Going home from church, the newlyweds are not going out of the spiritual atmosphere into a worldly one. They are not leaving the Sacrament behind in the house of God. Their union in marriage, their home and their hearts must remain filled with the grace and love of the Lord. A family is actually a little kingdom of God.
These thoughts have prompted Christians at all times to express their union with God, not only as individuals, but also as a family.
It was the ancient custom among Catholics that, at least once a day, father, mother and children would gather in the home for common prayer. This practice deeply impresses its lasting mark on the hearts of the children.
It is not only an addition of individual praying, but a special source of grace and blessings which far transcends the power of an individual’s prayer and unites us with the Lord more deeply and intimately, according to His own word, “Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
If this is true of any group, how much more does it apply to the prayerful union of parents and children! In fact, it is a common experience that even the small children who cannot yet talk, quickly adjust themselves to the spirit of devotion when the whole family prays. They seem to be inspired by the grace of Baptism, which gives them an instinctive grasp of the supernatural far beyond their natural capacities.
Held in the arms of the mother, such a little child will watch the praying family with large and solemn eyes, even try to fold his hands and assume an attitude of reverence, which is entirely different from his usual behavior.
When parents sometimes complain that their smaller children are not quiet or silent in church, perhaps the reason is in many cases that their children have never breathed the atmosphere of prayer at home.
There is a radiance of warmth and attractive dignity about a father and mother who not only give their children the example of individual prayer, but join with them in a common practice of devotion and family prayer.
In recent times this practice has died out in many homes.
Some people still keep a trace of it in the form of grace at meals; but even this custom is fast disappearing, especially among the younger ones. They are either ashamed or careless, or they persuade themselves there is not enough time to pray before meals. Thus many a “Catholic” home never unites the family in common prayer, to the great spiritual loss of each individual member.
Thank God, in recent years the practice of the family Rosary has spread far and wide. Besides obtaining graces and blessings, it has also resulted in a revival of family prayer. All those who have at heart the kingdom of God in the home can do no better apostolic work than spreading the family Rosary among their friends.
Even in our attendance at liturgical services, especially Holy Mass and Communion, the participation of the family as a whole should be the ideal. It is a pity that practical considerations make it seem necessary in many churches to separate the children from their parents on Sunday, that special children’s Masses should have to be held at which the parents are not allowed, and vice versa.
Our Lord loves every good family so much that one cannot help thinking how greatly He would enjoy seeing parents and children together at His Holy Sacrifice and receiving Him together, as a family.
Besides the act of prayer, there are many ancient customs of sanctifying the home through the use of the sacramentals of the Church: holy water, blessed candles, food blessed by the priest on certain feast days, blessed palms, Easter water, etc.
As we have the altars and shrines in our churches, so a Catholic family would do well to keep a simple but dignified shrine in the home. It would be a symbol to all members that their lives belong to God, that religion and prayer are not merely a Sunday affair, and that the home of Christians is a holy place. How cold are the houses and homes in which no trace of a religious object is found!
More and more Catholic homes in the United States are adopting the custom of Mary gardens. A fairly large statue of the Blessed Virgin is placed outside the house, surrounded by nature’s tribute of trees, shrubs and flowers.
This is not only an honor to Our Lady and a public profession of our faith, but also a powerful encouragement of our devotion to Mary and a source of pious inspiration for many who behold this beautiful sight.
In this troubled world we need the prayers of children. Their souls are innocent, their petitions special in the Eyes of God. Let us get our children on their knees, and with fervor and the remarkable confidence of a child, let us get them to pray for our families, our country, our world….. www.finerfem.com
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Lovely gifts! These graceful Vintaj necklaces can be worn every day as a reminder of your devotion. Get it blessed and you can use it also as a sacramental. Available here.
Originally written as a religious sister’s guide for daily adoration, 100 Holy Hours for Women contains a plethora of profound spiritual insight into the mystery of the Eucharist. 100 Holy Hours encourages Christian women, of every calling and stage of life, to enter into quiet, loving conversation with Jesus. This book enables all to comprehend the love of Christ, who gave us his Body and Blood that we might come closer to him. Only in the Eucharist can we find the perfect example of total humility, self-sacrificial love, and holy submission. Only through the Eucharist can we hope to attain happiness in this world and the next.
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I just turned 60. As most of you know, I have had eleven children and I have many grandchildren (40, including those yet to be born)!
I deserve a break, right?
I have things that happen in my household that can ruffle feathers…
Hubby has been home all winter due to a bad leg that we can’t seem to figure out. He is constantly coming up with “new ideas” that can cause some chagrin as he pursues his latest.
For instance, he has the beginnings of his mushrooms started….under the table in the corner in our living room!
He has rabbits in what was supposed to be his greenhouse off the side of the home that, when the wind is right, and the weather has warmed, sends an aroma through the house that is not pleasant….to say the least!
He butchers his meat and proceeds to clean them in the sink, leaving guts and giblets behind much to the horror of the girls at home!
His brother works here with him, and I am bombarded regularly each day with adult male interruptions that I am not used to!
And on the kids’ side…
I have had the ping pong table out in the kids playroom, which is a room that enjoins the rest of the house and that has to be trekked through to get to any other part of the home. The table takes up ALL the space in that room, but…you know…the ping-pong tournament is coming up and practicing must be done!
A couple of them have chronic health stuff that cause much frustration and can’t be figured out.
I still pick up after those who leave things around. And I cook dinner each night.
I do the laundry for all here at home, and although it has downsized, it is still no little feat. I will just get done my loads and look satisfyingly at the empty laundry area when my dear son decides to clean his room and dumps twice as much laundry as when I started…
On and on.
Do I wish for some peace and order?
Do I wish that when something is put away and cleaned up, that it stays that way? Do I not deserve that?
Well…yes to the first question.
I will find myself muttering under my breath about something that is irking me at the moment. “If only….”
I DO stop myself short, though. I try hard not to give in to those thoughts.
Do I really want a life free of untidiness, lack of order, noise, and everything that comes along with running a household? In other words…do I want a life free of….people??!!
NO THANKS!
Kids leaving messes, dirty clothes, leaving stuff on the stairs and never remembering to bring them up until someone almost kills themselves IS annoying.
Bickering, regularly wanting some kind of “party” (they remind me it is not a party…just a few friends over), interruptions, wanting to travel in nasty weather (I have 3 relatively new drivers in the family…and may I also mention…fearless!), etc.
Do I wish for peace?? Yes, but…
NO THANKS!
No….I don’t want peace at the price of giving up an active, noisy, “happening” household, full of imperfect people making their way through life, rubbing shoulders with one another.
These are the things that life is made up of. And they are all good.
Life is a journey and it is meant to travel together.
A lot of the people of the world strive to stay in their comfort zone…to do whatever they want and as little of what they don’t want. They tend to isolate, to immerse themselves in technology or anything else that tickles their fancy.
Do I want a life like that?
NO THANKS!
We who have the faith and who realize this is not our final “landing place”, know that this kind of self-isolating life does not lead to happiness.
We have all felt the satisfaction of something hard that we have accomplished, of enduring something painful, of getting out of our comfort zone, of…well…embracing our crosses. It is a blessing.
And the crosses don’t have to be huge to be valuable. Learning to embrace daily annoyances is a powerful way of doing God’s will…and therefore of achieving happiness.
And it is also a powerful prayer for those who need our help….the suffering of others can be alleviated by our own sacrifices. How wonderful is that?
Martyrdom by the little fires of hidden fidelities constantly adhered to, of tormenting temptations courageously and perseveringly repulsed, of the exact and loving fulfillment of duties toward God and neighbor, of prayer faithfully practiced despite disgust, aridity and the pressure of work–is it not a martyrdom? Who can estimate the value of its countless offerings which are not publicized but which cost . . . and which count!” -Christ in the Home, Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J.
And on the flip side of this…
All of the things I just mentioned above come with another side to it.
My hubby, with his butchering abilities is providing us with food. The mushrooms will be tasty and makes a good hobby for my husband while he is down and out.
He cares deeply for his family and nothing seems to daunt him. If his next new venture is hard to swallow, well….
Would I rather not have a husband??
NO THANKS!
