Lovely Little Tidbits for Your Day – Prayers, Poems….

On Life’s Cross

Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
Flowing from Thy Hands;
Help me fight life’s battles,
Ever faithful to Thy command.

Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Flowing from Thy Feet;
Be my strength and solace,
When hopeful to Thee, I retreat.

Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
Flowing from Thy Heart;
Cleanse my weary, sinful soul,
When this vale it must depart.

Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
Flowing from wounds five-fold;
Grant me just One Precious Drop
To mark me, forever, in Thy Love-Fold.
-Rev. A Kimbal

A MEMORY AND A HOPE

Often, ’tis true, on my day’s horizon
I see, as I wake, the clouds arise,
But within my heart I carry a whisper
That brings a light to the darkest skies.

A memory bright as the golden sunset,
A hope as sweet as the fields in May—
“I am going to Holy Communion tomorrow,
I went to Holy Communion today.”

Many a time I am weary of labor,
Vexed with a life of work and worry,
Tired of giving myself to others,
Worn with the fret of this age of hurry;

Then o’er my heart’s unquiet waters
Comes my Lord’s sweet whisper to say,
“We shall meet at Communion tomorrow,
We have met at Communion today.”

Sometimes others are rough and thoughtless,
Sometimes, it may be, hard or cold;
I long to pour out on the first quick impulse
All the pain that my heart doth hold.

Then my Hope and my Memory blended,
Plead in my soul with a note of sorrow,
“Jesus lay on your tongue this morning,
Keep your story for Him tomorrow.”

All day long like a ballad’s burden
Rings in my heart that musical chime;
All my minutes swing backward and forward
Between the bliss of two points of time;

And I know that the grateful Heart on the Altar
Is touched as my happy heart doth pray,
Just because He is coming tomorrow,
Just because He has been today.

A Beautiful Recipe

A beautiful turning to God in prayer,
At break of day – be it dull or fair,
A beautiful word when chance occurs
Instead of the gossip which hurts and slurs;
A beautiful day, not one or two,
But just as many as you can do;
A beautiful thought in the mind to keep
Where otherwise evil and sin might creep.
A beautiful smile – how it helps and cheers
And coaxes from others their smiles and tears;
A beautiful song in praise to Him
When the shadows fall and the lights grow dim,
If followed – you’ll find it a beautiful way
To make – and so easy – a beautiful day.

Twelve sermons on key aspects of the Christian life given during Lent, 1622–fasting, how to resist temptation, the danger of losing one’s soul, living faith vs. dead or dying faith, Christian attitude toward death, proper conduct in illness, God\’s special providence toward those living a spiritual life, the hidden meanings of Our Lord’s Passion, eternal happiness, mutual charity, etc.

There are as many paths to holiness as there are saints in Heaven . . . but you cant follow them all. Yet there’s one thing every saint practices that you can imitate: the simple art of loving God, which the beloved St. Francis de Sales explains for you here.

Under his wise and gentle guidance, you’ll discover the secrets to growing holier through the simple things in life work, play, and rest. You’ll learn to avoid the distractions (even religious distractions) that trouble and weary your soul . . . and you’ll soon be able to focus your energy simply on loving God.

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Women and Feelings (Part Two) – Alice von Hildebrand

Painting by William Henry Margetson (1861–1940)

Part One is here.

from The Privilege of Being a Woman by Alice von Hildebrand

The liturgy of the Holy Church gives testimony to the role of the heart in religious life; she has blessed us with a litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There is no litany dedicated to the divine intellect or the divine will.

When Christ in agony spoke the heart-breaking words —”I am thirsty” — the Holy One was thirsting for our love. The heart is where love resides. The heart needs to be vindicated and this can best be achieved by distinguishing between valid and invalid feelings, legitimate and illegitimate feelings, “baptized feelings and unbaptized ones.”

The Wife Desired Senses What is Needed

From The Wife Desired by Father Leo J. Kinsella, 1950’s

A real man likes to picture his wife as one with spirit and bounce. Because she is intelligent with a mind of her own she knows when to maintain a principle, when to be roguish and sportive. Gifted with imagination she can give herself to the game of intriguing her husband. Always she is exciting and vivacious.

