Leane VanderPutten, mother of eleven, grandmother of twenty-seven, shares with you tidbits that she has learned from….Morsels that will help you and your loved ones keep on that path that is grounded in that Sense of the Sacred, in every walk of your journey. In many ways, Our Catholic Church, our society and our families have lost this sense, this reverence. We need to get back to where our families are once again venerating Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, where the liturgy is lived inside the home, where couples are reverencing each other, children are respecting their parents…and women are cherishing and realizing their incredible role in bringing this “Sense of the Sacred” back to our homes!
You and Michael certainly have been leading a busy social life! I’m glad to see how often you do things together, but be careful not to let that eclipse the deeper dimension of your marriage. Movies and dinners with friends are enjoyable, but only you two together can develop an I-Thou relationship in which you have each other as the exclusive theme of interest.
In this special relationship between you and Michael, no third person or object detains your attention: you look at each other, into each other’s eyes, into each other’s souls, and dwell exclusively in each other’s presence.
This deep soul-to-soul relation should be at the heart of your marriage and must continually be deepened and enriched if your love is to grow. I know of many marriages that have grown cold or even failed because involvement with other people or with children has become so predominant that the I-Thou dimension has receded completely into the background. The spouses have turned their attention completely away from each other into other activities.
Be careful that this doesn’t become a problem for you and Michael. Newlyweds, especially, often engage in such an exhilarating whirlwind of parties and other activities (not to mention jobs) that every night they fall asleep exhausted, but not really closer to each other as persons.
As time goes by, your lives will get even busier (especially when you have children) and there will be more obstacles to the leisurely, sweet intimacy that you now enjoy (and which should be preserved at all costs).
So now is the time to develop a deep I-Thou relationship between you and Michael, a relationship you’ll have to nurture as long as you live. Your time for each other will gradually grow less, but don’t let your lack of time become an excuse for avoiding intimate talks between you.
Above all, never let your I-Thou encounters become limited to the sexual sphere, which ought always to be a manifestation of your spiritual union rather than the only common meeting you ever have. Success in marriage isn’t so much a question of time as of loving longing.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta is certainly one of the busiest people on earth, yet she spends hours absorbed in prayer and loving contemplation of our Savior. It is here alone that she finds the spiritual and physical strength to face her crushing duties.
Similarly, throughout your marriage, you should try to reserve moments for you and Michael in which you forget everything else, talk to each other, concentrate exclusively on each other, and revivify your love.
In these moments, let Michael and your love for him be your great, all-absorbing theme. These intimate moments will increase your mutual devotion and bring you both deep happiness. I keep you constantly in my prayers.
Love, Lily
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
You are the first to teach your children that lying , stealing, disobedience, anger and revenge are wrong…. ~The Catholic Family Handbook, Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik
Make a statement with these lovely and graceful handcrafted aprons….fully lined….made with care. Aprons tell a beautiful story…..a story of love and sacrifice….of baking bread and mopping floors, of planting seeds and household chores. Wear your apron with joy….it is a symbol of Femininity….”Finer” Femininity!
A very valuable book for the guys plucked out of the past and reprinted. It was written in 1894 by Fr. Bernard O’Reilly and the words on the pages will stir the hearts of the men to rise to virtue and chivalry…. Beautifully and eloquently written!
A very beautiful book, worthy of our attention. In it, you will find many pearls of wisdom for a woman striving to be the heart of the home, an inspiration to all who cross her path. You will be inspired to reconsider the importance of your role of wife and mother! Written by Rev. Bernard O’Reilly in 1894, the treasures found within its pages ring true and remain timeless…
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We were always careful about paying our children for jobs they did for the running of the home. We never did allowances…but if done correctly, I think it could work. We don’t want to raise children who are entitled and who expect money for everything or just that their services are worth more than they actually are. Gift-giving was moderate and so our children and our grandchildren are grateful for the smallest gift!
I heard a mother say, “I never allow other people to take advantage of my child. Send him on their errands!” This is the beginning of “let George do it.”
Children should be encouraged to do work for others, and not just for pay. We are our brothers’ keepers. How else are children to discover what it is to serve Christ in their neighbor?
When they’re little, they don’t even want to be paid. They like to do things for people because it gives them a feeling of usefulness. Pay for such tasks should be primarily satisfaction, perhaps a piece of cake and a glass of milk. Maybe, on rare occasions, a very small amount of money.
Too many youngsters overpaid for work in the years of elementary school emerge from high school and face the world with one idea only about work: “How much am I going to get?”
