St. Michael, St. Gabriel, & St. Raphael

Happy Feast of the Archangels!

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God,

thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

The name Michael means "Who is like to God?" The bible describes St. Michael as "one of the chief princes," and leader of the good angels in heaven in their triumph over satan and his followers. He has been honored as patron and protector from the time of the Apostles. St. Michael is also known as Prince of the Seraphim.

Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son:
and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father:
and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
~ Luke 1:30-1:33 ~

The name Gabriel means "man of God," or "God has shown himself mighty." He is known as the messenger archangel. St. Gabriel first appears in the prophesies of Daniel in the Old Testament. The angel announced to Daniel the prophecy of the seventy weeks. His name is also in the apocryphal book of Henoch. He appeared to Zachariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist. He announced to Mary that she would bear a Son, "the Son of God", Who would be conceived of the Holy Spirit. Finally, he appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

Raphael means "God heals". St. Raphael is the archangel of healing and the protector of travellers. St. Raphael is one of seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord. He was sent by God to help Tobit, Tobiah and Sarah. Raphael, Michael and Gabriel are the only Archangels mentioned by name in the bible. In the apocryphal book of Enoch, St. Raphael is said to have "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the apocryphal book of Enoch.

I pray that the Days of Grace are happy and holy for everyone.

Planned Parenthood: The Baby Killers

Almost two months ago, a man, who has done a lot for the unborn in Tacoma, sent me the book Margaret Sanger: Father of Modern Society by Elasah Drogin. A letter was included with the book.

The letter stated, "Planned Parenthood is by far the largest purveyor of abortion in America and the world. Unbelievably, very few Christians, Catholic or otherwise seem to be aware of

(1) their existence

(2) their deadly activity.

I do not understand the whole psychology behind this situation, but I think it's time for us to spread the word in a steady and comprehensive way. I'm sending you a book, Christine, one I read years ago. It is still an important tool for people to learn of the history of Planned Parenthood (what an oxymoron that name is)...

The website teenwire, will give you good insight into what Planned Parenthood is teaching our school children...

In Him,

Bud"

I misplaced the book. A few weeks ago, I found it and started to read. Although I was already aware of Margaret Sanger and her legacy, what I read shocked me. Elasah Drogin uses direct quotes from Margaret Sanger's Birth Control Review and The Pivot of Civilization to enlighten the reader regarding Margaret Sanger's and Planned Parenthood's true objectives, to rid the world of those they consider "inferior" through the use of birth control, sterilization, and abortion.

Margaret Sanger was a eugenicist and a racist. She believed that some people were inferior to others, among them African Americans, Jews, Catholics, and the poor. In reality, she and those who work for Planned Parenthood are no different from Hitler. Hitler was also a eugenicist. In fact they had some common acquaintances in the world of eugenics. So, why does the world recognize the evil committed by Hitler and admire Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood? It is simple, Hitler went about "cleansing" the population by murdering people who we could see. Margaret Sanger promoted "cleansing" the population and Planned Parenthood continues to "cleanse" the population by murdering people we cannot see (without the use of ultrasound machines), babies in mother's wombs.

We need to get the truth out about Planned Parenthood. The world needs to know about the hundreds of thousands of murders Planned Parenthood commits chemically and physically each year. We need to stand up for the most wonderful blessings God has bestowed on the world, children. Let us speak out. Let us write. Finally, let us pray that the world turns from Planned Parenthood's death peddling ways and embraces human life.

Life Chain is this Sunday, October 1. On the Feast of St. Therese, let us stand together for life!

Counting and Number Recognition

Note to self: If a child is having difficulty counting to and recognizing the numbers through 100, teaching said child to count to 100 by tens will not help. However, giving the child a 500 page dot-to-dot coloring book will teach the child to count to 100 with no effort on yours or the child's part. The only things necessary are the book, a pencil, and a child who speaks out loud as he works. The latter is important because it will help the parent to hear when the child says three three instead of thirty-three. Once the parent hears this, she can gently correct the child saying, "Oh, you already found 33! Now look for 34."