The wife loves a little compliment here and there herself, so she knows the value of this form of encouragement. Incidentally, in most marriages heading for the rocks the couples exchange no compliments. Just the opposite is true between people who seem still to have some sort of possessive love for each other.

The Psalm of Young Mothers

From Christ in the Home by Father Raoul Plus, S.J., 1951

A young mother–very true to her role of mother and at the same time very artistic–got the idea of comparing her role with that of cloistered sisters.

Between her washing, her cooking and the care of her youngest, she managed to compose “The Psalm of Young Mothers” which appeared in the 8 November issue of “Marriage Chretien.” It is full of love, full of spontaneity. Every young mother will recognize herself in these passages we are quoting:

“O my God

Like our sisters in the cloister

We have left all for you;

We have not imprisoned the youth of our faces in a guimpe

and under a veil,

And though we have cut our hair, it is not in any spirit of

penance….

Deign nevertheless, O Lord, to cast a look of complaisance

On the humble little sacrifices

Which we offer You all day long,

Since the day our groaning flesh gave life to all these little

Christians

We are rearing for You.

Our liberty, O God, is in the hands of these little tyrants

who claim it every minute.

The house has become our cloister,

Our life has its unchanging Rule,

And each day its Office, always the same;

The Hours for dressing and for walks,

The Hours for feeding and for school,

We are bound by the thousand little demands of life.

Detached by necessity every moment from our own will,

We live in obedience.

Even our nights do not belong to us;

We too have our nocturnal Office,

When we must rise quickly for a sick child,

Or when between midnight and two o’clock,

When we are in the full sleep we need so badly

A little untimely chanter

Begins to sing his Matins.

We practically live retired from the world:

There is so much to be done in the house.

There is no possibility of going out anyway without a

faithful sitter for the little ones.

We measure out the time for visits parsimoniously.

We have no sisters to relieve us on another shift.

And when the calls for service reach high pitch for us

We have to sweep, to wash the dishes, scrape the carrots

for the stew, prepare a smooth puree for baby and keep

on going without stopping

From the children’s room to the kitchen and to and fro.

We do big washings we rub and we rinse

Aprons and shirts, underclothes and socks

And all the baby’s special things.

In this life of sacrifice, come to our help, O Jesus!

“The wise mother, having an eye to the future, will seek to initiate her daughter into the mysteries of housekeeping. Most young girls are interested in domestic affairs, and are never happier than when allowed to have their finger in the domestic pie; but in this as in other things a thorough grounding is the most satisfactory. It is a woman’s heritage.” -Annie S. Swan, Courtship and Marriage And the Gentle Art of Home-Making, 1893

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Children and Christmas – Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J.

From Christ in the Home by Fr. Raoul Plus

It is easy to understand how enraptured children can become at the contemplation of a tiny Babe in a manger.

To have God reduce Himself to their own status, to become a child like them, to need a mother, what more could they desire!They feel on a footing with Him. The Almighty is of their stature!

We are told that on Christmas Eve, Saint John of the Cross used to carry a statue of the Infant Jesus in procession about the monastery. The procession would stop before each monk’s cell asking hospitality for the Divine Babe.

The cells, like the hearts of the monks, would open to faith and to love. Only then would the statue be carried to the Crib and the Divine Office begin.

Children share the simplicity of these holy monks. Nothing attracts them more than the Crib.This very attraction makes it imperative that they learn about it correctly.

Care must be taken not to mix in with the gospel mystery any details which the child will later come to recognize as false.

What good can come of representing Santa Claus almost as God the Father who has given us His Son?

Why let children believe that it is the Infant Jesus Himself who comes down the chimney to bring them presents . . . only to hear some day, “You know, Mama, this is the last time I’m going to believe in Little Jesus who comes down the chimney with presents.”

If we mix the false with the true, it is no wonder the child will not be able to separate legend from doctrine later on.

The Gospel is sufficiently extraordinary in itself without our adding any of our own creations to it. If we do, we may well fear the child will become disgusted later at being deceived and reject everything.

Any charming legend or pious little story we may want to tell them when they are very little should be kept quite distinct and handled very differently from the dogmatic truths and authentic historical facts we teach them.

Let us not introduce fairies into the story of Jeanne of Arc’s childhood, nor put the legend of Saint Nicholas rescuing little children on a level with the realities of the Redemption, with the facts of Our Lord’s saving us from hell.

