WEBSTER'S ENTRY 7

The Marian Monk

Blessed Herman of Richenau was born in Switzerland to very loving, noble parents.  They were devout Catholics who wanted for their son to obey the will of God.  But because he was born disabled, his parents sent him to the Benedictine monastery at the age of 7.  When he was 20 years old, he became a monk. 

Herman had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother of God that he composed the Salve Regina, or the Hail Holy Queen which is now a very popular Marian prayer.  He wrote it to give honour to Our Lady. 

Despite being crippled, Herman was never in a bad mood.  Whenever he was struggling or suffering, he offered it as a sacrifice, one way he earned merits.  Whenever Blessed Herman was tempted, he sought recourse to Our Lady; so he kept strong against Satan.  He was obedient, prayerful and persevering.  And  because of this, God rewarded him with Heaven.

In spite of his struggles, Blessed Herman kept his eyes on his destination:  Heaven.  He is a good example of perseverance and Marian devotion to us who want to follow Christ.

(Creative Writing,
Grade 5,
Term 1, Week 7)

St Joseph's Feastday

Today is St Joseph's feastday.  And this is the first ever time we would be celebrating it as Roadrunner's nameday (having been named after this virtuous saint and Our Lord's foster father).

We had made some preparations for this special day, including Roadrunner's St Joseph costume, getting some crowns together, with the central theme of our celebration being St Joseph as royalty, having descended from King David. 

Weeks beforehand we were able to ask Fr Hartley to come and celebrate Holy Mass at our home chapel.  As a special gift, we were also graced to have Benediction and some moments of adoration with our Eucharistic Lord!  What an awesome, unforgettable celebration, indeed!!!

Happy St Joseph's Feastday! 

And Happy Nameday, Roadrunner!

St Patrick's Day 2011

This would probably be the most memorable St Patrick's Day celebration we have had - thus far - because we made a tad bit more preparation than we've ever had in the past. 

On the night before St Patrick's day, I prepared the kids' hats by decorating green plastic hats with white correction pen.  The morning of the saint's feastday saw the kids dressed in whatever green clothes they could find in their closets, green being the distinct colour of the Irish saint (i.e. colour symbolizing both Ireland, the Emerald Isle, and the shamrock which is widely recognized as a symbol for St Patrick, as this was the object he used to teach the people of his time about the Holy Trinity). 

Breakfast consisted of green steamed rice muffins (puto) topped with shamrock-shaped cheese, and for beverage I made green pandan-flavoured jelly - cubed and mixed with chilled milk (though I would have preferred to have incorporated some young coconut juice (buko) in the mixture, I had to use ingredients that I already had available).  By and large, the kiddies enjoyed their St Patrick-themed morning, dressed in St Patrick's colour!

Although they've watched it several times in the past, the kids engaged in watching the St Patrick animated story a few times during the day, even talking about events in the story that fascinated them, such as the miracles God worked through St Patrick which caused the conversion of numerous pagans.  St Patrick colouring pages were pre-printed and made available to anyone who wanted to do some colouring.

To conclude this feastday, we attended evening Mass in honour of the celebrated saint.  The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is, of course, always the perfect highlight to any celebration.

Saying grace before our St Patrick breakfast..

"Bon appetit!"  Or in Irish, "Slainte!"

St Patrick, pray for us!

Bright-eyes Prays!!!



Tonight our little Bright-eyes (turned 3 last week) surprised us all when she joined the family prayer for the first time.  We, including the 3 older kids have been leading a decade each of the rosary until tonight when Bright-eyes asked if she, too, could lead a decade,  saying:  "Can I do it, too, Dad?"  Tatay answered:  "Do you know how to say it?"  and she eagerly nodded.  Then she proceeded to say the Pater Noster first, followed by 10 Ave Marias, amidst lots of cheering!

