Triduum:: 2013

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession."

~ Hebrews 4:14

I had to come on for just a moment.  On this Good Friday, a day of sorrowful joy.  Can there really be two such opposite emotions rolled up into one?    Yes, oh glorious yes!   My own heart is filled today in humbleness and awe.  That Jesus has done such a deed for me (and you)!!  The pain, the sadness, and love that filled his own heart that day so long ago; still fills him today.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin."

~ Hebrew 4:15



There are so many of us lost to him right now.  Some from my own family; and I can only assume that Jesus on the Cross is still there; for them hurting and waiting for them to see him.  No, I don't assume this I know it.  My God, if only they turn to see you.

I pray for them daily. 
I pray, as I pray for myself, who is weak and lazy in so many ways. 

"Let us be confident then approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."

~ Hebrew 4:16

In the same day that sadness seems to cover everything; a great joy is there too.  Especially in a home of love and children.  How can I tell my kids 'be sad today' and not allow them to laugh or play?  It's a day of such mixed feelings, isn't it?  The same feeling that follows us in parenthood too. 

 We are fasting yet, baking our hot cross buns for a later meal.
 We are watching the Passion of Christ Holy Mass from St. Peter's Basilica, so beautiful!
 We are listening to the gospel in Latin, the somber sounds; yet Cecilia breaks the silence every now and the with a chuckle.  Noises of her playing.
 We will be in church most of the afternoon.  Then gather with The Lineman (who couldn't get today off) afterwards, perhaps spend time in the garden.

 So even, if I want to be sad; I am quickly reminded by my family and the doing about of today; what Good Friday ultimately brought us. Eternal life with Him.  

 Today, especially we celebrate life.  In that our dear friends have welcomed in their 7th baby boy.  He has been given a beautiful and powerful name (3 saint's name for one tiny little soul); born today on Good Friday! No pressure, sweetie (hahaha)...  

 Be in the moment of this day. Remember it's huge significance. Praise Him often. He, who gave SO SO much.  

O Jesus, Who by reason of Thy burning love for us

hast willed to be crucified

and to shed Thy Most Precious Blood

for the redemption and salvation of our souls,

look down upon us here gathered together

in remembrance of Thy most sorrowful Passion and Death,

fully trusting in Thy mercy;

cleanse us from sin by Thy grace,

sanctify our toil,

give unto us and unto all those who are dear to us our

daily bread,

sweeten our sufferings,

bless our families,

and to the nations so sorely afflicted,

grant Thy peace,

which is the only true peace,

so that by obeying Thy commandments

we may come at last to the glory of heaven.

Amen.

Slow Cooking Thursday

Thursdays are our busiest days of the weeks.  Between music lessons and orchestra we are out of the house, pretty much all day.  We have a good rhythm going with the driving around and time, except dinner time is always a challenge.

Thank God for the endless recipes on the net and the blogs I've found with tons of recipes for slow cooked meals. 

I find the recipes, try them and then the family gives me their thumbs up of approval or down for "dump that recipe, Mom."  So, I decided that I wanted to keep track of the approved recipes here on the blog.  That way, even if I'm out and about, I can take a quick look at the meals we've enjoyed; and get the supplies before our crazy Thursdays ready.

Introducing the first winner:

Crock Pot Chicken Piccata

One of The Lineman's favorite meals

(adapted in tiny bit from A Girls Gotta Nest, my adaptations are in blue and noted)

I doubled the recipes using 8 pieces of chicken breast

4 skinless boneless chicken breast

olive oil
flour
ground pepper
garlic powder
(I only used the fresh garlic the bits of it on the chicken were great)
zest of one lemon
2 tbs. butter
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. white wine
(I used a very nice dry Chardonnay.  At bit for the chicken and the rest saved for dinner)
1/2 c. chicken stock
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 heaping c. capers
1 c. fresh mushrooms (or artichoke hearts)
1/2 c. fresh diced cherry tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes, if the canned are used try the seasoned garlic and olive oil)

1. Combine flour, ground pepper, garlic powder and zest of one lemon in shallow dish.
2. Pound out chicken about 1/4 inch thick dredge in flour mixture and brown both sides of chicken in olive oil. (Careful not to allow the garlic bits to burn if you use fresh garlic here)
3. Add chicken to crock pot, adding the remaining ingredients on top of it.
(Take a picture, just kidding; but it does look very pretty)

Cook on high 4-6 hours or low at 6-8 hours, or until chicken is tender depends on your crock pot. I served it over garlic mashed/creamy potatoes (we like our garlic here) but, it can be served with pasta, rice, or just a simple salad.   Enjoy!   (Thanks to Tami for sharing the recipe)   I'll update with some picture later.  Now, I'm off to continue with cleaning and getting ready for the Triduum!

