Author: momthingsthroughchrist

I write these “To Such As These” posts every now and then to explain some aspect of the Catholic faith to children. I try to use simple language so you can just read it directly to them instead of having to put it into your own words! The category name is inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:14: “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”

Today, we will be looking at novenas.

If you have any topics you’d like me to cover in this category, pop them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

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What is a novena?

Catholics have many different ways to pray. One kind of Catholic prayer is called a novena. The word “novena” comes from the Latin word novem, which means “nine”, and this word is used because the novena is a prayer that is said for nine days in a row, although there are some exceptions – some novenas go for 25, 30, or even 54 days!

Where did the idea of novenas come from?

The very first time a novena was prayed was recorded in the Bible, in the book of Acts! Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He instructed His disciples to stay in Jerusalem and pray. He told them that they would be baptised in the Holy Spirit. So, the apostles gathered together, praying for all nine days with Mother Mary, the women and Jesus’ relatives, until they received the Holy Spirit nine days later.

How do we pray a novena?

Just like the apostles, we can gather together with other people to pray. Sometimes we gather together for nine days to pray a novena with people after they lose a loved one. Some people form prayer groups in person or even online, and bring all their intentions together as they pray a specific novena as a group. Other times, we can pray novenas privately, but no matter whether we pray with others or alone, a novena is never said without help. Novenas are one way to ask for intercession from Saints – the men and women who are now living with God and who can see Him face-to-face! Not only do these saints pray for us and our intentions, they can also help us to learn how to pray better and glorify God both through the novena and in the example of their lives on Earth.

Novenas are a good way to become more consistent in prayer because they give some structure to our prayer. Often a novena will have a short text asking a saint to pray for them, sometimes telling us a bit about that saint or what they did to show the love of God to others, the mention of your request, and then an instruction to pray some common prayers like the Our Father, for example. Because novenas are set over nine days, we can also more easily commit to praying consistently: it’s not too long and praying for nine days can help to establish good habits of prayer.

What happens if you forget to say the novena prayers one day?

Imagine if one day you told your mom or your dad that you were going to make your bed every day for a month. You started all excited to meet your goal, and you got a few days in, making your bed daily. But one day, you woke up late and had to hurry to get to school and you forgot to make your bed. Do you think they might love you less because you missed a day? No! It would not change their love for you one little bit! And if you made your bed the next day after that month was up, they would be happy that you made your bed. And if making your bed for that whole month helped you to make your bed every day, then they would be happy with that, too!

A novena, in fact, all prayer, is about working on our relationship with God and growing closer to Him. It’s not a system where if you remember to pray for nine days, you will get a reward.

God isn’t like a vending machine, where if you put in enough money and push the right buttons the food or drinks come out. When we pray, we aren’t making deals with the Lord – the most important deal was already made when He gave His life for us – He wants to be close to us for all time, and all we have to do in return is love Him and try to be better in the future. So if you forget a day, just keep going, and keep trying.

Is every intention always granted when we pray novenas?

Remember that whatever we are asking God for, whether it is in a novena or in any other kind of prayer, we must always put His will first. Just like Jesus taught us, and as we say in the Our Father, we should always ask God for His will to be done.

Whenever we pray, we always need to pray with faith. That means that no matter what we are asking for, we need to remember that God is the giver of all good things, and that if our intention isn’t granted, God has something even better planned for us!

Always ask God our Father for what you want, but also pray with a trusting heart, knowing that He loves you and wants what is best for you.

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Talking points

• Have you ever prayed a novena? Is there something you would like to pray a novena for? Let’s look up the patron saint for your intention!
• Which saint do you approach the most for prayer? Is there a reason you like to go to this saint?
• Sometimes it’s not easy when God says no to the requests we make in prayer. What are some things we can do to keep trusting in God and growing closer to Him in those times?

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Have you prayed a novena with your little ones? Or with someone else? What novena did you pray? I remember praying a novena with my now husband to Saints Louis and Zelie Martin in the lead-up to our wedding. I have also done a couple of novenas with family friends in mourning. And of course I’ve done my fair share of personal novenas! Let me know about your experience with novenas in the comments. I love hearing other people’s stories of how prayer works in their lives!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

This week, on July 26th, the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (who was our saint of the month), we celebrate Grandparents Day!

