Last Hurrah

Shrove Tuesday, being the last day of celebration before Lent, brings with it a certain kind of excitement.  For our start, the kids were very happy to get into mask-making craft, even before breakfast, to have their happy faces on to wear for Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday" or Shrove Tuesday as it is referred to in English-speaking cultures).  Happy faces carried through to our "happy faces pancakes"  which we all enjoyed for breakfast.  At will, the kids had their masks on and off throughout the day. 

As Tradition would have it, Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," meaning to hear confessions) is the last celebration before Lent which begins the next day, Ash Wednesday.  On this day, people used up all their fat and meat products which were otherwise "forbidden" during Lent.  It is customary to make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (hence the name Pancake Tuesday) because of the need to consume eggs, dairy and fat before Lent starts.

A Festive Shrove Tuesday to all!!

St Thomas Aquinas

St Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint for Catholic schools, universities, and students.  He was a holy priest and a doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest ever theologians.

St Thomas was born in Naples, Italy to noble parents.  When he was five, his parents put him under the care of the Benedictines of Monte Casino, where he surprised his teachers with how well he progressed academically, and also in the practice of virtue.  When he was seventeen, he chose to enter the Dominican order, in spite of the objections of his family.  Because of their opposition, St Thomas' family tried very hard to discourage him, even resorting to enlisting the help of an impure woman in order to tempt him.  But St Thomas persevered and kept true to his vocation.  This is why, among the 33 Doctors of the Church, he is referred to as the "Angelic Doctor."  St Thomas studied at Cologne, Germany under the instruction of St Albert, the Great.  At 22, he started to teach, and publish his writings.  As a priest at 26, he was sent to Paris, and at 31, he was awarded his doctorate.  He continued to write and preach - with impressive results.  He wrote one of his greatest works, the Summa Theologica - though left unfinished, just before he died in 1274.  He was canonized 49 years later by Pope Pius V. 

In the traditional calendar, his feastday is celebrated in March 7.

Happy St Thomas' Day!!!

Lent 2011

I cannot believe Lent is here!  It is Ash Wednesday this week, and I'm just not "ready" for Lent.  However I am convincing myself that one will never really be as ready and disposed enough.  One would probably do well to open oneself to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier.  Besides, this is exactly why Holy Mother Church gives us Lent in the first place:  to help us master our tendencies and conquer our concupiscences.  Thence, we can grow in spirit and be able to dispose our souls in readiness for receiving the new life that Jesus Christ purchased for us at the price of His Blood come Easter! 

Therefore at this point, in spite of my initial sentiments, I choose to be filled with... HOPE!


GREAT GUIDEPOSTS FOR LENT

Lent is the time when we repent.  "Repent" does not mean "to turn one's life around:"  that is conversion.  "Repent" in Latin means "to rethink."  To see the world and our lives as Jesus:  that is the beginning of repentance.  --  Fr Daniel Homan

"And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" - Luke 9:23

Let the mouth fast from disgraceful and abusive words, because, what gain is there when, on the one hand we avoid eating chicken and fish and, on the other, we chew-up and consume our brothers? He who condemns and blasphemes is as if he has eaten brotherly meat, as if he has bitten into the flesh of his fellow man. It is because of this that Paul frightened us, saying: "If you chew up and consume one another be careful that you do not annihilate yourselves." --  St John Chrysostom

We ought to fast, and to abstain from all vice, and from all that will lead us into sin, as well as from extravagance and superfluity. We should often visit the churches, and venerate and reverence all ecclesiastics on account of their office, and because they distribute the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ, which they offer in sacrifice, receive themselves, and administer to others. And let everyone know and hold for certain that we cannot be saved except through the sacred Words and the Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which priests preach, announce, and distribute, and of which they are the sole ministers.  --  St. Francis of Assisi

There was once a solitary who had built himself a royal palace in the trunk of an oak-tree; he had placed thorns inside of it, and he had fastened three stones over his head, so that when he raised himself or turned over he might feel the stones or the thorns. And we, we think of nothing but finding good beds, that we may sleep at our ease. --  St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 5

PURE HEART, PURE LOVE

St Maria Goretti was born to a very poor family.  Although they were poor, they were very happy. They considered themselves rich because they had a great treasure which was their strong Catholic faith. 

