Did you know we do a monthly Zoom meeeting? We just got done with our August meeting which we called a “Deep Dive Into Wreath One”. Joan and I covered the basics of meetings, what is a wreath, introduction to the virtues, saints, etc.
We were joined by Moms from California, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio and CANADA!! It was really nice and I hope the Moms were glad they spent the hour-ish with us.
At the end of meeting, I shared our prayer entitled “Prayer for Little Flower Girls”. Joan and I composed this prayer leaning heavily on the poetry of St. Therese herself. Feel free to share this with your LF’s and consider adding it to your meetings.
Dear Jesus,
I thank you for the gift you have given me through my faith and my family.
Please remain my sweet support, come reign in my heart and give me your smile – just for today!
At each beat of my heart let me renew this offering to you an infinite number of times, until the shadows have disappeared, I may be able to tell you of my love in eternity.
It is my joy to love you, Jesus, so, please continue to guide my little boat over the stormy seas in peace.
Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Mary and our patroness, St. Therese we pray, Amen.
Catherine of Siena, illustration from The Golden Book of Famous Women, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, (1872-145), British Museum, London, UK
Have you ever seen this illustration? Neither had I until seeing in it in the April 2022 issue of Magnificat. Of course, no one has ever seen all the amazing art that has been created but once in a while a piece of art, like this, comes before us and we are taken aback. Here is a Catherine, Doctor of the Church, a solitary woman standing before a group of powerful men; holding her own.
Her bio is familiar to us, one of 26 children born to her mother (though at last 1/2 died in infancy), she was a mystic from her youth, a Dominican laity from the age of 16, and later in life a vocal advisor and critic of both secular politicians and Church officials. This illustration seems perfect for a woman whose conversations with God are recorded in her Dialogue, where we can find Him telling her, “I am who I am, you are she who is not.”
Critiquing the illustration for the Magnificat, professor of art, Elizabeth Lev, says this, “For the Catholic eye, there is more to this image than a woman taming the papal court. Catherine’s life was marked by a series of men – scholars, prelates and nobles – who had heard of her fame and sought her out as either a kind of curiosity or as a woman who needed to be put in her place. With her simple certainty, profound wisdom, and evident special graces, she confounded her detractors and even converted some to her service.”
Their looks are either quizzical, or demanding or dismissive. Where any of them swayed? Of course, some surely were as some continued to be. Her designation as a Doctor of the Church reminds us what she wrote, what she says, remains of value for us for all time.
And what has she written? “So let your heart hold back no longer. Let the city of your soul surrender – for Christ has set fires everywhere, and there is nowhere you can turn, physically or spiritually, without encountering the fire of love.”
I love thinking of those words and pondering this picture. Her side-eye, her downward glance seems to be directed at us as well as those men. How are we with God? Have we abandoned the city of our own souls and set up our tents in the world? I know I am as guilty as the next of finding my phone more easily than my rosary.
But not today. Today in honor of St. Catherine of Siena, I will spend some time exploring the city of my soul more closely. I will pray Jesus help me to do as she proclaimed, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the whole world on fire.”
Sunflower, Faith, Wreath I, Catherine of Siena
If you would like to explore Miss Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale’s amazing book, you can find it here:
We’d love to see you today at our April zoom meeting! We’re meeting at 2:00 p.m. EST, and seeing you would make our day.
We’ll be talking about how to celebrate your families with a Tea Ceremony, we’ll be talking about our upcoming camp and how to do one at home. We’ll be taking your questions and more (including a free giveaway to everyone to spends an hour with us)!
Hope to see you there – and I mean that literally! Due to a hiccup at my house, I might not be able to see you this month 🙁 I know Joan will do a fantastic job without me, and I’m hoping I get home in time to see all of you!
Today’s Gospel is the beautiful telling of Mary Magdalene at the garden from John 20:11-18. There are several quotes from it that really give me pause:
“She stayed outside the tomb weeping…” – how many times have I stayed away from Jesus because I refused to share my pain with Him?