His brother has helped us very much as my husband is somewhat handicapped at this time. I think we provide some comfort to him also. He has been a God-send.
My kids are amazing. For the bit of inconvenience they cause me with their messes, their problems, their bickering (which has gotten so much better!)…
They return to me many times over!
They see the needs around here…monetarily and otherwise. And if they are in a position to help, they will.
And even if they lacked in this area…it’s OK.
God has called us to raise families and to accept…nay, embrace….what goes along with that.
We must learn not to complain. Sure, if things need to be confronted, then do that.
But there will be so many things that are just plain annoyances and we need to accept that. And be good-natured about it. God loves a cheerful giver!
So next time we wish for a quieter, more orderly, less worrisome life, may our response be…
NO THANKS!
Every day you need to lift your husband up in prayer. Ask St. Joseph to help him to be a good husband and father. He needs you, who are his closest companion, to lift him up each day to our Heavenly Father. Ask Our Lord to protect him and to protect your marriage. What a wonderful gift a praying wife is! -Finer Femininity
Thank you, Juhmorri!
“A lovely way to incorporate prayer into your everyday life. I appreciate that this helps me journal my days as well as keep track of my prayers, show my gratitude, and express my love for God more and more. A great concept that is executed with grace and beauty.”
Thank you, Mom of Boy!
“I have been wanting this journal and now that I have some time off it is great to be able to write! It is so beautiful and Traditionally Catholic. Thank you!”
Our attitude changes our life…it’s that simple. Our good attitude greatly affects those that we love, making our homes a more cheerier and peaceful dwelling! To have this control…to be able to turn around our attitude is a tremendous thing to think about!
This Gratitude Journal is here to help you focus on the good, the beautiful, the praiseworthy. “For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8 – Douay Rheims).
Yes, we need to be thinking of these things throughout the day!
You will be disciplined, the next 30 days, to write positive, thankful thoughts down in this journal. You will be thinking about good memories, special moments, things and people you are grateful for, lovely and thought-provoking Catholic quotes, thoughts before bedtime, etc. Saying it, reading it, writing it, all helps to ingrain thankfulness into our hearts…and Our Lord so loves gratefulness! It makes us happier, too!
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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To LOVE and do good to one another, that is, after all, a very great part of what we are to accomplish here in this world. And to do us justice, we are usually willing enough to help and benefit our neighbor, if only we see a practicable and present way.
Half of those who do next to nothing for other folk, act so because they think of nothing to do. But tell us what is to be done and how to go about it, and you shall see some hearty workers indeed.
Now there is a great deal of very useful talk nowadays about various apostleships, and the word “Apostleship” in this connection, usually means nothing else than a way of doing to our neighbor some spiritual good.
Some of these are for the rich, like the Apostleship of Endowment; some for the learned or the talented, like the Apostleship of the Written Word; others(and those the most interesting), are for any one and every one among us, like the Apostleship of Prayer, or the Apostleship of Speech.
We have said something already, very briefly, about the second of these apostleships, that of frank, kindly and familiar speech upon Catholic subjects and Catholic views and beliefs, with those who come within our everyday circle of influence and appeal.
We are all of us constantly talking to one another, discussing, inquiring, replying, exchanging opinions and ideas. And so, we said, any one of us needs only to throw into his daily talk some genial, honest, interesting words of Catholic truth, to become at once a real apostle, that is to say, a messenger, a herald of Catholic Ethics and Faith.
Now let us descend a little into some of the special forms which this Apostleship of Speech may assume and some of the special opportunities it may offer us, and it would be well to begin, where charity does in the proverb, right at home.
Fathers and mothers, big brothers and big sisters, I wonder how many of us realize the power we are constantly using for good or ill, the influence of our daily speech at home.
We boast sometimes that “home” is one of the most tender and meaningful words in our English tongue. We declare that many other languages have no real equivalent to convey all the wealth and warmth of loving thought and memory, of kindly, generous feeling which stirs in us at this holy syllable “home”.
To have a happy home is, we rightly think, an unspeakable blessing. To lack a home, for man or woman or child, is a capital and dire misfortune. “A man’s home”, according to the old English saying which we have made our own, “is his castle”, his secure retreat, a kingdom of comfort and of cheer, a little stronghold of affection and interest and kindly sympathy against the rude buffets of this selfish and unfeeling world.
We know, too, when we reflect on the matter, that home is a little commonwealth, where each one has his part to play for the well-being of the whole.
Mother and father have, to be sure, a paramount influence; but everyone down to the youngest child has his share in making or unmaking the peacefulness and holiness of home.
In what way is this influence most often and most effectively exerted? To be sure, by our daily and common speech!
What is hastily said at breakfast, or slips from us as we pass about the house, or is discussed at the family dinner, or chatted about around the evening lamp, or mooted in the parlor — this most perhaps of all, makes or mars the peace and happiness and holiness of our home.
For in these chance remarks, these off-hand conversations and familiar, cozy talks, we throw off countless little hints and coruscation, so to speak, of our most inward and intimate selves. We reveal our sudden thoughts and impulses, we show our desires, our principles, our aims, all, whether it be good or ill, that we have been cherishing and fostering and brooding over for years and years.
These things leap out, sometimes in a tiny sentence, sometimes in a single word like little sparks of goodness or of wickedness, and kindle fires of good or evil in our hearers’ inmost heart. The doors and windows of their hearts are all thrown open in the summer air of trustfulness and love, and our flying words blow in easily for weal or woe.
And this goes on, not for an hour or a day, but for all the long months and years of the familiar intercourse of home. No wonder then that we influence one another by our daily speech of words and actions; for actions, too, are a sort of speech and often carry our meaning very much better and more easily than words.
Parents sometimes feel deeply distressed when they see, growing in their tender children, the lineaments of their own shortcomings and sins. They will put on a very serious expression and take Mary or Tom aside to warn him earnestly against letting that evil habit gain upon him.
Do they hope that one official warning so ceremoniously given will stand for a moment against the long, quiet talk and action of so many years?
“Don’t, for Heaven’s sake,” they will say, “get into that ugly way of criticizing people!”
But has not the lad heard you for years dwelling on the faults of your friends? Can one brief gust of studied sermonizing avail to sweep away that heavy and brooding cloud of innumerable and daily acts and words?
It is worthwhile, then, very, very much worthwhile, to give some care and thought to how we may carry on this Apostleship of the Home.
And this should weigh on us all the more because of the circumstance that we will all be either apostles or perverters there. Abroad, one can fight shy of company and keep pretty much to himself, not doing any one so very much good or harm.
But it is not so at home. Here we must all be constantly taking sides and influencing our little sphere for good or ill. Talk we must, act we must in the presence of every one, and not to talk and act properly and holily and well, is to be talking and acting badly, doing our share to mar the sanctities of our home.
“A woman’s role is supportive, and she is to be her husband’s helper, confidant, counselor if need be, friend and one of his greatest allies. You should be more than willing to make your man feel important, appreciated and admired.” -Helen Andelin
Wire wrapping is one of the oldest techniques for making jewelry or rosaries by hand.
Frequently, in this approach, a wire is bent into a loop or other decorative shape and then the wire is wrapped around itself to finish the wire component making that loop or decorative shape permanent.
Because of this technique for wrapping wire around itself this craft is called wire wrapping.
Not only is it quite beautiful but it makes the rosaries sturdy and durable.
Fr. Garesché shows you how to become an apostle for Christ in myriad ways, not only at home among your family and friends, but even at work. Youll learn how to talk about religion with your friends as naturally as you discuss sports or current events. He even gives you tips on how you can bear witness to your faith in Jesus Christ not just in what you say, but in what you do.
Lent is fast approaching! Easily the most popular and best-loved Way of the Cross ever. Traditional, edifying pictures. The Stabat Mater in Latin and in English.
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The world today is full of reformers. Society, we are told, is sick with many ills, and a radical remedy is imperative if the utter breakdown of Christian civilization is to be averted. Yet, while the urgent need of reform is quite generally conceded, there is a wide divergence of opinions as to the proper means of bringing it about.
