Don Bosco and Java

Looks like St. John really wants this cup of coffee...

I came across this little tableau on the dining room table this morning, accidentally set up, to be sure!  Poor St John!  Not only did we not have the chance to adorn his little statue yet to honor his feast day properly, but someone casually left their coffee cup there right in front of him, perfectly placed for those of us with overactive senses of humor.  It  made me giggle, for sure!  -- But do you know what I love?  I have a feeling Don Bosco, looking down on the scene most likely chuckled, too.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if he were a coffee drinker, our St. John!  Which would make it all the funnier. 

Feast Day of the Apostle of Youth

January 31st

"Enjoy yourself as much as you like – if only you keep from sin."

~ St. John Bosco

One of the mottos of our life -- especially since we've raised teenagers, these words of Don Bosco's are simple to understand, but, boy, they can be difficult sometimes for a young person to carry out! St. John Bosco knew the problem well, caring for the bodies and souls of  scores of boys and girls in Italy in the late nineteenth century, and parents today know the same challenge.   It doesn't matter when in history a child lives, life can be full of confusion and trouble -- especially when the child is trying to find his footing on the way into adult life.  In Don Bosco's day, just as in ours, enjoying one's self while not sinning could be a trick to pull off.   Going out to have fun with friends very often carried the temptation to walk the tightrope of morality  in the best case -- and to jump right off, in the worst.

And it is tough out there to "keep your nose clean," especially in the teen years -- when everything's in turmoil, anyway. But, as if that weren't enough, our children today are bombarded with assaults to their purity, their integrity, and their faith at every turn. There's practically no escaping it!  It's too easy for the best of kids to give into pressure and believe that enjoyment means fun that is "adult" or illicit. In their hurry to grow up in a world that forces adult themes on them from day one, it can be easy for young people to forget the simple pleasure of wholesome fun.

I guess most of us here in the choir probably see the problem.  But what can we do?

Here are some thoughts -- stream-of-consciousness style:

(Do please feel free to skip this meandering if you like! It's long!)

Stress wholesome fun!  This is easy.  Just play! * Start with rolling the babies  a ball, end with pitching it to them. * Teach your toddlers to roll the ball to one another. * Teach one to praise the other when they catch it.  Never forget what a joy your babies and toddlers are!  (They grow up so fast!) * Make dimples in your cheeks more than you creases in your forehead.  * Praise one another behind each other's back.  * Never criticize behind another's back.  * Correct, when necessary, gently and in privacy.  * Choose your children's friends wisely and exclusively for as long as you can. * Be ruthless about it.  * Teach them to discriminate friendships safe and unsafe for their souls so that when they can choose for themselves, they'll do so wisely.  * Make up softball (or football or volleyball) teams with parish families and make sure to play together after Mass every Sunday possible. ( This is far more valuable for children's far-reaching growth and development than any "organized" sport you will ever enroll them in.) *  Never take for granted what a joy your single-digit children are! (They grow up so fast!) * Play card and board games as a family. * At the drop of a hat. * Often.  * Turn off the TV.   * Laugh. * Laugh as often as you can.  * But never tease. * See good wholesome movies. * Screen them ahead of time (Google them!) for content and make a big deal out of seeing them together and with friends. * Explain why these movies are good movies. * Explain why you don't see other movies.  * Be a good example; don't see a movie you wouldn't want your children seeing.  * If in doubt, don't go see a movie (or play, or concert) you wouldn't invite the Blessed Mother to attend.  * Enjoy every moment with your adolescents and young teens! (They grow up so fast!) * Read good, wholesome books. * Tell your children about them.  * Read out loud.  * Every day. * Recommend good books to everyone in the family.  * Explain why they're good books. * Explain why others are not. * Tell the story of your life. * Detail your best moments * Include your embarassing moments. * Laugh at the silly stuff!  * Explain your mistakes. * Tell what you should have done differently and why. * Listen to your children's stories. * Ask them about their day.  * Even if you've spent the whole day with them!  * Apologize when you're wrong  * Spend one-on-one time with each child (and your spouse!)  as often as you can. * Even if it's just while you load the dishwasher. * Sing. * Sing a lot. * Loudly. *  Even if it's badly. * Spend every moment you can with your teens and young adults!  (They grow up so fast!)  * Praise good behaviour; never qualify bad behaviour as anything other than bad, but discuss it always in relationship to Our Lord's Sacred heart.  *Talk about God. * In everything you do.  * Be on a first-name basis with the saints.  * Include them in all the good stuff, not just the trouble!  * Blend the Church calendar in with all the other calendars that are important to your family.  * But make God's appointments always take precedence.  * Be sure your children know it is an occasion to be sad for others when they pressure you to put God second (or third, or worse), and never never give in.  * Introduce Mary as a second mother; love her tenderly; depend upon her. * Pray.  * Smile and even laugh when you pray. * Pray alone. * Pray in pairs when you go out walking.  * Pray in groups altogether. * Pray in the morning.  * Pray at night. * Never miss the family rosary.  * Pray when you get in the car.  * Pray when you arrive home safely.  * Bless heaven and earth with smiles and laughter.  * Enjoy every minute of it.  * As much as you like.  * Only keep from sinning.


