A poem for Easter Sunday

Sonnet 68

Most glorious Lord of lyfe, that on this day,

Didst make thy triumph over death and sin:

And having harrowd hell, didst bring away

Captivity thence captive us to win:

This joyous day, deare Lord, with joy begin,

And grant that we for whom thou diddest dye

Being with thy deare blood clene washt from sin,

May live for ever in felicity.

And that thy love we weighing worthily,

May likewise love thee for the same againe:

And for thy sake that all lyke deare didst buy,

With love may one another entertayne.

So let us love, deare love, lyke as we ought,

Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

Edmund Spenser

A poem for Holy Saturday

Limbo by Sister Mary Ada, OSJ

The ancient grayness shifted

Suddenly and thinned

Like mist upon the moors

Before a wind.

An old, old prophet lifted

A shining face and said:

“He will be coming soon.

The Son of God is dead;

He died this afternoon.”

A murmurous excitement stirred

All souls.

They wondered if they dreamed –

Save one old man who seemed

Not even to have heard.

And Moses, standing,

Hushed them all to ask

If any had a welcome song prepared.

If not, would David take the task?

And if they cared

Could not the three young children sing

The Benedicite, the canticle of praise

They made when God kept them from perishing

In the fiery blaze?

A breath of spring surprised them,

Stilling Moses’ words.

No one could speak, remembering

The first fresh flowers,

The little singing birds.

Still others thought of fields new ploughed

Or apple trees

All blossom-boughed.

Or some, the way a dried bed fills

With water

Laughing down green hills.

The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam

On bright blue seas.

The one old man who had not stirred

Remembered home.

And there He was

Splendid as the morning sun and fair

As only God is fair.

And they, confused with joy,

Knelt to adore

Seeing that He wore

Five crimson stars

He never had before.

No canticle at all was sung

None toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song,

A silent man alone

Of all that throng

Found tongue –

Not any other.

Close to His heart

When the embrace was done,

Old Joseph said,

“How is Your Mother,

How is Your Mother, Son?”

A poem for Good Friday

The Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot

East Coker, IV

The wounded surgeon plies the steel

That questions the distempered part;

Beneath the bleeding hands we fell

The sharp compassion of the healer’s art

Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.

Our only health is the disease

If we obey the dying nurse

Whose constant care is not to please

But to remind of our, and Adam’s, curse,

And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.

The whole earth is our hospital

Endowed by the ruined millionaire,

Wherein, if we do well, we shall

Die of the absolute paternal care

That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere.

The chill ascends from feet to knees,

The fever sings in mental wires.

If to be warmed, then I must freeze

And quake in frigid purgatorial fires

Of which the flame is roses and the smoke is briars.

The dripping blood our only drink,

The bloody flesh our only food;

In spite of which we like to think

That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood–

Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.

EXCERPTED FROM THE FOUR QUARTETS, HARVEST BOOKS, 1971

Holy Thursday: three videos

3 videos on what we're celebrating today:



The Eucharist as Meal, Sacrifice, and Real Presence | Word on Fire



The Eucharist as Meal, Sacrifice, and Real Presence | Word on Fire

Looking for "a good house where God wants us to live"

That's Meghan's prayer, and we're working on it.

We have met with our credit union and a realtor. We have toured a few houses. We have missed seeing a few houses before contracts were signed on them.

30-day novena to St. Joseph begins today, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Want to join us?

EWTN has the words of the prayer here.

Thank you (in advance) for your prayers!

Papal lapbook

I thought I was so original in planning to do a lapbook of our study on the Papal transition.  Then I went here and was humbled. Oh, well, it is Lent after all.

St. Joseph

Now that we have our orders and many of the arrangements to leave Japan are proceeding, we are beginning to think harder about what we're doing when we get to Maryland. In other words, we're looking for a house to rent and a van to buy. 

 

My second-youngest brother and his family live in Maryland, and we are hoping against hope to find a home near theirs. They have enticed us with stories of the neighborhood and, especially, their parish. Oh, my goodness, how we would love to participate in Mass at a parish that appreciates Latin! Even more, my brother is going way above the call of family duty to help us.

 

Whenever we need a home, St. Joseph always prays for us, and the right home comes available just as we need it. So, following Meghan's prayer for "Daddy to get the best job where God wants us to go," we are also praying for the best home where God wants us to live.  We will start our novena to St. Joseph tonight. :)

 

 

The Prayer to St Joseph

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires.

Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.

St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for us.