There’s time enough to earn money, and there are jobs for the high school years that involve real work and a just wage for it. But spoiling a child’s opportunity to experience the real satisfaction of working for love of neighbor is doing him a grave injustice, and it’s rarely undone.
Overpaid, he will not work well, and he will work only until he has what he set out to get — not until a job is finished. He’s a clock watcher in the making, and he will so overrate his worth as a workman that he will never be satisfied to do anything for a just wage. It won’t be entirely his fault.
Parents of children who work for their neighbors should make it clear they don’t want them overpaid. Character training, learning to respect a job for its challenge, is far more valuable than a little extra money.
Paid baby-sitting is another custom that has made great inroads on the doctrine of neighborly charity. Responsible baby-sitters deserve just wages, and there are many who have no other way of earning money that’s badly needed.
But in the rush to grow up and join the ranks of the wage earners, many young girls are being deprived of their opportunity to serve with love, of even the idea that there are deep rewards in service for love.
Mothers are now so frantic for baby-sitters, at whatever wages, that they’re on the defensive. It’s no longer a privilege to sit with a neighbor’s baby; it’s an act of condescension, and if — as has happened from time to time in our town — local industries slow down and family wages are reduced, mothers and fathers who are vitally needed members of a PTA or a church society cannot afford to pay babysitters and so drop out of organizations in which their talents are needed for the common good.
A better way of breaking in potential baby-sitters (when mothers are timid about accepting service for no pay) is baby-sitting for barter. I have paid baby-sitters with coffee cake, with homemade bread, with drawings, and with baby-sitting myself. (Learn how to make homemade bread: all baby-sitters are dead ducks within sniffing distance of homemade bread.)
We have two baby-sitters extraordinaire whom we love with all our hearts, worth every nickel of their pay (and when you baby-sit with seven children, you deserve your pay). They endeared themselves to us for all time this past Christmas.
One said, “I’m not going to take any money from my friends for sitting anymore. I get a wage, and I don’t need their money, and they have families and more expenses than I.” Another gave us a Christmas box with a fat bow and inside a year’s baby-sittings “for free.” There is joy in serving, but only those who try it find out.
Help Your Child to Find Joy in Serving God and Family
Allowances, when a family can afford them, raise another question. Should children be paid for the week’s work, or should they receive it in any case?
Our feeling about this is that allowances are, in part, a sign of appreciation for cooperating with the work of the entire family. They’re also a token share of the family wealth, when there’s any wealth to share.
But there are certain restrictions as to how they may be spent, what portion should go into the Sunday offering at Mass, and so on. Obligations incurred through carelessness, such as the lost screwdriver or a broken window that resulted from playing ball in the house, must be paid for out of allowance money.
Children are encouraged to share their allowances with the poor, sending some off to the missions or to some particular family that we know is in need.
Such things as second-hand wheels needed for homemade jalopies, material and pattern for a skirt, seeds for planting one’s special stand of corn, are bought with allowance money. And, of course, there are weeks when things are very tight, and there’s no money for allowances at all; then everyone goes without.
Then there’s the problem of the child nearby who doesn’t have to do any work. “Why doesn’t she, and why do I?” This isn’t always easy to handle. In the face of a living example of someone who’s quite happy without having to do any work, all the high-minded theory seems to break down.
The value of training in work, the joy of service, the serving of God are attractive ideas until someone else is waiting outside to play while you still have to wipe the dishes and feed the baby. But they are the answer, just the same.
It’s hard to apply them to this situation without seeming to make ignoble comparisons, and we mustn’t do that. We have found the most convincing persuasions to be loyalty to the family cause (we all need to do our share so that the family will be happy and things go smoothly) and using the work for a heroic intention.
“Remember the children in poor countries, who need your prayers and your love. Remember our missionaries, who are trying to do so much with so little. It won’t take long to do these few dishes, and then you may play. Do them for the love of children who have no homes to work in, no lovely outdoors where they may play, who don’t even have dishes to wash or the food to put on them.”
Inviting the guest in to wait, or, if she wishes, to help, often solves the problem. Indeed, children who do not have to work at home frequently discover that it’s fun to help at the home of someone who does.
If I am not capable of great things, I will not become discouraged, but I will do the small things! Sometimes, because we are unable to do great things, heroic acts, we neglect the small things that are available to us and which are, moreover, so fruitful for our spiritual progress and are such a source of joy: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things, I will now trust you with greater. Come and share your Master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:21) -Fr. Jacques Philippe, Searching For and Maintaining Peace
“Sacrifice means compromise. Maybe you’d always be willing to subjugate your own wishes because of your love, but your partner, in turn, should be willing to deny his (or her) wishes so that you can have your way. Thus the act of giving is shared, and the act of taking is shared too.” -Rev. George Kelly, 1950’s
Catholic mothers everywhere are looking for innovative ways to teach their children the basic truths of our Faith. There is so much out there to offer to those mothers on this journey…..so much in the way of the latest software, latest videos, etc.
