Consecration and Purity

A sister group to The Guardians of the Altar (our parish's altar serving boys group) is being formed.  Guardians of Purity is in the developing stages right now.  It is meant as a place of support and opportunity for growth in purity, modesty, spirit, and charity.  So far the core group involves my Lucy, her cousins, and a few very sweet and devoted young girls.  They, and their leader, will be in need of our prayers for perseverance. 

As with any new group the start is always busy and subject to attacks.  In preparation all the girls began preparation for the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary this past Friday.

Please join us, their mothers, as we pray for these young girls.  When successful the Guardians of Purity will involve young girls, from First Communion age 8 until the age when they leave their homes.  But of course they will leave their homes always belonging :0].

Why prepare, why devote ourselves to Mary, why the consecration?

Take a listen here, True Devotion to Mary

Veni Creator Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,

and in our souls take up Thy rest;

come with Thy grace and heavenly aid

to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O comforter, to Thee we cry,

O heavenly gift of God Most High,

O fount of life and fire of love,

and sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;

Thou, finger of God's hand we own;

Thou, promise of the Father,

Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.

Kindle our sense from above,

and make our hearts o'erflow with love;

with patience firm and virtue high

the weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread,

and grant us Thy peace instead;

so shall we not, with Thee for guide,

turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow

the Father and the Son to know;

and Thee, through endless times confessed,

of both the eternal Spirit blest.

Now to the Father and the Son,

Who rose from death, be glory given,

with Thou, O Holy Comforter,

henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.

Ave Maris Stella

Hail, O Star of the ocean,

God's own Mother blest,

ever sinless Virgin,

gate of heav'nly rest.

Taking that sweet Ave,

which from Gabriel came,

peace confirm within us,

changing Eve's name.

Break the sinners' fetters,

make our blindness day,

Chase all evils from us,

for all blessings pray.

Show thyself a Mother,

may the Word divine

born for us thine Infant

hear our prayers through thine.

Virgin all excelling,

mildest of the mild,

free from guilt preserve us

meek and undefiled.

Keep our life all spotless,

make our way secure

till we find in Jesus,

joy for evermore.

Praise to God the Father,

honor to the Son,

in the Holy Spirit,

be the glory one. Amen.

Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The First Time ::

She asked God to forgive her

it was sweet, private, guided by a priest who is gentle and remembers the hearts of children;

it was perfect!

Sweet Rose,

The night before your first confession we sat together, examining our conscience, slowly the sins that have hurt God came up.  Each time one came up your eyes widen.  Each time we spoke how when we fall so easily into sin, it brings tears to Jesus eyes, you teared up.  There have been changes in you, as I've seen your heart open.  And this has been happening long before this night.

You then made the sweetest letter to take with you. Your drawing of the chalice filled with His precious blood made me pause.  It was your letter of your first confessed sins.  Innocent little list, a list that I pray stays as simple as it was this first time. 

Then as it is with you, when you woke the next morning the very first thing you asked, "Momma have I done anything bad since last night?"  You wanted to make sure you covered your tracks.  So typical of you.  I think Jesus must have laughed and perhaps think, as I thought,

"Oh what a wonderful creation!"

Your first confession, Rose!

Your first taste of the endless mercy from Jesus.

Thank you Jesus!  Thank you for our Rose!

If you're happy....

A post not to be missed by Ann Voskamp....

HOME

This is where I am.  After a few years of saying it, I think I've arrived. 

I'm HOME. 

I mean this figuratively and physically too.  We've been away a lot over the last month.  There are several things I've missed for the lack of just being around.  A cookie exchange link up came and went...I love cookie exchanges and I missed it. 

But that's okay.

I was away spending time with family and getting cozy next to fires. 

What I really mean by being HOME is that I feel more focused in my role as wife and mother.  It isn't always a pretty site.  No, but the effort to be a peace in my HOME is a constant now.

