Today's Gospel Reading

The gospel reading for today contains the most amazing sentence I have ever heard!

Once More Round the Rose Garden...

In some ways 2011 has been a horrible, troublesome year for our family, particularly because our son who is the baby of the family (even though at only 15 he is six feet tall) has been really ill all year.
But there have been wonderful times as well. My husband and I renewed our vows on our wedding anniversary and my son and I came home to the Catholic Church.
There have been so many mixed emotions during this year. Sorrow at the problems we have faced individually and as a family, total Joy at the renewal of our wedding vows, the Glorious feeling of being received into the Church and the many moments of Illumination which have come on this part of my journey.
So praying through the Mysteries of the Rosary one last time before the year is out will remind me that no matter what we have felt or had to deal with this year there is nothing which Our Lord and Our Lady will not understand.
I look forward to the coming year and all that it holds secure in the knowledge that I will have all the help that I need.

Divine Mercy Continuous Novena

Some of my reading for the advent period was Consoling the Heart of Jesus, which I think is an amazing book.

I had already heard of the Divine Mercy Novena which is normally done from Good Friday till Divine Mercy Sunday, but either in the book or while doing further research, I came across the idea of doing the Novena continuously.

I started my Divine Mercy Novena on Christmas Day as I had finished the Christmas Novena.

I have decided to pray the Divine Mercy Novena almost continuously.....

If I pray this Novena in between any other Novenas I want to do then as well as all the graces of praying the Novena itself I think it may help to establish the discipline of daily praying a Novena which will in turn make it less likely that I will forget to pray my Novenas every day of their nine day cycle.

You never know one day I might be an Novena Queen after all!

First Day

"Today bring to me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of my mercy. In this way you will console me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges me."

Most merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from it. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Eternal Father, turn Your Merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your Mercy, that we may praise the infinite power of Your Mercy, forever and forever. Amen."

Second Day

"Today bring to me the souls of Priests and Religious and immerse them in my unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure my bitter passion. Through them, as though channels, my mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service that they perform worthy works of mercy, and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in Heaven. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard - upon the souls of Priests and Religious - and endow them with the strength of Your Blessing. For the Love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your Power and Light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation, and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless Mercy for ages without end. Amen

Third Day

"Today bring to me all devout and faithful souls and immerse them in the ocean of my mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness."

Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your Mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from it. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the Holy Faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless Mercy for endless ages. Amen

Fourth Day

"Today bring to me those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know me. I was thinking also of them during my bitter passion, and their future zeal comforted my heart. Immerse them in the ocean of my mercy."

Most Compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who as yet do not believe in You or do not know You. Let the rays of Your Grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful Mercy, and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Compassionate Heart. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who do not believe in Your Son, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your Mercy for endless ages. Amen

Fifth Day

"Today bring to me the souls who have separated from my Church and immerse them in the ocean of my mercy. During my bitter passion they tore at my body and Heart, that is, my Church. As they return to unity with the Church, my wounds heal, and in this way they alleviate my passion."

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated from Your Church. Draw them by Your Light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your Mercy. Eternal Father, turn Your Merciful gaze upon the souls of those who are separated from Your Son's Church, especially those who have squandered Your Blessings and misused Your Graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your Own Son and upon His Bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they may glorify Your great Mercy for endless ages. Amen

Sixth Day

"Today bring to me the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children and immerse them in my mercy. These souls most closely resemble my Heart. They strengthened me during my bitter agony. I saw them as earthly angels, who will keep vigil at my altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble souls is capable of receiving my grace. I favour humble souls with my confidence."

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart". Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all Heaven into ecstasy, and they are the Heavenly Father's favourites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the Throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy. Eternal Father, turn Your Merciful gaze upon meek and humble souls and upon the souls of little children, who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very Throne. Father of Mercy and of all Goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them. Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your Mercy for endless ages. Amen

Seventh Day

"Today bring to me the souls who especially venerate and glorify my mercy and immerse them in my mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my passion and entered most deeply into my spirit. They are living images of my compassionate heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your Mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward confident of Your Mercy. These souls are united to Jesus and carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your Mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless Mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy and their spirits, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God: show them Your Mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the Promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless Mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His Glory. Amen

Eighth Day

"Today bring to me the souls who are detained in purgatory and immerse them in the abyss of my mercy. Let the torrents of my Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are really loved by me. They are making retribution to my justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all indulgences from the treasury of my Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt for my justice."

