I may even get a quick catnap. :-)

From my picture journal...

Here is the Sacred Heart of Jesus icon we bought for our home. I love it. (Purchased from Printery House.org. )

Here is the second of two posts from my better half, just in time for Lent.

It is not uncommon to read about saints, especially those that were priests and religious, who promoted amongst the lay faithful the practice of specific devotions. For example, St. Gaspar del Bufalo promoted devotion to the Precious Blood, while Bl. Henry Suso promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. With Lent here, I would like to introduce to you a saint who was known for his fervent promotion of the Stations of the Cross, St. Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751).

In 1697, at the age of 21, St. Leonard joined an Italian branch of the Franciscan Order that was known for its austere way of life. With dreams of being a foreign missionary, he was ordained a priest in 1704. Shortly after his ordination, he developed a painful stomach ailment that prevented him from leaving his native country and forced him to retire to his Order's monastery in the region of Port Maurice. After four years, St. Leonard recovered from his ailment and slowly began to give missions to the faithful in nearby towns.

St. Leonard's reputation as a highly effective preacher grew and eventually caught the attention of Pope Cosmos III, who immediately commissioned him to give a series of retreats throughout Tuscany. His success in Tuscany reached the ears of the new Pontiff, Pope Clement the XII, who personally invited him to come to Rome and preach to the people of the city. As in Tuscany, his style of preaching touched the hearts of many Romans, bringing about numerous conversions.

What caught my attention when reading about St. Leonard's life was his love for the Stations of the Cross. Wherever he gave a mission, he would implore the faithful to make the "Stations" regularly. The reason for this was that he recognized through this devotion a simple way for people to grow closer to Christ and to experience His Love. St. Leonard's devotion for and faith in the Stations was so immense and complete that he erected over five hundred Stations throughout Italy. What an awesome witness to the Passion of Jesus Christ!

I am sure if St. Leonard were alive today he would encourage all of us to make the Stations of the Cross frequently, but especially during the season of Lent. The Stations are a beautiful devotion/prayer that can help us enter into the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Each of the fourteen Stations act as stepping stones to greater virtue and greater insight into the sacrificial love displayed by Christ during the final hours of His life.

If you have never prayed the Stations of the Cross I would encourage you to begin this Lent. If you are praying them, keep it up! What makes the Stations an easy devotion to practice is how they can be tailored to your particular needs and time constraints.

"We adore you O Christ and we praise You, because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed the world." Amen. God bless.

Here is the first of two posts from my better half, just in time for Lent.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2157), "The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Saviors grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father..." Why is it important for Catholics to dedicate their day to God? I can offer three reasons:

1) By dedicating our day to God, we are giving back to God, what he gave to us - another day.

2) By dedicating our day to God, we unite ourselves to the priestly office of Jesus Christ whereby our entire day becomes a "spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

3) It prepares us, before we tackle the challenges that the new day will bring, to embrace the closing words of the liturgy - "go in peace, to love and serve the Lord."

Two of the most attractive features about this spiritual practice of dedicating one's day to God, is that it is simple and time effective.

Simple - When I use the word "simple" to describe dedicating my day to God, I use it in the best possible sense. In my opinion, any prayer which is uncomplicated and straight forward is the most excellent. It doesn't get any simpler than making the sign of the cross and in your own words thank God for the new day and pray for the grace to love and serve Him.

Time Effective - Another element that makes the "dedication" special is that it is time effective. What do I mean by time effective? As a husband and father with a growing family to look after, I rarely have an abundance of time to spend in daily prayer. Therefore, to be able to dedicate a new day to God in a way which is time effective is exactly what I need.

One thing I must caution the reader about is that this prayer needs to be prayed from the heart. Because the "dedication" can be both simple and time effective, it is easy to pray it in a manner that is routine and commonplace. To avoid this, I say my "dedication" with as much devotion and reverence as possible.

