Feasting for St. Michael and the Archangels

The feast of St. Michael and the Archangels is coming up on September 29th.  It is one of my favorite feasts for sure; with one of our most favorite feast day treats to go along with it.  On this feast we honor my husband (Todd Michael), father-in-law (Michael), son (Timothy Michael), and my nephew (Michael).  As well as, in college I belonged to a household (think sorority with a Catholic twist) that was dedicated to Our Lady and the Angels, with St. Michael as our patron.  I am a serious fan of St. Michael.  Yet somehow I have NO pictures from over the years to document it!!!  How is this even possible????  We are so faithful to this feast that 3 years ago when we traveled to Ohio to visit friends and attend our godson's baptism, we brought all the fixins for the feast with us ( made even more fun by the fact that they have a son named Michael)!  

But I digress.  This post is to tell you how we celebrate and why a little ahead of time so that if you are so inclined, you have enough time to go out and gather all the ingredients to celebrate next week!  

First and foremost, we pray a novena for the nine days leading up to the feast.  We are already a couple of days in, but you could double up a few days if you need to. That's what we did this year, as we started a day late.  We just did the novena in the morning with our morning prayers, and then again in the evening after dinner.  No biggie.  It's not about perfection.  We just do our best to show our children how to pray, and the great gift the Church has given us in the saints and the liturgical year.  Here is a link to the novena. 

After we finish praying for the nine days leasing up to the feast, we try to attend Holy Mass on the actual feast day.  Then we FEAST on St. Michael Fondue!!!!!  We all grab our "swords" (aka fondue spears/forks) and do battle with the enemy (fruit, marshmallows, ANGEL food cake, etc), dipping it into the firey pit (the fondue pot), and ultimately putting an end to the enemy once and for all(by eating the food)!  We LOVE this feast day.  It is fun AND delicious!!!!  You can tailor it to suit your taste buds and make it your own, but this is the recipe we have used for years:

St. Michael Fondue

-2/3 cup heavy cream

-4 3 1/3 oz.Toblerone bars

-assorted fruits and treats for dipping (grapes, strawberries, marshmallows, angel food cake, bananas, etc.)

Break the Toblerone bars into chunks and heat with the heavy cream in the fondue pot, stirring until melted and smooth.  Dip your toppings and enjoy!!!   So easy and delicious.  

*we usually double the recipe since we are a large group....and you can never over-fondue!!!!  

* if you don't have a fondue pot, you can do this over a double boiler as well and then dip once it is all melted, but you would have to be fast to keep it from hardening.....although, I doubt that would be a problem!

One last thing we do, is to talk about the battle between St. Michael and the bad angels and then have the kids do a "re-enactment" using foam swords or light sabers.  Its always a good time!!!

I will be sure to take lots of pictures this year and update this post accordingly!

God Bless you and your domestic church!  And as always, happy feasting!!!

Labor, Delivery, Holy Week, and the Glory of the Resurrection

My baby boy is two weeks old today!!!  And as tired as I may be, I have a lot that I have been contemplating over these past two weeks.  I was blessed to have my little man on the Friday leading into Palm Sunday....Holy Week...the holiest and most solemn week of the Church Year.  I didn't realize until after it had passed and I was able to reflect, just what a gift this was.  Labor, delivery, and the first week with a newborn helped me to live Holy Week and Easter in a deep and profound way.  They were a perfect reflection of the cross and glory of the Resurrection.

Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday, when Our Lord rides into Jerusalem on the donkey.  The crowds are heralding him and showering him with praise and glory.  Isn't that how the end of pregnancy is as well???  Everywhere you go, onlookers delight in the sight of you.  Friends and strangers alike can't help but ask you about the precious treasure you are carrying.  Your bulging belly at the end of your pregnancy makes you akin to a celebrity.  There are baby showers thrown in your honor. The phone calls and texts come in with greater frequency, as people want to check in and see if the baby has arrived or how you are holding up as your delivery date draws near.  It's all very exciting.

Then we move into the Triduum.  On Holy Thursday, we find our Lord preparing for and celebrating the Passover with the disciples.  We, as mothers, are like Our Lord as we prepare our homes for the new baby.  Our Lord saw to it that everything was ready for the Passover meal, and we clean and tidy and prepare freezer meals to see to it that everything is ready to bring our new baby home.  Then Our Lord eats the Passover meal.  He spends these last hours enjoying the company of those closest to Him and talking to them about important things.  I know, as I get closer to delivery, and especially with this delivery,  (as my water broke on Thursday morning but I didn't actually start contracting until 9:00 at night) I spent those last hours tidying my home (scrubbing bathrooms and making the needed calls to make sure everything was situated for when the time came for me to go to the hospital) and then hanging out with my children talking to them about when they were born and answering any of their questions about the new baby's arrival.  It always is a special time, those hours before delivery.  I enjoy that time with my children and husband immensely.  We reminisce and talk about the excitement of what is to come.  It's a beautiful "Last Supper."

