These weekly reviews always sneak up on me… how do they come so often?! Anyway. Let me kick us off.
Our baby started walking! Still a few tumbles here and there, but it’s enough steps to stop counting. It’s so bittersweet… but if I cut myself out of the picture, I’m happy that bub is getting more independent and gradually spreading those wings! I’m so wary that I’ll blink and it’ll be time to head off to college, but that’sgoing to be another (bittersweet) joy for another day.
I bought matching summer swimwear for the whole family this week. Usually I don’t like to match (and often avoid matching with my husband!), but these outfits have a fun citrusy summer vibe, so I’m actually excited to wear them together! It was a bit tricky, as I had bought hubby’s swim trunks online and had to go to the ohysical stores to see if they had anything in my size that would work… and they did! We even got a matchy picnic blanket!
I got off the waitlist and onto the real list for a dance event! It’s not for a few months, but I have been looking for opportunities to up my dance, and I am glad to be going! I’m pleasantly surprised at the level I was put in, as well! Feeling a little rusty at present, but there are a few opportunities between now and then, where hopefully I will be able to dust off the cobwebs and get back into it.
Let me know what your joys have been this week – I’d love for us to celebrate one another’s little victories and give thanks to the Father! Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
St Ignatius of Loyola Feast day: July 31 Patron of Dioceses of San Sebastian and Bilbao, Biscay & Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, Society of Jesus, Soldiers, Educators and Education.
This month, we celebrate St Ignatius of Loyola. The founder of the Jesuit order, which was important in the wake of the Reformation, he is patron of a number of communities and educational institutions throughout Spain and the Philippines, and well-known Loyola University in Baltimore MD, educators/education in general, soldiers and spiritual retreats, as well as the order he founded (SJ).
I chose to look at St Ignatius of Loyola this month because I think his Imaginative Prayer, or Ignatian Contemplation, is something we can introduce to our little ones to get them praying about the Gospels. This form of prayer lends itself so well to young minds!
I would introduce it by saying something like, “today we’re going to be in a Bible story! We’ll read it together first, and then pretend we are part of it to imagine what it might have been like for us personally”
Below is a description of how to engage in imaginative prayer.
Choose a bible story – one that really has a story feel. Probably not from anything like Leviticus, Psalms, Proverbs, or the Epistles. Children’s Bibles are a great resource for this, as they tend to be much more story-oriented. There are also a few audio and a video contemplations on this website (you’ll have to scroll down a little to get to the good stuff).
Ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you join in the story
One person reads through the story aloud in prayer
Act out the story using prompts, or for older children (or yourself!), you can simply have some silent prayer thinking about the story (in traditional Ignatian contemplation, you might choose a character or an object in the story and think about experiencing the story from their point of view) and then discuss it. It is important to consider what message God is sending them through this exercise.
Read the story aloud again, but this time, ask your children to bear in mind (or act out) the new details they were able to see from the imaginative time.
Try it out and let me know how it goes!
St Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood.
There are so many things that I could say about this, but I think I’d like to focus on the life-giving aspect of blood.
The Jewish faith, which is the early basis of our Catholic faith, holds that the life is in the blood and God gave it to make atonement through sacrifice (Leviticus 17:11). This is the context into which Jesus entered our world as God’s word incarnate, and gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. The significance of blood throughout the Old Testament is vital (no pun intended), and it prefigures Christ’s sacrifice, which carries that same significance. Perhaps that’s something to dive deeper into in a future post, though. Today, I’d like to look at the role of the blood in motherhood and what it can reveal to us about Christ’s Precious Blood.
When I think about blood specifically as it pertains to motherhood, there are two functions that stand out:
As women, we bleed monthly (more or less). This blood is what forms the lining of the uterus. It is usually replaced at the beginning of each cycle, but that uterine blood is retained if a woman falls pregnant. The new baby, which at this point consists of a fertilised egg, is implanted into this cushion of blood, which surrounds the new life as it continues to develop inside the womb. The very beginnings of every human life require blood – blood that is not theirs.
After the baby is born, many mothers take up breastfeeding. In this process, the milk is made from their blood, and for newborns, this milk contains all the nutrients required for growth and development, and even anitbodies that can help protect them from some diseases. Mothers give of their own blood in order to continue to sustain their dependent infants and help them grow.
