If you have nothing nice to say...

The excerpt below was shared in our bulletin this week:

Whoever unjustly deprives his neighbor of his good name is guilty of sin and is further bound to make reparation according to his slander: no man can enter heaven with another’s goods, and of all worldly goods none is equal to a good reputation. Slander is a kind of murder, for we have three lives—the spiritual life, which consists of the grace of God, the corporal life, which is in the soul, and the civil life, which consists of our reputations. Sin destroys the first, death the second, and slander the third; but the slanderer is guilty of a triple murder with his tongue. He destroys his own soul and that of he hearer by a spiritual homicide and deprives the object of his slander of civil existence. St. Bernard states that Satan has hold both of the slanderer and of him who hearkens to slander, for he has the tongue of one and the ear of the other. Aristotle says that the serpent’s tongue is forked, having two points; and such is the tongue of the slanderer, who with one stroke wounds and poisons the ear of his listener and the reputation of him whom he slanders. I beseech you, therefore, never to speak ill of anyone, either directly or indirectly. Beware of falsely imputing crimes and sins to your neighbor, of disclosing his secret faults, of exaggerating those which are obvious, of interpreting good actions ill, of denying the good which you know to be in any, or of maliciously concealing or lessening it, for all these things grievously offend God. But beware of praising vice to avoid slander. […] When it occasions that the vice of another must be spoken of, consider whether it is profitable or useful to those who hear it. You must be exceedingly exact in what you say; your tongue when you speak of your neighbor is as a knife in the hand of a surgeon who is going to cut between the nerves and tendons. Your stroke must be accurate, and whilst you blame the sin, always spare the sinner as much as possible.
(St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Book III, ch. 29)

Seven Down, Two to Go

The baby is sick. My husband is starting to feel miserable. I am going to bed early. I know it's only a matter of time...

My second youngest is feeling 100% better and he is full of energy.

Prayers Please

Late Tuesday night, my second youngest started vomitting, followed by Patrick and Theresa yesterday, and my three oldest early this morning. I am praying that the baby, my husband, and I stay healthy. I am also taking the opportunity to declare a cleaning day for me. All of the children are lying in their beds or on couches. I am comforting them and emptying bowls as necessary, but I have no lessons to teach and a lot of free time on my hands. Where shall I begin? The only place to begin when six children are throwing up is with the laundry.

First Communion Resources

As I was skimming Google reader today, I noticed that someone was asking about First Communion Resources. Since my fourth child will most likely be receiving First Communion this year, I thought I would share what I have used in the past and what I am using.

The following resources have been used with all of my children with great success:

The New Saint Joseph First Communion Catechism

The Little Caterpillar that Finds Jesus: A Parable of the Eucharist (my children have enjoyed both the book and the coloring book)
The King of the Golden City
Patron Saint of First Communicants: The Story of Blessed Imelda Lambertini
Welcome Jesus (this is a little blue novena booklet that I purchased from CHC a few years ago)
Religion 2 for Young Catholics

Resource that I am using for the first time this year:

Catholic Heritage Curricula's First Communion Supplement that is found in the Second Grade Lesson Plans (I wish that I had used this with my other children).

Resources that I may use for the first time this year or in the future:

First Communion Days

True Stories for First Communicants

Preparing For My Holy Communion
Little Nellie of Holy God
The Catechism in Pictures

My child will also be participating in a First Communion class at our parish.

Understanding Fainting

Finnian: "Catherine at home with Daddy. She fall down. She hit her head. She need a band-aid." (January 25)

Washington State March for Life

January 20, 2009

This year's March was truly incredible with at least 7000 people in attendance.

The Miracle of Life

This video, from Catholic Media House, is worth watching and sharing with others.

42 Days Until the Next 40 Days for Life

The message below is from the Lent 2009 Tacoma 40 Days for Life Coordinator.

Are you getting ready for the 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil? It's only 42 days away! We'd like to really fill the sidewalk this vigil, so we're asking for your help.

Before I go any further, I'd like to heartily thank those of you who have already volunteered to be leaders and assistant leaders. We've got a great start on filling the schedule, but we need about 20 more people who would be willing to take on a shift leader / assistant shift leader role. It's a very rewarding experience!

Changes for this vigil: We're asking leaders and assistant leaders for only a 2-hour shift instead of a 3-hour shift. But that means we're going to need more leaders, doesn't it? So... If you might be interested, or know of someone who might be interested in being a leader, can you let me know? Or here's another idea... Would you like to add excitement to your friends' lives? Sign them up to be a shift leader! (By the way... that was a joke!)

And to ALL participants (not just the leaders)... please spread the word about this vigil! It's approaching quickly, and it looks like it's going to be an amazing turnout.

Vigil details:
Same place as usual - in front of Planned Parenthood on Martin Luther King Drive, Tacoma.
Starts Ash Wednesday - Feb 25, and goes through April 5th - a week before Easter.
Shift 1: 10:00-noon
Shift 2:
noon-2:00
Shift 3: 2:00-4:00
Praying all 7 days a week for 40 days...!

Thanks VERY much for your help,

Tom Chambers

The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke

Learning from a Pro

On Sunday, as I stood in the vestibule with my two youngest, Finnian decided to start running around. I was tired and did not feel like I could handle my little boy's energy. However, a mother of 11 children could. She sat down to nurse her one-year-old daughter, asked my little boy to sit next to her, pulled out a couple of Saint Joseph Picture Books, and proceeded to very quietly ask him, "Where is the lily? Where is the bible?", etc. He was hooked and remained calm the rest of the time that we were in the back.

Over the years, I have read these books to my children, and they have read them and written book reports on them; however, I never thought to use these books to help my toddlers recognize saints or items that are a part of our Catholic faith.

Thus, despite the fact that we own most of the books by Fr. Lovasik, I just took advantage of the deal that Jessica mentions in the link above to purchase a few more titles to share with others. I know that I will be keeping a couple of them in my diaper bag for Finnian to look at when needed and hopefully others will find it helpful to do the same.

The Excitement,

The joy...It's official Elizabeth can roll onto her tummy. She did so twice, today. The first time was when I put her down for her morning nap. I placed Elizabeth on her back, turned around, and when I looked at her again, she was on her tummy. The second time came this afternoon. I placed Elizabeth on her back on the floor and she instantly put her feet in the air, flipped her legs to the side, and was on her tummy. I was amazed at how quickly she rolled. Her siblings were very excited.

I guess it's time to keep the video camera handy.

Teach Your Children How to Manage Their Money

This Christmas, I was excited to learn that a friend of ours was instrumental in helping to found Family Mint I just signed up for an account and I am impressed. Family Mint promises to be a great tool for teaching my children how to manage their money.