And I was counting down the minutes until I could begin to put up Christmas decorations and start listening to Hallow’s Advent Praylist! The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year, which means tonight is our New Year’s Eve!
It is now well past midnight, which came and went a few minutes after I started writing, but I thought I would take a few moments, just to drop some ideas to help you to develop spiritually in the coming year!
Last January, at the beginning of the new year, I chose a saint of the year, and a word of the year! Sadly, with mom brain in full force, I can’t remember whose wonderful idea this was… if I ever do, I will definitely update (if mom brain permits!). Anyway, I was thinking since it’s the new liturgical year, why not move that tradition to the first Sunday of Advent instead of the first day of January?
Here is a Saint Name Generator. It says 2025 but probably is still mostly current, save for our newly canonised saints this year (St Carlo Acutis, St Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Ignatios Shukrallah Maloyan, St. Petro ToRot, St. Vincenza Maria Poloni, St. María Carmen Rendiles Martínez, St. Maria Troncatti, St. José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, and St. Bartolo Longo, pray for us!). Of course if you don’t like the randomly generated saint, you could pick your own (and it could be one of the newer saints!). Use this saint as inspiration to grow in holiness, as an extra friend to pray for you, or any other way that might help you get closer to God!
Here’s a Random Word Generator. You can choose to generate just one or a short list to choose from! Use this word to inspire spiritual growth this liturgical year.
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
I thought I’d also add a Bible Verse of the Year Generator. I’m not gonna try to tell you how to apply God speaking to you through scripture. Just keep the verse handy, know He is, and apply it as you feel led
You could do all or none of these, or some number between those! I would love to hear your favourite way to celebrate Advent in the comments. And! Please share your randomly generated things, if you do them! I would love to know!
Growing up, my school was under the charge of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Yes, the Josephites of St Mary MacKillop. These sisters took to their work with the courage and charity of St Joseph, and with the way they chose not to shy away from challenges, just like their patron saint – the very same saint who the Church gives us for the month of March.
I remember being part of one of their anniversary celebrations and specifically delivering the line to a room full of hundreds of sisters and the line was “You are challenged” (and later “You have been challenged”). There was also a little dance and some sparkly costumes, that was kind of fun as a kindergartener.
But I want to focus on that spirit of St Joseph. The courage and love we read about in the Bible. And of course, his willingness to take whatever challenges he faced in his stride.
We don’t have much information on St Joseph, but from what we know, with the way God worked through Mary, St Joseph’s life was not made simpler. He would have had to look after Mary and Jesus, though it was not his own plan. Above and beyond the usual caretaking, Joseph had to flee with his young family and start a life in Egypt. From these stories, we also know that Joseph listened to God and did what God told him to do, when He spoke to him in his dreams through His angels.
It’s funny, he was a simple family man. He didn’t do anything particularly heroic or noteworthy that is recorded for the annals of history. He looked after his family with faithfulness, humility, and love, just as we are called to do, no more and no less.
Because of this, St Joseph is a wonderful saint to ask for intercession in the daily tumult of family life. He shows us that we can face our challenges, big and small, with courage. He is an example of caring for our families with great love – and with very few words, which is something I am still learning to do.
I like to think St Joseph is a bit of a Swiss Army Knife of saints, so to speak, particularly when it comes to my intentions for my family. I call on him when anyone is travelling and requires some prayers for protection (St Joseph, protector of travellers), when my husband or I have a big day of work ahead of us (St Joseph the Worker), and when any one of us is sick (St Joseph, hope of the sick), which unfortunately seems to be happening most weeks, lately. For a saint with a sum total of zero recorded words, he sure can do a lot of praying for us!
Having lived a quiet life with his family, we believe St Joseph passed away peacefully, in the arms of Mary and Jesus. We can only hope for so happy a passing from this life, so he is also patron saint for a happy death.
I can only believe, my grandmother who had a special devotion to St Joseph, often asked for his intercession. With the challenges of raising five children, I imagine this happened more often than not! So, much like I think she would have done, let me put those words down here:
St Joseph, pray for us!
Do you have any particular devotion to St Joseph? Has he come through for you in the past? I would love to hear your stories! Share them in the comments.
