Category Archives: Give-Aways

Christkindl and Other Advent-y Things

03 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by in Advent/Christmas, by Maria Von Trapp, Give-Aways, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 2 Comments

From Around the Year With the Trapp Family

After our first gathering around the Advent light, and the singing of the first Advent hymn, an air of expectancy spreads over the family group; now comes the moment when the mother goes around with a bowl in which are the little cards with the names of the new saints.

Everybody draws a card and puts it in his missal. This saint will be invoked every morning after Morning Prayer. Everyone is supposed to look up and study the life story of his new friend, and sometime during the coming year he will tell the family all about it.

As there are so many of us, we come to know about different saints every year. Sometimes this calls for considerable research on the part of the unfortunate one who has drawn St. Eustachius, for instance, or St. Bibiana.

But the custom has become very dear to us, and every year it seems as if the family circle were enlarged by all those new brothers and sisters entering in and becoming known and loved by all.

And then comes another exciting moment. Once more the mother appears with the bowl, which she passes around. This time the pieces of paper contain the names of the members of the family and are neatly rolled up, because the drawing has to be done in great secrecy.

The person whose name one has drawn is now in one’s special care. From this day until Christmas, one has to do as many little favors for him or her as one can. One has to provide at least one surprise every single day—but without ever being found out.

This creates a wonderful atmosphere of joyful suspense, kindness, and thoughtfulness.

Perhaps you will find that somebody has made your bed or shined your shoes or has informed you, in a disguised handwriting on a holy card, that “a rosary has been said for you today” or a number of sacrifices have been offered up.

This new relationship is called “Christkindl” (Christ Child) in the old country, where children believe that the Christmas tree and the gifts under it are brought down by the Christ Child himself.

The beautiful thing about this particular custom is that the relationship is a reciprocal one. The person whose name I have drawn and who is under my care becomes for me the helpless little Christ Child in the manger; and as I am performing these many little acts of love and consideration for someone in the family I am really doing them for the Infant of Bethlehem, according to the word, “And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.”

That is why this particular person turns into “my Christkindl.” At the same time I am the “Christkindl” also for the one I am caring for because I want to imitate the Holy Child and render all those little services in the same spirit as He did in that small house of Nazareth, when as a child He served His Mother and His foster father with a similar love and devotion.

Many times throughout these weeks can be heard such exclamations as, “I have a wonderful Christkindl this year!” or, “Goodness, I forgot to do something for my Christkindl and it is already suppertime!”

It is a delightful custom, which creates much of the true Christmas spirit and ought to be spread far and wide.

And there is still one very important thing to do for Advent. According to Austrian custom, every member of the family writes a letter to the Holy Child mentioning his resolutions for the weeks of Advent and listing all his wishes for gifts. This “Christkindl Brief” (letter to the Holy Child) is put on the window sill, from whence the Guardian Angel will take it up to heaven to read it aloud to the Holy Child.

To make small children (and older ones, too) aware of the happy expectancy of Advent, there is a special Advent calendar which clever hands can make at home.

It might be a house with windows for each day of Advent; every morning the child opens another window, behind which appears a star, an angel, or some other picture appropriate to the season.

On the 23rd, all windows are open, but the big entrance door still is closed. That is opened on Christmas Eve, when it reveals the Holy Child in the manger, or a Christmas tree.

All kinds of variations on this theme are possible, such as the Jacob’s Ladder shown on our illustration, which leads step by step to the day of Christ’s birth. All such little aids make Christmas more wonderful and “special” to a child, and preparing them adds to our own Christmas joy.

{Advent Calendar: Take piece of cardboard; cut out clouds, leaving them attached at one point so that they can fold out. Cut spaces in ladder as on insert so that they can fold down. Take transparent paper same size as cardboard. Paint and draw pictures of stars, angels, toys, etc. on spots behind clouds and ladder steps. For top cloud, put Christmas tree or Christ Child in crib. Paste this on back of calendar. Each day another cloud or ladder step should be opened, until Christmas Eve is reached on top of ladder.}

 
“Where on earth shall we find Jesus but in the arms of Mary! Was it not she who gave us the Eucharist? It was her consent to the Incarnation of the Word that inaugurated the great mystery of reparation to God and union with us which Jesus accomplished during His mortal life, and that he continues in the Eucharist.” -St. Peter Julian Eymard,
Painting by Nellie Edwards, www.PaintedFaith.net

Are you blessed by this site? Consider donating today. Our benefactors are remembered in our daily, family rosaries….

Need a unique gift for Christmas? Take a peek at my Holiday Package Deal!

Catholic Mother Goose, Volumes One and Two!

Advent Journal Printable available here!

Advent Journal Printable~Daily Checklist~Spiritual Christmas Crib~St. Andrew Novena~Advent Wreath Prayers~Blessing of Christmas Tree & More!