But as in the real Last Supper, when the Lord goes to the Garden to await what is to come, I too, have to leave the quiet of our home and head to the hospital to await the birth of our baby.  All of our prayer warriors (our kids, family, and close friends) I am sure fell asleep as I labored into the wee hours of the morning, as did the disciples as our Lord labored in prayer.  As labor intensified and the contractions came in crashing waves trying to overtake me, I shared our Lord's plea, "Lord, if it be your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."  And as the Lord had the angel to comfort him in his distress, I had the support of my husband and the midwife by my side to help me through each contraction.

The cross of Good Friday is akin to transition!!!  Labor gets so painful and intense that you feel like you can't breathe and there is no way you can make it through.  It's the pain of the moment, but even more is not knowing when the pain will cease.  It's that looking forward that makes the pain even more unbearable.  I know our Lord is outside of time, but as I contemplate my labor and delivery, I wonder if that is what made Christ cry out on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?"  Was He seeing the foreverness of the lost souls?  Knowing that these souls would be separated from him forever....the unendingness of it.  When we are faced with suffering (whether physical, like labor and delivery, or emotional) that is often what makes it so hard to bear;  looking too far forward or dreaming of the past and "what was or what could have been."  It is in the surrendering of our suffering that we are able to bear it.  Christ surrendered His will and His whole being to the Father; and in his surrender, we are purified.  It is the same with our pain and suffering.  In labor and delivery, we surrender our bodies.  We lean in.  We breathe through.  And we allow our bodies to change.  So much so that we open up and bear new life from them.  And that is the cross of Christ-  from it, new life...ETERNAL life is borne!

And it is in that surrendering, and the bearing of life that comes the JOY of the resurrection.  After all the pain of labor, the joy of delivery is the glory of Easter.  We have an empty womb.  The disciples found the empty tomb.  We hear the cries of new life in our newborn babe.  And the disciples can cry, "Alleluia He is Risen," heralding the opening of the gates of Heaven and our hope of eternal life!!!

But as the disciples did not recognize the risen Lord immediately, sometimes in the whirlwind of sleepless nights, and nursing around the clock, and learning how to die to self and serve the needs of this helpless wee babe we can find it hard to find the "glory of the risen Christ" in our first weeks at home with a newborn.  The disciples maybe had it in their mind of how things should be or what was to happen with our Lord, so that even when He was standing right before them in His glorified body, they didn't even realize it was Him!  We too, as mothers, often have ideas of how our days "should" look or ideas of what we want to happen after the birth of our baby, which can make it hard to experience the fullness of joy that a newborn baby is.   It was "in the breaking of the bread" that the disciples were able to recognize their Risen Lord.  In a moment they were drawn out of themselves and into the truth, beauty and hope of the resurrected Lord.  They were able to "see." We too, even in the midst of these crazy newborn days have moments where we are drawn out of ourselves and time seems to stop for a moment and we can really see the glorious beauty of our life.  It could be in a newborn snuggle, the showering of love of the siblings upon their newest brother or sister, or those few and far between moments of quiet.  These moments of grace, when the veil is lifted and the gift of life and love we have been given is clear, the hope and joy of all that is before us and is to come is revealed... THAT is the glory of the Resurrection!!!!

Welcome to the family, Joshua Thomas!!!

Celebrating Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette

     Our littlest princess has a mouthful for a name:  Mary-Katherine Bernadette Brown.  She is named for Our Lady of Lourdes, Saint Katharine Drexel, and Saint Bernadette.  This means that between her feast days and her birthday, she has 1 celebration per week from February 11th - March 3rd!!! Being the youngest of 6 and a little girl amongst many brothers and one loving big sister, she is beyond doted over.  Having this many feasts right in a row only adds to the fun and she wears the "princess crown" quite happily while she is fussed over and spoiled constantly.   I've mentioned in older posts (here) how much I enjoy watching all the siblings on feast days; how they take extra care to serve and honor and dote on the person who's saint is being celebrated.  Well the past 2 weeks have been no different as we celebrated both Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11) and Saint Bernadette (February 18).  Since these two feast go hand in hand, you could easily do some, or all, of the celebrations on only one of the days, but since Mary-Kate is named after both Our Lady and St. Bernadette, we like to spread the festivities out between the two days.
   
