Best prayer ever!

From Little One/Princess (I'm still transitioning her name) last night: "Make me a saint, Lord!"

St. Nicholas has arrived!

Our Little Princess remembered St. Nicholas from last Advent, so last night we set out our shoes by the front door. St. Nicholas kindly left chocolate candy in everyone’s shoes and left a small ornament and a book of Catholic prayers for Little One. We thanked God for all of His gifts and asked St. Nicholas to keep us always in his prayers.

For those looking for a way to start an Advent tradition, lighting our advent wreath and saying a small prayer with our dinner blessing reminds us of the true meaning of the season – and is easy to keep up! Another tradition that we tried to start last year and have been only partially successful with this year is the Jesse tree. We still don’t have an actual tree, but we did color some pictures (found here), cut them out, and made a small book.

And we’re participating in our parish’s angel program. This weekend, we purchased clothing for a little girl (still need to get a toy). I’m still struggling with how our daughter reacts to giving to others – or more specifically, buying for others. I know she is still young, but I have a guilty suspicion that some of her attitude comes from us (her parents). Am I too selfish? Too materialistic? Most definitely on both. I’m working on it!

Finally, our Nativity is in place on the mantel, complete with moving Mary and Joseph, wise men way off, and no baby Jesus (yet). Happy Advent!

Celebrating my mothers' birthdays

Yesterday we celebrated Mary’s birthday with cupcakes. Unfortunately, they weren’t homemade (no time), but I suppose Mary doesn’t mind. No one in the family complained. This is the first time that we have done something like this for Mary’s birthday.

Today is my mother’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! We started praying our first family novena this week and chose the novena to St. Dymphna, patron saint of those afflicted with mental disorders. Why do I talk about our novena and my mother’s birthday in the same paragraph? My mother suffers from depression and OCD. We pray for her often.

Since she doesn’t believe in getting psychiatric help or counseling, there isn’t much we can do. Texas has very restrictive laws about having someone committed. Years ago, we did a family intervention and somehow got her to an emergency room where she was evaluated by the psychiatrist on staff. He agreed that she suffers from severe OCD, but she refused treatment. And since she wasn’t “waving a gun around” (i.e. threatening direct, bodily harm to herself or others), he had to release her. Friends of mine have suggested actions like leaving her to care for herself (the idea being that she couldn’t and would have to call for help). My father, sister and I truly believe that she would never seek help and instead just waste away.

It’s a very sad situation (and hard to explain if you are not around to see and interact yourself). St. Dymphna, pray for my mother. Blessed Mary, pray for my mother.

One more year

Happy Birthday to my sweet Little One! She turned four this past weekend (I can't believe it!). This is the first year that we gave a birthday party with kids. She had a blast!

My birthday is tomorrow. So far, this decade seems...less energetic...than the last. Women, note that your hormones really do start to decline in your late 30s to early 40s. Ugh - I have to get some energy back somehow!

And, of course, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! (Good thing I like the color green; lots of green birthday cakes growing up.) Little One and I will be discussing the Trinity (hopefully with a shamrock art project, but that depends on Mommy's energy level). Maybe we can say the St. Patrick's chaplet.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day, wear green, and pray for greater faith!

PS: We managed to make and decorate a shamrock yesterday. We talked about the Trinity -- and then Little One handed me the shamrock and said "Happy Birthday!" Apparently she and her father had already discussed making me a green card, and I confused the matter by making a green shamrock. :)

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a very happy new year and many blessings in 2010. Our Catholic faith gives us a wonderful way to ring in the new calendar year with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1).

A bit of history: Mary is called Theotokos, meaning "God-Bearer". Since Jesus was fully God and fully man, we rightly call Mary the mother of God. In the early 400s, Nestorius, for whom the heresy Nestorianism is named, proposed that Mary only gave birth to Jesus' human nature (and not His divine nature). The Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451) condemned this idea.

And today is the feast day of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, one of my favorites!

Advent in our household

Now that Little One is a little older, we've made a more conscience effort to install Advent traditions in our household. We had an Advent calendar last year, and have one again this year. We also have an Advent wreath this year. Little One enjoys blowing out the candles, and it helps us focus on eating dinner at a slower pace (a nice side benefit).