Review: (Thank you Annamaria!)

Love the Advent Journal. A wonderful way to keep my heart, soul and mind on the way toward Christmas …. In fact I am always looking at all the journals put together by Meadows of Grace. Unfortunately I never thought I would be able to purchase this because for Australian customers the postage costs more than than the journal!!!! So I am so grateful and delighted that Leane offers a printable version, so very happy to join with so many others following the journey toward Christmas. God bless you abundantly Leane😘❤️

Author Mary Reed Newland here draws on her own experiences as the mother of seven to show how the classic Christian principles of sanctity can be translated into terms easily applied to children even to the very young.

Because it’s rooted in experience, not in theory, nothing that Mrs. Newland suggests is impossible or extraordinary. In fact, as you reflect on your experiences with your own children, you’ll quickly agree that hers is an excellent commonsense approach to raising good Catholic children.

Delicious Christmas teas…. I love this brand of tea! What a great Christmas gift idea!


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When God Curses ~ Respecting Parents/And the Winner of the Advent Giveaway is….

15 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways, Youth's Pathfinder

≈ 6 Comments

From Youth’s Pathfinder, Rev. Fulgence Meyer, 1920’s

Disclaimer: I think it is important to clarify that if a parent is abusive, even though the principle of respecting their position applies, one needs to seek guidance from a reliable outside source. Keeping abuse “to yourself” is never a good thing!

When God Curses

The earthly blessing which God promises to dutiful children is converted into a proportionate curse, however, for those children who ignore, disregard and ruthlessly transgress the fourth commandment, and refuse to honor, love and obey their parents. For their hostile attitude to His representatives God will pursue these unnatural children with His wrath, which will overtake them sooner or later, even in this life.

Usually God’s punishment is after the manner of the transgression, and when these ingrate children once become parents them-selves, provided God vouchsafes parenthood to them, their filial ingratitude will be avenged by the coldness and heartlessness of their own children towards them.

God will not be mocked. The inimical position unloving children take to their parents of itself renders their life unpleasant and miserable, and creates a spirit of mutual aversion, distrust and antagonism that depresses the soul, gnaws at the heart, impairs the health, and consequently embitters and shortens the days of life. There’s no escaping the inspired words “He is cursed of God that angereth his mother” (Ecclus., 3, 18)

“He that afflicted’ his father, and chaseth away his mother, is infamous and unhappy” (Prov., 19, 26).

The Depth and Width and Length of God’s Curse

The Bible, which is the word of God Himself, gives a number of striking examples to illustrate, as by means of eloquent object lessons, the terrible and far-reaching curse of God that pursues the delinquent son or daughter and, respectively, the great blessings that are heaped upon the dutiful and obsequious child.

Shortly after the human race got its second start, as it were, when the waters of the deluge had receded, and after God had blessed Noe and his sons profusely, the patriarch one day fell a victim to drunkenness. When he was in this condition his son Cham used the occasion to dishonor and ridicule his father, whilst the two other sons treated him with touching reverence and thoughtful regard.

Awaking from the wine, and learning what had occurred, Noe cursed Changan, the son of Cham, whilst he blessed Sem and Japheth. And both his curse and his blessing were ratified by God, and affected not only the addressees but also their descendants from generation to generation.

It is observable, that Cham was Noe’s youngest son. In early youth there is the greatest danger of yielding to an impulse of flippancy, freshness and impertinence to the disregard of the honor that is due to parents. Cham no doubt thought he was pert, smart and cute in treating his father as he did.

His cuteness and his pretendedly wise remarks brought down a tremendous curse from God. Nor was there any allowance made for his immaturity and impulsiveness. He had not only the promptings of nature but also the good example of his elder brothers to guide him and to warn him against the misdemeanor he perpetrated.

This was not his first offense. No son treats his father with contumely and ridicule at one bound; but he advances towards this grossness gradually by lighter breaches of honor and respect, in thought, word and deed, towards his parent.

No doubt he had previously spoken to his father disrespectfully and rudely; he had laughed at and made fun of certain things his father said or did; he had given him back talk and contradicted him, or given him no answer at all: they were all preparatory stages leading to the final insult that was visited by the awful curse of his father, which was immediately sanctioned and executed by God.

God Allows No Excuse Against His Rights

Neither did it avail Cham as an excuse or a palliation of his guilt, that his father had exposed himself to discredit and ignominy by his conduct. The curse was inflicted just the same.

No matter how a parent demeans himself, the fact alone that he is a parent entitles him to the honor of his children on all occasions. Whatever he may do or have done cannot erase or cancel his claim upon their respect. As was mentioned above, whoever and however he may be, since God used him to bestow the gift of existence upon them, he will always stand before them as God’s representative, challenging their reverence and gratitude.