We're still in the trenches here at our house, in this business of child-raising  -- and I guess we will be until the day we die.  We've found out that parenthood most definitely doesn't end when the children move out of the house!  Out of our ten, we have four sons and one daughter officially "on their own" now and have been parenting for twenty-five years.  And we're still learning; make no mistake!   Each child and each passing year brings its own challenges and lessons.  We don't have it all figured out and never will.

But we have learned a couple things: 1) We can never, ever rest on our laurels; the devil would like nothing better and the world is a tough competitor for our children's hearts and souls.  We have to keep vigilant, keep studying, keep praying.   And, 2) We must always call on our heavenly patrons for their invaluable help. By prayer, and when possible, by reading their words of advice. There is little we've learned about raising children (especially teenage boys), for example,  that we haven't gleaned from St. John Bosco and the Salesian method.  Anything we might have thought we figured out ourselves, we later learned was a teaching of the good Salesian Fathers. You have to know, then, that it's with great caution that I suggest anyone follow any of our examples, but with the greatest confidence I recommend you to the writings of Don Bosco and his the traditional method of his Order.  It's for good reason that our saint is called the patron of youth; his influence with them was great on earth -- and is still great today from heaven.

Good Don Bosco,  Pray For Us!


Prayer to Saint John Bosco

O glorious Saint John Bosco, who, in order to lead young people to the feet of the divine Master and to form them in the light of faith and Christian morality, didst heroically sacrifice thyself to the very end of thy life and didst found a fitting religious Institute destined to endure and to bring to the farthest boundaries of the earth thy glorious work, obtain also for us from our Lord a holy love for young people, who are exposed to so many seductions, in order that we may generously spend ourselves in supporting them against the snares of the devil, in keeping them safe from the dangers of the world, and in guiding them, pure and holy, in the path that leads to God. Amen

(Indulgence of 300 days)

Prayer of St. John Bosco to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O Mary, powerful Virgin, thou art the mighty and glorious protector of holy Church; thou art the marvelous help of Christians; thou art terrible as an army in battle array; thou alone hast destroyed every heresy in the whole world. In the midst of our anguish, our struggles and our distress defend us from the power of the enemy and at the hour of our death receive our souls in paradise. Amen.

(Indulgence of 3 years)


Books for children:
Stories of Don Bosco
St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio (Vision Book)

For us older folks:
Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco: The Apostle of  Youth
Biography: St. John Bosco (F.A. Forbes)
Several pamphlets about the Salesian method and Don Bosco can be found here, as well.

Some former posts with more ideas for today's feast day, plus links, here.

* This is a repost from a couple of years ago -- with a couple of small updates to reflect our growing and "moving out and up" children.

Feast of St. Martina

St. Martina, the orphaned daughter of ex consul of Rome, professed her faith publicly under the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus.  She was arrested and commanded to return to idolatry.  She, of course, refused, and heroically withstood the tortures that followed, maintaining her faith to the end.  She was beheaded about the year 228.  Her relics are honored in the Church of Santi Luca e Martina, near the Mamertine Prison in Rome.

She is the patron saint of the city of Rome and the patron saint of nursing mothers.

Her feast is one of the feasts that has been suppressed by the Conciliar Church.

