Keep the Faith

Here is a quote for all Missionary Saints like ourselves.


"This is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith."---1 John 5:4 



The great theologian Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange illustrates for us how to live this faith . (Formatting is mine to add emphasis)

This firmness of faith ... manifests itself more and more

• by love for the word of God contained in Holy Scripture,  

• by the cult of tradition preserved in the writings of the fathers,  

• by perfect adherence to even the most minute details of the doctrine proposed by the Church,  

• by docility to the directions of the supreme shepherd, the vicar of Jesus Christ.

 This firmness of faith appears especially in the Martyrs, and also, during great conflicts of opinion, in those who, far from vacillating, are capable of sacrificing their self-love in order to keep immutably to the right road.

 EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM THE THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE, VOLUME II
HERDER BOOKS, 1948


www.catholictradition.org/Christ/heroic-virtues2.htm

The Feast of Mary the Immaculate Queen of Heaven

Happy Feast Day! What a beautiful feast day!

This is the perfect day to consecrate you and your family to the our Holy Mother and to help you with that I have found two links that will give you ideas on how to go about it.  The first is one that offers a kind of liturgy that you can follow in your domestic church- your home.  The second is all about how to make a shrine in your home.  most often they use cardboard materials and paper but for a more permanent shrine be creative about the materials.  


http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/mary-immaculate.htm



http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1264


Enjoy the blessings of being consecrated to the Mother of God!

A Thought for the Day

One should never deny the body what is due to it, that the body itself may not hinder what is due the soul.
-- St Peter of Alcantara


Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.htm#21#ixzz1VexdV4ut

I miss home

Home

 by Edgar Guest

It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home,
A heap o' sun an' shadder, an' ye sometimes have t' roam
Afore ye really 'preciate the things ye lef' behind,
An' hunger fer 'em somehow, with 'em allus on yer mind.
It don't make any differunce how rich ye get t' be,
How much yer chairs an' tables cost, how great yer luxury;
It ain't home t' ye, though it be the palace of a king,
Until somehow yer soul is sort o' wrapped round everything.

Home ain't a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;
Afore it's home there's got t' be a heap o' livin' in it;
Within the walls there's got t' be some babies born, and then
Right there ye've got t' bring 'em up t' women good, an' men;
And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn't part
With anything they ever used -- they've grown into yer heart:
The old high chairs, the playthings, too, the little shoes they wore
Ye hoard; an' if ye could ye'd keep the thumb marks on the door.

Ye've got t' weep t' make it home, ye've got t' sit an' sigh
An' watch beside a loved one's bed, an' know that Death is nigh;
An' in the stillness o' the night t' see Death's angel come,
An' close the eyes o' her that smiled, 
an' leave her sweet voice dumb.
Fer these are scenes that grip the heart, 
an' when yer tears are dried,
Ye find the home is dearer than it was, an' sanctified;
An' tuggin' at ye always are the pleasant memories 
O' her that was an' is no more -- ye can't escape from these.

Ye've got t' sing an' dance fer years, ye've got t' romp an' play,
An' learn t' love the things ye have by usin' 'em each day;
Even the roses 'round the porch must blossom year by year
Afore they 'come a part o' ye, suggestin' someone dear
Who used t' love 'em long ago, an' trained 'em jes' t' run
The way they do, so's they would get the early mornin' sun;
Ye've got t' love each brick an' stone from cellar up t' dome:
It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home.

Happy 130th Birthday Edgar 

A Reading From Jean-Pierre de Caussade S.J.

This was the Day by Day Reading for Sunday the 14th in the August Magnificat:
"Shall I never succeed with the help of grace in instilling into you mind and still more into your heart this great principle of faith, so sweet, so consoling, so loving, and so pacifying? We ought often to pray: My God, may all Your most holy intentions be accomplished in me and never my own; may they be accomplished because while infinitely just in themselves they are also infinitely advantageous for me. I know that You can will only the greatest good of Your creatures so long as they remain submissive to Your orders. May my own will never be accomplished except when it is in perfect agreement with Yours because otherwise it can only be harmful to me. If ever, my God, it should happen through ignorance or passion that I persist in desires contrary to Yours, may I be disappointed and punished, not by Your justice, but by Your pity and great mercy.
Come what may, as Saint Francis de Sales used to say, Long live Jesus! I shall take sides with Divine Providence even if human wisdom tear out her hair with rage. When one is illuminated by heavenly light, one thinks very differently from most men, but what a source of peace, what power one finds in this way of thinking and looking at things! How happy are the saints, how peacefully they live, and what miserable blind fools we are not to be willing to train ourselves to think as they do, preferring to be entombed in the thick darkness of this accursed human wisdom which makes us so wretched, blind, and guilty. Let us study how to give all our care and attention to the task of conforming ourselves in all things to the holy will of God in spite of interior revolt. That revolt itself must be accepted in obedience to the will of God which permits it in order to accustom us to remain at all times and in all circumstances before Him in a state of sacrifice by even an interior silence of respect, adoration, self-annihilation, submission and love, and with a self-abandonment full of confidence.
-Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J.

