Dreaming of Heaven

I love the feast days of the church...The days to really hone in on what anchors us.  These days give us the opportunity to celebrate the real warriors of faith, gone before us to teach us how to survive this life.  Today is one of those days.  Go figure, it comes at a time when I needed it most.  God is good!

Being crushed by the mystery of what has happened to our family, I woke up crying this morning.  I sobbed in bewilderment about why we weren't worth fighting for.  Feeling a deep punch to my gut as I wondered about the ripple effects of decisions beyond my control, I spun with confusion.  Knowing I will never truly understand what has transpired, I questioned how on earth I will do this life now? Momentarily, I felt abandoned and terribly alone.

Photo taken back in March-St. Mary's Our Lady of Fatima

Suddenly, a glimpse of heaven shined through a holy mother...The Mother Christ gave us Himself.  She's our Mother, your Mother, my Mother...She did this life, just like us.  She walked a road of suffering and agony, continuing to say Yes to God from the 1st day He asked her to bear His son, to the last day He took her to heaven.  How glorious that day must have been for her...To finally be at peace forever, with the Holy Trinity. 

This feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a perfect reminder.

I'm dreaming of that. 
I'm dreaming of heaven...

Not in a morbid way but with great excitement for the ultimate goal.  It actually fuels me to keep moving forward, to keep going on this sojourn.  No matter how painful it is, I know I am not alone and there's much splendor and happiness to look forward to.

Dreaming of heaven gives me the strength to keep teaching the faith in our home, even as a single mother.  A prayer life and rhythm of the church year are still alive here. 

I vow to keep the light on.

We are still a family, bound together by love that can never be discarded. Humans can discard humans but you can't ditch God's love. Hope may dim on our dark and sorrowful days but it can always be rekindled.  Days such as this are a beautiful reminder that good things always come with our eyes fixed on heaven. 

What a day to celebrate! 

I huddled with my children around the kitchen sink this morning, before they left for school, and we prayed for our Mother to give us strength like hers.  Like birds taking shelter in a storm, it may have been a desperate plea but prayer just the same.  May she always keep us close to her Son, Jesus Christ...The heavenly host and true love of our lives.

Our Lady's love is like a limpid stream that has its source in the Eternal Fountains, quenches the thirst of all, can never be drained, and ever flows back to its Source.

~Blessed Margaret Bourgeoys~

Sacred and Immaculate Heart (Healthy) Snack Platters

Happy Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

 

I'm popping in to share these very easy and healthy snack platters for today's feast day and tomorrow's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

  As a contributor to Catholic Cuisine, I have posted the details over there but here are a few more photos:

 

Immaculate Heart Fruit Platter

 I found a helpful post on Pinterest about how to cut a watermelon. I couldn't wait to give it a try for this fruit platter...Wow, amazingly easy!

 

Frugal tip!   Are you wondering what kind of platter might hold something like this?  I bought two 18" clear Sturdiware platters from our local party store a few years ago.  They were only a few dollars a piece and I've used the heck out of them, ever since.  They have come in SO handy for graduations, sacramental celebrations, and many parties!  I just wash them by hand after using them and store them for the next occasion:)

 

  Sacred Heart of Jesus Veggie Platter and Immaculate Heart Fruit Platter

 

Hope you are enjoying a blessed summer!

 



Miracle Morning Feast for Our Lady of Fatima

+Happy Feast of Our Lady of Fatima+
May 13th
 

How  about a Miracle (of the Sun) Morning Breakfast and Rosary prayers to celebrate a beautiful feast day?
  This colorful fruit and egg plate is supposed to look like the vibrant, miraculous, solar phenomena...Or at least that was the idea in mind:)

 Even though the Miracle of the Sun didn't occur until October 13th, 6 apparitions later, we can still commemorate this amazing gift...OR you can always save it for October, of course;-)

I posted more about this over at Catholic Cuisine...Be sure to pop over there for a visit:)  I continue to feel honored to be a contributor there!

 Read more about Our Lady of Fatima on EWTN and American Catholic.

Another post from a previous year:
Miracle of the Sun Edible Feast 2010 



Eat, Pray, and have Hope!