Maria was generous and thoughtful.  Once, when she was shopping, a kind grocer gave her an apple.  She thanked him and put it in her pocket, saying that her little brother loved apples.  Then he gave her a cookie.  Once again, she put it in her pocket and said that she would give it to her sister.  So the grocer gave her another cookie, saying that he would be very offended if she did not eat it herself, so she ate it.

Maria had a pure heart.  Whenever her siblings needed help, she would help them.  At mealtimes, she always served others before herself, and she always gave herself the smallest portion of food, knowing that her brothers worked hard, and her younger siblings were growing.

Maria wanted to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.  She had longed to welcome Him into her heart from a young age.  After receiving the Eucharist for the first time, she was always looking forward to reuniting with Jesus again, so she kept her heart pure and clean, because she wanted to receive Him worthily.  Since she always went to communion with a pure heart, Jesus made Maria stronger each time, to resist temptation.  Because of this, she was able to live a holy life, according to her motto:  "Death, but not sin."

After Mr Goretti died, her family needed help, so they prayed hard.  Soon, their neighbours - the Sernellis - started helping them.  They even let the Gorettis live with them in their house.  Mr Sernelli had a 19-year old son called Alessandro.  Once, when Maria was sitting at the doorstep, sewing, Alessandro called her inside the house.  When she refused, he dragged her inside and tried to make her commit a sin.  She shouted, "Alessandro, don't touch me!  It is a sin!"  As Maria said this,  Alessandro pulled out a dagger that he had gotten ready, stabbed her 14 times, and left her on the floor.  Then he locked himself in his room. 

Later, in the hospital, after the priest gave Maria her last rites, he asked her if she forgave her murderer, and she said "Yes."  Soon after, she passed away.  Maria died at the age of 12 with a pure heart that was able to forgive, even the person who tried to take away her life.

For us, St Maria Goretti is a great example of purity, love and forgiveness.  If we keep our hearts pure, receive communion worthily, and pray regularly, Jesus will give us the strength we need to conquer temptation and love others with a pure love, maybe even our enemies.  Saint Maria Goretti, pray for us!

(Grade 5,
Creative Writing,
2011, Term 1 Week 5 )

Today is Thursday..

..and as we call to mind past special occasions that conjure up strong emotions and feelings of joy and gratitude, there is none more special and important to meditate on than THAT Thursday, when Christ instituted the Most Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of His love.  For us, this is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  How good is our Lord to give us the Blessed Eucharist, where He is "with us until the consummation of the world." (Matthew 28:20)

What a beautiful gift we have in the Mass.  Although it is sad that there is much desecration of the Eucharist happening everywhere - largely because of the new mass (Novus Ordo), characterized by self-devised rubrics, ad libbing, personalization, liturgical "freewheeling," etc, we can take consolation in the fact that the Traditional Latin Mass (Tridentine Rite) is slowly making its way back. 

(Before watching the video, don't forget to pause the music via the mixpod at the bottom of this page.)




The video below is an excellent one done about the Tridentine Mass (Theocentric / God-centred).  In stark contrast to the Novus Ordo (anthropocentric / man-centred), the former is evidently more silent, solemn, and prayerful; more sacrificial in nature (as it should be:  a Holy Sacrifice, as opposed to a mere sharing over a meal!) and renders the Sacrament the sacrality and mystery that it deserves, far more than does the latter.  After watching it, one heaves a huge sigh of relief, to say:  Thank God for the REAL Mass!!

COMMENT OF THE DAY

During our Kinder Religion session today, using Who Am I?, we were talking about how different people respond differently to God's call to love. Some choose to get married and raise families, while others choose not to get married, and show their love in some other ways.

Some men become priests and religious brothers, women become nuns. The priests and religious show their love for God's people by praying for them, offering up penance, sacrifices and good works and teaching us how to live according to God's laws so we can get to heaven one day.