If, therefore, we are to capitalize on the child’s attraction for the marvelous, let us avoid abusing his credulity; above all when dealing with the lives of the saints, with the Blessed Virgin and with Christ, let us not mix the false with the true.

Let us always keep on a plane apart those truths which are to be forever the object of ineradicable belief.

There is, however, a positive suggestion to offer: Explain to the child how Baptism has made him a living Crib; not a wooden manger padded with straw, but a living Crib; not a crib where only little Jesus lives but a Crib where the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity dwell, the Three Divine Persons.

Here, too, is splendid opportunity to show the child the difference between the two presences—the presence of God in the soul through grace and the presence of Jesus in the stable through the Incarnation.

Never weary in cheering your family with your smile. It is not enough to avoid depressing them; you must brighten them up and let their spirits expand. Be especially vigilant when the little ones are around. Give them the alms of a smile, hard though it be at times. What a pity when children have to say, “I don’t like it at home.” -Christ in the Home, Fr. Raoul Plus, 1950’s

Lovely gifts! Beautiful and graceful, these Religious necklaces can be worn to show your devotion to your Heavenly Friends! Get it blessed and wear it as a sacramental! Available here.

Coloring pages for your children…. (click on picture to get full-size)

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Update…

We picked Rosie up from the Convent on Wednesday. She seemed to rally that day, was able to say goodbye, and we had a nice drive home. The evening was more difficult.

At the convent, she wore a heart holter monitor for a couple of days, she also has had an MRI and an EEG. It seems that they cannot find a reason for her “seizure-like”, frequent episodes and her extreme headaches, weakness, etc.
So….the Sisters started a novena for her yesterday and we are joining in. I am going to include it here if anyone would like to join along (and tag some of your own intentions to it, too).
Also, today is the beginning of the St. Andrew Christmas Novena. Maybe you could tack Rosie onto your intentions?
I am very grateful for any prayers you can send our way.

The novena:

Immaculate Virgin Mary, you were pleasing in the sight of God from the first moment of your conception in the womb of your mother, St. Anne. You were chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We believe the teaching of holy Mother the Church, that in the first instant of your conception, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race and beloved Son, you were preserved from all stain of original sin. We thank God for this wonderful privilege and grace He bestowed upon you, as we honor your Immaculate Conception.

Look graciously upon us, as we implore this special favor: the complete healing of Rosie.

Virgin Immaculate, Mother of God and our Mother, from your throne in heaven turn your eyes of pity upon us. Filled with confidence in your goodness and power, we beg you to help us in this journey of life, which is so full of dangers for our souls. We entrust ourselves entirely to you, that we may never be the slaves of the devil through sin, but may always live humble and pure lives. We consecrate ourselves to you forever, for our only desire is to love your divine Son Jesus. Mary, since none of your devout servants have perished, May we too be saved.
Hail Mary…

O Mary,Conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Rosie gets her blessing from Mother Abbess before we leave.

Rosie, back home in her room. We were able to get a recliner before she came home for her bedroom so she wouldn’t have to stay in bed all the time. Her room is upstairs…

Rosie’s kneeler where a sister is still watching over her! 🙂

A relic of St. Benedict (which also happens to be Rosie’s middle name…yes, Benedict) is here for her to venerate each day.

Don’t Forget!

🙏🏻 Starting today! Powerful Novena…Repeat this prayer 15 times each day from today, November 30th, until, and including, December 24. May our Lord grant you your worthy intentions!

“One evening I was in their home about dinnertime. She was busy in the kitchen putting the final touches on the dinner when her husband came home from work. This happened to be payday.
He came into the kitchen, kissed her, and handed her his paycheck. She immediately stopped what she was doing, put her arms around him and said, ‘I know how hard you have worked for this … how many long hours. Thank you for providing us with so many comforts, and making it possible for me to stay home and care for the family.’
But this was not enough. She went into the living room where the children were all playing on the floor. She made them all stop and stand up.
‘Look,’ she said as she held up the paycheck. ‘See, your father has worked hard to earn this money. Now, Jane, this means you can have a new pair of shoes, and Johnny, you can have your bicycle fixed.’
The father stood there beaming. Not only did his wife appreciate him, but taught their children to.
In his eyes, she was a beautiful woman.
I’m not sure she did this every payday, but I know that here was a home where the man was appreciated for his daily efforts.
And I know that this ordinary woman was not so ordinary. She knew how to appreciate a man and this is why she was beautiful to him.” -Fascinating Womanhood https://amzn.to/2NAXkGv (afflink)

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It’s In the Attitude….