HELP!

Dear friends,

There are many blessings our Church has received as of late.  And now as we enter into the holiest of weeks; we should be grateful that we belong to such an awesome Church.

So it's with a heavy heart that this post has to be written.

Our Catholic schools are under attack folks.  There are always demons lurking around seeking the tiniest of cracks in the faiths of individuals.  They are there, looking for the way into our homes, schools and souls.  I know this isn't new.  But, when the targets is kids; well then shouldn't we all get more involved to defend them?

St. Genevieve Catholic High School in the San Fernando Valley needs an intervention! 

The school has a highly awarded drama department.  With the support and approval of their principal, the department has chosen the "musical/play" Cabaret for their annual spring musical

You can read a quick analysis of the musical here

Note: After 10 minutes (dare I spend more time on this) I couldn't find a summary of the musical that didn't make me gasp.  Not that all the sites were inappropriate; but the pictures!  My goodness.

But, here are the main points to why Cabaret DOE NOT belong in any Catholic High School production:

• Sexual themes of promiscuity and adultery
• homosexuality
• abortion

Enough said!  Thank you, get rid of it!

I think with even one of these 'themes', in any play or musical, would be enough for the adults of the school's administration, faculty, and their pastor to avoid. 

But, sadly this isn't the case at St. Genevieve's.

The voice of the concerned parents have been murkeed over by the factulty; even worst the students.  Most parents that know something about this play, and have children in the school, feel they can't fight it for fear of retaliation to their children.  The other parents... I don't get it.

It's been the community, led by a few strong mothers, that have led the defense of the kids and our Catholic faith.

Why am I writing about this?

No, I dont' have a child in the school.  Though I know several students there.

No, I don't have any association with the school.

But, the school states they stand with Rome and the Magistrium of the Catholic Church.  

These are young students that are slowing being fed a diluted mix of messages about the moral issues portrayed in the musical. 

Their principal, has stated this is a 'cautionary tale' to immoral behavior. 

What!!

This defense of having students play the roles of a prostitute confuses me.   Cautionary? 

What we can do

• There is a petition (the one to the right of the sidebar) that can be signed.  This petition is going to Our Archbishop Jose Gomez.
• There is a facebook page (here) that you can like and/or share with information regarding the school
• You spread the word about this production and the school's chose to go ahead with the performance, in fact they defend the choice
• You can pray

The parents that want a stop to the musical are loosing ground to the more powerful side of the principal, the faculty and the local media.  We need your help.

Also, sadly this isn't happening just here.  But, perhaps we can stop this one attack from being viewed by the 14-17 year old students; and their families @ St. Genevieve

Thank you!

Loving Saint Genevieve, fair patron saint of Paris, lead us in your path of courage and valor. May we fearlessly defend what is right and true, may we turn not away from the fear and anguish of others but stand beside them as you did, and by your holy example help us to find eternal life among the warrior princes of the archangels, and all who serve God and His truth without reservation.

Saint Genevieve, be our beacon and our light in darkness. Amen.  

{PHFR}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, click over at Like Mother, Like Daughter

to see the other moments captured

 

{Pretty}

 

Scenes from the Solemnity of Saint Joseph

Good food, great company, awesome saint!

More on the feast here

 

{Happy}

 

First day of spring fun.

A literature circle craft based on

The Secret Garden. 

Rose accidentally bent her flower right after she got home. 

 Then she decided to fix it by bandaging up the stem.

  She was definitely happy.

Cecilia's spring craft was these dandelions she made by tracing her hand.

She only wants to do crafts.

Math, handwriting, reading... eh

Painting, coloring, art, cooking equals HAPPY schooling. 

 

{Funny}

 

We don't shop too often @ Costco.

The Lineman is rarely allowed to go alone.

This is why!

{Real}

 

Defending LIFE @ the

March 4 LIFE

L.A

Yes, defend it.

Cherish it.

Even when you are among those that smirk,

wave unkindly finger, or yell absurd remarks.

