Kathleen's Catholic: St. Valentine's Day with Kids

A little one is born loving mom and dad, and it fills her heart to see her parents get warm and fuzzy, googley-eyed and mushy.

Here's an oldie but goodie, first posted February 13, 2010.
I hope you enjoy it. God bless!

Kathleen's Catholic: St. Valentine's Day with Kids

Solitude, Imprisonment, and Peace: To Christ through Mary

"My child, the soul that is detached from the world and all that occupies the world lives truly happy days in solitude. Its only concern is with God, as though it is alone on earth with Him.

In solitude the spirit is always recollected so that it may hear the Lord's voice, and nothing can interrupt the heart's own voice as it constantly speaks to God." 

Mary speaks, The Advantages of Solitude, from The Imitation of Mary by Alexander De Rouville

I have been thinking a great deal these days about St. John the Baptist and St. Maximilian Kolbe, and these words from The Imitation of Mary ring loud and clear! 

Both men were faced with a lonely and inhumane imprisonment. St. John the Baptist was captured and thrown into a cell before he was finally beheaded at the request of a young, narcissistic girl. St. Maximilian Kolbe was taken to the Nazi's Auschwitz. It was there he requested to be put into solitary confinement, underground without food, clothing, water, or warmth. He did this to save another man. But his selflessness and acts of kindness didn't stop there.

Both men felt the utter joy of Christ while surrounded by hard, cold walls. St. John the Baptist sent out his disciples to ask Jesus if he was indeed the anointed one. Christ sent them back with instructions to tell John exactly what it was they were witnessing. They were John's eyes and ears. And when John heard their news, he was beyond joy and thanksgiving. His heart was bound to Christ in complete peace, despite his earthly surroundings and his forthcoming execution. 

St. Maximilian Kolbe was also bound to Christ, and he found a way to share the joy with the other men and women forced into the horrific conditions of their confinements.  While spending every hour in cold darkness, slowly withering away from severe hunger and thirst, he arranged daily prayers and hymns among the dying prisoners and practiced his duties as a priest to help the others face their death with hope and the eager anticipation of meeting their Lord. Even though they could not see one another and were surrounded by cold and wet stone walls, they developed a community of faith. The prison guards, who had the gruesome task of checking in to see if there were any bodies to collect, fell in love with the priest, and one even testified to help the process of his canonization.

What was it about these two men? I'm sure there are many, many more stories that are similar--prisoners who lived in unthinkable conditions yet lived in joy. (Fr. Walter Cisek is another. He writes about it in With God in Russia.)

In their solidarity, they turned their ears to the voice of God, and in Him they found the peace and love that completely filled their souls with the freedom of Heaven. If God can come to them in these moments, then we should know He comes to us in our comfortable surrounds.

There is so much more to this! But these are my thoughts for today.

Take a few moments of solitude with God. If you find that you can't settle your mind, then take all your thoughts to Him. Let him live with you in your thoughts. Peace will come. The door to each of our hearts opens only from inside. You will need to unlatch it so Christ can come in. He would be delighted to see you.

To Christ through Mary.

God bless.

Catholics On the Web: We Are Here!!

I've had the luxury over the last few weeks--a few minutes here and there--to search the Web and follow links to find other terrific Catholic blogs and websites. Catholics are everywhere in cyber space.

St. Maximilian Kolbe would be so proud. He was a master of communications technology, bringing the Light of Truth to his people. And I do believe he would have been a leader in this Catholic Internet community as well.

Let's keep you in the loop!

Here is a collection of new links I think you would enjoy. They now appear on my page, Catholic Links for the Family. Visit often and have fun! There are many others links listed there as well.

(Special note: If you have a blog, or know of a blog, you would like included on my links page, please leave a comment with the link. I'll be sure to visit as soon as possible. I'm happy to help promote solid and useful Catholic resources.)

Coffee and Canticles--At Home with the Divine Office

Catholic Writer Daria Sockey talks "about the Liturgy of the Hours, aka Divine Office, aka Breviary, aka Christian Prayer, aka Morning, Evening, Daytime,and Night Prayer, aka Lauds, Vespers, Terce, None, Sext, Vespers, and Compline (with a dash of the Office of Readings, aka Vigils)." Perfect reading and fun for us Catholic geeks!

Mary's Prayer Garden
Living and homeschooling in Australia, Therese says, "Have a prayer request? Email me and I will offer a decade of the rosary for your intentions for a week." Her site is devoted to our prayer need and is also designed to help us in our own prayer journey. You will find plenty of helpful materials on her blog. I asked Therese, "If you are Down Under, then what do you call the US?" She replied, "Well, if I'm Down Under, then you are Up Over!"

A Perpetual Jubilee

Fellow homeschool mom and Catholic writer, Celeste Behe, brings a wonderful levity to her real- life writings. You'll enjoy her wit, honesty, and writings on all sorts of Catholic topics. She is a uniquely talented writer.