This, of course, applies to the mother as well as to the father. For this reason the fourth commandment does not say : “Honor thy father and thy mother as long as they are good and virtuous,” but it simply insists that father and mother must be honored, meaning always and under all conditions, just because they are father and mother, even though any other claim to honor may be wanting in them.

This ought to be borne in mind by children who are tempted to be ashamed of their parents because of their poverty, or lack of good manners, language, culture, or what not. Whatever the parents’ real or imaginary deficiencies may be, these ought to disappear entirely in the eyes of children when contrasted with their claim on the children’s gratefulness and affectionate consideration.

When they themselves get more sense and acquire a truer appraisal of things in general, children will often blush when they remember their weakness in being ashamed of their parents for this reason or for that.

Not All Parents Are Saints

No one says that parents are never bad and vicious; or that their sins should be construed as virtuous deeds, and that children should be proud of, and glory in, their parents’ transgressions. Nothing of the kind.

All that is demanded is, that in spite of whatever failings, sins and vices the parents may be guilty of, the children, in view of their very parenthood, never cease honoring and respecting them.

Far from divulging and parading their parents’ faults before others unnecessarily, or even making them the objects of their own private conversations among themselves, they will do what they can, after the example of Sem and Japheth, to cover and hide as much as possible the weaknesses and excesses of their parents, and to bury them in charitable oblivion.

Nothing draws the blessing of God more forcibly and copiously upon a child than this generous filial behavior. This especially counts for the observation, that bad parents not infrequently have good and prosperous children.

The explanation is simple. Because the children bear with, overlook and cover up the infirmities of their parents, God showers His graces upon them richly and effectively.

The great St. Bernard wrote in his rule that whenever the monastic bell rang, the monks were to drop what they were doing and go to whatever they were being called to.
In our homes, our monastic bell is all the many things beckoning at us throughout the day…the diapers to be changed, the dishes that need doing, the laundry that needs to be done, etc.
We respond to these things right away, even though we many not want to, remembering that these duties are the very things that will make us holy.

Excellent Sermon! Life After Death

What happens after we die? What should we expect? Fr speaks on the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas for this..

Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments on the Advent Giveaway Post! May God bless you…you are in my prayers, please pray for us!

And now…the Advent Giveaway!

Congratulations Marie Kelly! I have sent you an email!

Beginning with the first day of Advent and continuing through the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, these selections from the immortal pen of Fulton J. Sheen encourage readers to explore the essence and promise of the season. Those looking to grow in their prayer life and become more attuned to the joy of Advent and Christmas will find a wonderful guide in this spiritual companion….

You are about to make the season of Advent more meaningful than you ever have! This Advent journal is for busy moms who need a little help making this season special within the home. It will help you stay on track and be consistent with the customs you have decided to incorporate within your four walls. I have broken it down into bite-sized tidbits that, when laid out for you, will be easy to accomplish. As you check each item off you will get a sense of fulfillment knowing you are getting done what is truly important in this expectant season! The other things will get done….but first things first! At midnight, on Christmas Eve, when Baby Jesus arrives, you and your family will look back upon your Advent and sigh with satisfaction, knowing you truly have celebrated with the Church, that you have put your best foot forward in making this a spiritual, enchanting, holy time for all! The first few pages of this book will have a run-down of the special Advent customs and activities that will be on your checklist each day. They are simple, they are doable. I hope this Advent is more special than ever as we walk hand-in-hand making the Liturgy come alive in our homes!

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

 

 

 

 

An Advent Giveaway! The Giving Manger & an Advent Journal!

08 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways

≈ 57 Comments

A Giveaway!

Today, I’d like to offer you an Advent Giveaway!!

The winner will receive this lovely package of the Giving Manger and an Advent Journal…

Just leave a comment here, and your name will be added! It is always great to hear from you. 🙂

I will announce the winner next Monday, November 15th!

You will receive…

The Giving Manger!

I was able to get this last year after Christmas so I could gift it to you this Advent. I have never used one but it looked like it could be helpful to someone!

 An Overview:

The Giving Manger helps families shift the focus of Christmas back to giving. A piece of straw is placed in the manger for each kind deed or act of service performed.  On Christmas Day, the Baby is placed in the manger filled with service and love. As your family works together to give gifts of service you will find your hearts and home filled with more joy during the holiday season than ever before.

Each Box Set Includes:

The Giving Manger Picture Book: a heartwarming story with beautiful cut-paper illustrations that presents the tradition and will get kids excited about participating.

Wooden Manger: to be placed in a visible spot in the home, waiting to be filled

Bundle of Straw: pieces of straw to be placed in the manger after each act of service

Baby Jesus: to be placed in the manger on Christmas day

Each item in the box is built to last so your family can keep the tradition going year after year.

