Cottage Blessings

Our Lady of All Patience

This afternoon, the older four girls and I went to First Saturday confession. I entered the confessional to repeat the same sin I confess month after month after month--"Father, I was impatient with the children." My pastor smiled, telling me (yet again) that he hears this from mothers all the time.

Is it any wonder that today, of all days, I came across this--a Hymn to Our Lady of All Patience (what a title!) written by none other than our beloved St. Louis de Montfort? Here it is, an anthem to Our Blessed Mother suitable for mothers everywhere:

Come to my assistance,
O gentle and divine Mary,
Come to my assistance!
I suffer and groan every day.
Be compassionate to my troubles.
Free me from them, I beg you.
Come to my assistance!

Help me,
You are most merciful,
Help me!
Everything is under your rule.
Give me then some help
Or at least, the gift of patience.
Help me!

Please click here for the next five stanzas of St. Louis' hymn. He really seems to have been suffering when he wrote it, but it is a fine testimony to his faith in Our Lady's love and care.

For the Feast of the Holy Name

O Lord Jesus Christ, teach us to love Your holy name, to hold it in awe and pronounce it with reverence. Deliver us from the sin of blasphemy. May the holy name of Jesus be infinitely blessed!

Vouchsafe O Lord, for Your Name's sake, to reward with eternal life all those who do us good. Amen.

Prayer from: Novena Calendar

Activities requiring no advance preparation:

--If you still have candy canes on hand (or even if not), show the children how the canes may be turned over to form a "J" in honor of the blessed name of Our Lord.

--When I was growing up, my parents always bowed their heads upon hearing or speaking the Holy Name. If this custom is new to you, consider introducing it as a new year's resolution.

--Recite the Litany of the Holy Name after dinner.

--Sing "Holy God, we praise thy name." [Hauntingly beautiful rendition here--please exercise caution when going to youtube. Complete lyrics may be found here.]

--Light a candle, preferably white or red, in honor of the Holy Name.

--Create an ornament or picture, cake or cupcakes with the letters "IHS," symbolic of the Holy Name.

--Read today's Mary Vitamin [627, The Holy Name of Jesus].

--According to the Mary Vitamin, "St. Isaac Jogues carved the Holy Name of Jesus into the trees around His mission house in upstate New York, in deference to the power of the Holy Name over the devils." How about allowing the children to hang a handmade sign featuring the Holy Name on a tree (or trees) outside?

Christmas Eve, a photoessay

These pictures show the joy of Christmas Eve, although they leave out the visit to my mother after evening Mass. This was the first year since we have been married that she did not come to Mass with us, exchanging presents by our tree afterward. In many ways, this Christmas feels surreal and incomplete, yet, even in sorrow, there is great rejoicing--a time to laugh, a time to weep.

Daddy snapped this photo, although it would have been so much nicer if he had been in it. I love the way the little ones are tending to their crying Eileen. As you can see, I remain true to form, looking like a combination of Olive Oyl and Ruth Buzzi:

Usually, our tree is up about a week before Christmas, but this year we were putting ornaments on minutes before leaving for church:

After Mass, it was Marie's turn to put the Baby Jesus in our outdoor nativity:

We did not manage a "path lighted by candles," but our candlelight procession cast a warm glow on the cold winter's night:

The flames needed to be protected from winter wind while we sang carols:

And Marie tripped in the tangles beneath her feet, yet was none the worse for wear:

Warming up indoors, Daddy lit a fire and we exchanged our annual Kris Kringle gifts. Marie, my Kris Kringle this year, presented me with this lovely ornament:

And a picture worth treasuring:

Here is the newest tradition at our house--the Christmas Pyramid--a wonder of engineering given to me this year by Daddy and the children. It runs on the heat of three candles:

If you would like to see our new pyramid in operation, please click here: Christmas 2007. The children, right down to three year old Maureen, do a heartfelt and unrehearsed rendition of Away in a Manger. (They all think it sounds horrible, but I still love it, even with the little ones singing off key!)

Eileen's expression perfectly captures the warmth and joy we wish you this Christmas and always!

Glory to God in the highest!

Do you remember that Easter Pageant soldier?

The one who almost played the Blessed Mother, but fit the soldier costume instead?

Well, here she is again--this time beaming in blue!!!

Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent and Merry Christmas!

Scenes from the Feast of St. Nicholas 2007

Last year, we shared pictures of a day spent at a friend's house crafting and baking for the Feast of St. Nicholas. We continued the tradition this year with many of the same activities, but a few new twists as well.

