St. Andrew Christmas Novena

The St. Andrew Christmas Novena begins tomorrow, November 30. Lena over at Joy-filled Family designed a beautiful holy card to assist in praying this novena 15 times a day. We used her holy card last year (I printed and laminated it), and it helps make praying this novena from November 30 through December 24 doable.

Update: Emmanuel Books has this lovely holy card available for download on their website.

Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard Van Honthorst

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen.

Imprimatur

+Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York

New York, February 6, 1897

Happy Thanksgiving!

A friend asked elsewhere, "What are we most grateful for this year?"

I didn't have to think twice. I am grateful that my husband survived his massive heart attack. I am thankful for daily Mass and a holy, kind, and patient new pastor, Fr. S. Finally, I am thankful to be expecting another baby.

I hope that everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving. God bless you and your families!

Detachment

The other day, I called my friend, Elena. I was crying about something silly (it's what happens when I am pregnant), and she told me, "Christine, you need to learn to detach." She went on to tell me a story about St. Teresa of Avila and detachment. A little later, I was looking for a quote on something else, and I stumbled on these quotes from Catholic Tradition about detachment. I am posting them here for easy reference.

"Give me ten truly detached men. and I will convert the world with them."
- St. Philip Neri 

"Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved."
-St. John of the Cross 

"If you purify your soul of attachment to and desire for things, you will understand them spiritually. If you deny your appetite for them, you will enjoy their truth, understanding what is certain in them."
- St. John of the Cross 

"We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. I will be a saint means I will despoil myself of all that is not God; I will strip my heart of all created things; I will live in poverty and detachment; I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make myself a willing slave to the will of God."
- Bl. Mother Teresa

I am thankful to have a friend who keeps me grounded and offers sound advice.

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

All Saints Day Ruminations

2003

When my older children were little, we were very active in our local Catholic homeschool group. Each year, we would have a wonderful All Saints' Potluck Party for all of the children, young and old. We would all eat and then the children would play various games. Towards the end of the evening the children would play "Guess the Saints". Each child would get on stage and give three clues as to who they were; the children in the audience would have great fun guessing. We would usually end the evening by processing around the exterior of the church singing songs.

2004

Padre Pio 2005

St. Alice 2005

St. Claire 2005

2006

In 2009, we were blessed to have an All Saints' party at our then "new" parish. This year, we will be having an All Saints Party at our new (old) parish. We can't wait. Hopefully, I will have all of the costumes made/altered in time. I like the teaching opportunity and enjoyment that comes with choosing costumes and learning about various saints. We also enjoy celebrating this wonderful feast day with friends.

Where Do I Begin?

J.M.J.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you!
Save souls!

I began the month of August thinking that I had so much that I wanted to write about: beach days, a friend's daughter's wedding, the Highland Games, and more. I was thinking about ordering curriculum and getting things in order around our house. August 5 changed everything.

Around 6:45 on the morning of August 5, I received a phone call from a doctor at a hospital in the city in which my husband works. The doctor stated his name and told me that he was calling from such-and-such a hospital. I replied, "Who?", thinking for a split second that my husband must have been hit by a car. The doctor repeated himself and went on to say, "I am calling to let you know that your husband has had a heart attack." He went on to ask a few questions, and then told me that they did not know if there was any damage to his heart or brain. The doctor ended the conversation with, "Make necessary phone calls and come."

I called our assistant pastor, our new pastor, and my father-in-law. Catherine facetimed my dad and my brother (Brendan was staying with him and his family in Switzerland/France). After which I asked Bernadette to come with me and kissed all of my other children goodbye. Bernadette and I prayed the Rosary on our way to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, some of my husband's coworkers saw me and one of them filled me in on some of the details. Our pastor arrived, telling me that our assistant pastor was offering a private Mass for my husband, and then he asked the hospital staff if he could go back to the operating room to administer the Last Rites to my husband. Much to my dismay, the hospital staff would not allow him to do so.

Eventually, I was told that I could see my husband, but our pastor still wasn't allowed to do so. Before going into the operating room, one of the doctors came out to speak with me. He explained that they had called me back because they were still waiting on a bed. He explained that the team of doctors let my husband's left artery go in order to save his main artery. They placed three stents in the main artery, and two days later they placed a fourth stent in a right artery. While the doctor was speaking with me, we heard some noises coming from inside the room, and the doctor and two of the nurses went rushing into the room. I started to pray the Memorare, imploring Our Blessed Mother to not let my husband die without the last rites.

The doctor came out and told me that they had had to shock my husband back. One of the nurses followed and said, "I think that she should see him now." I was so thankful to be able to do so.

I know that Our Lady interceded for my husband and that God was with him the whole time. He couldn't have been in a better place when he had his heart attack, minutes from the medics and from the hospital. Our assistant pastor told me, "That's what comes from praying the family Rosary."

My family and I have been truly humbled by all the Masses, prayers, meals, and donations that we received from family and friends (including priests) near and far. Fr. Saguto, FSSP called the morning after the heart attack and told us that he was at the Carmel in California. He had offered Mass for my husband and had asked all of the nuns to keep my husband in their prayers. He called two or three times after that to see how my husband was doing and to let us know that he was continuing to offer Masses and prayers. Our pastor and assistant pastor brought Communion to my husband, leaving me feeling so thankful for good, holy, caring priests.

I am so thankful to everyone. With time, I will hopefully be able to complete all the thank yous that I need to write. My biggest thank you goes to God, and I am trying my best to thank Him each day.

Continued prayers for my husband are greatly appreciated. May God bless all of you who helped my family in so many ways!