As Catholics, possessed of the divinely revealed truths that should regulate all human action, we know that many of the remedies proposed for the cure of social ills are inadequate, because they do not reach the root of the evil; and that many a well-meant reform movement is foredoomed to failure, because it is not based on the only true and solid foundation of all social reform; namely, the principle that there can be no real, permanent social justice and morality without private justice and morality; and that there can be no enduring private justice or morality without religion.
A Truism
So much is agreed upon among Catholics: religion and morality must form the basis of all true reform; and it is a truism to say that if all the individuals that make up society were morally good and religious, the ills that afflict society would disappear.
It is furthermore agreed among Catholics that the Catholic Church offers the individual all that is necessary for leading a good life. Why then do so many of her children fail? They have the true Faith; they have the Commandments, which tell them what they must do and what they must avoid; and they have the means of grace, prayer and the Sacraments, to help them to avoid sin and practice virtue. Why, then, are they not all morally good and religious?
The Sin of Adam
The fundamental reason is simply that they do not choose to be so. Sin is apparently so pleasant, at least for the moment, and the constant practice of virtue is so hard, that men often choose the former in preference to the latter. Even in Paradise, where all circumstances were so favorable, Adam and Eve abused their free will by disobeying God.
But in consequence of that first sin of Adam, there exists in all his descendants a strong inclination to evil, which makes the practice of virtue still more difficult. And added to all this is the example of the wicked world in which we live.
The Enemy Without
It is this latter, the bad example of the world around us, which forms the great obstacle to social reform even among Catholics. If man were merely an individual living by himself, he would have only the enemy within to fight against; but being a social being, destined by God to live in society with others, he has also an enemy outside himself-the evil example of many of those with whom he lives.
How to overcome this evil example is the great problem of social reform. It is easy enough to say that the bad example must be offset by good example; but how and where is the good example to be had?
Catholic Societies
Many there are who say that since it is mainly social attractions that lead Catholics into dangerous company and dangerous places of amusement, we must have our own societies, our own social agencies, club rooms and recreation centers, so that our people can satisfy their craving for company and amusement in a harmless manner.
While admitting that our people should be provided with ample opportunity for healthful and innocent recreation; while admitting, too, the importance and desirability of Catholic societies, both secular and religious, and attesting that, when properly conducted under proper auspices, such societies can do an immense amount of good, I am nevertheless of the opinion that it is not by means of these societies that social evils will be greatly reduced.
Let us have these societies by all means; but when we have established them and made them flourish, let us not imagine that our task is done. In all such societies something is wanting,’namely, the intimate daily association of the members in all the important affairs of life.
The Best Catholic Society
Happily, however, there is a society that has this all-important requisite; a natural society in which the great majority of men spend their lives; a society that is capable of exerting a lifelong influence on its members. That society, dear reader, is the family.
In the family we have all the essential things that man requires as a social being for his physical, moral and intellectual well-being and advancement. And since the family rather than the individual, is the unit of society, to reform society one must begin with the family.
Restore religion to its rightful place in the home; let religion direct, control and permeate the family life, and not only will the individual have the safeguard he needs against the evils of society, but society itself will be transformed. This, then, religion in the home, is to my mind, the best of all remedies for the reform of society; and the purpose of this little book is to explain the remedy and to induce all Christian families that can be reached to adopt it.
“For the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we implore pastors of souls, by every means in their power, by instructions and catechisms, by word of mouth and by written articles widely distributed, to warn Christian parents of their grave obligations.
And this should be done not in a merely theoretical and general way, but with practical and special application to the various responsibilities of parents touching the religious, moral, and civil training of their children, and with indication of the methods best adapted to make their training effective, supposing always the influence of their own exemplary lives.” -Pius XI, Christian Education of Youth
What is our conversation like each day, especially with the members of our family? Do we continually talk about depressing news, do we regularly voice our negative opinions about the people and situations around us? Do we talk about our own sufferings and our needs in a complaining manner? How about a different approach? Let’s talk about the positive instead. If we are talking of people, let’s make the effort to only bring up the good. Want to talk about heroes? Our grandparents, parents, ordinary folk and how they have overcome obstacles would be a good testimony to your kids. We all have stories to tell….make sure they are bringing out the best in those who are listening! – Finer Femininity
Beautiful Blessed Mother and Child Wire Wrapped Rosary! Lovely, Durable.. Each link is handmade and wrapped around itself to ensure quality. Available here.
Click on the photo for details on these great reading suggestions!
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I remember my dear aunt (God rest her soul) say to my mom, “It’s very hard, Beulah, to be a good Catholic.”
I’ve given that a few thoughts through the years and my own thoughts are, “It’s very hard NOT being a good Catholic!”
All mothers struggle. But I can’t imagine being a mom without the Faith.
There are many of these moms who are juggling careers and motherhood and spinning their wheels.
They feel they are wasting their degrees if they are staying home and just changing diapers, and at the same time they feel inadequate as a mom, not knowing where to turn.
It’s a confusing and empty life without our Faith to guide us.
We, as Catholic mothers, struggle. But we have all the helps, all the guidelines, the Sacramental grace at our fingertips. We must count ourselves very fortunate.
That being said, it is a good thing to listen to the commonsense advice of veteran moms.
Charlotte Siems is a mother of twelve and has learned some lessons along the way! Thank you to her for this lovely post that should give you some inspiration in your own journey!
Before having children, many women worry about what kind of mother they will be. Nothing unusual about that, but a difficult childhood instilled in me a fear that I wouldn’t know how to have a normal family home life. I worried about how I would handle discipline or how I would treat possible future children. On the other hand, that same childhood experience made me determined to create a marriage and home that was stable, warm and peaceful.
Early in my mothering career I attended a parenting conference and heard Dr. Herbert Ratner make the following statement: “The 20 years between 20 and 40 (years of age) are just as long as the 20 years between 40 and 60. What you do in the first 20 years determines how happy you will be in the second 20 years.” That idea stuck with me. I determined to live life with the end in mind.
Not knowing how to have a happy home, I set out to learn how. Here are a few things I figured out:
Books don’t magically solve problems. Sometimes we deceive ourselves into thinking we’re doing something because we read about it and agree with it. Close the book and do what it says.
Surround yourself with what is true and lovely. Protect yourself from ugly input. Don’t live in a bleak, cluttered environment. Bring beauty, warmth, and neatness to all of your life. Be very careful what you allow to enter your mind and eyes. Constant exposure to beautiful ideas and noble goals will transform your thought life.
We all know that thoughts determine actions, don’t we?
Do the things you don’t want to do. Do them cheerfully and well. Edith Schaeffer wrote, “Somebody has to get up early, stay up late, do more than the others, if the human garden is to be a thing of beauty.” At first glance it doesn’t seem fair, but there are hidden and precious rewards for dying to self and serving. Stomping and self-pity cancel the reward points.
Choose your hard things. Do your laundry and put it away. That’s hard. Get ready to go somewhere and realize no one has clean clothes to wear. That’s hard. You pick.
Take the time. Yes, I know you’re busy. Throw a meal on the table and get on to the next thing. No time for a tablecloth and candles and flowers. You’ll do that when you have time. But before you know it, the weeks, the months and the years pass, and the children leave home and you never had time.
Lest you think I’ve sailed through life with clean laundry and beautiful meal tables, I assure you these lessons were hard earned. Many times I felt inadequate to the task. It was like trying to pour water from a dry bucket. Giving your children what you didn’t have as a child is not easy. Creating a happy home life from scratch will take everything you’ve got and even that won’t be enough…
That’s why I’m so glad for the strength Jesus gives me. His favor and loving-kindness supply what I don’t have. He will gladly do that for you, too, for He knows all about love and building beautiful homes…
It turns out that giving your family what you didn’t receive, gives it back to you.
This is the time of year that you should be able to get some Epiphany Water in your home! It is very powerful (and who doesn’t need some good power going on in their homes)! The blessing of Epiphany water has special exorcism prayers that no other holy water has. Use it often….teach your children the value of it and get them used to blessing themselves with it.
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A lovely gift! Beautiful aprons made by Gin! Fully lined, hand-embroidered, quality material, made with care and detail! Available here.
Make a statement with these lovely and graceful handcrafted aprons! Aprons tell a beautiful story…..a story of love and sacrifice….of baking bread and mopping floors, of planting seeds and household chores. Sadly, many women have tossed the aprons aside and donned their business attire. Wear your apron with joy….it is a symbol of Femininity….”Finer” Femininity!