 

The Giveaway will also include:

Advent Journal

Advent is such a special season! And you are about to make it more meaningful than you ever have!
This Advent journal is for busy moms who need a little help making this season special within the home. It will help you stay on track and be consistent with the customs you have decided to incorporate within your four walls.
I have broken it down into bite-sized tidbits that, when laid out for you, will be easy to accomplish. As you check each item off you will get a sense of fulfillment knowing you are getting done what is truly important in this expectant season! The other things will get done….but first things first!
At midnight, on Christmas Eve, when Baby Jesus arrives, you and your family will look back upon your Advent and sigh with satisfaction, knowing you truly have celebrated with the Church, that you have put your best foot forward in making this a spiritual, enchanting, holy time for all!
The first few pages of this book will have a run-down of the special Advent customs and activities that will be on your checklist each day. They are simple, they are doable.
I hope this Advent is more special than ever as we walk hand-in-hand making the Liturgy come alive in our homes!

One time in 1949 Padre Pio was talking with a certain doctor who was very close to him. They were discussing prayers for the dead. Padre Pio said to him, “Maybe you don’t know that even now I can pray for the happy death of my great-grandfather!” But the doctor remarked that he has been dead for many, many years. Then Padre Pio explained, “For the Lord the past does not exist. Everything is an eternal present. These prayers had already been taken into account. And so I repeat that even now I can pray for the happy death of my great-grandfather!”

Let these journals help you along on your Catholic journey!

The Catholic Boy’s and Girl’s Traditional 30-Day Journals! Let’s keep our youth engaged in the Faith! Let’s teach them how to be organized, how to prioritize, how to keep on top of, first, the Spiritual things in their lives, and then the other daily duties that God requires of them… Available here.

 

Beginning with the first day of Advent and continuing through the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, these selections from the immortal pen of Fulton J. Sheen encourage readers to explore the essence and promise of the season. Those looking to grow in their prayer life and become more attuned to the joy of Advent and Christmas will find a wonderful guide in this spiritual companion….

You are about to make the season of Advent more meaningful than you ever have! This Advent journal is for busy moms who need a little help making this season special within the home. It will help you stay on track and be consistent with the customs you have decided to incorporate within your four walls. I have broken it down into bite-sized tidbits that, when laid out for you, will be easy to accomplish. As you check each item off you will get a sense of fulfillment knowing you are getting done what is truly important in this expectant season! The other things will get done….but first things first! At midnight, on Christmas Eve, when Baby Jesus arrives, you and your family will look back upon your Advent and sigh with satisfaction, knowing you truly have celebrated with the Church, that you have put your best foot forward in making this a spiritual, enchanting, holy time for all! The first few pages of this book will have a run-down of the special Advent customs and activities that will be on your checklist each day. They are simple, they are doable. I hope this Advent is more special than ever as we walk hand-in-hand making the Liturgy come alive in our homes!

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

The Winner of Autumn Bella Soap Giveaway is… & A New Podcast ~ Thoughts/Peace Be to You

01 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways, Podcasts - Finer Femininity

≈ 2 Comments

Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments on the Giveaway Post! May God bless you…you are in my prayers, please pray for us!

And now…the soap Giveaway!

Congratulations Angela! I have sent you an email!

A new Podcast to listen to!

“Sooner or later a man’s habitual thoughts come out in his life and character….” by Father Lasance, 1934, Holiness & Happiness

At any rate, she has by nature the power, the art, and the disposition to please, to soothe, to charm, and to captivate. It is a wonderful power; and we see daily women exerting it in a wonderful way. Why will not women who are truly good, or who sincerely strive to be so, not make it the chief study of their lives to find out and acquire the sovereign art of making their influence as healthful, as cheering, as blissful as the sunlight and the warmth are to their homes? – Rev Bernard O’Reilly, True Womanhood, 1894 http://amzn.to/2mPm81e (afflink)

The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.~Pope Pius XI

Every minute counts! Let Saint Joseph remind you of the time with this beautiful Saint Joseph pocket watch. Available here.

Losing your peace of soul over the state of the world and the Church? Don’t! Consider the following books…..

We live in an age characterized by agitation and lack of peace. This tendency manifests itself in our spiritual as well as our secular life. In our search for God and holiness, in our service to our neighbor, a kind of restlessness and anxiety take the place of the confidence and peace which ought to be ours. What must we do to overcome the moments of fear and distress which assail us? How can we learn to place all our confidence in God and abandon ourselves into his loving care? This is what is taught in this simple, yet profound little treatise on peace of heart. Taking concrete examples from our everyday life, the author invites us to respond in a Gospel fashion to the upsetting situations we must all confront. Since peace of heart is a pure gift of God, it is something we should seek, pursue and ask him for without cease. This book is here to help us in that pursuit.

