The Immaculate Conception
Category: A Living Liturgy
Advent is close
Elizabeth Floss has a wonderful Advent post up.
I am still combing through the links.
Snow days and cookie baking
Today is another snow day for Ashley so she is making cookies. So far we have gingerbread going. They are spicy and rich, dark molasses type. They are one of my favorite cookies. Later we will start the candy-cane cookies and maybe get to the teacakes today. I need to acquire a new cookie press before doing our spritz. Last we will do the sugar cookies. But it might take most of the week to get it all done.
Kyle went into work, late, but he still went. The roads in our neighborhood are glazed with thick ice, but the main roads seemed clear enough. The house is warm, Christmas music is playing, the air is spicy and as soon as Kyle gets home it will all be good in the world.
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Today begins the Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Advent – The First Week
Hope
For Advent I am sticking a week long post on the top of the page, if you scroll down you will see the newest articles I have put up. I also haven’t been doing Reflections. I will pick these back up after Advent.
In the crowd of people can you see them? The carpenter and his young wife on the donkey’s back are nearly lost. People are busy, children are playing, and everyone has something important to do. Among all this business the very reason this moment exists is almost forgotten. What a perfect image for our world. God winds His way through our lives weather we notice Him or not. Maybe that makes it even sweeter when we turn and see that glimmer of Christ in a place or moment when we least expected to find it. Hope is being open to the possibility that God will reach into our lives at whatever time He pleases and will surprise us with something beautiful.
Sunday, Novemeber 30, 2008
We made our Advent wreath and we lit the first candle after dinner while we sat around the table eating cookies and talking about the fun things we want to do this year as a family for Christmas.
This is the start of a journey. It is a journey that we all know well, yet every year it is a new journey. The unexpected awaited us around each turn. The star we follow, the light that has shown on us for every year leads us anew. This is a journey we take confidently knowing that Jesus waits for us at the end. That beneith the star is love, life, peace and joy — our hope is in journey.
This seems the perfect day to take a little time to set things aside and find quiet and peace as we begin our Advent season.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Mondays are so taken up with business for me. The children have their CCD and Hannah has ballet. So between getting something ready for dinner before leaving the house at 1:45 life feels rushed.
Mondays are so taken up with business for me. The children have their CCD and Hannah has ballet. So between getting something ready for dinner before leaving the house at 1:45 life feels rushed.
While I was looking for some music yesterday I came across of snip of one of the Nativity movies. The scene where Joseph is frantically searching for a place for Mary who is in full on labor. Learning of the manger he actually picks her up and rushes to the creche. He falters for a moment at the horrible little spot, but having no other option lays her softly in the hay to continue the birth.
Mary is in a sense the center of Advent for me. I am not a big “Marian” type. I certainly don’t see anything wrong with a devotion to the Blessed Mother, it is just no chrism. Except for Advent. The first time I started to catch a glimmer of Advent through the eyes of Mary was the year I was pregnant with Ashley. My first baby. I was far from “home” and family. I had very little support and felt very disconnected. I could feel Mary’s heart in Christmas that year. The overwhelming reality of motherhood was pressing everyday a little more as this little person growing inside of me. It made me identify with her in a way I had never been able to appreciate before.
This song gets stuck in my head. The plaintive cry of a woman overwhelmed not just by the child she is expecting, but the unparalleled magnitude of what this all means for herself and world. Just what has she been chosen for and can she do it? It is the desperate joy of being a tool in the hand of God. And it feels desperate. A sense of trusting in God because that is all you have. Child birth is like that for me. I get to the point where there is nothing left but just having the baby. There is no end, just the moment and while that moment is horrific it is also magnificent. Possibly (hopefully) the closest thing I will ever get to understanding the ecstasy of the martyrs.