This is a good article. It is a balm to the souls of mothers and fathers who have many children, whose lives are in survival mode…training, teaching, feeding, clothing many little people.
It is NOT to say that those with a small family are not blessed…because they are. They have their own crosses…and their own advantages.
And God is pleased with each of us, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, when we continue to seek His will in our lives, remembering…
“To the servant of God…every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.” ~Catherine of Siena
Before marrying, many young couples decide how many children they will have–a decision which often reveals that they are more concerned with how few children they will have rather than how many.
Thus they begin their marriage with intentions of limiting the number of offspring. In this respect they reflect the birth-control frame of mind so prevalent today–a frame of mind which regards children as a liability rather than a blessing.
Although the first purpose of marriage is the procreation of children, Catholic couples will not necessarily have offspring. There may be many reasons why they cannot have babies or why they are limited to one or two.
Some wives have difficulty in carrying a fetus to full term and have many miscarriages. Sometimes the husband or wife may be sterile. There may be mental, eugenic, economic or social reasons which make it justifiable to practice the rhythm method. The fact that a Catholic couple has no children, therefore, is no reason for concluding that they are guilty of any moral lapse.
In most marriages, however, there probably are no physical hindrances to births or justifiable reasons to limit them beyond those limitations which nature herself and unchangeable circumstance impose. Hence the typical Catholic family will have many more children than are found in the average family of other beliefs.
The large family provides many distinct advantages for both parents and children. For instance, it brings the mother and father closer together, giving them a joint source of love, and they achieve a closer sense of unity in planning for their children’s welfare. Their love for each child extends their love for each other, and in each child they can see qualities which they love in their mates.
Children help parents to develop the virtues of self-sacrifice and consideration for others. The childless husband and wife must consciously cultivate these qualities.
In contrast, a father and mother who might have innate tendencies toward selfishness learn that they must subjugate their own interests for the good of their children, and they develop a spirit of self-denial and a higher degree of sanctity than might normally be possible.
The fact that children help to increase harmony in marriage has been proved in many ways. Other researchers have established that the percentage of divorces and broken homes decreases as the number of children in the family increases.
Large families also teach children to live harmoniously with others. They must adjust to the wishes of those older and younger than themselves, and of their own and the other sex.
In learning to work, play and, above all, share with others, the child in a large family discovers that he must often sacrifice his own interests and desires for the common good. For this reason, the “spoiled child” who always insists on having his own way is rare in the large family, if he can be found there at all. For the child who will not cooperate with others has a lesson forcibly taught to him when others refuse to co-operate with him.
In the typical large family, one often sees a sense of protectiveness in one child for another that is the embodiment of the Christian spirit.
Children learn to help each other–to hold each other’s hands when crossing the street, to sympathize with each other in times of sadness or hurt, and to give each other the acceptance which we all need to develop as mature human beings.
This willingness to help one another is often strikingly evident in schoolwork: the oldest child instructs his younger brother in algebra, while the latter helps a still younger one in history.
Another advantage of large families is that they teach each child to accept responsibility for his own actions. The mother of a large family usually lacks the time and energy to concern herself with every little problem of her children.
She must observe sensible precautions with her children, of course, but she is not guilty of supervising her child’s life to such an extent that he has no chance to develop his own resources.
Precisely because she cannot devote her full time to him, he must make decisions for himself. Moreover, he acquires a better understanding of the rules by which the family is run. He sees his brothers and sisters punished for various breaches of conduct and learns what he himself may and may not do.
And as he watches the progress of older children, he learns what privileges he may expect as he too advances in age. This knowledge gives him a greater sense of security.
Another reward for members of the large family, to which those who are now adults can testify, is that it gives the children close relatives upon whom they can depend all their lives. Occasionally, of course, brothers and sisters cannot agree as adults and break off relations completely.
More often, however, they retain a close bond of kinship with each other and the reunions and family get-togethers on occasions like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter form one of the great joys of their lives.
In most cases, the child brought up in a large family never feels utterly alone, regardless of adversities which may strike in adulthood.
If he is troubled or bereaved, in desperate need of financial help or sympathetic advice, he usually can depend upon brothers and sisters to help. Forlorn indeed is the man or woman who, in time of stress, has no close and loving relatives to tell his problems to.
A final, but by no means least important, advantage is that they virtually insure the parents against loneliness, which has often been called the curse of the aged.
How often do the father and mother of a large family remain young at heart because of the love they give to, and draw from, their grandchildren?
In fact, many say that old age is their happiest time of life because they can enjoy to the fullest the love of the children and grandchildren without the accompanying responsibility.
One should not overlook the fact that there are some disadvantages to both parent and child in the large family. However, an objective review of these disadvantages would surely establish that they are outweighed by the advantages.
For example, the large family may require the parents to make great financial sacrifices. They may be unable to afford as comfortable a home, own as new an automobile, or dress as well as can the husband and wife with a small family.
But they have sources of lasting joy in the love, warmth and affection of their children–a joy that money cannot buy. The children of a large family may also be required to make sacrifices.
Their parents may be unable to pay their way in college. But this need not mean that they will be denied educational opportunities.
Thanks to scholarships, loan programs, and opportunities for student employment, the bright boy and girl who truly desires a college education can find the financial resources to obtain one.
And having to earn at least a part of their own way will make them better students. Researchers have established that students who drop out of college most frequently have had all their expenses paid for them and have never learned the true value of an education.
“If your large family brings ridicule from neighbors and even strangers, remember that you have a lasting treasure worth suffering for, and that the Lord called blessed those who suffer persecution for justice’s sake.” – Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook
“It often struck me that if cleanliness is next to godliness, cheerfulness is a near relation. The cheerful are truly benefactors of the world in which we move…” – Fr. John Carr, C.SS.R.
Blessed Mother Graceful Religious Pendant and Earring Sets…Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted.
Women historically have been denigrated as lower than men or viewed as privileged. Dr. Alice von Hildebrand characterizes the difference between such views as based on whether man’s vision is secularistic or steeped in the supernatural. She shows that feminism’s attempts to gain equality with men by imitation of men is unnatural, foolish, destructive, and self-defeating. The Blessed Mother’s role in the Incarnation points to the true privilege of being a woman. Both virginity and maternity meet in Mary who exhibits the feminine gifts of purity, receptivity to God’s word, and life-giving nurturance at their highest.
You’ll learn how to grow in wisdom and in love as you encounter the unglamorous, everyday problems that threaten all marriages. As the author says: If someone were to give me many short bits of wool, most likely I would throw them away. A carpet weaver thinks differently. He knows the marvels we can achieve by using small things artfully and lovingly. Like the carpet weaver, the good wife must be an artist of love. She must remember her mission and never waste the little deeds that fill her day the precious bits of wool she s been given to weave the majestic tapestry of married love.
This remarkable book will show you how to start weaving love into the tapestry of your marriage today, as it leads you more deeply into the joys of love.
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Our neighbors in Austria were a young couple, Baron and Baroness K. They were getting increasingly curious about Russia and what life there was really like. One day they decided to take a six-week trip all over Russia in their car. This was in the time when it was still possible to get a visa.
Of course, at the border they were received by a special guide who watched their every step and did not leave them for a moment until he deposited them safely again at the border, but they still managed to get a good first-hand impression.
Upon their return they wrote a book about their experiences, and when it was finished, they invited their neighbors and friends to their home in order to read some of their work to them.
I shall always recall how slowly and solemnly Baron K. read us the title “The Land Without a Sunday.”
Of all the things they had seen and observed, one experience had most deeply impressed them: that Russia had done away with Sunday. This had shocked them even more than what they saw of Siberian concentration camps or of the misery and hardship in cities and country. The absence of Sunday seemed to be the root of all the evil.
“Instead of a Sunday,” Baron K. told us, “the Russians have a day off.
This happens at certain intervals which vary in different parts of the country. First they had a five-day week, with the sixth day off, then they had a nine-day work period, with the tenth day off; then again it was an eight-day week. What a difference between a day off and a Sunday!
