Cottage Blessings

Present company excepted

Maureen: I can't find a bandaid, and Eileen has the biggest cut in the world!

Mom: That's OK, honey. Why don't you just comfort her with your presence?

Maureen: I don't have any presents!!!

For Helen: A Tea in Honor of Our Lady of Altagracia

With a smile on our faces over Anne's good news, we look forward to the long anticipated birth of Helen's little one (not to mention Elizabeth's!), due on the Feast of Our Lady of Altagracia.

You may remember that when Helen began the Hidden Treasure forum over at 4Real, she used the calendar to find "Our Lady of Altagracia" as its patroness. (The forum was scheduled to debut on her Feast, January 21st.) I had never heard of this title for Our Lady, but when Helen told me she was the patroness of the Dominican Republic, I quipped, "Well, I guess we know what country you will be adopting your next baby from." We both laughed, and, knowing the Blessed Mother, Helen agreed that this was quite likely.

Three months later, Helen found out Our Lady had a different grace in store: She was expecting a baby due on January 21st.

[Yes, I know you know that story! But it is such a good one--how can I not repeat it?]

Here is a Tea in Honor of Our Lady of Altagracia, served in thanksgiving for Helen's baby and to Our Lady for making this title so well known to all of us.

In planning the Tea, I consulted the Novena Prayer translated for us by Helen. If you have a moment, please refer back to it to understand the references below. It might make sense to read the prayer with the children, pointing out the symbolism of the items on the table.

Altagracia Tea

Activities:

Our Mother's Hands

The Love of our Hearts

Three Graces Tea Menu:

Love of Purity

Home Blessings

Maternal Arms

A Sweet for Our Lady of Altagracia

Activities:

1. Our Mother's Hands

At the outset of the tea: Create delicate paper hands to represent the loving hands of Our Lady. Help the children to draw or write their blessings on each hand, remembering to thank her for "the innumerable favors we have received from [he]r hands." Take a moment to remind the children of the image of the Miraculous Medal also showing the graces shining from the hands of our heavenly Mother.

2. The Love of our Hearts

Pass out paper hearts, allowing the children to decorate them lavishly (after all, Valentine's Day is coming up, making this the perfect decoration for the season), writing or drawing their special offerings to Our Lady. This could be a love letter to her from each one of us, including a word from the adults. We remember to offer her "all the love in our hearts."

Three Graces Tea Menu:

The Novena specifies the three graces we request from Our Lady, and the menu offerings of the tea reflect them in a simple way. [This is not fancy, but it is do-able!]

3. Love of Purity.

We serve something white representing purity to accompany the vegetables in the next menu offering. There are many recipes for dip that is white, and ranch dressing might work as well as anything.

In asking for the grace of purity, we remember the perfect purity of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

4. Home Blessings.

We remember the humble home in Nazareth, asking for a shower of grace upon our homes through holy marriages. Our Lady of Altagracia is the patroness of the Dominican Republic, so we remember "Home Blessings" with produce that grows in this, her chosen homeland: snap peas or pea pods. [Here is a picture of pea pods to give you an idea of the type to buy.]

When you break open the side of the pod, the peas inside look like a family in their house. If the children have never heard the expression, "like peas in a pod," this would be a good time to mention it.

5. Maternal Arms

We ask the grace of flying to Heaven with the help of Our Lady's maternal arms. Small twisted pretzels would be the simplest possible addition to the table, and would go well with the dip. The original German pretzels were meant to represent arms crossed in prayer, but I think they would make a wonderful maternal embrace for these purposes. [I am hoping to keep this as simple and inexpensive as possible. As you can see, the first three offerings are not sweet or extensive. They are meant as a small snack, leaving everyone ready for a rich dessert!]

It is no coincidence, by the way, that the Novena to Our Lady of Altagracia takes place only a few weeks after the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3). May we never cease to praise His holy name, engraving it on our hearts forever. [Please refer to the Novena prayer to see the connection.]

6. A Sweet for Our Lady of Altagracia:

The chief exports of the Dominican Republic are coffee, sugar and bananas. A delicious dessert honoring Our Lady of Altagracia could be made by spooning carmelized bananas over coffee ice cream.

To carmelize the bananas, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Slice the bananas in half and sprinkle with butter and brown sugar. Bake about 7 minutes or so. [You might be able to do this over the stove as well. I'd need to experiment!] If this is too difficult, use plain ripe bananas over coffee ice cream--or even vanilla ice cream with bananas and a drizzle of coffee syrup.

Sometimes improvising is key, particularly this time of year! I do not know about you, my friends, but we still need to get our Christmas decorations put away, so "less is more" at the moment!

