Blessed Feast Day

For last week's All Saints party, this year we had Blessed Kateri Tekatwitha, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Juan Diego, and St. John the Evangelist. Plus a teenage dude who thinks he's now too cool to dress up as a saint (not pictured).

And in honor of the Holy Day, a haiku...

My eyes can't see you
But I know that you love me
Feast of All the Saints!

Thy Will Be Done...

Thanks to the lovely Elizabeth Foss for sharing this timely quote:

"How beautiful it is to behold a person destitute of all attachment, ready for any act of virtue or charity, gentle to all, indifferent as to any employment, serene in consolations and tribulations, and wholly content if only the will of God be done."

~ St. Francis De Sales

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

And now for something from the "be careful what you pray for" files...

You may know that the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker was last Sunday. You may also know that I have a special devotion to dear St. Joseph, the sweet patron saint of workers, fathers, and the Universal Church. And you probably also know that my own beloved husband has been job-free since September.

A wee novena for the feast day was certainly in order, don't you think? Yeah, me too. And now, wouldn't you know it, I'm well into the recruiting process for a real-live new job of my own. Oops!

A few weeks ago, Bill came across the perfect career opportunity--for me. Right back in my own field (business/systems integration, ya know), right here in town, for a great company, on a really exciting project, right now. He suggested I send in a resume, so I did, not expecting to hear from them--after all, I've been "retired" for over a decade now. Technologically speaking, I'm a dinosaur.

Maybe not quite. In the past week and a half--beginning right around the time I finished praying the St. Joseph novena--I've had two phone interviews for this position, and have gone through a roller coaster of emotions and opinions about the whole idea of possibly taking a "real" job again.


Here are some thoughts that have been pinging around in my dinosaur brain:

1) Can I still be a good Catholic mom if I'm a business mommy?
2) Would Bill really be happy to stay home with the kids?
3) Will I lose my mind trying to multitask between a really hard full-time career and managing our home at the same time?
4) If I go back to work, will my kids be scarred for life?
5) Is having a working mom better than having to move if Bill gets a job in another town?
6) Does Bill really want this? Is he going to do the laundry and everything?
7) What if I hate it?
8) What if I love it?
9) Should I return that new swimsuit I just bought, since I won't be at the pool with the kids this summer after all?
10) Do you think I could convince them to let me start work in September?

Preparing for the interviews, I've alternated between getting very psyched about this opportunity, which is a very cool one, and feeling completely overwhelmed that I actually am a total technology dinosaur that no one would want to hire. On the other hand, I really am probably a pretty good candidate for this position, and it could be great for all of us.

Finally it occurred to me that if God can part the Red Sea, He can surely get this job for me if that's His plan. And if not, well of course I wouldn't want it anyway. Over the past week I've gone from wanting the job very much and obsessively preparing for the interviews, to feeling certain that what I really want with all my heart is actually to homeschool KLD and JPD again next fall. The good thing about that is that no matter what happens, I'll be happy. It's all good, right?

Stay tuned!

In the meantime I am clinging tightly to the words of St. Paul...

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
~ Philippians 4:11-13

Saint for the Third Millenium

One of the things that I love best about Catholicism is its incredible depth; no doubt, one lifetime isn't even close to enough to learn every facet of our beautiful faith. Reading Faustina, Saint for Our Times reminded me about this aspect of the Church. I'm repeatedly amazed at how much God continues to be intimately involved in the details of this world that He created. Clearly, His plan of salvation continues to unfold, and He is at work in our world in the 21st century just as much as in the times of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses.

The story of St. Faustina makes this especially clear, as her message of Divine Mercy is so powerful and relevant to us in modern times. I found her connection with John Paul II to be especially intriguing. At the 2002 consecration of the International Shrine of Divine Mercy in Lagievniki, Poland, he said:

"I will solemnly entrust the world to Divine Mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God's merciful love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope. May this message radiate from this place to our beloved homeland and throughout the world."

and

"Where, if not in the Divine Mercy, can the world find refuge and the light of hope?"

John Paul II not only established Divine Mercy Sunday, he even completed his days on earth on the vigil of Divine Mercy, 2005.

Rev. George W. Kosicki, CSB, the author of Faustina, Saint for Our Times is uniquely qualified to introduce us to this beautiful saint. His extensive study of her life and surroundings and, of course, her Diary helps make this book a perfect introduction to Saint Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy. Fr. Kosicki includes chapters on St. Faustina's life, her mission, her spiritual life, her connection to both eastern and western facets of the Catholic faith, her relevance to the third millennium, and a discussion of our response, as well as a section with Divine Mercy prayers and finally a Divine Mercy timeline.

