HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! :-D

oops, the picture is kinda blurry....Anyway, before I forget like last time, I want to wish everyone a Happy new year!!! May the upcoming year be a joyful one!!! :-D

Feastday of the Holy Family

Dear Lord, bless our family. Be so kind as to give us the unity, peace, and mutual love that You found in Your own family in the little town of Nazareth.

Saint Joseph, bless the head of our family. Obtain for him the strength, the wisdom, and the prudence he needs to support and direct those under his care.

Mother Mary, bless the mother of our family. Help her to be pure and kind, gentle and self-sacrificing. For the more she resembles you, the better will our family be.

Lord Jesus, bless the children of our family. Help them to be obedient and devoted to their parents. Make them more and more like You. Let them grow, as You did, in wisdom and age and grace before God and man.

Holy Family of Nazareth, make our family and home more and more like Yours, until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with You. Amen.

National Catholic Rural Life Conference

source

St. Stephen

But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"; and when he said this, he fell asleep. - Acts 7:55-60

Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King. Today we celebrate the triumphant suffering of his soldier. Yesterday our king, clothed in his robe of flesh, left his place in the virgin's womb and graciously visited the world. Today his soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven.

Our king, despite his exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet he did not come empty-handed. He gave of his bounty, yet without any loss to himself. In a marvelous way he changed into wealth the poverty of his faithful followers while remaining in full possession of his own inexhaustible riches. And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth ot heaven; shown first in the king, it later shone forth in his soldier. His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbor made him pray for those who were stoning him. Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment.

Love, indeed, is the source of all good things; it is an impregnable defense, and the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid: love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey's end.

My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together. -from a sermon by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe

Source

St. Stephen, the first martyr who died praying for his prosecutors, help us to love our enemies just like our Lord taught to us. Amen.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Have a very very blessed and merry Christmas everyone!!!!!! :-D

St. John of the Cross

"O you souls who wish to go on with so much safety and consolation, if you knew how pleasing to God is suffering, and how much it helps in acquiring other good things, you would never seek consolation in anything; but you would rather look upon it as a great happiness to bear the Cross of the Lord." -Saint John of the Cross

Born in poverty at at Fontiveros, Spain, John (1542-1591) cared for the sick and the poor in a hospital Medina. He became a lay Carmelite brother at age 21, and was ordained at the age of 25. Saint Teresa of Avila persuaded him to reform the Carmelite order, and he took the name John of the Cross. He later became the master of novices, spiritual director and confessor at Saint Teresa's convent. Some of his brothers did not approve of his reform, and he was ordered to go back to Medina. John refused and was imprisoned at Toledo, Spain. After nine months of staying there, he escaped. He later became a great contemplative and spiritual writer, and wrote the book, Dark Night of the Soul, a book of poems.

He was beatified on the 25th of January in the year 1675, by Pope Clement X
and canonized on the 27th of December, 1726, by Pope Benedict XIII

Eight things meme

Tagged by Sr. Anne at Nunblog! Thanks!! :-)

The rule is that you have to list eight random things about you, and when you're finished, tag eight other bloggers.
I've done this before (can't remember when though) but I'll do it again and give some different or maybe unknown answers. ;-D



1. I have a wonderful ohana!!!!! :-D Okay, well that's not really unknown, but I just thought it would be nice to post it here. But it was random! hehe...

2. I tell my little brother stories about the saints to make him behave in Church on Sundays. Well, it works!! He loves the story about St. Joan of Arc!! At least something good comes out of reading about them. ;-)

3. You know that DDR (Dance, Dance Revolution) game? (The one with the pads with arrows on it) Yeah, I have a friend who has that game and I can really play it well....or so some of my friends say. ;-) lol! I can only play basic!

4. I play the violin but I'm really not good at it....that's because one of the strings (the E string) snapped when I was trying to tune it...hehehe....;-)

5. My whole family and I are Pauline Cooperaters!!! :-D

6. I like to take pictures with a camera, but I don't really like being taken in the picture by myself for some reason.....

7. It hasn't even been a year yet, but I really like blogging!!! So much fun!!!

8. When some of the older teens in our group are at a meeting or at a fieldtrip, I usually stay with the little kids. Even if I could join the older teens! I just like playing and taking care of the little ones...haha! It pays off too! (but don't tell them that) ;-)

I once again tag all the homeschool teens!!!! :-D
(I'm pretty sure that adds up to eight...I think)
I also tag anyone who would like to play!

Saint Lucy

"Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit." - Saint Lucy



She was the daughter of a rich but pious family. She vowed her life to Christ, but later her mother arranged a marriage for her. She was able to have the marriage on hold for three years. Her mother had an illness, and to change her mother's mind about her new faith she prayed to St. Agatha and her mother was cured. Her mother then approved of her life's devotion to God, but her rejected pagan bridegroom did not, and reported to the governor that she was a Christian. The guards went after her, but they could not move her even when the guards tied her to a team of oxen. Her eyes were torn out, and was sentenced to death by setting bundles of wood afire with her tied to it. The flames went out and she was later martyred by the sword. Legend says that her eyesight was restored right before she was martyred.