The people work in shifts. While one group enjoys its day off, the others continue to work in the factories or on the farms or in the stores, which are always open.
As a result the over-all impression throughout the country was that of incessant work, work, work. The atmosphere was one of constant rush and drive; finally, we confessed to each other that what we were missing most was not a well-cooked meal, or a hot bath, but a quiet, peaceful Sunday with church bells ringing and people resting after prayer.”
Here I must first tell what a typical Sunday in Austria was like in the old days up to the year before the Second World War. As I have spent most of my life in rural areas, it is Sunday in the country that I shall describe.
First of all, it begins on Saturday afternoon. In some parts of the country the church bell rings at three o’clock, in others at five o’clock, and the people call it “ringing in the Feierabend.”
Just as some of the big feasts begin the night before–on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, Easter Eve–so every Sunday throughout the year also starts on its eve. That gives Saturday night its hallowed character.
When the church bell rings, the people cease working in the fields. They return with the horses and farm machinery, everything is stored away into the barns and sheds, and the barnyard is swept by the youngest farm-hand.
Then everyone takes “the” bath and the men shave. There is much activity in the kitchen as the mother prepares part of the Sunday dinner, perhaps a special dessert; the children get a good scrub; everyone gets ready his or her Sunday clothes, and it is usually the custom to put one’s room in order–all drawers, cupboards and closets.
Throughout the week the meals are usually short and hurried on a farm, but Saturday night everyone takes his time. Leisurely they come strolling to the table, standing around talking and gossiping. After the evening meal the rosary is said.
In front of the statue or picture of the Blessed Mother burns a vigil light. After the rosary the father will take a big book containing all the Epistles and Gospels of the Sundays and feast days of the year, and he will read the pertinent ones now to his family.
The village people usually go to Confession Saturday night, while the folks from the farms at a distance go on Sunday morning before Mass. Saturday night is a quiet night. There are no parties. People stay at home, getting attuned to Sunday. They go to bed rather early.
On Sunday everyone puts on his finery. The Sunday dress is exactly what its name implies–clothing reserved to be worn only on Sunday. We may have one or the other “better dress” besides. We may have evening gowns, party dresses–but this one is our Sunday best, set aside for the day of the Lord.
When we put it on, we invariably feel some of the Sunday spirit come over us. In those days everybody used to walk to church even though it might amount to a one or two hours’ hike down and up a mountain in rain or shine. Families usually went to the High Mass; only those who took care of the little children and the cooking had to go to the early Mass.
I feel sorry for everyone who has never experienced such a long, peaceful walk home from Sunday Mass, in the same way as I feel sorry for everyone who has never experienced the moments of twilight right after sunset before one would light the kerosene lamps. I know that automobiles and electric bulbs are more efficient, but still they are not complete substitutes for those other, more leisurely ways of living.
Throughout the country, all the smaller towns and villages have their cemeteries around the church; on Sunday, when the High Mass was over, the people would go and look for the graves of their dear ones, say a prayer, sprinkle holy water–a friendly Sunday visit with the family beyond the grave.
In most homes the Sunday dinner was at noon. The afternoon was often spent in visiting from house to house, especially visiting the sick.
The young people would meet on the village green on Sunday afternoons for hours of folk dancing; the children would play games; the grownups would very often sit together and make music. Sunday afternoon was a time for rejoicing, for being happy, each in his own way.
Until that night at Baron K.’s house we had done pretty much the same as everybody else. Saturday we had always kept as “Feierabend” for Sunday.
There was cleaning on Saturday morning throughout the house, there was cleaning in all the children’s quarters–desks and drawers and toys were put in order. There was the laying out of the Sunday clothes. There was the Saturday rosary, and then–early to bed.
On Sunday we often walked to the village church for High Mass, especially after we had started to sing. Later we used to go into the mountains with the children, taking along even the quite little ones, or we used to play an Austrian equivalent of baseball or volleyball, or we sat together and sang some of the songs we had collected ourselves on our hikes through the mountains.
We also did a good deal of folk dancing, we had company come or we went visiting ourselves–just as everybody else used to do.
And if anybody had asked us why we began our Sunday on Saturday in the late afternoon, why we celebrated our Sunday this way, we would have raised our eyebrows slightly and said, “Well, because that’s the way it’s always been done.”
But when my husband and I were walking home that night from Baron K.’s house, we realized that our complacency–so prevalent among people in pre-war days–had received a rude shock.
It dawned on us that we had taken something for granted that was, in reality, a privilege: namely, that we lived in a country where Sunday was not so much observed as it was celebrated as the day of the Lord.
This was a new way of looking at things, and the light was still rather dim, but I can see now in retrospect that a new chapter in our life as a Christian family began that very night.
Treat your boys as young men. You want them to grow up to be hardworking and confident. Is it not true, that the more productive we are, the better we feel? Then structure your children’s day to be active and busy—they will thrive under these conditions. -Finer Femininity
My daughter, Gin, gives a little tour of her son’s shop that he built.
Gin‘s beginnings of making a vintage dress out of a curtain. (Part one)
Gin gives us a brief peek into her crafty business of making a vintage dress out of a curtain. (Part Two)
Just a little tour of Gin‘s world on a Monday morning in spring time 2021.
A tour of our spring flowers at the beginning of their growth, the beautiful rock garden handiwork and our two grottoes. 🌺💐🌸🌷 “Where flowers, these emblems of purity are found, you may rest assured that they represent a hope, and speak of a goodness of heart not to be found where they are absent.” -Fr. Lasance “I have always noticed that wherever you find flowers, no matter whether in a garret or in a palace, it is a pretty sure sign that there is an inner refinement of which the world is not cognizant. I have seen flowers cultivated and cherished by some of the lowest and poorest of people. Where these emblems of purity are found, you may rest assured that they represent a hope, and speak of a goodness of heart not to be found where they are absent.” -Fr. Lasance, My Prayer Book
Welcome to my June Gallery of…Home
What do you think makes a beautiful and happy home? How important is this?
Having a happy home is crucial to the spreading of our Faith. To whom do we want to spread our faith? First of all, to our children. They need to see the deep and lasting beauty of our faith shining forth in our everyday lives, making our home beautiful and happy.
Our faith is oftentimes an unspoken reality, the undercurrent in the everyday bubbling brook, that flows into every facet of our lives.
This happiness does not have to be unrealistic. Life is what it is and there are many days where the smiles don’t come as easy and nerves are rawer because of whatever is upsetting the apple cart at the time. These are opportunities too.
A good priest said that if our kids see ONLY that life is perfect at home, if they grow up wearing rose-colored glasses all the time, they are going to get quite a jolt when they enter into their own vocation and it is less than perfect…and it will be. So it is good that the kids see reality, too.
That being said, we need to create a home that is joyful and lovely, in amongst the “real”-ness.
Let us live more for our homes. Let us love one another more. Let us cease to complain, criticize, and contradict each other. Let us be more patient with each other’s faults. Let us not keep back the warm, loving words that lie in our hearts, until it is too late for them to give comfort. Soon separations will come. One of every wedded pair will stand by the other’s coffin and grave. Then every bitter word spoken, and every neglect of love’s duty, will be as a thorn in the heart. -J.R. Miller, early 1900’s
Click on the first picture to view the gallery…. (Thank you to Henry Toenjes for permission to use some of his Pilgrimage photos.)
I went to our favorite Thrift Store/Coffee Shop one morning and sent this photo to the girls to make them jealous…haha
Gin found some nice cups there.
And lots of material for many projects!
She also got her kids an old sewing machine. This machine is all steel and will be able to take some abuse.
So Tony is threading it and getting ready to sew!
As Gin leaves the store, the kids are excited about their new wheels!
Gin made this jumper out of a curtain from God’s Storehouse. She embroidered the little flowers on the corner.
New little nephew, Sean, is getting some aunty attention during potluck night.
We make this homemade ice cream very often!
The girls and Angelo are off to a Pilgrimage in Missouri.
At one point, Gemma leads the way!
Silly girls!
A grotto along the way…
The pilgrims. Angelo is holding the banner this time.
Father leads prayer.
And says his Divine Office.
Time for lunch.
And a little breather.
Night time.
I don’t know what Father is saying here…but he is an EXCELLENT story teller!