Some nuns teach in schools, others tend to the poor and the aged, and others care for and nurse the sick. To this, Curlytop (who turns 5 in 5 weeks, pictured above as St Therese) promptly and animatedly replied: "Just like St Therese! She was a doctor of the church!" ♥♥♥

NB:  Along with St Thomas Aquinas, St Gregory the Great, St Anthony of Padua, St Alphonsus Ligouri, St Catherine of Sienna and many others, St Therese of Lisieux is one of the 33 officially recognized Doctors of the Church.  They are a group of saints whose writings and theological preachings are said to be useful to Christians "in any age of the Church."

On This Day..

ONE IN HEART

Thirteen years ago today, LL and I were united in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony at St Therese's Catholic Church, Kedron. As husband and wife we have gone through a great deal together, and life has not been without challenge. Nevertheless, God has been so good to us, providing us with all that we need to sustain us in our life together, corporally and even spiritually. We are especially grateful for the faith, and grace He makes us partakers of, to answer His call for sanctification through the vocation of parenthood - forming our children with filial fear of God, and striving together for holiness in the family with the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, and under the loving guidance of Holy Mother Church and our Holy Father, the Pope.

To my dear husband, Happy 13th Anniversary. I love you!

A PARENT'S DELIGHT

Today is also Roadrunner's birthday. It was six years ago (on our 7th wedding anniversary) when we first beheld this beautiful tiny baby that God sent our way. After waiting 4 long years here was another little blessing that made our family's life even more abundant! A true manifestation of God's generous love he was. Over the years it has been an absolute joy watching Roadrunner grow, and develop his own unique little personality - his charitable nature as he offers assistance whenever it is needed, or even surprising us with his enthusiastic initiative; the kind and caring words he is only too ready to say whenever somebody needs them - make our Roadrunner such a delight to be around. What a privilege it is to be parents to a lovable soul. For him we will forever be grateful to our Loving Benefactor.

To our precious Roadrunner, happy 6th birthday! May God grant your little heart's desires. We pray that you will always be under the loving, motherly protection of Our Blessed Mother. We love you very much!!

OUR PRAYER ON THIS DAY

Lord God! Thou hast called us to the holy state of matrimony and hast been pleased to make us parents. We recommend to Thee our dear children. We entrust them to Thy fatherly care. May they be a source of consolation, not only to us, but chiefly to Thee, Who are their Creator. Be watchful, O Lord; help and defend them.

Grant us the grace to guide them in the way of Thy commandments. This we will do by our own perfect observance of Thy holy law and that of our holy Mother, the Church. Make us conscious of our grave obligation to You, and bless our efforts to serve You. We humbly ask this blessing from the bottom of our hearts, for ourselves and for the children whom Thou hast been pleased to give us.

We dedicate them to Thee, O Lord. Do Thou keep them as the apple of Thy eye, and protect them under the shadow of Thy wings. Make us worthy to come, at last, to heaven, together with them, giving thanks unto Thee, Our Father, for the loving care Thou hast had of our entire family, and praising Thee together through endless ages. Amen. (adapted)

Laus Deo.

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 4

Mother Alphonsa

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop was born to wealthy, American, non-Catholic parents. When she grew up she married George Lathrop and, together, they became Catholic. They had a child who died of illness. Her husband became an alcoholic, so Rose left her marriage. She felt that God was calling her to help people suffering from cancer. At that time, people thought cancer was contagious.

Rose's motto was, "I will see all things only through the spirit of God, thus freeing myself of personality and forgetting my existence. I will regard all things through the Spirit of Jesus Christ." This means that we should not be judgemental, but be kind towards others, like Jesus.

Rose gave up everything and moved to the poorest area in New York to nurse cancer patients. She was kind and caring to all of them. She worked for free, or without charge. So she relied on donations. To get help, she wrote an article in the newspaper, and many people were moved. One reader, Alice Huber, read it and decided to help Rose, first once a week and soon after, full time.

Rose and Alice joined the Dominican Sisters, and Rose took the name Mary Alphonsa, while Alice, Mary Rose. Some time later, both Mary Alphonsa and Mary Rose founded a new order called, The Servants for the Relief of Incurable Cancer.

Mother Alphonsa lived a busy life: running the convent, doing her daily duties as a religious nun and nursing cancer patients. She drew strength from Jesus in the Eucharist. Once, a journalist asked her where she got her strength to perform all her activities, and in reply she pointed to the Tabernacle. Mother Alphonsa did everything for God, and she did all her work cheerfully for a long time, until she passed away quietly in her sleep on July 9, 1926.