     For anyone who doesn't know the story, Our Lady appeared in Lourdes, France 17 times to a little peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous.  She told Bernadette to dig in the dirt near the grotto in which she appeared and a spring of water came forth from that place.  Many physical healings occurred by those who drank or came into contact with the water.  Many people also had spiritual healing and renewal and came back to the Faith because of the apparitions and healings that occurred.   Many people still visit Lourdes today and many healings still occur.  I visited both Navers, France (where St. Bernadette lived and died as a Sister of Charity) and Lourdes.  I was blessed to pray before the incorrupt body of Bernadette, bathe in the healing waters of Lourdes, and pray the rosary with thousands of other pilgrims in the nightly candlelit processions outside the beautiful basilica that was built next to the grotto where Our Lady appeared in 1858.  It was a most sacred experience and one I will hold dear forever.  I pray to someday be able to bring my little Mary-Katherine Bernadette there to experience the same peace and beauty and holiness from which her name came.

     To honor Our Lady of Lourdes we say a novena the 9 days leading up to her feast day.  We offer it for any and all loved ones in need of healing (both physical and spiritual), as well as for the sanctification of our little Mary-Kate.  Then on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes we go to Mass, eat blueberry french toast casserole for breakfast, and have an all white dinner of chicken or shrimp alfredo.  We also still have some of the Lourdes water from when the hubs and I visited, so we bless all the children and fill all the holy water fonts throughout the house.

     We were so busy enjoying our day, as well Our Lady of Lourdes fell on Thursday this year and Thursdays are our busy nights, that I didn't get any pictures.

     Exactly one week later on February 18th we celebrate Saint Bernadette.  For this feast we watch a short movie about Saint Bernadette and eat "dirt" parfaits.  I did remember to get a few pictures of this.  Sometimes we do a snacky lunch of baguettes, brie, grapes, and hard boiled eggs.  But this year we had a late breakfast, so we did the parfaits for lunch instead and then just had an early dinner.

     Below I have a list of our foods and why we chose them as well as any links to recipes or prayers.

~Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole: Blueberries for Our Lady's blue sash that she wore when appearing to St. Bernadette and FRENCH toast because Lourdes is in France.
~Shrimp or Chicken Alfredo: White for Our Lady's purity as she told Bernadette that she was the Immaculate Conception.
~Dirt Parfaits: These represent the dirt Mary told Bernadette to dig in where the spring of healing waters came forth.  This year my oldest two made these treats completely independently.  They were so proud of themselves and it was a big help to me.  I love having big kids.  They are such a gift!!!
~Baguettes and Brie cheese:  both of these are French and the French love to have snacky-type lunches like this all the time.  It reminds me of my time in France and is easy peasy.  By adding some grapes on the side and a few hard-boiled eggs, it is a delicious and well rounded meal.
~Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
~St.Bernadette Movie (you could also watch Song of Bernadette, but MK is a little young for that yet)


I love teaching my kids about the Saints and their love for Our Lord!  Making it fun and tangible through delicious food just makes it even better!  May God Bless you and your family...and as always....Happy Feasting!!!

Ready to "dig in" to our "dirt" parfaits while watching our St.Bernadette movie

Getting ready for baby.....a month of meals

I LOVE cooking.  It is one of my most favorite of creative outlets.  I do not, however, enjoy cooking when stressed or rushed.  Even in my day to day cooking, I do all that I can in terms of meal planning and prep to make it as relaxing as possible.  So, when staring down having to cook 3 squares a day for my family of 8, plus a newborn in tow....I can't help but think of how to streamline it to make sure we have delicious and healthy meals, but not at the cost of my sanity or the neglect of baby snuggles.

Since I have been feeding this crew for a while now, over the years I have discovered tricks that help, as well as family favorites.  I also now have children old enough to help in the kitchen.  Old enough to even take full meals on their own....especially if some of the prep is done for them....which is exactly my plan for when the new baby comes.

I am going to spend the next several weeks (with the help of my children) preparing and freezing meals (or portions thereof) to make mealtime a no-brainer when the baby arrives.  I am going to do 14 meals and double each one so that we have a month's supply and only get the same meal twice.  I am doing this for breakfasts and dinners.  My lunch options will be planned, but they don't require much or any prep, and the top 3-4 kids can make them without any assistance because they have helped me in the past, or done it themselves already.

Family favorites, crock pot meals, and meals that at least one portion can be prepped and frozen ahead of time are going to be the keys to my success.  My kids will be assigned a day for dinner and breakfast, and with the prep we do in the weeks before baby arrives, they should be able to do it without any assistance.  Which means we will have all the benefits of home cooked meals (healthy, delicious, and cost effective) without all the mess.  So its a double win....because that means less clean up too!!!!  WOOOHOOOOOOO!