At the steps of their destination.
The Church – The pilgrims are tired and sore, but happy.
Holy Mass
Emma (Gin’s first girl after 5 boys) at her home
Gemma and Juliette.
Annie and Peter
Theresa took the boys for an outing. Adrian, Isaac, Brendan, Jacob.
Gemma’s fooling around again.
Our yard at sunset.
Our grotto has been such a source of peace and beauty.
At night.
Gemma is fiddling with my settings on my phone. This is sedum that peeks out of the rocks here and there in the yard,
Our cottonwood tree “snowed” in June!
Our wisteria in the forefront, Vincent and I in the background.
A little fawn we found.
Margy is enamored. We found its sibling and put it back hoping the mother would come back for them.
Getting ready to go to the ordinations.
They’re off!
Mike and Jeanette are heading to the ordinations, too! Angelo is traveling with them and we will meet up there.
A picture of the ordinations from where I was sitting.
The after party.
The ordination reception hall
The newly ordained Father Audino!
Talking to newly ordained Father Dalimata
Rosie, Rev. Mr. Elijah, Brother Maria and Father Adams.
We will be going to Rev. Mr. Elijah’s ordination in October.
Meeting other seminarians….
Toby and Rosie.
Mike and Jeanette chat with Brother Maria.
First Blessings.
Chatting with Father Loftus.
Mike and Jeanette pose with their two Godchildren.
I pose with one of ours…Philomena.
Ben and Annie….getting ready for a party?
Uncle Vin with new nephew, Sean!
Our flowers.
One of the kids took this panorama.
And this one.
Uncle Johnny, my husband’s brother is working for us right now. I went to get him for a phone call and found him buried in a mulberry tree, his face and fingers dripping with evidence!
Jeanette’s strawberries.
3 baskets for 3 little pickers!
Agnes and Magdalene.
Jeanette’s flowers….
Clematis
Viburnum bush
Gin’s Violas
Gin’s Petunias
Rosie is tired…
Gin bought another curtain and is working on a dress…
Picking sour cherries at Theresa’s.
Grandpa devoured them!
Uncle Johnny… haha
Brendan picked a centerpiece for their table!
I’m working on my cabochons…
Lots of lovelies!
At Vin and Gin’s for Sunday brunch!
Theresa and Gin. Gin broke the news that morning that they are expecting number 10!!
Margy and Z.
One of Gin’s kids made this dish!
Gin and her girls.
Agnes and Magdalene are busy baking!
Mike and Jeanette’s little people
Toby likes the fresh asparagus!
Hannah and sweet baby Sean!
New kittens at Gin’s!
Edward (Gin’s oldest) is working on something…
Wonder what it could be?
Annie wonders too…
Peter is trying it out!
Oh lovely!
A little bridge for Gin!
She is busy putting a landscaped edge along her fence!
Flowers from the garden to the table!
Hollyhocks are blooming this year.
We planted them up by our shed hoping they would do something.
I gave Adrian some “slime” for his birthday. He finds it quite intriguing.
Picnic lunch at Theresa’s with Z’s family!
Mike and Toby went fishing!
Vin and his boys…
Angelo is fishing
Barbeque at Colin and Z’s!
Wowsers! Yum!
Our golf cart comes in real handy! Angelo got it free off of FB Marketplace and fixed it for us.
One side of the garden…Inca marigolds, zucchini and tomatoes, and zinnias
The other side of the garden….beets, chard, cucumbers.
Rosie like to sit and say her prayers here.
Mary Garden
Sacred Heart Grotto.
Our wheelbarrow with wave petunias, sweet potato vine and geraniums
Emma, Gin and Juliette
My son, Sep, that doesn’t like pictures of him posted. Oh well, I got one anyway! The logo on the back of his T-shirt is for his granite company…Sarto.
Edward (our oldest grandson) is out haying.
Our gerbera daisies and verbena.
Theresa’s new soap cutter!
Jeanette’s new potatoes.
Yum!
Jeanette’s gladiola
And her lovely dahlia.
First zucchini
Father Huber does the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart at Mike and Jeanette’s
Little Annie
Tony, Nathan, Peter
Off to Idaho with Father Adams….
Staying in a guest cabin at a good friend’s home.
Lovely cabin!
Lots of lakes
And things to see
Places to shop
Lake pier
Easting breakfast with their friend, Ernie, who lives in Post Falls.
Gemma, Rosie, Angelo and Hannah.
Boating…
Tubing….
Beaching….
Vacationing is pretty tough sometimes….haha Angelo!
Beach at night
Going on the lift up to the top of the mountain.
Gemma’s not impressed.
Eating on the top of the mountain
Father and Kiki
Sunset…
One of Vincent’s rabbit hutches
Butterfly bush. These make the loveliest cut flowers!
Pretty flowers at Theresa’s.
My butterfly bush centerpiece.
Three vibrant colors of Echinacea…red
white
yellow
Peter and Annie trying to cool off in 100 degree weather!
Edward and Vin cook dinner as Gin is suffering from morning sickness….
Vincent’s declicious? breakfast he cooked up. Fresh chard on top.
Agnes’ new bunnies!
Jeanette’s raspberry garden
Devin’s Father’s Day gift!
A cute little trailer for his four-wheeler!
Peter in the back of his dad’s truck.
The kids are still in Idaho and I sent them this photo saying this is the excitement at home! In other words…no excitement…which is the way I like it!
Theresa’s soaps for the fathers in her life. With the added rope to easily hang on their shower faucet!
Baking with friends….
Magdalene and Toby’s birthday cakes…soon to be part of the strawberry shortcake!
I know some may be tempted to think that all this talk of beauty and art is too impractical, too much far away from the business of everyday life – or that the country home cannot do much about it. But a Catholic should never let himself think like that. He should know that to be a complete person, means to be able to see and to feel, to imagine and even to create what is beautiful.
I cannot go into this any further, much as I would like to. I shall say just this:- the home can do more in this matter than the school. Like love for our Holy Faith, appreciation of the fine and lovely things of life comes from constant association with beautiful things themselves and with people who have a genuine love and understanding of them.
So it is for parents to help their children in this vital matter. Simplicity, neatness, color, brightness, and good taste can make the house and garden lovely without great expense. A few really good pictures by great artists can help to form the children’s taste.
There are, for example, so many of Our Lady by artists such as Fra Angelico, Botticelli and Raphael, that it seems a shame to have instead, ones that are unworthy of Our Lady’s beauty and dignity.
A good book for helping children to understand art has a significant title, Pictures to Grow Up With.
Children take great notice of pictures in the home and I know I can recall vividly all the pictures in our home. Hence the importance of having lovely ones and of encouraging the children really to look at them – and to make their own, to draw and paint and make things.
Much of a child’s future happiness and goodness depends on what the home and the school have done to help him to discover and develop his special creative powers, his capacity for making something beautiful
RESPONSE TO POETRY
It seems harder to discover what can be done at home to foster a love of poetry. There are collections of works by genuine poets (i.e. not just writers of verse for children) which are produced in such a way as to captivate the attention – such as the Adventures in Poetry series by Mary Daunt, or The Blackbird in the Lilac, by James Reeves or an Australian Adventures in Poetry, edited by Donald McLean, and Gospel Rhymes, published by Sheed and Ward.
If these could be read aloud and talked over, it would be a good beginning. The attitude of the adults to poetry has a great deal to do with the child’s response to it.
MUSIC -TO UPLIFT OR DEGRADE?
To develop appreciation of good music is both easier and harder – easier because modern people will listen more readily to music than to poetry; harder because so much music is heard that is utterly worthless, if not vulgar and degrading.
Positive efforts are always best in this as in all education. You can find ways of knowing what is good; and by wise choice of radio programs and the playing of records of good music the home can set up right standards for the children before their taste has been spoilt.
If it is at all possible, some members of the family who have the gift should learn to play the piano or other musical instruments. They can then give great joy to the others.
I could say much more, but I daresay you are thinking that I have said enough. Still I think you will see from the above, that one of the defects of the education of girls, especially of those who are going to be home-makers in the country, is that it is too similar to a boy’s education.
