Sweetness and Light

Hope Springs Eternal

"Jesus Christ Risen, Alleluia!!"  I can hear my kids singing this down the hall, and "I Will Raise You Up" tends to get lots of voice time around here too!! 

The Resurrected Christ is our Glory!  "On the third day, he rose again..." We say this in our Creed, this is our faith!  From Pope Benedict XVI: 

Resurrection means that God holds the reins of history and has not handed over power to the laws of nature.  It means that he has not become powerless (emphasis mine) and that the universal law of death is not, after all, the ultimate power in the world; he is the ultimate, for he is the first. (Seek That Which is Above)

Just like God brought his people to a "land flowing with milk and honey" so too does Jesus in his rising from the dead give us our Hope! 

Our Hope, does indeed spring eternal with his resurrection. 

He is for ALL time, the Alpha and the Omega. 

He is a "light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel." 

His life and death has again come full circle and we celebrate with joy and gladness that we are again saved in his mercy! 

Thank goodness Lent is only 40 days and Easter is a whole 50 days!  It sure makes the fasting of Lent easier in knowing that we can rejoice in the Lord for all 50 days! That alone gives me hope!!

And it would be fitting to continue the idea that "little Easters" can happen every Sunday throughout the year, in fact necessary for our faith and spiritual growth.  I love this idea and we have tried to do this in our domestic church here at home.  I am thrilled that Dawn linked the Tomie dePaola Garden of the Good Shepherd Sticker Calendar for the Fifty Days of Easter!  We are rejoicing in the continuation of our Bible readings that will focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, a delightful way for our children to think of their Lord as a keeper of the sheep!

I delighted in my husbands generosity this past week as he volunteered to watch the younger boys so I could partake in the complete Triduum and watch my older children serve. This is something I've never been able to do before and I pray that I can make the same sacrifice for him sometime soon, perhaps I already have... 

Thankfully, we were fortunate to attend the Easter Vigil as a whole family and the older two also served at this incredibly powerful Mass.  Our younger two boys were so attentive and eager to participate in the Mass and we were privy to witness one precious Baptism, it truly was a little slice of heaven here on earth. 

   

One of the fun highlights of our Easter celebration this year was a delightful Easter Hike!  After a little of this:

...we geared up and went to one of our favorite hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing spots.  This year we opted for our own two feet to carry us!

These photos of our Easter Day celebration and are why I will cling to the idea that our Hope Springs Eternal in Jesus the Risen Lord for our Fifty Days of Easter, and beyond!

 

   

 

We concluded our hike at the lodge where we devoured some well-earned victuals and couldn't resist the sledding hill just outside beckoning us once again into God's creation for some more recreation!

And then it was time to go home...

This last photo reminds me most of Gods endless love and devotion for his created beings.  Violet summed it up nicely when she exclaimed, "Mommy, look at the forest, it just goes on forever."

And so does God's love for his people, in His dying and rising again, he will go on forever!  And our Hope will Spring Eternal in his everlasting glory!

Happiest Easter wishes to you all for the Fifty Days and Beyond!

Jesus is Risen, Alleluia Alleluia!!

Jesus Christ has Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!!  A blessed Easter to you and your families!  May God richly bless you in the Easter mystery!

It's Not Too Late...

...to prepare and do Alice's Spectacular Lenten Tea II.  We will be doing ours again tomorrow for Good Friday, it is a blessing for our family and will surely bless yours too if you choose to participate! Be sure to check out her Easter Tea as well, it will not disappoint!

Blessings in your Tridium celebrations one and ALL! 

Pondering in Hymn

O Cross of Christ, immortal tree
On which our Savior died
The world is sheltered by your arms
That bore the Crucified

From bitter death and barren wood
The tree of life is made;
Its branches bear unfailing fruit
And leaves that never fade

O faithful Cross, you stand unmoved
While ages run their course;
Foundation of the universe,
Creation's binding force.

Give glory to the risen Christ
And to his Cross give praise
The sign of God's unfathomed love,
The hope of all our days. (Magnificat, 3/11/08)

We are learning this one for Lent, singing it to the tune of Lord, Who Throughout these Forty Days.  There is some good food for thought in each stanza.

Have a blessed day!

