Mary's Month

Just wanted to repost this for Mary.

           Click on the this link May the Month of Mary to read an old post I wrote about the month of Mary.

                                                               

The Reason

Why I haven't been blogging lately and my etsy shop is practically empty:

Herb Garden Planter

Potato plant

Succulents :)

Lettuce Mix

Tomatoes and Flowers

Trusty Garden Gloves and Snail Killer

New plants and Blueberry bush

The Garden

The Garden

Apple Tree

Watermelon Sprouts

Strawberries

Pineapple Plants (hopeful they will grow after killing 3.)

Lemon Tree

New favorite hose

Grapes

Large weeds :)

Little Weed. :)

A Little Story

 I was picking up after my kids the other day and the thought came to me that I am very lucky to have messes to clean up at all. If I did not have my beautiful children, my life would be so lonely, sad and empty compared to what it is now. Sure, I 'd have more time to do the things I wanted to and it wouldn't take me hours to do simple everyday tasks, but what about all the wonderful moments my children enrich my life with? I would have missed out on so much joy and happiness. And they are still so young! Who knows how much more beauty and love they are yet to bring into my life and into my heart? So back to the story, there I was sitting on the floor picking up a horrendous mess and actually smiling about it for a minute. :) (Just so you know, I do not smile every time I have to pick up after my kids, in fact, my thoughts are usually very negative about the whole thing). I felt so thankful for them in that moment. Thankful for the mess, the toys, the yelling, the work, the things I take for granted, everything. It was the silver lining on my big grey cloud.

 They are a lot of work, true, but I wouldn't trade them or their messes and trials they come with for anything. And I encourage all mother's to think of how lucky you are to have children the next time you are cleaning up after them or they are driving you a little nuts. Enjoy the precious time you have with them and make sure they know how much you love them. Not the easiest task but well worth every effort.

Divine Mercy Sunday

One of my prayer card images.

Divine Mercy Sunday is tomorrow. I just came across a beautiful image of Jesus and His
Divine Mercy in a Spanish Calendar and was able to find it online to share.(not the image you see here.) You can find it at this link
Divine Mercy National Shrine Photos
it is the 13th photo on the page but there are many other pictures of the shrine you might like also.

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday everyone!

How to pray the Divine Mercy

Prayers of St. Catherine of Siena

Thankful for this Saint in my life right now.
Saint Catherine of Siena, Pray us.

"Lord, take me from myself and give me to yourself." - St Catherine of Siena
Prayer to the Holy Ghost by Saint Catherine of Siena
Holy Spirit, come into my heart; draw it to Thee by Thy power, O my God, and grant me charity with filial fear. Preserve me, O ineffable Love, from every evil thought; warm me, inflame me with Thy dear love, and every pain will seem light to me. My Father, my sweet Lord, help me in all my actions. Jesus, love, Jesus, love. Amen.
Prayer of Saint Catherine of Siena to the Precious Blood of Jesus
Precious Blood,
Ocean of Divine Mercy:
Flow upon us!
Precious Blood,
Most pure Offering:
Procure us every Grace!
Precious Blood,
Hope and Refuge of sinners:
Atone for us!
Precious Blood,
Delight of holy souls:
Draw us! Amen.

- Saint Catherine of Siena

Happy Annunciation Feast Day!

Hail Mary, Faithful Virgin
Hail Mary, Mother of Mercy
Hail Mary, Full of Grace
Pray for us!




Sorry not so many posts lately. It's been a busy, but very good Lent. God bless.

 

Novena To St. Catherine Of Siena

 April 29th

 Heavenly Father, your glory is in your saints. We praise your glory in the life of the admirable St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church. Her whole life was a noble sacrifice inspired by an ardent love of Jesus, your unblemished Lamb. In troubled times she strenuously upheld the rights of His beloved spouse, The Church. Father, honour her merits and hear her prayers for each of us, and for our whole parish family dedicated to her. Help us to pass unscathed through the corruption of this world, and to remain unshakably faithful to the church in word, deed, and example. Help us always to see in the Vicar of Christ an anchor in the storms of life, and a beacon of light to the harbour of your Love, in this dark night of your times and men's souls. Grant also to each of us our special petition . . . (pause to pray for your own intentions). We ask this through Jesus, your Son, in the bond of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St. Catherine of Siena, Pray for us.

Found this prayer very appropriate for the times.
 