Feast of St. Francis de Sales

January 29th

Born:1567 :: Died:1622

St Francis de Sales is another one of my favorite saints. (How many does that make now?) Another of the saints from big families, St. Francis was the oldest of six brothers!  It's hard not to love his gentle, nature-filled lessons and practical kind wisdom.  But as gentle and kind as he always seems in his letters and sermons, I've read that he started out life with a choleric disposition, impatient and inclined toward anger. You'd never know, though. That he could reform so completely, by the grace of God and much perserverence, gives me hope!  He's also well known for his eloquent and inspired writings, as well as a large volume of beautifully encouraging correspondences with the faithful.  If you haven't read any De Sales, I highly recommend him!

Here is an online reprint of St. Francis' Treatise on the Love of God .

St. Francis' Introduction to the Devout Life  can be read online here.

St. Francis de Sales is the Patron Saint of:

Authors
Deafness
Journalists
Writers

Prayer of St. Francis
(from the Treatise on the Love of God, Bk 10)
 
Lord, I am yours,
and I must belong to no one but you.

My soul is yours,

and must live only by you.

My will is yours,

and must love only for you.

I must love you as my first cause,

since I am from you.

I must love you as my end and rest,

since I am for you.

I must love you more than my own being,
since my being subsists by you.
I must love you more than myself,
since I am all yours and all in you.
Amen.

Here is my particular prayer to our patron of the day:

Dear St. Francis de Sales, patron of communicators, pray for all of us who navigate the modern world through the internet. Help us to use it as a source of edification and a means of communicating to others only what is pleasing to God. Amen.
 
 Quotes from St. Francis de Sales:
 

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength."
 
“Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly
 
“Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections.”

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
 
“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.”
 

“If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master's presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord's presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.”
 
“Reputation is rarely proportioned to virtue.”
 
“While I am busy with little things, I am not required to do greater things.”

“Have patience to walk with short steps until you have wings to fly.”
 
"If we say a little it is easy to add, but having said too much it is hard to withdraw and never can it be done so quickly as to hinder the harm of our success. "
 
"When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time."

"When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth's sweetest nectar from the flowers, it turns it into honey, then hastens to its hive. In the same way, the priest, having taken from the altar the Son of God (who is as the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity), gives him to you as delicious food."
 
"Always be as gentle as you can, and remember that more flies are caught with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar."

To Celebrate the Feast

Due largely to these last two quotes of St. Francis, his tendency to use analogies from nature, and the golden sweetness and purity of his counsel, it seems only right and good to celebrate his feast day by cooking with honey!

To that end, Catholic Cuisine offers a honey breakfast bar recipe to celebrate this feast, and here is one of many sites which lists many recipes using honey.  One of our favorite honey-based recipes is our homemade granola.  Here's our recipe:

1 box (6 cups) rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts (we like almonds)
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup honey (or honey mixed with maple syrup)
1/3 cup oil, any kind, but we like safflower oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 - 1 cup raisins
1/2 - 1 cup chopped dates

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the first 5 ingredients. Warm the honey, add the oil and vanilla. Drizzle the honey-oil over the dry ingredients and toss to coat. Spread the mixture onto 2 cookie sheets. Bake about 30 minutes until golden, stirring every 10 minutes.

When done, remove from oven and stir in dried fruit if used. As the granola cools, it will lose its stickiness and become crunchy. Makes about 9 cups. Store in airtight containers.  Be amazed if it lasts 2 breakfast-times.

Click, copy, and print for a coloring page.

You can also find a lovely coloring page here, at Catholic Playground.

* Did this post look familiar?  :)  It's a repost from last year -- and the year before... But every year I add a little something.  

Just sayin....

God, help us.

National Chocolate Cake Day

No, really!



(I've shared this video before...  but it's one of our favorites -- and how perfect for the day!)

And, we have to share again our very favorite chocolate cake recipe.  This is the richest, creamiest, chocolatey-est cake imaginable!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

(The real thing; From Scratch)

Ingredients

1 3/4 c. butter, softened

1 3/4 c. granulated sugar

6 eggs

2 c. powdered sugar

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. cocoa

2 c. chopped walnuts

Beat butter and granulated sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually add powdered sugar, blending well.  By hand, stir in flour, cocoa and walnuts until well blended.  Batter will be quite thick.

Spoon batter into greased and floured 12 cup Bundt pan or  10 inch angel food tube pan and smooth out evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 58 - 62 minutes.  Cool upright in pan on cooling rack, 1 hour.  Invert onto serving plate.  Cool completely.  Spoon glaze over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides.  yields 16 servings.