Viva San Giuseppe:: 2013

We double dipped on our celebrations yesterday.
Starting with Mass in the morning we offered our prayers to our new and quickly loved new Papa, Pope Francis.
Then we kicked out the school books and traded them in for a computer monitor and EWTN.
My gosh, how cool was that watching the inaugural Mass of Pope Francis?
And my kids actually got into it!  I mean really, it took me all the way until Pope Benedict's inaugural Mass for me to feel the significance and beauty of the moment. (Oh yes, you are reading from a late bloomer in Catholicism here)

Then at around 1pm, I evolved into an 'Italian Momma'.  Our kitchen was filled with the yummiest of smells.
Garlic, onion saute in rich butter
Anchovies melting in olive oil and garlic
Breads baking in the oven

Oh, it was a good time in the kitchen I tell you.

In honor for the supper Lucy and I were preparing for the familia;

All of this done because it was the

Feast of St. Joseph.

Patron saint of families and fathers

Patron saint of carpenters

Patron saint of 3 of the males in our family.

A few years ago our family began a personal devotion to St. Joseph.  Since that first dinner in 2010 we've had a few variations to the St. Joseph Altars

(like this one and this) and the meals we serve. 
All good of course.
 How can you go wrong with pasta!

I would have loved to have purchased this bottle of wine, but I couldn't justify the cost right now.  So I improvised... using what we had in stock, yes we like our wine here; I just made up a quick new label.

~ Our Menu ~

Prosciutto wrapped cheeses

Antipasta Salad

Minestrone

Meatballs

Pasta Milanese

Assorted breads

(ladders, nails, hammers)

&

dessert!

(St. Joseph's  Sfinge were planned and started;  they became the victims of an overzealous oven.)

Thus, we had ice cream and Key Lime pie

The altar for St. Joseph was kept simpler this year.  It felt right to leave it as it was, we just added a few more pieces of tools and the Italian sodas that was served to the kids.

The star of the night, was the food and the dads we had as guests.

Max went scavenging for tools that resembled most to what St. Joseph may have used.  There isn't a close up but he grabbed these long nails, several hand saws, hammers and mallets.  Scattered throughout the table with the breads and bread crumbs sawdust, the table looked so pretty. 

I also printed out St. Joseph prayers for each of the dads.  They, then read the prayers over dinner.  I could tell that two were kind of shy about it, plus the font I used made the prayer more difficult to read.  Oops.  They read them though and it was a highlight of the night.

Glimpses to the breads made by Max and Cecilia

We couldn't have dinner without a dish in honor of Pope Francis

Argentinian Empanadas

The recipe is courtesy of my very-proud-Argentinian friend.  Who said "all would be well, we have an Argentinian in Rome". 

Silly guy

The history behind the St. Joseph altars is decades long.  Evaan over at the Virtual St. Joseph Altar blog has kept a virtual/online version of the altar up since 1999.  It's a huge dedication and tribute to this chaste and humble saint.

We all would be so much better off in imitating his loyalty to Mary, his courage and humbleness.  I personally look to him for many reasons. Asking his for intercessions often.

Holy St. Joseph, Spouse of Mary,

be mindful of me, pray for me, watch over me.

Guardian of the paradise of the new Adam,

provide for my temporal wants.

Faithful guardian of the most precious of all treasures,

I beseech thee to bring this matter to a happy end,

if it be for the glory of God,

and the good of my soul.

Amen

It's the 4th Annual St. Joseph Altar Blog Fest

Click on over to Evaan's site for the linky to the blog fest.

Have you seen this?

You must!

Absolutely must, check out this post

at Mama Needs Coffee!

Not only does she have one of the coolest blog titles, Jenny may have one of the coolest stories of Pope Benedict XVI last days.

Check it out!

(HERE)

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}



~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, click over at Like Mother, Like Daughter
to see the other moments captured.

{Pretty Beautiful}...

A beautiful morning of quiet devotion

(BIG SIGH)

{Happy}

Each week the kids choose an extra special intention from the family prayer jar. 

This week they chose our godparents (theirs and ours).

This is Rose making a special pop up card for her Ninos.  In this picture Cecilia's card to her Nino can be seen.  I wonder if he already received it?  It's my brother who lives a few hours north of us.  Hmmm, I think I'm going to give him a call soon...

Once they get the cards we hope they bring 'happy' thoughts to them ;-)

(I have NO idea why this picture kept downloading sideways, UGH)

This is the family prayer jar.  All our 'special' prayer intentions go in here; in the beginning of Lent the kids wrote the names of family and friends that they wanted to pray extra for.  Any little sacrifice would go to those in the jar and one paper gets an 'extra' rosary, or something of the sort, prayed for them.  There's a lot of praying going on around here.  LOL

{Funny}

This girl. 

