Recently in liturgical year Category

Happy Ash Wednesday! Or as it is more commonly known out in public - Happy "hey, you've got some dirt on your forehead" day. ;-) Hopefully most of you decided long ago what you are going to give up or what you are going to do. If you are a procrastinator like myself, then you are still debating what you should do this lent.

If you need some inspiration, Danielle Bean has always had great ideas about what to do for Lent! Two years ago I did the 40 Bags in 40 Days as she suggested. This year she posted 40 Ways for 40 Days. The ideas are excellent covering the areas of prayer, fasting and alms giving. You could surely find something perfect for you. You could even print off her list and cut out each suggestion. Place in a jar and pick one out to work on that day or that week. It could make it a little fun, especially if the kids are involved in picking!

For our kids we are doing the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. We purchased the Lenten Adventure Activity Book Set for the kids.

For the younger boys who can't do the older puzzle pages, we purchased the Life of Christ Complete Coloring Pack to help them learn the all the mysteries of the rosary.

You can also sign up for the free Lenten Adventure emails that sends you activities to do with your kids during Lent.

For me personally, during this Lent I want to work on my time management - lessen my time spend on frivolity (hello, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Downton Abbey websites...) and spend more time praying, reading Scripture/spiritual books and teaching my kids about the faith.

I don't want to cut these "frivolous" things out completely because frankly, it's a part of my life and I might as well learn how to moderate it. It reminds me of being on a diet. You can starve yourself and lost 10 pounds but eventually you are going to have to learn how to eat moderately and in a healthy manner. So that is my goal. Learn how to spend my time in a spiritually healthy manner. This can still seem a bit vague so each day during my morning prayer I make one or two mini-goals - a concrete act I can do to get me closer to the big picture.

How about you? What are you doing this Lent? Feel free to share and have a blessed Ash Wednesday!

Here is a Christmas reflection from my better half. Enjoy!

Today Catholics throughout the world are celebrating Christmas! It is a time of rejoicing, but should also be a time of reflection.

There are a number of "principle players" that make up the story of Christ's birth. Of course there is the most important player, the baby Jesus. From there you have Mary and Joseph, the angel Gabriel and his fellow angels, the Magi, the Star, and last but not least, the Shepherds. Within this story there is another character that Cardinal Albino Luciani, later to be Pope John Paul I, wrote about in a letter from 1977. The letter was entitled, "The Lesson of the Christmas Donkey."

In this short letter, Cardinal Luciani lifts up the Christmas Donkey as a witness to several key virtues that are important for Catholics to live out.

The first trait is "humility." I don't think anyone would deny that donkeys are one of the most humble of creatures. As Catholics, humility is an extremely important virtue especially if you are striving for holiness. To be humble is not to be a human doormat, but rather it is to walk in the light and truth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a perfect time for us to reflect upon the virtue of humility and how we live it, or not live it, on a daily basis.

The second trait, pointed out by Cardinal Luciani, is the work ethic of the donkey. The donkey is known to be hard working, and as Cardinal Luciani writes, a "tenacious worker," whose function is to carry heavy loads or perform other menial tasks. This image should remind us, as children of God, how laziness is not acceptable. Rather, we are all called to labor and to work for the glory of God, no matter how humble or great the task.

The third trait explored by Cardinal Luciani is how the donkey is a friend of the poor. The Cardinal refers to the donkey as the "right arm of the poor." As we enter the Christmas season and move into the New Year it would be a good idea to reflect on how we view the poor and also whether we, as Catholics, contribute to helping the poor either by a hands on apostolate or through financial assistance.

The fourth and final trait is that the donkey is an animal of "patience and gentleness." Although donkeys are known to be stubborn, they are the gentlest of creatures. Their patience truly shines, especially when they are forced to labor and carry heavy loads for long stretches of time. A good question to ask ourselves would be: do I strive in my interaction with family members, co-workers, even strangers to be an example of "gentleness and patience"?

With Christmas here these lessons from the Christmas donkey can certainly help us to be better Catholics. By practicing humility, working hard, helping the poor, being patient and gentle with others we will certainly reflect the light of Christ into a world that is growing spiritually dark. God bless and Merry Christmas.

(Although this isn't posted until now, I wrote it this morn. ;-)

It's 5:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I haven't been able to sleep since 4am. Matthew woke me up and he needed to be changed and fed. Since his bed is right next to mine I can usually do this quickly and fall right back to sleep, but not this morning.

Since it's nice and cozy in my bed snuggled between my baby and my hubby I pulled out my iPhone (yes, I sleep with it) and opened up my google reader to find a ridiculous amount of posts waiting to be read. I must admit that although it is insanely early, it is so nice to be able to just relax and catch up on the news and activities of my fellow Catholic moms. I always find inspiration, humor and a little pep talk when I need it most.

