spouse of Mary,be mindful of me, pray for me, watch over me. Guardian of the paradiseof the new Adam, provide for my temporal wants. Faithful guardian of the most precious of all treasures, I beseech thee to bring this matter to a happy end, if it be for the glory of God, and the good of my soul. Amen
Guest Post By Mary Beth
I was in charge of St. Patrick's Day today. I printed out a lot of activities from various places for Nick, Katie, and Kari! I hope you enjoy!
Our Bulletin Board! All ready for St. Patrick's Day!
They Had Their Faces Painted and Ready to Go!
Shamrock Stamping With Do-a-Dot!
Irish Flags! Nick, Katie, and Kari all did this with Do-a-Dots!
Connect The Dots! Nick used Stockmar crayons and Katie used Crayola Paint Pens.
Rainbows! Katie and Kari used the gems from gnomes and gnumbers and Nick Do-a-Dotted his and then added Elmers 3D glitter for sparkle!
Kari found this little work on the montessori shelves and since it had all of the colors of the rainbow I told her that she could use it!
Picture Puzzle! Nick did this with black and green Stockmar Beeswax crayons and yellow do-a-dot!
Math Sheet! I printed this out for Katie because she said she didn't have enough!
Map of Ireland! Nick did this with green and orange do-a-dot and spread it with his fingers.
Maze!
Custom made bookmarks (with Katie and Kari) and cards!
Our doorknob hanging leprechauns! Mine is the one pictured though (mine with a little help from Karoline)!
Pipecleaner Rainbow by Karoline! This game was inspired by Montessori Journey. We had stickers and I made my own version!
Most of what we've done in the schoolroom today! Leprechaun Hats!
Moving down to the kitchen we had plenty to do, starting with a craft from Wildflowers and Marbles.
We loved them at Valentine's day and now with Mint Oreos we love 'em even more!
Shamrock Shakes!
All that green!
Teatime!
Our Supplies for the sit-down work:
Gems
Last year, inspired by this post , and this one,and another like them, I resolved to try to make a novena candle for the novena before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. My candle is a plain white pillar candle. I used a butter knife to hollow out a "cave" at its base. Inside the cave, there rests a tiny beeswax Baby Jesus. The pure white candle hollow is covered with layers of white tulle pinned into place. White silk flowers and pearls embellish the tulle. We'll light the candle when we say the novena prayer. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception I will pull the pins and reveal the Babe in the pure, white womb. Then we'll have the candle with the Babe to enjoy for the remainder of the season. Many thanks to the ladies who suggested this craft--my children are delighted and inspired.
Opening Prayer
God, Our Father, you have given us Mary whom we honor as the Immaculate Conception. You have favored her with holiness and purity, freeing her from the stain of sin, to be chosen as the Mother of Jesus. Through her intercession and protection, may we live our lives in holiness and in complete trust of your loving plan for us. Amen.
Day 1
O Blessed Virgin Mary, from the beginning of time God chose you, sinless and full of grace, to be the Mother of Jesus. Because of your unselfish “fiat,” you are for us the example of perfect faith and obedience to what God is calling us to do.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, help us to be open to the Word of God
in our daily lives. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 2
O Mary, Mother of God, we honor you for your submission to the unfolding mystery of salvation history. From Bethlehem to Calvary, you were present to Jesus as faithful mother and courageous disciple, sharing in the mysteries of his life.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, may we be for others a living presence of God’s joy and compassion. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 3
O Mary of Nazareth, you were filled with the light of the Holy Spirit as you prepared for the birth of Jesus. You became the Mother of God and the Mother of the Redeemer, our mother and intercessor for the People of God, his Church.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, may we wait in hopeful expectation this Advent for the coming of the Lord Jesus in our hearts. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 4
O Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, you were in a sense the first tabernacle for Jesus. In your womb his Sacred Heart beat under your Immaculate Heart. You are the Vessel of Honor, the Ark of the Covenant, and Gate of Heaven. Filled with grace, you give Jesus to us that we may bring him to others.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception,
may we have a deep and reverent love
for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Hail Mary,
full of grace…
Day 5
O Mary, Mother of Sorrows, your heart was pierced with a sword as you stood on Calvary beneath the cross of your Son. Only a mother could experience such deep pain and anguish to see her only son die such a death.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, may we acknowledge that suffering can become for us redemptive and truly identifies us as one with Jesus. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 6
O Mary, our Life, our Sweetness and our Hope, from age to age you are called blessed among all women. You, above all others, have a deep communion with God. You are the model of virtue, prayer and discipleship.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, lead us into a prayerful and deeply authentic relationship with Jesus so that we may be holy and reflect his goodness to others. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 7
O Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, your holiness and obedience changed the course of history through the redemptive power of your Son. You give us the example of discipleship and what it means to witness to the Way, the Truth and the Life—Jesus.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, we pray for holiness, especially as lived through the priesthood and consecrated life. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 8
O Mary, Mother of Divine Grace, you intercede for us and lead us to your Son. Jesus said to John, “Behold, your Mother.” You are our spiritual mother, who draws us ever closer to your Son.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, may our devotion to you increase our love for Jesus. Hail Mary, full of grace…
Day 9
O Mary, Seat of Wisdom, you gave Jesus, the Eternal Word made flesh, to the world. What a privilege was yours—to bring him forth into the world so that all peoples and nations may be drawn to him, Incarnate Wisdom.
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, may the Gospel of Jesus Christ, reach the farthest ends of the earth. Help us to grow in knowledge and love of the Blessed Trinity. Hail Mary, full of grace.
Concluding Prayer
Mary, we honor you as the Mother of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, we delight in your singular privilege of being born with the fullness of grace, completely preserved from the stain of original sin. Blessed among all women, you are especially favored by God. Confident in that honor we place before you our needs and intentions (name the intention). Through your intercession, may it be brought to fulfillment. In gratitude for your motherly concern, O Mary Immaculate, patroness of the United States of America, we pray:
You are all beautiful, O Mary.
The original stain is not in thee.
You are the glory of Jerusalem,
The joy of Israel,
The great honor of our race,
The advocate of sinners.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
(Taken from the Latin hymn: Tota Pulchra es, Maria!)
"It is most important that we have this [love for one another], for there is nothing annoying that is not suffered easily by those who love one another...If this commandment were observed in the world as it should be, I think such love would be very helpful for the observationce of the other commandments." I would counsel those who practice prayer to seek, at least in the beginning, friendship and association with other persons having the same interest. This is something most important even though the association may be only help one another with prayers." "Be gentle to all and stern with yourself." "The soul is much more more than we can imagine, and the sun that is in this royal chamber shines in all parts. It is very important for any soul that practices prayer, whether little or much , not to hold itself back and stay in one corner." "Pain is never permanent." "God has been very good to me, for I
never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to
remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other
virtue in that person." "Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing
dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes Patience attains All
that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone
suffices." "To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that." "To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience." "We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us." "We shall never learn to know ourselves
except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we
realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by
meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being
humble." "When you suffer often, praise God that He is beginning to teach you this virtue of patience and strive to endure...He gives it to you, and you do not possess it save as though on deposit." "There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers." "I complained to Him for consenting that I should suffer so many torments. But his suffering was well repaid, for almost always the favors afterward came in great abundance. I only think that the soul comes out of the crucible like gold, more refined and purified, so as to see the Lord within itself." "It is here, my daughters, that love is
to be found - not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions
of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit
small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater." In spite of all her wisdom she asked the angel: How can this be? but after he answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you; the power of the Most High will overshadow you, she engaged in no further discussion. As one who had such great faith and wisdom, she understood at once that if these two intervened, there was nothing more to know or doubt." "Let us look at our own faults and leave aside those of others, for it is very characteristic of persons with such well-ordered lives to be shocked by everything." "Mutual love is so important that I would never want it to be forgotten. The soul could lose its peace and even disturb the peace of others by going about looking at trifling things in people."
I'm Elizabeth. I'm a happy wife and the mother of nine children. I grab grace with both hands and write to encourage myself and others to seize and nurture the joy of every day. I blog here with my daughter, Mary Beth, a wholehearted young lady on the brink of adulthood.
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