Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Memorare to the Sacred Heart of Jesus  

Remember, O most kind Jesus, that none who have had recourse to Your Sacred Heart, implored its assistance, or called for mercy, have ever been abandoned.  Filled, and animated by this same confidence, O divine Heart, Ruler of all hearts, I fly to You, and oppressed  beneath the weight of my sins, I prostrate myself before You.  Despise not Your unworthy child, but grant me, I pray, an entrance into Your Sacred Heart.   

Sustain me in all my combats and be with me now, and at all times, but especially in the hour of my death.   

0 gracious Jesus!  0 amiable Jesus!  0 loving Jesus!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I was inspired by this easy little treat at Catholic Cuisine, but the store I went to last night apparently doesn't carry Pillsbury breadsticks, and I didn't have the energy to stop at several stores, so I bought Pillsbury cinnamon rolls instead and fashioned them into shamrocks for breakfast this morning.

  I added a few drops of green food coloring to the icing - 

and Voila!

Happy Feast Day - St. Angela Merici - January 27th

I would be remiss to not mention the memorial day of my patron saint - St. Angela Merici. She was instrumental on my journey towards homeschooling as I discovered that she was a teacher of girls in their homes!

Here is a link to a page with more information about her.

Prayer to St. Angela Merici

Saint Angela, you were not afraid of change. 

You did not let stereotypes keep you from serving.

Help us to overcome our fear of change in order to follow God's call and allow others to follow theirs.

Amen.

Our St. Nicholas Day Celebration

Yesterday  (December 6th)was the feast of St. Nicholas.  This celebration has become one of my favorites.  I had never heard about it as a child (or really any feast days, really, except for the obvious big ones) and only came to learn of it since we started homeschooling 8 years ago.  

I didn't take as many pictures this year - but here are a few.

 

Santa Claus returned to his previous self (with a miter and crosier).

The kids both received St. Nicholas ornaments as gifts this year that I got from EWTN Religious Catalogue.

St. Martin of Tours (Martinmas)

St. Martin was born during the reign of Constantine in the part of the Roman Empire that is now Hungary.  He joined the imperial cavalry and was stationed in France, where he converted to Christianity.  St. Martin wanted to follow a contemplative life but was called by the citizens of Tours to be their bishop.   In art he is most often pictured on horseback, show cutting his cloak in half to share with a beggar.  According to legend, Christ appeared to Martin that very night, dressed in that very cloak, and told him that what Martin had done for the beggar, he had done for Christ.  - excerpt from Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom

The day is celebrated in the evening of November 11 in some parts of the Netherlands, in a small part of Belgium, and most areas of Germany and Austria. Children go through the streets with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St. Martin. Sometimes, a man dressed as St. Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession (though not in the Netherlands).  In recent years, the lantern processions have become widespread even in Protestant areas of Germany and the Netherlands, despite the fact that most Protestant churches do not recognize saints as distinct from the laity. -  excerpt from Wikipedia

Our own St. Martin's Lamps:

Our First Ever Pentecost Cake

Thanks to Jessica, I made our first ever Pentecost cake today. This was a fun and simple way to celebrate the day.

The symbolism of this cake is very neat:

• White Frosting - For "Whitsunday"
• Large Candle in Center - represents Christ our Light, who promised to send the Holy Ghost.
• 12 Birthday Candles - represent the 12 Apostles and the tongues of fire.
• 7 red hearts - made of candy or icing, represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost (I made mine with a heart cookie-cutter and sprinkles; this was a bit messy, but it worked out okay.
  
• 12 strawberries - represent the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost

The kids got to blow out the candles representing the "mighty wind."

Our Very First St. Joseph's Altar

"Joseph, the husband of our Lady, foster-father of our Lord, guardian of the Holy Family, is honored liturgically on March 19 as patron of the Universal Church and again on May 1 as patron of workmen. This quiet, just man, a symbol of humility and protector of families, is honored in many nations as patron of fathers, the poor, and craftsmen. He is also invoked for a happy death.

In Sicily, from the Middle Ages, a special altar was made on the saint's feast day. A great famine had seized the island, and the starving farmers implored the aid of St. Joseph. Their prayers were answered. In gratitude they offered their most valuable possession - their food - to the saint.

Many Americans of Sicilian descent carry this tradition on today, with beautifully decorated altars that are as much feasts for the eye as the palate. In Sicily, the altars were erected in family homes, usually in thanksgiving for favors granted."

After seeing the 3-D Virtual St. Joseph's Altar, I decided to make a small St. Joseph's altar this year with the kids. This is a first for us! Lil Guhl colored all the little pieces.

"The altars generally have three tiers to symbolize the Blessed Trinity. A statue of St. Joseph and a statue or picture of the Holy Family are placed on the top tier and decorated with flowers, greenery, and fruit. Beautiful breads are baked in symbolic shapes. This bread may be eaten, but pieces are saved by the devout. Through the year in case of a storm a small piece is thrown out, and St. Joseph's aid is invoked to protect the household."