Tags

catholic, peace

A little story…Hubby was filling up his truck one day, it was early and cold and he was off to work….a job that was hard and required much physical labor.

A priest (and friend) was at the gas station also. He said hello to my husband and then asked him how he was?

Vincent answered, “Fantastic!”

The dear priest said to him, “That’s nice. Why are you fantastic?”

Vincent’s answer “Well, because I am alive, I have my health, I have many blessings, it is a beautiful day and I am a Roman Catholic!”

The priest smiled, “Yes, if you look at it that way….”

We are in control of our own thoughts, reactions and attitudes, as Fr. Philippe points out in the following story….

A story from Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Philippe:

A witness for our times: Etty Hillesum

I want to cite briefly a  recent testimony to interior freedom, one both very different from and very close to St. Thérèse’s. It moved me deeply. It is the testimony of Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman who died at Auschwitz in November 1943, and whose diary was published in 1981.

Her “story of a soul” unfolded in the Netherlands at a time when the Nazis’ persecution of Jews was intensifying.

When Etty began to write her journal, her moral life was far from edifying. She was emotionally vulnerable, had no fixed moral guidelines, and had had several lovers. She was, however, driven by a powerful craving for the truth about herself.

Thanks to a friend of hers, a psychologist and also a Jew, she discovered (without ever becoming explicitly Christian) some of the values that lie at the heart of Christianity: prayer, the presence of God within herself, and the evangelical invitation to abandon herself trustingly to Providence.

Before she was finally deported to Auschwitz, while a prisoner in a Dutch transit camp, she showed a faith in God, courage in suffering, and a devotion to neighbor that demonstrated the reality of her spirituality despite the dark areas in her life.

It is astonishing to read how this young woman devoted herself to living by the Gospel values she was discovering little by little. Just when all her exterior freedoms were being progressively taken away, she discovered within herself a happiness and interior freedom that no one could steal from her from then on.

There is a very significant passage in her spiritual experience:

This morning I cycled along the Station Quay enjoying the broad sweep of the sky at the edge of the city, breathing in the fresh, unrationed air. And everywhere signs barring Jews from the paths and the open country. But above the one narrow path still left to us stretches the sky, intact.

They can’t do anything to us, they really can’t. They can harass us, they can rob us of our material goods, of our freedom of movement, but we ourselves forfeit our greatest assets by our misguided compliance. By our feelings of being persecuted, humiliated, oppressed. By our own hatred. By our swagger, which hides our fear.

We may of course be sad and depressed by what has been done to us; that is only human and understandable. However, our greatest injury is one we inflict upon ourselves.

I find life beautiful, and I feel free. The sky within me is as wide as the one stretching above my head. I believe in God and I believe in man, and I say so without embarrassment.

Life is hard, but that is no bad thing. If one starts by taking one’s own importance seriously, the rest follows.

It is not morbid individualism to work on oneself. True peace will come only when every individual finds peace within himself; when we have all vanquished and transformed our hatred for our fellow human beings of whatever race—even into love one day, although perhaps that is asking too much.

It is, however, the only solution. I am a happy person and I hold life dear indeed, in this year of Our Lord 1942, the umpteenth year of the war.

Interior freedom: Freedom to believe, hope, and love

The life experiences of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and Etty Hillesum indicate the next point we need to consider. True freedom, the sovereign liberty of Christians, resides in the possibility of believing, hoping, and loving in all circumstances, thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit who “helps us in our weakness.”

Nobody can ever prevent us. “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, not angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

No circumstance in the world can ever prevent us from believing in God, from placing all our trust in Him, from loving Him with our whole heart, or from loving our neighbor.

Faith, hope, and charity are absolutely free, because if they are rooted in us deeply enough, they are able to draw strength from whatever opposes them!

If someone sought to prevent us from believing by persecuting us, we always would retain the option of forgiving our enemies and transforming the situation of oppression into one of greater love.

