Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Jenny | Big Family Small Farm
On this Monday, February 18, the Feast of St Bernadette Soubirous, I am…
Thanking God the Father for
::a weekend away with my three closest friends
::a new commitment to prayer and fasting
::seeing my husband and children after being away for 44 hours
::Leo being such a cooperative guy at our weekend away
::girlfriends who love on the only guy allowed at the lake house
::staying in my pajamas ALL day Saturday
Listening to
I am typing this on Sunday night, so I hear a shower running…washing a day’s worth of play off my boy. I hear Bernadette humming as she cleans up the kitchen and Leo and Anna playing together before bed.
Pondering
I am pondering how hard it is to live in this age of so much technology that is touted as a necessary. I pray my children will look back on their childhood and appreciate the fact that we tried to keep it simple. My children do not have Facebook. Chris and I do not have Facebook. (Suscipio does for posting purposes only.) We do not text, our phones don’t even have the ability to text. We do have a couple of ipods floating around here, but that is the extent of of i-things. I do not mention this to say “look at us.” I mention it strictly as a fact of our life.
I am not saying these things are necessarily a bad, but I question if they are more of a distraction than they are worth. Does being more connected, mean people are less connected with the people right in front of their face? Does the ability to be so connected with everyone leave any room to be connected with our Lord? And if life is constantly thought in narrative form so we can post about it, does life ever enter meditative form?
Reading
Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home
The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Way of Trust and Love – A Retreat Guided By St. Therese of Lisieux
Lectio Divina and the Practice of Teresian Prayer
Wandering Around the Web
Easy Cheesy Hot Bean Dip
Garden Planning/Planting Printables
Teach Your Children Mental Prayer
Captured
The winner of the St Valentine Giveaway is Rebecca Witt. Please email me Rebecca so I can get these books to you.
Book Club::Hallowed Be This House (or Splendor in the Ordinary)
Hello Ladies. Today I want to discuss the dinning room as read in Hallowed Be This House or its alternate title, Splendor in the Ordinary.
A certain theme struck me as I reread this late last night, after figuring out what our Mass plan was for Ash Wednesday. This chapter on the dinning room spoke about the room itself and the happenings there more formally than I would have expected, and yet it made sense–even in my somewhat chaotic feeling life at the dinning table with small children.
Many years ago, my husband had the opportunity to dine with some cloistered monks. After the meal, I asked how it was. I was so excited to hear him say he really enjoyed it. I of course asked for more details, hoping for some supernatural stirrings. He replied it was so nice…no one fell out of their chair, no one spilled the salad dressing or their milk or their brothers water. No one needed their meat cut up or cried because the meat was cut up and they wanted it whole. No one complained or had to be coaxed into eating.
Perhaps for all our zeal in the pursuit of spontaneity and innovation, we are missing the stark truth about what we are: highly ceremonial, even ritual, creatures who move at the tag end of a millennial-long procession of humanity who have all ceremonialized things.
Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home
This idea of “ceremonialized” and “ritualized” seem a bit stuffy and cumbersome to me, a mother of many young children. But this is a necessary in their development–spiritually, physically and emotionally.
We were created from the Author of order…not confusion or fly by the seat of your pants or let’s just mix a pinch of this with a smidge of that and see what we come up with. He is a God of order. We are made in His image and likeness so we are a people of order.
I was thinking the other night about some of the memorable moments from 2012. Of course Leo is at the top of the list. But as I thought harder, or maybe deeper would be the word, I thought of a memorable experience related to his birth, or rather his arrival home.
My best friend had come and stayed with the children while I was in the hospital that day, and then my sister came and stayed the night while I was in the hospital and for almost a week later. I can still vividly remember the day we brought him home. The last day at the hospital always leaves me a bit stressed and antsy…ready to get home, but not ready to leave the care available at the press of a button.
The day we brought Leo home, Chris pulled the car into the garage and I slowly climbed out of the back seat of the car holding my new baby son. I opened the familiar creaky laundry room door. The laundry room which had laundry piled ready to be washed when I had left, was now neat and tidy…no trace of dirty laundry waiting. The late afternoon sun was streaming through the back door and windows and it smelled fresh and clean. I continued into the kitchen/dinning room. The kitchen was bright and sparkly and the dinning room orderly. The living room was freshly scrubbed; the sun did not have to fight its way through sticky finger prints left on the back door. My bedroom was clean and neat as well. The blinds were opened to let the sun in and the bed was smartly made.