A tragic tail

Here is a little story I made up about our two beagles:

Once upon a time, in a land not too far from where you're sitting, a young beagle named Rodeo was unhappy. He had all his heart could ever desire, food, people, cush, but one thing he lacked: True Friendliness. There were no pretty doggies to impress with his handsome figure and melting brown eyes (to melt them with, of course).
The ditzy blonde giant next door didn't count. Moist lips are one thing, endless slobber quite another!
Then, one fine day, Rodeo's family took him on a long journey. When at last they stopped it was growing dark. Rodeo was excited because he could smell rabbits.
Suddenly his heart gave a great leap. Standing before the door of another castle was the most beautiful angel he had ever seen. Tiny, but still quite beautiful. Her name, was Judy-pet.
"Come with me and live at my castle!" he called out to her.
"I haven't taken basic obedience training yet," she said, sitting down to scratch her ear, "so I'm afraid I won't come unless you give me a good reason to."
"Uh..." Rodeo was taken aback. "I have a nice yard? And my family is nice. And the food isn't half bad. And there are two really cushy sofas you can lay on when nobody is looking. Not to mention you can spend all your time with a stylish, handsome, totally lovable beagle boy!"
Judy-pet pricked her ears. "Who?"
"Well, me of course!" cried Rodeo. "Who did you think?"
"Dunno," she shrugged.
Just then Rodeo's family picked up Judy-pet and started to cuddle with her. After a few minutes they set her down.
"Whatever," She said, "your family is nice, so I guess I'll come."
And so Judy-pet became a fixture in Rodeo's life until he could hardly remember life without her. Together they stole naps on the sofa, they ate standing side by side, and she grew terribly good at his favorite game, (You want it, I have it) until she could win almost every time. They had their spatz, what couple doesn't? And if Rodeo's chewy bone seemed more tasty at the time- or Judy-pet's favorite squeaky bunny just happened to be the first toy Rodeo picked up- what of it?
Suddenly, one day Judy-pet fell sick, and the family took her away. Rodeo realized then, that his feelings for Judy-pet had blossomed into love. Sadly, when she returned, his cruel family, instead of letting him rush to her side, chose to part them. Mournfully he called to her through the bars of his cell (true, it was a large cell where they prepared the food, but what is food compared to love?) and Judy-pet came hobbling to join him.
And through the bars they confessed their mutual love.
"They have separated us forever, though," moaned Rodeo.
"There is only one thing left to do," declared Judy-pet.
"What is that?" asked Rodeo, tenderly licking her ear.
"We must eat poisoned treats so that we might be joined in death."
Rodeo shook his head sceptically. "No good," he said, "I ate lily bulbs as a puppy, if that didn't kill me nothing will."
"Then we are lost to each other!" cried Judy-pet, and throwing back her head she howled out her misery. Then she turned and limped back to her bed.
Rodeo lay down and sadly gazed after her, moaning out his heartbreak until at last sleep claimed him.
When morning came at last, Rodeo was awoken by the sound of Judy-pet's jewelery tinkling merrily as she pranced out of bed.
"Judy-pet!" cried Rodeo, "You're better!"
She stopped and considered for a moment. "I do feel better!" she declared.
Suddenly, Oh Great Joy! Rodeo's cell was opened and he bounded to her side. "We are together at last!" and he bayed his joy to the skies.
"Quiet down, you big furball," laughed Judy-pet, and she licked him on the nose.

Judy-pet as the Princess and the Pea

Rodeo feeling put-upon

Is flax the way to go?

Hi there! I read a story last night that is written by Hans Christian Anderson. It's called "the flax" and it got me thinking, the message of the story is that how ever hard you are hit with hardship, something beautiful always comes out of you. Here is a link to "the flax" online. Stop! you can't go further then this point if you haven't read the story yet! Isn't that amazing? it seemed to me to hold an amazing message in it. and it has become one of my favorite stories now. Plus, It's good for you physically so I think that flax really is the way to go. Well,I just thought I'd spread some of my knowledge to the world. Signing off, Bonny.

I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!!!

I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!!!

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the finest people in all the world!