Our crèche is set up on the mantel, but with only the animals in the manager. Mary and Joseph are moving toward them, as is the shepherd. The three wise men are wandering around on the nearby bookcase. And baby Jesus is asleep in a bowl on the mantel (really, he would get lost if I tried to move Him around the house). Little One wanted to know when baby Jesus (sometimes called baby God) gets to come out of the bowl.

I wanted to do a Jesse Tree this year, but I've been so tired lately (ok, for awhile, but that is another story). I did purchase a small children's book on Jesse Tree stories, so we do read that most nights. Maybe next year I can put up a tree.

Speaking of trees, yes, we did put up and decorate our tree. I do like someone's idea (sorry, don't remember who it was) of decorating slowing through Advent.

St. Nicholas Day was celebrated with chocolate gold coins, a peppermint stick, and a St. Nicholas holy card, all found in a pair of boots by the door. Even though I reread the story of St. Nicholas to her and tried to explain that she'd get some small candy in her shoes, I'm not sure Little One really embraced it. Perhaps next year we'll change it up a bit and just exchange some small token (like chocolate - chocolate is good!).

And of course today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Little One and I went to Mass. Yes, she wanted to go with me, even though it wasn't a church day. :)

Solemnity of St. Joseph

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. Given the current trying times, below is a prayer to St. Joseph, patron saint of workers (May 1 is the feast day for Joseph, the worker).

Prayer to Saint Joseph for Success in Work

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my many sins; to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, prudence and patience, never surrendering to weariness or difficulties; to work, above all, with purity of intention, and with detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after thy example, O Patriarch Joseph. Such shall be my motto in life and death.
Amen.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! One of my favorite saints, along with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Francis of Assisi, St. Patrick was instrumental in converting all of Ireland. He used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. For more information, please go here.

St. Patrick's Breastplate (short version)

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Amen.

It's also my birthday. Despite it being a rather significant one, my anxiety stems not from the age number but from the economic turmoil that is catching up with our family. I know I should trust in God, but the selfish part of me wants to know why I can't have a fun and present-filled birthday. Deep down I am thankful that I have my family, my house, my health, and my job (at least for now).

I must remind myself to take a deep breath and pray. On that note, the Chaplet of St. Patrick is said on 12 beads (mine are green and include a Celtic cross at one end and a St. Patrick medal at the other end). The purpose of this Chaplet is that through the intercession of Saint Patrick, God Almighty will strengthen one's faith and grant the grace of faith to others.

Chaplet of St. Patrick
On the medal, say the Apostle's Creed. On each of the twelve green beads recite the Glory Be. Conclude with the Breastplate of St. Patrick (above).

Father speaks out against FOCA

In his homily this morning, Father spoke out against FOCA and the evils of the culture of death. He then asked us to fill out the fight FOCA postcards in the pews and hand them in during the collection, giving us a few minutes to complete the postcards. It was great!

Today is the feast day of St. Brigid of Ireland. I found this prayer and thought it worth sharing:

St Brigid, Mary of Ireland
Ask for us all today
The courage to do God's bidding
Whatever the world may say
The grace to be strong and valiant
The grace to be firm and true
The grace to be faithful always
To God, God's mother and you.

Embracing my Catholicism

While I was raised Catholic and have never thought of myself as anything but Catholic, it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve really embraced my faith. Despite going to Mass every Sunday until I left for college, I wasn’t confirmed as a child. So, as a part of my journey, I decided to complete the adult confirmation class and was confirmed a little over a year ago. The saint that I chose is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose feast day is January 4th.

Typical of my analytical side, I spent a great deal of time researching and reading about various saints. I kept coming back to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first native born American to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Raised Episcopalian, she became Catholic in 1805 after spending time in Italy. Elizabeth is credited with starting Catholic education in the United States and is the patron saint of Catholic schools. She also founded the Sisters of Charity, the first native American religious community for women.

I’m drawn to Elizabeth primarily because of her work around providing Catholic education, especially for girls. It doesn’t hurt that she was the first native born American saint. If I were more superstitious, I’d say it’s more than a coincidence that she was beatified on my birthday (March 17). And, there is also a statue of her in from of the school at my church. If we happen to park near the statue, I point her out to my daughter. Last Sunday, she told me that St. Elizabeth was her saint too.