Maybe we need to get back to basics!? …The basics of forming those young minds with tools that our grandmothers and those before them used. Here are books that fulfills that need…The Catholic Mother Goose!
Here is a complete guide to mature, responsible, even noble behavior in our complex modern society. Written in the 1930s by a wise Jesuit priest and steeped in the wisdom of the ages, these pages teach the timeless principles that have led countless souls to true success and lasting happiness.
Without condescension, Fr. Garesché shows how to maintain a healthy mind, resist temptations, grow temperate, practice fortitude, think kindly of others, and choose worthwhile amusements. He even explains how to accept criticism graciously and how to develop the kind of confidence that is not rooted in pride, but is the necessary foundation for any life that will be productive and holy. Once you assimilate the wisdom here, you’ll know how to find genuine success the success that transcends money, fame, and pleasure.
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.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
This subject is dear to my heart. There is an Association some of us belong to in our home. It is called the PTAA, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. (Please note that I don’t endorse this website in its entirety, only because I don’t know much about it. I only use it to be united to others in making the pledge.)
It is a Catholic, Dublin, Ireland-based Association and one of the first members was Frank Duff (pictured above) who founded the Legion of Mary (and is now a Venerable.)
In the following excerpt, Fr. Lord laments the fact that the pledge is no longer in use….well….it is! Through this association, you can make the pledge to abstain for alcohol until you are 21, or for a temporary time (say, a year) or you can become a “life-er”.
We wear a pin (hubby’s lousy at this…he loses it…so do I), and say a prayer twice a day offering our abstinence for those who suffer from intemperance.
Our daughters have taken the pledge for a time. Margy did it for a 3 year period, Rosie has done it for a year and then renewed. It is great for the young people to be involved. They see the potential dangers of alcohol…and are doing something about it!
So many people suffer from the ravages of alcohol. No, of course, alcohol is not evil, and if used in moderation, it is a gift. (And our kids understand this, too).
But…so often we see those who can’t (or choose not to) do the moderation thing.
Alcoholism touches so many of us. It is not prejudiced….it ruins lives among the poor and rich, among both men and women, the lower class and the elite, Catholics and Protestants, etc….
So, if you want to check out this Association and make the pledge….go for it! It can be such a valuable mortification! It is there for those who suffer from the disease of alcoholism and for those wishing to make this sacrifice to help those who suffer from it! Click here for more info: PTAA
Question: How do these modern children pick up drinking habits?
From the drinking habits of adults.
Children are naturally imitative. They ape anything they see or hear. They learn to speak by mouthing the sounds they hear around them. Their first educational processes in school and out of school are through imitation.
Before they know what faith means, they imitate the religious practices of their parents; they make a funny little motion with their hands that is somehow their reproduction of the sign of the cross.
It happens that today adults are doing a lot of plain and fancy drinking. If the children see pleasant drinking in the family, wine or beer served in moderation at meals, the cocktail an additional luxury of greater moment, they stand a fine chance of associating it with normal, wholesome family living. They may learn to drink without acquiring bad drinking habits.
If mother and father are known never to drink, and if early their parents tell them why they do not drink, the children may follow their ways.
The reasons for total abstinence can well be good and can readily be made appealing: the thirst of Christ, the dangers of drinking, the better fun that a young person can have without drinking, the ugliness of the drunkard, self-control, the bodily strength and athletic skill of nondrinkers, the desire to bring one’s body and soul to full and unimpeded development.
Right now, however, the child is constantly stimulated to imitate his drinking elders. Hardly a motion picture is shown in which the leading man and leading woman aren’t taking a drink. In some of the recent pictures almost continuous drinking by everyone marks the development of the film.
And in some pictures that most repulsive of humans, the drunk, is treated as if he were a delightfully pleasant, charming eccentric.
The children in their room upstairs or adjacent to the living room hear their parents and the guests getting high, tight, and maudlin—or quarrelsome and stupid. What is the effect?
First fear, then revulsion, then angry protest, then an accustomed acquiescence, then more than a suspicion that drinking must be fun or accompanies fun, then the desire to be grown-up and adult too—then the sampling of the drink . . . and the start of the drinking habits of “these modern children.”