Camp St. Joan of Arc

Last month, Bernadette and Theresa got to participate in the wonderful girls' camp that they have attended for the past couple of years.

Our favorite seminarian lead this year's camp.

He did a fantastic job.

So did the other seminarians.

The girls were happy to be woken on a couple of mornings by the sound of bagpipes being played by Fr. Nolan.

He is a talented piper.

My friend's youngest son joined the campers.

There's nothing quite like trying to get a piece of gum out of a pan full of whipped cream without using your hands.

The campers asked the seminarians to use the hula hoops. It looks like they enjoyed showing off their hula hoop skills.

Snack Time

Beautiful Scenery

Rifle Instruction

Dodge Ball

Singing a Repeat-After-Me Song

Theresa was happy to have a cute toddler around.

Fr. Gordon's and Fr. Nolan's talks were both invaluable and memorable.

The theme for this year's camp was "Know Your Bible & You'll Know Your Faith".

May God bless the priests, seminarians, and volunteers who helped to make the camp such a success!

Photos courtesy of Theresa

Our Little Negotiator

Theresa: "I will give you some jelly beans if you let me get you dressed."
Kieran: "If you tell me where your jelly bean container is, I will let you get me dressed."

Trust Him

These words have been running through my head since Sunday.

There is no need to worry about anything.

God will take care of everything. 

You just need to trust Him.

Modesty Needs to Come from the Heart

JMJ

Recently, I have had a number of people ask me about modesty and wearing skirts and dresses. The most recent question came via a blog comment. Jennifer wrote:

Hi Christine,

I have a question for you and your lovely daughters inspired by your slideshow. We have 5 girls, all still very young, the oldest is 7. It seems like your girls generally wear skirts/dresses and we'd like ours to do the same. Has it ever been a problem for your family? Have your daughters ever wanted to wear shorts/jeans when their friends are doing so?

Thanks and God bless!

Below is my rambling response. I apologize that I don't have time to respond more fully. Hopefully, the resources mentioned will fill in many of the gaps.

We have come to wearing skirts and dresses slowly. From the time I was little, I have liked to wear dresses. I always thought that my mom, my paternal grandmother, my aunts, and great aunt looked so pretty in their dresses. Modest dresses and skirts are so feminine. When our first daughter was a toddler, I purchased dresses for her (as a baby, she wore one piece outfits - they are better for crawling). Family and friends gave us dresses, shorts, and pants outfits for which I am very thankful. My older girls wore all of these outfits. I can probably count on one hand the number of pants and shorts that I have purchased for my girls over the years. This wasn't conscious on my part. It was simply that I preferred, and still prefer, dresses and skirts.

picture from Catholic Tradition

When my oldest daughter was eight or nine, one of her friends asked her why she always wore dresses. My daughter came to me and told me about the conversation, letting me know that she felt uncomfortable and out of place. I told her that she could wear pants if she wanted. She did, but has found that she prefers wearing skirts and dresses.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of speaking with Fr. Dennis Gordon, FSSP on the phone. During our conversation, we spoke about modesty and skirt wearing. Fr. Gordon shared (and I have since read in Fr. Trochu's book on St. Bernadette) that before Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, St. Bernadette told her companions, who were lifting their skirts to go through the water, "Lower your skirts." Something about that conversation made me consciously decide that I wanted to only wear skirts and dresses. 

That summer, the day that the girls left for camp, one of my daughters was wearing a pair of shorts. I asked her, "Why are you wearing shorts?" She replied, "Because I do not have enough skirts for camp, and I didn't want to wear one and possibly get it dirty before I arrived." I made a mental note to myself, "I need to buy or make more skirts for her."

Since then, I have learned in a biography about St. Padre Pio that he would only hear the confessions of women who had entered the church wearing a skirt/dress that was at least eight inches below the knee. If a woman changed her clothing after entering the church, he would not listen to her confession. Pants were not an option. God gave Padre Pio the ability to know the length of a woman's skirt without seeing the woman.

picture from Catholic Tradition

I am different from some of my friends in that I have not told my daughters that they can only wear skirts or dresses. I simply don't buy shorts or pants anymore. My girls knew that some of their friends would be wearing shorts at the camp that they just attended, but they didn't mind. They've been to another camp where the girls only wore skirts, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They are girls, and they are happy to be girls.

I think that it is important in today's world that girls dress like girls. I cannot tell you the number of times that I have seen a woman and thought that she was a man. A week or so ago, I commented to my oldest daughter, as she was driving, "Let that man get to the sidewalk before you turn." After my daughter turned, I looked back and said, "Oops, that was a lady." Our daughters need to look like girls, and our sons need to look like boys. Our world so needs feminine women and truly masculine men.

We all come to holiness in different ways. Just because a girl is wearing a skirt doesn't mean that she is holy. I realize that most mothers know this, but I think that it is important for us to share this with our daughters.

All that being said, modesty needs to come from the heart. As mothers, we need to encourage modesty in our daughters, but most especially we need to pray for them. As Fr. Wolfe, FSSP says, "Pray three Hail Marys, each morning and evening, for purity and holiness." Pray those three Hail Marys for your daughters (and sons) and teach your children to pray them too.

picture from Catholic Tradition

If any mothers are looking for resources, I recommend:

Books
The Privilege of Being a Woman by Alice Von Hildebrand
Dressing with Dignity by Colleen Hammond

Sermons
Women and Children First: Holy Purity
Sins of Lust: The Consequences of these Sins against Purity
Maintaining Purity by Virtue or by Force
Modesty: The Virtue that Guards Purity
Modesty of the Eyes