Thorns and Nails

Since formulating our Lenten resolutions on Ash Wednesday last week, we have struggled with resisting temptations to sin, every single one of us - from the children to the parents. Actually, it almost feels much harder than usual to make the right choices. Hmm.. Seriously, though - how truly hard it is to renounce several of these bad habits which have obviously become vices - too hard to shake off.

One noteworthy comment we got from Webster, our eldest, is: "Howcome things seem to be extra hard this Lent, compared to last year?" And of course, we had to discuss that, because God deigns for us to continue to learn more and more about our faith over time, and He gives us the grace to see our faults and realize the right things to do, we cannot simply keep going the way we are, especially if we know that we have a lot of improving to do - particularly in our practice of the faith. Besides, through life's experiences, God always calls us to do better. And as He calls, He also equips.

CROWN OF THORNS

In an effort to illustrate to the kids the effects that our sins and offences have on Jesus and our personal relationship with Him, we did a beautiful craft based on a brilliant book called "A Treasure Chest of Traditions for Catholic Families" (Monica McConkey). The Crown of Thorns was made out of dark-coloured dough baked in the oven with toothpicks as the "thorns." And I must say the finished product turned out very well. It is a good enough size for it to look as realistic as we could manage. This was important so that the kids can somehow visualize that it would have been quite painful for Jesus to have a crown of thorns forced on His Head.

Because we are aiming to fulfill our Lenten resolutions, any sacrifices, little triumphs over self-will, good deeds and acts of virtue will earn one a chance to pull out a thorn from the crown, effectively making it less "ouchie" for Jesus. Of course it is the ultimate goal to pull out as many thorns as we can throughout Lent. Come Easter, we hope to have no thorns left, and instead, fill the holes with flowers and jewels, making it into a beautiful Crown of Resurrection to give to Jesus!

At the moment, the Crown of Thorns graces the centre of our dining table, teamed up with 3 huge nails - to remind us of the price the Saviour had to pay to ransom each of us from eternal damnation rightly deserved by our sins. This is becoming a great talking point, especially during family meals. It facilitates talks about where we are in the practice of our resolutions, allowing us to give each other affirmation and encouragement, where needed, and to keep going in spite of the struggles that God allows each of us face.

Lent is, indeed, a wonderful time to learn about different virtues, asking our Lord and Our Lady for the grace necessary to develop them, and being sensitive to opportunities that we encounter in our everyday lives to practice such virtues. These, for us, would make for a truly meaningful Lent; although at the moment it feels like we are all failing these challenges - rather dismally. Certainly it seems that if we are not holding fast to the faith that we have been made partakers of, I'm sure we would have given up at the outset.

However, this is exactly the essence of observing Lenten practices: to allow us to come to a firm realization that we cannot achieve anything without God's grace. Without His love and mercy, we cannot be sanctified. And this is what is so beautiful and comforting about life, no matter how difficult things may seem. As long as we have faith, we will never lose hope and as long as we have hope, life goes on - with God's loving, merciful and abiding grace.

Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20).

He Who created us without our help will not save us without our consent. - St Augustine

The world today is tearing up the photographs of a good society, a good family, a happy individual personal life. But the Catholic Church is keeping the negatives. And when the moment comes when the world wants a reprint, we will have them. - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

"Are We Made of Dust?"

This was a question overheard during a conversation that transpired among the kids yesterday as our oldest child announced that because it was Ash Wednesday, we will have ashes placed on our foreheads during the Mass, while the priest says: “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”

The imposition of dust on our foreheads symbolizes a few different but interrelated things. It reminds us of our sinful nature which we inherited from our first parents who committed the Original Sin. Through it we realize that the sins we commit separate ourselves from God, and insisting on our sinful ways will lead us to death, and to dust we will return. Ashes symbolize how Jesus gave up His own Life in order to replace the burnt offerings made by the priests in the Old Testament. Hence it reminds us about the Passion and Death that Christ had to endure in order to pay the ransom for our sins and be reconciled to our Creator.

Wearing ashes on our forehead represents our acceptance of our sinfulness, our guilt and need for repentance and works of penance in order to merit Salvation. Ashes have always been a symbol for penance, repentance and mourning, even as referred to in Holy Scripture (see Jonah 3:4-10, Jeremiah 6:26, Gen 2:7). Jesus Himself (in Matthew 11:21) declared this association of ashes with penance when He said: "Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

LENTEN RESOLUTIONS MOBILE

Yesterday morning we talked about the significance of Ash Wednesday in our lives as children of our Holy Mother Church. We talked about how this occasion marks the time when Jesus had gone to the desert to strengthen Himself before facing His most difficult task: dying on the Cross for for the sins of mankind. To make reparation for our sins and to make Jesus and Mamma Mary "happy" we each made resolutions to practice and fulfil during Lent.

