Bleeding Heart Flower

It's spring, and though I have a brown thumb, I was in a gardening mood.  So on Holy Thursday, I headed to my local Lowe's to look for a perennial plant that would grow in the shady bed near our front porch.  This beautiful bleeding heart flower caught my eye since it reminded me of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I bought it on Holy Thursday and planted it on Good Friday.  I'm hoping that it will serve as a permanent reminder of Jesus' sacrifice for us. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Your Heart still cherishes all the redeemed and is moved to pity for every human need. Aware of Your invitation, "Come to Me," we pray for the afflicted, the sick, the confused, for all broken hearts, and shattered lives. We bring to You all their material, emotional, and spiritual needs as well as our own. By the love that led You to take flesh of the Virgin Mary, we plead for a favorable response to our prayers.

Amen.

First Week of Advent

Aside from the usual purchase of the Christmas tree and decorating of the house, my family has a few other Advent traditions that we'd like to share.

Our sons are 5, 3, and 9 months old and we want to celebrate Advent in a way they can understand.  We started by lighting our Advent wreath every evening while we read a devotion from Living Light was Born One Night by Arden W. Mead.  This devotional is perfect for young children because the Bible verses and meditations are brief and the reflection questions they ask are at an appropriate level for our kids.  This little booklet is also great because it's not limited to 24 days -- it has enough devotions for the 4 full weeks of Advent!

Activity for the first Sunday of Advent

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent and I wanted to do something different and more Catholic-flavored as we decorated our house.  I decided to make a big Advent Candle display in the boys' bedroom window, which faces the street. 

It was pretty easy!  All I had to do was cut four rectangles out of construction paper (3 purple and 1 pink) and four flames out of yellow construction paper.  I got them laminated at Lakeshore (yay for the teachers' discount for homeschoolers!!!) so they'd be a little more durable and hopefully be usable for next year.  I taped the four rectangles to the window and one of the flames over the first one, so it looks like one candle of an Advent wreath has been lit.  My husband was skeptical, but it ended up looking pretty cool.

All Hallows' Eve Costumes

Knight Templar Costume

Materials:

• Pillowcase (white or cream-colored)

• Red felt

• Leather Belt

• Dark Hoodie and pants

• Toy Sword

Cut a cross from the felt and use fabric glue to attach it to the pillowcase. If you’re up to the task, feel free to sew it on! Cut holes for your child’s head and arms. Dress your child in dark pants and a dark hoodie, then put the pillowcase over the clothes. Fasten the leather belt around your child’s waist and you have your very own Knight Templar, ready to protect Christian pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land!



Here are some photos to use as models:

St. Maximilian Kolbe Costume

Materials:

• White or Gray long-sleeved shirt (I used a onesie for 8-month-old Kolbe)


• Black iron-on letters and numbers


• Round glasses

• Rosary and/or picture of Mary

It's pretty self-explanatory -- just iron on the letters and numbers.  Here is a picture to use as a model:

St. Edward the Confessor Costume

OK, I didn't make this one, but I thought I'd give you ideas anyway!

Materials:

• Crown
• Coat of Arms (see picture below)
• Sword
• Eyeliner for a beard

Here are some photos for inspiration:

This coat of arms is attribued to St. Edward the Confessor

Good luck and have a blessed All Saints' Day!

They've hijacked St. Patrick's Day

Help!  St. Patrick has been kidnapped by the environmentalists!

It really irked me today to see headlines like "How you can go green this St. Patrick's Day."  St. Patrick's Day is the feast of St. Patrick, who converted the pagans of Ireland to Christianity, not a precursor to Earth Day!

The global warming/environmental/gaia religion gets on my nerves endlessly and today was no exception.  I love how they've hijacked a Christian holiday to further their own neopagan religion.  The green beer, green clothes, pinching, and corned beef have caused a lot of people to lose focus on the meaning of March 17 and now this.  Poor St. Patrick must be so disappointed!

It reminds me of the VeggieTales short about St. Patrick where the Irish people worshipped pond scum and shamrocks.  Little did they know how prophetic their little cartoon would be.

BOOK REVIEW - Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt

When I first heard about this book a few years ago, I was skeptical of its content because of Anne Rice's previous works.  Then I heard about her reversion back to her Catholic faith and gave this book a chance.

Frankly, I read the first page and was ready to put it down.  But I thought that maybe she had utilized a slick hook to engage the reader, so I gave her a chance and continued.  By the second page, I really did put the book down.

I have a few issues with the first page.  First, Jesus is without sin, therefore, he would not think ill of a playmate and KILL him.  He also wouldn't break the sabbath, as He is accused of doing later in the book.  Second, Jesus' first miracle occurred at the wedding feast at Cana, when he was 30 years old, NOT when he was a seven-year-old kid.  Third, all of His miracles were a response to someone's faith and I doubt that he would perform a miracle to save his hide after killing one of the neighbor kids.  I'm also sure that our Lord would not waste his time turning clay birds into real birds.  Fourth, in the book, the Jesus character is unaware that he is the Son of God.  OK, so issues 2-4 are not found on the first page, but read on and you'll know what I'm talking about.  Dear Anne, I am so thankful for your change of heart and your return to the faith, but you are horribly misrepresenting our Lord!

As for the second page...it mentions that Jesus has an older brother named James.  As the author should know, Catholic teaching states that St. Joseph was a virgin as well.  Here's a document from Pope John Paul II that explains it: http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2BVM30.HTM.

I have read beyond the second page and could go on and on about why this book is so problematic for me, but I can save that for later.

So what do I do now?  Keep reading, or trash the book?

Proud Mama!

While we were eating lunch, I asked my three-year-old what he wanted to do afterward.  He said that he wanted to color, so I got out his crayons and Stations of the Cross coloring pages (thank you to catholicmom.com!).  I went to wash the lunch dishes and he ran up to the kitchen gate and said "Mommy, the bad men took of Jesus' clothes and nailed him to the cross!"  Yes!  He is starting to understand what Lent and Easter are all about!  I am so proud, I have tears in my eyes and cannot wait to tell his Daddy about it when he gets home from work this afternoon.