True Humility

It's still Sunday and I'm still taking a rest from my blogging break ;) And I have a thing about leaving this blog on a positive note. This is an amazing article that was originally in Our Sunday Visitor that touched my heart on many levels by Marcellino D'Ambrosio. Here are my favorite quotes from the article:

Humility does not mean looking down on oneself or thinking ill of oneself. It really means not thinking of oneself very much at all.

The humble are free to forget themselves because they are secure. They accept the fact that, as creatures, they are small, vulnerable, and not ultimately in control. But they know there is a Creator who is great, omnipotent, and totally in control. And they know that they’ve been made in the image and likeness of that Creator. That makes gives them a dignity that they don’t have to earn and can never be taken away. Though they’ve tarnished the divine likeness through sin, they know that the Creator came down from the heights of heaven to become human and fix what they couldn’t fix.

So when they mess up, the humble don’t have to cover up. They just say “please forgive me,” give thanks for God’s mercy, and move on. And when their creaturely limitations cause them to fail, they are not surprised. They realize that they are not God.

.
.
.

Humility opens the door to the hearts of others and to the heart of God.

Go read the entire article here.

Tomorrow we start school. Please pray for that to go well and for us to experience God's joy in our week. We will pray the same joy for you.


HT Vincenzo at Sancte Pater

Helplessly Hoping

Hi! Well, I had to get up early this morning to make bars for our Church picnic today which will happen right after Mass, so we are actually ahead of the game this morning and I have a little extra time! At least for now I do. Anyway, since it is Sunday, I decided to take a rest from my blogging break (yeah, I know, it's a stretch), but I'm hoping that writing about this will help me get this off of my mind! What do I need to get off of my mind, you say?

I cannot get this song out of my mind. It's a post from The Crescat and is a latin translation of Gather Us In. I am not even going to post the video here because I am having a hard enough time trying to get it out of my mind without having it on my blog too. I even forgot to grease the pan for my bars this morning because that song won't get out of my head. Since I am a convert, I just thought this was just a traditional Catholic hymn, but I do remember feeling kind of rich and haughty the first time I sang it (I don't think I am really rich and haughty but maybe I am and that's the whole point of the song???). Lord, make me rich in Your Spirit.

This may be one of your favorite songs, and that is fine, I am sure that there are songs I like that you would really dislike too. I've had to break out Nirvana to try to get it out of my head. I know, I know, Nirvana on a Sunday morning before Mass?? No wonder teens are angry listening to Smells Like Teen Spirit. Entertain us, entertain us..... What is wrong with me. Maybe I should take a cue from Terry and listen to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (Helplessly Hoping is my favorite song, hence the post title). But what I really want to listen to is this. Maybe I should order that CD from Sanctamissa. I need to go find my Hours CD from St. John Vianney Seminary. I couldn't find a link for the CD, so if anyone has a link post it in the comments section.
Thanks for listening! Oh, I feel much better! (obscure monty python reference)

Pray for Joy

After yesterday's post here, I did not want to leave this blog on such a serious note. So just one more post (yeah right, you'll believe it when you see it). I wanted to post something light and funny, but just could not think of anything. So, dear reader, I am asking for a prayer request from you, lest I take myself too seriously. Educating our children is serious business, but, for us, homeschooling just does not work unless the kids can be kids and mom (that's me) has a sense of humor. Please pray for us to find and experience the God-given joy that is around us and somewhere within us. I don't want to sound too Pollyanna-ish, but I REALLY need to lighten up. Thank you for your prayers and know that I will be praying the same joy for you, dear reader.

Contrasting Archbishop Chaput with Archbishop Dolan

Scroll to end for updates.

Okay, I know, I'm supposed to be not blogging for a couple of weeks. Right after this, I am going to get back to work on homeschooling. Why are we homeschooling? Because, right now in our world, the most important thing we can do for our children is to teach them how to live in the strength and beauty of their Catholic faith. They need to be battle-ready to defend their faith and to stand up for their beliefs in the face of increasing persecution. Yes, we need to be always be living the Truth in love; however, we need not be naive about the forces which are trying to destroy the freedom to practice and live our faith completely.

Thought this was an interesting contrast between two leaders in our Church today. What do you think?

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, source Lifesite News:

"Systematic Discrimination Against Church Now Seems Inevitable"

…we cannot dispense with our history out of some superficial concern over offending our non-Christian neighbors. Notwithstanding the chatter of the "new atheists," there is no risk that Christianity will ever be forced upon people anywhere in the West. The only "confessional states" in the world today are those ruled by Islamist or atheist dictatorships -- regimes that have rejected the Christian West's belief in individual rights and the balance of powers.