My son thinks that he is doing something enjoyable and does not even realize that he is learning. In fact he is enjoying the book so much that he fell asleep working in it last night.

From the Mouth of a Baby

Yesterday, as Patrick walked down the hallway, he turned to me and in a singing voice said, "Mommy, I love you!" My heart leapt for joy. He has also started saying, "Tank you", whenever he is given something. Thank you, God, for blessing me with such loving children. Please help me to be loving, patient, kind, and joyful in return.

One Track Mind

Me: "What do you want for your birthday?"
Brendan: "A dog."
Me: "Other than a dog, what do you want?"
Brendan: "A puppy."
Me: "Other than a puppy, what do you want?"
Brendan: "I want Catherine to get a dog and it to have puppies, so that we all have a dog."

Guess what our little boy is not getting for his birthday.

Firsts

Over the next couple of weeks, we will experience some firsts in our house. Brendan will begin CCD classes tonight at our parish. Like his sisters before him, he is looking forward to attending. The classes are made up of children (mostly homeschooled) who our children know quite well. Brendan's class should be interesting, as there will be a group of intelligent little boys who all tend to fidget a lot during Mass and have a great time running around together after Mass. There will also be one little girl in the class.

Tomorrow, Theresa will start Ballet. She tried on her leotard and skirt on Saturday and she looked very cute. I will post an update on how her class went and photos on Wednesday.

In a few weeks, our two oldest will be traveling with family members to Switzerland to visit my brother and his family. I had no qualms about their trip until recently. Now, I am becoming very nervous. It doesn't help that Bernadette is expressing some hesitation about going. I know that my daughters will be staying with my brother and that everyone has promised to look after them, but it does not erase my fears. At the same time, I realize that this is a wonderful opportunity for the girls. They will see my brother and his wife married in the Church and visit Gstaad (a place that I enjoyed visiting in the past) and l'Abbaye Saint-Maurice, along with some other places. Please pray that Catherine and Bernadette have a safe and enjoyable trip and that their lives are enriched by this experience. Also, please pray for my brother and his wife as they are united in God's love.

Library Picture Books

Throughout the year, we read and look at a lot of picture books. Most of them come from our home library. A few of them come from the county library. Below are the picture books that we have checked out from the county library this year. I have to admit that we have since purchased some of the titles mentioned below.

Abbie Against the Storm: The True Story of a Young Heroine and a Lighthouse, by Marcia Vaughan

Angus and the Cat, by Marjorie Flack
Angus and the Ducks, by Marjorie Flack
Angus Lost, by Marjorie Flack
Animal Tales, by Thornton W. Burgess

Beachcombing, by Jim Arnosky
Columbus, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock, by Jim Aylesworth

Every Autumn Comes the Bear, by Jim Arnosky

Fall, by Ron Hirschi
Floss, by Kim Lewis
The Full Belly Bowl, by Jim Aylesworth

Goody O'Grumpity, by Carol Ryrie Brink

In November, by Cynthia Rylant
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato: An Irish Folktale, by Tomie DePaola
Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka, by Tomie DePaola
Just Like Floss, by Kim Lewis
Katie's Wish, by Barbara Shook Hazen

Leif the Lucky, by Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

The Little Wooden Farmer, by Alice Dalgliesh
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, graved and painted by Christopher Bing
Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel, by Leslie Connor

Mother Goose Math, by Emily Bolam

Mousekin's ABC, by Edna Miller

Now it's Fall, by Lois Lenski

Nuts to You, by Lois Ehlert
One Small Square: Backyard, by Donald M. Silver

An Outlaw Thanksgiving, by Emily Arnold McCully
The Pied Piper of Peru, by Ann Tompert

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, by Lois Ehlert
Saint Joan: Heroine of France, by Ann Tompert
Saint Patrick, by Ann Tompert
The Seven Silly Eaters, Mary Ann Hoberman

Skunks, by Emilie U. Lepthien

Skunks, by Adrienne Mason

Skunks, by Diane Swanson
St. Patrick's Day, by Gail Gibbons

Thanksgiving Is..., by Gail Gibbons

The Thanksgiving Story, by Alice Dalgliesh

Thanksgiving with Me, by Margaret Willey
This Way Home, by Lisa Westberg Peters
A Tree is a Plant, by Clyde Robert Bulla
The Tricky Fox, by Jim Aylesworth
We're Going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

Where Does the Brown Bear Go? by Nicki Weiss

Goose-stepping in Germany

This is outrageous!