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is
no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Ninth Day

"Today bring to me souls who have become lukewarm and immerse them in the abyss of my mercy. These souls wound my Heart most painfully. My souls suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: "Father, take this cup away from me, if it be Your will". For them the last hope of salvation is to run to my mercy."

Most Compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your Pure Love let these tepid souls, who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your Mercy and draw them into the very ardour of Your Love; and bestow upon them the gift of Holy Love, for nothing is beyond Your power. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross, let them too, glorify the Abyss of Your Mercy. Amen

Ninth Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, God of hosts, come, show Thy face, and we shall be saved.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Eigth Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Seventh Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof! O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Sixth Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Fifth Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Fourth Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Third Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Second Day of the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudence!

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

Starting the Christmas Novena

Opening Prayer

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

O Shepherd that rulest Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep, come to guide and comfort us.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be.

My Rosary

Having an obsessive personality when I started to research prayer beads I got really into them and consequently I have a lot of rosaries and chaplets. I keep them all over the place I even took up making them.

I love them all ......

But these are my favourite. These are the ones I choose to wear.

I have changed the cricifix for this one

Now I know that a lot of Catholics frown on the wearing of rosary beads, but you can feel free to frown if you want to and I will continue to feel free to wear my beads.

I am committed to praying both the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet hopefully daily and I find that the best way to make sure that I do this is to wear my beads.

I have always (since becoming a Christian) worn a cross or crucifix around my neck and by looping my rosary around my neck and slipping the crucifix through the loop it hangs at the same level as my cross used to.

I take them off to sleep and put them back on first thing in the morning. That way when I go to bed and take off my beads and realise that I did not pray both the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet then it is time to do it before I go to sleep.

These particular beads are ideal for praying the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet because they have the Divine Mercy image on one side of the bead and Our Lady on the other.

I didn't make them, but I have added to them, to make them my own. I attached a scapular medal where the centre piece is and the medals of four of my favourite saints where the Our Father beads are.

I love the feeling of them around my neck, I even like the sound of the medals when they clink together, its like the saints themselves are calling me to come and join them in prayer.

Jesus Loves You....

I know its just not true....

But don't you just love all the little things he does to make us feel special and loved. He can make us all feel like His favourite if we just let Him!

I have just come back from the evening mass at church and before I went out I did a post called Happy Gaudete Sunday into which I inserted a video of a beautiful song and said how much I had always loved it.

Just minutes later I was in Church and while the Holy Eucharist was being distributed music was playing and it was the song I had just posted that I loved so much.

See, He just loves to show me how much he loves me and it never ceases to take my breath away!

Thank You Jesus

I love You too!

Happy Gaudete Sunday

I was always a big fan of electric folk music and used to love this song (still do)!

Funny I never knew what the words meant until today.

I looked it up because its Gaudete Sunday...

So glad I did!

What Are You Giving Jesus For Christmas?

Christmas presents are sometimes difficult to choose and as the old saying goes "What do you get for the man who has everything?"

How much more does this apply when that man is the Incarnate Word, whose Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills!

Although he is the one with the most, he is still the easiest to choose a gift for!

He has made it abundantly clear that He only wants one thing from us LOVE.

As wonderful as the idea of simply giving Him love, is it is still nice to chose a "concrete" way of expressing that love to Him.

So, my present to Jesus this year is going to be to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet 300 times. Not all in one go of course, but over the year starting on Christmas Day, after all it is His birthday!

I am actually hoping to pray it every day, but if I commit myself to 300 and manage to do more it will be a nice surprise, for me not for Him - He already knows!

While I am at it I am going to give my Holy Mother 300 garlands of roses.

There is of course another old saying "It is better to give than to receive".

Never is this truer than when you give to God especially in prayer.

So even though my prayers are my present to them I know that they will bring a huge blessings of peace and mercy to me and my home.

Love at First Sight....

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I do, I do!

I have been twice blessed by love at first sight. This may sound like a bit of a contradiction, but trust me when it happened the second time it took nothing away from my first relationship, in fact it only added to it!