I would argue that the defense of Western ideals is the only protection that we and our neighbors have against a descent into new forms of repression -- whether it might be at the hands of extremist Islam or secularist technocrats.

But indifference to our Christian past contributes to indifference about defending our values and institutions in the present. And this brings me to the second big lie by which we live today -- the lie that there is no unchanging truth.

Relativism is now the civil religion and public philosophy of the West. Again, the arguments made for this viewpoint can seem persuasive. Given the pluralism of the modern world, it might seem to make sense that society should want to affirm that no one individual or group has a monopoly on truth; that what one person considers to be good and desirable another may not; and that all cultures and religions should be respected as equally valid.

In practice, however, we see that without a belief in fixed moral principles and transcendent truths, our political institutions and language become instruments in the service of a new barbarism. In the name of tolerance we come to tolerate the cruelest intolerance; respect for other cultures comes to dictate disparagement of our own; the teaching of "live and let live" justifies the strong living at the expense of the weak.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, source To Whom Shall We Go blog:

Sometimes, how we do things is as important as what we do.

Never has this been truer than in our present discussion, where civility and regard for the dignity of others must be our priority.

Presuming the worst in others always puts dialogue at risk; mutual respect is basis of all good listening.

This is a good time for all of New York, in its varied cultural, ethnic, and religious communities, to come together in thoughtful and respectful exchange so our real healing can begin. Although I have no strong sentiment about what should be decided about the eventual where of the Islamic Center, I do have strong convictions about how such a discussion should be reached: civilly and charitably. The hot-heads on either side must not dominate. While I’m hardly an expert in this area, and there are certainly far more competent voices than mine, the Archdiocese of New York would be honored to be part of any such conversations.

Pope John Paul II’s life was an example of how this kind of good will can resolve centuries-old hatreds, building new bridges between Christians, Jews and Muslims. In this same spirit, the Archdiocese of New York hopes to cooperate with other religious leaders in laying the groundwork for a long-term relationship with the City’s diverse Islamic groups, extending the hand of friendship long overdue between both of our communities. Similarly, now is the time for all of us to rededicate ourselves to binding up the unhealed wounds of 9/11, and to consoling the ongoing suffering of its survivors.

As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, our challenge as New Yorkers is clear: to keep our proud heritage of religious freedom and a warm hospitality to newcomers alive, so that the twin goods of both welcoming and healing are never left unbalanced.

What do I think? Well, while I have a great deal of respect for both Archbishop Dolan and Archbishop Chaput, I believe that now is not the time to remain neutral and try to build bridges. Dialogue may be well and good, but let us not be naive in thinking that there are not forces out there that are trying to destroy us. May God have mercy on us and guide our shepherds in Truth.


Update: Archbishop Chaput's entire address he gave in Slovakia entitled "Living Within the Truth: Religious Liberty and Catholic Mission in the New Order of the World." is posted at Zenit.com

Curriculum is here!

We are going to be spending the next several days getting our homeschool together. I would like to post some info about what we are doing with our homeschool, so I am not going to blog until we have all of that together and our school is up and running. This has been extra challenging this time around because we are still trying to unpack and get back to our Family Rule. This is something we have done from reading A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot, which I highly recommend. Another thing I plan to do is post info on books I have read that have been helpful to me in my vocation as wife and mother.

Please pray for us as we embark on this new adventure, and God willing, I hope to be back blogging about all of that in a few weeks or so.

May God be with You always. Thanks for visiting!

God, help us as we prepare for another school year. May we all grow closer to You in all that we do. Watch over us and protect us. In Your Holy Name I pray, Amen.

Boundaries

Now that we live in a new neighborhood in a new house with 2 more doors to come in and out of, we have to teach our children their new boundaries and establish ground rules. In this new neighborhood, there are new playmates all around with one big giant backyard where there are play sets and trampolines galore. It is awesome, and I am happy that our children will have more people to play with as they grow up; however, it has been challenging when all of a sudden our son is gone and we are wondering where he went and find out he has gone next door to play with an old kindergarten classmate of his.