There are many spiritual tools that Catholics must put into practice in order to remain close to Christ. One tool that is vital to our spiritual life is to, dedicate each day to God. If you are doing this already, I encourage you to keep it up. If you are not, I would highly recommend that you begin.

God bless.

I received an email that read in part:

My name is Teresa Grodi and my husband and I recently had an opportunity to attend the Sposi Novelli audience with the Holy Father in Rome. This opportunity is available to all newlyweds within the first year of their marriage, but it is a HUGE undertaking to plan. So, upon our return, we decided to make a website to help other couples who would like a chance at this blessing! We are not selling a product or anything, it's just a way to assist people :)

The website is http://www.honeymoonwiththepope.com/ and I looked over it. It has lots of great info and tips and I'm sure it was be a invaluable resource for those interested.

We've had friends who had their marriage blessed by the Pope. Brian and I celebrated our first anniversary with a trip to Rome and although we didn't get a blessing from the Pope it was an incredible experience just to be there. (If I knew about this website and had the chance to do it over again, I definitely would have tried!) So if you are thinking that it might be a possibility for you, check it out!

Brian and I at St. Peter's Square celebrating our (recent) First Anniversary, Jan 2000.

This morning the boys and I were in the car ready to run some errands but I didn't get very far. The van was dead in the driveway. Andrew was upset that we couldn't leave but he quickly became excited when I told him it seems like the battery was dead.

His latest love is changing the batteries of toys...and actually, anything electronic that uses batteries. He has his screwdriver kit ready and waiting. When I told him a man will come fix the battery his eyes lit up with the thought of what kind of huge screwdriver would open the van's hood!

UPDATE: As it turned out, it was Andrew who drained the battery, so to speak. Yesterday I let him play with the steering wheel while I took the groceries out of the car. Usually he just plays with the wheel and turns on the blinkers but this time he turned on the "headlight lock" which disables the auto shut off on the lights and it kept them running all day and night.

At least now I know what to check for the next time he decides to "drive." Oh, and I think he was a little disappointed that no screwdriver was needed to open the hood. :-)

As I mentioned, earlier, I've been browsing a number of new (to me) Catholic mom blogs. So far, here are some of my favorites that I've added to the blogroll.

Betty Beguiles


Blessed Among Men


Cheerios Do Fly!!!
Testosterhome


Waltzing Matilda

Thanks for the great blogs, Ladies!!

I know this video has been posted all over but I couldn't help sharing in case you haven't seen it. There is nothing more contagious than a baby's laughter!

On a side note, Bella tried the ripping paper with John-Paul and was a little upset that instead of hysterical laughter she only got one of his little half-smile smirks. Oh, well.

Now that I am in my 8th month of pregnancy and am supposed to stay off my feet more, I've taken advantage of the time to explore some Catholic mom blogs I haven't read yet. This week's gem is Cheerios Do Fly by Mary.

Her bio says:

I am a Catholic wife to my wonderful husband- married 11 awesome years!!!, Homeschooling Mom to 7 kidos!!!... 4 boys- 10, 7, 4,and 2... and 3 girls - 5 and 8 and baby #7 born Jan 18, 2011. Life is uhm...a bit busy but I'm learning to... 'live in the moment' by each cheerio I see fly or pick up off the floor, or my van, or my chair or my couch or my....the list goes on... These days are fleeting and all will go so fast,unless I stop and breath, take it all in, let those cheerios fly. It reminds me to let go and let God! This life He has given me is a wild rollercoaster! More importantly to remember is that this life I have is my ONLY path to holiness...this vocation of mine as a wife and mother. Come on and join me in embracing it! As we laugh and cry through life, let us never think we are alone. We all have our crosses to bear. We are called to help each other out as we make our way to Life Everlasting-Heaven! Let us ask all the Saints and esp. the Blessed Mother to pray for us and let's not forget to pray for one another! May my blog bring Glory to God. All things for God alone! Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Go check it out!