Prayer

Dear Sicilian Virgin and Martyr, whom the Church recalls in Eucharistic Prayer I, you valiantly rejected great promises and resisted several threats in remaining faithful to your beloved Lord. For centuries Christians have invoked you particularly when suffering from eye trouble. So now we implore your assistance on behalf of {name of sufferer}. We also ask you to teach us to imitate you and to avoid spiritual blindness of any kind. Amen.

Book Meme

Tagged by Aunty Esther!!!

One book that changed your life:
Saint Therese of Lisieux The Way of Love By Mary Kathleen Glavich, SND (It's a real children's book, but it's the first time I've heard of St. Therese! It made me want to imitate what she did.
:-))

One book that you’ve read more than once:
Bernadette Our Lady's Little Servant By Hertha Pauli

One book you’d want on a desert island:
The Holy Bible :-)

One book that made you laugh:
My Life With the Saints, By James Martin S.J.

One book that made you cry:
(uhh...Oh! I know!)
Soeur Therese of Lisieux (the autobiography of St. Therese, only published when she was only Blessed! It was from a friend of our family's mom who passed away recently)

One book that you wish had been written:
A book of all the saints speaking of discernment advice

One book that you wish had never been written:
don't know any....

One book you’re currently reading:
I'm kind of read serveral books at a time....but here they are:
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis,
James Alberione Apostle for our Times, by Luigi Rolfo, SSP,
Teresa of Avila God Alone Suffices, by Jean-Jacques Antier,
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Divine Mercy in My Soul,
and The Interior Castle, by St. Teresa of Avila


One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Paul: a Critical Life, by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor


I tag all the homeschool buddies!!! ;-D

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is also an extra special day 'cause it's also Aunty Esther's anniversary!!! Happy Anniversary!!! :-D Oh yeah, and it's also the day I got baptized a long time ago....

Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, an 55 year old widower on Tepeyac Hill, on Saturday, December 9, 1531, on his way to Mass. Our Lady called him by "Juantzin." (In the Nahyatl language the tzin was added as a sign of respect and love. Usually close friends and families use it) She told him that she wished to have a church built where she was. Then she told him to go to the bishop and tell him of what she wished. Juan Diego said yes and told her that he would be back. Then he hurried off to Mexico City and was told to wait to be admitted. After the long wait, he was let in and the bishop asked him many questions. But the bishop decided to wait a little bit to see if this was really true. So he dismissed Juan, and Juan went back to where Mary was waiting for him. When he saw her again he told her what happened. When he had finished speaking and later apologized, Our Lady told Juan not to worry and to come back the next day. After he had attended Mass early morning, he once again was ordered to wait for a long time before seeing the bishop. When he was let in, he begged the bishop and repeated what had happened again and again. But Bishop Zumarraga still didn't move. He just told Juan to go back and ask for a sign. The bishop then whispered to his servants to follow Juan. So the servants did what the bishop asked and when Juan got to Tepeyac Hill, he just vanished right before the servants' eyes! They hurriedly reported back to the bishop who was also amazed.

Juan told everything what had happened. Our Lady instructed Juan to come back the next day, and she would give the sign that he asked for.

Later on that night, Juan's uncle came down with a terrible fever. As the time passed, it grew worse. It didn't even help when Juan's neighbors told him that everyone who caught that illness died. Poor Juan! The authority of an uncle there was the same as a parents, and this uncle of his raised him! Juan ran out of the house to find a priest to give him the sacraments. He didn't want to avoid the Blessed Virgin, but in order to save his uncle, and he didn't have much time, he decided to take another path; a different way around the hill. Of course, Our Lady caught him and Juan quickly explained that his uncle was dying. Our Lady then told him not to worry about anything. She also told him that his uncle was already cured. Our Lady then instructed him to go to the top of Tepeyac Hill where he first saw her and to gather many flowers there. Juan obeyed even though he was confused because it was too cold for flowers. But he did it anyway. He gathered beautiful roses and used his cloak called a tilma to hold them like a basket. He happily went down the hill where the Blessed Virgin was waiting for him. She arranged the flowers and told him not to let anyone see what he was carrying. So he went to the bishop but this time the doorkeeper insisted that he should see would he was carrying first. Juan opened it just a tiny bit and the doorkeeper was amazed to see the roses. He reached out to touch them but his hand went right through! They let Juan see the bishop without any delay this time.

Once Juan let go of the corners of his tilma, the bishop fell to his knees. Juan looked down and was amazed to see that there was a magnificent picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary, just what she looked like when he saw her at Tepeyac Hill!

Christmas meme

I finally get around to do it. :-)



1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper!!! Everyone here loves it!!