Overall, I would very much recommend this book. It's a perfect introduction to the Divine Mercy devotion, especially good for anyone who's considering tackling reading St. Faustina's Diary. It truly gave me a good understanding of Divine Mercy, which is quite exciting as well as comforting in our turbulent modern times!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Faustina, Saint for Our Times and check out their great selection of serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

Disclaimer: The Catholic Company provides books for review free of charge to its reviewers. Come join the fun!

All Saints' Day

My heavenly brothers and sisters, from those most renowned to those of greatest obscurity, I come before you now in all humility and commend myself, and all who are dear to me, to your intercession.

Pray for us always, that we may awake each day with a burning desire for the Lord whose Face you behold, that we will maintain an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, our Savior and Head, and that we will not hesitate to proclaim God’s greatness to others, and love them as the Lord loves us.

As you offer your continual praise before the throne of God, I raise my heart to you now to implore your powerful intercession for these special needs: (………).

I am confident that your prayers on our behalf will be graciously heard by our loving and merciful Lord. By his grace, may we someday join you in the glory of the Father’s house.

Happy, Happy Feast Day!

St. Therese of Lisieux, 1873-1897

Here's a great post on why St. Therese is a saint for grownups.

And pictures of our feast day celebration coming soon!

Happy Feast Day, St. John Chrysostom

"He became what we are, that we might become what He is."

~ St John Chrysostom, c. 400 A.D.

There Is Need of Only One Thing

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
~ Luke 10:38-42

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Jan Vermeer c. 1654-1656

For the longest time, this gospel story puzzled me. How could Jesus rebuke Martha for preparing and serving dinner, when her sister lounged around adoring Our Lord? "Mary has chosen the better part?" Really? Was Our Lord planning to provide some loaves and fishes, perhaps, if Martha skipped out on kitchen duty?

I'm learning, of course, that this story is about balance. Work and prayer. Work as prayer. Contemplation in the midst of work or, even, prayer in the midst of chaos--a concept every busy mom grapples with daily.

The thing is to offer all my work and all the chaos to Him. To wholeheartedly love the Lord like Mary while working like Martha. And even to pursue holiness, not in spite of my work, but through my work. As St. Josemaria says, "Your work must become a personal prayer, must become a real conversation with Our Father in heaven" and "He waits for us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating theater, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home, and in all the immense panorama of work."

In John 11:24-27 we see Martha again after the death of her brother Lazarus. She says, "I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you…. Yes, Lord…I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.” Obviously, Martha's love for Jesus is complete, and she is a great disciple of Our Lord.

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things." Perhaps Jesus' words to Martha are not so much a rebuke as a consolation. He's not suggesting that she not work; he's suggesting that she not worry. When we're busy on the outside, we can still be at peace on the inside, and always in love with our Lord, who fulfills all the deepest desires of our hearts.

For another beautiful piece of art related to the story of Mary and Martha, and a phenomenal reflection for St. Martha's feast day, check out Fr. Z's commentary from today.

Updated: Here is an AWESOME take on this post, which contradicts my above referral to "balance." Indeed, prayer comes first, and work follows from that. We must have both, but not confuse our priorities. See...I'll never stop contemplating and learning about this amazing story of our Lord!

Good St. Anne

Happy Feast Day, St. Anne!

According to Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne, (also Ann or Anna, from Hebrew Hannah, meaning "favor" or "grace") of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Anne and her husband Joachim, after years of childlessness, were visited by an angel who told them that they would conceive a child. Anne promised to dedicate the child to God's service. More information about St. Anne is here and I was inspired by Elizabeth Foss' special devotion to St. Anne here.

This year St. Anne is special to me, too, because I realized that her feast day is on the same day that my own sweet grandmother died--July 26, 2002. It's hard to believe that eight years have already gone by since we lost my Grandmother. I still feel like I could pick up the phone and call her up, or that she's still there, down in Texas, ready to pull out something chocolate for us as we play cards around her kitchen table.

Five days after her death, my family held her funeral on a steamy day down by the Texas bayou. At almost the exact same time, my precious KLD was born miles away in Illinois, sweetly continuing the circle of life.

I pray that dear St. Anne, grandmother of Our Lord, can help to bless my own dear Grandmother and my KLD, who will turn eight on Saturday!