When I was growing up, December 1st (or the weekend after) was the day we would exhume all our Christmas decorations and arrange them joyfully around the home. I loved those days! They were days where I could be creative and make things look pretty, all while listening to Christmas music and spending time with my family!
Today, in the early hours of the second of December, I look around my home. There are some decorations up, some partly done (the tree is up but bare), and some still lying in wait. I know I have much more to do before Christmas comes, but that is okay. I will go to sleep without feeling like today’s job is finished.
In our priest’s homily, he spoke about how expectant parents begin to prepare for the arrival of their child once the arrival date is calculated. Those of you who have had children (and many of you who haven’t) understand that this preparation does not all happen in one day. There is a reason God gives us nine-ish months before the baby is born!
Parents, especially first time parents, take some time to prepare for the arrival of their child. They must figure out what the new sleeping arrangements will be, they must find out the guidelines for infant care, first-timers even need to learn important procedural tips for labour and delivery! And the list goes on.
Advent is a time of preparation. It is okay, and perfectly normal, to take some time to prepare. There must be planning and effort. And that takes time.
Our priest also spoke about Advent as a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ arrival at Christmas. I am reminded of that hymn, My Heart is a Stable. Yet instead of the animals, hay, and swaddling bands, perhaps our hearts should be lined with the spiritual virtues we need to grow in. How can we build these virtues and make our hearts fit for Christ’s arrival? Well, just like Lent, Advent is a time of repentance. And just like at Lent, we can use the pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to ready our hearts to receive Jesus. And just like decorating, we don’t have to do it all in one day! We can take a little time each day to say an extra prayer. We can sacrifice something small here and there just as St Therese of Lisieux invites us to, offering it up to the Lord. We can put aside a little to give away, from time to time, over the course of December, all the way up to Christmas.
Anyway, every time you do a little more decorating, you can use the time to think of Jesus!
What are your decorating traditions? What memories do you have from decorating as a child? What are your tips for preparing your heart Let me know in the comments
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Feast Day: October 22 Patron Saint of: youth, families, and World Youth Day
Much like last month’s Saint of the Month, our October Saint of the Month was something of a global superstar in the 80s and 90s. In fact, the two of them were less than rarely associated with one another. He was the pope of my youth and holds a special place in my heart for starting World Youth Day which was a key milestone in my own faith journey.
I have chosen him as our patron saint for the month not only because he is a patron saint of families, but also for his encouraging words to mothers in his Letter to Women:
Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God’s own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child’s first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.
The saint’s words highlight the unique role that mothers hold. First, he acknowledges our first duty as mother: to grow our children within our own bodies, providing all they need until they are (with hope) ready to leave the safety of the womb, just as God provides all we need throughout our lives. As we raise our children, we radiate joy and delight in our child, offering them a dim reflection of God’s joy and delight in them as His children. We nurture and teach our children as they grow, as God nurtures and teaches us. Mothers remain a touchstone for children in their life journey, a source of wisdom and advice, or perhaps just someone who will listen, someone who is there, just as God is ever-present for all of us.
As I type this reflection, I am struck with the thought that as mothers, it is perfectly natural to show some version of God’s maternal love our role as mothers. It follows that we should be aware of this and intentionally work on how we can bring these facets of God’s love to our children and/or spiritual children.
Each of us, male or female, is called to bring God to others, in everything we do. We so often refer to God with the masculine pronouns, but there are both masculine and feminine qualities in God. It is important to remember that outside of the person of Jesus Christ, God is neither male nor female. St Pope John Paul II’s quote really brings to mind the maternal aspects of God’s love for us. His quote compels me to consider how I am bringing these qualities to my children and others around me.
This is not to say that these qualities cannot be embodied by men, nor that we as women should neglect to also show masculine aspects of God’s love. But mothers, and spiritual mothers have a special ability to reflect God’s maternal love. Therefore, we have a responsibility to do it and to do it well.
