Sweetness and Light

Happy Mother's Day!

Not only is it Mother's Day, but it is also the beautiful Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, otherwise known as the 13th of May! Wishing all the beautiful mother's out there a lovely day filled with joyful praises from your family. May Mary our Mother keep us always in her care.

Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be - a God-man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things.  ~ St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary No. 35

God Bless you and Happy Mother's Day!

Blessed Feast of the Assumption

Wishing you all a blessed Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary!!

We'll be celebrating with a High Mass tonight and maybe making some of these fun Assumption Bookmarks. (Click on the picture to enlarge) Can you believe how little Violet is here :)

Have a great feast!

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!!

Intoxicating

 
I was delighted to discover that a few lilac trees grow in our side yard that I hadn't noticed when we moved in last year! Their scent is absolutely intoxicating and lovely. I can never resist walking past any lilac tree without smelling their perfume and delighting in their exquisitely designed flowers. I do believe we will be crowning Our Lady with these delicious beauties this year!! Oh Joy!

May Blooms

 
 

 
 

My window sill companions enjoying all the beautiful May goodness blooming around us!

Have a blessed Feast of Our Lady of Fatima  tomorrow, may you be abundantly favored by Our Lady on this very special feast!

A Day With the Sorrowful Mother

We enjoyed such a lovely afternoon creating pastel gardens for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows yesterday. The children entered in to their work with abandon and several images were created by more than one of the crew.

 

Here they are, hard at their work. A labor of love for Our Lady, indeed :)

 

The finished works on the altar mantlepiece...(not too sorrowful, I might say). To their credit, they were pleased and happy with their work.

 

A little closer look...

 

We finished our celebration in the evening with a family rosary and the Litany of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and some beautiful flower-shaped shortbread cookies! I do hope you were able to enjoy this most glorious feast of Our Lady with your loved ones!

Many blessings to you all.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Here's hoping your feast day celebrations were blessed beyond compare!

Our Lady conceived without sin, Pray for us who have recourse to Thee!

The Merry Month of May ~ Marian Devotions

From the Archives and to begin this glorious month in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Today begins some  Devotions to Our Lady for this very Merry Month of May! I hope you enjoy them and think of Our Lady each time you visit us here :)

"My Queen, my Mother, I give myself entirely to Thee, and to show my devotion to Thee, I consecrate to Thee this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve.  Wherefore good Mother as I am thine own, keep me, guard me, as thy property and possession. Amen. (An indulgence of 500 days)

May you be abundantly blessed in this beautiful month of Our Mother!

Our Lady conceived without sin, Pray for us who have recourse to Thee!

Ave Maria!

 

Have a beautiful and blessed feast of the Holy Name of Mary!

Happy Birthday Mary!

 

Hope your day was special! I know there were alot of "first days back" out there, and my prayer is that it was joyful in every way :)

May our Lady bless you in her Nativity today, Happy Birthday Mary!

Our Lady of the Snows, Pray for Us!

The Dedication of St. Mary Major Basillica in Rome is celebrated today on what we also call the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows.

These Chocolate "Snow" Cookies would make a lovely teatime treat, or perfect to pack into a picnic hamper and enjoy after Mass at a park or the beach!

Just whip up your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe (without the chocolate chips) and substitute 1/4 cup of Hershey's cocoa powder for 1/4 cup of flour.  Roll into balls and roll in confectioners' sugar, bake at 350 degrees for apporximately 12 minutes or until just set, do not overbake, they will flatten and crisp up slightly as they cool! Enjoy with a snowy, frothy coconut milk smoothie, or your favorite summertime beverage!

Wishing you a blessed feast and a beautiful mid-summer week day to enjoy the beauty around you and within your own family!

Thanks for visiting and see you soon :)

Flower of Carmel, Pray for Us!

 (Repost from last year) Have a blessed feast day! And here is the link to our celebration! You will recognize this from My Book :)

I lift my eyes toward the mountains: whence shall help come to me? My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

O beautiful flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, Splendor of Heaven, Holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a Pure Virgin, assist me in this necessity.  O Star of the Sea, help and protect me!  Show me that Thou art my Mother!  O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Mother and Ornament of Carmel, Pray for us!

Virgin, Flower of Carmel, Pray for us!

Patroness of all who wear the Scapular, Pray for us!

Hope of all who die wearing the Scapular, Pray for us!

St. Joseph, Friend of the Sacred Heart, Pray for us!

St. Joseph, Chaste Spouse of Mary, Pray for us!

St. Joseph, Our Patron, Pray for us!

O sweet Heart of Mary, Be our Salvation!