Each child had to make an evaluation of the things they are doing at the moment that may not be right, and what they can do to change it. Based on the 3 major areas recommended by the Church for us to work on during Lent, as faithful - i.e. Prayer, Fasting/Self-Denial, Almsgiving/Charity, the children came up with things such as undertaking individual prayer time in the middle of the day (besides our evening family prayer), being more reverent at Mass, avoiding sweets this Lent and only watching TV for 1 hour after school, demonstrating right away obedience to Mom and Dad, performing chores cheerfully, being more helpful towards siblings, etc.

For myself I have already decided much earlier that I was going to give up Facebook/Friendster for Lent (seeing that I was having so much fun on it, especially on Facebook), cutting right back on unnecessary shopping/spending, and abstaining from chocolates and other junkfood (which I practically live on in normal circumstances!); hubby agreed that he will not be watching any NBA telecast this Lent; and for us as a family we will generally try to observe the Lenten fast and abstinence, and try to maintain a more solemn mood around the house throughout the season. (Over the next few weeks we also plan to engage in other activities to help us "do more for Jesus.")

In order to be constantly reminded of their resolutions, we all joined efforts to construct a "mobile" for each child (except, of course, for Brighteyes who is barely 2). All the kids had a nice time doing this craft, and even Tatay (Dad) got involved by making the mobile frames from wire coat hangers. For the hanging symbols we used laminated pictures to represent their resolutions, which were hung on the frames with cotton yarn.




After completing the mobiles, we asked each child to explain what the symbols meant for them this Lent, mainly to see if they understood the point of the activity. To reinforce the concept, we also said that these mobiles represent their "promise to Jesus:" their promise to become a better person.

ALLELUIA FAREWELL

With the advent of Lent, one of the most noticeable changes in the Liturgy is the elimination of ALLELUIA along with the Gloria. We talked about Alleluia being an ancient word used for joyful praise, and that because Lent is a time of repentance, penance and mourning, Alleluia is neither recited or chanted but reserved for the celebrations of rejoicing starting at Easter Vigil.

To bring this exercise across to our family, we picked a simple activity that would highlight this. Each child had an Alleluia card, printed in their favourite colours and they had individually decorated them with crayons. These were laminated and used during evening prayer time where we recited a prayer of bidding ‘farewell to Alleluia,’ offering them at the foot of Our Lady’s statue and covering them up with a purple cloth, with purple being the colour of penance. (I have read somewhere that Christians in ancient times processed on the streets carrying wooden Alleluia signs and actually buried them, and they would take them out at Easter.) Whilst currently hidden, our ALLELUIAs will reappear and be prominently displayed at Eastertide.


We went to Ash Wednesday evening Mass where the discussions throughout the day were finally concretized. It was, of course, wonderful to enter the Lenten Season by receiving Jesus sacramentally in our hearts through Holy Communion. We all had ashes crossed on our foreheads and even on the way home, the kids were still comparing their ash-marks. :D

On the drive back home we also talked about choosing our patron saints for this season to guide, help and intercede for us toward the fulfillment of our resolutions. (Yes, we will need all the help we can get most especially at moments of weakness, during the times when we let ourselves "slip-up.") I had personally chosen Our Lady of Sorrows, and the kids chose St Padre Pio and St Bernadette (whose feastday is today!) - they both have suffered much for Jesus during their lifetime. And I am yet to find out whom hubby has chosen. ;)

What a great period for working towards spiritual growth. We are always eager to take advantage of opportunities to enrich our life as a domestic church. And Lent gives us several beautiful opportunities to do this. Over the season, we look forward to being able to help the children understand various aspects of the Catholic faith that we have grown to love so much. And relying purely on God's grace and providence, we look forward to learning more and growing together as a family, and helping each other live our faith more fully.

Ash Wednesday Prayer:

Heavenly Father, let us enter the season of Lent in the spirit of joy; giving ourselves to spiritual strife, cleansing our soul and body, controlling our passions, as we limit our food, living on the virtues of the Holy Spirit. Let us persevere in our longing for Christ so as to be worthy to behold His most solemn Passion and the most holy Passover, rejoicing the while with spiritual joy. Amen.