We American Catholics made a great mistake when we allowed the total-abstinence pledge to be dropped–to disappear, in fact, from the safeguards of youth. Once that pledge was part of the ritual that surrounded first Holy Communion. All children were expected to take the pledge until the age of twenty-one. It was a great idea.
But it was killed by that unfortunate era known as prohibition. In our desire to protest against the thing we called morality by law, we endangered morality by habit, example, and free choice.
I sincerely wish that that pledge could be restored.
But even the pledge will not save the younger generation so long as the older generation sets the current example of substituting drinking for practically every form of social life….so long as children see drink thrust at them from the screen, the newsstands, and the practices of slightly older boys and girls.
Question: This young father drinks beer continuously in the presence of his four young children. Will the children grow up to be drunkards?
Even should I peer with concentrated attention into the father’s most recent glass of beer, I could not clearly see the future.
I happened to know however a certain father who was always just a little bit sodden. He would have raged at you had you suggested that he ever got drunk. He took only a few drinks during the course of the evening; that was all. He was never completely drunk.. ,but he was never completely sober.
With real pity I watched the reaction of this man’s children to him. His eldest daughter positively hated him. She was ashamed of him and disgusted with him. When she brought home some of her young friends, he was likely to be a little maudlin and not quite clear in his speech. He tended to paw and be silly or sentimental.
His only son thoroughly despised him and regarded him as a sot. The youngster hated drink in all forms and didn’t touch a drop—as long as I knew him, which was into his early manhood.
His second daughter was simply sorry for his wife, her mother. She avoided him when she could and concentrated her love and thought on the mother. When he spoke to his children, they faced him with baleful eyes. His influence was not as bad… because it was nil. Those children were, as a they were concerned, fatherless.
I think I felt sorrier for him than I did for his children.
One who, in order to please God, perseveres in prayer although he finds no consolation in it, but rather repugnance, gives Him a beautiful proof of true love. –Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, Divine Intimacy www.finerfem.com
“Marriage is much bigger than the couple’s love for each other. Marriage is a sacred work two people have to do for God. Love helps, makes it easier to do, but the job demands doing even if ardor has cooled….”
Graceful Religious Pendant and Earring Sets…Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted
This graceful Vintaj necklace can be worn every day as a reminder of your devotion. Get it blessed and you can use it also as a sacramental. Each link of the wire is hand-made and wrapped around itself making the loop permanent.
A beautiful and colorful 30~Day Journal! This journal is for the single lady who is in the interim before finding her vocation in life. At this very important crossroad in life, this journal can help with discipline, inspiration and encouragement.
All of the quotes deal with a young lady’s time in life….whether it is courtship, religious vocations, modesty and just a better spiritual life in general. A form of Morning and Night Prayers that I have used personally through the years is included at the beginning of the Journal.
This 30~day journal is a tool that will help the young woman to be disciplined in the next 30 days to write down positive, thankful thoughts. It will help her focus on the true and lovely by thinking about good memories, special moments, things and people she is grateful for, etc., as she awaits the time her vocation is made manifest to her.
NOW is the time to improve our lives! Available here.
It all began in a cafe, like so many of the meaningful moments in my life. He and I were sitting together over a grande latte in the newly-opened coffee shop at the Green Hills Mall when my dear friend Susan walked in.
My face lit up as soon as I spotted her. She and I had only known each other for a short time, but we’d made an immediate connection the minute we met…Soul-sisters.
Our young family had recently moved to Nashville and I’d felt rather alone up until then. Being with her was like a breath of fresh air to me.
So I shot her my sunniest smile, “Hey, girlfriend! C’mon over!”
A big hug before both of us began bubbling over with all the latest news. I complimented her on her new dress. I told her how much I liked the way she was wearing her hair. I thanked her for the book she’d lent me and emphasized how glad I was to see her!
At some point, I noticed how subdued my husband had become. I waited until she’d left us, then asked him what was up. Something was clearly on his mind. I could tell that much.
He said it so softly, I barely heard him. “I wish you’d do that for me.”
“Okay, I don’t mean to be difficult… but do what??”
“Light up with a sweet smile. Speak kindly and say nice things.”
No further explanation was needed. I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about. And he was right. I was all smiles for Susan. Saved my grumpies for him. Rarely bothered with the niceties anymore. Not particularly gracious or polite.
In all honesty? I didn’t offer too much of this kind of thing to my husband. He was supposed to love me “just the way I was”. No frills or syrup for him.
But how hurtful for him to see me put on my “sweet face” for everyone else—everyone except the man to whom I’d pledged my lifelong love. Here I was handing out the big smiles and warm compliments to my new friend….and dribbling out the tired frowns and whiny complaints to him. There’s something not quite right about that.