We are grateful to our grandparents and all our ancestors. Without them, we would not be where we are today – we wouldn’t be at all! Grandparents are a link in the chain that passes down traditions and values to the younger generations. Their actions shape our parents, whether positively or negatively, but they are an important part of why we become who we are.

Saints Joachim and Anne must have been exemplary models of faith. According to the Protoevangelium of James and the Evangelium of the Nativity of Mary, they were certainly prayerful people. It was their faith that led them to miraculously conceive Mary, in a story that parallels the story of Hannah (or Channah which is actually Jewish for Anne) and Samuel in 1 Samuel. They shaped her to become a woman who follows the will of God (Lk 1:38), who sings God’s praise (Lk 1:46-55), and exhorts us to follow Jesus (Jn 2:5).

It is important to pray for our grandparents, thanking God for their direct and indirect role in helping to shape us, and asking God to bless them, particularly in their endeavours to pass on the faith. Below is a short prayer we can pray on grandparents day, and whenever we want to pray for our grandparents (prayer cards can be purchased here).

Prayer for Grandparents

Heavenly Father,

May saints Joachim and Anne,
the grandparents of your Son, Jesus,
be an everlasting model for grandparents.
Your Wisdom and Word are eternal,
meant for all generations.
Help grandparents, we pray,
as they pass on the rich traditions of the faith
to their beloved family members,
especially their grandchildren.
We are all your children.
Help us to know you better each day,
ultimately leading us,
with our family members,
into eternal life with you.

Amen.

What are some of your treasured memories with your grandparents? How did your grandparents help to shape your faith? What traditions will you continue to pass on when it is your turn to become a grandparent? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments!

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Jesus Take the Wheel
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8986520223

TRIGGER WARNING: infertility/miscarriage/child loss

Hold on, isn’t that a Carrie Underwood song? Well, yes, and no. The sentiment definitely runs parallel, but the story calls to mind the plot of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Wait a minute, isn’t this a book review? Yes, it is! So… is this a song from some 20 years ago? A movie from some 20 years before that? What’s going on here?

This is a children’s book cleverly written and published by Gina Kirkland. It follows the protagonist’s journey through life, with its ups and downs, and her reliance on Jesus through it all. The entire book is written in rhyme and it explores many different scenarios, some much more serious than others. The story is sensorial beyond the words and images themselves, with sounds like roars and screeches sprinkled throughout to keep younger children engaged. It is aimed at children ages 3-9, but my little one definitely found it entertaining before the age of 2, pointing out balloons and dogs and babies in the story.

My favourite part is the recurring prayer that goes:

“Jesus, oh Jesus,
Will you take the wheel?
It’s not going my way,
And this isn’t ideal.

I don’t understand,
But I know you have plans.
So I put all my fears,
Into your loving hands.”

I think it would be easy to take this prayer and learn it together with your child. The rhyme and meter can help to learn it by rote.

I love that this story puts trust in God in such high esteem, acknowledging that our plans are not always the same as His plans, but that His love for us will get us through. I also love that the story clearly shows that we can trust Jesus with our worries and fears and that He solves them in a way that is even better than we could dream! Although every parent’s journey may differ, the universal parent-child relationship comes up at the end of the book, which, when we read this book as a bedtime story, provides us a lovely opportunity for kisses and cuddles! I would advise you to read the book a few times by yourself before you crack it open with your children, as some of the themes may be quite emotional. The story touches on very real life experiences such as fear, uncertainty and even alludes to the grief that can be caused by infertility/miscarriage/child loss, and even though I haven’t personally experienced those struggles, I have close friends who have, and it definitely touched my heart and made it a little difficult for me to read it out loud to my child those first few times (with tears running down my cheeks).

While this is heavily inspired by the author’s journey, it can get you thinking and talking with your children about times in your life and theirs when they might call on Jesus. Perhaps they are scared, or worried, or unsure, or sad, and they need to give Jesus control in some area of their life. It could be particularly poignant to read and discuss if they are going through something.

Marissa Napolitano’s illustrations are beautiful and bright. I think the soft colours and expert blending also help to provide a soothing background to the sometimes hard-to-endure realities that are found in the story and complement the story perfectly, rounding out the book’s appeal to children.

This book is currently only available in paperback, but depending on how gentle your littles are, it is a wonderful addition to any Christian child’s library. You could also order it now for when they are better able to gently turn pages – it might be sooner than you think!