Read a little more about this saint at these websites:
http://www.catholicdigest.com/articles/faith/saints/2010/04-01/st-catherine-of-siena
http://st-catherine-medal.com/prayers-to-saint-catherine.htm

Ash Wednesday

Happy Ash Wednesday everyone! I hope and pray that we all have good and fruitful lent filled with hope, love, fasting, prayer, repentance, joy and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Last Sunday at mass I had a little "AH Ha" moment and realized how as being parents we are a reflection of God and His relationship with us in that as He came down to be with us, and teach us and show us the way, we too are called to come down to our children's level to teach them in words they understand, be with them and show them the way of Jesus as best we can with God's help. The Holy Family and the Trinity are wonderful examples of what a family is and how it was made to be, full of unconditional and sacrificing love. Hope this makes sense and is helpful to someone. :)

For anyone interested, here is a Free Lent Activity/Prayer Calendar.
http://alittlebirdbygian.blogspot.com/2012/03/something-for-lent.html

Hello Again!

I have not had time to write much lately but just found a minute to say, I'm still here! :) It is a beautiful day and a happy new year! Thank you God for all your blessings and good gifts!
I have been going through little transformations and am very grateful for God's great love, mercy, forgiveness and patience with me.
There is an idea a little bird told me about that I am working on. It is about emptying myself of worldly things, desires and anything that is not pleasing to God. I can't say I'm doing a good job of it at all, (mostly because I'm not) but it's something I am trying to grasp and put into practice. Here's the idea: I am a visual person so I literally start by thinking of myself as a kind of vessel, as though I were a jar or vase of some kind filled with things that I have put inside myself and then I imagine taking everything out and just being empty and open. Waiting for God to do with me what He will and fill me He pleases. This is mostly just an idea for me right now. I think about it more and more and hope to spiritually become an empty vessel for God. I pray for everyone who needs Your grace and ask that you please mercifully send us your Holy Spirit to guide us, not as we will, but as You Will.

Come Holy Spirit, teach me what I am, and what Thou art.

I Get To

 It's funny how you can learn great lessons in the most unlikely places and unexpected times. While watching Say Yes To The Dress on TLC one day, I learned an unexpected lesson about being grateful for our many everyday blessings and privileges. The show featured a young woman who was just discharged from the hospital for a gunshot wound to her back that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She was just crossing the street with a friend one day, then bang! her whole life was changed by one stray bullet. Now here she was, her first day out of the hospital, looking for her wedding dress for a life with her soon to be husband that was going to be very different from what she had planned. She said something about how she would give anything to just be able to stand up one more time again and I suddenly felt very guilty for the many, many things I take for granted every moment of my life. Like the use of my legs and being able to stand and walk whenever I want to. It really opened me up to the fact that I have so much more to thank God for with each new moment, than I will ever be able to truly thank Him for. So now, as an attempt to have a more grateful attitude, when I run through the things I have to do or get done each day, I try to say, "I get to" instead of "I have to". I get to make the beds. I get to do the laundry. I get to change my sons diaper. I get to clean the house. I get to make dinner. I get to raise my children. I don't have to do these things, I get to do them and I am blessed with an endless amount of these beautiful burdens.

Free Family Advent Activity Calendar List

I was inspired by St. Teresa of the Andes to make this little Advent Calendar thing. Please feel free to print it out to your hearts desire. :)
My family has always had the tradition of putting one piece of hay into a little manger for every kind act we do during Advent to prepare a soft place for Jesus on Christmas day. This Calendar is a variation of our tradition but gives specific ideas of things to do for Jesus.(and you can still incorporate the tradition of putting hay in the manger.) It is nice because it works with any schedule. You can do as many or as few things a day as you want and there is no one set thing to do each day.
As Mother Teresa said, let us take God at His word, What we do to the least of our brethren, we do it to Him.

I wish everyone a very hopeful Advent and a Joyful Christmas this year!

God blessings and Peace to all!

After reading a book that listed Mary's 10 primary virtues, I got an itch to write them down somewhere I could see them and meditate on them. Here is where I decide to write them, on an old piece of Oak floor board. When I read them, it feels like a prayer and I hope they inspire and touch your heart like they have mine.

An early Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We have so much to be grateful for. God please help us to always have a grateful heart, especially when it is hardest for us.

All Saints Day

Happy All Saints Day! 