I walked into a house of order.
And that homecoming felt almost ceremonial as I walked from room to room, christening each room with the presence of a new little soul meant to grow in wisdom and in grace in its confines. My children proudly showed us what they had accomplished under their aunt’s watchful eye. An eye for order that had been sorely missing the last long months of pregnancy.
The recollection of that day a couple of nights ago, pricked my conscience. ”Chris should have that same experience each and every day he walks through the creaky laundry room door.” The world he moves and breathes in is a disordered place. He should come home to harmony and peace.
There are preparations needed for a ceremony or a ritual. These do not have to be harsh or formal. They do need to be consistent. They do need to have for their ultimate good, the message of sacrifice.
The ritual of the Holy Mass, is a ceremony of sacrifice.
The ritual of welcoming guests or more importantly daddy, should be a ceremony of sacrifice.
This idea of sacrifice is clearly established at the dinning room table. Father gave of himself to provide the furnishings and the food. Mother and children gave of themselves to provide the atmosphere of the room and the preparation of the food. This mutual exchange is a reflection of the the sacrifice on the altar. Jesus’ life for ours…our life sacrificed for life with Him. There is an economy at work here, the economy of supernatural sacrifice built upon a heavenly order.
One of my broader goals this Lent is the proper economy of order, not only in my home, but more importantly in my soul.
My life for theirs. A continual recognition of Christ’s life for me. An appreciation of Chris’ life for me. A greater awareness each time my children make an offering of themselves.
**Please go read one of my all time favorite Elizabeth Foss posts on keeping a home, Why Bother?
Book Club: Hallowed Be This House (or Splendor In the Ordinary)
Emily | A Year of Living Adventurously
I was so excited to read Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home
Howard, a convert, has an elegant writing style that befits his profession (he was an English professor), and I have to admit, this is part of what draws me to him. I know that might not be for everyone.
But this little book is definitely for everyone, because we all have some place we call home, whether it’s a bedroom, a dorm room, an apartment, or an estate. Howard takes each room in the house and methodically addresses the things we do there, and how we can incorporate our faith into things like dusting, bathing, and sleeping.
Howard acknowledges, early on, that this may sound preposterous. “It is hard to see ourselves as walking daily among the hallows–that is, as carrying on the commonplace routines of our ordinary life in the presence of mighty mysteries that would ravish and terrify us if this veil of ordinariness were suddenly stripped away.” Somehow, Howard says, “we have gotten swept into a millrace, and it’s nonstop flailing and thrashing just to keep ourselves from drowning.”
I can relate to this. I live alone, but even then, the housework piles up. How can one person, for example, have so many dishes? How can there be so many trash cans to empty? How can the papers breed and multiply all over my kitchen table, like the brooms in Fantasia? Has some Sorcerer’s apprentice bewitched my house?
I don’t think so. I’m caught in the millrace Howard talks about. But how do we get out of it?
Howard has gentle answers for these questions. He takes us slowly through the house, starting with the door, and ending with the bedroom, and, with his unique perspective, talks about how we can hallow our houses–how we can make them holy.
Howard suggests that a closed door, for example, protects us from “mere randomness and clutter.” The living room is a place where a family practices charity to each other; we learn the rules of order for living together in a household.
I found a point in the living room chapter to be rather evocative. It’s when Howard talks about the purpose of rules. The example he uses is Peter, the son, wanting several pieces of chocolate. The parent says he may have one. Peter protests this. Who hasn’t seen this happen? Who hasn’t been that child, wanting more chocolate?
But the chocolate isn’t just chocolate: it’s a lesson between love and making someone happy. The child thinks that more chocolate will make him happy. The parent knows it will not lead to good results. Howard brings this to bear on religion, and our relationship with God. “Left to his own way, he will choose the bogus, and land in surfeit and slavery (hell); led in mine, he will deny the bogus and choose the real, and find mastery and liberty (heaven). His way will lead him to the pestilent bog, mine to the glittering summit.”