Reverend Irala here addresses ways to promote mental and emotional well-being to help increase one’s health, efficiency and happiness. He speaks on topics such as how to rest, think, use the will, control feelings, train the sexual instinct, be happy, and choose an ideal. Included are also many practical instructions on dealing with mental struggles of all kinds. This book is most useful in our present times of worldly confusion.

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

Autumn Bella Soap Giveaway!

24 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways

≈ 99 Comments

A Giveaway!

Today, I’d like to offer you a Fall Giveaway!!

The winner will receive this lovely Autumn Soap Package!

The bars are: Orange Clove, Pumpkin Spice, Spiced Cider, Honey and Oats and Activated Charcoal Tea Tree…All Natural Ingredients!

Just leave a comment here, and your name will be added! It is always great to hear from you. 🙂

I will announce the winner next Friday, September 30th!

Reviews:

These soaps are beautiful!! I purchased the six pack recently. Very gentle, creamy and they smell lovely. My husband even commented on how soft my skin was and how wonderful I smelled after I used them! I even have one on my dresser and our bedroom smells lovely! It’s a gentle scent but it lingers the way you’d like it to. They all smell wonderful – citrus, lemongrass and lavender are my favorites but peppermint and orange patchouli will be wonderful to have for the fall and Christmas seasons!

These soaps are amazing! My family and I have extremely sensitive skin and even struggle with eczema and allergic rashes from many products. These beautiful and gentle soaps actually calm our skin and the eczema on my hands started improving right away! The scents are beautiful as well; the extra soaps we have on display and every time we walk in our bathroom, there is a gentle yet not overpowering beautiful scent. Very feminine and lovely! Thank you for making these!

Theresa’s soaps are available here.

“It is difficult for a child to be better than his home environment or for a nation to be superior to the level of its home life. In fulfilling its double purpose – the generation and formation of children – the home becomes a little world in itself, self-sufficient even in its youngest years. It is vital that you, as a mother or father, make of your home a training ground in character-building for your children, who will inherit the world’s problems. Home is a place in which the young grow in harmony with all that is good and noble, where hardship, happiness, and work are shared.” – Father Lawrence G. Lovasik

Blessed Mother Graceful Religious Pendant and Earring Sets…Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted

This graceful necklace can be worn every day as a reminder of your devotion to the Blessed Mother. Get it blessed and you can use it also as a sacramental.

Available here.

A book of your favorite litanies….

Chosen by God for the incomparable vocation of spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ; St. Joseph received magnificent divine graces and favors not granted even to the Old Testament Patriarchs. Known as the most humble of men; St. Joseph received from Almighty God the authority to command both Our Lady and the Son of God Himself; and in Heaven he continues to have great intercessory power with God.
The Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph shows how this greatest of the Patriarchs is the patron of all Christians and how wonderfully he answers prayers; plus; it gives many of the ways of honoring him and many prayers to request his intercession. One of the finest books on St. Joseph; it will surely inspire the reader with a profound devotion to this great “Patron of the Universal Church.” Impr. 176 pgs;

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

New Prayer Podcasts! And the Winner Is….

17 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways, Podcasts - Finer Femininity

≈ 3 Comments

New Prayer Podcasts!

Come and join me as I pray a form of Morning Prayers that I have used through the years…. Here is the link for the prayers to print out.

Come and join me as I pray a form of Night Prayers that I have used through the years…. Here is the link for the prayers to print out.

Come and join me as I pray the St. Patrick’s Breastplate, also known as the Lorica of St. Patrick…an amazing power of protection. St. Patrick wrote it in 433 A.D. for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish King Leoghaire and his subjects from paganism to Christianity. (The term breastplate refers to a piece of armor worn in battle.) I say this prayer often for the protection of all my loved ones!

Please subscribe to my Youtube Channel here.

Thank you all for the lovely comments on my Giveaway Post! I want you to know that I appreciate them very much! ❤

And now….

Congratulations Lynn! I have sent you an email!

St. Francis de Sales on the company we keep: “Be very careful, therefore, dear reader, not to have any evil love, because you will in turn quickly become evil yourself.
Friendship is the most dangerous of all love. Why? Because other loves can exist without communication, exchange, closeness. But friendship is completely founded upon communication and exchange and cannot exist in practice without sharing in the qualities and defects of the friend loved.”

Bella Soaps! These soaps are pleasing to the eye and have a refreshing and lovely creaminess while keeping the standards of being an all-natural soap! They are 100% natural, using all fragrances from 100% Essential Oils and colors from all natural sources! These soaps truly are amazing and you will be coming back for more… Available here.