Seek That Which is Above

The title of Pope Bendedict the XVI's book gives much to ponder for Lent and throughout the year.  It's a beautiful compilation of many of his writings and homilies given over the years, and reading them now gives new light for those who know that our Pope is as close as we will ever come to Jesus in the human flesh.  A few of my favorites selections from the book:

From Fasching:  ...Fasching actually does contain elements of Christian liberation, the freedom of the One God, pefecting that freedom commemorated in the Jewish feast of Purim.
In the end, however, we are faced with a question: Do we still enjoy this freedom? Or is it not a fact that, ultimately, we would like to free ourselves from god, from creation and from faith, in order to be totally free? And is not the consequence of this that we are once again handed over to the gods, to commercial forces, to greed, to public opinion? God is not the enemy of our freedom but it's ground. That is something we ought to relearn in these days. Only love that is almighty can ground a joy that is free from anxiety.

From Journey Toward the Easter Mystery: ...In his Easter gospel, John has expressed very clearly where and how Christ has gone and whither we are to follow him: "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." (John 20:17) He tells Magdalen that she cannot touch him now but only when he has ascended.  We cannot touch him in such a way as to bring him back into this world, but we can touch him by following him, by ascending with him.  That is why Christian tradition deliberately speaks not simply of following Jesus but of following Christ.  We follow not a dead man, but the living Christ...

Am I following the living Christ? Am I separating myself from perfecting my freedom in lieu of material attainments? 

Still journeying along here and pondering.... 

Pondering Today...

Come, Let Us to the Lord Our God

Forgive our sins as we forgive,
You taught us Lord to pray.
But you alone can grant us grace
To live the words we say.

How can your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
Old bitterness depart?

In blazing light your cross reveals
The truth we dimly knew:
What trivial debts are owed to us,
How great our debt to you!

Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls,
And bid resentment cease.
Then, bound to all in bonds of love,
Our lives will spread your peace.

"Stop judging and you will not be judged.  Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6: 37)

"Who then are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4: 12b)

(Meditation excerpted from this months Magnificat)

Many blessings in your day as you contemplate your heart!!

Pondering Today...

"It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself to hear and follow the voice of his conscience.  This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection."  (CCC 1779, The Catholic Home)

Lenten Light

"In the shadow of your wings I take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by." (Psalm 57: 2b)

You will be seeing the Lighter side of Sweetness and Light during this Lenten Season.  I may pop in now and again to post some reflections, prayer requests and any happenings that pertain to this quiet season of solitude and turning inwards.

It is my hope and my wish that all of my visitors will find themselves seeking the Lord and His Blessed Mother in all that you do. 

"May we receive a blessing from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings we have come for refuge, Amen. (Magnificat, Feb 2008)

Mary, Refuge of sinners, Pray for us!  Happy Lent!

Good Friday

"Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see, Whether there is any suffering like my suffering." ~Lamentations 1: 12~

Christ became obedient for us even unto death, death on a cross. (Traditional Responsory for Good Friday~Magnificat)

Photo courtesy of Vatican.va

"...And Darkness Came Over the Whole Land..."

...Hmmm, wonder how this is going to play out for the Easter Egg Hunt upcoming...Oh, I know that's not really our focus here...At any rate, we love to watch the weather roll in!!

Blessings on your day!

Finding Order Amidst the Chaos

Our Lenten Journey this year has been a tumultous round of ups and downs and much chaotic change for our usually stress-free and structured family.  I knew the inevitable was upon us when my dh gave me the news that it was necessary for us to relocate back to our home a couple of hours away from where we had moved only 10 months hence.  We had hoped to be able to stay and make our situation "work", but God as usual had a different and no doubt a better plan. 

Then Sean-Paul got a stomach virus the night we arrived in our home, bummer, that led to a very unhappy and tired little guy, and a worried and tired mama, sigh...

So now two more have gotten it as well AND it's Holy Week.  Yes, sometimes the Corss seems too heavy to bear.  But in reality, this is just a little blip in the screen of our life.  Jesus suffered for ALL OF MANKIND in his Passion and death. 

So, I guess I can muster enough strength and fortitude to assist my family in their time of need, in sickness and in health.  It's likely that the enitre family will end up with this "bug", but for now, it's only been three of the four children.  It is chaotic and seems neverending...

And what about the suffering of so many others in the world?  Does it seem like "just a blip" to them, or is it ALL encompassing in their lives?? 

I am offering our week of suffering for all who will continue to suffer well after we are healed and feeling back to normal again.  May God have mercy on them as he always so lovingly does for us.

Please pray for those in need, especially those with terminal illnesses and sickness of the heart and mind.  May God help them to find some order amidst their chaos in some way...

God's blessings to you today.

A Blessed Holy Week to You!

I wanted to pop in to wish all my friends, family and visitors a very Blessed Holy Week.  Our Lenten Journey's are coming to an end this week with the culmination of the Tridium. 

How was your Lent??  Did you manage as you thought you would??  Did your plan play out or did someone else's?? 

