Tag: Feast Days and Solemnities

Saint of the Month: St Rose Venerini

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St Rose Venerini
Feast day: May 7

St Rose Venerini came from a rich family. She thought she was called to the religious life, but through her circumstances, God showed her she was meant for the single life. God doesn’t just call people to the single life without a purpose. She used her time and effort, as well as her privileged position in life, to teach people about the faith, especially women and girls who were not being taught by anyone at that time. She knew that if fear, ignorance, and sin were clouding our hearts, we would not be able to see God’s plan and answer His call for us to love.

She is not associated with any patronages, but as a teacher of the young, I think St Rose Venerini is a good saint to go to for help, if you’re a mother trying to pass on the faith and help enlighten the hearts of your children.

I think she can also show us and our children something about following God’s will over our own thoughts and plans. She herself understood that while she aspired to join holy orders, she was not meant for that, and was able to humbly accept the path God had chosen for her – and look at all the blessings she was able to win for so many by doing so! If we listen to God’s voice and follow His plans for us, it can change the world!

St Rose Venerini, pray for us!

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

Monthly Devotion: May

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May is the month of Mary!

I find it so intriguing that so few words of Mary’s were recorded in the Bible. In fact, the Bible only contains four passages where we can read what she said. These words must have been mightily importantfor them to be recorded, so we must pay attention to what they tell us about God. Today, I want to take a closer look at the words she spoke at the wedding at Cana.

There they are, at a celebration. It’s a wedding! Everyone is having a great time! That’s what happens at weddings. But then Mary learns they have run out of wine -didn’t I say they were having a great time? Well, in truth, weddings back then were less of an RVSP situation, and more of a “hey, so-and-so is getting married, come celebrate!” So numbers could easily get out of hand. Anyway, upon receiving this information, she relays the message to Jesus.

I think it’s interesting that she just lets Him know there’s a problem. She doesn’t tell Him what to do, or what they need, just what is happening: that these people have run into some trouble. She knows that He knows the best way to resolve the issue; it is not her role to tell Him, as many mothers might (yes, even to their adult children), and she acts accordingly.

We, too, should be unafraid to bring Jesus our problems, in a spirit of humility, like Mary.

Jesus responds by calling her “woman”. A lot of bible scholars agree that this is more like the way we might use “ma’am” today. It is full of respect. He asks her how it concerns them. But then… He performs the miracle anyway. Jesus did this to honour his mother, all the while maintaining respect for her.

This tells us that Mary’s intercession is powerful! If you ask her to pray for you, Jesus will listen.

As well as this, with Jesus as our brother, we too must honour our spiritual mother, Mary, and heed her instructions to us. What are her instructions to us? We’ll come to that shortly.

The second phrase she says is directed at the servants (I don’t think there is any irony in that). She says, “do whatever He tells you.”

This is so telling of Mary’s nature. She is always pointing us to Jesus, and encouraging us to follow Him. When we think of Mary, she leads us to think of Jesus. Even the rosary, a gift from the Blessed Mother herself, littered with mentions of her as we ask her to pray for us, is something that makes us meditate on the life of Jesus, for 15-30 minutes, if we pray a full set of mysteries. As the Church says, ad jesum per mariam – to Jesus through Mary.

These words, then, are her instructions to us, the servants of God: “do whatever He tells you.”

As mothers, let us use this month to meditate on Mary, and learn to better imitate her. Let us humbly bring our cares and concerns to Jesus, and encourage others to do whatever He tells them.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

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

Saint of the Month: St George

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St George – martyr
Feast day: April 23
Patronage: knights, soldiers, scouts, fencers, archers

Many a fairy tale tells of dragons and princesses, most likely based on the legend of St George.

The real story goes like this:

Long, long, ago, in Selem, Libya, a frightening dragon lived in a lake. To keep this dragon at bay, the townsfolk would sacrifice their sheep to it, but later, they began to select children at random to sacrifice. One day, the king’s daughter was chosen, but while she was being led to the lake, St George killed the dragon, saving the princess, and freeing the city from the tyranny of the dragon forever!

Though our imaginings of fire-breathing dragons may not be accurate (it was probably more like a crocodile living in that lake), this tale echoes the victory of Christ over sin and death – in the battle of Good and Evil, Good always wins out in the end.

This is truly an inspiring story. But why?

Tales of courage and bravery openly appeal to our desire to help others. As Christians, we are called to be in relationship with others, and how we do that matters! It’s up to each of us to choose whether or not we want to help others reach their ultimate good: life with Jesus!

I think the story of St George can be used to teach little girls and boys of their duty to protect those who are weaker and more vulnerable than themselves and their capacity to play a role in bringing about the triumph of Good over Evil.

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

Divine Mercy Sunday

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This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday! What a beautiful feast to share with your children! Mercy is such a beautiful gift, but definitely a very advanced concept. Buckle up, Mamas, this one is a little long…

I have always loved Portia’s speech on mercy in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice:

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
Portia, in William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

Let’s break this down a little.

The quality of mercy is not strained
The use of “strained” here is linked to the word “constrained”. What Portia is saying is that mercy is a free gift – it is not something that can be forced out of someone or limited.

It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes
Similar to forgiveness, mercy is a gift not only for the person who receives the mercy, but it is also a blessing on the one who bestows it.

it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown… mercy is above this sceptred sway; it is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God’s, When mercy seasons justice.
This part of the poem talks about the power of earthly kings. This power strikes fear into the hearts of people, but while they wield this power, they have within them an even greater power: to be merciful, like God.

…in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy.
I think this is the part I like most about this extract. It highlights the importance of mercy in the framework of justice.

Now, justice isn’t bad. It’s a fair way to deal, particularly human to human. In fact, it’s the stepping stone between lawlessness and mercy. But imagine if God gave us justice – what we deserved. Even the smallest sin is a stain on our souls, and God is completely and utterly perfect – would we deserve to be in His presence, let alone be welcomed into His family and called His children?

Justice is good. It is fair and it is easy to see the merit in fairness. But mercy is better – it is unfair, but it is an unfairness that is freely given to benefit the person who would be slighted by justice. Thank God we have His mercy!

Now, how to condense all of that into something digestible we can give to our children in light of Divine Mercy Sunday… What do we know?

Nobody on their own is able to go to Heaven, because you need to be perfect to do that and there is nobody who is perfect except for God. Even the best person who ever existed is evil when compared with God. If people got what they deserved, it would be to be far, far away from God.

The good news is that Jesus came to be with humans on Earth and showed us just how much God loves us by giving up His life for us. He taught that there is one absolutely sure way to get to Heaven, and that is to trust in Him, that He will not give us what we deserve. Instead of spending forever far, far away from God, if we trust in Him and do what He says, we can go back to God and become part of His family in Heaven forever!

This Sunday, we celebrate the fact that God gives us so much good, even when we deserve something much worse. We place our trust in Jesus and decide every day to follow Him, that He will keep His promise to bring us back into God’s family.

Talking points

  • Do you remember a time you were merciful to someone? What did it feel like to show the other person mercy? Why did you do it?
  • Do you remember a time that someone was merciful to you? What did it feel like to receive their mercy? Why do you think they did it?
  • What did you do after giving/receiving mercy? Did it change anything about the way you and that person interacted?
  • What do you think might have happened if you didn’t give them/get their mercy?

How would you describe mercy to your children? 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!