2. Real tree or artificial? I really like real trees, but we have to have an artificial one. :-(



3. When do you put up the tree? Sometime right before Christmas



4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime the next year....



5. Do you like eggnog? Yes!!! Well, now I do 'cause I only tried last year!



6. Favorite gift received as a child? Do I still qualify as a child? ;-) hmm... well I think it would be those tickets to Disneyland like what Cy said. :-)



7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes...somewhere in a box



8. Hardest person to buy for? Cy....She's always right beside me when I'm getting her gift!



9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The wrapping paper on it :-)



10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both now, since I only got my email address last year



11. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Nativity Story!!! Well now, anyway ;-)



12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Somewhere in the middle of Advent



13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes several times before



14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anything Italian!!!



15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Both I think



16. Favorite Christmas song? I have too many....



17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home....It's really nice :-)



18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? Dancer, Dasher, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Vincen.....uhh, and Rudolph! I guess not...



19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star



20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning! We get to open one gift before we leave for Mass, and then we open up the rest when we come back



21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? A lot of kids are really choosy about their Christmas presents....



22. Best thing about this time of year? The birth of Our Savior!!!!!!



I tag anyone who would like to do this!!!

Immaculate Conception

Proverbs 8:22-35

The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived, neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out: the mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established: before the hills I was brought forth: He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and compass He enclosed the depths: when He established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters: when He compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when He balanced the foundations of the earth, I was with Him forming all things; and was delighted every day, playing before Him at all times; playing in the world, and My delights were to be with the children of men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear Me: Blessed are they that keep My ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, and that watcheth daily at My gates, and waiteth at the posts of My doors. He that shall find Me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.

Prayer

We beseech Thee, O Lord, to bestow on Thy servants the gift of heavenly grace, that, for those to whom the Blessed Virgin's maternity was the beginning of salvation, the votive solemnity of her immaculate conception may procure increase of peace. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Source

Saint Nicholas of Myra

Oh look...he's wearing red too...;-) He is the patron saint of bakers, and I'm just guessing maybe that's why people leave cookies out on Christmas eve...? Anyway.....I have to make this a really short post. :-(

Because his parents died when he was a young man, he decided to devote all the money to a good use. He overheard that a man with three daughters lost his money and his daughters could not find a good husband because of their poverty, and the man was going to give them over to prostitution. So, at nighttime, Nicholas brought a bag of gold and threw it through the window of their house. It was the dowry for the eldest daughter, and he did the same for the rest of the other girls. He was watched by the father when he was doing it for the third daughter, and the man was truly thankful.

His story became a legend, and later popularized in America by the Dutch Protestants of New Amsterdam, changed the story of him from a saint, into a magician. :-( (Santa Claus = Sint Klaes = Saint Nicholas)

St. Francis Xavier

"It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards a man's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken." -Saint Francis Xavier


Francis Xavier (1506-1552) had many talents and studied and taught philosophy at the University of Paris. St. Ignatius of Loyola was a friend of his, and convinced him to use his talents to spread the Gospel. He became the first Jesuit missionary and was later ordained a priest.

While waiting to board a ship once, he started preaching to the children and helped the sick. He would sometimes ring a bell to call the children to study. For ten years in Japan, India, and the East Indies, he baptized more than 40,000 people. During his adventures, he taught children their catechism, washed the sores of the lepers, and baptized 10,000 people in a single month! He always sought to help the poor wherever he went, and even willing to endure the most terrible conditions of weather and traveling barefoot.

He was beatified on the 25th of October, 1619, by Pope Paul V and canonized on the 12th of March, 1622, by Pope Gregory XV

Prayer to Saint Francis Xavier
Great Saint Francis, well beloved and full of charity, in union with you I reverently adore the Divine Majesty. I give thanks to God for the singular gifts of grace bestowed on you in life and of glory after death, and I beg of you, with all the affection of my heart, by your powerful intercession, obtain for me the grace to live a holy life and die a holy death. I beg you to obtain for me {mention your petition}. But if what I ask is not for the glory of God and for my well-being, obtain for me, I beseech you, what will more certainly attain these ends. Amen.

Emmauel award

Nominated by my sister Cy!

Here's what it says on the original blog (which is a very wonderful blog, so please visit it!)
"In a consumer society it is a blessing to read blogs where the writer's main focus is God. Where they express their love for their faith so visibly and joyfully.
In a cynical world it is refreshing to see so many blogs which are generous, giving, who care about others and demonstrate what being a Christian is about, loving God and loving our neighbor.
Through their faith, lives and spirituality, they bring God to us, they in essence make God visible, 'God with us.'
This Award goes to all the faith filled blogs who make evident 'Emmanuel'- God with us, with Joy in their hearts.
Please share this Award with Christian blogs that focus on the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior."

I nominate Aunty Esther, Joey, Mrs. Micki, and to all who read this!!! ;-D