What are some maternal qualities you see in God? Which of these do you think you’re particularly adept at sharing with others? How do you do this? Any tips for how others might be better able to bring out the particular qualities you shine? Share your thoughts in the comments and let’s help each other become better mothers to all the people around us!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
This month is devoted to the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rosary is widely recognised to be a Catholic prayer, and the beads themselves are a well known Catholic symbol. However, this powerful prayer can be prayed by anyone wishing to reflect on the life and kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The rosary that we pray today came about in the 1400s, and it was in development for many hundreds of years before that, from monks praying the psalms in sets of 50 on their prayer beads in the 4th Century. Many believe that St Dominic was given the rosary in a very similar form to the rosary we pray today by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin in 1208.
The modern Rosary offers four sets of mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous, and Glorious. These mysteries lead the person praying to meditate on the life and person of Christ – even mysteries which seem like they are more about Mary at first glance, such as the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reality point to Christ’s kingship and power! I find the rosary to be a rich way to meditate on the life of our Lord and the Gospel of our Salvation. I know it helps me to grow in holiness and I highly recommend it!
The Rosary is a very versatile prayer and can be prayed in many different ways. Today I’d like to share with you some of my favourite resources for praying the rosary.
To start, I really like Bishop Barron’s rosary series available on Spotify and other streaming services. I find his reflections to be deep and the music to be very fitting. These pray-along tracks inspire different thoughts in me pretty much every time I use them for my prayer. I often go back to these because they are so well-made. They are a little longer than a standard rosary, each being about half an hour long (you can normally get through a rosary in about 15 minutes), but if you can set aside the time, it is well worth it.
If you find the music to be distracting, or if you are more visual, Ineffabilis deus has a couple of rosary playlists on YouTube. These videos set sacred art to the mysteries, and there is one set with music and one without. Sacred art can inspire interesting reflections, and these are no exception! We are lucky enough to have the Joyful and Glorious mysteries painted on the ceiling of our church, and when our prayer group meets on Wednesdays, I love pointing out each mystery to my child as it is announced! Sacred art really is a wonderful way to teach our children about God!
And speaking of our local church prayer group, remember to check out your own local church! There is probably a prayer group there, or you could join with members of the Legion of Mary for their prayers. Praying the rosary with other people and aloud is powerful (and is also helpful if you’re still learning how to do it!).
Of course, you can always pray the rosary without all the bells and whistles. If you don’t know where to begin, those Pray the Rosary booklets are usually available in pretty much any piety store (if not with all the other leaflets at the back of the church!). There is also this guide from Hallow that I think is very helpful.
Do you pray the rosary? What are some of your experiences with this prayer? What is your favourite rosary story? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Today’s little prayer is a simple but beautiful one. It is often prayed by our brothers and sisters in the Orthodox Church, but some Catholics are also familiar with this prayer (and definitely a lot of Eastern Catholics!). It is short so it is easy to remember, but even in its brevity, it glorifies Jesus’ holy name and magnifies Him as the Son of God, our Lord, and the Christ, and humbles us as sinners in need of His mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
That’s it!
The prayer is biblically sound, as the scriptures reveal Jesus to be our Lord, the Son of God, and the anointed one, or the Christ. The last part of this prayer harken to the words of the tax collector in the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel of Luke, 18:9-14. Unlike the proud pharisee who relies on his own merits before God and boasts about all he has done to win God’s favour, the tax collector is acutely aware of his sinfulness and he humble begs for God’s mercy. The difference in posture towards God is one we must be careful to check in our own hearts, and this prayer is a simple way to get our heart’s dispositions in order.
This prayer can be used in different ways. One way to use it is to pray it repeatedly and meditate on the words. Another powerful use of the prayer is to invoke the mercy of God when we are tempted to sin. -call out to the Lord in those times and allow Him to mercifully save you from the temptation!
Of course, those paragraphs you have just read may go well over the heads of some of our younger ones, but that’s mostly fluff. The point is, this is a beautiful prayer with deep historical and Biblical roots. It may seem quite solemn, but I think solemnity is sometimes called for in life, and children don’t need to be sheltered from it. What I like about this prayer as a parent, is that it is easy to teach little ones because it is so short, but it remains a solid foundational prayer that can easily become a touchstone for them throughout their spiritual journey.
For the littles, I would suggest breaking the prayer down into four parts as follows:
Lord Jesus Christ
Son of God
Have mercy on me
A sinner
Each of these lines announces something different and important within the prayer. The first line Invokes Jesus and His God-appointed lordship, the second acknowledges His divinity and our acceptance into God’s family, the third names our request and the last line identifies our place before God. Most of these lines are also made up of familiar wordings that can be found in other prayers, which can make it easier to remember.