~ Prayer of St. Simon Stock, known as the Flos Carmeli

Here is a fun and easy way to celebrate this feast:

All you need is some Kraft Caramels, a holy card of Our Lady and a toothpick, voila, a sweet and lovely holy card stand!!  We are going to be a little more creative with this tomorrow, I'll post more pics of our celebration later, and in the meantime, check out Catholic Cuisine and also Anne at Under Her Starry Mantle for a delectable Scapular Cake, YUM!!

 

 

Feast of the Presentation of Mary

        The story of the presentation of Mary in the temple as a child captures the essential Gospel protrait of Mary as a woman entirely dedicated not merely to doing but to living the will of God.  He own willing obedience, unhesitatingly given and never revoked, lies at the heart of her life of self-sacrifice offered in love. (Magnificat, November 21, 2009, Feast of the Presentation of Mary)

 

For more on the Presentation of Mary, please visit O Night Divine! 

Have a blessed feast with your sweeties today!

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Don't miss this beautiful reflection from Mary Vitamin for Our Lady's Feast of the Most Holy Rosary tomorrow! 

Here is a little sampling of what you can receive daily for Our Lady: 

John Paul II:

“To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily ‘pause for prayer’ with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated!”

I hope you all have a very blessed feast day!  Thanks so much for visiting today!

Love

Hail Holy Queen

Wishing you all a blessed feast of the Queenship of Mary today!  Making a crown cake like the one at Catholic Cuisine is a fun family activity and yummy too. 

It's a great day to learn a beautiful Marian Hymn and sing to Our Lady as she is truly our Queen and our Mother!

Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above

Hail, Holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria!
Hail, Mother of mercy and of love, O Maria!
Triumph all ye cherubim!
Sing with us ye seraphim!
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

Our life, our sweetness here below, O Maria!
Our hope in sorrow and in woe, O Maria!
Triumph all ye cherubim!
Sing with us ye seraphim!
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

To thee do we cry, poor sons of Eve, O Maria!
To thee we sigh, we mourn, we grieve, O Maria!
Triumph all ye cherubim!
Sing with us ye seraphim!
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, O Maria!
Towards us thine eyes compassionate, O Maria!
Triumph all ye cherubim!
Sing with us ye seraphim!
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina! O Maria!

When this our exile is complete, O Maria!
Show us thy Son, our Jesus sweet, O Maria!
Triumph all ye cherubim!
Sing with us ye seraphim!
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

O clement, gracious Mother sweet, O Maria!
O virgin Mary we entreat, O Maria!
Triumph all ye cherubim!
Sing with us ye seraphim!
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina! (Traditional Marian Hymn)

Many blessings for a lovely summer weekend with your family!

   

Our Lady of Knock

Reposted from Spring 2007.  Have a most blessed Feast of Our Lady of Knock today!

As you can see, this isn't exactly a photograph of Our Lady of Knock, however, as we read about this lovely Marian Apparition in Knock Ireland, my soon-to-be-contractor 4 year old carefully lined up his equipment at the foot of Mary.  Apparently she's the "Site Manager" of his crew and was keeping a very close eye on the operations taking place in the sandbox nearby!!

It was a lovely Springlike afternoon and we read about this beautiful devotion to Our Lady as the Queen of Knock Ireland and how her image was taken during the persecutions to far-away Hungary and it shed tears of blood for 3 hours. 

There is great devotion to this beautiful Lady in Ireland as well as worldwide and we were so glad to learn more about her as we have our own Irish roots!

Here is the Hail Mary in Gaelic:  We'll do this for copywork into our Marian Scrapbook.

Sé do bheath' a Mhuire, atá lán de ghrásta, tá an Tiarna leat.
Is beannaithe thú idir mná agus is beannaithe toradh do bhruinne losa.
A Naomh Mhuire, a mháthair Dé, guí orainn na peacaithe, anois is ar uair ar mbás. Amen.

We learned much from this very beautiful Marian Site:  Catholictradition.Org

We will pray this Litany to Our Lady of Knock during evening prayers this week as well!

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF KNOCK, IRELAND
Eleventh Century Irish Litany of Mary

Great Mary,
Greatest of Marys,
Greatest of Women,
Mother of Eternal Glory,
Mother of the Golden Light,
Honor of the Sky,
Temple of the Divinity,
Fountain of the Gardens,
Serence as the Moon,
Bright as the Sun,
Garden Enclosed,
Temple of the Living God,
Light of Nazareth,
Beauty of the World,
Queen of Life,
Ladder of Heaven,
Mother of God.

Pray for us. 

I hope you will find some time to discover more about this beautiful devotion to Our Lady!  May God and his Heavenly Queen bless you today and always!  Mary, Queen Mother, Pray for Us!

(Photos courtesy of Catholictradition.org and Patron Saints Index)

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Many blessings on this Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today! 