Now don’t feel badly if you’re cringing. I was cringing too. Somewhat sickened, really….Definitely convicted.
So, girlfriend, that’s what got me thinking…. If we’re putting on our brightest smiles for our sisters… If we’re saving our warmest words for our friends…. If we’re sharing our kindest thoughts with the girls….
Then we might want to consider how hard it must be for him to watch. Maybe he doesn’t mention it, but my guess is that he’d appreciate some of that warmth and kindness shown to him too.
So even if he’s around most every day, why not light up when he walks in the room? Tell him how handsome he’s looking today…. How glad you are to see him. A big hug and maybe a bit more. Put on your sweet face and say nice things.
Be like a breath of fresh air to him.
Be a kind wife.
“Home should not be just a place. Rather, it must be THE place. All else should be ‘outside.’ Home should be the center of activities and interests. It was built for births, courtship, marriage, and death. It is maintained so that children might grow, trained by precept and example – so that they will develop spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, just as they do physically.”
– Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook
“Do not try to remake your husband. Prize your own individuality and put up with his…”
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Dear Young Lady, You are at a very important crossroad in your life. In the next short while your vocation will be settled and you will roll up your sleeves and fulfill God’s will in that role. This will, ultimately, be your means to happiness in this life and in the next.
The decisions you make in this short interim before that will greatly affect your whole life.
While you are waiting for God to manifest His will to you, you want to increase your inner happiness right where you are at, not waiting to be happy AFTER you find your vocation!
That is where this journal comes in. All of the quotes deal with your time in life….whether it is courtship, religious vocations, modesty and just a better spiritual life in general.
You will be disciplined in the next 30 days to write down positive, thankful thoughts in this journal. You will be thinking about good memories, special moments, things and people you are grateful for, etc.
This will help you to work on that inner happiness that needs to be developed even before you find your vocation. Now is the time to improve your life!
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)
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Catholic Mother Goose ~ Jack and Jill, Sing a Song of Sixpence, The Rats are in the Monastery, etc.
Join me as we read some delightful poems from Catholic Mother Goose….highlighting the beautiful traditions of our Faith. The Children will be reminded of such things as the sacramentals, the timeless truths of the Catholic Religion, the Works of Mercy, etc.
What a fun and easy way to turn those little minds to what is most important in their lives….their Catholic Faith!
Today, I’d like to offer you a Spring Giveaway!!
The winner will receive this lovely, fully lined Apron made by Gin!
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! 🌺 💗
Just leave a comment here, and your name will be added! It is always so great to hear from you. 🙂
I will announce the winner next Thursday, June 26th!
To see more of Gin’s aprons for sale visit our Etsy Shop here.
“Let not your imperfections discourage you; your God does not despise you because you are imperfect and infirm; on the contrary, He loves you because you desire to cure your ills. He will come to your assistance and make you more perfect than you would have dared to hope, and adorned by His own hand, your beauty will be unequaled, like His own goodness.” Divine Intimacy
Beautiful Our Lady Wire Wrapped Rosaries! Lovely, Durable. Each link is handmade and wrapped around itself to ensure quality. Available here.
Here is a complete guide to mature, responsible, even noble behavior in our complex modern society. Written in the 1930s by a wise Jesuit priest and steeped in the wisdom of the ages, these pages teach the timeless principles that have led countless souls to true success and lasting happiness.
Without condescension, Fr. Garesché shows how to maintain a healthy mind, resist temptations, grow temperate, practice fortitude, think kindly of others, and choose worthwhile amusements. He even explains how to accept criticism graciously and how to develop the kind of confidence that is not rooted in pride, but is the necessary foundation for any life that will be productive and holy. Once you assimilate the wisdom here, you’ll know how to find genuine success the success that transcends money, fame, and pleasure.
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.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
We must realize that building back to traditional values starts, first, in ourselves and in our homes. Which, in turn, will affect our communities and society in general. And our dress is a powerful means to do just that! It IS like a billboard saying, “There is still something beautiful, noble and good in this world, and it is worth living for…
“Boys and girls must be taught as tiny tots to love modesty. Even though they are too young to sin, they can and ought to be impressed with the beauty of modesty. Training in modesty is pre-eminently the function of the home, to be begun from earliest childhood.” -Archbishop Meyer of Milwaukee
Every minute counts! Let Saint Joseph remind you of the time with this beautiful Saint Joseph pocket watch. Available here.