Our hope is in the Lord and He gave us His Mother as a living sign of this hope!

+Happy Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary+

This was an easy feast day breakfast treat to celebrate...

Assumption of Mary "Blue"berry muffins:)
The clouds were just cut out of white paper and we had these stickers on hand...Just taped the clouds to a toothpick!  Kids love the 'visual' effect:)

We are preparing to start school next week so this Mama needs all the hope she can get:)  We often start on the Assumption or the Queenship of Mary but our oldest son's departure to his Rome semester is helping us mix it up this year!

Be back soon:)

Eat(Mass), pray, and have hope!
"She is an echo of God, speaking and repeating only God.  If you say 'Mary' she says 'God.'~St. Louis de Montfort

Assumption resources:
The Assumption explained...Lifeteen
Catholic Answers
Catholic Culture

Assumption of Mary In The Home

This was such an easy Assumption centerpiece to make for our kitchen table as we begin our school year with Our Lady. It's all courtesy of Jennifer at Crafolic.  She comes up with some fabulous and do-able ideas:)  Thank you, Jennifer!

Wishing everyone a lovely celebration of Our Heavenly Mother. 

"O Mary, my Mother, be my refuge and my shelter.  Give me peace in the storm.  I am tired on the journey.  Let me rest in you. Shelter and protect me." ~St. Bernadette Soubirous~

Catholic 12 Days Of Christmas~(Days 7 & 8)

Day 7:  (December 31)

Feast of St. Sylvester I

New Year's Eve

Read and Reflect upon John 3:16 and St. Sylvester. It's the last day of the year so we will pause to be thankful for God's greatest gift of salvation, through the birth and death of His only Son.  We are also grateful for personal blessings received throughout the year, including the challenges that are inevitable gifts.  Discussion:  What are we most grateful for this year?  What difficult things have we experienced that have helped us grow closer to God?

Respond:  It is a New Year's Eve tradition in our family that we rotate through our Parish 24 hour Adoration.  It is the perfect way to pause and return thanks to God as we express our love to Him, ringing in a new calendar year.  

Prayer: For the adults and older children, there are beautiful meditations and prayers in the Magnificat that are perfect for the Adoration Vigil, concluding with this prayer: (Note: Magnificat has a wonderful Iphone/Smartphone App...I believe it's still free for a trial period:)  

"I waited, I waited for the Lord, and he stooped down to me...He put a new song into my mouth."~Psalm 40:2,4~

Happy New Year!
I also thought I'd share 3 New Years articles that I enjoyed from other places:
National Catholic Register "Pope Gives Thanks to God"
Integrated Catholic Life
Jeff and Emily Cavins

Day 8: (January 1~Octave Day of Christmas)

Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God

Read and Reflect: upon Mary as the Mother of God.  Read Luke 1:38 when Mary proclaimed her "Yes" to God: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.  Discussion:  In what ways can we renew our own "Yes" to God as we enter this New Year?  In what ways can we renew our faith? 

 How can we have the faith of a little child?

"Mommy, last night I dreamed about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and ALL the angels..."

My response:  "Wow, Mommy would love to have a dream like that!"

Respond: Last year we made Blessed Mother of God Brownies.  My wheels are still turning on this one:)  

Pray the Rosary as a family and the Magnificat prayer.

"In thanksgiving for the time that has been,

in hope for the time that is to come,

Let us pray through the intercession of Mary,

the Mother of God:

We praise you, O Lord, and we bless you."

Who Is Mary To Me?

+Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception+

Hooray!
 It's a day full of grace as we celebrate Mary's pure conception in St. Anne's womb.  Conceived without sin, Mary was God's gift to the universe.  It is she who who leads all of us closer to her Son, if only we look for her graceful guidance.  I am especially grateful to celebrate this holy day whereas God's favor was given to us, even when we have least deserved it.  
Mary is the gift that keeps on giving:)

Can I tell you how much I love this necklace?

I couldn't resist this beautiful creation by Trendy Traditions!