The purpose of our Lenten Observance is NOT to prove that we are spiritually strong by our acts of penance and self-denial, but rather to get us in touch with our spiritual weakness and continual need for God's grace and mercy. (Fr Roger Vandenakker, Companions of the Cross)

Just for Giggles

CURLYTOP: Mom, you think we can have a pet one day, maybe a puppy?

MOM: Sure, T. When your baby sister turns 5.

CURLYTOP: You think we can have a cat, too?

WEBSTER: No, T. The cat might jump on our table on Fridays and eat all of our fish! (Are we ready for Lent or what? LOL)

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ROADRUNNER: Mom, I swallowed some green things! (referring of course to veggies)

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CURLYTOP(expressing her appreciation for a favour done by her brother): Kuya, you're the best brother I never had!!!

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BRIGHTEYES(requesting for some wet wipes for her hands): Yipes please, Mom!

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Facebook: the Good and the Bad

In response to several people's (family and friends) encouragements and invitations I finally signed up to an account in Facebook late last year. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, thinking that Facebook is just like any other social community / networking site. Besides, I was already in Friendster, so I wasn't too eager.. It was not until sometime in January (or a couple of months later) that I actually activated the account.

Imagine my pleasant surprise to find several people (or just about the whole world!) on Facebook. Came across familiar faces from the past (from as far back in time as my kindergarten and elementary school years!). It was wonderful reestablishing contact with them. I also found several of my current friends on it, and it was so much fun being able to catch up with those whom I have not been able to see on a more regular basis, or those I have not communicated with in a long time. Viewing people's photo albums is always an enjoyable exercise, getting a look at both old and new pictures of them and their own families. Facebook also features Live Feed which makes it a lot more interactive. And although I am not into Farmville and have no intention of ever getting into it (besides, I have NO time!), I suppose it offers a form of "entertainment" and/or recreation for people who are "into" these things. Since activating my account, I have also joined several groups of people who share the same interests, etc which have been excellent in forming new 'friendships' as well; and groups where I have been able to share things from others that I am learning a lot from. No doubt about it: I was enjoying Facebook.

Nevertheless, the Facebook experience has not been entirely 'good.' Like most things, I guess, it does have it's 'bad' side. For one, it allows you to read people's exchange of comments. Sometimes this is a good thing because people can be very encouraging of others, but there are also other times when it can be quite off-putting. Once, at my leisure, I browsed through my own homepage and I had read through this person's shoutout wherein she was obviously intentionally being nasty and belittling towards another person. Then a few people started commenting and the whole exchange eventuated into foul language, but all of them evidently directed to the same person referred to in the shoutout. It was quite full-on: a number of people ganging up on one person - the kind of thing you'd expect to only hear about in highschool. But what was tragic to note (though somewhat a little funny) was that these people were (brace yourself!) in their 40's!! Seriously, it was such an ugly thing to "witness," to say the least. Notwithstanding the shock, I was personally disgusted and disillusioned. Hopefully it did not scandalize too many people, but it definitely left a very bad taste in my mouth. Consequently, I felt I had no choice but to remove these people from my list. I thought: if being uncharitable and malicious towards others is what they choose to busy themselves with, then I don't want any part in it, and I refuse to even read about it.

Admittedly, I have only been [active] in Facebook for less than 2 months, but after this eye-opening incident, it is rather obvious that some people do choose to use Facebook as an avenue to air hostility, malice, distasteful language, bitterness and other negativities. However, the good news for the rest of us is that online communities like this can also be a very powerful tool to start and build new relationships, strengthen old ones, inspire people and generally spread good cheer.

It all comes down to personal choice, I guess.. A choice clearly based on the kind of person one is.

Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things people need to hear, things that will really help them. Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind. In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ. (Ephesians 4:29-31)

Feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes

Today we commemorate the feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes.

In anticipation of this beautiful Marian feastday, we watched Song of Bernadette last weekend, an excellent movie about this apparition of Our Lady to St Bernadette (Soubirous) in 1858. I am ashamed to say I could only keep awake for about 3/4 of the movie (it went for 2 1/2 hours!! Yes, I promised myself and the kids that I'd watch the end of it, maybe even tonight.), but I received reports from hubby the next day that the kiddos remained absorbed until the very end of the story!

Today the children enjoyed drawing and colouring in beautiful pictures of Our Lady of Lourdes and her humble French visionary, St Bernadette, because they are reminded of the story, as manifested by bits of conversation overheard during their colouring session. :)

A nice and simple craft project we worked on was a little grotto (see above feature photo) that we made out of a shoe box, laminated printed pictures, and some foam cups. Using some scrunched up scrap paper stuck to the box, we created the "rocky" effect for the niche - inside and out, painting it with rich hues of greys, browns and olives which our little artists thoroughly enjoyed.