Here is a marriage blueprint that every woman can follow. Happy marriages do not just happen, they are made. It takes three parties to make a good marriage; the husband, the wife, and the Lord. This book is concerned with helping the woman to become the wife desired and therefore loved that every man worth having wishes to find and keep.<P> This book sold over a quarter of a million copies shortly after its publication in 1951, and it was read by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It is a practical manual. It should be read by every woman considering entering the matrimonial state and also by those women who are already married.
We all have it . . . the desire, the longing for love. God meant for marriage to be beautiful, resilient . . . lovely, but this broken world can make it hard sometimes. 100 Ways to Love is a practical guide to find and live in the rich, fulfilling marriage God intended for husbands and wives. You can get beyond just living in the minimum of your relationship. Ladies, we have one shot at loving our man. We all have the capacity and capability to love him and to do it well. It’s time for our marriages to start thriving in love.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
Now if you will face honestly the facts about your own destiny, then almost automatically you will rear your children to face honestly and bravely the facts about theirs. And if you do that, you will have prepared your children properly for life – for this life and life everlasting…. An article from The Family and the Cross by Joseph Breig, 1959
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.”
by Cardinal Mercier:
I am going to show you a secret to holiness and happiness. For five minutes every day let your imagination be quiet, close your eyes to everything they see, and shut your ears to of all the world’s noise so that you can withdraw into the sanctuary of your baptized soul, the temple of the Holy Ghost.
And speak to that Holy Spirit and say to Him:
“Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I adore Thee. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen and comfort me. Tell me what I ought to do and order me to do it. I promise to submit to anything that Thou requirest from me, and to accept everything that Thou allowest to happen to me. Just show me what Thy will is.”
If you do this your life will be quiet and peaceful, and comfort will abound even in the middle of troubles. For grace will be given to match any stress together with strength to bear it, grace that will take you to the gates of Paradise, full of merit. Such submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of holiness.
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.
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I think it would be a great idea to have a Tea Party for one of the Twelve Days of Christmas! Girls and Boys alike enjoy tea parties…and older folks, too! And it would be a good opportunity to pull out the nice china and set a real spread! We love tea and tea parties over here! We don’t take time to have them too often but it is always a good time! (Scroll down for the recipe links!)
You can plan a tea party of your own…..simple or a little more extravagant, with a little help from Emilie Barnes.
Christmas is a special time for friends and family to gather together, and a Christmas tea offers a wonderful chance to celebrate your relationships and the season itself. Let your Christmas tea be your special gift to friends, family, and yourself.
Tea parties are more personal than a general party. There is something about a tea party that brings out the best in people – the best behavior, the best intentions, the best attitudes. We expect a little more of each other when we come to tea, and we tend to live up to those expectations. We give a little more. That in itself is cause to celebrate!
I begin planning my holiday tea party in October, because it takes time to get the details just right. Keep your eyes out for pretty Christmas-themed notecards with no message inside to use for invitation. Send them out by the end of November.
There are no limits on the decor for a tea party. Take advantage of the wonderful decorating materials that are available – sparkling red and green fabrics, lush and fragrant greens, and all kinds of candles. Fragrant pine garlands, red berries, shiny red apples, pretty ornaments, poinsettias and anything Christmassy are great for an arrangement or special centerpiece.
The table can be as decorative as you like. I usually pull out all the stops and use my best china and fancy white linens for this celebration. I love to decorate each guest’s plate with a little candle held in a special clip – the same kind used many years ago in Europe to secure little candles on the Christmas tree. There are no rules to decorating. It’s whatever sets a tone and mood for your party. Play Christmas music to add to the merriment!
And load the table with a variety of sweet and savory foods. I usually have a special tea, some tea sandwiches, a fancy cake, fruits and a special cheese like mascarpone, and decorated Christmas cookies. Everything is presented on doily-lined trays…it’s almost too pretty to eat!
The most special part of this holiday tea is when we share our favorite memories and Christmas blessings together. I light the candle of the person nearest to me and ask her to share a Christmas thought or Christmas blessing. After she speaks. she lights the candle of the person next to her, who then shares her Christmas thoughts. Around the room we go with each person sharing a bit of her heart.
Spiced Russian Tea
6 teaspoons Russian blend or any good black tea
1 pinch cloves
1 1/2 pints freshly boiled water
Place tea and cloves in pot, add water, and brew for five minutes before pouring. Add sugar and lemon to taste.
Almond Chicken Tea Sandwiches
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped coarsely
1/2 cup slivered, blanched almonds
1/2 cup mayonaise
White or wheat bread
Butter each slice of bread well. On half the slices, spoon about 3 tablespoons of almond chicken mixture. Top with remaining slices.