Germany Uses Nazi Era Law to Imprison Mom for Homeschooling; Family Flees to Austria
Peter J. Smith

Friday 15 September 2006, by Alain

German police stormed into the residence of a Christian home schooling family, and arrested a mother for homeschooling her children, an offense established since Nazi Germany. Now the woman's husband has fled with their children to seek refuge in Austria, which allows homeschooling under certain conditions according to the Brussels Journal.

(LifeSiteNews.com) - The Brussels Journal reports that Katherina Plett responded to a knock on the door from an undercover police woman Thursday morning at 11:00PM. Once the Baptist woman opened the door, police officers, hidden outside the house, stormed into her home and arrested her for the crime of homeschooling her children. The female officer insisted that she watch Mrs. Plett as she changed her clothes claiming, "She would arm herself and shoot us all."

German police then hauled Mrs. Plett off to Gelsenkirchen jail, where she is serving a 10 day prison sentence for exercising her right to be the primary educator of her children.

However, on Monday, Mrs. Plett's husband gathered their children and fled to Austria, finding asylum at a Christian family center in Wolfgangsee, Austria. Another homeschooling family from Germany has also taken refuge after a Paderborn court ordered the seizure of their children.

The sudden arrest of Katherina Plett has also evoked a growing realization that the ghosts of Nazi Germany have resurged, as German authorities have cracked down on homeschooling families (mostly Christian), who have no intention of letting the German schools indoctrinate their children with anti-Christian values.

In January 2005, a mother and father were each sentenced to six days imprisonment in Westphalia after they refused to pay the fines for having forbidden their children to attend a Christmas school play of Grimm's fairytale "King Thrushbeard", which they considered blasphemous.

The arrest of Mrs. Plett came as the latest act in struggle between 7 homeschooling families in Paderborn and the local education board of the county. According to the board's director, Heinz Kohler, "The parents' right to personally educate their children would prevent the children from growing up to be responsible individuals within society."

The Paderborn homeschoolers had asked to set up a private school, however the authorities dismissed the proposed compromise as a cover for homeschooling maintaining, "The living room is not a class room."

Manfred Müller, governor of Paderborn country, has also justified charging homeschoolers with "High Treason," saying "the obligation to attend school is a civil obligation that cannot be tampered with."

According to the Brussels Journal, Landrat Müller threatened to charge Hermann Stücher, a 68 year old man giving aid to these families with "High Treason and incitement of the people against the authorities (Hochverrat und Volksverhetzung), the same charge used by Nazis to squelch any resistance to their absolute power. Stücher had called on all Christian parents to withdraw their children from German public schools, which he says are dominated by "neomarxist activists propagating atheist humanism, hedonism, pluralism and materialism."

The Brussels Journal says Mrs. Plett still suffers imprisonment in Gelsenkirchen jail for advocating her parental right to educate her own children, and remains divided from her family. Mrs. Plett may not understand English, however those who wish to send a letter or postcard of support may contact her here:

Frau Katharina Plett c/o JVA Gelsenkirchen Aldenhofstr. 99-101 45883 Gelsenkirchen Tel.: 0209/ 4021-0 Fax: 0209/4021-301

Also, those who wish to respectfully convey their outrage at the totalitarian persecution of Mrs. Plett, her family, and Germany's homeschoolers may use these contacts to contact German embassies in the US and Canada:

US: Wolfgang Ischinger Ambassador German Embassy 4645 Reservoir Road NW Washington, DC, 20007-1998 (202) 298-4000

The embassy can be e-mailed from its website: http://www.globescope.biz/germany/reg/index.cfm

Canada: Christian Pauls, Ambassador German Embassy - Canada 1 Waverley Street, Ottawa, ON, K2P 0T8 Tel.: 613-232-1101 Fax: 613-594-9330 Email: germanembassyottawa@on.aibn.com

What's that Smell?