Like Fire in Fog

"You should not worry too much about adversities. The world is not as powerful as it seems to be; its strength is strictly limited... Know, my daughter, that if your soul is filled with the fire of My pure love, then all difficulties dissipate like fog before the sun's rays and dare not touch the soul. All adversaries are afraid to start a quarrel with such a soul, because they sense that it is stronger than the whole world."

~ The words of Jesus in St. Faustina's Diary

Loving Dear St. Joseph today!

Thanks Fr. Rick for sharing the perfect post for today!

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, is the patron saint of workers. Pope Pius XII decided in 1955 to add the optional feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1, to counteract the Communists’ May Day holiday by Christianizing this European Labor Day.

Like St. Joseph, let us offer our work as an act of charity done for the love of God and for the love of others, for work well done is a work of love. Work has the capacity to perfect us in a heavenly way. Through our work, we share in the cross of Christ. Like the mystery of the Incarnation, Joseph performed his work in a quiet, hidden way, offering all that he did up to God. Let us imitate him in this way and thank God for the gift of our work, which draws us closer to Him.

Prayer to St. Joseph, as Patron of Workers

Blessed St. Joseph, patron of all working people, obtain for me the grace to labor in a spirit of penance for the atonement of my many sins. Help me to be conscientious in my work so that I may give as full a measure as I have received.
May I labor in a spirit of thankfulness and joy, ever mindful of all the gifts I have received from God that enable me to perform these tasks. Permit me to work in peace, patience, and moderation, keeping in mind the account I must one day give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vanity of success, so fatal to the work of God. Glorious St. Joseph, may my labors be all for Jesus, all through Mary, and all after your holy example in life and in death. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph for Employment

Dear Saint Joseph, you were yourself once faced with the responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary. Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety over my present inability to support my family. Please help me to find gainful employment very soon, so that this heavy burden of concern will be lifted from my heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has entrusted to my care. Help us to guard against bitterness and discouragement, so that we may emerge from this trial spiritually enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"Soon we shall be in eternity and then we shall see how insignificant our worldly preoccupations were and how little it mattered whether some things got done or not; however, right now we rush about as if they were all-important. When we were little children how eagerly we used to gather pieces of broken tile, little sticks, and mud with which to build houses and other tiny buildings, and if someone knocked them over, how heartbroken we were and how we cried! But now we understand that these things really didn't amount to much. One day it will be like this for us in heaven when we shall see that some of the things we clung to on earth were only childish attachments.

"I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't care about these little games and trifling details of life, for God wants us to practice on them in this world; but I would like to see us not so strained and frantic in our concern about them. Let's play our childish games since we are children; but at the same time, let's not take them too seriously. And if someone wrecks our little houses or projects, let's not get too upset, because when night falls and we have to go indoors -- I'm speaking of our death -- all those little houses will be useless; we shall have to go into our Father's house. Do faithfully all the things you have to do, but be aware that what matters most is your salvation and the fulfillment of that salvation through true devotion."

~ St. Francis de Sales, 1608

Thanks to Jen for sharing this quote when I really needed it!

Being Small

"Come to me, all you who toil and are overburdened, and I will refesh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart."
~ Matthew 11:28-29

There is what you have got to get hold of, brothers and sisters, and it's certainly little enough. We are striving for great things; let us lay hold of little things, and we shall be great. Do you wish to lay hold of the loftiness of God? First catch hold of God's lowliness. Deign to be lowly and humble on the same account, yours, not his own. So catch hold of Christ's humility, learn to be humble, don't be proud.

~ St. Augustine of Hippo, approx. A.D. 430

Expect a Miracle

I can't wait to tell you this story.

Friday afternoon, on the way home from school with the kids, I got some cash from the bank. Specifically, I got $500, all in fifty dollar bills. Knowing that I would be working at the school fish fry a few hours later (Now I know I am officially a true Wisconsin mom, but that's another story!), I carefully put $50 in my wallet, $100 in my zippered coat pocket to give to Bill for grocery shopping (grocery shopping for me=true love!), and resolved to be sure to put the remaining $350 safely away at home so that it would not be in my purse or in my car during the fish fry.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon.

The $350 is nowhere to be found, and I have no further memory of doing anything with it. ("Senior Moment!"--there, I said it, so you can just resist that little jab right now!)

It was not in my coat pocket, not in my car, not in our usual "cash stash" spot in the house, not in my desk, not in my pile of clutter in the dining room, not in the trash, not in my dresser, not in my bathroom vanity, and not in any of the other 10,000 places I frantically searched in my house.