I always like to take an opportunity to point out that I am nobody.  Despite what this blog displays, I am imperfect and struggle like the rest of the faithful to be right with God.  My simple promise to God is to keep trying.  I will never give up like I once was tempted to do.  I will persevere in the name of the Lord, with His most Holy Mother steering me in the right direction.  Hence this holy day always gives me jubilant hope.  Our heavenly Mother is always there for us.  She is never late, never wavering, never hidden. She is waiting for each of us to grab her hand and go to Jesus.  "Let's Go," I say!

On this journey, Mary has guided me through the latter part of my own Motherhood. I truly believe God gave us children so that we may practice humility.  Mary, once again, is the perfect model for humility. I always say that my children may break me down but they also make me stronger...They never fail to inspire me.  

For a writing and reflecting assignment, in honor of today's holy day, I asked each child to sit down and write on this topic: (I also challenged our "adult" child with this same reflection, with or without writing it down;)

Who Is Mary To Me?

(I just had to share their sweet responses...don't think I could have said things better myself!)

3 yo:  "Mary is baby Jesus' Mommy"

7 yo:

9 yo:

12 yo:

It is my deepest prayer that my children always stay close to Our Lady.  Through their life's inevitable trials, she will always be a sure ticket to the Savior.

"Mother of all mothers" (love that:), please pray for us!

Links from the archives:
Grotto Globe Craft 
(Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette saying: "I am the Immaculate Conception")
Mary Did You Know? Sung by our dear friend from church:)


Last but not least, I got the biggest kick out of this video today!

Our Lady of Sorrows

~This was a post from the archives with a helpful link to explain the Seven Sorrows~

~The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows~

I was looking for a teaching tool to help my children understand the Seven Sorrows of Mary.  I found this neat reflection called The Way of Compassion: The Seven Sorrows of Mary at The Passionists website. This website inspired me to make a little booklet that the children can look at and also use to pray and reflect.  (We are using it again this year:) I just loved the colorful pictures that coupled the prayers at the site. The images are just the right size to cut out for a quick project!  To keep it simple, I just used construction paper stapled together.  You could certainly do more!

This is a peek at the first page after a little "cutting and pasting"...

I also cut out the Seven Graces received and pasted those inside the front cover.

You can read more about the Seven Sorrows of Mary at Catholic Culture. 

The Seven Sorrows:
1. The prophecy of Simeon.

2. The flight into Egypt.

3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple.

4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.

5. The Crucifixion.

6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.

7. The burial of Jesus.

These are the SEVEN PROMISES/GRACES that God grants to those who honor The Blessed Virgin Mother daily by saying seven Hail Mary's, while contemplating her tears and sorrows during her life. This devotion was passed on to us by St. Bridget.

1. I will grant peace to their families.

2. They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries.

3. I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.

4. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.

5. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.

6. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their mother.

7. I have obtained (This Grace) from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

Some other great resources:

The Seven Dolors Devotion

Great ideas at Catholic Icing!

EWTN~A Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows

~I made this little poster to accompany the booklet~

These were easy Seven Sorrows Cookies!

I couldn't resist posting these over at Catholic Cuisine

since I found these packaged heart-shaped Petits Palmiers at Trader Joe's.

Sometimes I really love quick and easy!

~The kids had fun decorating Mary's Immaculate Heart and using 7 toothpicks to learn the 7 sorrows~

These are great for any quick and easy "heart" snack during the year!

Mother of Sorrows Prayer

Father, As Your Son was raised on the cross,

His Mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His

suffering.  May she, who is also our spiritual

Mother and Patroness in Heaven, help us to 

find renewed strength at the cross of Christ

and so come to share in His rising to new life,

where He lives and reigns with You and the

Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

I Saw Mary...A Birthday Picnic

Our Little Flowers and Blue Knights group held a birthday picnic last week, in honor of Our Lady.  

We first gathered in prayer...

 The Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary was prayed, followed by a small procession around our Fatima shrine, praying a decade of the Rosary.

Birthday balloons followed prayer...blue and white of course!
(Blue for Mary's color and white for her purity)

We wanted to give Mama Mary a gift since she gave us the best gift ever...Jesus, God's only Begotten Son!

