Another week, another chance to share our joys! As usual, I’ll start, but please feel free to add your own in the comments!
Well, my baby’s growth and development never ceases to amaze, and it is a constant source of joy. More milestones, more improvement, and all in the cutest little package!
I got to go to a social dance – in the before times, I used to do a lot of swing dancing. Then there was a pandemic. And then I had a baby. So opportunities became scant. But today, I had an opportunity, and my wonderful husband volunteered to mind our baby while I enjoyed a couple of hours of afternoon dancing. It was so good to move my body and to connect with the music and other adults!
I quite unexpectedly caught up with some old friends. An old dear friend of mine, it turns out, lives not too far, and has a child close in age to mine, as well! My heart was filled with joy to reconnect.
So grateful to the Lord for these blessings and all the others He bestows on me every day. God is indeed good! What blessings have lifted you up this week? Let’s share in one another’s joys.
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, quite fittingly, we will be looking at the Kingdom of Heaven.
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!
This Sunday at Mass, we’ll be reading about the Kingdom of Heaven.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven to help people understand what it’s about. We hear about the kingdom of heaven at other times, too, like when Jesus says “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Every time we pray the Our Father, we say “thy kingdom come”. But what is the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven?
Because God uses concepts we can understand to relate Heavenly ideas to us, it might be helpful to take a look at what a kingdom is in Earthly terms first.
A kingdom as we understand it on Earth, is everything that is ruled over by a king (or queen), who is sometimes called a monarch. The monarch has the final say on the rules of the kingdom and everything in the kingdom ultimately belongs to the monarch.
When we talk about God’s kingdom, St Paul writes in the letter to the Romans, that the kingdom of God is not something physical like the kingdoms of the world. He says, “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17). This means that the way that we live can bring the kingdom to others! If we are righteous, or do what is right by God, and we keep His peace and joy shining within us, this is us living in the kingdom of God! By doing this, and loving others and praying for them, we can help the kingdom grow.
When we talk about God’s kingdom, it’s already begun. When Jesus came to us, He brought the Kingdom of God to Earth. And we know that although He ascended into Heaven, He left us His presence in the gift of the Eucharist. And after He went up to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us to become good representatives of the kingdom, like we just talked about.
So how can we ask God “thy kingdom come” if it’s already here? St Augustine points out that we are asking for His kingdom to come to us. The Church teaches that we are asking for the final, glorious appearance of the kingdom, when Christ comes again – and what a day that will be!
Talking points
Is Jesus the King of your whole life? What can you do to give Him more power in your life?
What are you doing to represent God’s kingdom to the people around you who don’t know Him or don’t love Him as they should? Can you think of other things you can do to help grow the kingdom of God?
What do you think it will be like when Jesus comes again? What can you do to prepare?
Let’s pray the Our Father together.
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
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!
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!
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!
Well, it’s that time of the week again… time to share our joys of the week!
I’m getting a bit of clarity on something I’ve been discerning for several weeks, now. I’ve still got some discerning to do, but getting some direction on where to go next is a good feeling!
We have an exclusive conact napper since birth, but just this week, I have managed to transfer my baby to the bed – twice! I’ve only had 10-15 minutes to myself but preparing food in peace has been so appreciated!
Last night, I got to have some food I’ve been wanting to eat for a loooong time. It’s a dish I haven’t had in years… and it did not disappoint!
What about you? What brought you joy last week? 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!
I missed posting last week! We had a terribly hectic weekend, so I didn’t get time to write about my joys (well, I needed the rest more than I had the inclination to write). But I’m back this week and I’d love to read about your joys too, so leave them in the comments!
On Sunday, we went to church at a different parish, because our parish Mass schedule was changed and we forgot (oops!). But it was a chance to discover a beautiful, new (to us) church, it was visually stunning! And the priest was on fire for his homily! It was truly a blessing in disguise.
I’ve personally been discerning about a return to the workforce (please pray for me!), but changing up what I do for work in a big way! I started to take some practical steps this week to find out how feasible the idea I’ve been feeling called to would be and got some encouraging news. I know more prayer and more research is to be done, but I’m happy to take it slow.
I’ve been crafting a little for kiddo’s birthday, which always brings me joy. It’s a smaller, let’s say a humbler joy, but a joy nonetheless!
Please put your joys in the comments. I love to hear from you! Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is a pretty easy one to talk about to kids, because it pertains to the tender love of our Lord for us. Below is a simple language explanation of the reason for this monthly devotion.
These days, when priests give homilies, we often hear of God’s love and mercy, but this wasn’t always the case. Preachers used to emphasize God’s anger when they spoke to the faithful. But Jesus sent a message of love into the world to change this and that is why we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Sometimes you’ll hear people, both Christian and non-Christian, talk about how God in the Old Testament is violent and angry and how the God in the New Testament is much nicer, but this simply cannot be true. The thing about God is that He is unchanging. He is the same today as He was at the very beginning, and He will be the same every day until the end of time.
If you read the Old Testament carefully, you’ll see how His chosen people turn away from Him, over and over again (and if we are honest about our own hearts, we know there are times when we choose to turn away from God, too). But even though the people keep turning away from God, He keeps giving them more chances and keeps calling them back to Himself. Time and again, God shows them His love and mercy, just like He does for us.
Was God jealous and vengeful? Yes. And He still is. He is jealous because He does not want us to worship any false gods, to lose ourselves to money, power, popularity, or people. Imagine if your best friend one day said to you “you’re not my best friend anymore, I’m going to play with someone else and forget about you”. Wanting them to play with you again is jealousy, and you feel this because you love your friend. We see His vengeance play out when He does not stop the consequences of choosing to make other things gods in our lives. He respects our choice, even though it might hurt him, and allows us to be separated from Him, which leads to spiritual death.
But God was, and is, and will always be loving and merciful too! He offers every single person a loving relationship with Himself, where He will care for us and give us eternal life. He is also willing to forgive all our sins, over and over again.
His mercy is a way to avoid His vengeance, thanks to the perfect sacrifice Jesus made. All we have to do, all we ever had to do, throughout all of history, was to trust in Him.
This month, as we remember the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us remember that God’s love and mercy are generously being poured out for us forever. All we have to do is turn to Him to receive 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 