* Note.  Nuts are essential for success of this recipe.  Because cake has soft tunnel of fudge, ordinary doneness tests cannot be used.  Accurate oven temp and baking time are critical.. In altitudes above 3500 feet, increase flour to 2 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons.

Glaze:

3/4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1 1/2 - 2 tsp. milk

Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in small bowl and whisk until well blended. Adjust to thick pouring consistency. 

Gratitude Sunday

An opportunity to think about and share our gratitude for the little things in life!  Laurel at Alphabet Salad provides the link-up every week.  Less long-winded folks than I am list out short bullet points of thankfulness, so don't feel like you have to write novelettes like I do in order to participate!  Just have fun counting your blessings, however many you like, in whatever way makes you happy!  Today's Mr. Linky can be found here.





Soooo...  What am I grateful for this last Sunday of January?

I am grateful for:

*  Little girls who love tea parties.  

Cathy and Anna actually threw this tea party (pictured below) in their room last week.  They're very responsible young ladies and have a working tea cart in their room and it pleases me no end that they know how to organize, prepare, and clean up after themselves like they do!  And leave deviled eggs and scones for the rest of us!

Photo not borrowed with permission --
mainly because Matt has a million
readers and I have about six...

*  This guy...

 Matt Walsh, his blog in general, and, in particular,
this article about my vocation in life. Not because I feel any need to justify being a Stay At Home Mother, mind you, but because it's immensely satisfying to see someone so perfectly articulate the beauty and importance of my job.  And because Matt has a huge readership and really ticks off the feminist left.  If you haven't read this or any of his other posts on SAHMs or life in general, run over and see what you think.  I love this guy.  He's an amazing writer -- with a lot of good things to say.

*  Getting the roller skates together with the key. 

While trying to organize the deepest darkest  recesses of the garage this past week, we unearthed a box of VHS tapes from when our big kids were little kids, and it seems many of the movies are classics our youngest kiddos haven't seen. How could we let that happen?  I feel like a neglectful parent!  As the years have slipped by, we've kept up with buying the new classics Pixars and the like, but never just never got around to replacing the old classics with DVDs.  To make matters worse, through all the moves in the last few years, we've just never been able to manage both a working VHS player and VHS tapes together in one place.  (Yeah, well... it's been a little crazy,,,)  But, Huzzah!  Finally, somehow we've managed it.  We have a player that actually works with all the TV components -- and now we have the tapes, too!  Pass the popcorn, kids!  We are snuggling into a late January phase of couch potato-ness.

*  No football today!   

My baby brother used to be able to
sing falsetto and sound exactly like
Snow White.  Hilarious!

Not that I don't enjoy football, especially when our team is winning.  But, like I just mentioned, we've been indulging in old movies this past week.  Binging, actually.  Digging into the old collection, we've watched a bunch of the old Ollie and Stanley movies, Cinderella, Anastasia, Sleeping Beauty, The Sandlot, Stuart Little, and The Boys Next Door.  And, right now -- in the absence of Sunday afternoon football -- we're watching Snow White.  What a simple pleasure! No competition, no stress, nobody knocking anyone else down...   Just an evil witch trying to kill her stepdaughter. Good wholesome fun for the whole family! Riiight... And back to football next week --- and the Broncos murdering the Seahawks. (Figuratively.  We hope,)

*  Children who aren't afraid to be silly

Doesn't matter where they are, doesn't matter whether or not someone has a camera in their hand, these youngins of ours have no inhibitions  They really really do not care what anyone else thinks -- and are very, very silly.

  Kevin and Michelle

Ninjas.
(Apparently.)

William and ice cream
with swag

Gabe and movie star glasses

Cathy and Michelle, curling hair -- you can see who was having
more fun with this...

Cathy with Anna's Christmas gift:
5 gallons of whipping cream

Dominic, Mchelle, Cathy -- mugging in kitchen

Kevin and pool cue

Dominic and face -- from upstairs balcony

William and silly string -- pointed at Mommy
(Not so much silly -- as dangerous pointed this way!)

 

* And then there's this...

While I was scrolling around looking for silly pictures, I ran into some of the random recordings we made over Christmas time.  Some are just plain old silliness (more of the above), some are straight-up singing of Christmas Carols (The kids gave a concert on Christmas day), but some show how singing erupts sometimes in the middle of silliness -- or silliness erupts in the middle of singing....  Talking  and singing...  and singing and talking... and walking and singing...  and singing and walking and talking and being silly, while occasionally breathing, sleeping and eating... and singing.

