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)!

Setting the Scene

When you have a small area to work with, you would want to maximize the use of each square inch of your space and make the most of it. I guess this is the 'rule of thumb' when planning small rooms. Usefulness and functionality would be foremost in the consideration of the lay-out. Our study/learning centre was no exception.

Although I have been wanting to rearrange the furniture since the middle of last year, we could only work on it gradually and it was not until recently that we had actually finished doing it. I am so happy that we have now completed the task in time for the start of school this year - yes, quite literally, just now.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Homeschooling, for us, has always been Catholic based. And the motivation for deciding to homeschool has been - largely - in order to impart to the children our beautiful and rich Faith without the unnecessary watering down, the half-truths and untruths which are evidently rampant even in Catholic schools these days. (And of course a great advantage of homeschooling is being able to eliminate peer and societal pressures on precious kids, which are otherwise responsible for killing the souls of our youth!)

The focal point in our Learning Centre, eversince, has always been our altar. At one stage we found a nice antique oak carved low altar which was perfect for the boys to play Mass (see some of the before photos). However, since redesigning the room, we have had to relocate that altar into our chapel sacristy, and instead use a shelf top as our altar so that it can double as storage for other materials.

Since reading about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is a Montessori-based method for teaching Religious Education, we have adopted some principles and applied them to the reinvention of our new Centre. With CGS, staying true to the Montessori way, using manipulatives such as small versions of liturgical items are valuable tools in teaching children about the hows and whys of certain aspects of our faith, thereby enhancing their relationship with God and the larger worshipping community.

Atop our school altar is housed a miniature brass tabernacle, a pair of brass altar vases, a pair of brass candlesticks, an antique St Anne with the Virgin Mary as a girl statue (which originally comes from Ireland) and a St Joseph statue, miniature Latin Mass altar cards and a mini brass missal stand. The boys have a great time playing Mass on it, especially because we also have other miniature church vessels just perfect to be handled by little hands, such as: ciborium, chalice, paten, monstrance, cruets, sanctuary lamp, thurible, sanctus bells, candle snuffer, etc. They especially enjoy vesting in the child-size set of priest's vestments which I sewed for them a couple of years ago. And to complete the sacerdotal garb, we also added a small size but real biretta.

Walls That Teach

Although I often wish we had a bigger space for schooling, I still feel blessed and grateful that we at least have an area set apart for the purpose, one that is separate from the rest of the house. (I have certainly read about homeschooling families that have to use their dining table, not to say at all that this is bad. I believe some actually choose this set up because it is more effective in their particular situation.)

Using the walls to hang up instructional posters is a great solution to the space issue and has always been a method I have employed eversince; but the overall idea was to maximize the wall space and strategically place the posters to facilitate and enhance the kids' learning.

A beautiful recent addition to our wall panorama is a mural-type oversized poster of Raphael's "Triumph of the Eucharist," a Renaissance masterpiece found in the Vatican - a wonderful sight for little eyes to behold, to start them out young at developing an appreciation for sacred art. And with the size of it spanning most of a single wall, one cannot help but be drawn to this magnificent picture.

Also, apart from math, science and geography posters, we have added a few saints' quotations on laminated A4 paper for added inspiration!

The Montessori Touch

Adopting the Montessori system for teaching the pre-schoolers last year was what prompted me to rethink the set up of our learning centre. And since gradually acquiring Montessori learning equipment, we have had to change the shelving in order to make it easy for our little learners to access different materials and to put them back after use. The big geography puzzles were a problem at first, but thanks to hubby who constructed a spiffy little puzzle cabinet, they now sit happily in their own individual slots, inviting little hands to slide them out and explore them.

Our Catholic Library

Building up a Catholic Library has been painstaking but enjoyable at the same time. We have consciously slowly acquired different children's titles over the years and our collection now includes very rare books such as traditional Catholic reprints of those from the 1920's and even a few original classics.

We have also expanded to include a video library which is composed mainly of movies about the lives of the saints, bible stories, catechetical aids, etc. including several animated versions. And this is such a hit with the whole family!

Last year was definitely a great year in terms of our stronger Aussie dollar compared to the US buck, which allowed us to purchase a large bulk of our new addition books and DVD's from America, which are otherwise unavailable locally. Our small library continues to grow, but it is now proving to be even more of a success just by the interest generated among the kiddies!

The Reading Nook

Although we started with a reading area smack against the middle of a wall, we are now happier with our current one which is tucked in a corner, adjacent to the only window in the room, giving the reader lots of natural light and fresh air. (And of course we had to add a reading lamp for the overzealous reader at other times!) For 20 bucks we acquired ourselves a great find: a virtually unused colourful little tubchair (from a 2nd hand office furniture shop) which has been surprisingly comfortable and great to cradle little bodies during their reading adventures into different eras and periods in different parts of the world!