The life-giving graces we obtain through the spilling of the Precious Blood of our Lord are elevated above our human understanding of blood, but in my reflection on this subject, a couple of parallels have emerged for me.
Jesus’ blood is necessary for us to partake in new life, just as the lining of the uterus provides the environment needed for a new baby’s life to take hold. The zygote is implanted, literally buried in this lining, so it is completely covered by it. In the lining, it is protected and begins to grow. Had Christ’s Precious Blood not been shed on the cross, we would not be washed before God and adopted into His family. His blood is on us and on our children (Mt 27:25), covering us and making it possible for us to begin our lives as God’s children.
Then, like the nourishment a baby receives from breastmilk, the blood of Jesus which we receive each time we partake in the Eucharist (who is present in body, blood, soul, and divinity no matter if the form is under the appearance of bread or wine), is spiritual nourishment. I find Christ’s title of “Good Pelican” to be particularly poignant in this regard. When there is insufficient food for her babies, a mother pelican will use her beak to take parts of her own flesh to feed to them and help them grow – though extreme, it is similar to how breastfeeding works, and is also analogous to the Lord’s own sacrifice of self. Through the gift of the Eucharist, we receive Jesus, and He takes us to Himself to change our hearts little by little, helping us attain spiritual growth. The Eucharist also provides a protective factor. You see, much like the antibodies in breastmilk can help babies fight off illness, the Eucharist washes away venial sins, helping to heal our souls of spiritual ills.
Anyway, these are just some musings, but I hope they can help us to appreciate the life we receive through the precious blood of Jesus in a new way.
Have you noticed any other parallels when it comes to the Precious Blood? Let me know your thoughts!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Wow, how is it already July? Time seems to move faster every day! Well, time to take stock and give thanks for another week. Let me know your joys in the comments so we can rejoice with one another and praise God for His goodness!
We have had some good news on the health front for our baby, which has been a long (and stressful) time coming! Over the last several months, we’ve sought professional help and implemented the suggestions and I am so grateful for the blessings God has given us on this path. So glad we’ve finally found what works!
My parents will be visiting us soon and I managed to find them a place to stay not far from us (unfortunately we don’t have space to host). I am getting excited about it, because it’s been over a year since I last saw them.
I have been struggling spiritually the last few weeks… I didn’t realise, but I had committed to so much that I was experiencing spiritual burnout! I just fell into a hole and could not manage to pull myself out. How ironic with my recent post about self-care! But by God’s grace, and thanks to the prayers of probably a dozen people, He has empowered me to pick myself up, dust myself off, and once again continue to follow Him, perhaps with less productivity, but with no less zeal and love.
Looking forward to sharing the joys – please leave yours down below! Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
As the month draws to a close, it’s time to start a new prayer thread. Just like last time, simply leave your prayer requests in the comment section! I will come back throughout the month to see if there are any new prayers I need to add to my personal prayer list, so even if it comes up a few weeks from now, just come back to this post and pop it in and know I’ll pray for you! Since this is about community-building, I would ask that you keep everyone else who comments in your own prayers too, along with Pope Francis’ prayer intention for July which is:
July: for a Eucharistic life
We pray that Catholics may place the celebration of the Eucharist at the heart of their lives, transforming human relationships in a very deep way and opening to the encounter with God and all their brothers and sisters.
I can’t wait for you to see next week’s monthly devotion post to find out why this is so apt!
Thanks for being part of this community and for your prayers. I truly believe it’s the most you can do, even (and especially) when you alone can do nothing.
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
As Catholics, we are called to be the primary teachers of prayer to our children (CCC 2685, 2694). But if we didn’t grow up in a culture of prayer, it can be difficult to know how to do this or what to pass on to our children. So, I’m using this platform to share prayer ideas we can incorporate in our family prayer life!
Today’s prayer is The Five Finger Prayer. Technically speaking, it isn’t a prayer in itself, but more of a formula on how to pray. A big thank you to Monica from Arma Dei for sharing the poem above. She wrote it based on the Five Finger Prayer, and it’s very helpful for remembering how to pray for personal intentions. It is one of the many beautiful traditions you can find in the book, A Treasure Chest of Traditions for Catholic Families, and you can purchase a copy here! Not an affiliate link, just something I wanted to share!