Amen.

Read more: http://www.prayers-for-special-help.com/prayer-to-st-joseph.html#ixzz1zuv881cF

And in advance thanksgiving, we have ordered an icon for our parish here in honor of St. Joseph. It will hang in our Blessed Sacrament chapel and it looks like this:

St. Joseph, pray for us!

AMDG

Encouragement for moms

 

First this. Because we all have our days (weeks...):

http://catholicexchange.com/what-a-holy-woman-of-a-large-family-doesnt-look-like/

 

Then this (also linked in the first post) about active love:

https://momheart.sqsp.com/blog/8xxpul9dqbnes188tfgi3ytmey5958

 

And finally, this, because no one is perfect and it helps to remember that:

https://momheart.sqsp.com/blog/ltq98u1y71k5ny00yjq6l2jnghfldq

 

This second and third posts are from a new blog with multiple contributors called MomHeart. If you haven't heard of Sally Clarkson, she is a Christian woman who has written many books about Christian motherhood (and--full disclosure ;-)--homeschooling). Elizabeth Foss, who wrote the piece about active love, is a Catholic mom of 8 who lives in Northern Virginia. And if her last name sounds familiar (it will if you have spent any time watching Monday Night Football) it's because her husband is Mike Foss of ESPN sportscaster fame. She also writes a column for the Arlington Catholic Herald (diocesan newspaper).

 

MomHeart is here:

https://momheart.sqsp.com/

 

I am loving you all this Holy Week, my dear sisters in Christ!

 

 

Palm Sunday

Six days before the Passover,

when the Lord came into the city of Jerusalem,

the children ran to meet him;

in their hands they carried palm branches

and with a loud voice cried out:

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you, who have come in your abundant mercy!

O gates, lift high your heads;

grow higher, ancient doors,

Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is this king of glory?

He, the lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you, who have come in your abundant mercy!

-Entrance Antiphon (Cf. John 12:1, 12-13; Psalm 24 (23):9-10)

 

Lent: a happier post

So instead of wallowing in failure, I thought I would make a list of the things that are blessing us in the way I hoped they would this Lent--or at least the ones we feel successful at. ;-)

1. Friday Stations of the Cross. I love this devotion, and our parish has a wonderful tradition of offering a soup and bread supper (and many yummy meatless casseroles) afterwards. My favorite thing about this is the chance to visit with fellow Catholics during dinner. We don't get much time to chat on Sunday mornings as we all run off to Religious Ed.with the kids.

2. Daily Mass. Well, three days a week, which is when it is offered at our parish. We have gotten there almost every day of Lent, and only  missed when one of the kids was sick. Sometimes the pastor is sick, and this week when that happened, the regulars read the readings together in the chapel. A nice sense of community is building between us, which I love.

3. Lenten Adventure. A friend (from women's Bible study and daily Mass--see how these things work?) just told me about this website (thanks to my mom, we have many of their Glory Stories CDs and a few coloring books, but I never knew about the website). We are playing catch-up with Lenten Adventure, but it seems well-designed, and the kids are having fun with it. Since we are joining so late and our mail takes so long (weeks and weeks sometimes) to get here, I didn't think I could order now and hope to receive their pre-printed calendars before the end of Lent, so I made some for the kids to fill in. 

My version of the calendar is not pretty, but serviceable.

Next year, we will know about this before Lent is half over and can buy the professional-looking one that they sell in 10-packs. Maybe I can even order in time to share with cousins or friends, since we might be back in the USA and have normal mail service. :D

 

Their free stuff (daily videos online and printable coloring and activity pages) is entertaining and gently catechetical. The Sunday "Mass Quiz" reinforces some of the things we talk about at the brunch table: "What were the readings about today? What did Father say about them in his homily? How do they relate to us?" So for kids who like workbook-y things, as mine do, this is fun stuff.

4. First Communion preparation. Thankfully. Because it has been lovely to work with Catholic Heritage Curricula's program again. Goodness. Beauty. Truth.  Deo Gratias!