This is a unique book of Catholic devotions for young children. There is nothing routine and formal about these stories. They are interesting, full of warmth and dipped right out of life. These anecdotes will help children know about God, as each one unfolds a truth about the saints, the Church, the virtues, etc. These are short faith-filled stories, with a few questions and a prayer following each one, enabling the moral of each story to sink into the minds of your little ones. The stories are only a page long so tired mothers, who still want to give that “tucking in” time a special touch, or pause a brief moment during their busy day to gather her children around her, can feel good about bringing the realities of our faith to the minds of her children in a childlike, (though not childish), way. There is a small poem and a picture at the end of each story. Your children will be straining their necks to see the sweet pictures! Through these small stories, parents will sow seeds of our Holy Catholic Faith that will enrich their families all the years to come!

This revised 1922 classic offers gentle guidance for preteen and teenage girls on how to become a godly woman. Full of charm and sentiment, it will help mother and daughter establish a comfortable rapport for discussions about building character, friendships, obedience, high ideals, a cheerful spirit, modest dress, a pure heart, and a consecrated life.

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

 

The Assumption! by Maria Von Trapp

15 Sunday Aug 2021

Posted by in by Maria Von Trapp, Give-Aways, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

Happy Feast of the Assumption! Make sure you do something a little special today to remind your children what a special day it is! For inspiration see this post.

From Around the Year with the Trapp Family

The day of the Assumption, August 15th, is the oldest and most important of all the feast days of the Blessed Mother.

In the old country it is also known as “Great Flower Day.” All the women and girls come to church on this day with their arms full of neat bundles of herbs, which they put down in the sanctuary at the Offertory procession.

On this feast day the Church blesses the herbs immediately preceding Mass. The priest, standing before the altar and facing the people, pronounces a long and solemn blessing at the end of which the herbs are sprinkled with holy water and are incensed.

There are special herbs which traditionally have to be included. Days before the feast the people are collecting them in the meadows and woods. Every family sends one such bundle to be blessed.

Afterwards it will be kept in the corner at home near the picture or statue of the Blessed Mother.

In cases of sickness a leaf is dropped into the food of the patient and during heavy thunderstorms one of the herbs is put into the fire on the kitchen stove–it is a sacramental and is meant to protect us in body and soul.

The connection between the feast of the Assumption and the blessing of herbs is told in an old legend.

When Mary the Mother of Jesus felt that her end was drawing near, she sent her guardian angel to summon the Apostles, who had gone out into the world to preach the Gospel of her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When they received the summons, they came in a great hurry and were just in time to witness the happy death of their dear Mother. Everyone had come except Thomas. He was three days late.

When he heard that the Blessed Mother had been resting in the tomb for days, he cried bitterly and pled with the Apostles to open the tomb once more and let him glance at the beloved features.

The other Apostles yielded to his plea, but as they opened the tomb, they found it filled with flowers, which gave out a heavenly scent. On the place where they had laic the body there was only the shroud left–the body had been borne up to heaven by the angels, where it was joined by the holy soul of the Mother of God.

According to the legend, all the flowers and herbs on earth had lost their scent after Adam and Eve committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden. On the day of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother, however, the flowers were given back their scent and the herbs their power to heal.

Looking for a fun craft with the little ones today? Take a look at this post!

 

“Let us run to Mary, and as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.” – St. Francis de Sales
Happy Feast of the Assumption!

 

A sermon for this wonderful feast day!

Your children can celebrate with these coloring pages!

Are you blessed by this site? Consider donating today. Our benefactors are remembered in our daily, family rosaries….

book suggestions

Lovely book, worth the time and money! This book will inspire you with ways to live the Liturgy within your home!

In this joyful and charming book, Maria Von Trapp unveils for you the year-round Christian traditions she loved traditions that created for her large family a warm and inviting Catholic home and will do the same for yours….Mary Reed Newland wrote numerous beloved books for Catholic families, but The Year and Our Children is her undisputed masterpiece. Read it, cherish it, share it, put it into practice and give your kids the gift of a fully lived faith, every day and in every season….

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

New Podcasts! And a Giveaway!

10 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways, Helps to Happiness, Podcasts - Finer Femininity

≈ 61 Comments

New Podcasts!

Please take a moment to subscribe to the Finer Femininity Youtube Channel!

In light of our faith, it is those little things that make or break us. The little things we do…the habits slowly built through repetition and discipline that build the monuments of character and virtue in our souls. And then it is the little things that we don’t do and should…that eventually cause a breaking down of the faith. So…let’s take a listen to Father Carr in this excerpt called “Little Things”.

“This Conscience has a quiet, tiny voice, but it can shout down the widest passions. It is beyond bribes and knows no fear….”
Let’s take a listen to Father Carr in this excerpt called “Conscience” from Helps to Happiness, 1962. Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat.

And Now….A Giveaway!

Today, I’d like to offer you a Summer Giveaway!!