Be sure to visit Catholic Cuisine and Jenn's lovely post for some inspiration and ideas on how to celebrate this glorious day!

"O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee."

Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners

Today is the Feast of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners!   If you and your children haven't yet learned the Memorare prayer to Our Lady, today is a great day to start! 

Go to Mary and take refuge in her goodness and love, she will not disappoint you!

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen

May God and His Mother bless you in your day today!

The May Queen: Alfred Lord Tennyson

'You must wake and call me early, call me early; mother dear;
Tomorrow'll be the happiest time of all the glad New Year;
Of all the glad New Year, mother, the maddest, merriest day;
For I'm to be Queen O' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen O' the May.

The honey-suckle round the porch has wov'n it's wavy bowers;
And by the meadow-trenches blow the faint, sweet cuckoo flowers,
And the wild marsh-marigold shines like fire in the swamps andhollows gray,
And I'm to be Queen O' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen O' the May.

The night winds come and go, mother, upon the meadow-grass,
And the happy stars above them, seem to brighten as they pass,
There will not be a drop of rain the whole of the livelong day,
And I'm to be Queen O' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen O' the May.

And the valley, mother, 'ill be fresh and green and still;
And the cowslip and the crowfoot are over all the hill.
And the rivulet in the flowery dale 'ill merrily glance and play,
For I'm to be Queen O' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen O' the May.

So you must wake, and call me early, call me early, mother dear,
Tomorrow'll be the happiest time of all the glad New Year;
Of all the glad New Year, mother, the maddest, merriest day;
For I'm to be Queen O' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen O' the May. ~Tennyson, (1809-1892)

Photo credit: Catholic Tradition

In honor of Our Lady we will be celebrating with a Special Daily Devotion throughout the Merry, Mary Month of May!! Happy May Day!

Sedes Sapientiae, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom

Sedes Sapientiae, literally translated from Latin as the "Throne of Wisdom" and is a title attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and more so she is called the Seat of Wisdom.  I have placed myself at her feet and hope to gain some of this Wisdom...

Ever since having Consecrated myself to Jesus Through Mary this past December, I have been reading and re-reading works by the beloved Saint Louis de Montfort.  In his incredible book The Love of Eternal Wisdom, St. Louis writes:

“If we really wish to obtain life everlasting let us acquire knowledge of Divine Wisdom; if we wish to reach perfect sanctity on earth, let us know Eternal Wisdom. If we wish to possess the root of immortality in our heart, let us have in our mind knowledge of Eternal Wisdom. To know Jesus Christ, Eternal Wisdom, is to know enough; to know everything and not to know Him is to know nothing."

Wow.  Those are very powerful words.  And similarly Mike Aquilina writes in this article from the first two lines of the Didache:

The earliest extrabiblical document, the Didache, begins with these words: “Two Ways there are, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the Two Ways.”

So it follows that if Jesus Christ is the ultimate knowledge and choosing Him means choosing life, then we will have everything!!  It seems so easy doesn't it??  Then why is it so HARD sometimes?

Well for this less-than-perfect Christian I need constant reminders of this mystical body and nudges to continue on the path of following Chirst.  So I turn to His Mother.  His ever-blessed and grace-filled Mother to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Thankfully Our Lady is known as this gracious Seat of Wisdom, one of her beautiful and telling symbolic titles.  And here I return to Saint Louis for more teaching:

Montfort writes: “Mary is, the secret magnet."

Our Lady is aptly called the Seat of Wisdom because she was the person who knew and loved God most, contemplating Him in the universe. Our Lady pondered so many things during the lifetime of Jesus, and she kept them all in her heart.

How much did she ponder, it's inexplicable to contemplate for us mere souls. 

She is the Seat of Wisdom because she is the ultimate Mediatrix that God established between Himself and men in order to be known and loved.  How can we NOT know Him and LOVE Him with such an ally on our side!

“Wherever she is, she draws Eternal Wisdom so powerfully that He cannot resist. …Once we possess Mary we shall easily and in a short time possess Divine Wisdom through her intercession. Of all the means to possess Jesus Christ, Mary is the surest, the easiest, the shortest way and the holiest. (Montfort, more from The Love of Eternal Wisdom).

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the only being found worthy to conceive and give birth to Eternal Wisdom, that is Our Lord Jesus Christ. And when we go to her, calling for her as the Seat of Wisdom, she will lead us to a treasure more Holy than we can imagine. 

I want to have that treasure for myself and my dear family, call me selfish, but I am sure this is the best part of heaven here on earth.

God Bless you and Sedes Sapientiae, Ora Pro Nobis.  Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, Pray for Us!

Oh Mary, The Immaculate!

Our beautiful little Mary Immaculate Spoon for the top of our Celebration Tree! Thank you Violet :)