The first time was when I met my wonderful, sexy, gorgeous, not to mention kind and compassionate husband.

I saw him across a crowded room, I looked at him and he looked at me and knew he was the one for me. Anyone who knows me (well at least since I was an adult) knows that I am anything but shy. I can and will talk to anybody.

That is until the night I met my husband.....

I was overcome with shyness and could say hardly a word to him.

My second experience of love at first sight was shortly after I became a Christian and I was at a shabby old market and came across a Divine Mercy Prayer Card.

Just like the first time ....

I looked at Him and He looked at me and I knew He was the one for me.

This was My Jesus!

This image so perfectly represented the Jesus I had decided to give my life to.

I bought my little prayer card and have cherished it for years, keeping it (until recently) in the zip up bible I keep in my handbag. It is a little worse for wear and I still have it, but now in my bible there are two new Divine Mercy Prayer Cards, one for me and one for my grandson to pray together.

Actually talking of my grandson maybe falling in love at first sight is something I have done not twice, but three times......

My daughter had to have and emergency Cesarean after many hours of being in labour, so I was the first one to hold my grandson.

As I held him in my arms, I looked at him and he looked at me...

Well I'm sure you get the picture.

Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood

When I first started to look into all things Catholic one of the things I researched was praying with beads.

The major prayer of course was the rosary, which I love, but a whole world of precious prayer opened up beyond that as I discovered the beautiful chaplets which could be prayed on beads, either on a standard rosary or on set of beads designed for the prayer itself.

One of the first chaplets I bought was the Most Precious Blood pictured above and here is how to pray it....

This devotion consists of seven mysteries in which we meditate on the seven times Jesus shed His Most Precious Blood. The Chaplet is divided into 6 groups of 5 beads each and 3 closing beads, for a total of 33 beads in honor of the 33 years in the earthly life of Jesus.

1st Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in His circumcision
We ask for chastity of body and spirit.
2nd Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the Garden of Olives
We ask for the spirit of prayer.
3rd Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the scourging
We ask for patience and self control.
4th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the crown of thorns
We ask for the humility to atone for our pride.
5th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood carrying the Cross
We ask for the strength to bear our earthly burdens.
6th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the Crucifixion
We ask for contrition.
7th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood as His side was pierced
We ask for the grace of perseverance.

Begin the chaplet by praying
V. Incline unto my aid, O God!
R. O Lord, make haste to help me!
V. Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
Amen

The first six decades are prayed in this manner
On each of the five beads, pray
1 Our Father
After each decade, pray one Glory Be and this prayer
V. We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants!
R. Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood!

At the last decade, on each of the three beads, pray
1 Our Father
After this decade, pray one Glory Be and this prayer
V. We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants!
R. Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood!

Concluding Prayer (Optional)
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in atonement for my sins, in supplication for the holy souls in Purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church. Amen.

Beautiful Beads for a Beautiful Prayer

St Nicholas Day

I have always been a big fan of Santa, after all every Christmas he made my house smell like new dollies!

I even worked for him for a few years, knitting outfits for dolls, if you don't believe this ask my daughters who caught me doing just this when they were little and they will tell you its all true.

Good old St Nick himself is a big believer in the truth and wasn't always the jolly chap we know him as today.

Now I am not suggesting that we follow his lead and take up punching the people we disagree with in the face, but it does make the saints more "human" when we see them occasionally giving in to their instincts.

I wont go into the whole story (its readily available on the Internet, just look up st Nicholas/Arius) but the "gentleman" Nicholas lost his temper with was teaching that Jesus was not divine in nature.

When Nicholas reached the end of his tether he punched Arius in the face and pulled his beard!

Now we know why so few kids actually end up on the naughty list, Santa must remember he could be not so nice himself!

St Nicholas - Pray for Us

Litiany of Humility

O Jesus meek and humble of heart, Have Mercy on me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,

Deliver me,O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,

Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,

Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should,
O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

St Catherine Laboure 28th November

St Catherine - Pray For Us

I Want To Be A Novena Queen....

I have lofty aspirations to Holiness

But...

Being a Holy Hermit is out...

It doesn't fit to well with the wife and mother thing and I am sure it would interfere with me ringing my mum several times a day to keep her company and make sure she is ok.