"Some of the symbols often pictured on the St. Joseph's altar are the monstrance, chalice, cross, dove, lamb, Bible, hearts, wreath, palms, lilies, sandals, beard of St. Joseph, ladder, and tools. A braided loaf symbolizes the staff of St. Joseph, which according to legend bloomed with entwined blossoms to single him out from among all Mary's suitors as her spouse-to-be."

"Other traditional foods are also found on the altars. Mudica is a type of seasoned breadcrumb for the pasta, which represents the sawdust of Joseph the carpenter.

Pignolatti are fried pastries in the shape of pine cones. Legend tells that the Child Jesus played with pine cones for toys as a child. Pupaculova is a bread baked with dyed eggs, symbolizing the coming of Easter."

"Wine reminds the participants of the wedding feast of Cana. In addition to other fruits, there are generally grapes, olives and figs because these are grown abundantly in Sicily."

"Guests at the altar are invited to take home fruit and sometimes other small objects placed on the altar, such as holy cards, medals, and fava beans. The blessed beans are in remembrance of a time when the beans, originally only animal fodder, grew in abundance when the other crops failed. In desperation, the farmers ate the beans and were surprised at their good taste. They became known as "lucky beans." Legend has it that the person who carries a blessed bean will never be without coins. It can also be a sacramental to remind us to pray." - Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom by Ann Ball

We put the altar together today, since tomorrow we will be pretty busy.

And here's our finished altar.


Memorare to St. Joseph
Remember, O most illustrious Patriach St. Joseph, on the testimony of St. Teresa, thy devoted client, never has it been heard that anyone who invoked thy protection or sought thy mediation has not obtained relief. In this confidence I come before thee, my loving protector, chaste spouse of Mary, foster-father of the Savior of men and dispenser of the treasure of His Sacred Heart. Despise not my earnest prayer, but graciously hear and obtain my petition. (Here mention your request.)

Let Us Pray
O God, Who by Thine ineffable Providence did vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in Heaven, Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today was the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and my birthday. Some plans sort of fell through this morning, as Lil Guhl woke up with another headache. We did manage to make some churros this afternoon in honor of the feast day. They turned out okay, alth0ugh a little undercooked.

And some roses for Mary on our table.

And finally, the recipe for CHURROS:

Yield: 1 dozen 4 to 6 inch churros

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Corn, grapeseed, canola or other neutral oil for frying

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs

Method:

1. Add enough oil to a large saucepan or deep skillet to come to a depth of at least 2 inches; heat to about 350 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon together on a large plate.

2. Combine remaining sugar, butter, salt and 1 cup water in a saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, and add flour, all at once. Stir constantly until mixture forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and beat eggs one at a time into mixture, stirring until smooth after each addition.

3. Spoon dough into a pastry bag with a large star tip (or simply drop spoons full of batter into oil). Press strips of dough about 4 inches long into hot oil. Cook as many as will comfortably fit at once, turning as they brown, 5 to 10 minutes each.

4. Remove churros from oil, drain on paper towels, then immediately roll them in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve hot or warm.

And there you have it!

The Immaculate Conception

A Holy Day of Obligation, December 8th

This week we celebrate and important dogmatic belief of the Church: The Immaculate Conception. However, it is important to make clear what this celebration is not. It is not referring to the miraculous conception of Jesus, but the miraculous conception of Mary, His mother. Our belief states that the Virgin Mary was preserved from the stain of Original Sin when she was conceived in the womb.

While not explicitly referred to in Scripture, there are references to Mary which offer substantial understanding. A potentially prophetic reference occurs early in the Bible: Genesis 3:15 where God states that He will establish enmity between the woman and the serpent (think: Satan). In Luke 1:28, we hear that the angel Gabriel called her “full of grace” and that “the Lord is with you.” True fullness of grace would be lacking if she came into this world in sin.

Two other strong arguments for the Immaculate Conception of Mary are based upon the common sense Archbishop Fulton Sheen pointed to the fact that if one could make his own mother, wouldn’t he make her perfect, wouldn’t he love her so much that he would protect her from any harm, from any fall, from any blemish? A second comes from Blessed John Duns Scotus. He recognized that all are in need of Christ’s salvific act since we inherit Original Sin upon conception. Without contradicting Scripture and Tradition, he viewed her to be “preserved” from that stain through the merits of the passion of Christ as a singular privilege of grace. In effect, she shared beforehand the effects of the salvation which Christ brought to the world. From our point of view, time is a boundary in life, but not so for God. God is not prevented from doing this, and we believe He did. Our Lady was saved by God in an extraordinary way, for she was preserved from any stain of sin. Whereas we are picked up after the fall and cleansed, Mary was prevented from falling and thus was stainless. Mary gives thanks all the more for she is more indebted to her Savior.

Please check out Catholic Cuisine for ideas for a special dinner (or other meals) in honor of this important feast day.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

Our St. Nicholas celebration turned out so nice! The kids made the St. Nicholas statues last night. That worked out well because we used them to decorate the table. The Candy Cane Coffee Cake was a big hit - it was delicious! I will definitely be making that again.

Here's some pictures of the kids making their St. Nicholas' last night.

And then some pictures of our morning.