Somehow, through all the craziness of moving we did not tell him that he needs to ask permission from us, and we need to make sure it is okay with the other little boys' parents. Our children are all still young so we haven't ventured into being a bit more permissive in this area. Maybe we will be a bit more permissive as we get more comfortable with our new neighbors and as the children get older, although we are definitely both of the mindset that being overly permissive is a detriment, but that is for another post. On the other hand, we do not want to be overly protective either, also another post.

We also need to teach them about what toys they can take over to their new friends' houses as well as what can come over here. If our son takes his legos over there, they get all mixed up with their legos and you have a big mess of legos everywhere even if they could build something really cool with their combined sets. Now that I am typing this it sounds really dumb, but it seems like a good rule to me (and to dear husband who is a little possessive of our son's legos even though he (the dad) has his own set of practically every star wars lego ever known, but I digress). I know I'm rambling, it is a little early for me, sorry, let me get to my point.

God gives us grace to help us along the road, but the devil can place snares along the way as well. This makes me think of the internet. There is so much good out there to find and learn, but it is like a big giant backyard with play sets and trampolines galore. Where to go, what to learn, who to follow? I am thinking a lot about this because yesterday I practically spent all day, off and on, surfing around the internet reading different blogs, deciding to follow or not? To follow publicly or not? Who are these people? They seem nice, but I really do not know these people at all.

Bottom line, I hope our school books come soon because we really need some structure around here, not only for them, but for me. I really do not need to be obsessively checking my new friends' blogs all the time. Or my own for that matter. Does blogging make me obsessive, or am I am I blogging because I am obsessive? Rambling once again. Focus, back to point. Think I'll pray.

O Dear Jesus, hear me, graciously hear me, help me to sort out where you want me to go and what you want me to read and who you want me to follow. In following other people you place in my life, let us follow You together, and when it seems like that cannot happen, give me the courage to follow You alone. Thank You for Your Word and Your Commandments to keep us within the strength and beauty of Your Will. Thank You for the healing grace of Confession, and the nourishment You give us in Your Holy Eucharist. Place my thoughts and my senses in Your Custody, so that I may have temperance and prudence when it comes to blogging and following blogs. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Good Saint Joseph, pray for us.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, Oh Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

And Fr. Z's prayer before connecting to the internet:

Almighty and eternal God,who created us in Thy image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I thirst

Found the coolest videos by donjojohannes. Here's a good one:



HT Little Flower 1220 at Catholic Homeschooling Blogging Mamas

Baby Fever

Oh my, found these pictures that my dear friend Jennifer took when Sophia was just a couple of months old. Hope you enjoy!

St Catherine of Siena, pray for us

A Prayer of St. Catherine of Siena:

My Nature is Fire

In your nature,
eternal Godhead,
I shall come to know my nature.
And what is my nature, boundless love?
It is fire,
because you are nothing but a fire of love.
And you have given humankind
a share in this nature,
for by the fire of love
you created us.
And so with all other people
and every created thing;
you made them out of love.
O ungrateful people!
What nature has your God given you?
His very own nature!
Are you not ashamed to cut yourself off from such a noble thing
through the guilt of deadly sin?
O eternal Trinity,
my sweet love!
You, light,
give us light.
You, wisdom,
give us wisdom.
You, supreme strength,
strengthen us.
Today, eternal God,
let our cloud be dissipated
so that we may perfectly know and follow your Truth
in truth,
with a free and simple heart.
God, come to our assistance!
Lord, make haste to help us!
Amen.

From The Prayers of Catherine of Siena. 2nd edition. Suzanne Noffke, OP, translator and editor.(San Jose.: Authors Choice Press, 2001)

H/T Drawn By Love

Thank You Daily Grace!

Oh my, I read this post this morning at feminine-genius that touched my heart on so many levels. Writing about military family homecomings in the video below, she talked about mothers as the bridge to fatherhood. If you read nothing else today, please go read Genevieve's post.




As I read this, it occurred to me how Mary is truly our Mother showing us the way to our Loving Father in Heaven. What a gift Jesus has given us in Mary and what a gift she gives us in showing us the way to Her Son and to Our Father. Here are a few quotes, but please go read the entire post. Thank you Genevieve! Thank you Daily Grace for posting it on your blog!

This is the job of the mother -- to keep dad alive and predominant in the
hearts and minds of the children, no matter how much it hurts sometimes. She
tells stories, revisits memories, explains who he is, and most importantly,
provides constant reminders of his passionate love for his children. This
happens at the breakfast table, in the car, while pushing the swings, while
singing lullabies, amidst putting away groceries and when tucking the children
in at night.