Training in art and music, in subjects such as history and great literature, in all that would make for good taste in dress, speech and home decoration and management would do more to fit a girl to be a Christian mother and the mistress of a Christian home.
EDUCATION FOR RURAL LIVING
And so I come to my final point – what the country home can do to educate the child for rural living.
An American writer on the “Forward to the Land movement”, expressed the value of rural living thus:-To live a decent, human life a man needs space for family living, a good environment for bringing up children, one where children are welcome, the possession of property so that the family can have both independence and responsibility, and a chance for genuine community living, for true neighbourliness.
Only the country can give all this. A nation can be no stronger than its families are, and they can be at their best in the country. And when to this natural strength we add the crowning glory of the Catholic Faith, when we strive to bring Christ to the countryside, and the land to Christ, we are certainly exercising a great apostolate.
This is the ideal and the vocation we wish to hand on to our children. They will learn it best by living it, by being given an active share in it, while still young. If the chance to be truly responsible for what one does is one of the values of rural living, then the rural home must give each child jobs to do which he must do with faithfulness and responsibility.
It is not enough that he sees, what is easily seen on a farm, that the feeding of animals, the watering of plants, the milking of cows, the gathering of eggs, the preparing of meals cannot be put aside for another day. He must share that responsibility if he is to experience the joy of a job well done.
The jobs should not be burdensome to the child, but they should be really necessary jobs, and the child should be really responsible for doing them.
Anyone who has had much to do with modern children, would realize their need for a sense of responsibility, and for acquiring a spirit of work and a respect for its dignity. At the same time the children will learn from sharing the family work to care for things with reverence and detachment, to use them properly – a very valuable lesson that is so hard to teach to the child who has to spend his growing years in a flat or in a few rented rooms.
COMMUNITY LIFE
True neighborliness or the spirit of genuine community living is really an extension of a sense of responsibility. It is living a truth that, as members of the Body of Christ we are almost as responsible for the goodness and happiness of others as we are for our own. We are all one in Christ. Someone has put it thus: ‘The countryman retains in his very fiber the knowledge that God’s answer to “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is an emphatic “Yes.”
Children should not only see the genuine concern which their parents have for the troubles of others and their readiness to give help; they should have their share in helping.
Picnics and parties and games together are the joyful side of neighborliness; children need this, and the more serious side as well. As they grow up in the more spacious country environment, they can learn the meaning and value of quietness, serenity and solitude; but they should realize that they are never isolated, no matter how far away the nearest homestead.
From their parents, too, children learn to take an active part in parish functions and entertainments, to give time and energy to supporting movements such as the Rural Movement, or any movement or club that is working to help the Catholic boy or girl to be, in time, an intelligent and contented member of a country community.
SENSE OF VALUES
A parent’s surest means of developing in their children this intelligent appreciation of a rural way of life, is by giving them a happy home life with parents and children sharing their interests and fun. Nothing can replace the value of that in any child’s life, but it is particularly true of the country child’s life, who at some time or other will be tempted by the seeming enchantment of city life.
It can be a very strong temptation, but parents who have realized that their vocation in life is to educate their children in God’s way, will not be found wanting. Their own love for each other and for God, is the strongest foundation of happiness in the home, and that is one reason why they will keep to themselves any differences or disagreements that may arise between them.
They will realize that the special home virtues of unselfishness, bearing with one another, gentleness, generosity and modesty will not come without prayer and personal effort.
Each of these would be worthy of a talk on its own, but unselfish courtesy and modesty are needed by the child of today to a degree that is almost frightening-courtesy because it means a real concern for the feelings of others, a deep respect, a reverence for the person of others-and reverence, we are told, is fast disappearing from our world.
Good manners is the outward showing of courtesy and good-mannered children have good-mannered parents; that is the only certain way.
This is true also of modesty – a person’s sense of reverence for himself, his own person. Here, the father has a tremendous responsibility for the modest manliness of his sons and their respect for women; and the mother must know that her girl’s womanly modesty and purity depend largely on hers.
A girl nowadays, at least in the city, needs this virtue to an heroic degree, so great are the temptations to unbecoming dress and behavior.
Yet Catholic women, who knew how to dress smartly and modestly, and had the courage of their convictions, could start a revolution in this matter.
THE HOME OF A SAINT
To end my talk, I want to quote the words of our Holy Father, the Pope, spoken when he was canonizing St. Maria Goretti, the twelve year-old martyr of purity. She was, he said, “the fruit of a Christian home with its old simple method of education, a home where one prays, where the children are brought up in fear of God, in obedience to parents, in the love of truth and self-respect, accustomed to be satisfied with little, and to give a helping hand.”
It was a country home, and Maria was a country child, who learnt early the meaning of sharing fully in the joys and sufferings of a family – the give and take of a family life.
I have always loved the ideals of country life, and have loved teaching children from country homes. That is why I am glad and honored to speak to you today, to get to know a little of those who make it possible for children to be truly childlike.
City children have their own lovableness and perhaps a greater need of our work, but I often find myself longing to give them the tremendous benefits of growing up in the country – and that is why I think every effort should be made to establish in the country, colleges and schools that are fully Catholic and truly rural in ideals.
Our Lady was the mistress of a little village home in Nazareth; Jesus was a little village child. I know their loving spirit will guide every step the country child takes on his way to heaven.
“For years, while raising children, a mother’s time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place, and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something. Hence, a mother raising children, perhaps in a more privileged way even than a professional contemplative, is forced, almost against her will, to constantly stretch her heart.” -Fr. Rolheiser, OMI
“This is the book that traditionally minded Catholic family women have been looking for. Long out of print, this rare jewel is destined to become the favored spiritual guide for Catholic wives and mothers. Msgr. Landriot gave these conferences over 100 years ago but they are as relevant to us today as the Gospels. Think of this book as a practical guide for women who want to achieve sanctity in the home.” Check it out at Loreto Publications here.
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As no sensible person would make a long road trip without first consulting a map, so the person intent upon gaining Heaven should first resort to a competent guide to reach that Goal of all goals. And no better guide to Heaven exists than An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Doctor of the Church. It is at once easy to read, being laid out in short chapters, yet thorough, authoritative, reliable, kind and gentle a mirror of its author. It is a book, moreover, for all, because all are called to the devout life. True devotion to God, the author points out, adorns every vocation. The devout life, moreover, is a lovely, a pleasant, and a happy life.
If your life seems to make no sense, or if you don’t know which path to take, St. Francis de Sales will console and inform you. In this warm little book, he explains to you what God’s will is and how He reveals it yes, even to you, and even in the seemingly random events of your life.
No matter what you’re going through now (or may have gone through), you’ll see why you should love and trust in God’s will and long for its fulfillment. Best of all, you’ll learn a sure method for discovering God’s will in any situation today!
As you begin to discern God’s loving hand even in seemingly chaotic events, St. Francis de Sales will lead your mind and your heart to the still waters of God’s gentle consolation.
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No one insisted more than St. Margaret Mary that devotion to the Sacred Heart must not be limited to individual piety, profound as this might be. Nor was Our Lord’s “burning thirst to be honored by men” to be restricted to worship in churches.
“He has much greater plans,” she wrote, “which can be put into effect only by His almighty power, which can accomplish whatever it wills. It seems to me He wishes to enter with pomp and magnificence into the homes of princes and kings, to be honored there to the extent He has been outraged.”
In other words, He wished to establish His loving rule over human society by being acknowledged as true Head of every family, from the highest one down. The divine request was supposedly transmitted at the time to King Louis XIV, but if so, nothing came of it.
The King continued on the disastrous course of secular glorification which eventually produced the French Revolution, and now Marxist tyranny. One by one the nations of the world have said, “We will not have this Man to reign over us!” (Luke 19:14).
The world has now reached the point that the very laws of nature are being ignored, if not outright repealed. Based on the false principle that power comes from below, a giant mechanism of organized disorder has been erected where the bond-woman Hagar habitually and by law dictates to her mistress Sarah. No one knows his proper place, because it can’t be found.
Money manipulators who should be the hired servants of politics and economics are in fact formulating government policies—and that on an international level. Schools are laying down the law to parents, the family itself now the puppet of the state designed by God to serve it. Publishers determine what authors shall write. Manufacturers condition the consumer to the goods they produce.