Neither is the Nun's life for me...

It might get a bit crowded in my cell once I try to move the family in!

What I would love to be is a Novena Queen

I have come across quite a few of these wonderful ladies on the internet, many of these it has to be said are cradle catholics, but not all - so there is hope for me yet!

They seen to know every feast, every fast and every festival and I would love join them in the royal ranks, but I always seem to be a bit behind.

I get wind of a wonderful novena and get really excited about it only to find it is already day five!

I had the same kind of experience again this week.

While at the Advent Activity Day a friend (I suspect she may well be one of these aforementioned Novena Queens herself) told me that the following day (today) is the Feast of the Miraculous Medal.

This indeed moved me to excitement mode once again as only recently I was invested with the said medal.

So this morning before going to church I got on the old laptop here and started to look up the feast. I was over joyed to find that there is a Novena only to be disappointed to find it is ending not starting. Bah Humbug!

I did contemplate the turbo charged Novena - saying all nine days of prayers today, but I think this kind of misses the point.

I can get quite sulky in circumstances like these, you know the kind of thing "If God wants me to pray these things why doesn't He give me more notice!"

But once again it is all in the attitude....

Knowing well that I am not a Novena Queen, my Father in Heaven has been looking out for me and giving me almost a full years notice!

So I give thanks to Him for His provision and make a note of this Novena (in fact I will put it on the calendar of the yahoo group that I use to send myself reminders).

Who knows how long it will take me to become a Novena Queen or even if I ever will, but either way I am content to be His Princess.

Like Mary Make Advent a Time of Expectation

Advent Activity Day

Going to the Church Advent Activity Day has over the last few years become one of our family traditions.

There are usually a few different craft activities going on, such as card and decoration making, but always central to the day is the making of the advent wreaths, although ours are not strictly speaking wreaths at all!

The are simply a plastic holder made to hole a round oasis into which is pushed four candle holders (complete with candles) and various greenery.

They are simple and yet very effective and all the more cherished for being blessed before we take them home!

My daughter who is all grown up comes along with my grandson and when she is making theirs she likes to put some of the ivy I have brought along from my garden because she says it makes it more special.

It was a wonderful day which started off with mass and ended with evensong. Although I did go early so that I could go to confession beforehand (nothing like starting off a new year with a clean slate).

As I am writing this I am sitting by my living room window and it is already getting quite dark outside, just a little more and I will be able to light the first candle.

Ending the Liturgical Year

This is an exciting time standing on the thresh hold of the new Liturgical Year.

It is a wonderful opportunity to look forward to all the possibilities for the coming year and pray that we will spend it in God's will, making our decisions based on what He wants and not on what we want.

We should also be looking back over the year which has passed and ask ourselves how it has gone, giving thanks for all God has done for us and considering what we have done for Him in order to grow in holiness.

Looking back over my own year I see a lot of valleys and hills. I completed my Journey in to the Catholic Church which had been a long one and sometimes not easy, but worth every second to feel the peace of coming home.

My family life has been very difficult this year as my son has been very ill for almost eleven months and I thank God for the breakthroughs which have been made and for His sustaining presence as well as for bringing my husband and myself closer through our trial.

I thank Him too for introducing me to His Mother and giving her to me as my own.

Now it is time to take a deep breath, face forward and ask "What can I do for Him"?

No Need to Worry.... He's Got it in the Bag!

For Don't you just love the Lord's Prayer, or as I have more recently come to know it the Our Father?

For over 11 years now I have been regularly praying this prayer, though I confess mainly in common worship rather than private prayer.

But there has always been one line I would rather were not there!

It's all this forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us business, I would really rather do without.

Forgive us our sins is a great line, I am really in favour of that in fact I can't fault it!

It's this bit about only getting forgiven as I forgive others that I am not so keen on. You see if that's the case then I am up the creek with out a paddle.

It's not that I am a particularly vengeful person, but I am a person and as such sometimes it can be a struggle to forgive.

Unforgiveness can sneak up on me and take me by surprise and I can find myself harbouring thoughts of unforgiveness for things I thought had forgiven people for long ago.