Altagracia Tea, Shopping List

White dressing (ranch or homemade)
Snap peas or pea pods
Small twisted pretzels
Firm bananas
Butter
Brown Sugar
Coffee Ice Cream

Annuncia Mary

Oh, how I love that name!

May God bless her and her dear family always!

. . . and rises again . . .

Friends, thank you for all your prayers.

We still have not heard the results of Maureen's bloodwork, but she surprised us today by getting back on her feet, running around and playing as usual, as if she never had a complaint in the world. This was a blessed surprise, particularly because she was awake in the middle of the night crying over her hip pain!

I can only conclude that the many, many prayers said by all of you worked wonders!

Good news tends to flow in spurts, and you will be very happy to know that Anne had her beautiful baby yesterday! [You will love the name!] I do not want to give away any specific information in case Anne hopes to pass the joyful news herself. Helen may have posted it to the 4Real Message Board by now, so please be sure to check!!!!

I can't thank all of you enough for all your prayers and kindness these past few days. It has made a huge difference here, I assure you.

There is a lot going on during this Altagracia Novena!

[Update: Maureen's bloodwork is all fine! She is running around and as spry as ever. Thank you for all your prayers!!!]

The roller coaster dips

Maureen woke up this morning with a pain in her hip. I was not concerned at first, but when she was still lying on the couch at 1:30, it seemed time to call the pediatrician.

He could not understand what was wrong. She hasn't been sick, hasn't had an injury, and has no bruise--yet she is in serious pain, not even wanting to stand up.

The doctor ordered xrays and bloodwork. The xrays came back negative, and we haven't heard news about the bloodwork.

Needless to say, I am jittery.

Would you please keep Maureen in your prayers tonight?

I woke to good news!

Anne is in labor and asks for prayers! Her message arrived about four hours ago, and I cannot wait for a bit more news!

Thank you for praying for my mother yesterday. Her surgery went well, and she is recovering.

Our Lady of Altagracia, pray for us!

Another well-timed Novena

Ever since the Loreto Cottage Novena Reminder Service was formed, it is not uncommon for mothers to write letting me know that a novena planned months and months before took placed during a time particularly significant for their families.

This is what I think has happened for us during this Altagracia Novena. Helen told me about it months ago, and now it is taking place precisely at a time my mother needs prayers more than ever--and, amazingly, it leads up to her birthday.

Please say an extra prayer for my mother tonight. She is having surgery this week and is already in the hospital. When I saw her this evening, she was still in the emergency room. Her nurse's aide was from Poland, and when she treated the man in the next bed, he told her that his mother hailed from Poland and had the maiden name "Wojtyla." He claimed she had been a relative of the Holy Father's.

I could not bring myself to interrupt the conversation to ask questions (and I could not even see the man, who was behind a curtain). Still, he seemed like the perfect neighbor for my mother.

Novena to Our Lady of Altagracia, January 13th to 21st

Today begins the Novena to Our Lady of Altagracia (Our Lady of the Highest Grace), patroness of the Dominican Republic, in preparation for her Feast on January 21st. As you will see, it is a beautiful Novena, particularly for families, and I am so grateful to Helen for translating and sending it to me. You will remember this Marian title has special significance for her.

We pray especially for Helen, Anne, and Elizabeth who are getting ready to greet their new little ones in the next few days.

I would also ask your prayers for two friends of mine who are both experiencing serious marital trouble and for another dear friend whose husband lost his job recently.

For our friend, Amy, as she continues to recover from skin cancer surgery.

We ask blessings for all those couples hoping to adopt or conceive.

And, on a personal note, please continue to pray for my mother. Her birthday is January 21st, and I tend to think this is no coincidence.

If you have any additional intentions, please be sure to add them to the comments.

********

Once again, special thanks to Helen for translating this prayer from the original Spanish:

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our
Patroness.
Look at us here, prostrate in your presence, desiring
to offer you this novena as a testimony of our love
for you and in thanksgiving for the innumerable
favors that we have received from your hands.

You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our
needs.

You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to
learn from the example of your holy life.

You are our Mother, and like children, we come to
offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive,
dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively
to our supplications. Amen

[Here ask for one of the graces you would like to
obtain from the Holy Virgin of Altagracia]

Supplications

1. Oh sweetest Mother of Altagracia,
all pure and Immaculate from your Conception! We
beseech you to bless us, your children, with the grace
to love the purity you practiced and to preserve the
innocence of our children.

Hail Mary…

2. Oh sweetest Mother of Altagracia,
admirable model of Christian mothers and wives in the
humble house of Nazareth, we beseech you to bless our
homes, making them flourish in the holiness of
matrimony.

Hail Mary…

3. Oh sweetest Mother of Altagracia,
you received into your arms the Holy Infant who died
for us on the Cross, we give you all of our
sufferings, so that at the hour of our death we may
die with the name of Jesus on our lips and in our
hearts, and fly to heaven with the help of your
maternal arms.