On the wall behind the tubchair we have an old picture of St Anthony of Padua with the Child Jesus (glass-mounted), a quotation from St Therese, and some inspiring words from St John Bosco about what books one should and should not read.

We are certainly all very happy with the outcome of the changes in our new and improved Learning Centre, but the real sense of fulfillment comes from seeing the kids come alive in their new learning space. Apparently, they find the room very inviting, stimulating and nurturing - judging by several instances so far when, some mornings, they each wake up and go straight there to do their own explorations. And this, we don't mind at all. Such sweet fruits of labour, indeed!

At this particular point, I am posting some pictures to do the rest of the talking. :D

BEFORE

AFTER

This Year's Curricula

Deciding our curricula for this schoolyear was no walk in the park. Well, for me, that is. Besides, although the 2 middle children have been receiving bits of lessons here and there since the middle of last year, this is the first year that I will be giving FORMAL, structured instruction to TWO students - as my 2nd child, Joseph, OFFICIALLY starts Kindy. Specific subjects and the scope of study had to be carefully considered. (Actually, personally knowing mothers who have schooled up to 11 kids, I really don't know what I am complaining about. Like I always say.. What is wrong with me?)

However, as I was saying to a friend, I am so thankful that my eldest, Christopher is now largely self-directed and only needs minimal assistance, and that Joseph has started reading simple words since the 2nd half of last year. These will be such big help.

Our Grade 4 curriculum will consist of the following core subjects:

1. Mathematics - using Delta Math U See
2. Language Arts:
a. Reading Comprehension - using varied beautiful Catholic reading materials, even great books reprinted from 1920's etc.
b. Spelling - using My Catholic Speller C
c. Grammar & Composition - using Language of God C
3. Science and Health - using Behold and See 4
4. Religion - using mainly Faith and Life 4 and a range of other resources for Liturgical activities
5. Australian History and Geography - using Australian Social Studies from Australian Christian Education
6. Handwriting - using Catholic Heritage Handwriting Level 4

As in the last 2 years, Latin will continue to be our non-core subject, using Latina Christiana I and Little Latin Readers.

Music - Gregorian chant on Thursdays and organ added on Saturdays (under Jack Ho of Musica Sacra); and Graphic Arts (mainly using Art with a Purpose) will be Christopher's other electives.

Although we have used resources obtained from Catholic Heritage Curricula (California, USA) for the last 5-6 years or so from Pre-School years (except for Mathematics where we have used Math U See since Grade 1), this year I have decided to incorporate ACE (Australian Christian Education) resources for our Social Studies 4 which is concentrated on Australian History and Geography. It was necessary to look for local sources because CHC was offering American History and Geography for Grade 4 SS which is quite inappropriate for us, for obvious reasons. Hubby also suggested that I include Philippine History and Geography, given that the Philippines is our native country. Although this suggestion made sense, I would have to see how we go, pace-wise, with our Australian studies, and if time permits (i.e. before schoolyear ends, perhaps I can give Christopher at least an overview of Philippine History and Geography.

Actually, going back to ACE, I was so grateful to have tapped into this resource. The kids and I went to the institution this morning, some 25 minutes away, (ACE moved from an area that would've only taken me 7 minutes to drive.) Although I have known about ACE's existence about 7 years ago (when I was doing my initial research and inquiry about home education in the state), I never actually made time to go over and have a look at what they had to offer. Until today. And as I said to the ACE consultant this morning, compared to the Social Studies books I skimmed though, theirs were more desirable to us, seeing that it is Christian based (pity it could not be more Catholic-specific!).

Using Christopher's past curriculum with only minor adjustments, Joseph's Kindergarten subjects will include:

1. Reading and Phonics - using Little Stories for Little Folks (Catholic Phonics Readers)
2. Handwriting - using my own Handwriting practice notebook
3. Mathematics - using Primer Math U See
4. Religion - using Kinder Who-Am-I and God's Love Story

With only 3 days away from when we officially start schooling, part of me is very much looking forward to this year's learning endeavours with the 2 boys. However, a part of me is also dreading it. But I only have to constantly push these distractions out of the way, because I know everything will work out for the best, with God's grace, given that we are doing this for the kids' sake, not for anything else. When I shared these sentiments with a good friend, who has had such a great influence on me as a Catholic mom and has become my great mentor, Anne, she had these inspiring and challenging words to say in quotation of the late Fr John Hardon (a very holy priest, writer and brilliant theologian) in reference to home education: "Only heroic families will survive."

Well, with lots of prayers and a fervent desire to commit to doing more devotions and works of penance this year, I sure hope our family survives!

Saint John Bosco, please intercede on our behalf!