There are a lot of other videos the children would consider better quality, I'm sure.  But I
like this one.  It shows how a song is born here when the children are all together -- something
I am so grateful for: that they love being together, that they love singing together, and that the two
things are spontaneous and joyful.  I'm a gratefully blessed Momma.

Houses

 Feels like this is what He's building us:

Which is OK!  See, look there on the side: He's added us what looks like a stage for a Punch 'n' Judy show or something.  How well He knows us!

That's our backyard pool and pool table off the dining room of this new house, and the awesome park a walk away... (Which make palatable the fact that we're living in a city with no room for the children to run!) 

And that must be a master suite up there on top! He knows how Dan and I need that!

We have an extra large bedroom and an embarrassingly palatial bathroom and walk-in closet here... (Which compensates for the fact that the price of living here leaves no funds for date nights out.)

 Extra storage on the back comes in handy; we always need more storage.

A three-car garage and good closet space for everyone... (Makes up for the fact that, for the first time in twenty years we have no outbuildings or barns for storage.) 

And the whole thing is a blank canvas to go crazy with paint.  How good He is to nourish our artistic muse with a challenge!

It's a whole new way of living in this desert climate near a big city! (The novelty of this way of life and the mild climate helps distract us from the fact that we no longer live in our beloved home state of Colorado...)

And wheels!  Who would have thought of that, right?

We've moved four times in four years!  And, though God keeps His cards close to His vest, we don't expect to be here in Nevada for terribly long.  Surely not forever, anyway.  I hope...

 No way I would ever have  purposely chosen to be such Gypsies, but God is the cruise director on this vagabond journey.  And He apparently has decided that the Davises need wheels... So who am I to argue?  It's a pretty nice Gypsy Caravan He's building for us. He's provided everything we need -- and some things we didn't know we needed.

In all our movings back and forth, we've learned, more than anything, what "home" really means.  It's not about a place at all, but it's about the people we love, the culture, ideas, memories, knowledge, and traditions we carry with us wherever we go.  It's the stability of our Faith, and, most especially, the warmth and safety of knowing we're in the loving hands of our Father in Heaven no matter where we are.  And that home is really where He is.  These are all things which we may have known in a philosophical way had we stayed in the same house our whole lives, perhaps.  But, having been moved around so much in the last few years, we know the truth of these things concretely and actually.  It's been a hard lesson to learn sometimes, but its long term value for our hearts and souls could not have been gained any other way. It's all good.  Thanks, God.

The new digs.

The Amazing St. Raymond of Penafort...

Who, upon being held against his will on the island of Majorca by King James of Aragon, said, "Oh yeah?" then bowed his head in prayer and calmly spread his cloak upon the water. Tying one corner to his staff, he fearlessly stepped upon the cloak, and sailed upon it across the Baltic Sea to Barcelona, a distance of 132 miles.  It's recorded that it took him six hours to make the trip.  Imagine.  If you were to charter a boat today from Majorca to Barcelona, Google sources estimate approximately an eight hour journey.  That would be in a boat -- with a motor.

But, do you want to know what is really amazing about St. Raymond?

Everything! 

Born to a rich and noble Spanish family in 1175, St. Raymond was a brilliant student, receiving doctorates in both civil and canon law at the Universities of Barcelona and Bologna.  He began teaching law at the University of Barcelona when he was only twenty years old, then continued teaching law in Bologna -- until... He ran into some young men belonging to the newly formed Order of Preachers -- the Dominicans.  It didn't take our saint long to realize his calling.  He was 41 years old when he gave away everything  he had in the world -- wealth, station, and honor -- to gain everything else that heaven could offer -- and become a Dominican friar.  And boy, oh boy, did God have plans for him!

The Blessed Virgin appeared in separate visions to St. Peter Nolasco, St Raymond of Penafort and King James I of Aragon, asking them to establish an order for ransoming enslaved Christians from the Moors. 

Together with St. Peter Nolasco and King James of Aragon (yes, the same King James from the sailing cloak story... Who wouldn't reform with St. Raymond around, right?) he founded the Order of Our Lady of Ransom for the Redemption of Captives.  With the direct patronage of the Blessed Mother, the Mercedarian Order grew swiftly and was blessed with great success.  Every chance he got through the rest of his life St. Raymond dedicated himself to bringing home Christian captives of the Crusades -- and to the conversion of both Muslims and Jews.  It is said that at his death, he was responsible for the conversion of over 10,000 Moors.