We closed our eyes and thought about how we could give Jesus to others, just as Mary did.
We silently thought about ways to do this through our love, compassion, care, forgiveness, and acts of charity....Knowing that when we can be mirrors of Jesus, we become true children of Mary and God Himself.
Then we released our balloons to the heavens...
Happy Birthday Mother Mary!

It was fun to watch them disappear...

A picnic followed our little ceremony...Here I saw Mary.

I saw Mary... in the sacrifices of the Mothers who brought their little ones to her in multiples!  Leading their children closer to Jesus, through Mary, they came despite the hardship that it takes to get several children dressed, out the door, in the car, lunch packed, etc, etc.

I saw Mary...smiling through the wombs of pregnant Mamas.  Their "yes" to God shines through their example.

I saw Mary... in the voices of Moms who are preparing for older children to leave the nest...Some for the first time and others for the second and third time.  Despite the pain in their hearts, they know that God's plan for their children is His and not theirs.   Just as Mary watched Jesus leave for His public ministry, they wonder and wait too...and it still hurts.

I saw Mary... in the women who helped each other with one another's children, even while juggling their own, including babies in their womb.  The visitation was reenacted as hands reached out and little acts of charity prevailed.

The afternoon ended with Mary's Birthday cake!

A Hail Mary was prayed as each candle was lit!
(10 candles on each cake, representing a decade of the Rosary)

All ages gathered around to pray and sing Happy Birthday to our Heavenly Mother!

I saw Mary today... in the desires of many hearts to be closer to her Son.

Happy Birthday Blessed Mother!

The cakes are decorated and looking forward to Our Lady's Birthday celebration!

We are kicking off our Little Flowers/Blue Knight's group with a Marian birthday party...Stay tuned for more details.  For now, a few sneak peaks at the birthday cakes:)

I'm no professional but I sure love honoring our Heavenly Mother!

We also made these blue Mary's Praying Arms pretzels to share!

These are yogurt-covered pretzels...with the added touch of blue sprinkles!

The girls had fun making these!

We are ready for our fun celebration, complete with balloons for a special surprise gift to Our Lady!

"The Blessed Virgin Mary's soul was the space from which God was able to gain access to humanity."~Pope Benedict XVI~

Mary May Crowning

Mary May Crowning

5-20-11

It was a lovely day for a lovely lady!

We held our Little Flowers/Blue Knights Mary May Crowing today.  We also celebrated our last gathering of our homeschool year.  It was a blessing that Father T. was able to join bless us.  He has quite a story about being a Missionary of Charity Father and working with Mother Teresa in his youth.  Having him present was a special addition to our ceremony.  He led us in prayer and procession and we were honored to have him with us.

“The priest today is the one who has been sent also,

to be that living love, God's love for the world today.

The priest is that sign, he is the living flame, he is the

sunshine of God's love for the world…

He is another Christ.”

~Blessed Teresa of Calcutta ~

After the blessing, (Doesn't it look like he was spraying us with Holy Water?)  Father T. and our 4  Communicants led us in the Magnificat/Canticle of Mary prayer.  

Father T. picked  a name out of a cup to determine which girl would crown our Blessed Mother.

The lucky blessed winner was so excited!  Our procession began with the crowning, led by the Communicants while we sang the hymn, Immaculate Mary.

Up the stairs to crown Our Lady...

Then back down the stairs so the rest of the group can bring their flowers.

Our second hymn was Flowers of the Rarest, while the rest of our group brought flowers up the hill to Our Lady. We never did make it to our Hail Holy Queen hymn.

It was a pilgrimage in many ways...

I just loved this photo of two sweet brothers...

By the way, my 12 year old son took all of the photos...I was so pleased with how they came out!  Especially the ones of Our Crowned Mary!  He captured some neat angles...

This is my absolute FAVORITE with the light streaming through the trees!

We closed out our day with a picnic, play time and a cupcake rosary!

The children got to eat the decades as we prayed them...

 I think it's the tastiest rosary they have ever prayed!

I believe Our Lady was smiling...

I know I was!

Note to readers:  Out of respect of privacy, I tried to be very discreet about posting photos of other families since I did not ask everyone's permission.  If anyone sees a photo that they would like removed, please let me know.