And they brought to Him young children, that he might touch them.  And the disciples rebuked them that brought them.  Whom, when Jesus saw, He was much displeased, and saith to them:  "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God."  (Mark 10:13-14 - Douay-Rheims 1899)
 

Lenten Journey

Lent.  Another opportunity for spiritual growth, yet again.  As Holy Mother Church recommends to her children, PENANCE - to strengthen us spiritually at this particular time through the 3 penitential practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving.  We fast in order to conquer our weaknesses and strengthen our will against the concupiscences of the flesh.  We pray in order to master our propensity to pride, and strengthen our relationship with our Creator.  And we give alms in order to counter our tendency towards greed and avarice.

This year, although we had a slow start with our preparations for Lent, we are looking forward to a grace-filled Lenten season.  To help us achieve some sort of growth and to especially aid the children in understanding this particular time in our liturgical journey, we have chosen a few activities to undertake as a family - most of them taken from books and other reading materials, and other ideas were sourced online.

FASTING

To help the kids with fasting / offering up sacrifices, we wanted to have a visual reminders of the objects associated with the Passion of Our Lord.  So we constructed a new crowns of thorns this year which were basically the same as last year's, only a little thinner and therefore more realistic.  We made  a darker dough for the crowns and the children all helped insert the "thorns."  We also shaped nails out of the dough and the rest of it was molded into a tomb-like structure complete with the boulder which we planned to use for Easter.  After baking, the "nails" were painted in hammered grey which surprisingly made it rather realistic!

We placed one set of  "Crown of Thorn and Nails" in a purple-covered stand which sat in the middle of our dinner table - to keep reminding us of the season and our goals this Lent.  Each time a good deed was performed, one earned a chance to pull out a thorn, and everytime one performed an act of charity, he/she would earn a jewel to attach on the crown.  It is, of course, the ultimate goal to have all thorns pulled out by Easter and the crown filled with colourful, shimmering jewels instead!

Also, to increase our awareness of our weaknesses, transgressions and how we are all responsible for making Jesus suffer and die on the cross, hubby constructed a big styro cross which the kids painted dark brown.  We velcroed it on a door along a thoroughfare which made it very visible.  Everytime somebody chose to do the wrong thing, they had to write the fault on a brown piece of paper and pin it up on the big cross.  Undoubtedly, this cross would be filled with our "sins" throughout Lent.  However, come Good Friday, these "sins" will be taken away and burnt, symbolizing the truth that Jesus paid for all our sins when He died on the cross on Good Friday.  On Holy Saturday, the holes made by the pins used to affix the "sins" to the cross will be covered with flowers to symbolize repentance and consequently God's mercy on our sins. These brown papers with sins written on them will be burnt on Easter Vigil, in preparation for the New Life that Jesus gives us on Easter, when He is resurrected.

PRAYER

Apart from maintaining our nightly family Rosary, we incorporated the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross which will be prayed every Friday, to emphasize to us how much Jesus suffered before He died for us on the Cross, hopefully increasing our sorrow for our sins and strengthening our desire and resolutions for change, in order to welcome Easter and receive His New Life with a much cleaner heart.

Throughout Lent we will be using a prayer which would be recited before the Rosary:

Lenten Prayer
O Lord and Ruler of Life,  take from me the spirit of idleness, despair, cupidity, and empty talking.  Yea, O Lord grant that I may see my own sins and not judge my brother.  For thou art blessed forever and ever.  Amen.


ALMSGIVING

In order to 'make an effort' in this aspect, we also placed a jar in the middle of our dinner table which is labelled "Our Lenten Share."  On it is also affixed the cost that each member of the family has to "pay" for every meal they have on this table.  For the adults, breakfast and lunch cost $1, and dinner costs $2.  For children breakfast and lunch cost $0.20 for breakfast and lunch and $0.50 for dinner.  At Easter, we will be opening this jar, counting the total amount we saved and giving it to a chosen charitable institution.

ASH WEDNESDAY

At home before the Rosary, we said our Ash Wednesday prayer which was basically a "farewell" to Alleluia and also a prayer of invocation to the Holy Spirit to guide our efforts in achieving our Lenten resolutions.  To make the Alleluia Farewell tangible and therefore more memorable for the kids, we asked the two boys to walk to the altar carrying our Alleluia stand (which we had painted beforehand) and "bury" it under the purple cover (symbolizing penance and great anticipation) which adorned our Lady's altar this season, together with the 2nd set of crown of thorn and nails.  On Easter, we will be taking out the Alleluia stand and placing it in a highly visible place, for all to see and be reminded of the great joy of the Eastertide.