All this from a discussion about the living room!
In the chapter on the Kitchen, Howard talks about housework and the daily routines of life as acts of love, which, of course, they are. Laundry is done because people in the house care about the others, so they have clean clothes to wear. The dishes are done so that people have clean plates and cups to use when they are hungry or thirsty. Food is cooked to satisfy others. Everything in the daily routine is really an act of love, either for the family, or for the place, or for both. “Nobody,” Howard writes, “supposes for a moment that it will be all ecstatic. Learning to love is like learning anything else: A great deal of it is a matter of fumbling through the steps until they become automatic and habitual…the saints would tell us that their freedom and joy stand at the far end of long years of getting into habits of Charity. It is not all ecstatic….but handed to us from hour to hour, year to year, in muted, plain forms.”
That’s what my dishes are tonight–muted, plain forms. So is the sweeping and the vacuuming and the dusting and the mopping, and the changing of bedsheets, and balancing the checkbook. Is it all fun? Well, no. We all know that unlike playing house, actually keeping house is not as lovely as Disney’s Snow White would make it seem.
But Howard tells us that the things we do every day are things of eternity–God is in them all. St.Teresa of Avila said she found God amid the pots and pans, and Benedictines have ora et labora–prayer and work–as their motto. Members of Opus Dei commit their every action every day to God. When St. Paul tells us to “pray constantly,” this is what he means, what Howard presents to us here. We can pray constantly by doing these small things with great love (as Bl. Teresa of Calcutta often exhorted).
So now I’m going to unload the dishwasher, then load it again, and start another cycle. And then do battle with the papers on the table. Because that’s part of housekeeping, and they’re my responsibility. Service, as Howard writes, is behind the scenes, and so is all this. But God, and our families, see it.
Another Look at St Therese
Good Morning Lovely Ladies. Miss Emily is sick today, so it’s me again.
I’m not quite ready to end our month of being little.
I’ve been reading some of St Paul’s letters in the New Testament and wondering
?
How can one be little for Christ and yet preach Christ boldly?
Are they contradictory?
I came across this sweet little quote of St Therese and thought I’d share it with you.
Isn’t that a lovely mental image she paints with her humble little words?
Book Club::Story of a Soul
Happy Wednesday ladies! I always heard time flies when you’re having fun, but this is ridiculous…it’s already the end of January…2013! Remember when we were all realizing the world was still here and operating the end of January 2000? Anyway; it is the end of January, we are wrapping up any thoughts and reflections we have on St Therese’s autobiography, The Story of a Soul
We’re also checking in on our memorization verses, Ephesians 4:25-32. Do you remember being back in high school, writing page after page of verb conjugations so you could memorize the endings for the regular verbs or the conjugations themselves for the irregular verbs? Or maybe all the way back to elementary when we wrote our spelling words three, four, five or more times so we would have them memorized for the test? Well I do and I am going to have to resort back that practice.
I regret to inform you, I do not have my verses memorized. I could blame it on all sorts of things: nursing momma brain, sleep deprivation, lack of motivation, lack of time, or my new favorite–”Work related_____” memory loss, hearing loss, you name it. And maybe that’s some of it, but some of it has to do with priority and my Scripture memorization just did not make it to the top of that list this month.
Ouch, that looks pretty bad and felt even worse typing it out.
But I am not going to beat myself silly or let the devil do the same. I’m going to make it a priority, move it to the top of my list and catch up with you all in February.
I’m pretty sure after confessing I did not get my scripture verses memorized, you won’t be surprised to know I also did not finish the book. I know…really?! But that’s not keeping me from discussing it and it shouldn’t you either. Don’t sit there with something to share and not share it. I am positive we would benefit from your perspective. As a matter of fact, a couple of years ago my small parish had a women’s book club and I rarely read the book, but that did not stop me from attending the discussions, enjoying the company of other women and their thoughts on a book I had not read, but could still contribute to the conversation and enjoy the snacks. So please jump in and let’s learn from each other.