There is something about being a mother that draws me to God more fully than anything else in my life. It is my vocation. Everyday reminds me how small and unworthy of the task before me I am and how much my every breath depends on the Grace of God. This is a great thing, a wonderful thing, my most worthy work. It is through this very base act of having children that I am connected to the Incarnation. Advent brings that home in a real way each year.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
- The Annunciation – Henry Ossawa Tanner
Wisdom and grace are so often connected to Mary. That in the fiat she exercised the ultimate freedom in offering all she was to the service of God. I think this is the great contradiction that so many modern atheists fail to grasp. If you haven’t already heard about the controversy in Washington over the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s display you might want to watch this video:
The card reads “There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” I am sorry (not really), but that is just so much willfully stupid post modern sentimentality and naivete. There is the underlying supposition that if there was no religion that people would have no differences and nothing to fight over. It is John Lennon’s simplistic ideology morphed into a misbegotten creed which ignores not only human nature but all the good that religious feeling and belief have added to the world and totally ignoring the real evils and wrongs committed by those individuals and regimes with no faith. But somehow I don’t think these people really bother with thinking things through very far. They have a belief and will not look at anything that might weaken that belief. And they accuse people of faith of being the illogical ones… sort of funny in a sad way.
And it is of course the exact opposite of Mary’s simple declaration of faith and submission.. It is somewhat ironic that (arguably) the most praised, honored and respected of woman in all history is a girl who did nothing more important that have a baby. I know that thought probably makes many woman bristle. We girls are taught early on that having a baby is NOT what makes a woman important. Certainly it is nothing to be proud of or take any satisfaction in. Motherhood is fine if you really want to be ghettoized in the suburbs with endless boring days of play-dates and grocery shopping but it isn’t important or really fulfilling. No woman really worth any notice, no one any girl should aspire to would be just a mom. Anyone who praises motherhood or is happy being just a mom must be wrapped in the social constraints of a cruel misogynistic patriarchy that only values woman for their wombs. Just look at the most important woman in the Catholic church who is only important for the babe she bore.
But then that pesky reality intrudes again and despite all the decrying of how life draining, unimportant, unfulfilling and useless to the world motherhood is there are plenty of us who embrace this life and love it. How we ever managed to free our minds from the endless conditioning that we had in public schools and college is nothing short of a miracle. For those of us called to this vocation Mary’s journey to Bethlehem is a model. I don’t think all women are called to motherhood – or even called to it the same way – there are some woman who are called to balance career and family in unique ways for the glory of God and the betterment of the world. But for many of us modern women who looking to fulfill this vocation in a small and simple way Mary is the ultimate example. We leave behind what we have been taught to desire career, fame, or economic independence, and find joy in the simple things, the small and poor things. There is where we see our star and follow it, no matter where it might us led even to that lowly stable long ago and the mother who was brave enough to say yes.
Really cool and fun
You might remember this post from last year. Straight No Chaser’s very cool rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas give it another listen it is well worth it.
Apparently after their video went “viral” last year they got notice by Atlantic records, were reunited and cut an album. Check out the story.
I saw it first over at the Anchoress and I know others like Fr Kyle have linked into it. I feels good to be doing a little, very tiny part to help these great musicians get noticed – because when a lot of us share what we love very occasionally it makes a difference. Viva la Power of the Internet.
Holiday Grand Plan Week Thirteen.
The Official Holiday Grand Plan started on August 31. In order to accommodate the Advent season I have started earlier, and I hope to have everything in order and ready for a calm and spiritual Advent season.
This week the I am focusing on the Kitchen. This is totally out of order, but I really need to back up to the kitchen and do a good turn through it and take inventory for the Christmas cooking.
Last Week’s follow up: I will have the checklist for sorting up soon, God willing. I bought four new Christmas children’s books for the book basket.
Week Twelve: Cleaning: The Official Holiday Grand Plan has the kitchen listed on week six. I like having it closer to the Holidays. My goals in the kitchen are to do a good clean out of the fridge and freezer, cull the baking supplies, check the pantry and make a final shopping list for the items I will need for the holiday baking. Don’t forget the cleaning list for the Kitchen.