It’s in the infographic above, but here it is in text only, so it’s a little easier to read:
First, My thumb, nearest to me: I pray for my friends and family. Next my pointer: I pray for my teacher, My doctor, my dentist, my priest and preacher. Next, my third, my finger most tall: I pray for our leaders who guide us all. Next, my fourth, my finger most weak: I pray for the sick, poor, young, old and meek. Now, the pinkie, the LAST and the small: I pray for these others, then me last of all!
I like this prayer because it helps us remember the different people who need our prayers, those who we love and who help and guide us through life, and it helps us put ourselves after others. Of course, even though this prayer leads us to consider other people, this generally tends to remain a request prayer, so we should be mindful to also incorporate praise, thanksgiving, and repentance through other prayers.
Have you used the five finger prayer before? How did it go? Do you have any suggestions for its use? Please share in the comments!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Again, no life story here, just a fresh summer salad meal that’s perfect for entertaining Catholics and non-Catholics alike on any given Friday! I’ll just add that the shrimp make this a celebratory kind of Friday unless you can grab those shrimp on sale. Let’s try to exercise austerity in remembrance of Christ’s suffering. Otherwise, you could always skip the shrimp and just do the salad with a little extra protein (I like to use the age-old staple of canned tuna, or you could serve some crispy fried tofu on the side for a little crunch!).
Materials:
2 small bowls
Medium bowl
Skewers
Watertight jar
Large bowl
Ingredients:
1 small red onion, finely diced
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp white sugar
1 pound large shrimp, shelled, tails on
¼ c + 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbsp + ¼ c fresh flat parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic + 1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp + 2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper powder (optional, to taste)
1 tbsp garlic powder (optional)
2c chickpeas (if canned, drain)
1 small green mango, julienned
1 cayenne chilli, thinly sliced on the bias (optional and/or remove seeds/membranes to decrease heat as desired – the more seeds you keep, the hotter it will be)
1 large lebanese cucumber, diced
1 small yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
1c cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 large handful parsley, roughly chopped
1 large firm but ripe avocado, diced
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Prep:
For the pickled onion (can be done ahead of time):
Place onion, white vinegar and sugar into a small bowl and mix. Let sit at least 30 minutes then strain
For the Garlic Shrimp:
Whisk together ¼ c olive oil, cilantro, 2 tbsp parsley, tarragon, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice, cayenne pepper powder (optional), a generous pinch of salt, and a sprinkle of pepper in a medium bowl.
Set aside about a quarter of the mixture in a small bowl.
Add the shrimp to the remaining mixture in the medium bowl, cover, and let sit at least 30 minutes.
Thread the shrimp onto the skewers, making sure to get a bunch of the garlic and herbs on each shrimp skewer, and if you like, dust with garlic powder for an extra garlic kick.
For the dressing:
Into a jar, pour the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Close the lid tightly and shake well. Add thyme leaves (if desired) and lightly swirl.
Instructions:
On a grill or grilling pan heated to medium high heat, cook shrimp skewers, about 2 minutes each side. Once all skewers have been cooked, dress with remaining herby garlic mix.
In a large bowl, mix together pickled onion, chickpeas, mango, cayenne pepper (optional), cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes and parsley.
Pour dressing over the mix as desired, and toss.
Add avocado and gently toss.
Enjoy!
I’m interested to know what you thought, so please let me know in the comments! Same goes if you made any changes you’d like to share!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
What a week it has been! You’ll have to excuse the late joys post; the little one is going through a rough patch, so this short post has literally taken me days to write up!
We started with my baby’s birthday party and that was so good on so many counts! A day of joy, despite all the stress in the lead-up and the tiredness in the aftermath.
We went on a neighborhood walk and met a baby who lives a few doors down and whose birthday is the day before our baby’s! We even had a playdate with them! We had fun and we hope to see them again soon!
Our family had a few moments after the Saturday Vigil Mass to socialise with some of the parishioners, which was lovely. We learned that the stained glass windows in our church were entirely done by local volunteers as a gift to the parish didn’t – it took ten years of planning!
