A few small things...

My sister and I named our blog, "do small things with great love," because this motto of St. Therese sums up pretty well the life of a stay at home mom.  Many days I feel like all I do is take stuff out and put stuff back (laundry, dishes, food, diapers...).  I rarely do anything "big".

However, St. Therese helps to remind me that the simple life of a mother is holy, and is made holy by the Virgin Mary.  St. Therese said of Our Lady, "She is more Mother than Queen."  This little phrase is so simple and yet so important.  God saw fit that the Queen of heaven should be more devoted to motherhood than anything else.

And motherhood may be filled with lots of little things, but they are some of the most amazing little things in the world!  These "little things" are my 9 month old baby's toes as he sits on his daddy's lap to have a story read this weekend.  So little.  So wonderful.

In Christ,
Nancy

A Children's Crown of Thorns

     Well, one of the fun things about doing this blog with Nancy is that even though she is older, my kids are older, so I have the advantage that some projects I am doing with my children she won't be doing for a year or two. This is an advantage to me, because I can unabashedly show you my attempt at being artsy without Nancy showing you her actually artistic finished projects! So, all I can say is, I can give you the basic how-to on these fun Catholic kid projects, but make sure you check back here in a year or two to see how pretty these projects can actually be when you have the eye and the creativity for that type of thing!

     But truly, this is for kids, not magazines, so I promise not to hold back my pictures, even when they show my  humble attempts at art (and my stinginess in using every candle down to the nub).

     Anyhow... a good Catholic friend of mine allowed me to pick her brain last weekend concerning how she takes on Lent as a stay-at-home mom, specifically concerning how she helps her children participate in Lenten observances. She gave me some great ideas, all of which I have taken up, but I wanted just to share one of them here. 

     The kids and I created a "Crown of Thorns" centerpiece for our dining room table that is helping them 1) come to understand what sacrificing something for Christ looks like, and 2) become more aware of the constant opportunities to offer Christ such sacrifices.

     The Crown is basically made of a simple play-dough that is baked to harden it. The thorns are just toothpicks that can easily be picked out. Every time a child is able to offer a small sacrifice (or just in the evenings during family prayer when they look over their day - your decision based on your children's ages, etc.), a thorn is removed from the crown. Hopefully, by Easter, the family has taken upon themselves all of Christ's thorns so that his crown can be painted and changed into his kingly crown! In the directions I found, candles for every Sunday in Lent are also added to the crown, but you can or cannot include that detail. With Lent being longer than Advent, I must say that it does seem to be helpful for the children to see the candles being lit slowly week by week. I think you get a few less "Is it Easter yet?" questions when they have this visual aid.

     And if you are wondering what kind of sacrifices little ones can do to take out their share of the thorns (my children are 2 and 3), it can be anything from actually coming when mom and dad ask them to come (I'd give my kids 2 thorns for that one!), to picking up their toys without being asked, or just picking up their toys without whining. You know your children's abilities and their comprehension. What is important is that they begin to learn that these little difficulties can be pleasing to Christ and can allow them to suffer for Him, just as He did for them.

     Here is our "Crown". It turned out very "Lenten" for many reasons. I first failed to measure the flour, then realized that I didn't have near enough salt in the house, so the dough that was supposed to be very easy to work with and braid was NOT. Also. the candles are supposed to be either all purple or all purple except for the third candle being pink for Laudate Sunday. As you can see, I used my "closest to purple" nubs. It is Lent, though, right? Things aren't supposed to be pretty! Just kidding...

Here is the how-to:

Crown of Thorns--Lenten Wreath

Materials:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1-1/2 to 2 cups water (use strong tea or instant coffee for color).
40+ whole toothpicks 
Combine flour and salt. Mix in enough water (I like to mix when the water is still warm) to make a stiff clay.
Divide dough into three equal pieces and roll each into long ropes (~24 inches each, 3/4-1 inch in diameter) and carefully braid them as snuggly as possible.
Form the braid into a circle (10-12 inches in diameter) to make the wreath. (This dough is quite forgiving, so you can squish, squeeze, and pat it until you get a uniform look you like.)
Take a candle and make indentations for six candles in the wreath.
Dip toothpicks in oil and then stick them into the wreath in every direction to represent the thorns. (Note: if you do not use oil, the toothpicks with not pull out easily.)
Bake braid on parchment paper at 300 degrees for one hour or until dry. When done the thorns should be easily removed. Turn oven off and let it cool to avoid cracking. If not all the way dry, let braid air dry for 24-48 hours until rock hard.