Wrap in wax paper and again in a slightly dampened kitchen towel. Let filling set for at least an hour before serving. Cut off crusts and trim into pretty shapes.
The following are links for some Festive Food Ideas! Christmas season is not over…let us continue to celebrate!
Peanut Butter Cups:
“The secret to a good peanut butter cup isn’t the chocolate. What really makes them shine is finding the right peanut butter center. We couldn’t use just peanut butter because that would leave the wrong texture, and would probably effect the shape of the cups we’ve come to hold dear. The trick, we found, was to mix the peanut butter in with some confectioners’ sugar and graham cracker crumbs. It provided just the right amount of sweetness with some firmness to it as well to make the peanut butter cups a perfect no-bake treat.”
This classic Christmas dessert is too delicious to have just once a year. So our family serves it for birthdays…and whatever other occasion we can think of! —Cynthia Butt, Winnipeg, Manitoba
“I adapted a Bundt cake recipe to create this layer cake. Cranberries, walnuts and homemade frosting make it taste so delicious that you’d never guess it starts with a convenient cake mix.” —Sandy Burkett, Galena, Ohio
“Many years ago, while taking my nieces on a little nature walk, I remember watching as my youngest niece picked up a pinecone and tried to eat it. I can only imagine how prickly the scales were on her tiny tongue! Here’s an idea for a pinecone snack that’s sure to make curious tastebuds happy.”
Happy 5th Day of Christmas! “The childlike faith and hope of simple peasants found fulfillment in a Child. Christmas came rushing into their uneventful lives on the wings of an Infant’s smile, and the low-voiced gratitude of a mother welcoming these first Christmas guests who, in a beautiful single gesture, adored her Son and filled her day with the sweet fragrance of their Christmas greeting.” -Fr. Daniel A. Lord, Art by Donna Gelsinger, https://www.donagelsinger.com/
New Podcast!
Join siblings Gemma (15 years old) and Angelo (14 years old) as they discuss the efficacy of Journaling and of using their Traditional 30 Day Journals….
Just in time for those New Year’s Resolutions!… 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.
NEW!
Traditional Catholic Tabletop 2022 Calendar Coil Binder Book!
Do you have a hard time writing appointments in the calendar as it sits on the wall? Are you tired of taking down your calendar to flip the pages and see when your appointment is?
Here is a 2022 simple calendar that is made to sit on your table top or desk top in order to write in the spaces when your appointments are, etc. All the feast days of the traditional Calendar of the Catholic Church are included each day!
It is coil binded to make flipping the pages easy. The first page is a plastic covering and the last page is a heavier colored cardstock.
This will be a tremendous help in keeping things organized as each busy month goes by!
In With God in Russia, Ciszek reflects on his daily life as a prisoner, the labor he endured while working in the mines and on construction gangs, his unwavering faith in God, and his firm devotion to his vows and vocation. Enduring brutal conditions, Ciszek risked his life to offer spiritual guidance to fellow prisoners who could easily have exposed him for their own gains. He chronicles these experiences with grace, humility, and candor, from his secret work leading mass and hearing confessions within the prison grounds, to his participation in a major gulag uprising, to his own “resurrection”—his eventual release in a prisoner exchange in October 1963 which astonished all who had feared he was dead.
Powerful and inspirational, With God in Russia captures the heroic patience, endurance, and religious conviction of a man whose life embodied the Christian ideals that sustained him…..
Captured by a Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a “Vatican spy,” Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. Only through an utter reliance on God’s will did he manage to endure the extreme hardship. He tells of the courage he found in prayer–a courage that eased the loneliness, the pain, the frustration, the anguish, the fears, the despair. For, as Ciszek relates, the solace of spiritual contemplation gave him an inner serenity upon which he was able to draw amidst the “arrogance of evil” that surrounded him. Ciszek learns to accept the inhuman work in the infamous Siberian salt mines as a labor pleasing to God. And through that experience, he was able to turn the adverse forces of circumstance into a source of positive value and a means of drawing closer to the compassionate and never-forsaking Divine Spirit.
He Leadeth Me is a book to inspire all Christians to greater faith and trust in God–even in their darkest hour. As the author asks, “What can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a gift from the hands of God and strives always to do his will?” This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
A Favorite Christmas Novena ~
The St Andrew Novena
The Christmas Novena, the St Andrew Novena (November 30th – December 24th), is I believe, one of the most popular Catholic Advent prayers.