There were cookies to cut:

Mexican God's Eye Ornaments (the perfect simple and inexpensive craft to make in advance of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe):

We brought our traditional sled full of cookies:

And taught the children how to make these easy Take Along Mangers in Miniature reminiscent of last year's craft. (For details and materials, please see today's post at O Night Divine):

This little project was engaging for the older ones, but simple enough for a three-year-old:

And speaking of simple, my friend Mary taught the children to make these religious ornaments--cardboard discs embellished with holy images and trim:

Look how the baby has grown! It made me laugh to realize she is wearing the same outfit, only now she has grown into Maureen's dress from last year!

St. Nicholas, patron of children, pray for us!

Margaret's Wreath for Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dark blue with stars to recall Our Lady's Mantle, roses for St. Juan Diego, and black velvet ribbon make up this simple wreath. We read recently that Aztec women wore black ribbons around their waists to show they were expecting, hence the black ribbon around Our Lady's waist in the image on the tilma.

Candy Cottage for Our Lady

Last year, we began a new tradition in our home--putting up a gingerbread house on the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto, a date so closely associated with Our Lady's prayerful and holy home.

Hoping to continue the tradition simply and manageably this year, I purchased a Wilton Cottage Cake Pan a few weeks ago. It reminded me of the Holy House of Loreto as depicted on holy cards and in this coat of arms:

[Loreto Coat of Arms courtesy of International Civic Arms.]

We began with plain yellow cake mix, ready-made frosting, pink and purple sugars, gumdrops, gummi bears, mini-marshmallows, and colored wafers:

Once the cake was baked, it was a snap to frost in white. Theresa gave the cake a crumb coat, and Margaret and Marie to applied the candy embellishments. This they managed skillfully [I was making dinner and let them at it on their own] in spite of the help offered by Patrick, Maureen, and Eileen.

Margaret was particularly proud of her own innovation--a chimney made of mini marshmallows:

Here is the work in progress--Marie's snowman stands to the left:

It was my bright idea to put the cake on a pedestal cake pan to keep out of the way during dinner. We left it in the dining room on the piano out of reach of the little ones.

Midway through dinner, disaster struck!

We heard a sickening thud and raced in to find our candy cottage face up on the floor:

Margaret's chimney was no more:

And look at our poor piano! [This photo was taken after we cleaned the keys.]

Disappointed, but undaunted, Margaret set about a reconstruction. The fact that we already had a picture of the cake in its original glory was a comfort to her. We talked about the Holy House in Loreto and how angels carried it from the Holy Land to Italy to prevent its desecration. Our Candy House had moved unexpectedly too! We like to think the angels helped it land face up, even though it fell face forward. : )

Every year, I save particularly beautiful Christmas cards, knowing we may eventually find a good use for them, and this image of the Blessed Mother in red was just the thing for our pretty house. I left a bit of the card edge at the bottom to stick into the icing, creating a vibrant "Loreto" cake topper:

A group of cherubs hold up the base, reminding us of the many holy card images we have seen of Our Lady of Loreto:

At the end of the day, the children gathered round, of all things, the laptop computer. We made the Consecration to Our Lady of Loreto from the wonderful Minnesota Mom. Having just prepared for the Total Consecration on December 8th, this was especially meaningful.

Before bed, I blessed the children with Loreto Oil from the Holy House, sent by my dear friend Anne for my mother. What a blessing it is to have such good and thoughtful friends!

Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us! Bless our homes and our families, and make us more like you!

California Mission in Miniature

Last week, we made miniature Wayside Shrines similar to the ones I loved in Ireland as a little girl. After our summer in San Francisco, there is no doubt the California Missions made a similar impression on my children. We were blessed to visit four of them during our stay--Mission San Rafael, Mission Dolores (San Francisco de Assis), Mission San Luis Obispo, and Mission Carmel, the burial place of Blessed Junipero Serra.

With the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe right around the corner, this seemed a good time to create our own miniature mission shrine, using elements inspired by the four beautiful missions we remember so well. We began with a double sided wooden frame from the craft store. The tiled roof made us think of the missions:

The photo of Mission Carmel below gives a glimpse of the terracotta tiles so common in mission churches:

Eight-year-old Marie enjoyed painting the tiles of our "mission":

Mission San Rafael is creamy beige with crosses on top and two topiaries gracing the front:

The first side of our shrine, representing the outside of the missions, has a similar look:

Monuments to Father Junipero Serra, here shown in the garden at Carmel, may be found all over California:

If you look closely at the side of the church in Carmel, you will notice graves adorned with sea shells:

A holy card image of Blessed Serra, along with a small seashell, complete the first side:

For the interior, we drew inspiration from the freestyle flower borders of Mission San Luis Obispo:

We all loved the way this simple border echoed the ones we remember:

This wall of statues from Mission Dolores in San Francisco is typical of the missions--there are always many statues and images to inspire:

We adorned our mission "interior" using saints' images from a broken bracelet and a holy card of Our Lady of Guadalupe:

After the summer we had, it seems appropriate to have this reminder of the California Missions displayed prominently on our Advent table. It will also make a double-sided centerpiece for our Guadalupe Tea next week.