God Bless, Maria

Understanding Suffering

To be honest, suffering has not been a huge part of my life.  I, like most I think, try to avoid suffering as much as possible.  But, as part of lent I have been digging into the saints again, and am struck by how many of these holy men and women asked God for suffering and used that suffering to purify their souls, and as reparation for their own sins, and the sins of others.

On Wednesday night a dear friend of mine gave birth to this beautiful baby girl, after 24 hours of labor without pain medication.  In the end, she had a c-section.  My first thought when I hard the story was, "why didn't they just do a c-section right away and save her all that pain?" But then she and her husband described how they had used the hours of pain to pray for the souls of deceased family members and for the future of their unborn child.  Now some might say that this is foolish, to choose to suffer like that, but I'm not one of them.

In Christ,
Nancy

Lenten Project: Creating a home chapel

This is my first lent as a stay-at-home mom.  I love this life, but it hard to keep prayer in the mix of my life when it is difficult to get to adoration, or even get out of the house at all some days.  Since I was single well into my late 20's I got used to being able to zip over the a church whenever I felt like it.  That has changed!  So, I decided to create a chapel in a guest bedroom for lent.  (Thanks for the inspiration, Maria!)  It was a simple project that I accomplished mostly over the course of one nap-time.  It didn't cost a thing since I simply reorganized and repurposed things I had around the house.

Here's what I did:

The 14 little candle around the outside are for praying the stations of the cross, which we will be doing at home this year since the little guy's bed time is well before stations begin at our parish.

I was especially motivated to create a chapel because recently my husband and I have been falling behind in our united prayer life.  For a few months we were on a great schedule of praying the rosary every morning and reading the gospel and praying together at night...but then Christmas happened, and work got busy...and here we are in February.  This lent we have decided to make prayer central to our Lenten journey.  Hopefully with a special room in our house set aside as a chapel we can stay true to our Lenten promise.  Also, with this room just one door down from the baby's room, I plan on having fewer and fewer excuses why I can't find time to quiet myself in prayer daily.

Here is a closer look at what I did.  It is all so simple, but maybe it can give you some ideas for creating a place of prayer in your house.

 

In Christ,

Nancy

Holy Women: Saint Rafqa of Lebanon

How wonderful it is to be within the tradition of the Catholic Church, and to have so many wonderful models for discipleship and motherhood!  At the beginning of every week I will be examining and reflecting upon the life and wisdom of one holy woman.  Since we are starting this blog on Ash Wednesday, I am starting with Saint Rafqa of Lebanon, a saint through whom we can see that suffering is a gift from God.

Saint Rafqa's constant prayer was, "In union with your suffering, Jesus," in which she asked God to send her suffering, and for 30 years He answered that prayer.

Saint Rafqa was born in 1832 and was sent to work as a servant at 11 to help pay for her father's debts.  When she return home, her father had remarried and several relatives were busy trying to arrange a marriage for Rafqa.  But, Rafqa felt a call to religious life.  When she visited the convent she took one look at the icon of our lady she heard God boldly say, "You will be a nun".

Saint Rafqa worked as a teacher with the Marian Order and through this work witnessed the massacre of more that seven thousand Christians.  During one raid she saved the life of a child by hiding him inside her robes.  The suffering she saw would affect her deeply until her death.

After 10 years of teaching he entered a contemplative order.  At the age of 53 she asked God for a test.  He answered her prayer immediately with terrible pain in her head that moved to her eyes.  For 30 years she was ravaged by mysterious illnesses.  In the end she was left blind and totally disabled.  Throughout it all she remained joyful and did not complain.  When doctors could not explain her illnesses she told them, "I am the one who asked for sickness with my full will and freedom.  I do not have the right to complain or to be disturbed by it."  Her last seven years she was completely bed-bound.  Though blind and paralyzed, she continued to smile.

She died after receiving the sacrament.  A radiant light shone from her tomb for three days following her funeral.

Reflection:
Through Saint Rafqa Jesus shows us that our suffering, like his, does lead to holiness.  Saint Rafqa wrote, "Sickness (or any suffering) accepted with patience and thanksgiving purifies the soul."

Dear Lord, help me to suffer with joy this lent.  I'm not sure I could endure the test you sent Saint Rafqa, but give me the strength to endure, with a smile, the tiny tests you send me daily.  Purify my soul so that I might be a more loving mother, wife and disciple.

My little guy with his first ashes at mass this morning.