The winner will receive this lovely package…

Just leave a comment here, and your name will be added! It is always great to hear from you. 🙂

I will announce the winner next Tuesday, August 17th!

The Catholic Mother’s Maglet!

The following pages in this Maglet (magazine/booklet) is for you…to inspire you in your daily walk as a loving, strong, patient Catholic mother.As mothers we have an awesome responsibility, as one of the key people in our children’s lives, to help mold them into happy, well-adjusted, faith-filled adults. This Maglet is filled with unique articles and anecdotes to help you in this journey.It is unique because most of the articles are written by men and women (some priests and a Dominican nun) who have lived in an age where common sense was more of the norm. Their advice and experience are timeless and invaluable…

~Raising Your Children ~ articles taken from the Integrity Magazine of the 1950’s.

~Peach/Salmon Rose Veil~

“Be loyal to each other in periods of trial, and confidently seek the blessing of God at Mass, Holy Communion, and prayer.”-Fr. Lovasik, Catholic Family Handbook https://amzn.to/2LGXmzH (afflink)

Our Lady of Guadalupe Apron! Feminine and Beautiful!

Available here.

 

Hands Free Mama is the digital society’s answer to finding balance in a media-saturated, perfection-obsessed world. It doesn’t mean giving up all technology forever. It doesn’t mean forgoing our jobs and responsibilities. What it does mean is seizing the little moments that life offers us to engage in real and meaningful interaction. It means looking our loved ones in the eye and giving them the gift of our undivided attention, living a present, authentic, and intentional life despite a world full of distractions.

With his facile pen and from the wealth of his nation-wide experience, the well-known author treats anything and everything that might be included under the heading of home education: the pre-marriage training of prospective parents, the problems of the pre-school days down through the years of adolescence. No topic is neglected. “What is most praiseworthy is Fr. Lord’s insistence throughout that no educational agency can supplant the work that must be done by parents.” – Felix M. Kirsch, O.F.M. https://amzn.to/2T06u28 (afflink)

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

The Winner Is…. & Theresa’s New Line of “Bella” (Beautiful) Bar Soaps!

23 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by in FF Tidbits, Give-Aways, My Shop - Meadows of Grace

≈ 7 Comments

Thank you all for entering the Giveaway! You are inspiring to me and I appreciate every one of your comments!!

And now….the Winner of the Finer Femininity Giveaway is….

Congratulations, Mariana! I have sent you an email!

Introducing my daughter, Theresa’s, new line of Bar Soaps!!

Theresa has worked hard to make these soaps pleasing to the eye and to get them to a refreshing and lovely creaminess while keeping the standards of being an all-natural soap for you! They are 100% natural, using all scents from 100% Essential Oils and ingredients from all natural sources…clays, turmeric, activated charcoal, chlorella etc! These soaps truly are amazing and you will be coming back for more!

They make a lovely gift!! They are available here.  

(Keep in mind that ordering multiple bars makes the shipping much more cost-effective.)

These are the soaps available right now for purchase. Available here.

“The wise mother, having an eye to the future, will at once 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.” -Annie S. Swan, Courtship and Marriage And the Gentle Art of Home-Making, 1894

 

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.

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

Lovely Quotes & A Giveaway!

15 Tuesday Jun 2021

Posted by in Give-Aways, Inspiring Quotes

≈ 83 Comments

Some lovely quotes for your day…. (AND A GIVEAWAY!)

Do not be deceived by beautiful sentiments and by appearances. You will never see any one become a saint who does not pray. -St. Peter Julian Eymard, Oil Painting by Frederick Daniel Hardy (1827-1911)

Punctuality exacts self-discipline and detachment; it often asks us to interrupt some interesting, pleasant work in order to give ourselves to another kind, perhaps less attractive or less important.
However, it would be a great mistake to esteem our duties and to dedicate ourselves to them according to the attraction we have for them or according to their more or less apparent importance.
All is important and beautiful when it is the expression of the will of God, and the soul who wishes to live in this hole he will every minute of the day, will never omit the slightest act prescribed by its rule of life. -Divine Intimacy

Forgive. “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” ~ Ruth Bell Graham. This is one of the truest statements ever made. Decide you’re not only going to be his lover – you’re going to be his forgiver. Be quick to forgive and get good at it. You’ll probably have lots of opportunity to practice it. -Lisa Jacobson, 100 Ways to Love Your Husband https://amzn.to/2EkBO3F (afflink)