Several times a year, we notice an awful smell in one area of our family room. Until tonight, we only guessed what was causing the stench. My husband and I were in the family room, when we heard a noise outside. My husband told me to turn on the light and he looked outside. Upon doing so, he exclaimed, "It's a skunk!" Despite the odor that the skunk often leaves (we were spared tonight), I found the skunk fascinating and wished my children were awake to see him.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

My grandpa was a humorous, intelligent, and loving man. I have some wonderful memories of the time that I spent with him and my granny in Switzerland. Delicious meals were a large part of our visits. If we weren't eating at a restaurant, then sumptuous, healthy (my granny provided the treats) lunches were prepared by this excellent chef, Grandpa, and shared at my grandparents' large dining room table. After lunch, we often wandered through a beautiful park or went down to the lake to feed the swans. My grandparents always went the extra mile to make us feel welcomed and loved.

My grandpa's nonsensical words, said in the most wonderful voice, still echo through my mind, "Pi a on y cay a bon y. Rat on a. Chat on a. Tap on a aussi." (I need to get the correct spelling from my dad).

May my grandpa rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon him!

"And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me." Matthew 18:5

The other day, as I sat waiting for my ob appointment, I was saddened by a mother, pushing her baby in a stroller, who came into the office. She entered the office and informed the ladies behind the counter, "I am here for my depo shot." I could not help thinking, "Why? Doesn't she realize what a wonderful gift children are?"

Why have so many mothers, today, succumbed to the culture of death, to the idea that children are a burden?

As a mother, I know that nothing could be farther from the truth. My children bring so much joy and love to my life. They teach me patience, humility, and many other virtues. They are one of the greatest blessings God has bestowed upon me and I only pray that I can prove myself worthy of such an awesome gift.

I found the following prayer for mothers on Women for Faith and Family:

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank You for our mothers to whom You have entrusted the care of every precious human life from its very beginning in the womb.

You have given to woman the capacity of participating with You in the creation of new life. Grant that every woman may come to understand the full meaning of that blessing, which gives her an unlimited capacity for selfless love for every child she may be privileged to bear, and for all Your children.

Watch over every mother who is with child, strengthen her faith in Your fatherly care and love for her and for her unborn baby. Give her courage in times of fear or pain, understanding in times of uncertainty and doubt, and hope in times of trouble. Grant her joy in the birth of her child.

To mothers You have given the great privilege and responsibility of being a child's first teacher and spiritual guide. Grant that all mothers may worthily foster the faith of their children, following the example of Mary, Elizabeth, and other holy women who follow Christ. Help mothers to grow daily in knowledge and understanding of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and grant them the wisdom to impart this knowledge faithfully to their children, and to all who depend upon them.

Assist all "spiritual mothers", those who, though they may have no children of their own, nevertheless selflessly care for the children of others -- of every age and state in life. Grant that they may know the joy of fulfilling this motherly calling of women, whether in teaching, nursing, religious life, or in other work which recognizes and fosters the true dignity of every human being created in Your image and likeness.

We beseech You to send Your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to all mothers who sorrow for children that have died, are ill or estranged from their families, or who are in trouble or danger of any kind. Help grieving mothers to rely on Your tender mercy and fatherly love for all your children.

We ask your blessing on all those to whom You have entrusted motherhood. May Your Holy Spirit constantly inspire and strengthen them. May they ever follow the example of Mary, mother of Our Lord, and imitate her fidelity, her humility, and her self-giving love. May all mothers receive Your Grace abundantly in this earthly life, and may they look forward to eternal joy in Your presence in the life to come.

We ask this through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. AMEN.