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.

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Last year, a cookie exchange was scheduled for December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  In Her honor, I made Mexican Chocolate Cookies from Cooking Light Magazine.  They were a hit and since this year's cookie exchange is today, the Feast of St. Juan Diego, I've decided to make them again.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine:

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE COOKIES

These cookies--bittersweet chocolate that mellows the ground peppers' heat--earned our Test Kitchens' highest rating. They're lovely after dinner with a few last sips of red wine.



Yield: 32 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

Ingredients

5 ounces bittersweet (60 to 70 percent) chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 1/3 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash of black pepper

Dash of ground red pepper

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place chocolate in a small glass bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper); stir with a whisk.
Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg; beat well. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; beat just until blended. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.


Nutritional Information

Calories:80 (33% from fat)

Fat:2.9g (sat 1.7g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.1g)

Protein:0.7g

Carbohydrate:12.8g

Fiber:0.1g

Cholesterol:10mg

Iron:0.2mg

Sodium:35mg

Calcium:4mg

I'm addicted to Nativity Scenes

With Advent around the corner, we've started receiving our annual barrage of catalogs.  While flipping through the catalogs from Leaflet Missal and Christian Book Distributors last night, I found myself drawn to the items featuring the nativity and/or the Holy Family.  I reflected on our Christmas decor and realized that my snowman theme has melted away and has been replaced over the years with a Nativity theme.  Now, I know that we shouldn't collect too many treasures here on earth, but collecting Nativity scenes can't be a bad thing, right?  I mean, they always say to fill your home with holy images, right?  And we need to focus on the birth of Christ rather than commercialism, right? 

By loving images of the Holy Family, I have a reminder of how I hope that my family reflects the most perfect family.

Whatever happened to chastity and modesty?

A lot of my friends and co-workers are on Facebook and have been posting their Halloween photos.  It saddens me to see practicing Catholics dressed as devils and I pray to St. Michael to protect them from evil influences.  However, the photos that disturbed me the most were of a therapist colleague of mine who also works with young children.  Granted, her account has privacy settings so that her kiddos wouldn't be able to see her in her "sexy army chick" costume, but still.  If I knew that my child's therapist spent her evenings scantily clad and posing provocatively, I would consider switching therapists.  It doesn't matter if she is qualified to do her job -- if she spends at least an hour a week one-on-one with my child, who knows what kind of influence she'd have?  When therapists talk amongst themselves during and between treatment sessions, what sort of things are brought up in front of the children?  How does she dress at work?  (I have no comment about the particular aforementioned therapist because I already know the answer to that.)

My goodness, I feel like an old fuddy-duddy, but my job as a mother is to form and protect the virtues of my children.  I don't want to raise them in a vacuum, but with all the immorality in this society, it's hard not to.