If someone tried to silence our faith by killing us, our deaths would be the best possible proclamation of our faith! Love, and only love, can overcome evil by good and draw good out of evil.

Growth in faith, hope, and love is the only pathway to freedom.

The mother is the real homemaker. It is in her hands, that the tender life is laid for its first impressions. In all its education and culture, she has the main part. Her spirit makes the home atmosphere. The law of God makes the father the head of the household, and devolves upon him as such—the responsibility for the up building of his house, the training of his children, the care of all the sacred interests of his family. -J.R. Miller

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Happy Thanksgiving from Finer Femininity!

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, may your day be filled with blessings! And thank you for your prayers for Rosie. I will keep you updated…

Below are some inspirational quotes for your day and then a small gallery of our November.

Mothers, today on Thanksgiving, know how very special you are. You are the essence, the heart of your home. Your smile lightens the burdens, your words brighten the hearts of those who will be part of your festivities. The tone of this special family time is set by you! We, as mothers, are privileged to have such an important part in the making of our homes! May your day be filled with grace and love! ❤

This Thanksgiving let us offer up our little inconveniences, our stresses, our fatigue for those less fortunate than ourselves. And, on the flip side, let’s start becoming more aware of the little things and thanking God for them.

“After committing a fault of whatever kind, rather than withdrawing into ourselves indefinitely in discouragement and dwelling on the memory, we must immediately return to God with confidence and even thank Him for the good that His mercy will be able to draw out of this fault!

We must know that one of the weapons that the devil uses most commonly to prevent souls from advancing toward God is precisely to try to make them lose their peace and discourage them by the sight of their faults.”
Searching For and Maintaining Peace, Fr. Jacques Philippe https://amzn.to/2pSwDmQ (afflink)

 

Thank God for His many blessings. Make the most of each and every day. Enjoy the journey. The world will keep whizzing by but we must take time to smell the roses. Each day is a gift, each person in your life is special. Take nothing for granted.

“For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy!” ❤❤❤-St. Therese of Lisieux

Be attentive to the sacrifices your husband makes for the family. Each day he battles the world, the flesh and the devil out in the workforce for you. Don’t let that go unnoticed. Thank him often! Appreciate him. -Finer Femininity

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And now a gallery…. (click on the first picture to view)

Nathan was quite tuckered out from playing with his truck so he couldn’t help but konk out while meditating on the mysteries of the rosary!

Gemma and Agnes

Ladies’ challenge at the card game of Pitch.

Rabbit hunters!

It was very exciting to have two deacons from Germany come and visit us.

We spent some excellent quality time with them.

Their names are Julius and Janosch.

The game of Pictionary…

Father Adams joined in on the fun.

Father Flood was part of the festivity.

Jeanette’s birthday.

We wanted to make her feel special so we had a birthday party for her.

Her birthday is often quite subdued because 4 of her siblings that are still at home have birthdays at the same time.

Guys at the party….

It was at Gin’s house.

Lots of goodies.

Boys…

Grandpa…

Jeanette and her brother-in-law, David.

Virginia and Peter.

At the convent – Sr. Marie Bernard (Rosie calls Sister her “angel”) with little Tobias.

Mother Abbess and the new 3rd Order Benedictines.

 

 

My Little Thanksgiving Story….

A little update and prayers needed, please, before this repost of My Little Thanksgiving Story.

Please pray for our Rosie who continues to be very ill. She is still under the excellent care of the Benedictine Sisters in Gower, MO. They know their stuff…both medically and naturally so she is in good hands.

We went to bring her home but the Sisters offered to get more tests done….so that’s what we decided to do.

Their kindness, competence, patience and true Benedictine apostolic love has been astounding. We are so very grateful.

That being said, Rosie continues to worsen… Please keep us in your prayers. This mother’s heart is a worried one!

Taken a couple weeks ago. She is now bedridden. 😦

My Little Thanksgiving Story….

A repost for Throwback Thursday…..

Thanksgiving is almost here and it is always a good time to remember the many things we are grateful for! I have a couple of stories that happened in our life that shook me to the bottom of my toes but gave me so many reasons to be thankful!

Isn’t that the way? You don’t see it at the time, but, in hindsight, if we continue to “get better, not bitter”, we realize God’s goodness through it all!