Let me tell you a little about our Cecilia.

Cecilia is small (in size)

Cecilia is dynamic (in personality)

She LOVES all things girl

She is silly beyond what I expect from a 6 year old

Does the quirkiest things,

like stare at herself in the side mirror just to check what kind of nose she has.

{Real}

40 Days of Life Spring campaign has started.

Would you offer a prayer for the babies, their parents, the nurses' and doctors?

Thank you.

Finally Found the Quiet

There is that saying, "The calm before the storm"; there is also the reverse which is the quiet that follows a storm.  We are in a time of quiet.  The seas have settled and our last planned activity is behind us.  A blissful two weeks of non crazy filled days is hours away.  Oh thank you God.  Not just for pushing us into this cozy corner, but for providing the blessings that were shared in the weeks past.

(The rocks of offerings that may have been rough to do, will come full circle on Easter Sunday; replaced by sweet rewards for deeds done with grace and humility)

Most of our time has been spent with family and dear friends.  I've made very little time for blogging; I have run out of juice for this space right now.  It's mostly due to the heavier obligations, one that is new and one that is growing, among my little family. 

(And they mocked Him, dressing him in the colors of a King and a crown of thorns)

I've voiced out some concern over on FB about one area of change, homeschooling has taken a new and challenging leading role.  Max has some learning issues (has since the beginning) that now require a lot of my time teaching one on one.  With home educating more than one child, teaching confirmation to the youth of our parish, still keeping up with house cleaning and the needs of the other family members (plus my own); I've just about pulled my hair out more than once.

Somehow though, it's all falling into place.  There is no room for the sloth in me to show it's side.  It always lurks for a way out though.  Thus, my anxiety on whether I'm using my time wisely or not.

Another place of focus lies with my FIL.  He hasn't had the greatest news in his fight with cancer lately.  It is by the grace of God, truly a miracle and blessing from Him alone that he is still with us.  Two years ago he was given months... stage 4 they said.  Go home and prepare to die was their advice.  It has been a borrowed time with him that has provided the branches so many blossoms have grown from.  This past week perhaps the best of all. 

Since he (my FIL) is a very private man, I've not shared too much; here or anywhere else.  Those that already know and have offered so many prayers... THANK YOU!  He is going strong and with God all things are possible.

(The countdown to Lent takes on a little different look each year, this one was from Lacy @ Catholic Icing.  We placed an area for special prayers and added a pocket for prayer cards on the bulletin too)

Is it no wonder that the feeling of failing something or someone is a constant nagging on my conscience. As if I'm failing this season of Lent, to grow in those virtues of patience, prudence, piety...

Crazy, I know.  I found myself questioning such little things; why didn't I offer my cup of coffee for Lent?  Feeling terrible that we have yet to attend daily Mass.  Asking myself if our rosaries or divine mercy prayers are really enough?

(Each Lenten season we put our prayers in a jar (offering the names of family and friends).  Every Sunday of Lent one child draws a name and that person(s) are prayed for specifically each day of that week.  We are, of course, praying daily for our Pope Benedict XVI!  It's a special time in our Church for sure)

 

Lucy thought, or thinks, her Mama is nuts.  She just about said it too, though not in those exact words.  But, she noticed my anxiety over it.  In her simple and direct way, the willingness to serve is a sacrifice, Mom!  Why are you trippin'?  She really didn't ask why I was trippin'.  Her grammar and English is near perfect, funny girl.  You want to get a reality check, go ask your teenager.  They have all the answers (hahaha).

So, I'm calmer now.  Happy to have the opportunity to refocus my priorities again.  Glad to be in this moment.  Hey, sometimes one needs the pot of life to be stirred up a bit.  My pot was definitely stirred. 

(Rose working on a letter to her Godparents; her special intention this week)

With God's grace, I hope to come out of this season a bit wiser and more grateful than I was before.  That alone makes me smile. 

"How can we complain when He Himself was considered 'as one struck by God and afflicted'."

(Isa. 53:4)

~ St. Therese of Lisieux

(Lent faith folder from Linda's Lapbooks for Catholics. The kids are working on this during Lent.  Except Lucy, who did this years ago when I first purchased it.)