“A desire to be beautiful is not unwomanly. A woman who is not beautiful cannot properly fill her place. But, mark you, true beauty is not of the face, but of the soul. There is a beauty so deep and lasting that it will shine out of the homeliest face and make it comely. This is the beauty to be first sought and admired. It is a quality of the mind and heart and is manifested in word and deed.” – Beautiful Girlhood, Mabel Hale http://amzn.to/2pOKmtj (afflink) Illustration by http://www.genevievegodboutillustration.com/
🌸💞I want to be able to lay my head down at night knowing I have connected with those things that matter most…..
So that when my life is at its close it can be said, “You have run the race, you have fought the good fight.” and I will be remembered, not for what I have accomplished, but for HAVING LOVED WELL….. -Finer Femininity
“Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself…do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage.”
Introduction the the Devout Life― St. Francis de Sales

No one likes to be taken for granted. In any human relationship a little sign of appreciation goes a long way. Life does not have to be a hard pull uphill all the time. To know that someone, especially the one we love, values our efforts sends us off with our heads in the clouds. The wife who is wise enough to show her husband appreciation for all his efforts will keep his heart fixed upon her. – The Wife Desired, Fr. Leo Kinsella http://amzn.to/2rtUpb9 (afflink)

“The Crucifix on the wall, the pictures of Our Lord and His Mother – the loveliest you can afford – the little shrine with lights and flowers – these unceasingly speak to your little ones of God’s love and His Beauty, preparing them for that friendship with God, that willing, personal submission to Him that is true freedom and happiness.” -Dominican Nun, Australia, 1954, Painting by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller

She ought not to be ignorant of what used to be considered the chief, if not the only occupation for women,—she ought to be fit to keep house on the shortest notice. It is a woman’s heritage. -Gentle Art of Homemaking, Annie Swan https://amzn.to/2XhJsGS (afflink)

“I do not know any among the ordinary conditions of life as good and desirable as that of a life of service or of daily labor. A life of labor has always been considered, by spiritual persons, most favorable to the soul. To have nothing which we are obliged to do may seem very fine to our worldliness and love of ease, but it is most dangerous. You know the old saying: ‘The devil finds work enough for idle hands to do.’ It is most true. Idleness opens the door for the worst temptations.” –GUIDE for CATHOLIC YOUNG WOMEN by Rev. George Deshon, 1863

Painting by Sheri Dinardi

And Now….A Giveaway!

Today, I’d like to offer you a Summer Giveaway!!

The winner will receive this lovely package…

Just leave a comment here, and your name will be added! It is always great to hear from you. 🙂

I will announce the winner next Tuesday, June 22nd!

The Catholic Mother’s Maglet!

The following pages in this Maglet (magazine/booklet) is for you…to inspire you in your daily walk as a loving, strong, patient Catholic mother.As mothers we have an awesome responsibility, as one of the key people in our children’s lives, to help mold them into happy, well-adjusted, faith-filled adults. This Maglet is filled with unique articles and anecdotes to help you in this journey.It is unique because most of the articles are written by men and women (some priests and a Dominican nun) who have lived in an age where common sense was more of the norm. Their advice and experience are timeless and invaluable…

The Precious Blood and Mother Prayer Book!

This is a wonderful little prayer book that I have used all through my married life. The prayers are beautiful and the promises wonderful!

Here are titles of some of the prayers:

-Memorare to Jesus, Mary and Joseph

-Our Lady of this House

-Prayer for Choosing a State in Life

-Act of Consecration to the Precious Blood and the Blessed Virgin for Children

-Memorare to St. Joseph (and many other beautiful prayers to that Glorious Saint)

-A Prayer in time of Affliction, Wars, Pestilence, etc.

…….Beautiful Prayers to many Saints

….and many, many more. It is a small prayer book with around 150 pages. You will find it a superb companion to your prayer life.

Lovely Wire Wrapped Rosary Bracelet Set!

Take your rosary wherever you go with this one decade, one Our Father lovely and graceful rosary bracelet! Matching earrings are included.

 

 

Losing your peace of soul over the state of the world and the Church? Don’t! Consider the following books…..

We live in an age characterized by agitation and lack of peace. This tendency manifests itself in our spiritual as well as our secular life. In our search for God and holiness, in our service to our neighbor, a kind of restlessness and anxiety take the place of the confidence and peace which ought to be ours. What must we do to overcome the moments of fear and distress which assail us? How can we learn to place all our confidence in God and abandon ourselves into his loving care? This is what is taught in this simple, yet profound little treatise on peace of heart. Taking concrete examples from our everyday life, the author invites us to respond in a Gospel fashion to the upsetting situations we must all confront. Since peace of heart is a pure gift of God, it is something we should seek, pursue and ask him for without cease. This book is here to help us in that pursuit.

Reverend Irala here addresses ways to promote mental and emotional well-being to help increase one’s health, efficiency and happiness. He speaks on topics such as how to rest, think, use the will, control feelings, train the sexual instinct, be happy, and choose an ideal. Included are also many practical instructions on dealing with mental struggles of all kinds. This book is most useful in our present times of worldly confusion.

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