Below is my list of meals (some with links to recipes) as well as what I am doing to prep ahead of time.  It is my hope that by putting this in print, I can refer back to it myself when times are crazy and I need to re-stock my freezer, as well as maybe give you some ideas to help you get food on the table for your crew with greater ease.

So without further adieu, here are the meals.  All the things I do to prepare is listed in italics  in parenthesis.

Breakfasts:
1. Baked French Toast http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cinnamon-raisin-french-toast/
(prepare 2 in disposable aluminum pans and freeze)
2. Homemade Muffins ( make 4-6 dozen in a variety of flavors...pumpkin, oatmeal chocolate chip, blueberry, and bran are our favorites)
3. Croissant sandwiches http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/make-ahead-freeze-breakfast-sandwiches/
(prepare 16-24 depending on how many croissants come in each package wrap in foil and freeze.  Then I take them out to thaw overnight and throw them in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes)
4. Oatmeal Bites http://www.alagraham.com/2013/02/individual-baked-oatmeal-cups.html
(make 2 dozen in a variety of flavors.  I will let the kids help, so they will add what they like.  Raisins, blueberries and slivered almonds, diced apples are a few we have done in the past). I use silicon muffins liners so i bake and freeze them in the liners.  I thaw them on the counter overnight them place them one a baking sheet and warm them at 350 for 15-20 minutes  The kids eat them plain or toss them in a bowl and add a little milk and eat them like regular oatmeal.
5. Scrambled eggs with ham and home fried potatoes (dice and freeze the ham in baggies and bake several potatoes and then dice them up and flash freeze, then freeze in gallon size baggies)
6. Grands Biscuit Bake   http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/815375043/grands-biscuit-breakfast-casserole/?locale=en_US
(brown lump breakfast sausage and freeze in 1-2 pound portions. thaw meat overnight and just mix into the recipe and bake)
7. Breakfast burritos (these will use the same browned lump breakfast sausage from above. I will probably brown 4-6 pounds total)
8. Quiche (I will make 4 quiches, 2 different kinds and freeze)
9. Cereal and bananas
10Bagels and cream cheese
11. Oatmeal
12. Waffles with yogurt and fruit
13. English muffins with peanut butter and cinnamon
14. Let's be honest.....we will probably have cereal more than twice this month.  :)

Lunches:
1. Leftovers
2. Macaroni and cheese and hot dogs (boxed of course.....its all about ease people)
3. Sandwiches (meat and cheese)
4. Grilled cheese and tomato soup (there are several very good boxed soups....tomato bisque and a roasted red pepper flavor are our favorites over here and so good with grilled cheese)
5. Frozen pizza (Aldi's has huge ones for like 5 bucks.  We usually buy 2 every time we go to the grocery store)
6. Loaded nachos ( I chop up the leftover chicken after rotisserie chicken night and add a few seasonings and throw that, some black beans, refried beans, and cheese over tortilla chips and bake for 15-20 mins and serve with salsa and sour cream.  This is definitely a kid favorite)
7. Quesadillas (cheese or chicken.....depending on how much leftover chicken there is)
8. Crock pot chicken and red lentil soup (I throw this all in the crock pot while the kids are eating breakfast and it is done by lunch. It is a great dinner as well.)

Red Lentil & Chicken Soup
1 lb. skinless and boneless chicken thighs 1 onion, diced
1 c. carrots, peeled and chopped
2 c. fresh spinach, chopped small
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
1 c. red lentils
32 oz. organic, low-sodium chicken stock fresh basil, to taste, chopped
1 t. dried thyme
salt & pepper
Instructions:
Place all the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with the herbs and lentils. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and lentils. Season the vegetables and chicken with kosher salt and pepper. Pour in chicken broth. Set slow cooker to low for 5-6 hours. About 15 minutes before the timer goes off, remove chicken, shred with two forks. Put shredded chicken back into the slow cooker for the last few minutes of cooking. Garnish with dried thyme, fresh basil or fresh cracked pepper. 

9. Peanut butter, fruit, and granola wrap-ups http://hiddenponies.com/2012/09/fruit-granola-wraps/
10. Snacky (hard boiled eggs, fruit, cheese, etc)
11. Sandwiches (PB&J)
12. More sandwiches????
13. Leftovers again????
14. Do they really need 3 meals every single day?????