2003 was our “Terrified-Going-Through-It” but “So-Thankful-For-Everything-in-Hindsight” year!

It was the middle of the night,  Epiphany 2003,  when we were awakened by the best and most efficient fire alarm ever….  three ear-piercing shrieks delivered by my 17 yr. old daughter!

It was 1 a.m. and Virginia was sleeping on the couch when our Christmas tree burst into flames – and I mean BURST!  The flames licked across the ceiling and melted the laundry room door that was on the other side of the house!  Within seconds the couch that my daughter was sleeping on exploded into flames!  Inside 30 seconds all thirteen of us were out of the house and shivering in the cold! It was a frightening experience watching hearth and home going up in flames!

The rock and block structure of our house (thanks to hubby) was ok, so four months later, after the dust settled, we were back in our home. We remembered the many things we were grateful for: the elderly gentleman who opened up his home in the middle of the night to 13 of us and let us stay there until we found somewhere to live, the incredible generosity of friends and neighbors, the support of our pastor and parish, just naming a few!

We were very grateful for what happened the next day.  You see, it had been a particularly rough winter financially.  When you are a construction contractor, you live on the edge, especially in the winter.  When the insurance handed us the $5,000 check to take care of our most immediate needs, it came in very handy!  With the rest of the forthcoming money we were able to rebuild the house and finish off some much needed bedrooms.

A few months later, July 23^rd to be exact, on a hot and sultry afternoon,  I sent my daughter, Theresa, to go to the neighbor’s to get some sweet corn.  The road had just been recently graveled but she was a very careful driver and I knew I could trust her.  Jeanette, my 9 yr. old, asked if she could go, too.  So off they went.  An hour later I began to wonder where they were.  Being a worrier, I told myself that it was silly to worry.  I tried to put it out of my mind and I continued doing what I was doing.  I heard a knock at the door.  It was a man who said that I needed to call 911 because there had been a bad accident on the gravel road.  When I asked him what vehicle was involved and he said it was our blue van, I fell apart! I asked him if they were ok and he said, “Well, they’re still breathing.”  Yikes!!!

Within minutes, the emergency team, my husband, our priest and several other people were at the scene of the accident. It was every mother’s nightmare and I was a wreck!  Theresa had to be life starred to Topeka and Jeanette was put in Intensive Care in Kansas City.  She didn’t come to until 3 days later. I think the worst thing out of this ordeal was knowing that my girls were in the ditch for an hour, with Theresa trying to crawl to the road, fainting in and out of consciousness, and Jeanette pinned under the van…while I was sitting at home telling myself not to worry. 😦

Looking back, we again were able to find SO many things we were thankful for. For example:  when Theresa was losing control and veering off the road she hit a sign!  This pushed her forward several yards where she ended up rolling the van.  If she didn’t hit that sign she would’ve went over the bridge and landed into the dry creek bed that was several feet down!  That would not have been good.

Once again, the generosity of friends and neighbors was incredible.  Within hours, someone had lent us their vehicle and gifts of all kind came pouring in.  Meals were made for us for the next several days to ease the burden. Most especially, there were no lasting effects…Theresa has a titanium rod in her leg. We tell Jeanette that she was lucky to get away with just slight brain damage which makes her fit right in with the rest of us. 🙂

Those were a couple of the big things that reminds us of what we have to be grateful for.  You probably have some of your own “big things” that has helped you to grow in love, patience and thankfulness.

But there are many, many more little things that happen in every day life that we can be thankful for.  A good cup of tea or coffee?  A homemade apple pie?  A good movie?  A stranger’s smile?  A friend who cares?  In this time of hard economics, just having a job is something to be thankful for.  I’m grateful for the beautiful fall we have had.  I grew up in Canada and at this time of year winter is getting its tight grip on each day.

Thanksgiving is a great time to remember those big and little things that each of us has to be grateful for.  It’s also a good time to be thankful for the adversities in our lives because they have helped us to grow and to have compassion on others who are going through rough times.

Cicero once said, “A grateful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.”

I read these words from a very wise woman: ” Learn to enjoy life.  Be thankful.  Smile.  When you catch yourself becoming irritated or disturbed at circumstances, stop and laugh at the little things that steal your peace.  Count your blessings and learn to be appreciative.”