Mother Alphonsa, like Jesus, treated everyone with kindness, respect, care and without judgement. This shows how well she lived according to her rule of life. Her motto is a good guide for us who want to follow Jesus. Mother Alphonsa, in her faith and life of service is a great example for us in living a truly Christian life.

(Grade 5,
Creative Writing,
2011, Term 1, Week 4)

Purple for Penance

Septuagesima Sunday just passed. Fr Hartley says we should be treating this period (between Septuagesima Sunday and Ash Wednesday) as a mini-Lent, or a time to prepare for Lent, both exteriorly and interiorly. In the traditional calendar, preparation for Lent starts the day after Septuagesima Sunday, which is why in the traditional rite the priest starts wearing purple - to signify great solemnity, penance and mourning - just like Fr did last night.

I'm trying so hard to get into the mode, not just for my own benefit, but moreso for the kids' sake. I know this is also the time to brainstorm and plan what activities we can adopt to help us achieve some spiritual growth through Lent and aspire for a new and better life with Christ by Easter. Thank God, indeed, that there are several excellent books and resource materials available, not to mention sites and blogs online containing LOADS of great ideas!

The only thing I don't seem to have? Time. Not lots of it, anyway. But until such time when I'd get some to initiate the required preparations, I shall be praying..

PRAYER FOR HOLY PERSEVERANCE

Eternal Father, I humbly adore Thee, and thank Thee for having created me, and for having redeemed me through Jesus Christ. I thank Thee most sincerely for giving me the true faith, and by adopting me as Thy son, in the sacrament of baptism. I thank Thee for having, after the numberless sins I had committed, waited for my reentance, and for having pardoned (as I humbly hope) all the offences which I have offered to Thee, and for which I am now sincerely sorry, because they have been displeasing to Thee, who art infinite goodness. I thank Thee for having preserved me from so many relapses, of which I would have been guilty if Thou hadst not protected me. But my enemies still continue, and will continue til death, to combat against me, and to endeavour to make me their slave. If Thou dost not constantly guard and succor me with Thy aid, I, miserable creature, shall return to sin, and shall certainly lose Thy grace. I beseech Thee, then, for the love of Jesus Christ, to grant me holy perseverance unto death. Jesus, Thy Son, has promised that Thou wilt grant whatsoever we ask in His Name. Through the merits, then, of Jesus Christ, I beg, for myself and for all the just, the grace never again to be separated from Thy love, but to love Thee forever, in time and eternity. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me. (adapted)



Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi!

Tweaking

Spending a bit of time giving this page a bit of a makeover. Tweaking.. tweaking.. tweaking.. Adding this one, taking that one off.. Ugh PC must be soooo confused!!

So far I've been able to add a few things, but I'm probably going to chop and change some more. It's fun, though.. Interesting finding nice things to add. My favourite so far: the autoplay mixpod. Love the sacred music that plays whenever I open the page now. :)

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 3

God's Faithful Servant

St Elizabeth Ann Seton was America's first canonized saint. Her rule of life was, "I am the happiest of all creatures, in the thought that not the least thing can happen but by His will or permission, and all for the best."

She was always doing things for God. As a child, she would do her chores cheerfully. Whenever she was asked to do something, she did it right away and without complaints.

One of the difficulties she faced in life was her religion, because she and all of her family were Protestants. She eventually became Catholic, but when she did she faced even more challenges. She was ridiculed, mistreated and abandoned by her relatives. She was no longer considered part of the family.

In spite of this, St Elizabeth was a woman of great charity, and helped so many different people. She helped, comforted and accompanied the poor widows of her city; she founded a group of nuns and opened a convent called "St Joseph's Order;" and she helped orphaned children by building an orphanage and school for them.

St Elizabeth Ann Seton is a very good example for perseverance and faith because even though she was despised by her family, she did her best to keep her faith strong, keep her trust in God and do what God wanted her to do.