And-

Mothers are extraordinarily resiliant and can keep the home fires burning, but
she cannot replace the father. What she can do is be an effective bridge to
fatherhood, and she does that best if she knows how important, how
irreplacable he really is.

H/T Daily Grace

Thank You! Please Continue to Pray!

Praise God! Thank you for you prayers! Thank you to Our Lady and St. Joseph! We received an offer on our house on Sunday August 15, on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary! We now have an agreed to purchase price and contract, but do not have a closing date yet. Please pray for all to continue to go smoothly and that the sale will be complete soon. Please pray for the couple buying our home as well and that they will be as blessed as we were living there and that they will come ever closer to God.

Back to unpacking and laundry and laundry and laundry, and oh yes, gotta get that curriculum ordered :) Peace and blessings to you all.

Making some changes and prayer request

Well, its been about 6 months since I started blogging and I am going to change things around a little and add some stuff to my blog, but like anything else it usually takes me at least 10 times longer than I plan because of interruptions and life. So please be patient with me and continue to check in once in awhile! We have been doing so much traveling lately and with the move, everything is out of sorts around here, so I need to concentrate on getting things in order around our home as well before we start a new school year. We have not even ordered any books or curriculum yet this year, and I lost the list we started with what we wanted to order, so I am going to start all over again. Ugh.

Anyway, I feel like anything that comes in my head right now, just goes right out, so I am not too good at posting. I also quit obsessive checking of the news so I do not even know what is going on in the world. That is probably a good thing, but also I don't feel as informed right now and thus unable to post on that kind of stuff (not that it is what you want to read anyway). Any suggestions would be very welcome. I am going to prayerfully consider where to go with this blog, and then dive in!

A prayer request: please pray for our old house to sell and for us to have better trust in God's plan for this situation. We are beginning to feel the pressure of having two houses, mentally, spiritually, and financially. We have been praying for the intercession of St. Joseph. It is so hard to be patient and to trust. God has a plan, we just need to be okay with it, whatever it is, and right now we are having doubts.

On a good note, we went to see Scott Hahn speak this weekend and it was so uplifting, particularly his insights on fatherhood and trusting God. We just wish we weren't so tired. God, give us rest, clarity, and peace. Help us to retain what You teach us and to practice Your Word in our lives. Thank You for giving us shelter and we pray for those people who do not have shelter. Open our eyes to where You want us to serve and love You in others. Thank You for the many blessings You have poured out on us, and let us never take for granted all that You have given us. And let us never profane the eternal by only focusing on the temporal. Thank You Jesus for giving us Your Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in Holy Mass. We praise You and thank You always. In Your Holy Name, Amen. St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

First Blessing of a Newly Ordained Priest

Love this from JPSonnen at Orbis Catholicus Secundus:



H/T Vincenzo at Sancte Pater

In the Quiet of His Love We Know Him

He reveals Himself to us in the quiet of our soul. As we were driving past Lake McDonald toward Logan Pass one morning during our visit to Glacier National Park, we saw the water on the lake as still as glass, so smooth and peaceful that it held the life of the mountains on its breathtaking reflection.

Then after a full day of hiking and seeing the beauty of God's life all around us, we made our way down the mountain pass on our way back to the campground at Apgar. Once again, we passed Lake McDonald and took in the majestic view of the mountains. Only, as we passed the water this time, the water was moving with the wind and rolling waves formed white caps. The movement of the water also held its own beauty, but much different than the reflection of the mountains. While movement of water also can captivate our senses, like waves crashing against a shoreline, it is in the quiet that we see the reflection of life around us. When we become still and listen in the quiet of our soul, we hear Him speak His Love to us and see His reflection in our heart. Thank You Holy Spirit for breathing life into us and life into the water. Reveal His Love to us in the quiet of our soul. Thank You for giving us moments of grace to see You, hear You, smell You, feel You, and touch You. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Trip QOTD

This is a few days delayed, but wanted to share a funny quote from our trip to the mountains.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We encounter more and more mountains the farther west we travel. As we are headed through the beautiful winding roads in Wyoming on our way to Montana, our 6 year-old son suddenly shouts from the very back of the minivan, "WE ARE ANDY SCHLECK!!"

To which our 8 year-old daughter says smugly, "Yeah, but it was Alberto Contador who won the race."

I could analyze this on so many levels but since we are on vacation, I'll just laugh and skip the analysis.



Note: If you are not a Tour de France fan, this will mean nothing to you. :)