But... as if that weren't enough, St. Raymond also found time to write the definitive book of advice and information for confessors at that time, Summa de Casibus Poenitentiae, which so impressed Pope Gregory IX, that he had St. Raymond called up to be his own personal confessor at the Vatican.

 So impressed was the pope with St. Raymond's learning, that he was assigned the task of updating and organizing the previous 80 years of canon law decrees, which effort resulted in the Decretals (published in 1234).  Having then reached the age of 60, St. Raymond was permitted to retired from the job at the Vatican.  He tried to sneak away to a quiet life in Barcelona, but it was not meant to be; he was almost immediately called up to serve as Archbishop of Barcelona (much against his will!) -- but (not surprisingly) became ill and had to resign within two years.

But, still, there was to be no rest for St. Raymond.   In 1238  he was elected Master of the Dominicans  -- then set out on foot to visit every single house of friars and nuns in the Order! (Remember, he was well into his sixties.)  During this time, he also managed to set out a new Constitution of the Order, in which he added a resignation clause for the Master.  As soon as the new Constitution was adopted in 1240, our St. Raymond took advantage of the clause and begged out. (Clever fellow!)

But, St. Raymond was still not finished.  Or, rather, God was not finished working through St. Raymond.  Having made the acquaintance of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Raymond encouraged him in his writing of the work, Against the Gentiles.  He also continued in his work to convert the Muslims and the Jews, and  was responsible for the teaching of Arabic and Hebrew in several Dominican friaries toward this end.  He founded Dominican Houses in Murcia (at that time still ruled by Muslims), as well as in Tunis and Mallorca.

And he never did get a chance to rest -- at least not until he reached the venerable age of 100 years, dying in Barcelona in 1275.  He was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1601; his relics can still be found in the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia in Barcelona.

His feast day is January 23rd.  He is the patron saint of all lawyers, but especially of canon lawyers.

St. Raymond of Pennafort, help us to remember that we are never finished until we are in heaven!

*Repost from 2013

The Feast of St. Agnes

* A repost from 2010, but with some cool new links at the bottom in blue.  Also, make sure and run over to Waltzing Matilda to check out Charlotte's  beautiful coloring page for St. Agnes!

St. Agnes  is the sweet little saint who reminds us of the importance of purity.  She was only twelve years old when she was martyred during the reign of Diocletian (c.350) for having been betrayed as a Christian to the Roman authorities, but also for her steadfast purity. After refusing to offer incense at the altar of Minerva, Diocletian threatened the young girl with various tortures to entice her to relinquish her Faith.  But Agnes never lost her calm, accepting torture and death over sin.  When the soldiers tried to put her in chains, her tiny hands slipped through the cuffs, but she walked unbound to the place of her torture.  She was then stripped and dragged through the streets, but even as she predicted, Christ did "guard His own."   Most of the crowd, moved to pity, averted their eyes, but one young man, daring to turn his eyes upon Agnes, was struck blind and born away "half dead with pain and terror."  Offered riches and marriage,to save her life, Agnes refused, saying, "Christ is my Spouse: He chose me first, and His I will be."  And, thus her death sentence was procurred.  "At one stroke her head was severed from her body, and the angels bore her pure soul to Paradise."

What an example St. Agnes is in a world that's become so desensitized to sins of impurity!  Movies and television programs glorify sinful lives and we barely even think about it.  How many story lines out there don't include premarital affairs, extramarital affairs, and/or broken families?  If we're vigilant, we can avoid watching these things, but some things are harder to stay away from.  I'm constantly amazed, for instance, at the billboards and magazine covers at the checkout stands with their skimpily-clad models.  We turn the magazines around backward in their displays when we see these, but there's not much we can do about the billboards but avert our eyes.  It's shameful!  And our children are assaulted with this on a daily basis.  It's a hard thing to teach custody of the eyes and an awkward explanation to make to pure little souls.  But, it's a necessary one, more today than ever. It's vitally important that our sons learn a distaste for the kind of girl who would dress like a magazine cover, and our daughters learn the importance of dressing modestly. Our Lady warned the children at Fatima: "Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much." 