I truly hope that it was fruitful and that your look ahead at the coming Resurrection and Easter celebration will be joyful and blessed in many ways!

Our week ahead includes:

Monday-A Look at Our Lady's Seven Sorrows

Tuesday-Finishing Our Last Supper Spoon Saints

Wednesday-House Cleaning and Resurrection Eggs Activity

Holy Thursday-Special Last Supper Meal and Re-enactment with our Spoon Saints

Good Friday-Fasting and Penace, Veneration of the Cross, a Very Quiet Day, Oh and lest I forget, we'll be doing the beautiful Good Friday Lenten Tea that we enjoyed so much last year, courtesy of Alice at Cottage Blessings!!  This is SO meaningful for us ALL!

Holy Saturday-Preperations for Easter Sunday and the Easter Vigil

Easter Sunday-Easter Mass and a day of much rejoicing and celebration with family!!

Please rest easy in the Lord this week and know that He is God!  Thanks for visiting.   

The Lenten Cross

There is no measuring cup with which God uses to divvy up how much of a cross each person should bear.  He only knows what he has created each person for and how he plans to use that person for His Glory.  Here at Sweetness and Light, we have a rather LARGE cross this Lent.  It's not a cross of physical pain.  It's not a cross of loss.  It's also not a cross of a magnitude any greater than any of the many crosses which you bear, but it's a hard one for us.  For this reason Sweetness will be a bit silent for a while.

Please do not be saddened by this news, only know that you are all prayed for and wished well through the remainder of this Lenten Season.  May God in his Glory bless you in your day as we all await his Resurrection.

Lent Begins and So We Turn Inwards

As Lent begins, we find ourselves turning inwards and begin our journey to the Cross with Christ before us.  We are sinful and sorrowful and will seek the help of His Blessed Mother along the way.  We will find refuge in our short comings as we strive to right our wrongs, do better at things we seem to fall short doing, and learn how to love and be loved by a power so much greater than ourselves.

Our little brood here at Sweetness and Light have begun with just a few simple activities:

• Footsteps to the Cross Chart
• Lenten Saints Feast Days
• Daily Lenten Reflections as we create our Jesus Scripture Tree
• Stations of the Cross Votive Candles
• Easter Vigil Notebook Project (Matthias & Violet)
• Lenten Altar:  Crown of Thorns, Almsgiving & Hidden Alleluia Banner
• Continuing our Mondays With Mary and Fridays With the Gospels devotions
• Meatless Meals and Fasting on Fridays

We are enjoying being once again in the midst of our Little Lent and hope to take this time of "lengthening" to grow in virtue and spirit for the Lord!

May God Bless and Keep You today and always!

What Will You Give Up For +HIM+

What will you give up for HIM who died so that you can have LIFE? 

• Will you forgive and be more forgiving?
• Will you complain less?
• Will you smile through the pain of sorrow and sadness, like Mary?
• Will you do one more load of laundry, wipe another counter, sweep another floor?
• Will you carry the cross you've been avoiding for so long?
• Will you turn the other cheek when someone belittles you, or chastises you for doing what you know to be the BEST for your family?
• Will you judge less so as not to be judged harshly?
• Will you be less critical of yourself and your children and husband?
• Will you be mother, teacher, lover, housewife, friend and caregiver?
• Will you do unto others as they have done to you?
• Will you love your neighbor as yourself?
• Will you love God with all your heart, with all your strength, will all your soul?
• Just What will you do for HIM who died so that you can have LIFE?

These are just some of the many questions I will be pondering throughout this solemn Season of Lent.  Will you join me in a spiritual renewal and virtuous self sacrifice?    I could use the company as I know that "I am weak, and you are strong."

Here is a link to a post I made last year about many of the Saints of Lent.  I hope to try and emulate some of their great virtues with my dear children and husband during this preparation for the Glory to Come.

A Blessed Lenten Season to all my friends and visitors!

Reflections On Our Good Friday Lenten Tea

Well no small thanks can convey the gratitude I have for dear Alice at Cottage Blessings as we were able to have our version of her masterfully creative and spiritual Lenten Tea II on Good Friday. I will have to say that this event was the highlight of Lent for me and perhaps my dh and children as well. What a blessing and a joy it was to have this beautiful preparation of solemn accord in hopes for the glorious Easter to come. I failed to get any photographs of our solemn tea, but hopefully my words can covey the awe and wonder in the eyes of my dear children as I read through the Good Friday scriptures and described the story of Our Lord's Passion and Cruxifiction through the menu items. Even my dear husband was enthralled and impressed. The children didn't even ask if there were to be treats or where the real tea was, they were just enamored with the whole process as the dishes were represented in the Word.

