ASH WEDNESDAY PRAYERS

ASH WEDNESDAY FAMILY PRAYER

This prayer is designed to be said within the family before a Crucifix from Ash Wednesday to Saturday at the beginning of Lent.
Mother or a child: From the words of St. John the Evangelist (14:1-6). 

Let not your hearts be troubled.
You who believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house there are many mansions.
Were it not so, I would have told you,
because I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I am coming again,
and I will take you to myself,
that where I am, there you also may be.
And where I go, you know, and the way you know.

Father:

We ought to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ

Family:

in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection.

Father:

Let us pray.

Grant to your faithful, Lord,
a spirit generous enough to begin these solemn fasts
with proper fervor and to pursue them with steadfast devotion.
This we ask of you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.

Family:

Amen.

Favor this dwelling, Lord, with your presence.
Far from it repulse all the wiles of Satan.
Your holy angels—let them live here,
to keep us in peace.
And may your blessing remain always upon us.
This we ask of you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.

Father:

Let us bless the Lord.

Family:

Thanks be to God.

Father:

May the almighty and merciful Lord,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless and keep us.

Family:

Amen.

Grant, O Lord, to Thy faithful people, 
that they may undertake with fitting piety 
the venerable solemnities of fasting, 
and complete them with steadfast devotion. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Ghost. Amen

Gearing Up for Lent

I started this blog last Lent to help fulfill my Lenten obligations. It was the first year I felt that I really tried to keep a holy Lent. This year I feel that I have been preparing my home, my heart, and my mind for this season. Several weeks ago, an online friend posted that she wasn't ready to put 'Alleluia' away yet. I was completely shocked that Lent would soon be upon us. I decided it was time to get my keester  in gear.

Molly Makes Do

I began to think about what I was going to do for Lent. I'm pretty bad a giving things up so, I find it more productive to bring myself closer to God by doing something. The first step was to gather resources that would assist my family and I on our Lenten journey. I gathered a book of Lenten Family Meal Time Prayers, Lenten Family Practices, a children's stations of the cross book, and Welcome Risen Jesus. For myself, I gathered my Maryknoll Book of Prayer, Praying with Saint Matthew's Gospel, and 100 Things Every Catholic Teen Should Know (because I feel like I don't know everything I should know.) This Lent, I am going to simplify our lives. I'm going to get rid of material items we definitely don't need to pair down to the essentials. I am going to work towards getting to daily Mass/ adoration at least once a week. I am going to donate to our parish food pantry (something we've wanted to do for awhile but, keep putting off).

Tonight, after we finished consuming our Mardi Gras dinner, I filled a bag of clothes and a box of books to donate tomorrow on our way home from Mass. I felt like it was a nice way to begin the Lenten season by eliminating some of the physical clutter in our life. I will continue to fill bags and boxes to simplify our life so we can better focus on what is truly important. Our time shouldn't be so consumed by the "things" in our life rather our time should be spent growing closer to God as a family.  Before bed, I'll add our Lenten family activities to our family calender.

Tomorrow, I will make our prayer space (my dresser top) ready for Lent. (I will change the cloth to purple, add a plain grape vine wreath, and purple candles.) I would ideally love to do the whole Lenten cross candle thing on Catholic Icing but, I'm not sure that I have the supplies. I'm excited for Lent. I know it is a somber time but the potential for spiritual growth this liturgical season is enormous and I'm ready!

7 Quick Takes: AMAZING Week!

1- This week has been incredible! Yesterday, we were blessed with the arrival of our goddaughter. Stacy from Catholic and Crunchy gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Please pop over and give her your good wishes. Both mom and baby are doing well.

2- Sow in Peace...Well, I'm sewing the weekend away with my mother in law. I love having this bonding time with her. While viewing Jenna's embroidery vlog at Call Her Happy, she said embroidery kind of meditative. I totally agree. Crafting - knitting, sewing, embroidering - use a repetitive motion, much like praying the Hail Mary during the rosary.