My family and I love to say this novena each year in preparation for Advent. We offer the intention as a family intention, one we wish to gain for the family as a whole, and also a private intention, one that each one of us would like to gain like a particular virtue or help in fighting against a vice.
Because the prayer is longer than nine (9) days, and not quite 27, it’s technically not a novena or a set of novenas, but, because it is prayed ‘novena style’, that is, repeatedly for a set amount of days, it is referred to as a novena.
In my family, we have found that we remember to say the novena best when we attach it to our daily Rosary. We set the slips of paper that we have written or printed the prayer out on next to our Rosary bowl. I do know other families say this novena with their grace before dinner while they light the candles as part of their Advent wreath prayers.
The prayer can be said at anytime during the day, but if you have a regular time the whole family is together like for the Rosary, morning/night prayers, or at meals, it might be a good idea to say the novena at a set, regular time.
Imagine a child who loves you…he is willing to do just about anything in his power to please you.
NOW imagine the Christ-Child. He too is willing to do just about anything for you. Everything is in His power to do and to give, as long as the petitioned favor isn’t contrary to what Our Lord deems necessary for your eternal salvation. This is an important caveat that I have trouble remembering! 😉
In this Advent season of preparing for Christ’s coming, the St Andrew Christmas Novena is a loving way to prepare ourselves and our families.
St Andrew holds the honor of being the first apostle to be called by Christ to follow Him.
This novena is a bit different in that it does not invoke the intervention or aid of the saint himself, but is adoring, glorifying the hour of Christ’s birth and seeking aid from God Himself!
The novena is begun on the Feast of Saint Andrew, November 30th, and is said thru Christmas Eve, December 24th.
**(If you start late, or if you miss a day do not be discouraged! Catch up by saying the extra prayers you missed along the way….Jesus will bless every effort!)
St Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and Blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
Recite 15 times per day. It is permitted to break it up and pray 5x’s in the morning, afternoon and evening, but for the sake of missing one of the times and forgetting, I prefer to say them all at once.
Prepare for Miracles!
This Advent Chaplet is to keep track of your 15 Christmas Novena prayers. It has a lovely brass crucifix, is durable and wire-wrapped to last for many Advents to come! Limited quantity. 🙂 Included is a laminated prayer card with the novena prayer on it. If you are interested click here.
Review: “Quality materials and workmanship. There will be no losing beads because the wire is beautifully woven in and around each bead itself. The box it came in had a handmade flower glued on it, inside a little ribboned gift bag with the prayer card. It could have been gifted as is. Shipped quickly.
An aside: This chaplet was quickly and accidentally adopted by my four year old because “It’s pretty so its prayers will be pretty.” Well, that isn’t quite the point but I love how little kids’ minds make connections. We prayed 15 Glory Be prayers that day, and the next day 15 little Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity.”
NEW! December Planner Printable! Print & Use each year!
Review: “I have been looking for a couple of years at getting a pretty pricey Catholic planner. I had a very hard time justifying the cost because, “what if it wasn’t actually useful?” When I saw this I was super excited. I have a printer and the price point was perfect. Even going and buying a fancy binder and pretty paper doesn’t have me close to the other price. Some days I use every aspect and every blank and other days I’m lucky to get one line filled out. Because it is so beautiful and yet so price friendly I do not even have to feel guilty about those days I mostly miss! This has been a Godsend and I am eagerly awaiting the December download! Thank you Leane for another wonderful product!”
For those who have the Advent Journal, this is your November 30th page that has the heart that can be checked when you have said your novena for that day. Don’t forget! Printable Journal Available Here.
“Children must be taught constantly from their tenderest years to have a real love and friendship for their Angels, to have boundless confidence in them. They must be accustomed to feel and realize the personal presence of their Angels, to call on them in all their fears and troubles.” -Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, All about the Angels
Leane and Theresa from Finer Femininity discuss the lovely Catholic customs and traditions in the home during the Advent and Christmas season…
A unique gift! Make a statement with these lovely and graceful handcrafted aprons….fully lined….made with care. 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! Available here.
24 Windows to Open
Find a Picture & Corresponding Bible Text Behind Each Window
Glitter on the Front
A Great Family Tradition
11″x14″
24 Windows to Open
Find a Picture & Corresponding Bible Text Behind Each Window
Glitter on the Front
Sits Easily on a Tabletop or any Flat Surface
Folds Out to Over 18″x9″
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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.
This subject is dear to my heart. There is an Association some of us belong to in our home. It is called the 
The Christmas Novena, the St Andrew Novena (November 30th – December 24th), is I believe, one of the most popular Catholic Advent prayers.