Even at that age I loved far-stretching views, sunlit
spaces and stately trees; in a word, all nature charmed me and
lifted up my soul to Heaven.
–St Therese the Little Flower
A few years ago I was really struggling, I mean really struggling. I called a friend, a kind soul I refer to as my soul sister. She told me to make myself a scrambled egg sandwich, go sit outside and get some sun on my legs, arms, and face. Being the piglet (and Rabbit) temperament that make me, me…I worried about skin cancer but worried more about me if I did not heed her advice. The above passage reminds me of that day. “…all nature charmed me and lifted my soul to Heaven.” I’m also reminded of a recent post by Ginny at Small Things.
There is something very beatific about placing oneself in nature.
Another brief passage, this taken from St Therese’s recollection of her mother’s death and her sister Genevieve. St Therese is speaking of herself in the third person, “…for trials had matured and strengthened her soul, so that nothing on earth could make her grieve.” Pray for me sisters; I am not there. I still cry frequently over a rough 2012 having to leave our family parish home of almost 17 years. I grieve not sitting in the pews I sat in before the baptism of each of my children. I pray this trial is maturing me and strengthening my soul for Heaven, but most days it just leaves me in a sloppy puddle of tears for being misunderstood and maligned.
And that’s why Holy Mother Church has given us these holy examples found in the saints. They were so human that we can relate and yet so pious that we strive to imitate them.
?
Which saint do you strive to imitate and why?
The next passage I wish to discuss is her description of her first confession.
Shortly after this I made my first confession. It is a very sweet memory. Pauline had warned me: “Thérèse, darling, it is not to a man but to God Himself that you are going to tell your sins.” I was so persuaded of this that I asked her quite seriously if I should not tell Father Ducellier that I loved him “with my whole heart,” as it was really God I was going to speak to in his person. Well instructed as to what I was to do, I entered the confessional, and turning round to the priest, so as to see him better, I made my confession and received absolution in a spirit of lively faith–my sister having assured me that at this solemn moment the tears of the Holy Child Jesus would purify my soul. I remember well that he exhorted me above all to a tender devotion towards Our Lady, and I promised to redouble my love for her who already filled so large a place in my heart. Then I passed him my Rosary to be blessed, and came out of the Confessional more joyful and lighthearted than I had ever felt before. It was evening, and as soon as I got to a street lamp I stopped and took the newly blessed Rosary out of my pocket, turning it over and over. “What are you looking at, Thérèse, dear?” asked Pauline. “I am seeing what a blessed Rosary looks like.” This childish answer amused my sisters very much. I was deeply impressed by the graces I had received, and wished to go to confession again for all the big feasts, for these confessions filled me with joy.
St Therese the Little Flower
The Story of a Soul
As you’ve been reading through or just picking out snippets here and there, what words of this holy and little saint have made you stop and ponder?
Let’s discuss our little saint in the comments. Share the saints you strive to imitate and why. How did you do on our scripture memory?
Our theme for February is “Home” and we will be reading Splendor in the Ordinary: Your Home as a Holy Place
(Thanks to Angela in the comments for letting us know that Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home is the reprint.) We will be memorizing 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
2013 Suscipio
I am finally getting around to this exciting post letting you all know the vision I have for Suscipio in 2013. This vision was just kind of floating around until your comments and suggestions on the Book Club Survey. Thank you for taking the time to respond and help make Suscipio an even better place on the web for the Catholic woman.
Here’s my vision for us…
Each month has a theme, based on the traditional dedication of that month, a book or reading that we will discuss, and some memorization for us to work on in community.