Did I forget to take it out of my purse, so that someone stole it when I left my purse unattended in the fish fry break room? (Quote from WWD, God love him: "But Mom, it couldn't have been stolen; everyone there was Catholic.")

Did I scoop it up with the junk mail and toss it? Did I leave it sitting in my lap and drop it when getting out of the car? Did I ("oh please...") absentmindedly just put it somewhere strange in the house?

And it wasn't just a little money, either. Three hundred and fifty dollars!! The kids and I searched and searched, and prayed and prayed to St. Anthony, who is, of course, the patron saint of lost objects. The worst part, naturally, was telling Bill. All I could think about was how long it takes him to earn $350 at the job that he loathes, and how carefully he watches his money. $350.00. Oh my.

I went to sleep last night praying that I'd wake up with a clear mind and remember where I put the money. Instead I woke up with that sick feeling of losing $350. All day long it didn't turn up.

Just now, after watching the Saints beat his beloved Brett Favre for the NFC Championship, WWD went to bed and came running back downstairs yelling, "Mom! Mom! I found it! I found it!"

I knew exactly what "it" was, of course.

Friday night when we were rushing to get out the door on time for the fish fry, I'd helped William search his closet for the specific shirt he wanted to wear. And, since I was on my way to my room to put the money away at the time, in order to look for his shirt, I'd set down the money envelope on a shelf in his closet.

The shelf where he keeps his prayer stuff.

And the envelope--no kidding--was sitting right in front of a holy card of St. Anthony.

What's that saying...

"Don't believe in miracles; depend on them."

Indeed.

Seven (Very) Quick Takes Friday

~ 1 ~
Recently heard at our place: "Some people think their parents are really Santa Claus. But Mom and Dad would NEVER buy all that stuff!"

~ 2 ~
This week our Little Flowers Girls' Club meeting was on Tuesday, the Feast of Mary's Immaculate Conception. I opened our meeting with the Hail Mary prayer, and then asked the girls (who had all been to a special Mass that morning for the feast day) if they could guess why I'd chosen that prayer. KLD's hand shot up. "The feast of the Immaculate Heart!" She proudly answered. What a cutie! (Everyone agreed it had something to do with Mary. Well, they got that part right, anyway!)

~ 3 ~
I am so proud of my sweeties and their Christmas preparations! They are all very busy getting ready, and SO concerned with what they're getting/making for each other--far more than what they're asking Santa for. So sweet--just warms their mom's heart to see their sweet generosity! Really creative ideas too, like a spaceship for JPD out of packing boxes. (Sssshh!)

~ 4 ~
We are pretty excited around here about the Longhorns in the National Championship game. I'm just saying.

~ 5 ~
Speaking of sports, we are in a FRENZY of basketball tournaments for WWD. Our weekends are totally booked. Last Friday night, I took all the kids down to W's tournament; Bill was driving in from a meeting in Chicago and meeting us there. I wish you could have seen how excited MPD was to see his BIG brother on the court with all those other HUGE 5th grade players!! It was floor seats at the NBA to him! He was so proud of WWD; it was just precious. I often think about my uncle's description of my dad, who was his 9-year-older brother--same age gap as WWD and MPD--as "larger than life." It is such an amazing blessing to see how sweet these two almost-ten-years-apart brothers are together! As soon as the first game was over, MPD couldn't wait to climb into W's lap, to show that he was HIS brother:


~ 6 ~
After the snow, came the cold. We're now having single digit high temperatures and wind-chill temps in the sub-zero teens. That 17+ inches of snow is now frozen into a hard pack, everywhere. The garage door did not want to open yesterday morning, and my van doors were frozen shut. I love #7 of Jen's Quick Takes this week--it totally sums up the difference between daily winter life as a Texas Mom vs. a Wisconsin Mom. Sandals, shorts, and t-shirts 9 months of the year!! We are buried in winter gear, and I am so thankful for our new, bigger laundry room which is full of 10 winter boots (as well as regular shoes), 5 pairs of snow pants, more than 20 mittens (each child has at least two pair for when they get wet), random coats and hats and neck gaiters and headbands and...well, you get the picture. And they can't wait to get outside!!