Blessed Junipero Serra, pray for us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Wayside Shrines in Miniature

And oh, when the heart faints with longing,
He is there, though our eyes cannot see;
The Compassionate One, bending o'er us,
Stoops to hear the heart's sigh, "Pray for me!"

--from The Wayside Shrine by Martha Elvira Pettus

When I was a small child, I fell in love with the roadside shrines of Ireland. It makes me smile to think back upon one afternoon in particular: As my father cast a hopeful line over the River Blackwater in County Cork, I piled wildflowers at the foot of a shrine to Our Lady.

In hopes of recreating this sweet and simple memory, we spent the weekend fashioning miniature wayside shrines small enough to grace a pot of pansies, but so lovely they just might remain in my children's hearts forever.

Several months ago, I purchased these church-shaped wooden garden stakes at the craft store for fifty cents each:

We began by painting a base coat in acrylics:

We added moss, silk flowers, small statues and crucifixes, and other embellishments.

Here are a few of the shrines we made so far:

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (spring theme):

Roadside Crucifix (winter theme, complete with a touch of artificial snow):

St. Anthony (summer theme):

Agnes' St. Jude (Agnes is taking "Judith" for Confirmation this year):

Marie's St. Joseph (a gift for Grandma):

Margaret's Advent-themed Shrine (front):

Margaret's Shrine (back view, with Divine Mercy image taken from a broken bracelet):

Margaret's adaptation--Holy Water Font:

Holy Water Font (rear view, with Infant of Prague):

Theresa's Our Lady of Grace shrine:

Marie's Crucifix in the Rhododendrons:

Three-year-old Maureen's pink Sacred Heart shrine:

Here's a pretty mess--I couldn't resist this shot of some of the production crew hard at work behind the scenes. (Also, it occurs to me for the first time that the walls inside just about match the carpet of golden maple leaves outside.)

A small silk butterfly alights atop the spring-themed shrine to Our Lady of Mount Carmel:

Materials and Ways to Improvise

I found the wooden church stakes in A.C. Moore craft store. They were made by Nicole Crafts, reference number WOD 1204. It is often difficult to find specific craft items online, and your local store may not stock these. Any paintable wooden garden stake might be used or adapted (we used flat heart-shaped stakes to make an entire set of the Stations of the Cross years ago--we also made Sacred and Immaculate Heart shrines from heart-shaped stakes a while back). If you are unable to find stakes, small wooden churches or birdhouses would work quite well, as you can see from the rear view of last year's St. Francis birdhouse craft. I often challenge the children to figure out ways to bring ideas to life from natural materials found outside. These shrines would be beautiful created from pieces of wood, bark, moss, acorns and stones gathered in the backyard--or perhaps items you might otherwise discard, like clementine crates. Can you imagine a little shrine tucked away in the knot of a tree?

The possibilities for embellishment are endless, and religious images may be taken from paper holy cards, catalogues, broken bracelets, pins, or rosaries. DiscountCatholicStore.com sells mini-pocket saint statues (3/4 inch) for $1.55.

May the saints bless you on your way, now and always!

An Advent before Advent

Earlier today,Lissa told me she is planning on preparing for a Monfortian Consecration to Jesus through Mary. Checking the calendar at the back of her copy of True Devotion to Mary, she was delighted to find the next preparation period begins tomorrow (November 5th) and continues until the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. Needless to say, I hopped on board with her, realizing this is the perfect lead in to Advent.

According to St. Louis de Montfort, the first twelve days "should be employed in casting off the spirit of the world, which is contrary to that of Jesus Christ."

I hope some of you will join us in prayer this month, asking God's blessings upon our homes and country and taking Mary into our hearts. Here are the exceptionally beautiful prayers to be said daily:

November 5th to 16th: Twelve Preliminary Days

November 17th to 23rd: First Week

November 24th to 30th: Second Week

December 1st to 7th: Third Week

December 8th: The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Interestingly, I saw a box of 45 beautiful little Hanukah candles in the supermarket the other day. The white and blue tints and traditional Jewish pattern reminded me of the Blessed Mother, so I popped them into my cart, hoping to find some use for them in the weeks ahead. Now I am thinking about lighting one each night, illuminating the house more and more as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception approaches. After using 33 candles, there will be just enough left over for the 12 days of Christmas!

Online reading materials to assist with the preparation:

The USCCB Bible

Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin by St. Louis de Montfort