5. Confession. Once a month. This is working for us. Yay!

6. Nota bene: John is doing much better than I am. He has a beautiful daily prayer routine that is a great example for me. Not that you were thinking this, but I wanted you know that my failures aren't due to a lack of spiritual leadership in our home. It's my sloth. And overscheduling. ;-)

Lent

This has been a challenging Lent for me. Last year, I was totally prepared, to the point of having done two weeks of preparatory work to set up my spiritual reading and action before Lent started. On Ash Wednesday, I was good to go, and I started directly into a new prayer routine as well as the usual sacrifices. Then, on the first Friday of Lent, we had a 9.0 earthquake. The kids and I ended up taking one of the Voluntary Departure flights home to my parents' house and driving up to South Bend, IN, where Patrick is at school and my sister and her family live. We stayed at their house and shared in their beautiful Lenten practices of nightly family rosary, abstaining from meat for the whole season, Sunday Mass at their cathedral. We continued our school work in their home.

In Holy week, we learned that it was safe for us to return to Misawa. Just in time for Easter. :D We were supposed to arrive home on Holy Thursday, but flight delays brought us here on Good Friday. Grateful as I was for our safety, for the joyful, peaceful, restorative time with my family, and to return to John in time for Easter, I missed the Lent I had planned for myself.

So this year, I decided that I would go back to last year's plans and complete them this year. Easy to do, I thought. For hadn't I already gotten all set up last year? I could just fall right in where I had left off.

Ha.

Unlike last year, when Meghan had not started preschool and Katie was not yet in high school, my daily schedule has been a bit out of my control. Katie played indoor soccer, then joined the Edgren HS soccer club, and now their girls' soccer team. Joseph joined Boy Scouts and is playing basketball. John and I are teaching Confirmation along with leading the mens' and women's groups at church. Okay, I was leading the women's group last year, too, but you get the picture.

How can I have gotten too busy for God? Well, I haven't, really. I just don't have the same spaces in my day as I had last year. My worship time is more tied to my time at daily Mass and in the quiet moments afterwards, while my morning prayer takes place in whatever tiny space falls between making John's lunch and wishing him a good day and Meghan calling down the stairs to ask about breakfast. Usually, that means I have time to do my women's Bible study homework, but not much else, and sometimes it is at the breakfast table. At lunchtime, the children and I go to Mass and pray the Angelus together. After school, I drive Katie and a friend to soccer practice and try to get in a Divine Mercy chaplet on the drive home. We have lamely attempted nightly family rosary. I am determined to make that happen every evening between now and Easter, and hopefully beyond. We used to be so good at that one, but schedule changes pushed it right out. I miss it too much to let it be gone anymore.

But no Mother's Rule of Life for me this year. :[ One of these years, probably when I don't have any children left at home, I'm going to get through that book and bring "order to my home and peace to my soul." It isn't too late to start, I guess, but ugh! I wanted to do it during Lent to be finished before we start gearing up for our PCS pack-outs, which we hope will be in June. Serious de-cluttering will be needed before then.

Which brings me to 40 bags in 40 days. Another thing I am doing for Lent. Sort of. I haven't been keeping very good track. Just trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible. Again, no order to this. Just stabs here and there at various closets and bedrooms as they get annoying enough to make me want to attack and clean them out.

I think I need to pray to St. Josemaria Escriva, who said, "If you don't have a plan of life, you'll never have order." He's right. But I need time in my day to make the plan.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

After I was outvoted 5-1 against corned beef, it was lamb stew and Irish brown (soda) bread for dinner:

And, for those who partake during Lent, we served the traditional (in this family) mint ice cream pie for dessert.

 The lamb stew took longer than I anticipated, so the younger ones ended up in pj's for dinner. Oh, well. It was still fun, and they loved the opportunity to watch the CCC video, Patrick: Brave Shepherd of the Emerald Isle, while they waited. I think their favorite part of dinner was the green (food coloring) milk.

We finished the meal by praying the Lorica (Breastplate) of St. Patrick.

 We miss you, Patrick. Happy Name Day!!

Domestic Church

Since I am directing the upcoming (tonight!!) Misawa Home Educators production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, I haven't had time to write anything except the column for the parish bulletin. So here's this week's effort:

Domestic Church "The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

Ground hog day is this Wednesday, February 2^nd. Did you ever wonder why February 2^nd would be chosen as the day to look for the coming spring?

It may be because February 2^nd, the Feast of the Presentation, was once the end of the Christmas season. On this feast day, we celebrate Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, presented to God in the Hebrew temple. The Mass readings tell us of Simeon and Anna, holy prophets who waited God’s Messiah at the temple. Upon seeing the Christ Child, Simeon exclaims

"Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;

your word has been fulfilled:

My own eyes have seen the salvation

which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

A light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”

--Luke 2:29-32

Christ the Light has come into the world.