So now it’s your turn. What were some of your joys (from last week!)?
Today is World Productivity Day. You know, so much of this world is measured in productivity: objectives, output, KPIs… We fill our schedules to the brim, sometimes to the point that we have things we just cannot do. How often, when asked how you are, has your response been “busy”? Look, there is nothing inherently wrong with being productive. Achieving goals is a good thing! But we mustn’t fall into the glorification of endless productivity.
Take a note from Jesus Himself, who, despite knowing He would not be on Earth long, still took time away from His ministry:
But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.
Luke 5:15-16
Christ also calls His apostles to rest right before the feeding of the five thousand:
He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
Mark 6:31
Goodness, “no leisure even to eat”… how often do those words ring true in motherhood?!
From these two instances, we can see that Jesus valued rest and taking care of needs, and also that spending time in prayer was an important part of His own ministry. We must also acknowledge that our Lord didn’t withdraw or call His apostles away to simply laze about, but to have time to pray, and address basic needs, such as eating (though I don’t think they had much time to actually do this!).
As mothers (some of us working mothers), there are many demands on our time. We havemany things to do and our own “crowds” clamouring for our time and energy. It is not uncommon to hear about burn-out as a result of detrimental self-sacrifice. Jesus shows us by His example that we cannot spend all our time in service.
I’m not advocating for frequent, extended periods away from our family, or neglect our responsibilities to binge-watch The Chosen (I don’t think my heart or my tear ducts could take that, anyway!). We need to be disciplined in our practice of self-care lest it turn to a practice of me-first selfishness. Let us remember though, that we are both spiritual and corporal beings, and we have to look after both parts of our humanity – after all, it was given to us by God, and what’s more, we were made in His image and likeness. We should honour God’s work by taking care of it.
Self-care is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot, but it’s not just feel-good activities (although these are not necessarily excluded). Ok, so it’s not frequently indulging in spa days and manicures or sitting around playing candy smashing games on your phone… so what is it?
As a mom, if you pay attention to milestones, you’ll see they are usually grouped into different domains. In my opinion, we do not really outgrow these domains; they remain a part of us. Self-care should address several of these domains, namely the physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual. Self-care, when practiced well, can ensure that your life as a whole is in balance. I’ll add some suggestions below just to prompt your thinking, but please keep in mind that you don’t have to do all of them, and you don’t even have to pick up one from each domain. Just doing a little – even just one thing – and knowing that you’re making a little headway in the self-care department. It’s about filling your own cup so that you have some to give to others.
When we talk about the physical domain, we could talk about rest! Moms are notorious for not getting enough rest. How is sleep? If you’re one of those people who has difficulty falling asleep when you have one of those rare moments to yourself, perhaps you could use your quiet time simply to rest – phone down, lay down, eyes closed. Perhaps you need to exercise more (guilty!). Or maybe you need to make sure you’re getting those five serves of vegetables every day – could a multivitamin help? Are you getting enough water? I like to have a water bottle with a straw in the car and take a sip at every red light (I only remember about half the time, but it helps to up my water intake!).
Emotional self-care can look like processing your day through keeping a journal, or maybe consider committing to sharing your joys of the week on the weekly blog posts here! You might choose to engage in a creative outlet – you could create some art, or write a poem, or even just sing along to a song or a hymn that expresses something you felt during the day. Do you have the time and funds to seek therapy? Alternatively, you could see if your workplace offers an Employee Assistance Program, which usually has a number of free counselling sessions. You could engage in a hobby or simply lean into the mom thing and find an opportunity to be fully present and spend quality time with family – they do bring us so much joy!
Cognitive self-care keeps our minds healthy and flexible. An obvious avenue is reading, (hey, what are you doing right now?!); writing, even just in a journal, is also a way to get those brain waves going. If you have the time, you could learn a new skill. Another suggestion is to take in new information through podcasts – perhaps from school drop-off or on the way to the pick-up!
Socially, it’s important to connect with others and maintain those social bonds. This could take the form of a phone call to family or friends, date night with hubby, or family outings with family friends. Anything that gets you interacting with other humans! This could also take the form of volunteer work (you can see if your local St Vincent de Paul Society has any programs to connect with isolated individuals in the community) – heck, maybe even your paying job allows you to do this!