Have you read this book? What’s your opinion on it? Do you have a prayer of trust similar to the one in this book? Let me know what it is in the comments!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Finding Joy in Simple Moments: Embracing Gratitude and Faith

It has been crazy busy around these parts so I couldn’t find time to do Joys of the Week last week, but I’m back with a two-week joy summary (it might be slightly longer than usual)! Without further ado, here it is!

We got to join the procession at Church last Sunday! Our boy got to help process with the cross, which he loves to play at when we’re at home. He’ll often take his toy broom and hold it up saying it’s the cross, so being able to do the real thing was such a treat for him. He was still talking about it days after! I wish I had gotten a photo but I was holding him while he “held” the cross and it was his father who carried it to the sanctuary.

We signed all the documents and got the keys to our new place! It’s been stressful and still feels a little daunting with the work we need to do over the next little while (but probably endlessly), but we are excited for the journey ahead! We are still in the middle of boxes but we are mostly functional.

I am beyond grateful to all our friends (you know who you are) who came and helped us move and do some unpacking, and all those who have offered to help while we finish putting everything away. I hope you receive blessings to five orders of magnitude of how much you have been blessings to us. We are humbled and grateful to have such a wonderful, generous, and thoughtful village growing around us and we hope to be counted as part of your villages, too!

My hubby has taken some time off for the move, so even though we’re mostly working, it’s nice to be working together. We are tired and sore at the end of each day, but we’re doing it together! Thanks to God who sustains us and gives us every good thing!

I got to catch up with my old friend Joe, who gave me the recently published Gazpacho (GazpaJoe) recipe. I got to give him a virtual tour of the new house and was excited to hear of his plans for the near future! So glad we have technology that allows us to stay in touch with anyone, anywhere!

Tea. Simply, we tried a new tea that we loved! And we have most of the box still in our tea cupboard. God really blesses us in large and small ways and He is so good!

What about you? What joys have you experienced recently? They can be as big as a house or as simple as enjoying a cup of tea (and even if it’s not from this week, I would really love to hear about your favourite teas)! Let’s share in each other’s joy in the comments!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

This recipe is not one of mine, but comes from a dear old friend. I first met Joe when we were both on exchange learning French way back in 2009, and we may have shared a home cooked meal or two (or several) in our dorm kitchens. Since then, we’ve both expanded our culinary vocabularies (as well as our French vocabularies!), and I am glad we have remained in touch. This delightful summery recipe comes courtesy of him and his two cats, Bilby and Bunny, perfect for this summer heat, and in his honour, I am renaming this particular iteration the GazpaJoe.

Ingredients : 

• Peppers (red, yellow, green, and chili. Feel free to select types of peppers according to taste, but no hotter than poblano.)
• 2-4 tomatoes cut into 6 pieces and dried with a towel.
• Large can of cento San Marzano peeled tomatoes (drained and cut)
• 1-2 diced cucumbers, seeds apart
• Stale bread, cut into small pieces, ideally French baguette or Italian loaf type
• 1-3 cloves garlic (to personal preference)
• Onions or Leek, roughly chopped
• ½ cup basil, chopped and additional basil leaves for garnish
• 1-2 cups olive oil (or avocado oil)
• Mint for garnish (optional)
• Salt, pepper (ideally lava salt & fresh coarse ground pepper)
• Balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Tools : 

• Large bowl (or whatever large container you have) 
• Chef’s knife
• Food processor (or blender) 

Method :

1. Cut the peppers and place into your large bowl
2. Add tomatoes. Dry off San Marzano peeled tomatoes and add to the container. The different types of tomatoes have different flavours: San Marzano is sweeter while Traditional tomatoes are more acidic and fresh. You can play with balance by using more of one type over another to get the taste you want. Add cucumbers, bread, garlic, onion, and basil to container.
3. Give the ingredients an olive oil bath (feel free to mix Extra virgin olive oil with avocado oil to save money). Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add a touch of vinegar. Refrigerate.
4. Crush/press the ingredients down while in the fridge & container. Marinate for at least 30 minutes but ideally 12 hours. 
5. Put everything into a food processor, squeeze in some lemon juice, and blend until smooth. Add olive oil if needed. For a runnier consistency, add a little water or vegetable stock.
6. Serve in a bowl. Top with fresh basil/mint, and a bit of black sea salt and finish with a lick of olive oil on top to give it a glossy look. 