If we remember to always count our blessings then Thanksgiving can be transformed into “Thanks living”.  Not just the holiday but each and every day!

 

“No other work that God gives any of us to do is so important, so sacred, so far reaching in its influence, so delicate and easily marred—as our home-making. This is the work of all our life—that is most divine. The carpenter works in wood, the mason works in stone, the smith works in iron, the artist works on canvas—but the homemaker works on immortal lives. Whatever else we slight, let it never be our home-making. If we do nothing else well in this world, let us at least build well within our own doors.” – J.R. Miller

Beautiful Handcrafted Religious Necklaces, wire-wrapped, dainty….

Available at www.meadowsofgrace.com

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

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Fr. Lasance Tidbits – Pain & Grief, Peace, Heart & Face, etc.

From My Prayer Book by Father Lasance

The Blessing of Pain and Grief

Pain and grief clear the mind and help man to know himself. Trouble sweeps away as a mist all deceits and false living, and leaves man to see himself just as he is. Hence he can study his motives, his tendencies, his character honestly.

Temporary pleasures, momentary delights, the glare of sunlight, are all taken away, and just as the eyes can often see farther on a cloudy day than in the full sunlight, so the man sees more exactly his life and all that touches his life.

Thank God that sometimes all the fancy touches and adornments of existence are removed, and we see plainly. For God looks at the heart of us, not at the dress; and to master life is to see it with His eyes.

So, when trouble comes, when loneliness or grief approaches, when a dark day dawns, be glad that there is a chance for self-study, for stock-taking, for a clearing up, for a moral and spiritual housecleaning.

The Path of Sorrow

Do away with penance, humility, obedience, and self-denial, and you abolish the crucifix.

But so long as we retain that symbol, constantly preaching to us the story of God’s sufferings; so long as we believe that He suffered not merely to make atonement for our sins, but to teach us to “fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ” in our flesh (Col. i. 24); so long must the spirit of self-denial remain in practice in the Church that He has founded.

The path of sorrow, and that path alone, leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.

Job’s Comforters

Many, like the comforters of Job, look upon all calamity and suffering as the direct result of sin and say: “Sin, and you suffer; sin not, and you suffer not.”

But Christ seems to point to a higher harmony and a more profound reason, and indeed to a solution of the problem which, though it may leave something to be desired by human reason, is all satisfactory to reason illumined by faith.

“Neither this man hath sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God may be made manifest in him.” Out of suffering comes all good, and in the providence of God it is the means of lifting man to the very pinnacle of greatness here below and to eternal beatitude hereafter.

Peace

When our divine Lord sent His disciples out to preach, one of His instructions was: “Into whatsoever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house.”

Peace is a good word. It is more than a salutation; falling from the Master’s lips, it is a divine benediction as well. Peace, too, is a fruit of grace, which includes all that is sweetest and divine in Christian culture.

Christ’s peace is a blessing which comes out of struggle and discipline. Well, therefore, does the salutation “Peace!” befit a Catholic home, which ought to be the abode of peace.

Heart and Face

A good heart makes a good face — perhaps not beautiful or classic, but refined, sincere, and noble. The face will shine with God behind it.

There are some faces even today that at times seem to have a glow upon them. There are faces that are quiet and uninteresting in repose that light up amazingly with the animation of talking.

There are some who can never get a good photograph, because the camera cannot catch the subtle sparkle of the eye in which the whole individuality lies.

There are some whom you would not at first call handsome, whose faces grow on you with constant acquaintance until they become beautiful to you.

For you see the soul shining through, you see the splendor of a noble character glorifying every feature.

True beauty in the soul will come out in the sweetness, the brightness, the quiet glory of the face.

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Let us make a home that is warm and welcoming, comfortable and freeing – a place where we can express the beauty of our Faith and nurture relationships with people we love. Let us build a home that reflects our personalities and renews our souls. Today, do something special to show your loved ones you care. Put a tablecloth on the table, light a candle, bake a cake, buy some flowers to grace your table….It doesn’t have to be huge…just something to lighten the burdens of the day and to bring a smile to those who cross your threshold. -Finer Femininity

Beautiful Vintaj Blessed Mother Brass Wire Rosary! Lovely, Durable… Each link is handmade and wrapped around itself to ensure quality. Available here.

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