And so we celebrate light, the Light of the World. This coincides with the gradual return of light, slightly lengthening days, of spring in the northern hemisphere. So, people began to think of spring, and wonder how much longer winter’s cold might last. Their attempts to predict this led to the traditional search for a groundhog to “predict” the weather. And it makes sense that they searched on this, the last day of their Christmas celebration..

It is fun to make Christian connections with our secular holidays. Often our children do not realize how much of our culture is based on Christian ideals and practices, and it is a blessing to be able to share these celebrations with them.

How to celebrate the Presentation at home? With candles!

This celebration of the Light of the World is also the day that Christians blessed candles for liturgical use in the coming year, and so it is also called Candlemas. Light some candles on your dinner table or put birthday candles on a special dessert. Find a favorite song about light; take a walk in the evening dark and enjoy the starlight. Talk about Mary, the pure Mother, who presented her Son to God on this day. She is also known as The Star of the Sea and as the Sorrowful Mother (because of the suffering and death of her Son, which Simeon also predicts in the second chapter of Luke). Once again, suffering and joy are tied up together in the story of Our Lord and His holy Mother, Mary. You might read the story of the Presentation in the Bible aloud with your family, pray the Canticle of Simeon together, but most of all, take another opportunity to Rejoice in the coming of our Savior!

For other beautiful ideas for celebrating the day, check out :

Cottage Blessings:

http://alice.typepad.com/cottage_blessings/2007/01/when_candelmas_.html

and Women for Faith and Family:

http://www.wf-f.org/Presentation.html

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

Rejoice! Today is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. Gaudete is Latin for "Rejoice," which is the first word in the traditional entrance antiphon for today's Mass. We are more than halfway through Advent, and the coming of the Lord is at hand. So rejoice today as you light the pink candle on your Advent wreath and sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel together. (for more on Gaudete Sunday, check out this Catholic Encyclopedia article: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06394b.htm )

Entrance antiphons were sung or chanted by the choirs in the earliest Masses as the priest entered the church. Particular antiphons were assigned to each day of the liturgical year, and they introduce the theme of each Mass. Antiphons are also sung during the Liturgy of the Hours every day of the year. Special antiphons from Evening Prayer are on the way this week as we start what are called the "O Antiphons". In the Octave (group of 8 days) before Christmas, these antiphons each begin with an attribute of Christ, the coming Messiah. They are:

December 17 - O Wisdom (symbol: book)

December 18 - O Lord and leader of Israel (symbol: fire, burning bush)

December 19 - O Flower of Jesse (symbol: flower--maybe a poinsettia or a Christmas rose)

December 20 - O Key of David (symbol: key)

December 21 - O Radiant Dawn (symbol: rising sun, light: go out and enjoy the Christmas lights tonight)

December 22 - O King of the Gentiles (symbol: crown)

December 23 - O Emmanuel (symbol: creche, but you could also relate this to the Holy Eucharist: "God with us": a holy card or picture of the Blessed Sacrament could be placed on the table)

If you go to http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/NonEnglish/veni_veni_emanuel.htm you will see the original Latin verses of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Each of the verses starts with one of the O Antiphons and expresses our great love and longing for the Savior. The richness of our Catholic faith--the connections between song and liturgy and human desires for God--are again shown to us in the beautiful tradition of the O Antiphons.

Share the O Antiphons with your family this year. Each night, you can place a symbol of the antiphon on the table at dinnertime, read the full antiphon before your meal prayer (available here: http://www.wf-f.org/OAntiphons.html and here: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0374.html), and keep singing O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Rejoice!

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

Are you putting more emphasis on Advent this year? You might have some fun with Advent Saints. Celebrating these special Saint days helps children to bear the long wait for Christmas.

Tomorrow (December 6) is St. Nicholas Day! If you have ever lived in Germany or the Netherlands, you are probably familiar with Nikolaas, who rides his white horse from house to house on the eve of his feast day and brings treats to good children and a switch to naughty ones. It is wonderful to share the story of the origin of Santa Claus--he was a real person after all--a bishop in Myra, Turkey, who loved the poor and gave his fortune to help them. Tomorrow would be a great day to take the children shopping for your Angel Tree gifts and to tell them more about St. Nicholas.

Tonight, you could fill the children's shoes with little treats--chocolate coins (available at the commissary), an orange, a candy cane, and a short note from St. Nicholas praising each child for some good thing s/he has done or sacrifice s/he has made and suggesting a virtue to work on to prepare his or her heart for the Christ Child's birth.