Hail Mary …

Final Prayer

Holy Virgin of Altagracia!

From your hands and your maternal heart we receive
each day the sustenance that you give to us from Our
Father in heaven.
You are our defense in danger,
our indispensable help in our necessities and our hope in the sacrifices required of the Christian
life.
Through your Immaculate Heart we desire to pay tribute
to God with a hymn of thanksgiving for all the
benefits you have distributed.
We promise you, Oh Mother, gratitude and fidelity.
You will always reign in our homes and in our town,
where all venerate you as Our Lady and Mother, you who
make all virtues increase and thrive.
We are honored to be called your children.

We hope to finish our lives serving God and you until
we reach the highest grace possible, the grace you
will help us to attain, the great gift of heaven
itself.

Amen

Thoughtfulness

So often, I plan to write about something, but never find the time. The story may be a good one, but it gets put on the backburner, left to evaporate as other experiences take its place.

Now that we are two weeks into the new year, I thought it might be worthwhile to look back upon some of those happy, unrecorded memories.

Here is the first:

My sister-in-law, Jenn, is the world's sweetest, most thoughtful person. She is married to my husband's youngest brother and never ceases to amaze me with her kindness. The afternoon before we left for San Francisco, I walked out through the garage to put out the garbage and found her just getting out of her car in my driveway. It was such a happy surprise to see her, I could hardly believe my eyes. "You've caught me!" she exclaimed, laughing, and looking trim and beautiful in spite of being in her third trimester with a new little one.

She had with her eight gift bags and was leaving them for us on the side lawn, presents to take on the plane to California. Each and every one of the children had a book of stamps, stationery, an address book, and other goodies, selected with loving attention to detail to suit their many individual tastes.

Here are a few pictures of some very happy children about to leave for the trip of a lifetime with the gifts from a loving aunt to send them off:

This only child is grateful for her children's many loving aunts and uncles!

A Bundle, a Basket, and a Buche de Noel

When my friend, Mary, invited us over for a potluck supper on the Feast of the Epiphany, we did not know it would turn out to be an evening of wonders, with old-fashioned games, a full-scale Christmas pageant, and even a visit from good St. Nicholas himself. My children and four other families had participated in an art exhibit at a local museum, and the gathering was planned as a way to celebrate afterward.

Here is one of the baskets we brought. Don't you love that Book of Kells tea towel? It was brought home for us from Ireland by my friend, Caroline:

We packed it with all the non-perishable ingredients for a Tea to Celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas and Epiphany [The perishables were toted in a far less photogenic cooler]:

After an afternoon of playing outdoors, the children came in for old-fashioned party games:

My personal favorite was the game of quotes. The children lined up in two teams with words from a famous quote on their backs. The object was to put themselves in the correct order without saying a single word to one another. [First team with the quote in order wins.] Here the girls show the mixed up words to Puck's famous quote, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!":

Next they had a scavenger hunt. All the objects on the list below were hidden in the living and family rooms. As a participant in this particular game, I will tell you they were not easy to find. The items were left in plain view, and the children were asked not to touch anything, so the game did not turn to chaos as it might have otherwise:

With the games completed, my friend Kari brought all the children upstairs to prepare for a beautiful, impromptu Epiphany Pageant, complete with poetry and hyms. They pulled names from a hat to determine roles and came down to perform for the parents.

I was amazed at how quickly they pulled it all together, right down to costumes. Here the parents wait for the performance:

The cast poses after a job well done:

While they were rehearsing, Mary, Caroline, Aleta and I set the table for the Epiphany Tea. You will notice we brought our Christmas pyramid along as a centerpiece. The children loved it, even when one of the candles fell momentarily and started to burn the surrounding wreath:

Here is our hostess Mary's clever take on "Baby Jesus in a Manger" for the Epiphany Tea, homemade gingerbread babes on soft beds of coconut straw:

Kari brought this traditional Buche de Noel:

Aleta made these almond studded jam tarts, a reminder of the host of angels in a starry sky:

[Although I do not have a picture, Caroline brought her famous scones, tiny "pillows" for the Baby Jesus.]

Agnes read her three letters to the Wise Men from last year to the younger children:

Just as we were getting to the last crumb, the doorbell rang. It was late, and we were not expecting anyone, so this was quite strange, but our hostess hastened to open the door:

Lo, and behold, there on the porch was a huge red bag full of presents for each and every one of the children and even the adults:

We did not see who left these welcome gifts, but the children were quite certain dear St. Nicholas had a hand in it:

Maureen was thrilled with her package of small toys and coloring book:

And the baby exclaimed ere she drove out of sight, "Happy Epiphany to all, and to all a good night!"