All you good and holy Saints, Pray for us!

 

October Month of Mary and the Holy Rosary

This month is dedicated to Our Lady and The Holy Rosary. Saying the rosary daily is one of the ways we can celebrate this month and there are more ideas at this Link. The rosary is a wonderful gift and powerful prayer. And please remember to continue to pray for life until November 4th with people around the country and 40 days for life.

Here is a great link for more information about this month and how to pray the rosary: http://www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com/month-of-the-holy-rosary.html

Childlike

Recently we have started saying evening prayers as a family. It has been a blessing for our family, but sometimes during our prayers (which we try to keep very short and simple) my kids seem to turn into uncontrollable blobs of energy and are very fidgety and unfocused and can't seem to stay in one place for 5 seconds. Well, as surprising as it may be, this tends to drives me crazy and I start to say silent prayers for more patience in between our evening prayers. Especially since it's the end of the day and I'm ready for bed too. So there I am trying to get through one short prayer and I feel like I am trying to say grace with 2 hungry, wild, playful and adorable puppies instead of children. Anyway, I was thinking this morning and all the sudden I realized how very much like a my children, I pray at times. Now, I may be able to stay still and say the prayers I want to, but really, there are many times my thoughts seem to run around and jump and are just plain old noisy while I am saying my prayers. All too often I allow my thoughts get in the way of really praying my prayers. I'm sure it will be a ongoing battle, but I pray for the grace to really be present and quiet in body and mind when I pray. And for the patience to pray with my kids! :)

A Thought

If we suffer much, we have been given the opportunity to love much. Jesus proved His love for us as he hung upon the cross for our sins and He invites us to imitate Him and offer our little sufferings for our brothers and sisters.

Happy Feast Day of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and The Holy Face ( The Little Flower)
St. Therese, Pray for us!

40 Days of Prayer and Fasting Across the United States

one of my baby's precious feet.

 I just heard about this today and would like to welcome and encourage all to join in this worthy cause. People all over the country will be fasting and praying for life over the next 40 days.

If you would like to get involved with a group near you or want more information check out their website at 40 Days For Life.com 

Remember, you can always participate at home and with your family and friends if you don't have a lot of extra time. Please share and spread the word!!

wish I could write more, but wouldn't you know it, I'm holding a baby that wants a little attention. :)

Questions For The Heart

Some thoughts that have found their way to my little ear that I would like to echo back into the world:

Do we allow others to change for the better? Or do we hold who they are now or have been against them?

Do we desire good for others, especially those we do not like or agree with? Or would we rather see some people fail and experience bad things?

Do we accept people as the beautiful creation of God that they are and love them in spite of their faults? Do we pray for those who are in most need of prayer?

Do we strive to love as God loves. Do we love as God asks us to love others and Himself?
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength. [Deuteronomy 6:5]

Are we living what we know to be true? And if we are not, why?


How far above our ways are Your ways, O Lord, and how far above our thoughts are Your thoughts. Help us to love as we should, dear Jesus, and guide us all safely home to you. Grant us the gift to live in your beautiful, and most loving, Sacred Heart. That our hearts may be consumed within yours, burning with Your love for all the world and those in it.

Holy Spirit, move in us and open our hearts to know and do the Father's will.

Blessed Mary, pray for us! We are your children and are always in great need of our Mother.

Holy Name of Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help

 Today is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Here is a lovely little prayer to honor our Blessed Mother and her Holy name today. Happy feast day everyone!

O Mother of Perpetual Help, 

grant that I may ever invoke Thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. 

O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let Thy name henceforth be ever on my lips. 

Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on Thee, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on Thee, ever repeating Thy sacred name, Mary, Mary. 

O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fill my soul when I pronounce Thy sacred name, or even only think of Thee. 

I thank God for having given Thee, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name.  But I will not be content with merely pronouncing Thy name: let my love for Thee prompt me ever to hail Thee, Mother of Perpetual Help.

~Recite Nine Hail Mary's.~

Look what I found outside my window yesterday. :)

 

A Quote From Pope John Paul II

"People are made for happiness. Rightly, then you thirst for happiness. Christ has the answer to this desire of yours. But he asks that you trust him. True joy is a victory, something which cannot be obtained without a long and difficult struggle. Christ holds the secret of this victory."

                                                                              -Pope John Paul II ~World Youth Day 2002