We started with The King's Crown with Softened Cream Cheese Spread in a Pie Plate, I placed salsa in the center and then the Tortilla chips around the rim to make the Crown, it was very impressive and I liked how the red salsa contrasted with the white of the cream cheese to help symbolize Jesus's purity and the blood he would soon shed for us!

For Out of Envy I made Homemade Guacamole to go with the Crown, it was delicious, and the kids really liked the concept of jealousy in the scriptures.

The Purple Cloak was small squares of Organic Fruit Leather (we love this stuff!) This part tied in so nicely with the Crown and then the contrast to the Crown of Thorns.

For The Crown of Thorns I used Round Wheat Crackers spread with crunchy peanut butter and then the children stuck small pieces of pretzel sticks all around for the thorns. Very powerful!!

I had Hard Boiled Eggs with Scull & Crossbones drawn on them for Golgatha. This was met with wide-eyed quiet and lots of "Oh's" as we read through this part of the scripture.

For The Seamless Garment I cut the flour tortillas in the shape of a "robe" and then cut White Cheddar Cheese into small squares for the "lot". This was great, the kids couldn't believe that the onlookers would want to gamble for Jesus's clothes!

We used the Basil to represent the Two Robbers. I also explained that because of Jesus' everlasting love the robbers were forgiven even before they died and met Jesus in Heaven. We then talked about the color green and evergreen trees a little.

Vinegar to Drink was just that, Balsamic, however, we dipped ours in pieces of Baguette.

The Roman Centurian became a bit of a math lesson as we discussed our 100 baby plum tomatoes and they recalled the story we read about St. Longinus and how he might have felt witnessing the cruxifiction.

I forgot to buy mini-muffins and didn't have time to make them, so for Laid in the Tomb we wrapped Challah bread around a red seedless grape and talked about the reverence Joseph of Arimathea showed to Our Crucified Lord.

We served plain cold water in our tea pot in white mugs, we also tore paper napkins for the "temple curtain being torn in two." We tried very hard to start at 3:00PM but dear husband was a few minutes late, everyone still got the gist and we had been pretty quiet most of the day. The kids made beautiful little table-tent cards with all the Menu Items so we could look around the table and see how everything was represented.

It was such a beautifully spiritual event I can't imagine another Lent without this incredible solemn practice. Thank you again dear Alice for enriching my family with your creativity and genius!! And now, Jesus Christ is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!!

And in case you weren't able to do a Lenten Tea, Alice has just posted another incredible offering for An Easter Tea!! Alice I stand in wonder!!

HE IS RISEN, ALLELUIA!!

EASTER BLESSINGS TO ALL MY VISITORS AND FRIENDS!!  OUR BLESSED LORD HAS RISEN, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!!

I wish you all a joyous and happy Easter Season with your dear families and you all mean so much to me!  God Bless you!

The Saints of Lent

When we think of the Communion of Saints and how they reflect the liturgical year there are certain ones that just seem to come alive during Advent while preparing for the birth of Our Lord.  For me, it is entirely the case during Lent that our spiritual connection to the celebrated Saints seem to lead our way to the cross.  There are the obvious ones, St. Patrick, St. Joseph, Sts. Perpetua & Felicity, St. John Baptiste de la Salle, St. John of God, St. Isidore of Seville, St. Francis of Paola, and St. Frances of Rome.  These (and others) are highlighted on our parish liturgical calenders, in the Magnificat, as well as given special mention by our parish priests.  But what about the more obscure pious men and women who made it heroically through the pearly gates with merits worthy of sainthood??

I'd like to showcase a few of the "less-celebrated," though "no less Saintly" people who flank the calendar with the above mentioned. Please email or share in the comments others I may miss, they are all worthy of mention and there are so many.

Saint Colette was a saint chosen by God to bring the religious back to the strict observance of the rules of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare.  At seventeen Colette joined the Franciscan Order and lived as a hermit for 8 years.  At the end of her hermitage she had a vision of St. Francis who charged her to restore the Poor Clares to their original integrity.  Like Francis and Clare, Colette devoted her life to Christ crucified and spent every Friday in meditation and prayer on the Passion.  She foretold her own death and after receiving the Sacrament of the Sick died in her convent at Ghent, Flanders.  This is her prayer:

Blessed be the hour in which our Lord Jesus Christ, God and man, was born.  Blessed be the Holy Spirit by whom he was conceived.  Blessed by the glorious Virgin Mary of whom the God-man was born.

May the Lord hear our prayers by the intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary and by the remembrance of the most sacred hour in which the God-man was born, that all our desires may be accomplished for your glory and our salvation.