(Grade 5,

Creative Writing,

2011 - Term 1, Week 3)

Wednesdays with Jesus

Among the innumerable gifts we are thankful for, I am particularly grateful for the privilege of assisting at Holy Mass. The Holy Eucharist is the unbloody re-enactment of Calvary, and it is THE best sacrifice we can ever offer to our Almighty Father because Jesus is the Unblemished Lamb. Therefore, more than any other prayer or act of worship, there is invaluable merits available to anyone who assists / attends Holy Mass each time. As in all spiritual things, it has been such a challenge for us to go to daily Mass; and the number of occasions we would go during the week just gradually dwindled until we could only get ourselves to Sunday Mass (except First Fridays and First Saturdays). A couple of weeks ago, however, by an act of God's grace, we were able to restart going everyday again! And I'm sure Our Lady's powerful intercession has had a lot to do with it.

Another very special gift we receive as Catholics, is the grace of Eucharistic Adoration. How truly humbled we should feel to be able to go and worship Jesus in the Eucharist where He, Himself, deigns to be truly present - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This act of Eucharistic adoration is referred to as a "foretaste of Heaven" where, if we do get to experience beatific vision, we will be adoring our Lord with Our Lady and all the angels and saints!

In a previous blogpost I mentioned that Wednesdays are our free days from schooling where the day is normally reserved for extra-curricular activities, or any other errands / tasks that need to be completed. So far, Wednesdays are such a necessity for us (moreso for me!) because it provides a good break in the middle of a busy week - perfect for getting recharged and regaining my bearings; and for the kids, a chance to keep interest levels up via other activities. However it still felt like we could be making better use of our school-free Wednesdays.

We used to go to adoration on a regular basis for a while (every Saturday evenings when we are able to go as a family), but we took ourselves off the roster shortly before Max's birth - for obvious reasons, and we have not gone back on it just yet. The other night, however, we were talking about restoring our weekly holy hour, and suddenly we got a light bulb moment, surely an inspiration from the Holy Spirit: Wednesdays!!

Today was our first "Wednesday with Jesus" and it naturally took a lot of effort, but we got there, and we were very happy when we did. After their afternoon nap, the kids and I picked hubby up from his city office and from there we went straight to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel. We were a little late, so we didn't quite make ONE whole hour. We had dinner (packed from home) at the community room and then from there we proceeded to attend the 7:10 Wednesday night Mass in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It is our fervent hope that we can make this a practice every week.

Drawing from the past, we will undoubtedly be experiencing snags and bumps along the way; but for now we shall choose to be happy and enjoy the journey. How truly great it feels to be back: to daily Mass and to having reestablished our holy hour through our "Wednesdays with Jesus." In the midst of the endless challenges God allows us to go through, it is so great to find time to show some gratitude to our good Lord. And by the countless unmerited blessings He lavishes on us continuously, this is certainly the least we can do.

O memoriale mortis Domini
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini
Praesta meae menti de te vivere
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

(excerpted from Adoro Te Devote by St Thomas Aquinas)

Benedictus Jesus in sanctissimo altaris Sacramento!

Narnia Fever

Earlier in the year, my eldest sister and her son, Patrick, visited and stayed with us for about a week and a half from Melbourne. Because we had spoken about it previously, hubby took Patrick and the two boys to the movies to watch Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The movie was part of a sequel, but we've never seen any of the prequels, so we hired the old ones. And we enjoyed them immensely: the enthralling plot, excellent special effects, exciting scenes, lovable characters and breathtaking landscape made for a truly engaging cinematic experience, both for the young and the old.

Well, apart from the wonderment experienced from watching the movies, it seems our household has officially caught Narnia fever. Our kids have been swept up in it for quite some time now. They cannot stop talking about the characters, role-playing, reenacting particular scenes, etc. In fact they've each assumed a character in the movie, i.e. Webster is Peter, Roadrunner is Edmund, Curlytop is Susan, Brighteyes is Lucy, and even Bobbles is referred to as Prince Caspian! For a time, LL got into it, too and coming home from the office, he would bring back some Turkish delight for the kids, but only 'til they got tired of the sticky stuff. :)

Being the opportunist that I am (well, at least when it comes to the kids' learning), I just could not pass this opportunity up to milk some sort of benefit out of it. So we reviewed the movies and discussed how the self-sacrificial love by Aslan, his death and coming back to life and the events in the land of Narnia thereafter was an analogy to Christ's Passion, Death, Resurrection and the redemption available to His disciples who persevere in following Him. It was also a noteworthy parallel that the witch, all dressed in pure white and offering treats is much like Satan who always presents himself looking like a good, harmless being, constantly luring us into a sinful life with sugarcoated temptations.