Dinners:
1. Maple Dijon Chicken https://www.pinterest.com/pin/434456695279249334/
(Put all the ingredients in a 2 gallon size freezer bags and freeze.  When Cooking I baste the chicken halfway through.  And I always line my baking dish with aluminum foil for super easy clean up.)
2. Taco Salad (brown ground beef or ground turkey with the taco seasonings, bag and freeze)
3. Lasagna Pasta (take the italian sausage out of its casing and brown.  put in freezer bags and freeze)... I will be honest I kind of just throw this together.  I usually use medium shells as my pasta; boil and set aside.  Mix about a pound or two of browned italian sausage with some ricotta shredded mozzarella and parmesan.  Add a few more seasonings (salt pepper garlic powder) and then mix the meat and cheese mixture with spaghetti sauce and with the noodles.  Top with a little more mozzarella and parmesan and bake for about 15-20 minutes until cheese are melted and sauce is bubbling.
4. Fajitas http://realmomkitchen.com/9318/oven-baked-chicken-fajitas/
(cut up chicken breasts into strips, bag and freeze)
5. Burgers (using ground turkey or lean ground beef, season the meat, form into patties and freeze)
6. BBQ chicken sliders (put 3-4 chicken breasts into a baggie and freeze)
These are something I just throw together but are a big hit.  Put 3-4 chicken breast into your crock pot and cover with BBQ sauce (they can be frozen if you forgot to pull the meat out the night before.  This feature makes this meal even better in my book).  Cook on low for 4-6 hours until easily shredded.  Serve on Kings Hawaiian Rolls ( I often throw my rolls in the oven on 350 for a few minutes to toast them a little so that the bread is able to hold all the juice from the bbq chicken better and not get too soggy).  I often serve this with applesauce and/or raw veggies as a side.
7. Pork Carnitas (cut pork shoulder and bag and freeze)

Carnitas Tacos (recipe from www.100daysofrealfood.com)
2-2.5 pork shoulder or Boston butt roast, cut into 5 or 6 pieces 3 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp. ground cumin
1 onion, cut into 6 or 8 chunks 3 garlic cloves, whole
2 avocados, sliced
fresh cilantro
organic corn tortillas
Instructions:
Mix together oregano, pepper, salt, and cumin and rub on outside of pork pieces in bottom of slow cooker.
Throw onion and garlic on top of pork.
Slow cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or until meat is falling apart.
When finished discard the onion and garlic. Drain meat and shred with a fork.
Serve warm with tortillas, avocados and cilantro. 

8. Meatball Subs (buy frozen meatballs from BJ's)  I always just throw these in my crock pt and dump sauce on top.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours and serve on rolls with provolone cheese and a side salad or raw veggies.
9. Cheesesteaks (Cook a large roast, slice, separate with wax paper, flash freeze, then bag and freeze. We also use some of this meat for lunchmeat sandwiches......my brother and sister-in-law bought me a slicer for Christmas and I must say, it is a game changer).  When ready to cook sauté up sliced peppers and onion in one pan and in another pan cook up the meat chopping it as it cooks.  Serve on rolls with provolone cheese. Applesauce or potato chips are a quick and easy side for this meal
10. French Bread Pizza (buy a few loaves of french bread and freeze.  Have sauce and cheese on hand) We don't always make them this fancy but Pioneer Woman has some great ideas if you wanted to put bit more effort into a variety of toppings for your pizza night http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/french-bread-pizzas/
11. Paninis (buy loaves of sourdough and freeze until ready to use.  Have other ingredients on hand.  We like mozzarella, sliced tomato, and pesto from the Barefoot Contessa.  Because let's be honest...who doesn't need a little Ina in their lineup???  YUMMY)
12. Chicken tortilla soup (This can either be made ahead of time and then frozen, or just Freeze the chicken thighs  in proper portions and make sure you have the other ingredients on hand and have the kids throw it all in the crock pot in the morning.  This is an family favorite, and oh, so easy)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

•  1 pkg. (6-7) organic chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
  
•  1 lg. jar (16 oz.)  salsa
  
•  1, 32 oz. carton of low-sodium organic chicken broth
  
•  1 T. chili powder
  
•  1 t. oregano
  
•  1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  
•  2 c. frozen  corn
  
•  Avocado, Whole Milk Yogurt, Raw Cheddar, Cilantro, and of
  COURSE,  crunchy tortillas – for topping!
  Instructions:
  Place the chicken thigh directly in the bottom of a lightly oiled (I use coconut oil) crockpot, and then sprinkle the seasonings (above) on top of the chicken. Then, pour the jar of salsa right on top! Once the beans are rinsed and drained, dump those in as well and then pour the chicken stock in the crockpot too. Set the crockpot on low for 8 hours and go about your biz! Then, towards the end of the 8 hours (or honestly, even when the crockpot has turned off and is on the "warm" setting), use two forks to shred the chicken and then dump in the 2 c. of frozen corn, and wait about 10 minutes until it is heated through. Then, ta-da! Dinner!
  Top with your favorite toppings (above) and enjoy! Serves about 6-8. 
  