I wish I could say that my prayer life is perfect, that the kids lesson plans are updated, that each child is receiving exactly what they need at the moment they need it.  I wish I could say that my house is as clean as I'd like it to be or that the clutter I tried to get rid of last year has stayed gone. 

Nope.  I can't say any of those things.

But, I can say that I look at each day with new eyes.  I try to meet the needs of both husband and children on an hourly basis.  I carve out prayer time, not always daily but I'm getting there.  I am slowly getting to that clutter. 

Yes!  I am deconstructing my HOME.  Every inch of it.  It was the reason why we took all of Advent off from regular school work.  My family needed time to just be still.  To cook and read together.  Watch silly movies, walk in the rain, visit lots of family....to breath.

Now I'm getting to the physical needs of my HOME.  More on that later...

During all this there is the daily-hourly talks with Jesus.  I am more grateful to God for His abundance love for me and what He has put forth in my life.  I see Him in my children.  I see Him in the love between my husband and I.  I can see His hand on even the current struggles...here prayers are needed.

HOME is my word for 2011.

HOME is my focus.

Mansions of the Lord

In honor of the fallen heroes,

Thank you for your service!!!

St. Martin of Tours,
 patron saint of soilders pray for our fallen ones and all those that continue to serve their country.

Pondering ~

There has been a common theme of late in the blog world of women.  Admittedly I have had my share of "too much" computer time at the expense of my real priorities.  It took a tragedy to pull my focus away to where it was needed.  Still considered a novice to blogging, I am aware of the negatives to sharing too much and exposing my life to the perceptions and critics of the faceless "friend". 

That said, I spend more time talking to myself here.  This is my space and as long as I am aware of the time pressing keys and staring at a screen I feel comfortable with it.  I do not claim to live a life of fairy tales.  My life has had too many moments of sorrow and great JOY to know this life I lead is imperfect at times.  But it's such a grand life I've been blessed with!  So I share where I can, more for my hubby to read than anything else.  He gets a kick of this blog thing (he is not computer savvy at all....my guy is a straight hands-on labor-kind of guy...God love HIM!)

The words of Jeanne, Susan, Kim, and several from Elizabeth are a valuable read for the blogger or not.  Change is in the air...I feel like hibernating a bit.  Not from this blog but, from other elements that take my attention.  

Enjoy the reads...

Marian artist card swap

My apologies for the late arrival of posting our well received ATC Marian cards.  We've had a long and sad few weeks.  But, that's another story saved for a later post. 

Rose and Max were over the moon when they had mail waiting for them to open.  Rose especially thought this was "way cool".  So thank you ladies and kids for the lovely cards. 

Unfortunately, I have lost our camera and can't show you the cards my kids received ((sigh))! 

When we visited the other blogs Max and Rose quickly found the artists behind their new collections though.  And saw theirs displayed so nicely too.   I so wish to show you your cards.  So so sorry about that.  I hope to one day soon get a new camera...I'll update this post then...just for our own acknowledgement really and to say thank you again.

Pop on over to Kimberlee's blog to see the many creative hands at work

God bless!

update:  I found our camera...YIPPEE (thank you St. Anthony!)

These are the cards Rose received

These are the ones Max received

"...encourage one another and build each other up..."

~1 Thessalonians 5:11

For more on this read here

On the feast of St. Patrick ~

I bind unto myself today

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.

By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;

His baptism in the Jordan river;

His death on Cross for my salvation;

His bursting from the spicèd tomb;

His riding up the heavenly way;

His coming at the day of doom;*

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power

Of the great love of the cherubim;

The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,

The service of the seraphim,

Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,

The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,

All good deeds done unto the Lord,

And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today

The virtues of the starlit heaven,

The glorious sun's life-giving ray,

The whiteness of the moon at even,

The flashing of the lightning free,

The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,

The stable earth, the deep salt sea,

Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today

The power of God to hold and lead,

His eye to watch, His might to stay,

His ear to hearken to my need.