 Pope Pius XII, speaking to a sodality convention in Rome, reiterated the Blessed Mother's warning and took it a step further:

"You live in a world which is constantly forgetful of God and the supernatural, where the only interest of the crowd seems to be the satisfaction of temporal needs, well-being, pleasure, vanity....
"How many young girls there are who do not see any wrongdoing in following certain shameless styles like so many sheep. They certainly would blush if they could guess the impression they make and the feeling they evoke in those who see them. Do they not see the harm resulting from excess in certain gymnastic exercises and sports not suitable for virtuous girls? What sins are committed or provoked by conversations which are too free, by immodest shows, by dangerous reading. How lax have consciences become, how pagan morals!"

And this was in 1954!

The feast of St. Agnes is a wonderful opportunity to remind our children about the importance of purity and what that means in their own lives.  One of the important outer walls to defend agains impurity is modest dress.  Some of my favorite sites, not only teaching the importance of modesty, but cheerleading the beauty and benefit:

*  Marylike Standards of Modesty as set down by the Vatican.
*  Catholic Modesty website
* The Forgotten Virtue: Modesty in Dress on Catholic Online
* Modest Clothing at Catholic Home and Garden
* Colleen Hammond's website, with links to her book, Dressing with Dignity
* Betty Beguiles: Marriage Moxy and Modesty with a Vintage Twist 
(and check Betty Beguiles' blogroll for other modesty-inspired blogs and sites)

Interesting Facts and Ways to Celebrate the Feast of St. Agnes

*An interesting custom is observed on St. Agnes' feast day. Two lambs are brought from the Trappist abbey of Tre Fontane in Rome to the Pope to be blessed. On Holy Thursday they are shorn, and from the wool is woven the pallium which the pope gives to a newly consecrated metropolitan archbishop as a sign of his jurisdiction and his union with the pope.


*Saint Agnes is the patron saint of young girls; folk custom called for them to practice rituals on Saint Agnes' Eve (20–21 January) with a view to discovering their future husbands. This superstition has been immortalised in John Keats's poem, "The Eve of Saint Agnes."

*She is represented in art as a young blonde girl in robes, holding a palm branch in her hand and a lamb at her feet or in her arms.

*In the historical novel Fabiola or, the Church of the Catacombs, written by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman in 1854, Agnes is the soft-spoken teenage cousin and confidant of the protagonist, the beautiful noblewoman Fabiola. (Theresa is reading Fabiola now -- and is so excited that the feast days of the characters in her novel "coming to life" in the liturgical year right now!)
(The above four notes from Wikipedia) _

* A coloring page for the day can be found here (copy and print the engraving).  Or here -- a lovely one, compliments of Jordana at Curmudgeonry.
* There are a whole page of lamb crafts to choose from here -- and especially here, at Catholic Icing.

*  You can also find a bunch of thee cutest lamb cupcake and other goody ideas at here at Catholic Icing.  Plus, there is a simple lamb cake here -- or a more complicated one that I found here (Neither needs a special pan.).

Sharing Gratitude Link-up

Laurel at Alphabet Salad posts a link-up for us every Sunday, where we  can share the little beauties of our lives.  It seems that the list can include anything at all and however many inspirations we like, but it encourages us to be "in the moment," to focus on what we are thankful for right this minute.  I like that.  Life is made up of millions of small moments and it's so easy to let them go by unnoticed.  So, here's some Sunday afternoon fanfare for the little things!

To run over and join in the gratitude, click here! 

I'm grateful for...

*   the Broncos victory over the Patriots today!  My football loving sons (all six of them), husband,

and father-in-law are so happy.  And that makes all of us girls happy.  Mind you, we girls all like football, too -- and are Broncos fans, naturally! But our interest pales next to the boys'.  After this big win, all our men will be sailing through these next two weeks with happy little smiles on their faces.  Boys.  See how they are?  It's a little beyond our complete sympathy, but comes into focus when I explain it to our daughters this way:  the joy of the Broncs winning the AFC championship is like a day where we go shopping, find everything we're looking for, it fits, looks good, and is on sale.  And, to celebrate our good shopping day, we win a prize that doubles our money to go shopping again the week after next.  It's a good thing.

*   Pintrest.  Where we can look for Super Bowl Game Day recipes.