Agriculture, the sovereign human art, is indentured to industrial production, made to follow factory methods and objectives. The sovereignty of nations themselves is being absorbed into an artificial super-State organized on purely rational lines.
Needless to say, the members of Holy Mother Church, already weakened and divided by the “reforms” of the so-called Reformation, are falling prostrate before the scourges of the New Order, apparently powerless to rise and protest. How to establish the rule of the Sacred Heart in such contrived chaos?
As St. Margaret Mary saw long before the French Revolution, only God’s omnipotence can accomplish a task of this proportion. Exactly how He will do it is His secret, but do it He will.
“What are you afraid of?” He asked her. “I shall reign in spite of Satan and all opposition.”
If His past methods are any precedent, however, He will use as His instruments the same “little ones” in all ranks of society He has always used to confound the wise of this world. St. Margaret Mary in fact predicted this: “He gave me to understand,” she wrote to her Superior Mother de Saumaise, “that He does not need human power for that, because the devotion and reign of the Sacred Heart will be consolidated only by subjects poor and contemptible, amid contradictions, so that none of it can be attributed to human potential.”
As always, He will scatter the proud in the conceit of their heart, putting down the mighty from their seat and exalting the humble, filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty (Luke 1:51-53).
Until then they need only remain in His Sacred Heart, attentive to its every beat, careful to follow its manifest directives. He will tell them what to do, even though for the time being the fulfilment of His magnificent promises remains blocked by the malicious authority of the great ones of this world.
Things being as they are, about the only unit of temporal government left to us that can be brought under the sway of Christ is the private home. Furthermore, for some of us it may be the only place of worship we have left outside the privacy of our own souls. For which God be thanked, for that is exactly what a home is designed by God to be: a domestic economy over which God presides, where He is praised by its members.
If home is where the heart is, then the Christian home must be where the Sacred Heart is.
Rediscovering this truth may be one of the greatest blessings He means to draw from the wanton destruction of parishes and parliaments. It’s a beginning.
At home Christians can still share the “one heart” which God promised Jeremiah He would give His people, “and one way, that they may fear me all days: and that it may be well with them, and with their children after them” (32:39).
The Acts of the Apostles relate how “the multitude of believers had but on heart and one soul; neither did any one say that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but all things were common unto them” (4:32). This “one heart” of saints who lovingly share all they possess is today in open confrontation with the “one world” of androids intent on robbing one another of even the most elementary right to private ownership. There can be no co-existence between the two.
We cannot repeat too often that devotion to the Sacred Heart, promulgated from the very first as a devotion for the latter times, is now only beginning. What has been achieved so far is the merest preparation or predisposition for a fullness yet to be even suspected. It would be ridiculous to think our Lord hasn’t foreseen and provided for all the deprivations we are facing—the desecration of Churches, suppression of sacred images and sacramentals, the defections from the priesthood…
We have noted already that devotion to the Sacred Heart has established once and for all the primacy of the interior life. What it does for the individual in his own soul it is equally prepared to do for society, in the home. We start where we can.
Is there any reason why what our Lord requested of worldly monarchs can’t be accorded Him by lesser heads of families? Let those who preach “power to the people” beware of that power when it is brandished in the service of God! What is to prevent exposing and honoring the picture of the Sacred Heart in our homes—is only because “wherever this holy picture should be exposed to be honored He would lavish His graces and blessings”?
Better still, why not satisfy at home our Lord’s longing to be adored in the Blessed Sacrament? That Benediction has all but disappeared from the liturgy, or that the Church doors are locked, or that the Sacrament itself may no longer be reserved, can be seen to be no excuse at all when we look deeply into the matter.
One of the first to see this was the late Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who initiated the movement for Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home. With truly prophetic insight he began preaching Eucharistic Adoration as a practice most proper to the home. Already in the late 1920’s he was signing up families for one hour a month of night adoration, at a time when the Real Presence was taken for granted in every Catholic church and expected to continue there until the end of the world.
Fr. Mateo may not have been so sure. He wrote, “We are in fact on the brink of an abyss of social corruption; the home already undermined in its very foundations by this upheaval of immorality; a good part of the portion of society which by right is considered the best, the most Christian, seriously affected by the contagion of unbridled sensuality… What is sadder still, the enemy has now penetrated into our own ranks; the wolf is encountered with unheard of cruelty in a full sheepfold. More, he is tolerated there, even encouraged by the cowardice of friends. This Satan and the world have without pity struck and scourged their God and their Lord. His very bones might be counted through His wounds, for there is no soundness in Him.
Urging reparation to the Sacred Heart, his practical suggestions for domestic adoration are very instructive: “In large families the adoration may be arranged in such a way that each member of the family watches in turn before a picture of the Sacred Heart. If the Sacred Heart has been enthroned in the home, then the adoration should take place before the enthroned picture of the Sacred Heart, around which lighted candles and flowers have been placed, if this is possible and practical…
The adoration should be made as far as possible on one’s knees, in a spirit of salutary penance… It should be throughout a Eucharistic Adoration, in spirit and in truth. It makes His Passion ours: “The same love which made Me suffer such extreme pains and affliction for the salvation of men, makes Me also suffer now in your heart, immortal and impassible as I am, by the intimate compassion with which it is penetrated for the salvation of my elect, in consideration of my afflictions and bitterness. Therefore in return for the compassion which you have had for my sufferings, I give you the whole fruit of my Passion and death, to insure your eternal beatitude.”
Spoken to St. Gertrude, these words make plain what meditation on the Sacred Heart is meant to lead to. Fr. Mateo suggested prayers for the following intentions during hours of home adoration: “our Holy Father and Pope, peace, the clergy, the members of your family who may have gone astray, those in their agony this night, the Social Reign of the Sacred Heart, particularly through the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home. Oh, be true angels of Gethsemane in this nocturnal adoration, you who have an advantage over the angel from heaven, since you are able to suffer and to weep in union with the agonizing Heart of Jesus!”
Most significantly, Fr. Mateo urged adorers to begin their hour by uniting themselves in spirit with the priests who at that moment might be offering the Holy Sacrifice anywhere in the world. He wished them if possible to recite the Canon of the Mass in view of a spiritual Communion, all the while adoring, praising, petitioning and atoning “through Him, with Him and in Him.”
Aware of the importance of Fr. Mateo’s latter day apostolate, Popes Benedict XV, Pius XI and Pius XII each accorded the Apostolic Benediction to those engaging in it. In his enthusiasm Pope Pius XI dubbed it “the actualization of my Encyclical” Miserentissimus Redemptor, on the Sacred heart.
With such encouragement from the highest Authority, why not adore at home kneeling in spirit before our Lord’s true sacramental Presence in all Churches or places where It may still be found? Isn’t it this Real Presence that the image of the Sacred Heart is precisely meant to evoke in our homes? Wouldn’t our Lord intend to follow His Heart’s image personally into any place where it was lovingly exposed? If not, how could devotion to the Sacred Heart make any real sense?
Prayer to the Sacred Heart:
May all the words that I speak be dipped in the Blood of Thy Sacred Heart, O Jesus, that they may be so many arrows to pierce the hearts of all who hear them with love for Thee. Amen. -The Precious Blood and Mother Prayerbook, Painting by Gregory Frank Harris
“It often struck me that if cleanliness is next to godliness, cheerfulness is a near relation. The cheerful are truly benefactors of the world in which we move…” – Fr. John Carr, C.SS.R.
In the words of this humble seventeenth-century lay Carmelite, “we must trust God once and for all and abandon ourselves to Him alone.” This difficult task necessarily requires perseverance and continual conversation with God in all activities great and small: “speaking humbly and talking lovingly with Him at all times, at every moment, without rule or system…” In reading these conversations, letters, and spiritual maxims, we learn the key to endless joy.
In short, this little spiritual classic — in its fresh, contemporary English translation — renders the simple wisdom of Brother Lawrence accessible to every Christian who yearns for the fullness of life….
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In this troubled world we need the prayers of children. Their souls are innocent, their petitions special in the Eyes of God. Let us get our children on their knees, and with fervor and the remarkable confidence of a child, let us get them to pray for our families, our country, our world….. www.finerfem.com