Also, I thought I'd strike while the proverbial iron is hot, and take advantage of this phase; so I jumped online and ordered Narnia books! I found a handsome leatherbound blue "Chronicles of Narnia" hardback book and several "I Can Read" - Level 2 versions of the different chapters of the story for our developing readers. I was also very happy to have found a 7-volume Chronicles of Narnia full colour boxed set which were equally attractive to our Narnia enthusiasts. Great addition to our growing library, indeed. When our books finally arrived the kids beamed with wide-eyed amazement. Days later the children are still reading them, and the books are a constant feature in read-alouds by the bigger to the littler kids. Besides, I don't think a book report or two and some reading comprehension exercises would do my students any harm, do you?

Whilst we normally refuse to let secular movies have too much of an impact on our kids, Narnia is one of a few exceptions. And, just like most movies that come out of Hollywood, I was initially skeptical and hesitant about letting them get caught up in it at all. But having seen the movies, and having appreciated the parallelism it had to our Christian tenets, we have become quite tolerant and even supportive of this Narnia preoccupation that the children currently have. Besides, like everything when the novelty wears off, I'm sure this will be another one they'll eventually get over or outgrow. For now, we will take comfort in the fact that the Narnia movies/stories are at least clean for little eyes and harmless for little hearts.

Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and as conducive to good health. From this it is clear that those who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter -- those who thus fail to correct sinners -- actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life. - St Basil the Great

Don't you long to shout to those youths who are bustling around you: Fools! Leave those worldly things that shackle the heart - and very often degrade it - leave all that and come with us in search of Love! - St Josemaria Escriva

St Valentine's Day

Just like all first days of the schoolweek, our Mondays are usually packed: new lessons, etc. and today was definitely no exception. So for the feast of St Valentine, we decided to make something to share as a nice dessert after dinner: St Valentine shortbread. But because I had little to no time for it amidst all preparations for the Monday night Mass at our little chapel, I decided to allow only minimal involvement from the kids during the majority of the preparation. Nevertheless, when it came to the cutting, it was all hands on deck! And the result was... not bad at all! Happy St Valentine's Day to all!





Valentine's Day takes its origin from St Valentine who died on February 14 in about the year 270; and resultantly this celebration was started to honour his martyrdom. He was a holy priest who was apprehended and imprisoned as a result of assisting the Christians during the persecution under Claudius II. While in jail, St Valentine is said to have converted 46 members of a guard's family to Christianity, and when the emperor Claudius found out about this, he ordered St Valentine to be tortured and put to death.



St Valentine is the patron of love, young people and happy marriage.



Sancte Valentinus, ora pro nobis!

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 2

ALL FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

God created us because He loves us and wants to be with us in Heaven. Our final destination is to get to Heaven with God, but to get to Heaven is not easy to achieve because we have to live holy lives.

It is easy for religious to live holy lives because from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, their day is full of prayer and other acts of piety. Some of them are cloistered and are not surrounded by distractions as we are. We non-religious, on the other hand, may find it hard to live holy lives because our days are full of ordinary activity, and we are always tempted by the devil by almost everything in the outside world. But St Bernadette Soubirous provides us with very good advice.

When St Bernadette became a nun, her brother joined the army. One day he sent her a letter about how difficult being a soldier was because it was hard to find time to pray and do other spiritual activities while performing his duties. She sent him back this advice: "If every morning you say, 'Dear God, I will endure everything for Thee,' you will have earned as much graces as a cloistered monk." The same goes with us. We may not spend long hours in prayer, but we can offer all our actions to God and He will give us the grace to do even better.

These days it is hard to win graces, but it is certainly not impossible. If we follow St Bernadette's advice, we will be able to offer up all our actions to God, ordinary or extraordinary, get more graces and maybe make it to Heaven one day.