Seriously considering these peanut butter swirl, football-shaped
brownies we saw pinned.  (Can be found here at allrecipes.com.)

The wooden bell
at Mission Buenventura
where we stopped.

*  a little alone time with my honey this weekend. This is how and why: Oldest daughter, Michelle, changed addresses right the after New Year, moving from Denver to California, where she's currently living with her brother, Paul, and his family until she gets on her feet.  On her way from Colorado to Cali, she had a stopover here with us for a couple of weeks over Christmas.  Amazingly (not) she left a basket load of clothes and other  paraphernalia here at the house -- most notably forgetting her violin!  (I still can't get over that; leaving her violin is like leaving her left elbow behind...)  But it's all good, her forgetfulness gave Dan and me an excuse to make the drive down to San Clemente Friday to deliver the violin (et al), have dinner with the California family (Michelle, Dan's parents, Paul,

Us.  Squinting.

Nicole, and grandson, Gavin) down near the beach at San Clemente -- then Hotel.com it Friday night, and enjoy a little visit to the ocean before heading home Saturday.  It was a quick trip, but lots of fun -- very relaxed, no pressure, no stress.  Adopted Grandmother, June, and (13 y.o.) Cathy held down the fort at home, and didn't seem to even notice we were gone. I think everyone's batteries are a little recharged for the change of pace.  Nice to be close enough to California these days that we can do this kind of thing -- reconnecting with grandchildren, children, parents and each other!

Near Santa Barbara, where we stopped to walk on the beach Saturday morning.

William and Gabe near the pansies,
 in the first corner of the flower garden
we've been able to plant.  Note William's
goofy face.  There was a sweetly-smiling-
William version of this photo, but I figured
that one would be an obviously faked pose to
anyone who knows our youngest child.

*  sunshine and short sleeves weather!  We've been hearing about the cold weather throughout the U.S., and thinking about you all in your long winter coats and fuzzy scarves, gathering wood for cozy fires, and snuggling in with warm blankets on frosty evenings...  And, ya know, we thought that when we moved from Colorado to Nevada we'd miss all that. But in reality...  (speaking for myself here) I don't miss the cold one little bit.  I do kind of miss wearing my collection of  beloved sweaters and boots are totally overkill here when everyone's going around in flip flops...  But, we planted pansies last week and are getting ready to start our tomatoes and basil in peat pots indoors.  Imagine! We expect to put them out well before Easter! (You have to realize how momentous this is for those of us who have been lucky to have a last frost date in the middle of May for gardening!)

Don't get me wrong, though. I do miss living in beautiful Colorado, but I think we're all really enjoying the sunny warm weather here in Las Vegas.  We knew the
weather would be different here, but I didn't think we'd appreciate it at all.  I know I was ready to have a grudge against nasty old Nevada and its desert climate.  And, truly, in theory, I like having four distinct seasons -- where it's appropriately hot in summer and properly cold in winter.  But, in reality....  In the here and now?  Well, gosh, we've got pansies, flip flops, short sleeves, and volleyball in the park -- in the middle of January!  We're looooving it!

Theresa with the cell phone
she got for her birthday,
Dec. 30th.  Grateful to have
this way of communicating
with her while she's away at
school!

* texting.  Though there are a lot of things worrisome about the media age in which we live, texting is the best thing since sliced bread.  Granted, it can be overdone -- and is a scourge to some, but I love the convenience of texting.  Without worrying about disturbing them when they're busy, I can communicate with family and friends so easily!  They get back with me when they have a chance and I get to keep in almost constant touch with my five brothers and sisters in Denver, our son's family, daughter and in-laws in California, our daughter, Theresa, on Colorado's western slope, our son, Dominic, in Idaho -- and even (hopefully!) will be able to easily contact our son, Kevin, who'll be in New Zealand this spring.  For almost no money at all!  I remember when I was a kid what a big deal it was to call our grandparents every so often.  They only lived in a neighboring state, but it was expensive to talk to them, and no time was wasted passing the phone around to us kids.  It was such a carefully scheduled event to talk to relatives far away that if you heard from them unexpectedly in the middle of the week, you knew it had to be some kind of tragedy to brace yourself for.  Nowadays, I may get a text in the middle of the night from one of the kids hundreds of miles away asking me for a recipe, or how to spell a word,.  I love it.  How did we ever live without it?

*  for this thought-provoking weekly meme to help me count my blessings!