Lots of St. Nicholas activities are available (some to print out for free and some to play online) on the St. Nicholas Center website: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=102
More ideas are available at http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=953
And they might even have a video of the story of St. Nicholas in the R.E. library.

Another fun Advent Saint is St. Lucy, whose feast day is December 13. Lucy's name comes from the Latin word for "light". In Sweden, St. Lucy's Day is celebrated by the daughters of the house getting up early and serving breakfast in bed to their parents. A special wreath of candles is worn on the oldest daughter's head. While you may not want your daughter walking around with lit candles on her head next Monday, a special family breakfast with a lit candle in the center of the table (or lighting your Advent wreath at breakfast time) might be a fun way to start this day.

Prayers and recipes at http://www.wf-f.org/stlucy.html#anchor1572778
and http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2008/12/st-lucy-virgin-and-martyr-day-of.html

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

Today is the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year and the Feast of Christ the King. One simple way to celebrate this feast with your family is to have the children make and decorate a paper crown and place it in the center of your table at dinner time. You can sing together "Crown Him with Many Crowns" (lyrics and music at: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh327.sht) and "Lift up your Heads, ye Mighty Gates" (lyrics and music at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/u/lupyhymg.htm )

Papal Encyclical on the Feast of Christ the King: http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_pi11qp.htm

Christ the King prayers: http://www.wf-f.org/ChristTheKing.html

You don't have to have a large party, but there are some fun activity ideas that you could adapt to a family celebration on this web page: http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/20010101/FRIDGE/christ_king.htm

Family prayer after dinner: http://thankevann.com/homeschoolgoodies/?p=4559

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica',
the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and
example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their
children.'" (CCC1656)

Coming up this week are two princess Saints: St. Margaret of Scotland on Tuesday the 16th and St. Elizabeth of Hungary on Wednesday the 17th. Young ladies might like to dress up as princesses to celebrate, and then you can tell them the stories of these princesses who married kings and lived in castles, but never forgot to love Jesus first, to teach their subjects about Him, and to take care of the poor. You can pray together the prayers of the day for these Saints, or ask them in your own words to intercede with God to help your family imitate their care for others, especially the less fortunate.

A fun way to celebrate St. Margaret's day is to cook a Scottish dish for dinner, maybe a beef pot pie, or some shortbread for dessert. Possible recipes at:
http://www.motherlyloving.com/2009/11/feasts-of-st-andrew-st-margaret-of
.html

St. Elizabeth was always giving away her food and clothing to the poor. Wednesday might be a good day to clean out a closet, a shelf, or a drawer and find some things to donate to the thrift shop for the less fortunate on our base.

St. Margaret's story & prayers:
http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/1116.asp;
http://www.wf-f.org/StMargaret%20of%20Scotland.html

St. Elizabeth's story & prayers:
http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/1117.asp;
http://www.wf-f.org/StElizabethHungary.html;
http://anotherespressoplease.blogspot.com/2009/11/feast-day-of-st-elizabeth-of-hungary.html

Domestic Church

Our parish bulletin needed some more content, so I thought it would be fun to contribute ideas for families to use at home to celebrate some of the feast days of the liturgical year. Here's my first attempt:

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

One of the most enjoyable ways to be heralds of the faith to our children is to share the feasts and seasons of the Church year with them. On November 11th (which is also Veteran's Day), we celebrate the feast of St. Martin of Tours, patron saint of soldiers. Take a little time on Thursday to share the story of St. Martin with your children. He was known for his wisdom as Bishop of Tours, France, and throughout his life, he took care of the poor.

One story tells that when he was a catechumen, St. Martin was still a solider in the Roman army. One winter day, he saw a beggar outdoors with only very worn and thin clothing. He had no food to share with the beggar, but he tore his woolen cloak in two and gave half to the beggar. That night, St. Martin had a dream in which Jesus appeared to him wearing the half-cloak and praising his actions to the angels.

For more about the liturgical year, St. Martin, and some ideas about celebrating his feast day, go to:

Liturgical Year calendar: http://thankevann.com/homeschoolgoodies/?page_id=48

The Catholic Encyclopedia online at New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09732b.htm

The St. Martin story and some prayers for the day: http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2008/11/feast-of-st-martin-of-tours-patron.html

Art of St. Martin: http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2008/11/feast-of-st-martin-of-tours-patron.html

Activities: http://www.wf-f.org/StMartinTours.html and http://starrymantle.blogspot.com/2009/11/st-martin-lanterns-and-songs.html