I am still kicking myself, however, for not being better prepared at school this afternoon that made us miss out on Mass. For some reason, I simply lost track of time! Chad and I were finishing off our last session for the day when I looked at the clock to see that it was 5:15 pm!! And we were hoping to get to the 5:30 Mass. Not to disappoint the kiddies, and of course to anchor our celebration on a more substantial devotion (i.e. Eucharistic), we decided to go to our Lord exposed at the Perpetual Adoration Chapel instead. Yes, that was the next best thing (to attending Mass)..

So this is basically how Our Lady's special feastday panned out for us.

Drawing and colouring session:

Raw materials for "Our Lady of Lourdes" craft project:

Painting the niche:

Finished product:

Cleaning up afterwards:

"Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!"

Preparing for Lent

It's Week 2 of the first term, and it did not start very well for us. The old printer had played up and consequently, I could not print any worksheets for the kids. And because I also had an acute attack of lower back pain, I thought I'd just declare it a Free Day. I felt a little guilty, but the kids didn't exactly protest violently over this declaration, either!

Today, Tuesday, is therefore the actual start of our week. Looking at the calendar to discover that Quinquagesima Sunday is on February 14, shakes one into the realization that Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, is actually just around the corner. Gee, didn't we just celebrate Christmas yesterday?

This week I am hoping to be able to get a headstart in organizing our timetable for Lenten activities that we can do with the kids - both in and out of school times. I will be looking for those that would be easily "digestible" for the kiddies, something that will make Lent "tangible" and of course something that will really allow them to get as much meaning as they can out of this very important period in our lives as spiritual children of our Holy Mother Church.

This Lenten season, we can either choose to be passive about it and just let it all slip by, or we can choose to actively seek opportunities for learning and letting it make sense to us, engaging in works that will allow us to merit graces, letting it sanctify us, and help us advance spiritually. Like most Catholic families, the latter is a lot more desireable to us and is therefore what we will be aspiring for. After all, liturgical seasons like this is always a great way to develop and form family traditions that will help us grow closer together, and strengthen our bonds as a domestic church as we practice them in years to come.

Credo in unam, sanctam, Catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam!

Remembering St Paul Miki and the Japanese Martyrs

Yesterday was the 1st Saturday of the month of February. Went to Mass in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and also in commemoration of the lives of St Paul Miki and the martyrs of Nagasaki.

Saint Paul Miki was the son of a wealthy family in Tounucumada, Japan. He was educated by the Jesuits (with Christianity having been introduced to Japan by the legendary Jesuit missionary - St Francis Xavier, himself) and later joined the congregation in 1580. He was a gifted preacher, noted to have given a brilliant homily to the onlookers minutes before his execution. During the Christian persecution under Hideyoshi, a ruthless government official, St Paul Miki - together with 25 other Catholics (including children) were tied with chains around their necks, crucified, and killed with spears. They died almost instantly in 1597. They were all beatified in 1627 and finally canonized as the Martyrs of Japan in the year 1862.

On this particular occasion we remember and draw inspiration from the lives of the Christians who were persecuted in times gone by. But we also especially remember those that continue to be persecuted for their faith in present times - in many different parts of the world. And even in our own lives, many of us (not excluding myself) experience ridicule and hostility in many different forms because we choose to proclaim and live the Truth and witness to our Faith.

We pray for more strength. And as St Paul Miki himself concluded his pre-execution homily: May the blood of the Martyrs "fall on us like fruitful rain." May it obtain for us the grace to keep on.

St Paul Miki and companions, please pray for us!

In keeping with the day's celebration, lunch for us consisted of Japanese-style dish - SUSHI - which was actually our first attempt at making the dish. We used tinned tuna (not brave enough to try raw fish), avocado and cucumber with our normal rice sprinkled with rice wine vinegar and sushi su (bottled) wrapped in roasted seaweed sheets (sushi nori). Both hubby and I quite liked it, Christopher liked the filling, Theresa tried it, but dry retched as soon as she tasted the seaweed, and Joseph and Marcellina opted for something else altogether. (I guess we won't be making sushi again in a hurry! :D)

AVE MARIA by Beyonce!!!

A great find via YouTube: beautiful song featuring Ave Maria by contemporary pop singer Beyonce Knowles. Wonderful montage, as well.

Enjoy it!