Have you heard of the Jesus prayer before? What do you think about it? Is this a prayer you would teach your child? Why or why not? How would you teach it to your little ones? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Wow, jumping back into this has been wild! I’m going to try to post regularly, but I can’t really promise anything for now. Anyway, I’m here today and I’m ready to try! So, here are my joys of the week!
Let’s start with what’s probably most obvious to all of us: yes, restarting this blog has been one of my biggest joys this week. It is nice to spend time growing as I reflect on my faith and learn new things! The Catholic faith is just so rich that there will always be something new to learn and that in itself is such a blessing to give thanks for!
My husband had a day off this week as well as finishing work early! It is always nice to spend some extra time together, as a family. I am so grateful for these opportunities to create these precious memories, even if we only do simple things like going to the local park as a family or trying on a bunch of clothes at Walmart.
My boys!
I have also been blessed to spend some time with a good friend and her kids this week. I always feel blessed when I consider her friendship. And I love that despite the age difference, our kids get along really well!
Ms 11 and Ms 9 with Mr 2
What has brought you joy this week? It has been a long time since I have done this, and I am excited to share in your joys again, so feel free to name as many or as few things as you would like to 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!
I admit, have had another short break, but here I am! I come bearing an opportunity to pray. Well, my usual post tagline asks us to pray for each other, and we can’t do that unless we actually pray for each other! So… here we go!
As usual, I’ll be looking at the comment section for the entire month of July and I’ll be praying for any intentions you pop in there as the month moves along. And as always, if you have intentions you’d rather not share publicly, just say you have a personal intention (no need to divulge details, the Lord will know what it is if I mention it like that!).
As well as bringing the requests people might leave in the comments to God in your own prayers, I would also ask that you pray for the Papal intention for July:
For The Pastoral Care of The Sick: Let us pray that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, bestows the Lord’s strength to those who receive it and to their loved ones, and that it may become for everyone an ever more visible sign of compassion and hope.
As for me, we finalise our home purchase and then the house move, which is coming up in July, so please pray that everything goes smoothly!
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, we will be looking at signs and symbols.
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!
Have you ever gone to church and looked at all the statues and paintings and carvings and stained glass windows all around? Our churches would be pretty boring without them all, but they play a more important role than just decoration. They are signs and symbols for us.
What are signs and symbols?
People use signs and symbols as a way to communicate. They are a kind of shortcut way to convey an idea that might need a lot of words to express, but that can be summarised in an image or represented by something else.
Signs are there to show the way to something bigger than themselves. For example, if you are out shopping and you need to use a washroom, you look for the signs that lead the way to the toilet. Or maybe you have seen the signs on the roads that show you where to take an exit if you want to get to a certain town. Perhaps your bedroom has a sign on the door with your name on it, telling everyone who sees the sign that behind the door is your space.
The Gospel of John talks about signs, too. What we might call miracles, John’s Gospel labels “signs”. That is because miracles performed by Jesus act as signs that show us that Jesus is God.
There are lots of symbols used in the Church as well. Symbols are similar to signs, but instead of showing the way to something, they represent something, standing in its place when the actual thing cannot be there.
What signs or symbols are there at church?
Tgere are many signs and symbols you can find in a church. Next time you’re at church have a look around and notice any signs or symbols near you!
In some churches, you might see images of a dove, which would represent the Holy Spirit. Some churches have images of lambs, which represent Jesus, who we call the Lamb of God, as John the Baptist identified at Jesus’ baptism. Sometimes people who are not God are represented by symbols too! For instance St John the Evangelist, is represented by an eagle – you might see it near where the Word of God is proclaimed! You’ll sometimes see statues of saints holding little symbols to represent what they are known for. For instance, St Peter is often shown holding keys, representing that Jesus gave him the keys to Heaven and Earth. St Patrick holds his bishop’s staff and a three-leaf clover to show that he was a bishop who taught people about the trinity. St Francis of Assisi is often portrayed with animals to represent his love of nature – some stories even tell of his preaching to birds!