January
Dedicated to: The Holy Childhood of Jesus
Theme: Being Little
Discussion: Story of a Soul (Free online version or free audio version)
Memorization: Ephesians 4:25-32
February
Dedicated to: The Holy Family
Theme: Home
Discussion: Splendor in the Ordinary: Your Home as a Holy Place
Memorization: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
March
Dedicated to: St Joseph
Theme: Sanctification of Our Work
Discussion: Holiness for Housewives: And Other Working Women
Memorization: Ancient Prayer to St Joseph
April
Dedicated to: The Blessed Sacrament
Theme: Practicing the Presence of God
Discussion: Practice of the Presence of God
Memorization: Spiritual Communion by St Alphonus Liguori
May
Dedicated to: Mary
Theme: Imitating Mary
Discussion: The Virtues of Mary
Memorization: Memorare
June
Dedicated to: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Theme: Love of and for Jesus
Discussion: Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat- Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Memorization: Matthew 6:25-34
July
Dedicated to: The Precious Blood of Jesus
Theme: “Offer it Up”
Discussion: The Precious Blood of Christ by Fr John Hardon
Memorization: Prayer Before a Crucifix
August
Dedicated to: The Immaculate Heart of Mary
Theme: Joy
Discussion: The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life
Memorize: Luke 1:46-55 (The Magnificat)
September
Dedicated to: 7 Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin mary
Theme: Sacrifice
Discussion: 7 Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Memorization: the Angelus
October
Dedicated to: The Holy Rosary
Theme: Daily Prayer and Devotions
Discussion: The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary
Memorization: The Rosary
November
Dedicated to: The Poor Souls in Purgatory
Theme: Penance
Discussion:
Memorization: The Prayer of St Gertrude for the Poor Souls in Purgatory
December
Dedicated to: The Immaculate Conception
Theme; Gratitude
Discussion:
Memorization: John 1:1-16
For example, January has been traditionally dedicated to the Holy Childhood of Jesus and our theme is “Littleness”. We will be discussing The Story of a Soul
I want you to contribute, you want to contribute, and having a theme will help you. You may be inspired to write on sacrifices…that happens to be our theme in September. We would love to read your thoughts and meditations on sacrifice and you have eight months for that post to brew if you need.
Do you see a favorite book or topic on the vision? Great! You could help lead the discussion. Is there a prayer on there you’ve always wanted to memorize, but haven’t? (Um, you all know the trouble I have had with memorizing the Magnificat!) How about a Scripture verse you would love to have tucked away, but have not found the support or encouragement to memorize…we’re going to memorize together! Our own accountability and support group.
See those two blank spots under November and then again in December? I’m stumped. What, if anything should we discuss during the busy time of November and December. Any suggestions?
So look this over, print it out if you like, and let’s celebrate this Year of Faith reading, praying, learning, memorizing and discussing as the awesome group of women that we are here at Suscipio!
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Catholic Woman’s Almanac is a way to keep track of where I am, have been and plan to be. What did a typical week look like, if there is such a thing? The meals I ate, the sounds I heard and the books I had the best intentions of reading, these all make up who I am, what I do, who I love and serve and I want to look back and see how they fell into place, week after week. Join me! Link up or leave you own Catholic Woman’s Almanac in the comments.
Thanking God for
::His awesome care. He knew how broken our hearts would feel after our terrible Thursday. I asked our vet for a dog recommendation to be around my children and the alpacas. Hands down he recommended a Great Pyrenees. I made two calls on Friday asking my friend and my sister to put out some feelers for Pyrenees puppy. My sister recommended a family she goes to church with who we know as well to see where they had purchased their Great Pyrenees dogs. Are you ready? Their dog had puppies 7 weeks ago! They were keeping two, giving two to her sister and had one female left to sell. We wanted a female puppy! We are supposed to pick her up today!!
::friends who pray when they don’t know for what, but hold me up anyway
::daughter who whips up Pumpkin Pies for her beloved daddy
::Pot Roast for Sunday dinner
::the kids sitting with grandpa at mass
::confession offered during mass
::ice cream at grandpa’s after mass
::freezing rain that passed quickly
Praying
I have some quiet prayers close to my heart, some are old and some new. Some don’t even have words to them yet, but God knows the deep, deep stirrings of my heart.
Cooking
Chris and I had our first Indian Taco a couple of weeks ago. They were so yummy! I am going to try to make them at home sometime this week. Since it’s cold, of course we’re going to have Frito Chili Pie. Baked chicken is on the menu and left over Pot Roast.
Living Liturgically
Father will come give our home its annual Epiphany Blessing this week and Candlemas Day is coming up soon…get your candles blessed. And then the Feast of St Blaise…get your throats blessed!
