Patriotic Rosary

Sometimes we forget that prayer is such a wondrous gift.  It's something that we can give, a light we can shine and love we can share. Even when we feel like it's not much to offer, it's everything we have to give.  Offering ourselves up for the good of others is a little action that packs a big punch!  Only in giving do we really receive...

On this glorious Autumn day, it was such a blessing to offer up the gift of prayer for our nation as we prepare for the upcoming election.  Our American Heritage Girls Explorer Troop hosted a Patriotic Rosary as one of their special event requirements.  We highly recommend this beautiful prayer service!  It would also be fitting for the 4th of July, Patriot's Day, or Veteran's Day too. You may also visit the link and print out the prayers on your own. 

"Believe me, there is no more powerful means to obtain God's grace than to employ the intercession of the Holy Virgin."~St. Philip Neri

Not all of the girls were able to attend and we had a fairly small gathering at the church but the impact on our hearts was enormous!

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Mt. 18:20

In addition to the Rosary prayers, we prayed for each of our 50 states by name, listened to some powerful reflections by 5 famous Americans, and sang some beautiful patriotic hymns. It turns out the gift we offered up came back to us ten-fold...our spirits were soaring:)

It was a special treat to capture a photo with nearly all members of our family in scouting uniforms...We are an official scouting family!(Though it does make me miss our college boy all the more :( The littlest one will be eligible to join American Heritage Girls in the Spring:)

Have I mentioned that the Boy Scouts of America have officially partnered with American Heritage Girls?  It's such a blessing to be able to take part in scouting as a whole family unit.

The girls hosted a small reception after the prayer service with goodies and drinks.  Here they are cleaning up!

It really was a special event.

Something that really struck me were the words to all of the extra verses of the traditional patriotic hymns that we never learned by heart.  Many of them have deep, spiritual, meaning that I never realized.  This third verse of America The Beautiful speaks volumes...

"O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness, And ev'ry gain divine."

+AMEN+

Month of the Holy Rosary~A Centerpiece Project

How about a liturgical project for October?

Being the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, we made this super easy centerpiece for our kitchen table.
Items needed:
White pumpkin
Liquid gold paint marker
Orange sharpie (or other colors of choice)
Glitter spray (opt.)

Easy Instructions:

Gently tape on a rosary to use as a guide for drawing on the beads.

We drew the decade markers first and filled in each set of 10 beads after that.

*The end result*

Another option is to spray the final product with gold glitter spray for a sparkling after effect...

Which one do you like better?

Hmmm, kind of a tough choice...

I do like the sparkles but I think I like the plain white best:)

The Rosary is a gospel prayer where Mary invites us to join her on a journey through the life, death, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As we gather with our family or friends to pray the rosary, the mysteries bring us to unite with Jesus through the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary.

Amen!

Have a blessed month:)

Harvest of Holiness

~October is one of my favorite months...Celebrating the Holy Rosary~

Of course it's near and dear to my heart since my first baby was born on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and my birthday also falls on the Marian feast of Our Lady of Good Remedy.
This whole Fall season and beautiful month of feast days is like a harvest of holiness!

The highlight of my week was pulling out my Fall wreath and hanging a Rosary on the front door to celebrate the liturgical theme for this month.  It's also a good reminder to get back to prayerful habits that often get temporarily interrupted in our lives.

Hanging a Rosary on our front door reminds me of this quote:

"The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin...If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary.  Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors." ~Pope Pius XI~

We added this (broken) one to some twig pumpkins I have, perfect with these praying hands that my MIL painted for us:

"The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings.  There is no more excellent way of praying."~Pope Leo XIII~

Patty's collage  of warm and inviting Fall photos inspired me to bring DIG out more Fall decor. The weather here is not traditional Fall weather until November:( But we had cooler temps this week so I was ready and motivated to tackle the storage boxes!  It was fun to enjoy a few of my favorite "pumpkin" things this week, including some of my favorite pumpkin scents!

Little things= Big joy

I love pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spice creamer too:)

My whole family enjoys this quick bread with a handful of added chocolate chips!

And this pumpkin cream cheese is amazing...If you have a local Trader Joe's, be sure to check it out!

A few more glimpses of our Fall decor ...

Our prayer table...

The Dollar Tree is carrying these neat felt Fall leaves and pumpkins.

The natural rhythm of the liturgical year warms my spirit as we move into the change of season.  They move together in God's perfect motion.  It's a fitting time to ponder the life of our Lord more deeply through the beautiful meditation and prayers of the Rosary, not just for decorating!  These prayers, recounting the life and history of Christ, are destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.


For more great Rosary resources, see The Catholic Toolbox and Catholic Icing.  Xhonane from  Catholic Family is also hosting a rosary link-up.  I shared a link with some ideas for Rosary treats that we made last year.  Jen over at Forever, For Always, No Matter What, also shares a creative Rosary book that she made as a learning tool for her children.


~May God bless each of your homes and provide you with your own abundant harvest of holiness~
A heartfelt Thank You for all of the special birthday wishes from bloggy friends too:)

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.

Month of the Holy Rosary

It's October, the month of the Holy Rosary!

I've done a couple of posts on liturgical wreaths in the past.  I didn't make this particular autumn wreath but I thought that draping a wooden rosary in the middle of the wreath would help tie in the month of October to our faith.  I've heard, countless times, that the rosary is the best spiritual weapon. Help stomp out Satan...What better place for one to hang than on front door!
“The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.”
- St. Josemaria Escriva-

Pray, Pray, Pray!
"The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without praying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors." Pope Pius XI


We enjoyed baking this Rosary cake
~ In honor of Our Lady of the Rosary~
Feast Day October 7th

~We used mini M&M's for the 53 Hail Mary beads, as well as the beginning Our Father, Glory Be, and the Crucifix...
Then we used a regular-sized blue(for Our Lady) M&M to mark the 5 decades~
We are saying that the "M's" on the M&M's stand for Mary!
*A blue border around the cake also represents the color of our Blessed Mother*
~I also posted over at Catholic Cuisine~


Here is a photo of our
Autumn Candy Rosary!
~Pray, Eat, & Love~

We used candy corns and candy pumpkins to make an Autumn Rosary!
~Mini-M&M's were used to make the Crucifix~

Superboy was in charge of counting the candy for his math lesson!
He was assigned to count the 50 Hail Mary decade candies and place them in groups of 10 for each decade (Counting by 10's).  This was followed by counting the extra grouping of 5 prayers that begin the rosary after the Apostle's Creed (Our Father, 3 Hail Mary's, and Glory Be)...

Big sister supervised!

Now they were ready to start the Rosary design!

~Superboy started things out and Princess helped keep the beads going~
They marked each decade with pumpkin candies...

Finished Autumn Rosary!

More Close-Up Photos...

Now it's ready to pray and eat...Yummiest Rosary we've ever tasted and prayed at the same time!
Kids had a ball taking turns eating a candy after each prayer...
Isn't there a movie about eating, praying, and loving?
Well, we just did all 3 right in one sitting!
Ooops, just noticed they used a green M&M for the Our Father in the beginning there.

God Bless your families this month of the Holy Rosary!

"To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ."
Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 3.