(Grade 5,
Creative Writing,
2011 - Term 1, Week 2)

Our Lady of Lourdes

After the last two that have included wonderful, grace-packed events, we had another great week to be thankful for. Everyone has been steadily working at school, with no major happenings (good or bad) out of the ordinary to note, except for the highlights in our liturgical journey.

Whenever we celebrate the feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes, one word seems to resonate, even for many days after: PENANCE. This year's celebration was a good one, as we were able to discuss the whats, hows and whys of penance as the kids watched and re-watched a couple of versions of the story of Our Lady of Lourdes (as she appeared to St Bernadette Soubirous in France in 1858) through the week. Curlytop (turning 5 this year), in particular, asked several times what penance meant and what we had to do it for. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to the kids about how important it is to "do good" and offer up sacrifices in propitiation for our sins and the sins of others - the heart of Our Lady's message in Lourdes, as in all of her other apparitions around the world on different occasions. One brilliant thing about this particular exchange was that it happened in the car - where all the kids HAD to be listening!

Apart from the movies, other activities undertaken to focus the week on Our Lady of Lourdes included constructing little "hand grottos" made out of laminated pictures and recycled plastic bottles which made them quite effective as candle holders. We started the craft activity on Wednesday, being our non-school day; and they were all done by Friday, Our Lady of Lourdes' actual feastday. Although we wanted to use them for candlelit singing of Ave Maria on Friday evening at our backyard grotto, we could not fit it in, as we opted to go to Mass, followed by holy hour with our Eucharistic Lord (exposed) and beautifully concluded with Benediction.

In addition, we were invited to attend an extension of the celebration at the St Stephen's Cathedral (City) the next morning (Saturday), which consisted of the recitation of the Holy Rosary, Holy Mass and a procession. The two boys were asked to be at the lead, so they were so excited to be able to use their grotto candle holders.

What a beautiful end to a productive week, indeed. After Candlemass and St Blaise's feastday last week, and this week a memorable celebration for Our Lady of Lourdes, we eagerly await more special days in the liturgical calendar to enrich our faith and family life throughout the year!! Laus Deo.

Regina sine labe originali concepta, ora pro nobis!

WEBSTER'S ENTRY

HAVING FUN WITHOUT SINNING

St Don Bosco was a priest who took in homeless boys. He always reminded them "You can have as much fun as you like as long as you don't commit sin." He was always concerned about leading his boys to Heaven, so he did his best to keep them on the path to holiness.

One example of a person who accepted this rule of life was St Dominic Savio, a boy-saint who is famously known for his motto: "Death, rather than sin." He died at the young age of 15.

Although it is a sure path to holiness, it is difficult to follow this rule of life in these modern times. Some of the things that make it hard are: bad toys, violent/impure books, games, movies and magazines, TV, internet, video and computer games etc. It is also tempting to commit sin when you are with bad company or friends that participate in sinful activity, or activities that are occasions of sin.

Just because it is hard, doesn't mean we have to give up. We have to persevere because if we keep on trying, we will get to Heaven someday. It was Don Bosco's advice to his boys that to fight temptations, we should receive the sacraments of reconciliation and communion frequently. He recommended always practicing good confession and receiving communion worthily.

Trying to avoid sin while you are having fun is not easy, but it is a good way to achieve holiness. Seeing that St Dominic and many others made it to Heaven through the guidance of St Don Bosco, we too can persevere and follow their examples. Thanks to St Don Bosco, young people like me can make it to Heaven one day!

(Grade 5,

Creative Writing,

2011 Term 1 Week 1)

Fun and Faith-filled Wednesday

Schoolyear 2011 for us started on Monday, January 31 (feastday of St John Bosco), a week later than regular schools in Queensland. Schooling is CHAOTIC, to say the very least. Good thing 9-week-old Bobbles 'cooperates' and sleeps through the morning which is when the bulk of the schooling is usually done. At this stage it is a matter of "doing what works at a particular time," as we are still in the process of establishing our schooling routine (i.e. if we ever do); but so far so good, thank God indeed.

Wednesdays are always free days for us, and this works out very well because it gives us a much-needed break after 2 days of schooling, and it provides a good opportunity for going on trips to the museum, pilgrimages, doing liturgical craft activities, cooking sessions, or whatever else.