The wisdom of my God to teach,

His hand to guide, His shield to ward,

The word of God to give me speech,

His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,

The vice that gives temptation force,

The natural lusts that war within,

The hostile men that mar my course;

Or few or many, far or nigh,

In every place and in all hours,

Against their fierce hostility,

I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,

Against false words of heresy,

Against the knowledge that defiles,

Against the heart's idolatry,

Against the wizard's evil craft,

Against the death wound and the burning,

The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,

Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity;

By invocation of the same.

The Three in One, and One in Three,

Of Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

~"St. Patrick's Breastplate with its familiar words, "Christ behind me, Christ before me" has been an expression of Christian faith for many years..."

more found here

Pondering

"Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others."
~ St. John of the Cross

If anyone be devout and love God,
Let him commence this radiant fast with joy!
If anyone be a wise servant,
Let him, rejoicing, enter into the school of repentance.

We who have wallowed long in sin,
Let us now begin our return.
If anyone has strayed from the first hour,
Let him today repent with zeal.
If anyone has sinned from the third hour,
Let him with gratitude embrace the fast.
If anyone has fled God from the sixth hour,
Let him have no misgivings about his prompt return;
Because he shall in nowise be turned away therefore.
If anyone has indulged the flesh since the ninth hour,
Let him draw near, fearing God alone and trusting in His mercy.
And if anyone has turned away only at the eleventh hour,
Let him also not hesitate to turn back with haste.

For the Lord, who is longsuffering and full of compassion and mercy, will accept the last even as the first.
He restores him who repents at the first hour,
As He does him who turns back at the eleventh.
And He shows mercy upon the last,
And cares for the first;
And to the one He gives,
And upon the other He bestows gifts.
And He both accepts the confession,
And welcomes the intention,
And honors the contrite heart and rejoices in the return.

Wherefore, enter all of you into the holiness of your Lord;
Offer your repentance,
Both the last, and likewise the first.
You rich and poor together, repent, for today we stand outside the closed gates of paradise.
You sober and you heedless, prostrate yourselves before your King!
Return to the Lord today, both you who have sinned with knowledge and those who have done so in ignorance.

Your pantries are full; empty them to the hungry.
The belly enslaves us, let no one be dominated thereby.
Enter all of you into the Great Fast;
Stripped of heavenly wealth by sin, all draw near to God’s rich loving-kindness!
Let no one despair in his sinfulness,
For the Bridegroom comes at midnight.
Weep all of you for your iniquities,
And draw near to the life-giving Cross of our Lord.
Let no one put confidence in the flesh,
For the Devil has deceived us all thereby, and therewith enslaves us to sin.

By turning from God, we are made captives.
We have called good evil and evil good, and put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.
And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:
Woe to those who put darkness for light, and light for darkness!

We are embittered, for we are banned from Eden.
We are embittered, but it is we who have mocked God.
We are embittered, for now we shall surely die.
We are embittered, for we have succumbed to the serpent.
We are embittered, for we are fettered in chains.
We partook of a fruit, and met the deceiver.
We were entrusted with paradise, but we chose Hell.
Our eyes were opened to see the nakedness of sin.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver us!
O Lord, make haste to help us!

This is the acceptable time, let us repent!
This is the day of salvation, let us crucify the passions!
The end is at hand and destruction hangs over us!
The end draws nigh, let us come again to our senses!
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, what first-fruit shall we offer?
Let us delay not, lest we remain dead in the grave, sold under sin!
For God desires not the death of the sinner, but that he should turn from his wickedness and live!
So, let us choose life, and live, for the mercy of God endures forever!
To Him be glory and dominion
Unto ages of ages. Amen.

Sermon written by Fr. John Parker,  of Holy Ascenstion Orthodox Church

Pondering

There are some that are so trusting in handing over their lives to God's hands.  They may question and perhaps doubt from time to time but..wow...look what can be accomplished when we let go.  When ever Katie writes I want to link it to here.  I'd like to be reminded that people do live like her...some in small ways while others in large (each important, each are needed, each are examples of living like Jesus).

Here is Katie Davis' journey.