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real~ St. Valentine}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

{Pretty}

 

Our mantle decorated for today... one last day of color.

Our velvet, rocks, and crown wait patiently in the dining room to replace the reds with purple.

The banner was one of many I made for a St. Valentine Gala we hosted a few days ago. 

There were lots of fun projectst around the house; which can be seen here

{Happy}

 
 
Happiness is friendship
Good memories
Funny characters
&
lots of sweets pre-Lent style

{Funny}

This is Obi, our white Lab.

He LOVES our family

But, he REALLY loves Lucy. 

She is awesome, as far as Obi is concerned. 

This past weekend, Lucy was away at her confirmation retreat.  We all missed her but, Obi most of all.

He nearly toppled some poor unexpected parents when he saw her get off the bus.

Lucy feels the same way about Obi too.  Hence, the "Oh my Obi boy "shrieks that came out of Lucy's mouth.  He received the first hug and notice; The Lineman and I (plus her siblings) waited for our turn of recognition. LOL 

 

{Real}

Two weeks ago I posted this picture of our last remaining rose under the {pretty} section.

  The single promise of what spring might bring. 

It was lovely. 

It's fragrance strong.

This is the SAME ROSE, my last rose!

Picked by my youngest sweet child, Cecilia.

"Momma, look what I picked just for you", she tells me.  I smiled, while inside I yelled... Oh no, not my rose!  UGH!

Hey, that's what we get with kids around.  Mostly my kids know not to pick flowers unless they have my permission.  This one rose must have been too tempting for her.  She must have thought, obviously felt, that it would make a good gift for her Momma.

She was right!

Check out the other post over at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

The link is above.

A Sweet St. Valentine Gala

Banners, cake, a story and lots of sweet faces!

I'm glad the projects were started early.  One day a cricut machine will 'magically' appear in my house; and make the crafts a whole lot easier.

Our St. Valentine Gala was yesterday.  A few days prior to the actual feast day, but since the 14th landed at the start of Lent, and on a Thursday (crazy days for us); an early celebration was the best idea ever!

I made the banners using each a picture of each child.  Then I wrote a verse from the bible regarding love around the hearts.  All together the banner looked really cute and they were scattered through out the living room and dining room.  A gift for each family to take home and place in their own space.

We had the focus of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary as well as St. Valentine.  Keeping this feast Catholic is always important, especially in these times were in.

When the kids arrived, it was PARTY time!

We first read the real reason for St. Valentines' Day.  As, I'm told by my Lucy (who was celebrating a very grown up Jane Austin Valentine Tea down the street) I get into my 'teaching' modes easily.  Hey, aren't I a home schooler?  So, yes we talked briefly to the kids about true love.

Loving the way God loves.

Love is hard.

Love takes work.

Love should be cared for.

Love should be shared.

Because we have the best example of what love is, and how to love.  We have Jesus on the cross.  We have the knowledge that God so loved us, that he created each of us to love and be loved.  He loved us so much that he was willing to die for us.

Beautiful LOVE!

We promptly went from reading and talking to EATING

and crafting!

Each child planted an ivy around a wire heart.  I had meant to decoupage the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.  But, I couldn't find my decoupage stuff.  To bad too because the images were so cool!

But during the planting, I told the kids that like this ivy, if we care for our faith by staying close to the sacraments and Jesus our faith would grow just like the ivy. 

Strong. 

Vibrant.

We just didn't have food and crafts though.  There was a scavenger hunt.  What were they hunting you ask?  Rabbits? Eggs? Dogs?

NO!

They went hunting for HEARTS!

Each heart had a number on it.  Once all the hearts were found they had to line up in according to their numbers.  That was funny!  Who would have thought that finding the #3 and where he should go would be so hard...  Us moms just laughed; they received NO help from us.

The hearts had a verse from

1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

Each child had to read aloud the verse written on their heart. 

This was cool!

Ending our day with the St. Valentine exchange and play-play-play

 

  

 

It was an awesome afternoon among friends!

Dear Saint and glorious martyr,

Teach us to love unselfishly and to find great joy in giving.  Enable all true lovers to bring out the best in God and in each other.  Love.  Love is patient and kind, it doesn't envy or boast and it's never pround.  Love is not rude or selfish.  It doesn't get angry or keep track of wrongs.  Love doesn't delight in bad things, but it rejoices in the truth.  Love always protecdts, trusts, hopes, and preservers.

Love never fails.

St. Valentine, Pray for us!