“She thought it was the gardener….” – how many times have I missed recognizing Jesus because I expected His arrival in some other means, or through some other person?
And most beautifully, “Jesus said to her, “Mary”” – She recognized Him when He called her by name, as He does to each of us, every day.
She thought He was the gardener. For us, that imagery is perfect as we work for that “gardener”! We are planting seeds of virtue we hope will help our children grow into saints! What a beautiful, powerful RISEN gardener we are working with.
And, where does the time go as we do this work? A month has already past and Joan and I are excited to be hosting our 3rd live zoom meeting with all of you.
We have so much to talk about – how about Tea/May Crownings? Summer Camp 2022? Registration is now live! Our participation in the upcoming 3rd annual Virtual Catholic Homeschool Conference scheduled for June 10-11, 2022? We have another special giveaway planned and, as always, we are here to answer any of your questions, hear your suggestions and the amazing things you are doing in your own Little Flower garden.
We hope you make the time to spend an hour with us on April 22, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EST! I’ll post the link on Thursday. See you all then!
With Palm Sunday just days away, there is still time for a plenary indulgence before the end of Lent.
A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary, and all the saints to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. The indulgence cleanses a person of all temporal punishment due to sin; however, it must always be accompanied by a full detachment from sin.
My own Bishop Most Reverend William E. Koenig has asked the following:
“Catholics from throughout the Diocese of Wilmington are invited to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) at any of the 56 parish churches in Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore, on Monday, April 11, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., during the first-ever diocesan-wide ‘Reconciliation Monday.’ The event is designed to make it more convenient for Catholics to receive the sacrament at the end of Lent and beginning of Holy Week, in anticipation of the celebration of Easter.”
As we homeschool my kids at home are looking forward to heading over the Church around the 3:00 p.m. hour. We usually take advantage of our Saturday afternoon slots (4:30-5:00 p.m.) before our Saturday evening Mass of Anticipation or our parish’s evening services typical for Advent and Lent or this time of day will be a bit different, and as my 14 yr. old says, ‘kinda weird, kinda cool’.
Here’s hoping your own family’s plans for the end of this Lenten season is full of blessings and graces.
We had a hiccup in recording the zoom meeting from 3/25/22. If you attended that zoom, we’re sorry about not capturing your info and we would ask you to follow up with Joan via email. Thanks and see you all next month for our next one scheduled 4/22/22!
We are zoom-ing again this Friday, March 25, from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST.
I will be there! Or rather, here at my house and you at your house. I’ll be talking about the value and importance of virtue education and how a meeting “might” run. I want to emphasize the might as every club is unique just as each of our daughters are unique.
Look for the link on Thursday and try to stop by and say hello!
(( If you have a specific question or topic you would like addressed, drop us a line and we’ll do our best to answer it! ))
Today’s gospel (Matt 7:7-12) has us considering Jesus’ words…“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
This reading is another example of Jesus telling us something that we can find hard to believe as true. Of course, we know Jesus cannot lie but our own live’s experiences of unanswered prayers and seeking without finding can make these verses ring hollow.
But, again, Jesus cannot lie so what are we to do? I suggest you take a moment this Lent and sit before the Lord in prayer and ask Him, quite directly, “Lord, when did you answer my prayers?” and get ready to write down your own list of miracles – both large and small.
I do not know what is on your list but mine certainly includes my husband, each of my children and quite recently, my eldest son getting a dream job in NYC. This same son, now 30, lived with us for some time while working part-time at a local college. I could not count the number of novenas, and Masses I offered up for him to just. get. out. of. my basement!
And every time I did, I kept saying ‘why is this taking so long?’, ‘isn’t God listening to me?’, and ‘what about those verses about prayers being answered?’
Well, God sometimes (often) takes His time; He’s in it for the long game and can’t be rushed. So, the newest addition to my list of answered prayers is my son’s new job at NYU! What’s on yours?