Prayer by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

O Father, the first rule of Our dear Savior's life was to do Your Will. Let His Will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment. Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing what You wish we will be pleasing to You. Amen.

Prayer before the election

Pray for a victorious outcome to the election tomorrow. Please consider carefully and conscientiously each candidate's beliefs and proposed policies, and what that means to the most vulnerable of our country.

St. Michael Prayer

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

No more "Yeah, buts..."

The bishops of Dallas and Fort Worth issued a joint statement "to provide clear guidance on the proper formation of conscience concerning voting as faithful Catholics and to articulate the Church's clear and unambiguous teaching on the life issues as they relate to other issues of concern." Bishops Kevin Farrell and Kevin Vann leave no room for any "yeah, buts" regarding what the Church's teachings are on abortion and other issues facing the American voter today.

It is worth taking the time to read the entire statement (it's less than three pages). The bishops clear up any misconception one may have:

"...there are no "truly grave moral" or "proportionate" reasons, singularly or combined, that could outweigh the millions of innocent human lives that are directly killed by legal abortion each year."

and

"To vote for a candidate who supports the intrinsic evil of abortion or "abortion rights" when there is a morally acceptable alternative would be to cooperate in the evil – and, therefore, morally impermissible."

...Today is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. Below are two prayers attributed to her that touched me:

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

and

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things pass away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God
Finds he lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

St. Francis, the animals, and praying for peace

St. Francis of Assisi's feast day was October 4 - this past Saturday. We have three cats, who, like most cats, don't travel well, making a trip to church for the annual blessing of the animals a bit too much to handle. Maybe other families bring their cats, but I think it wiser to leave ours at home. Instead, we say an extra prayer for them on this day.

If you don't know, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and ecology. But he also encourages us to be instruments of peace, to truly seek peaceful solutions. My plan was to go line by line and analyze his Prayer for Peace (see below), but I haven't quite made it. To summarize, if we didn't hate, didn't hold grudges, and offered others forgiveness, hope, love and understanding even before seeking these for ourselves, how much better would the world be?

St Francis' Prayer for Peace:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

More on Prayer; feast day of St. Vincent de Paul

The National Catholic Register has a nifty one pager titled “How (and Why) to Pray”. To summerize, prayer is made of ACTS

Adoration
Contrition
Thanksgiving
Supplication

This past Lent I started praying the rosary during my drive to work. I’ve discovered that 1) my drive to work is much more pleasant, and 2) I’m better able to face the day after having meditated on the mysteries. We also added morning prayer to our family prayer tradition, which our toddler-aged daughter has embraced. My heart smiles when I see her make the sign of the cross, fold her hands in prayer, and babble along with us (the babble is getting clearer every day).

But I long for more. I suppose I’m rather lazy in a way. I can think of all the great ways to enhance my prayer life – and then never get around to actually praying (beyond what I’ve been doing for years). Things like keeping a prayer journal (started one), or meditating on a particular prayer or bible verse.

My plan has been to really think about a particular prayer or bible verse. What does it really mean? How does it relate to me? How can I use this prayer or bible verse to enhance my prayer life?

This Saturday, September 27 is the feast of St. Vincent de Paul. Our church is supported by Vincentian Fathers, so this is a special day for our parish. I found this quote that applies very much to my current life:

"Strive to live content in the midst of those things that cause your discontent. Free your mind from all that troubles you, God will take care of things. You will be unable to make haste in this [choice] without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God, because he sees that you do not honor him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust in him, I beg you, and you will have the fulfillment of what your heart desires" (St. Vincent de Paul, Letters).

Of course, this applies to everyone all the time. Funny how just the right quote, prayer, or bible verse pops up when you really need it. Between job uncertainty, possibly listing our house for sale, and the general decline of the economy, I’ve been letting stress and anxiety take hold of me lately.

To close, I also found this prayer:

Almighty God, who called your servant Vincent de Paul to serve you in the person of those in need: Grant that we, following his example, may fulfill your commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving you with all our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.