13. Rotisserie Chicken, macaroni and cheese, and Broccoli (buy a few rotisserie chickens and freeze. they thaw beautifully and then you just pop them in the oven to warm them up.  LIFE SAVER)
14. Balsamic Pork Loin http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/crockpot-brown-sugar-and-balsamic-glazed-pork-loin/321587
(Season pork and freeze.  Thaw it ahead of time and just pop it in the crock pot.  The glaze can be made ahead of time and refrigerated if needed.  But my kids or I can also make it quick and easy that day)
15. Cheeseburger Wraps  http://myrecipemagic.com/recipe/recipedetail/cheeseburger-wraps-recipe
(brown the ground beef and freeze.  Then day of just add the extra ingredients from the recipe and make the wraps.  So easy)


I think that is everything.  If you have any questions or comments please share!  I love getting more ideas and if anything is unclear I want to know.  This is all supposed to make things easier.  May God Bless your kitchens and your families.  Thanks for stopping by.

Christmas Novena

When Advent starts this early, it gets a little crazy in our domestic church.  

Our house is a mixture of all of our Holy Souls prayer things (vigil candles, calendar of beloved dead, and our special prayer book for the holy souls (more about that here)) and all of the beautiful Advent decorations.  It only lasts for a couple of days, but the overlap can make things seem a little overwhelming and even disjointed as our hearts and minds seem to be being pulled in multiple directions.  I don't want to deny a single soul of our extra prayers though....so we are keeping our vigil candle lit through today and we finished our final rosary and meditation on the Holy Souls in Purgatory this morning.  As Advent is a time to prepare not only for the birth of Christ, but for His second coming as well, having both decorations up is a nice visual reminder to prepare our souls for their ultimate end in hopes of eternity with Christ.  Tomorrow we will take it all down, but for the rest of today it looks like this:

So much to look at!

Tomorrow the vigil candle will be tucked away, and the calendar will be erased and taken down, to be filled in next year with all the names of those souls of our beloved dead who need our prayers.  All that will remain is the stable and the animals, waiting for the Holy Family to arrive on Christmas Eve.

Today is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and there is a beautiful novena attributed to him to prepare for the birth of Christ.  It starts today on his feast day and is said until Christmas Eve.  I was so excited when I got an e-mail this morning with free printables of the novena!  We have used my phone in the past, but now I have 4 prayer cards with beautiful illustrations for all of us to share.  I printed out the pages, glued the two together  and then laminated them and cut them out.  I am so excited.  Nothing makes me happier than beautiful artwork to go with our prayers.  Throw in some laminator action to help make everything sturdy and I am beyond giddy.  I'll stop chattering about it, and share the link for the printables now.

Here are a few pictures to show you how ours turned out.

2 beautiful designs 

Once I glued the two printed pages together and laminated them,
all we have to do is flip them over and we have the prayer on the back.
Pretty and functional.
A mama's dream come true.

I can't wait to start praying our novena tonight.  Tomorrow we will add it to the end of our morning rosary.  I love how each month as we live the liturgical year there is a way to so simply add a little something that lifts our hearts and minds to God in a special way for each passing season and it's focus.  

~May God Bless You and Yours this Advent Season. ~ 

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrating All Saints & All Souls

There are a lot of wonderful blogs out there to help us live our Catholic Faith and live the Liturgical Year at home with our families.  Catholic Icing, Catholic All Year, and Catholic Cuisine are a few just to start with.  I use these sites to help us live our Faith in our home, but I also just make stuff up as we go along.

Every family is different and sometimes I get overwhelmed by so many other people's ideas.  I like simple, beautiful, meaningful.  Sometimes we go more "all out," but ideally I like to create traditions that are easy to replicate each year, and that bring joy and peace.  As a "do it all" type of personality, I have learned through many years of trying to do too much, that if it overwhelms me I am not kind and loving... which in the end, negates everything I am trying to teach through these activities and traditions.

So....here is our family's simple way of living the feasts of All Saints and All Souls:

First, we go pick our pumpkins and choose our designs for our "saint-o-lanterns."  This is an easy way to incorporate our Faith into this cultural practice.  Instead of jack-o-lanterns or creepy things, we choose an image that represents a holy man or woman of God, or some Christian symbol.  We scoop out all the gunk inside the pumpkin (representative of our sin and the way God helps to wipe our souls clean through Baptism and Confession).  Then we carve our image on the pumpkin and put in the candle and let the light of Christ shine through.  That is what the Saints did throughout their lives, and since we are all called to become saints, we too, should be constantly doing all we can to allow the love and light of Christ to shine through us out into the world.  This is a quiet, educational and fun way to celebrate this holiday.  We don't have to say anything or be "preachy."  And we also don't have to remove ourselves from all the festivities going on around us that are far from the Catholic roots of the holiday (for more on that, read this: catholic true meaning of halloween).  Simple, beautiful, meaningful.