So I started to insert a silent line into my praying of this wonderful prayer, between forgive us our sins and as we forgive those who sin against us, I would ask Father God to help me to forgive as he forgives.

This dealt with the issue for me, for a long time, as I usually only prayed these lines maybe once or twice a week.

Then I became a Catholic and this kind of put the cat among the pigeons, I found that I was praying this prayer much more frequently and more so in private particular while praying the Rosary.

So there I was this morning praying away, saying my Rosary and my Father gave me a present.

Into my head popped a verse from the Bible, Ephesians 3:20

You see I understand that it is only reasonable that I should only ask to be forgiven as I forgive others (and it's not that I don't want to forgive others, and I do try my best, but I am still a work in progress) and I am sure my Father is pleased that I ask him for help to be able to forgive as he does.

There He was this morning ... Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen and He wanted to do something for one of his little ones so He turned to me an smiled and said....

He by his mighty power within us is able to do far more than we could ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.

So, all I have to do is pray and trust in Him because He's got it all in the bag!

St Cecillia 22nd November

PRAY FOR US

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary

It is exciting going through my first year as a Catholic and looking into all the feasts (and fasts) which come along, many of them before unknown to me.

I have looked out and about on the internet and can't see any information about ways to celebrate it, maybe by next year I will have come up with some good ideas.

Today is the Feast of Christ the King!

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before you. We are yours, and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known you; many, too, despising your precepts, have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your Sacred Heart. Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. Grant, O Lord, to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give tranquility of order to all nations; make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever. Amen.

Prayer Source: Enchiridion of Indulgences , June 29, 1968

This beautiful prayer was posted today, by a lovely lady on one of the Yahoo Groups I belong to and I couldn't resist posting it here so I would be able to find it easily and pray it again.

Coconut, chocolate & banana mini muffins

This is what I want to make today....

Its a family favourite!

Ingredients

· 125g unsalted butter, melted

· 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

· 3 ripe bananas, roughly chopped

· 2 eggs

· 1 tsp vanilla extract

· 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, sifted

· 1 cup (45g) desiccated coconut

· 1/2 cup (100g) dark chocolate chips

· Icing sugar, to dust

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C and grease a 12-hole mini-muffin pan. Process butter, caster sugar, banana, eggs and vanilla in a food processor until well combined. Place flour, coconut and chocolate in a large bowl, then fold in banana mixture. Working in batches, place dessertspoons of mixture into pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until risen and golden. Cool slightly in pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Makes 36

Invested with the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal

On Thursday I attended a quiet day with talks on

Our Lady in the New Testament.

It was very deep and quite exhausting
as it is usually done as a full weekend retreat.

It was a wonderful experience, with Mass at Noon
and ending with a Holy Hour
followed by those who wished being invested
with the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal.

I chose to do both.

Planning for an Organised Christmas

When my daughter was here the other day we were discussing Christmas activities. I said that I was considering not putting up any Christmas decorations this year because we have so much we need to accomplish in the house and when I added that to my sons illness it all seemed a bit much.

This year there will only be my husband, my son and myself here for Christmas.

My husband does not bother with Christmas decorations and my son is now 15 and his illness makes him sleep an average of 18 or 19 hours a day so I doubt he will even notice the difference.

So you see I can't get away with pretending that I just "do it for the kids"!

But my daughter pointed out that if I don't decorate it will make me miserable and that will make other people miserable too.

So today I sat down and started to make my plan.

I am going to spend the next two weeks carrying on with my cleaning, organising and de-cluttering of the house.

I avoid doing "stuff" on a Sunday so that gives me twelve days.... That's twice round the house and two shopping days.

The following six working days will be for decorations, get them out, put them up, put the boxes away.

That means the advent decorations will be out in time and the rest up and the mess tidied away by the first Monday in December.

That means from then till Christmas week I can concentrate on my big homemaking project which is to swap our bedroom into the largest room and make our old room into a room for fostering.

We did originally use the biggest room for fostering, but once we had a child in place I realised that I did not have anywhere to have my quiet time in peace.

The young man we had in place wanted a smaller room anyway so when he moved into another room I made the corner of the large room into my prayer place.

It is going to be a big job to get the two rooms as they should be, but if my decorations are up then I will have somewhere lovely to relax in between working on them.