Visual Reminders of Our Heavenly Friends

Still in rearranging mode, I have continued to change things around in an effort to keep improving our learning centre towards making it more of an "atrium" where, according to Cathechesis of the Good Shepherd principle, the centre is more directed towards the spiritual formation of the child.

Another change that has been warmly received by the children is the addition of our little "gallery of saints."

The top shelf of our puzzle cabinet just below our big Eucharist poster was virtually a blank canvas waiting to be made into a real feature in the study. As it turns out, it was the perfect spot to showcase our collection of (3.5 inch, Roman Inc.) beautifully detailed saint figurines, which has grown from the original 52-piece stocking fillers that the kids "received" from Saint Nicholas last December. Meanwhile, the "faith-filled friends" or soft saint dolls which previously rested here are now neatly stuffed on a shelf inside the cabinet which means it can still be easily accessed if desired, and packed away nicely, whilst being protected from the dust and other damaging elements.



The top of the drab TV monitor (which is only used for educational movies and audiovisual materials) has also been somewhat softened by the placement of figurines of the 7 Archangels: St Michael, St Raphael, St Gabriel, St Uriel, St Barachiel, St Jhudiel and St Sealtiel.



Although these changes have undoubtedly enhanced the appearance of certain areas of the room, its real value lies in the fact that because children are visual learners, these will be such important instruments for them to learn more about our heavenly friends: God's angels and saints, a very important aid in their journey to our True Home.

Candlemas

February 2 is the feastday of the Purification of Our Lady, a grace-filled celebration for the faithful. And yesterday was a lovely day for learning about this important feastday, not only for the kids but for the whole family.

Meditating on this event one is taken to the scenario of the Fourth Joyful Mystery, the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple which, in actual fact, reveals a threefold occurence: the Purification, the Presentation and the Meeting.

According to Jewish law, a woman who has just given birth is considered "unclean." And in order for her to be washed clean of this legal impurity and for her privileges to be restored, she has to go to the Temple and offer sacrifices to God - one in thanksgiving for the happy delivery of her child and another as an offering for the expiation of her sins. The Blessed Mother, being a woman of great faith and obedience to the laws of the religion, always did what was pleasing to God. And some time after the birth of her Son, the Holy Family goes to the Temple and brings 2 turtledoves as their oblation for the "purification" of Mary.

What an exemplar of humility and faith! Mary knew her Son was the Son of God, but in humble obedience to God, she fulfils all the laws faithfully.

Another important happening is, of course, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple - which the couple observed in fulfilment of Jewish law stating that all first-born sons will be consecrated to God. Again, we reflect on the pure humility and utter obedience that the Holy Family demonstrates in doing what is according to the law, in order to please God.

The third event taking place is the Meeting of Simeon with the Infant Saviour. Simeon was a "man of desires" and God had told him he would not die until he sees the One his heart longs for - the Messiah. During this meeting Simeon prophesies that a sword will pierce the heart of Mary, and that Jesus will be the Light to enlighten the Gentiles.

As a mother, how is one supposed to feel after hearing these prophesies? Wouldn't it be incredibly disheartening, even frightening? However, our Blessed Mother - being full of God's grace - keeps all these things in her heart and finds joy in the midst of sadness. Her everlasting Fiat finds comfort in abandoning herself to whatever it is that God's providence has in store for her and her family.

The word Candlemas (candle-mass) originates from the candlelit processions with which the church traditionally celebrated this great feastday, to commemorate Jesus being the Light of the world, the "Light to enlighten the Gentiles" as prophesied by the old man Simeon. On this day (February 2nd) the faithful would bring candles to Church to be blessed by the priest and taken home for use as important sacramentals throughout the year.

For our family, this feastday was mainly celebrated by attending traditional "Purification of Our Lady" ceremonies last evening. After Fr Hartley blessed all the boxes of candles brought by the people, we went on a candlelit procession and the whole affair culminated in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - a beautiful celebration, indeed.

Back home, as a conclusion to the day, I quickly put together a simple apple and raisin oven pancake turnover, to be shared as a nightcap (of sorts). To tie in with the special occasion, I dusted the top with icing sugar using a homemade stencil to reveal 2 turtledoves, symbolic of the offering that St Joseph and Mamma Mary brought to the temple for her purification. (Although I thought afterwards that I probably should have used the negative image for the stencil, it didn't turn out too badly. If you look closely, you can just make out the 2 turtledove silhouettes..)

Yes, we all enjoyed it (even the turtledove apple/raisin turnover)!