Goes great with a warm and crusty (and cheesy, if you’re into that) garlic bread! Alternatively, you can skip the food processing step and serve the mix as a salad with the protein of your choice (likely fish on a Fish Friday).

Did you give this a go? What did you think of it? Do you have any friendships that have managed to survive impossible circumstances? Let’s talk about how these long-standing friendships that defy the odds are such blessings! Oh, and about the gazpacho, remember to leave a comment to let me know if you made any changes to this and how you liked it!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Feast Day: July 26
Patron Saint of grandmothers, mothers, expectant mothers, women in labour, married couples (with her husband, St Joachim), housewives, and those experiencing infertility.

I chose St Anne as this month’s saint to encourage us mothers in our motherhood. Well, this is a mom blog, after all! I also think it’s pretty special that biology dictates that a female foetus in her mother’s womb already holds all the eggs she will ever need in her lifetime in her tiny ovaries, meaning that St Anne also carried part of Jesus (even if they may not have known it at the time, I’m sure God did!).

St Anne’s story can be found in the extra-canonical books, the Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. It parallels quite similarly Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel. In fact, the name Anne is a derivation of Hannah (Channah in Hebrew)! Just like Hannah, Anne was a woman who had no children but fiercely wanted one, so she asked God to grant her a child. She dedicated her child to the Lord as thanks for her answered prayer. Interestingly, some parallels also exist between Our Lady and Samuel, but that is a post for another day.

St Anne has been attributed many patronages relating to motherhood because she experienced a lot in her life on Earth. It’s highly likely that your journey as a mother has seen one or two of her patronages, and the possibility that you’ll see more of her patronages as you continue along your path of motherhood is very real. Remember that you can turn to her and ask for her prayers for whatever part of motherhood you may be living right now.

Have you asked for St Anne’s intercession in the past? What graces did you receive through her prayers? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

St Anne, pray for us!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

I’m gonna start this post with a bit of a Holy Week spiel – and I know it isn’t the season, but bear with me.

As you may know, Holy Week and the Easter Triduum is the culminative celebration of Catholic faith. We remember the whole point of God’s incarnation: his death and resurrection. Now, over the last several years, the significance of the crowd’s responses during readings of Christ’s Passion has not been lost on me. My heart is touched and my mind is driven to ponder the things I have done that compelled our Lord to give His life for me. When I turn away from God, I deny His kingship over me, saying “we have no king but Caesar”. My sins cause me to demand Christ’s crucifixion and clamour for Barabbas to be released. 

This month of the Precious Blood of Christ, I want to draw your attention to one particular response, found in Matthew 27. Pilate has just washed his hands of Jesus’ death sentence, and the crowd basically doubles down on their accusations by responding with the words “His blood be on us and on our children!” And every Holy Week, we Catholics say these very words, on Passion Sunday and Good Friday.

When we call for Christ’s blood to be on us and our children, we do two things:

1. We take responsibility for Christ’s crucifixion and death (these words were often used in Hebrew culture to express just as much, with several examples in the Old Testament, including Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Ezekiel, and even in the New Testament Book of the Acts of the Apostles). When we take responsibility for this, we are allowing the consequences of this, whatever they may be, to befall us and future generations. This is something I find so interesting, because in our sinful state, we condemn Christ to be crucified, and yet we are simultaneously asking for our Lord to pay the price of our sin and reconcile us to the Father through the very same action by which He is condemned. I have always said God has a thing for paradoxes and this is just another example of that!
2. At the same time that we accept the consequences for the Lord’s death, we also ask for His blood to cover us and our children. When we look at the parallels between Jesus, the Lamb of God, to the description of the sacrifice of the lamb required to save the Israelites from the angel of death in Exodus, the power of Christ’s blood becomes evident – it is through His death that we can be spared from death. In His blood, we are washed clean. God sees no cause for our spiritual death as we are made perfect in Christ.

What was once a cry of political scheming, a cry that seemed on the surface to be hateful and vindictive, has become a cry of hope, a cry for mercy and for salvation.

His blood be on us and on our children.

Let the fruits of His death be on us and on our children. Let His sacrifice allow us to come to the Father. Let us be covered in His precious blood that we may be saved.

Through the precious blood of Jesus Christ,  may we and our children be saved.

What thoughts come to you when you hear (and say) these words out loud? What kind of feelings arise for you? Let’s keep the discussion going in the comments!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!