As Catholics, spiritual self-care is probably the most important domain for us to exercise. It is what is written about in the Gospels every time they talk about Jesus going away to pray, from fasting in the desert, throughout His ministry, and to the agony in the garden of Gethsemane. It is, essentially, what we do to nourish our souls and grow in our faith. Perhaps the most important thing we can do in this domain is to receive Christ in the Eucharist. It is, after all, the source and summit of our faith! Other ideas include attending retreats, going to adoration, meditating on our Lord’s life (hello, holy rosary!), learning through Bible study, joining fellowship groups, reading about the lives of Saints… the list goes on!
When you’re a busy (productive?) mom, a nifty trick is to use one self-care act to cover multiple domains; you can feed two birds with one scone! You could listen to a spiritual podcast while you get some exercise in – that hits your physical, cognitive, and spiritual self-care all at once! And the best thing about self-care is that it will give you a renewed sense of vitality and you will be able to better serve those around you!
What are some ways you practice self-care? What are your busy mom cheats to cover more areas of self-care with fewer activities? And probably most pressingly, how do you manage to set aside time for rest?! Let’s share our tips and tricks in the comments!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
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, I’m going to be exploring the Sign of the Cross, with a little help from Bert Ghezzi’s book, Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer.
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!
You’ve probably said the prayer countless times: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. But where does this prayer come from? What does it mean? And why do we use it so much?
Many, many hundreds of years ago, St Basil the Great said that the sign of the cross is a prayer that has been used since the time of the apostles. Christians would make a cross on the foreheads of people being baptised.
It has developed some variations since then: just think of how we are still crossed on the forehead at baptism and confirmation, we get crosses of ash on Ash Wednesday, we use our own thumbs to cross our foreheads, lips, and chests before the Gospel is read at Mass, and we can make a bigger sign of the cross from our head to our chest and from shoulder to shoulder when we say other prayers!
There are even different ways to hold your hand when making the sign of the cross, and these symbolise different things. Some people use an open hand, which is a sign of blessing (that’s where we get the term “bless yourself”), with the five fingers symbolising the five wounds Christ got on the cross. Ohers use just two fingers to symbolise that Jesus is both fully God and fully man, and others use their thumb, index, and middle fingers together to symbolise the Holy Trinity, with their ring finger and pinkie resting on the palm, again recalling that Jesus is both God and man.
No matter the variation, it’s something that has managed to stay with the followers of Jesus for over 2000 years, which means it must be pretty important! And the reason why it is so important, is because without question, there is an incredible strength behind this seemingly simple prayer.
The Church tells us that this is a sacramental, which means that it is something that helps us to be open to God’s graces and is a reminder of one of the sacraments, in this case, baptism. The cross is a symbol that can be used to represent the death and resurrection of Jesus, and our baptism also represents our dying and rising again with Him.
The sign of the cross is so special that a very clever man named Bert Ghezzi wrote a whole book all about it! While he was writing the book, he found six things that the sign the cross can mean:
A way to say that we believe in God
A reminder of our baptism and something strengthens the graces we received at our baptism (a sacramental!)
A sign that we are a part of God’s family
A way to accept our suffering and unite it with Jesus’ suffering and death
A form of protection against the devil
A way to call on God’s power to help us say no to any invitations to sin
If we look at all the things this prayer can mean, it’s no wonder that we would have so many opportunities to use it. Anytime we want to call on God, like inviting Him to be with us as we pray, or asking for His help, or reminding ourselves that we are children of God or to remember the good things God has done for us, we can say this little prayer.
So, the next time you make the sign of the cross, remember that even though it may be simple, it holds a whole lot of power! And because it holds a whole lot of power, it’s something we need to treat with whole a lot of respect – make sure no one would be confused of whether you’re making the prayer or shooing away a fly!
Talking points
Which of the meanings of the Sign of the Cross stands out to you the most? Why?
Think back to the last time you made the Sign of the Cross – why did you do it? What did you have in mind as you were doing it?
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Mom Things Through Christ 