God has a way of giving you exactly what you need when you need it.

As I was reading certain posts it brought to mind my experience at Confession on Saturday. It had been a rough couple of weeks and I could feel my insides all tied up in knots and stressed. I knew I had to make the most of this last week of Advent and Confession was the first step. After telling my sins to the priests he spoke to me about a few things but what struck me was his reminder that God's gifts to me this Christmas are my husband and my children, despite any personal difficulties I may have in being a good wife and mother. It's not as if I don't already know that but it was as if my life flashed before my eyes and I saw a quick glimpse of how blessed I am and how much I take for granted. It moved me to tears. These tears were just what I needed since, coupled with God's grace, they washed away all the muck in my soul and refreshed my spirit. It was just what I needed.

Of course, those moments after confession are like the moments after a retreat. You are gung ho "on the mountaintop" with Jesus but once you return to the real world, life can dampen your resolve. However, God gave me a quick reminder of Saturday's lesson at four in the morning when I read It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost by Kate Wicker. She spoke about whether or not we should bring our rambunctious younger children to Mass. I'm not entering that debate right now but what stood out most for me was this paragraph:

Yet, I kept thinking about a recent post over at Rosetta Stone. (I know I should have been paying more attention to Mass, but it was enough for me to be thinking about anything besides strangling my toddler.) Michelle wrote that, "Nothing compares to a three-year-old boy. Nothing." I'm not going to start comparing who is harder - girls or boys. I loved what someone wrote after an older post of mine that wherever you're at and whatever you've been given is probably the hardest for you. If God is trying to prune us and sanctify us through the vocation of parenthood, then it makes sense that He gives us just the kind of children we need - the kind that will push our buttons and throw us down to our knees and force us to realize that we cannot, absolutely cannot, do this on our own. We need Him. We need to keep a constant dialogue open with God throughout our days. Even when we find ourselves questioning everything about God - whether we'll ever have a personal relationship with Him, whether He even really exists or cares deeply, profoundly about us and our children - we have to keep talking. We don't have to pray like others pray. We have to pray as we pray. Sometimes we have to simply show up - and stay put once we've arrived even if every part of us is screaming to just go, escape, get the heck out of there before you or your child really loses it [at Mass].

"If God is trying to prune us and sanctify us through the vocation of parenthood, then it makes sense that He gives us just the kind of children we need..." I love that. It is so true. Our vocation is tailor made with small crosses (or big) that will sanctify us and lead us along our path to heaven. And we are never, never alone on our journey. We just have to always keep our eyes and hearts set on the Lord. Thank God that He is so patient with us and never stops reminding us and sending us what we need when we need it.

"Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you." ~ Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego

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.

This morning my sister forwarded me an email from Holy Heroes' Advent Adventures. It sounded interesting so I signed up. Check it out for yourself. Here is a copy of the email.

If your family life is anything like ours, it seems that Advent comes at the most hectic time of the year. It is easy for our children to get caught up in the commercialism, materialism, and the me-ism of the culture's pre-Christmas (or should I say "holiday"?) frenzy.

Instead of the frantic activity of "Only XX shopping days left until Christmas!" the Church prescribes something different: prayerful, conscientious, joyful preparation for the days approaching our celebration of birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

But, you're really busy.

You have a lot to do to prepare for the wonder of Christmas Day.

So, this year, here's how you can prevent your Advent plans from being overcome by the hub-bub of what the world tells you is the proper way to spend "the Christmas season:"

Take your family on the fun, free, and easy "Holy Heroes Advent Adventure!"

It's free, it costs you nothing, nada, zilch. And you'll get almost daily fun, easy, free--and time-saving!--activities for Advent.

You'll find that we have done all the work for you, so you can also enjoy the Advent Adventure with your family. And you will all--from youngest to oldest--actually learn something during Advent which (we pray) will help you on your way to heaven.

It's free. Click here to sign up.

Nearly every day during Advent, we will send you an email with a link that takes you to that day's activities.

You'll see short videos, listen to short audio selections, download coloring pictures, word searches and games, take quizzes to see what you've learned, and more.

NEW IN ADVENT ADVENTURE 2010:

***New Jesse Tree videos and printable, colorable ornaments (complete with Scripture citations) plus--BONUS!--a video and ornament for every "O Antiphon" which we pray the last 7 days of Advent

***More quizzes suitable for all ages and abilities to reinforce what you've learned

***New coloring pages and fun based on Glory Stories artwork and audio recordings

***A new discount code for all Adventur-ers which not only gets you discounts on every order, but also some surprise free stuff, too

***Now available for purchase: our year-after-year re-useable Jesse Tree DVD! Yes, ma'am: it can be used EVERY Advent, year-after-year, because we added EXTRA videos and EXTRA printable, colorable ornaments which you won't see online in our free Advent Adventure...so although Advent changes in length every year, you'll always have enough content to fill your Jesse Tree (and no excuses for not finishing the tree you started--the kids can pop in the video every day whether you're too tired or not!)