Alleluia, Song of Gladness
(from the early 9th and 10th centuries; referring to the farewell to the Alleluia in the liturgy)

Stay with us today, Alleluia,
When the morning rises,
thou shalt go thy way.
Alleluia, alleluia.


May the Lord be thy custodian, Alleluia.
And the angel of God accompany thee.
May the Lord keep thee alive
And protect thee from every evil.
Alleluia, alleluia.


The mountains and hills shall rejoice, Alleluia,
While they await thy glory.
Thou goest, Alleluia; may the way be blessed,
Until thou shalt return with joy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.


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

By and large, we had a wonderful start to Lent.  Apart from our prayers and activities at home, we went to Ash Wednesday Mass.  In addition, we were able to request Fr Hartley for a holy hour with our Eucharistic Jesus, to which Fr very kindly agreed. Hence, besides having the very concrete reminder of the start of the season: ashes on our foreheads, it was certainly very good to start Lent by receiving Jesus sacramentally in holy communion, and spending sometime with Him in the Eucharistic Veil!

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 6

The Kind and Gentle Bishop

St. Ambrose was born to noble Roman parents.  After his father died, his family moved to Milan. He was raised by his mother and his sister, St Marcellina.  St. Ambrose became a brilliant lawyer at a young age.  The Roman Emperor was so impressed with him that he appointed him governor of Milan even when St Ambrose was still in his thirties.

At that time, Arianism, or the belief that Jesus was not God, was spreading everywhere.  One day, the bishop - who was an Arian, died.  The people of Milan assembled to elect a new bishop.  The Arians and the Catholics argued about who they wanted to elect, because the Arians wanted another Arian bishop, and the Catholics wanted a Catholic bishop.  Then Ambrose walked up to the crowd and tried to stop the argument, saying that a peaceful election was possible, and that fighting would get them nowhere.  As he started walking away, a voice in the crowd began shouting:  "Ambrose, Bishop!"  Soon after the crowd started to chant: "Ambrose, Bishop."

St Ambrose knew he was not yet a baptized Catholic, so he asked the Emperor for advice, but the Emperor told him to accept it.  So he studied the Catechism and Theology, and was baptized after a short time.  A week later, he was ordained the Bishop of Milan.

As soon as he was ordained, St Ambrose gave all his possessions to his brother Satyrus to distribute out to the poor.  As a bishop, St Ambrose treated his people with kindness.  His door was open to anyone who wanted to see him.  He settled any problems with gentleness.

To help get rid of Arianism and false beliefs, St Ambrose prayed and offered Masses.  He encouraged his people to assist at Mass and receive the Blessed Sacrament often.  He also promoted devotion to Our Lady because she always brings us closer to her Son, Jesus.  He preached regularly about how important it was to offer oneself to Jesus, including the girls to become brides of Christ.  Some parents, who wanted their daughters to marry, even kept them away from St Ambrose.  He caused many to convert to Catholicism, and one of his great converts was St Augustine of Hippo.

Once, a criminal escaped to the circus, and  the Emperor ordered the death of nearly seven thousand men, women and children,  just to find the criminal.  The people waited to see what St Ambrose would do about it.  St Ambrose wrote a letter to the Roman Emperor, saying that he should do private and public penance for this grave sin, otherwise St Ambrose would never say Mass for him again.  The Emperor did as he was told, repented and did penance.

St Ambrose is a very good example for us in following Christ because he was a man of peace, gentleness, mercy and great faith.  During his life, he showed humility and treated everyone as he would treat Christ. 

St Ambrose died on Holy Saturday, April 4, in the year 397 A.D.  He was 57 years old.  His feastday is celebrated on December 7, the day he was ordained Bishop.  Both his brother - Satyrus, and sister -  Marcellina are saints.  He is one of the 33 Doctors of the Church.

Sancte Ambrosius, ora pro nobis!

(Grade 5
Creative Writing
2011, Term 1, Week 6)

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.