By the way, my big-family frugal mommy wisdom on this issue is that I get black Target snow bibs in all their sizes, so each year they just move up to the next size, all unisex. If they bust the knees, which happens rarely, I just buy more because they're pretty cheap. I also like to buy their coats red or cobalt blue so that they can be unisex and more share-able; this is getting harder to do because Lands' End and other favorite coat suppliers are making things more and more gender-specific! The kids can "express themselves" (whatever) with their hats, gloves, and scarves, which are whatever flavor (Dora, Disney Princesses, Superheroes, Longhorns, Packers, personalized)they're into. So far, this has worked great (this week they were actually laughing about someone at school having pink snow pants--how crazy! ha ha), and keeps our off-season storage of all this gear more manageable too.

~ 7 ~
This morning on Catholic radio I heard the most beautiful description of the story of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast days are yesterday and Sunday. Two things are especially striking me about this story this year: It's amazing that this powerful apparition happened at such a critical period of history--the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs--and also, as with so many saints, that God always best uses the most humble souls for His greatest work.

The Blessed Mother's loving words to St. Juan Diego about his uncle's illness are especially precious and so comforting and applicable to all of us:

“Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything."

~~~~~
Lots more Quick Takes at Conversion Diary, as always!

Thank you, dear St. Joseph!!

Yesterday we closed on the sale of the old house! I am so, so grateful and just in awe of how much we have been blessed during this move. When we moved into the old house in 2004, the relocation was a huge drama (long story for another post, or not) and not at all what we had planned. All we could think was that it was God's plan for us to end up in that particular house, and then I proceeded to bring my two brown-eyed baby boys home there and have the happiest years (so far!) of my very happy life there.

So even though we never loved that house, leaving it was, to say the least, a big decision. As we were looking at houses over the past months, I've prayed about it so much; I really do want to avoid moving for the sake of materialism or my own comfort or any of that kind of thing. Lots of prayers and soul-searching during these months, even talking it over with spiritual advisors, etc., believe me. How can I really justify moving into a bigger house when there are homeless people in my very own city? I mean, really, do any of us really need a 3-car garage? :) But on the other hand, we do want to raise our family in a nice home that we can all reasonably fit into, and a house is obviously a huge investment and part of prudently managing the resources that God has given us, right?

We are just so amazingly, abundantly blessed that things have gone so smoothly! To have had a contract on our house a week after we put it on the market, when plenty of others in our neighborhood have been for sale for quite a long time, and especially since we had taken a risk to purchase the new one without selling the old one first--well, I'm just so humbly thankful and full of wonder at God's goodness. And of course, as I said before, we got the little St. Joseph statue for real estate, although I couldn't bring myself to bury him in the yard and I kept him on the mantle. I'm positive that his intercession helped us this fall, no doubt! And I found this sweet St. Joseph novena, which is perfect for thanking him for helping take care of us. It has lots of interesting theological points about St. Joseph, who is so amazing and worthy of devotion--the patron saint of families, fathers, the church, happy death, and so many other things. Here's a bit of it from today that I especially liked:

Saint Joseph, you were the man chosen by God the Father. He selected you to be His representative on earth, hence He granted you all the graces and blessings you needed to be His worthy representative.

You were the man chosen by God the Son. Desirous of a worthy foster-father, He added His own riches and gifts, and above all, His love. The true measure of your sanctity is to be judged by your imitation of Jesus. You were entirely consecrated to Jesus, working always near Him, offering Him your virtues, your work, your sufferings, your very life. Jesus lived in you perfectly so that you were transformed into Him. In this lies your special glory, and the keynote of your sanctity. Hence, after Mary, you are the holiest of the saints.

You were chosen by the Holy Spirit. He is the mutual Love of the Father and the Son -- the heart of the Holy Trinity. In His wisdom He draws forth all creatures from nothing, guides them to their end in showing them their destiny and giving them the means to reach it. Every vocation and every fulfillment of a vocation proceeds from the Holy Spirit. As a foster-father of Jesus and head of the Holy Family, you had an exalted and most responsible vocation -- to open the way for the redemption of the world and to prepare for it by the education and guidance of the youth of the God-Man. In this work you cooperated as the instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the guide; you obeyed and carried out the works. How perfectly you obeyed the guidance of the God of Love!

Sainthood: Such an Everyday Thing

"If we make a daily effort to become saints, each of us in his own state in the world and in the exercise of his profession, in our ordinary lives, I have no doubt that our Lord will enable us to work miracles, and, if necessary, miracles of the most extraordinary kinds."

~ St. Josemaria Escriva

Peace

"Worry? Never. That's to lose your peace."

~ St. Josemaria Escriva