Here is this year's line up of saint-o-lanterns in pictures:

This is the book we use to help us find our symbols.
It is an old book from a church that was cleaning out it's library.
But I'm sure there are current books out there, you just have to search for them.

All lined up and ready to be put outside.

Looking pretty lining the walk.
Just waiting for dark so we can light them up!

Shining the light of Christ to the world!
Top left: a heart (little one's request) and the Sacred Heart of Jesus (free hand by #2)
Top Middle: Iona Cross (#3's handiwork)
Top Right: St. Joseph symbol (carpenter's square and lily) done by the hubs
Bottom Left: Crown with a cross through it (the 4 yr. old made this up himself and #1 helped execute it)
Bottom Middle: St. Mary the Virgin (sword passing though the heart of Our Lady and wings) by #1
Bottom Right: Alpha and Omega with Crown (done by yours truly)

Then we get all dressed up and go trick or treating which originated from the practice of the Middle Ages in England.  On the Eve of All Saints (Hallowmas) peasants would go about town singing and praying for the souls of the deceased.  They would stop at homes and beg for a "soul cake" (which were a traditional treat for All Souls Day feasts) and offer prayers for the deceased family members in return.  So there is your history for the day.  We don't go around asking for soul cakes or singing the traditional song the peasants sang, but since trick-or-treating began with our Faith, we certainly aren't going to abandon the practice.

This is our costume line-up for 2015:

Lego brick, Cowgirl, Harry Potter, Iron Man, Batman and Robin

All Hallow's Eve (or Hallowmas) leads into the Feast of All Saints (Nov. 1) where the Church honors all the deceased members of the Church who we have been assured have entered into eternal salvation and are enjoying the joy of Heaven.  We look to these men and women to help teach us how to love and serve Christ in our lives.  Through their lives and struggles and then their triumph, we are reminded to remain forever hopeful in our own life as we journey our own path to sanctity.

Our parish throws an All Saints party every year where the kids are encouraged to choose a saint and dress up as that person.  They then tell a few facts about the chosen saint and the audience tries to guess who they are.  It is a lot of fun for the kids and parents alike.

Here are my little saints:

St. Jerome and his lion (there is a story that St. Jerome removed a thorn from a lion's paw and the lion remained with him ever after that), St. JPII (he was an avid skier, so we used what we had to put this costume together), and St. Elizabeth of Hungary (putting my authentic Austrian dirndl from my semester abroad to good use)!
*We ended up making a last minute change, and #2 was St. Jerome with the lion, and #3 went in his Lego brick as St. Vincent Ferrer who is the patron of builders (very clever and no one could guess who he was)!

Now onto the feast of All Souls... 

The past 2 days we celebrated the assured victory of those who have gone before us (through being officially canonized as saints in the Church. For more on that, click here: How does one become a saint?).  They give us the hope for our own eternal salvation and for the eternal salvation of our loved ones.  So November 2nd we focus on those who have gone before us (our beloved dead) of whom we are not assured their eternal salvation. We offer Mass and prayers and are reminded of our own mortality.  The Church (and our Lord) desires nothing more than the salvation of each and every soul, and so the ENTIRE month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  Our family has adopted the practice of going to Mass on November 2nd to pray for the dead, visiting the cemetery of my deceased grandparents and praying for them in particular, and we spend all month praying for deceased friends and family.  We post a "calendar" with a name of a soul for each day of the  month, then we offer a rosary each day of November for that particular soul.  We also keep a vigil candle burning the entire month to visually remind us of the souls for which we continue to pray and hope to be reunited with when we too leave this earthly life and enter into eternal salvation.  My mother-in-law just sent me this book (pictured below), and so on top of our daily rosary, we are also praying the meditation for that day to help us to enter more deeply into prayer and understanding of the Holy Souls in Purgatory so we can better pray for them and also better prepare ourselves for our own death.  

This is our All Souls practice in pictures: 

Our vigil candle and calendar of souls.
This takes center stage on our prayer "altar" (the top of our piano) in our prayer room.
It remains there the entire month of November and we replace the candle as necessary.
These candles can easily be found at the dollar store, Walmart, or your local grocery store.

The book that we are using for the first time this year.
Excited for it leading us deeper in prayer and understanding this year.

I Know focusing on death is not something our culture likes to do.  But it is an inevitable part of life.  And if we understand more about death, we may come to realize that it doesn't have to be something to be feared.

~God bless you and your families this November.~

May all the souls of the faithful departed, 

through the mercy of God, 

rest in peace.  