Yesterday was our first field trip of the school year, and I decided to take the kids to a little museum in Samford where we were amazed by the variery of displays ranging from period clothing to old musical instruments to antiquated appliances, tractors and manual tools used in the home, in the farm or on automobiles. Webster especially thought the old washing machine was "cool," although he first referred to it as a cement mixer before he was very kindly corrected by one of the museum staff. We also saw an old building (Provisional School) which housed old school items such as desks, old chalk boards, maps, school bells, books, etc. The kids tried their hands on using the old writing tablets. Webster also pointed out to me that there was a "funny globe" in one of the shelves that had Australia on top and Russia underneath. It was apparently an 'upside down globe' having the southern and northern hemispheres interchanged. Though I did not expect much from this trip, the kids got a lot of enjoyment out of seeing lots of historical stuff. They wanted to stay much longer, but I had to cut it short as we had to go to Christian Supplies to pick up the carton of candles we ordered earlier in the day to be blessed by Father at Candlemas that evening.

CANDLEMAS

In celebration of the beautiful feastday of Our Lady's Purification (Presentation of Our Lord), we attended the Traditional Latin Mass which included blessing of the candles for use throughout the year, a procession, and of course, Holy Mass. The little chapel was full-packed this year which made it extra special, moreso for Fr Hartley. We saw a few homeschooling families, so the kids were very happy to celebrate the occasion with friends. Being Bobbles' first Candlemas, he stayed awake for most of it, though slept through some parts. ;D






ST BLAISE'S THROAT BLESSING

Being the vigil of the feastday of St Blaise last night, we also received a blessing of the throat from Fr Hartley, using candles he blessed during the preceding ceremony. This is a beautiful tradition that the kids have grown to like, and are able to associate to the story of when St Blaise (as a bishop) was able to cure a child (brought in by his mother) seriously choking on a fishbone, just through prayer and the use of 2 blessed candles crossed in the middle.









Yesterday was certainly a day filled with fun as it was with graces. As children of God, we are called to be both salt to the earth and light to the world (Mt 5:13-14); and on this occasion of the Purification of Our Lady (the Light-bearer) and the Presentation of the Lord (proclaimed by St Simeon as THE Light of the World), we thank God for a very challenging but fruitful week for all of us. We thank Him especially for giving us this blessed opportunity of being able to form and educate the kids at home, right where they belong. ♥♥♥

Schooling 2011

I have found my patron saint for this year's schooling: St Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron saint for Catholic schools. She was a teacher who was a Protestant before converting to Catholicism. She is such a great inspiration and example for homeschoolers because she herself homeschooled her 5 children. Even before she became Catholic she had a great love for the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady, and had a great reverence for the priesthood.


This year we officially have: a 5th grader, a 1st grader, and a kindergartner. Today, feastday of St John Bosco, marks our first day of school. And although we started later than the regular schools did, I'm glad I have had some time to prepare and plan for the kids' curricula for the year.

GRADE 5

Cores:
1. English (Language of God, Catholic Speller, Reading Comprehension - Stories of the Saints, Creative Writing)
2. Math - Epsilon Math U See
3. Social Studies (Australian History and Geography, Map Skills E)
4. Science (Universe in My Hands)
Non-cores:
5. Religion (Faith and Life 5, Exploring the Mass)
6. Latin (Latina Christiana II)

GRADE 1

Cores:
1. English (My First Catholic Speller)
- Reading Comprehension (Little Stories for Little Folks - Level 2)
2. Math (Alpha Math U See)
3. Social Studies (Character Building)
4. Science (Exploring Science I)
Non-cores:
5. Religion (Faith and Life 1, Image of God, Stories to Learn By, Treasure Box)
6. Handwriting Practice

KINDER

Cores:
1. Reading and Phonics (Little Stories for Little Folks - Level 1)
2. Alphabet Handwriting Practice
3. Math - Primer Math U See
Non-core:
4. Religion (God's Love Story, Who Am I?)

When you begin to study, look up to Him and think: "O Lord, how worthless this knowledge would be, if it were not for the enlightening of my mind, for Your service, or for making me more useful to my fellow men." - St Elizabeth Ann Seton