O good Jesus! O Jesus Redeemer, do not abandon us nor punish us as our sins deserve, but hear our humble prayer and grant what we ask, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of your holy name. Amen.  ~Colette~

Her Feast day was March 6th.  She was canonized in 1807. 

(Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi)

Saint Theresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart became a Carmelite nun at the convent of St. Teresa of Avila in Florence, Italy.  Her birth name was Anna Marie, but she took the name Theresa Margaret and wanted also to be called "of the Sacred Heart" in order to express her desire to return God's love with all her strength.  "Yes, my God," she resolved, "know that no other longing have I than to be a victim of your Sacred Heart, entirely consumed as a holocaust in the furnace of your holy love."  As a witness to her nearness to God and her love for others she compiled her Maxims on Christian relationships and told of how she felt one should conduct themselves:

Let us do everything for love and, remembering that love longs for love alone, nothing can appear hard to us.

If the actions of our neighbors have a hundred sides, we ought always to look at them on the best side.

When an action is blameworthy, we should strive to see the good intentions back of it.

Her short five years as a Carmelite nun ended in her death at the age of twenty-three.  Her Feast day in March 11th.  She was canonized in 1934.  (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi)

Saint Braulio is a seventh century saint and was a protege of St. Isidore.  Braulio was entrusted to the editing of Isidore's works and reportedly completed some of his unfinished works.  Not to mention his own works which many have given us a clear picture of the type of saint he was.  Braulio was also an eloquent preacher and tried to convince brother Frominian from resigning his office as abbot: 

"...There is not a single occupation that is without its dangers.  Who will guide the ship if the pilot quits his post?  Who will guard against the wolves if the shepherd does not watch?...You must hate the sins not the people.  Even though tribulation brings more than we can endure, let us not be afraid as if we were resisting with our own strength.  We must pray with the apostle that God give us 'the way out with the temptation', that we may be able to withstand, for Christ is both our courage and our counsel, 'without him we can do nothing', and 'with him we can do all things'." (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi)

The Patron of Aragon, Braulio died in 650 and his Feast day is March 26th.

Saint Gemma Galgani is considered the 'Italian counterpart' to St. Therese of Lisieux.  She was a "prayer warrior" of her time and she had many visions of Christ.  She was plagued by chronic illness which led to her failure to become a Passionist nun.  She apparently had a stigmata that is controversial, but at the same time as their appearance she would be granted unusual graces.  She died young at the age of 25 in 1903. 

Her Feast day is April 11th.  She was canonized in 1940.  (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi)

Saint Mary of Egypt a fifth century saint was a witness of repentance, intercession and grace.  She led a very tawdry life that was transformed by the Blessed Mother's intercession.  People identified with her because they felt that if God could forgive her lowly ways, then no sin was too great for God's mercy.  Her story is very interesting indeed, she was able to enter the church after much prayerful repentance and at Our Lady's guidance.

Her Feast day is April 2nd.

I hope that this little glimpse into the lives of these individuals has given you more food for thought during your lenten journey.  I always find some of the more obscure Saints to be quite powerful in their intercessory ways as they are often overlooked.  Of course God overlooks no one, Thanks Be to God, for that.  May you enjoy some Saintly inspirations as you travel on your Way to the Cross.

 

Lent, A Journey of Sorrow & Joy

I am a little behind the 8-ball for this the 2nd day of Lent as we were once again traveling.  Just a brief little sojourn a few hours away and overnight, but necessary for the family, as you see, with all things on the calender, the "winds of change" are in the air for Sweetness and Light. As is with the liturgical calender we have now moved (rapidly) into this time of what I call "preparing for the great sorrow" with our lenten journey and then of course the rejoicing that follows with Easter morning.  The changes that are ensuing for us are both exciting and unknown, just like the Apostles didn't really "get" what was to happen with Jesus on Good Friday, but then realized after His Resurrection that He did all of this for them. 

I always find it interesting when God uses certain situations in our lives to draw us directly to Him without our even realizing it until after the fact.  This isn't entirely the case for us, but the leading-up-to-it part was definately an "aha" moment for my dh and I. 

God is good, so good, that he let His only Son die for us and then showed us that there is still more to come with His Resurrection and the salvation available to all who see.  Please be assured that God will lead if you let him and know that what He has in store for you is worth more than jewels or money or anything for that matter.  I wish you all a blessed season of preparation and rejoicing.

Speaking of Lent

Well, just my luck as I was doing my afternoon "blog browse" (alright, well part of the morning too!) and I happened upon all these great ideas for Lent at Karen Edmisten.  Many of these we have done in the past, but some are new too!  Have fun checking out her links.  Thanks for all the great ideas Karen!