Amen

How we live Advent and PREPARE for the birth of the King of Kings!!!

This post was built over many many years of trying different things and tweaking them to fit our family.  There are lots of things here we never could have done with just littles.  But since it has been an organic growth,  the older kids can now help with a lot of it and the little kids, while they don't understand a lot of things, they are excited by  everyone else's excitement and love the whole experience, and eventually they will come to understand what it all means. 

Advent used to be a time where I was stressed; trying to do too  much....trying to do it all....wanting to make Advent "perfect" for teaching my children about the birth of Christ.  Thank goodness, over time God whacked me on the head and showed me that Advent is really about quieting our hearts and minds (be more like the Blessed Mother maybe, who "pondered all these things in her heart") and preparing! It has since become my most favorite season of the liturgical year.  I really feel like our traditions and their slow progression helps us to quiet ourselves and really focus on preparing so that come Christmas we can bust out the CELEBRATING!!!!

Without further adieu, here is the "breakdown" of how we live the season of Advent in our house:

Week 1: 

~Put out all Nativities (manger and animals only)
~ Put out and light 1st candle of advent wreath
~Hang advent calendar if we are using one this year
~Place Mary and Joseph out upstairs to start their journey to Bethlehem (we move them closer to the Nativity each Sunday of Advent)
~Every person chooses a sacrifice or "gift" they want to work on throughout Advent (this is their gift for baby Jesus).  We write them down and place them in a box and wrap it.  We often read the book, "The Littlest Angel" in the evening before we do this activity to help us get our minds and hearts in the right place for really giving Jesus a gift that is from our heart.  *(see note below)

Week 2:

~Prepare our insides (hearts and homes)....start decorating inside the house (indoor garland, stockings, etc).
~Continue lighting advent wreath...this week light 2 candles
~Move Mary and Joseph closer to the Nativity
~Since this is our lightest week, I usually address and mail my Christmas cards this week

Week 3: 

~Gaudete Sunday (which also means hope or rejoice) we put up and light our outside lights and put up and light our tree (no ornaments yet)
~Also light advent wreath...3 candles this week
~This week begins the O Antiphons leading up to the birth of Christ.

         *We read one antiphon each day at dinner after we light our advent wreath and sing the verse of O Come O Come Emmanuel.  

        *We hang an O Antiphon ornament (which we made several years ago) on the tree each night for the corresponding Antiphon.  We also hang a bigger O Antiphon card above our sliding glass door in  our kitchen (doing it this way with the visual really helps to build the anticipation for the coming of the Christ child).  

~Move Mary and Joseph even closer to the manger

Week 4: 

~Final preparations (this may be some baking and food prep)
~Continue O Antiphons
~Light 4th candle in Advent wreath
~Move Mary and Joseph to somewhere in sight of the manger
~Decorate tree on Christmas Eve while listening to Handel's Messiah

*Note:  We also keep the practice of "making the most warm and cozy bed of hay possible" for the Baby Jesus.  We have a bag of straw that we keep behind our manger (which is displayed in our kitchen) and throughout advent when our kids are caught being good or kind or making sacrifices, they can add straw to the manger, so that by Christmas Eve the manger is over flowing.  On Christmas Eve morning we place Mary and Joseph in the stable.  Then, after Midnight Mass we place baby Jesus in on the warm bed of straw we built throughout Advent and present him with our present that we prepared in week 1.  We kneel before the Manger and pray that our gift is made worthy for the King of Kings who is the greatest of all gifts (the hubs leads this prayer).

We have built these traditions over the years and they are so near and dear to my heart.   I love the slow preparation which builds anticipation and mimics the preparation you do when welcoming a new baby.  It takes time.  Doing it this way also helps us not to get overwhelmed because it doesn't all have to be done at once, and we really enjoy the season of Advent.  We are then prepared to really celebrate come Christmas.  I will share what we do for celebrating the 12 days of Christmas in another post.

Below are pictures I dug up from past years to help give a little visual. I wish I had better ones.  I will work on getting better pictures to illustrate these traditions as we live them this Advent and add them to the post for next year.  It is my hope that by recording these traditions they will inspire others, but mostly that they will be all together in a safe place for me to be able to draw upon them every year, and eventually pass them down to my children as they grow up and go out into the world and build their own families and traditions.

Our Advent wreath during the 4th week of Advent

The stockings were hung from the banister with care....

Gaudete Sunday
Everything lighted (no decorations on the tree yet)

All of the O Antiphons

Me and my girls 2 years ago next to our Nativity after Midnight Mass
Notice how stuffed with straw it is. 

~Thanks for stopping by!~

 May Our Lord bless your family's preparations during this most blessed season.