It's free, it's for children of all ages, it's fun AND educational, and all you have to do every day is open the email we'll send. Enroll your own family, or forward this email to your grandkids, nieces and nephews, and friends.

May God bless you and yours,

Your Advent Adventure Guides

Happy Easter to you all!! Here is an Easter post from Brian.

Two men in dazzling garments, said: "Why do you seek the Living One among the dead? He is not here, He has been raised!" (Lk. 24:5-6).

Like the crucifixion, several of the stories surrounding the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, communicate to all believers the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. These three pillars are the foundation of the spiritual life. According to the CCC, paragraph (#1812) the theological virtues "dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive and object."

Faith: The resurrection story which communicates the theological virtue of faith is that of the Apostle Thomas. Thomas did not believe that Christ rose from the dead - "Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side I will not believe." (Jn. 20) And when the risen Christ appears to him, his attitude is completely changed, "My Lord and my God!" We must remember what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his second letter, "We walk by faith and not by sight." (2Cor.5:7).

"Lord Jesus, I believe in You, help my unbelief."

Hope: The second theological virtue, hope, can be found in the resurrection story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Downcast and confused the two disciples encounter a "stranger" along the road who asks them what they are discussing. They respond by telling this stranger about Jesus and how there have been reports about the tomb being empty. This stranger proceeds to talk to them about the Scriptures. It was later on at the breaking of bread that the disciples eyes are opened and they recognize that the "stranger" was the risen Christ. The disciples said, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?" St. Paul again reminds us in his letter to Timothy, "We have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men." (1Tim4:10)

"Lord Jesus, I hope in You, dispel my doubts, fears and anxieties."

Charity: The last theological virtue, and according to St. Paul, "the greatest," is that of charity which can be found in the resurrection story of Mary Magdalene, visiting the tomb. Mary wept because the body of Jesus had disappeared. She turned away from the tomb and saw a man standing there. After asking him if he knew where they had taken Jesus, the man said, "Mary!" Mary immediately knew the man was Jesus. Mary sought Christ, wept for Him and reached out and held onto Him. Mary loved Jesus and by this love her life was transformed. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love." (Jn. 15)

"Jesus, I love You, help me to love you more and more each day and to love my neighbor as myself."

God bless!

Here is a great article for Lent from Catholic Exchange. (Note: It does not have any "Biggest Loser" tips!)

A Lenten "Weight" Loss Program

We pray that you all have a happy and holy Christmas! Thanks for being a part of the RoL family! :-)

Here is a Christmas reflection from Brian's blog.

A Christmas Reflection

Eternal Word of the Father
Heavenly Light dispelling all darkness and gloom
Come, Come and enter our hearts

Holy baby of Bethlehem
God with us!
Pure and undefiled
Love Incarnate

We worship You!
We praise You!
We adore You!

Little One, lying in a manger
Poor and humble
Have mercy on us!

Baby Jesus, Son of Mary
Conquer our richness with Your Holy Poverty
Conquer our pride with Your Holy Humility

Light of the world
On Christmas Day
clothe us with peace, joy and hope!

Amen.

The site has been getting a lot of search engine hits from people looking for All Saints Day costume ideas so here is the link to an old post at RoL for saint costume ideas and pics of Bella and Andrew in their costumes.

Here is a post Brian wrote for RoL.

On Thursday July 16th, the Carmelite Order along with the Universal Church will be celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. I believe this special day, which honors the Queen of Heaven, is deeply significant for lay Catholics because it calls us to reflect upon three very important spiritual facts. First - Our Lady's love for us, second - the brown scapular and third - a life of prayer.

A Brief History

The feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel came into existence in the 14th century in commemoration of the "approbation" given to the Carmelite Order by Pope Honorius III. The specific date July 16th was chosen because it was on that day in the year 1251 that St. Simon Stock, the 6th Prior General of the Carmelite Order, had a vision of Our Lady who presented him with the brown scapular saying, "This shall be to you and all Carmelites a privilege, that whoever dies clothed in this (scapular) shall never suffer eternal fire."

Our Lady Loves Us

When St. Simon Stock was Prior of the Carmelite Order, the Order faced numerous difficulties and challenges. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Simon went to Our Lady because he knew that she loved him, and because she loved him, she would help him. Like St. Simon, we should have great confidence in the love the Blessed Mother has for us. And we should never forget that while Christ was hanging on the cross, He gave us His own mother, to be our mother.