Some signs and symbols are meant to be experienced in other ways. Holy water is a symbol of our baptism and welcome into God’s family. Candles represent the light of Christ. The smoke from incense represents our prayers going up to heaven.
The most important sign and symbol you will see in our churches is the crucifix, or the cross. They usually are front and centre in our churches and very difficult to miss – that’s just how important this symbol is! The cross sends a message about how much God loved us – as the Gospel of St John tells us, He loved us so much that His only Son Jesus came and gave up His life for each one of us, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life!
Not as good as the real thing
Statues, paintings, stained glass windows, and other artworks in our churches are signs and symbols, too. They can help us to picture our friends in Heaven, and can inspire us to get a better picture of what Jesus’ life (and death) might have been like. When we see a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or a painting of Divine Mercy, we know that this is just a statue or painting and not actually Jesus, but they can help us to feel closer to Him. It’s just like if your parents carry a photo of you in their wallet or on the background of their phone. They know they’re not carrying you and that they will still have to pick you up from school or dance or soccer or music lessons or whatever you might be doing – but while they’re waiting to come and get you, they can look at your picture and it will most likely bring a smile to their face and warm their heart.
Talking Points
What signs or symbols do you know from your everyday life?
What signs or symbols have you seen in church? What do you think they might mean? Let’s find out if you’re right!
If you got canonised 200 years from now, what would you want your symbol to be? What would it stand for?
Did you or your children learn about any new symbols or signs through your discussion? What’s your favourite sign or symbol in our Faith? I’d love to continue this conversation in the comments with you!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
I look back at photos of my baby through the different stages of development and there is definitely bittersweet in there. It feels like only yesterday we were in the hospital, but there have been so many different faces of my child since then. Each iteration of this child has brought its own joys and concerns, and then before I knew it, gone was that child, and in its place was a new child in a slightly bigger body, with new joys and new concerns. I look back and wonder how each iteration came and left so fleetingly, without so much as a greeting or goodbye.
My husband chided me jokingly the other day for my new kitchen rosary. It’s a repurposed abacus that allows me to move the beads to mark each decade and remember where I am so I can stop and start my rosary at any given point throughout the day (as an aside, it is a very handy way for moms to fit in a rosary around their busy day!). He asked why I had to get such a colourful one, saying it attracted our toddler’s attention. My husband said, “[baby] thinks it’s theirs now… it’s on loan”. I replied, “everything we have in this life is on loan,” then turning to my child, I half-jokingly said, “practice detachment. Nothing in this world is really yours.”
This brings me to the topic of the day: impermanence. That famous saying, “this too shall pass” rings true for all Earthly matters. As much as we would love to apply immortality to things of the Earth, the reality is that it will all come to an end. Everything around us has a shelf-life. Some may have longer shelf lives than others (they don’t make ’em like they used to), but everything passes, everything fades. Even our relationships don’t last forever. Our most loving and loyal bonds could end at any moment, completely unforeseen, because of the mortal nature of our bodies. Our parents die. Our spouses die. Children (tragically) die. We all die.
Our souls, though, our souls are eternal. That, in my humble opinion, is why we seek “forever”, why we want to connect to something immortal, infinite, eternal. But the only eternity there really is, is in the Lord. To connect with that eternal nature, we must follow Him, and to do so, we obey his commandments.
We know that the greatest commandment is to love God with our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37-38, Mark 12:33). What does this look like? Jesus says “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” Using the tool of hyperbole, Christ says we cannot learn from Him if we don’t love Him so much more than anyone or anything else that, in comparison, it looks like our love for them is hatred.
So the right order of things is to put God first and foremost. Before your parents. Before your spouse. Before your children. Before your siblings. Before your own life. Because He alone will never fail you and He alone will never leave you. And in His wisdom, the more you love Him, the better you will love those around you.
He shows us how to give grace, how to forgive – how to truly love. And He also shows us how we actually can be with others for eternity: united in Him.
Here’s a little prayer I wrote to sum it all up:
Thank you Lord for teaching me about the temporal nature of this life through my growing child. I accept Your sovereignty over all things. All that You have given to me is not mine to keep; the people, the things, the time… all belongs to You. Let me give it all back to You, and hold only to You, with steadfast hope and love. Amen.
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 