Preparing for the Holidays: This weekend is the weekend we are making sure the lights work. I bought my Advent candles already. Cards should be ready to go by the end of next week.
Planning: The Offical Grand Plan has recommendations for this week. My list is a little different since we started a couple weeks earlier.
Gifts: I need to make a trip to get some fabric for the boys. This week I want to get one good shopping trip in.
Cards: Still working on my cross stitch cards. I need to check labels for mailing.
Parties: This week I am doing the first plans for our Christmas eve shin-dig.
Menus: The menu for Christmas eve and what we are bringing to Thanksgiving.
Decorating: Got those Advent Candles, plan for crafts that will be decorations. The thanks giving goodies go up this weekend.
Baking: I need to get anything that I don’t have after going through the kitchen.
Devotionals: I picked up some items for Advent devotionals/crafts. Later today or tomorrow I will have my Advent page up with our devotionals.
Traditions: We have new books. I am looking through to decide which night we would like to go to the Grotto and Zoo lights. We have a couple parties booked. St Nicholas day celebrations. Lot’s of things starting to show up on the calendar.
Advent Video
My friend Jennifer has this posted at her blog. It came out through our homeschool list and it really goes into what I want to do this Christmas season.
Holiday Grand Plan Week Twelve.
The Official Holiday Grand Plan started on August 31. In order to accommodate the Advent season I have started earlier, and I hope to have everything in order and ready for a calm and spiritual Advent season.
This week the I am focusing on the Dinning Room and the Children’s rooms. My dinning room is very straight forward so there isn’t a ton of cleaning there. Normally I would have done the children’s clothing at the middle of October, but this has slipped a month. This is a good time to go through the children’s toys and toss/donate anything that isn’t played with.
Weeks before follow up: The past two months have thrown me completely off task, life happens. This is almost a restart so I have to take a little time to evaluate where I am this week.
Week Twelve: Cleaning: The Dinning Room page at the original Holiday Grand Plan is very helpful.
Children’s rooms: the Grand Plan cleaning page is a good place to start. The main goal this week is to get all the summer clothing/too small/torn, stained and otherwise clothing out of the children’s drawers. I am rather ruthless in this. I developed a checklist for the children’s clothing that I use to “prune back” to and by following it I save myself a great deal of work in laundry and clothing maintenance. I also want to go through the children’s toys. As they grow they do out-grow certain things, some thing break, others aren’t played with. By pruning the toys not only do I make room for the Christmas gifts that will soon be coming, but I create a great deal of sanity in my life.
Preparing for the Holidays: This week I am looking for some new holiday books. We will pull the decorations up from the basement and double check what is working, broken, missing etc. The goal is to have holiday gifts done by the first week in December.
Planning: The Offical Grand Planhas recommendations for this week. My list is a little different since we started a couple weeks earlier. The USPS had a Holiday Planner for mailing gifts. Check it out. If you are mailing gifts over-seas these need to be going out right now. (USPS suggests last week for gifts for overseas troops). We are finalising our Thanksgiving plans.
Gifts: I have fabric for the girls Santa Jammas I need to make a trip to get some fabric for the boys.
Cards: Still working on my cross stitch cards. I need to double check my mail list and order stamps.
Parties: No planning for parties this week.
Menus: No Holiday menu planning this week.
Decorating: Taking down the Halloween decorations and checking the lights and decorations.
Baking: The stores are starting to offer holiday baking items, it is a great time to stock-up. This week we need to purchase any needed containers for freezing and gift giving.
Devotionals: We got our Advent candles from our Little Flowers group.
Traditions: Checking the needed items for our wreath and Advent decorations..
Back to planning for Advent and Christmas
After taking an insanely long break I am returning to the Holiday Grand Plan posts.
Simply Catholic 