Reading
Splendor in the Ordinary: Your Home as a Holy Place
Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Large Print
Listening to
Pandora on my computer and Chris breathing through the baby monitor (I’m staying up late to get this posted).
Around the House
I am determined! I have started walking through rooms, spiral notebook in hand, deciding what needs to be done in each and every room of our home. I told you I was ready for 40 Bags in 40 Days.
Wearing
Old worn out lounge pants. I think I bought these at Target after my 5th baby because she was born in winter and nothing fit. The top is all frayed and they look kind of ratty, but they are sooo comfortable. I threw out a pair of pajama pants today that were super comfy. Chris hated them–couldn’t stand them. They were pretty bad, not ratty, just a very loose and baggy fit–I think he and I and maybe a couple of kids could have fit in them. It was a hard parting, but I did it for him. An old faded flannel pajama top and red and white slippers round out my lovely ensemble.
Wandering Around the Web
Bill Paying Organization
Captured
Altar Server Practice
Book Club::The Imitation of Christ
Hello Ladies. I hope you’re not losing interest in discussing The Imitation of Christ 
For I perceive two things to be particularly necessary for me in this life, without which it would be insupportable to me. Whilst I am detained in the prison of this body, I acknowledge myself to stand in need of two things–namely food and light. Unto me, then, thus weak and helpless, thou hast given thy sacred body, and thy word thou hast set as a lamp to my feet. Without these two things I should not be able to live, for the word of God is light of my soul ans thy sacrament the bread of life.
The Imitation of Christ
I read this and I think of how often I pass the opportunity to partake of these two life giving, life sustaining, forms of nourishment.
Now there are days when I cannot make it to Mass…but I can make a Spiritual Communion. And I cannot come up with a very good excuse to miss reading the Word of God each day. I know I may be tired, physically worn out and mentally exhausted; but if I can sit down in front of my computer or grab my phone to check email/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest…I have the time to to read the Scriptures. Even if only five minutes. Even if I read it on my computer or phone…I have the time to read the living and active Word of God.
? Thomas a’Kempis lists Holy Communion and reading the Scriptures as a necessary for life. What would you add to this as a necessary for your spiritual life?
Vouchsafe O Lord to remain with me, for I will gladly be with thee. This is my whole desire, that my heart be united unto thee.
The Imitation of Christ
What a lovely prayer to say after receiving our Lord: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in Holy Communion. I always wondered why my sweet mother in law would come back from receiving Holy Communion and put her head in her hands. Unfortunately, I never asked her. But I know why I do it now; I want to be alone with Jesus.
And another beautiful prayer…
Be thou kind to me, O merciful Jesus, sweet and gracious Lord, and grant to me, thy poor needy creature, sometimes at least in this Holy Communion, to feel if it be but a small portion of the love of thy loving heart that my faith may become more strong, my hope in thy goodness may be increased, and that charity once perfectly kindled within me after the tasting of this heavenly manna, may never smoulder.
The Imitation of Christ
I know for myself, I forget to ask God for the more love and more devotion to Him. It’s like in my mind He’s filled my cup and what I get, I get. But that’s not how it works, or at least that’s not how it works in my own home. I may fill my children’s cup, but if they want more, if they need more…they ask for more. And if it’s a good, I give it to them.
Asking for more of God is good and He will grant that request. {Tweet This}
? Do you have any specific prayers or meditations after you receive our Lord in Holy Communion?
God often giveth in one short moment that which He for a long time hath denied. He giveth sometimes in the end that which in the beginning of thy prayer He deferred to grant. If grace were always promptly given ans ever present at will, weak men could not well bear it. Therefore the grace of devotion is to be waited for with good hope and humble patience.
The Imitation of Christ
Have you ever felt empty? I mean just done, finished, that’s it, nothing left to give? I know I have…more than once…more than twice…
For the Lord bestoweth His blessings where He findeth the vessels empty.
The Imitation of Christ
Good to know. Maybe if I can keep that thought before me, I will welcome or at least bear patiently the empty times knowing “I’m not just sitting empty…I’m waiting to be filled.” {Tweet This}
Stop By and Thank Our Sponsors
Community Button