The Badger Catholic
"A husband, father of three, Sconnie, Traditional minded Papist, covering local, state, and other issues affecting Catholic Peasants in the region."

Of Sound Mind and Spirit
The blogs subtitle reads: "Where sisters contemplate, reflect, reason and engage in thoughtful perceptions of the changes in our world." Here you will find terrific insights in how to live the Catholic faith in this modern world, including book reviews, political updates, and pro-life issues.

Don't Know Much About the Rosary
A blog by Peggy Bowes, author of "The Rosary Workout".  Her goal is to spread devotion to the Rosary and a love for the Catholic Church. She posts reflections and links on the Rosary mysteries and other related Catholic topics. She also occasionally writes about fitness and health in the context of caring for the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Click here to see this former Air Force Pilot sharing her story on The Journey Home on EWTN.


The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop PDF of Liturgical Year 2011
Here's the complete document from the USCCB's official site.

Praying Through Chaos
Both a mom of three children and a student, this blogger offers some light-hearted insights about her chaotic daily life. Nicely written and designed. A quick visit can brighten your day.

Feminine-Genius: Exploring the Richness of Authentic Femininity
Here is a blog by Genevieve Kineke, author of The Authentic Catholic Woman. Click here to read my book review and to purchase a copy.

The Clay Rosary Girl
Stay at home mom, Sarah, makes terrific rosaries and writes her own blog about living the Catholic faith.

I hope you enjoy! God bless.

An Angel by His Head

We’ve read lots of stories about guardian angels on the job, and now we have our very own. I’ve said it before, so forgive me but I just can’t help but say it again… Grace drizzles in! Sometimes it takes a sore bruise to help us see it.

I tell the rest of the story of how an angel protected my husband the other night at CatholicMom.com. See you there!

The Handbook for Catholic Moms: A Book Review

The Handbook for Catholic Moms:
Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul
by Lisa M. Hendey
Ave Maria Press, 2010
paperback; 243 pages;
ISBN-13: 978-159471-228-9


I just had to laugh! After absorbing and enjoying Lisa Hendey's book, I pulled the old game of reading any page to which the book happened to fall open, and I came to this, her description of her violin lessons. I, too, embarked on a similar adventure, but with a cello. How my family--and neighbors--must have suffered! But I loved every minute of my musical (and I use the term loosely) journey.

“Let me just say that a forty-year-old woman has no business trying to learn to play the violin. As my lessons began and I embraced my daily practice schedule, I noted that my playing had the ability to quickly clear the house... A badly played violin can emit horrific sounds, but I was oblivious...”

Lisa writes that her music--like mine--could have had “composers rolling over in their graves,” but it's clear to me, an old editor, that her true creative gift is relating to moms everywhere and sharing with them her unique and loving insight.

I first heard from Lisa when she invited me to contribute to her blog, CatholicMom.com, as a regular columnist. Soon after, I had the privilege of meeting her in person at the Catholic Writers Guild Conference Live! that was held outside Philadelphia. I found her to be warm, welcoming, and very encouraging to all the writers seeking her wisdom and friendship. At the conference, Lisa kindly offered me a copy of her book, and I devoured every page.

Since then, I have been meaning to write a book review!

The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul features twenty-two chapters organized under four sections, as the book's subtitle illustrates. Heart covers relationships, Mind covers running a home, education, time management, and so on. Body covers health, diet, stress, and doctors. And Soul discusses prayer, Mass, help from the saints, the bible, and the culture of faith. It would be easy to read the book cover-to-cover, but it's also terrific reading when you have time for just a chapter.

Lisa's special focus is the needs of moms in all walks and stages of life (married, divorced, stay-at-home, and working, for example), and she offers plenty of sound suggestions for nurturing marriage, domestic church, parents, and children in the loving light of the Catholic faith. She provides plenty of resources, both in your community and on the Internet.

What I admire most about Lisa's writing is her ability to carefully and tactfully instruct her readers. Her voice is loving, soft, and carefully direct. It is easy to relate to her stories and take her suggestions and sound advice.

I intended on reading The Handbook for Catholic Moms in piece meal, but once I started I just didn't want to put it down. I thought, “She really does understand,” and I stormed through the book, dog-earing it, and marking it and writing notes with post-its. I highly recommend it for all Catholic moms!

To read more about The Handbook for Catholic Moms, click on the book above, or visit my little book store in the right column of this blog. Enjoy and happy (Catholic mom) reading!

Exceptional Lights

Have you ever seen natural lights such as these? I haven't. Check out a scientist's explanation at  What Does The Prayer Really Say. I can't help but think that this is one more love letter from heaven, but this one leaves me in awe. Gorgeous!

A Little Homeschooling Post: Teaching Your Child to Read

If you're looking for help with teaching your little one to learn to read, Angie at Many Little Blessings has some helpful tips for you.

She has also included a link-up where you can find lots of homeschooling moms sharing their insights and blog posts.

Go homeschooling!!  God bless.