The Spiritual Value of the Brown Scapular

The brown scapular is considered a sacramental, which is a "sacred sign" instituted by the Church that help prepare us to "receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it." In a society where sin is exalted and darkness is steadily growing, we need spiritual armor to remain in a state of grace and the light of Christ. The brown scapular is Our Lady's armor. By wearing the scapular we will be clothed with Our Lady's protection and prayers and be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy.

A Life of Prayer

The Carmelite Order is about many things, but first and foremost it is about "prayer." Whenever I think about the Carmelites, I think about John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Elizabeth of the Trinity and Therese the Little Flower. These saints are beacons of light that reveal the power and importance of living a life of prayer. The feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is a fantastic day for us to renew our commitment to pray daily.

By recognizing the love Our Lady has for us, the protection souls receive by wearing the brown scapular and the importance of prayer we can truly celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in awesome fashion.

God bless!

Happy feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here is a post Brian wrote for RoL.

Twelve Promises from God
by Brian

On June 19th the Universal Church will celebrate the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In fact, the whole month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

In December of 1673, Jesus appeared for the first time to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) a Visitation sister living at the Order's convent in Paray-le-Monial. Over the next eighteen months Margaret Mary received directly from Christ revelations about His Most Sacred Heart.

In the course of these revelations, Jesus gave Margaret Mary "twelve promises" that He would keep, for those who honored His Most Sacred. The "twelve promises" are:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.

12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

At one time, a friend of mine discovered by chance the "Five First Saturday Devotion" given by Our Lady of Fatima to Sr. Lucia in 1925. He told me that he was beside himself, because he could not understand why no one told him about this simple devotion that if practiced faithfully would bring at the hour of death, through Our Lady's direct intervention, the graces necessary for salvation.

When I reflect upon the twelve promises above, I can see my friend's dismay over something so simple, yet not practiced, nor even known, by so many of the faithful. Christ is not asking us to climb Mount Everest or to fast forty days and forty nights, nor is He asking us to make all night vigils. All He is asking us to do is honor his Most Sacred Heart and He will do the rest.

Along with receiving communion on nine consecutive first Friday's we should offer our Holy Communion for those who do not receive Our Lord, who do not love Him and who wound Him by their sinful lives. I have also read that we should make a holy hour on the Thursday before first Friday in reparation for sins committed against the Sacred Heart.

The promises listed above show the power of Our Lord's Sacred Heart. They also show how much he really loves us and wants us in Heaven with Him for all eternity. Therefore, these promises should not be passed over lightly or rejected as pious drivel, but recognized for what they truly are - promises from God.

I have to admit that I have not practiced this devotion faithfully. I also have to admit that after reading about the Sacred Heart and pondering the twelve promises I will begin this beautiful devotion on the next First Friday. I pray for the grace to continue to do so for the rest of my life.

If you are practicing this devotion, keep it up. If not, join me and let's make the most of the promises Jesus offers to those who honor and love His Sacred Heart.

God bless.

Here is a post from Brian.

Imagine the scene: Jesus has just been arrested by the crowds and is being taken to the High Priest Caiphias along with the scribes and elders. Following the crowd, but from afar, moving from one shadow to the next so as not to be detected, is St. Peter.

According to Mt. 26:57-58, St. Peter "followed at a distance." This is the same man who earlier in the Gospel declared before the other Apostles that Jesus was the Messiah, "the Son of the living God." Because of this Jesus named Peter, "Rock."

When Jesus performed his miracles and the crowds were thronging to listen to Him, Peter's faith was strong and firm. However, when the crowd came with clubs to arrest Jesus, Peter's faith and allegiance, as Jesus predicted, wavered.

As I reflected on St. Peter following Christ from a distance, I couldn't help but relate to him. When things are going well, how easy it is to walk side by side with Christ, but when the cross over shadows you or when you are called to exercise your faith in a heroic way, which will cause you to be ridiculed or persecuted, it becomes easy to follow Jesus from a distance.

As Lent winds down and the shadow of the cross on Good Friday gives way to light of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, let us pray for one another and ask the Holy Spirit for the courage and strength necessary to respond to Jesus' invitation to "come follow me." Not from a distance, but stride for stride.

Let us also look to St. Peter, who after experiencing the risen Lord, followed Jesus so closely that he chose to die by way of the cross, as His Master did.

God bless!

I just watched this with Bella and it was a great learning tool. We loved it. (And where else can you see R2D2 in the Passion story? LOL!)

To see Part 2, click here.

Have a blessed feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes!

(Painting done by artist Maria Rangel - my future sister -in-law! :-)