3- I've been knitting, sewing, and machine embroidering for awhile but, I've decided to give hand embroidery a shot. I was thinking about ways to help me memorize Bible verses. Simply reading them each day, does not work for me. So I've decided, I'm going to embroider verses on fabric. Working on the words, reading them as I work, and then displaying them when I'm done should encourage me to remember them. Right? Do you have any tricks for remembering scripture?

4- Speaking of prayer - I made it to Eucharistic adoration and benediction this week. It was the first time I've been able to get there in a long time. It's funny how the impending birth of your goddaughter will work on your heart. I went alone to adoration early in the afternoon and then at 7 PM as Stacy was being induced, my husband, son, and I went together to benediction. It was a beautiful experience. The quiet and serenity of adoration was something I've missed. I was able to be alone with my prayers and my Lord in an extremely intimate way.

5-  Attending adoration was something I've wanted to do for a long time. For some reason, something was keeping me from it. I realized that I was trying to keep myself from being vulnerable. I felt like I wasn't "Catholic" enough to do such a thing. A few weeks ago, I started reading Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown. I have never read a book that has had such a large impact on my life in such a short period of time. I feel like the author wrote the book for me. If you get a chance - READ THIS BOOK!

6- Raising a toddler is no joke - My little guy is having a bit of an identity crisis. He thinks he's a "big boy" (as he tells me frequently) but, also wants to be a baby. This is exhausting.

7- I am grateful for the fellowship of many great Catholic moms I've met online who make my daily struggles seem like a drop in the bucket of motherhood. I love being able to share with these women on a daily basis. We celebrate each others successes and failures. We celebrate life and death (sometimes  both in the same day). We support each other with anecdotes and prayers. Sometimes we don't have the right words...one of us...will share hers and give us the spiritual strength we need to properly support another.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Litany of the Saints for Our Family: 2014

Catholic Icing has a cute printable for a Litany of the Saints for your family. This is something I've been thinking of doing since we got our saint from the Saint's Name Generator at Conversion Diary. The Loveliest Hour has a step by step approach to creating a Litany for your family (since I like to know I'm "doing it right").

Our saint for 2014 is St. Vincent De Paul!

St. Vincent De Paul...pray for us.

St. David...pray for us.

St. Elizabeth...pray for us.

St. Charlie Borromeo...pray for us. 

St. Ann...pray for us. 

St. Edward the Confessor...pray for us.

Our Lady of the Island...pray for us.

St. Joseph...pray for us. 

St. Gerard...pray for us. 

All you holy men and women...pray for us. 

March for Life/Rosary for Life: #CathSorority

Yesterday, in conjunction with the March for Life in Washington D.C., the women of #CathSorority prayed a rosary every hour of the day for life - from conception to natural death. I was excited to participate. I eagerly stayed away until my 11 PM EST slot.

During the day, I googled "Rosary for Life" and the link to the USCCB Rosary for Life - Joyful Mysteries came up. I was so moved at how perfect they were. I'm not entirely sure why I was so shocked that they were perfect but, they were in every way.

At 11pm, I knelt beside my sleeping twenty month old and began to recite my rosary. I was using a rosary I purchased on our second wedding anniversary while we were visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island. The women of #CathSorority were on my heart with each petition to the Blessed Mother.  The women in our group are a microcosm of the outside world. They personify the petitions as I prayed for:

- all newly pregnant women

- all parents

- all expectant parents

- grandparents

- all adoptive parents

- all expectant mothers 

- all expectant fathers

- those who perform abortions

- all who aid in labor

- all obstetricians 

- every child 

- toddlers 

- souls of miscarried children

- single mothers

The thing I loved most about the rosary for life was that it was so applicable to everyday life. It really encouraged me to connect with my prayers. I was able to put a face or a name with every single petition. While I wished I could have been marching with my fellow prolifers in Washington DC, this helped me feel connected to those who were able to march and helped me to support the prolife movement in my own small way.