Uncomfortable

Today is the first of 12 preliminary Days that begins my renewal of Total Consecration to Jesus, through Mary for Families.  This spiritual journey does not start off easy and then gradually get more intense, it's intense from the very beginning.

The first thing I read this morning was, "Ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to break with everything that displeases God and to become a person for others in imitation of the Holy Family."

Wow. 

I want to.  But it's hard to gather the courage to ask.  I'm afraid of what God will require of me.

I pray that along this road, I can find it within me to truly seek to break from EVERYTHING that displeases God.

The twelve preliminary days

Yesterday was Day One in the 40 Day Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary For Families (I've talked about this apostolate before).  Our aim is to renew our Consecration once per year and so, this begins our next family journey.

I'm always amazed at how quickly the words of St. Louis de Monfort or of Pope John Paul II can cut to the core of my soul.  These are the words I read yesterday in the very first meditation:

"Ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to break with everything that displeases God and to become a person for others in imitation of the Holy Family.  As disciples of Christ we must struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil.  The world has a very strong attraction."  And further:

"You can easily test yourself to see where your heart is by examining your small talk and conversations--are they constantly going to money, sports, or other things that are not drawing you into God's presence?  There is nothing wrong with money, spots, or the appreciation of nice things and the beauty of the world, but if these possess us so that we do not develop an interior life and a relationship with God, then they are working against us."

Gulp! (Clears throat and scratches head!)

Please pray for me as I renew my Consecration.  I can see that this is going to be a time of cleansing and penance that is much needed.

Come Holy Spirit, please awaken us to all you have in mind for us during these days of renewal and help us to let go of all sin, of the "spirit of the world," and of all else that leads to sin so that we can truly live this Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary in union with St. Joseph.

Totus Tuus!

Learning the Rosary

Since we've begun the 40 Day Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary for Families (we're on day 23), the kids have been much more involved in our family prayer time. In the past, when we've said our Rosary, it's either been myself or Dan actually leading the Rosary and it was all we could do to keep the kids quiet while showing respect for Our Lord and the Blessed Mother. By the time we were finished...the kids were either asleep or very, very cranky.
Once we made the commitment to go ahead with the consecration, we made some changes to the way we did things. First of all, we only say one decade. This has made all the difference in the world. At some future time, we can begin to do the entire Rosary again. But for now, this is what is working best for our young ones. Second, we take turns leading the prayers. We go around the room and let each child say the beginning of the prayers. This has worked out great! Nathan and Amelia have known the prayers for awhile now but I think this is because we say them at home and they both say them everyday at school. Olivia is finally at a place where she is feeling confident enough in herself to say the prayers out loud. Up until recently, she was just too shy....even though it was only our family.

Thirdly.....our family friend Kathy was here this week visiting for Easter. She is really into beading and so we took a trip to Hobby Lobby the other day because she wanted to do a project with the kids. She bought all the supplies to make Rosaries. She was so patient with them. Each of them got to make their own Rosary! They actually put most of the beads on all by themselves! This went over REALLY well!

Our family prayer time has been very special since we've implemented these changes. I think it's a great way to help them settle down before bed. Because I'm such a proud mama....I wanted to share this video with you! I know the Blessed Mother must take great delight in little Olivia today!!!

Happy Easter Monday....

.....to all of you! We had a very special Holy Week! We were able to watch the movie Jesus of Nazareth. It took us several days to get through (it is very long) but the kids really enjoyed it. It was really nice to be able to watch the events of Holy Week played out in a realistic way...I think it really helped the kids to visualize somewhat the sufferings of Christ. Dan and I watched The Passion of the Christ on Good Friday. Although this movie is very hard to watch, it is a good way to prepare spiritually for understanding how important His sacrifice was (and is) in order for us to be able to spend eternity in heaven. It was very humbling and it was hard to get through.

My very good friend, Kathy, is visiting this week from California! She arrived on Holy Saturday and she will be here until Thursday. I'm so thankful that she has been able to share this Easter with us! Kathy and I have been friends for about 30 years! We have been through a lot together! This is one of those "forever" friendships that you totally don't expect but soon come to realize that....you are a part of each other.

Nathan and Amelia are on Easter vacation this week...but Olivia isn't. This will be an interesting vacation week...especially since I return to work this Wednesday! I really have been able to recover from my last surgery enough where I am mentally ready to go back to work. When I had my mastectomy....I think I went back to work too soon and so I was not physically ready for chemo. Chemo kicks your butt! However, this time, I have had some good rest and I think I am physically and mentally ready.

The stress here over what to do with the kids for next school year is still quite intense. We don't have many options....remain where they are, home school or send them to public school. Any of these choices are dependent upon job situations and medical insurance options. Our hands are somewhat tied but I know in the end....it will work out for the best. I am asking St. Joseph to help us here!!

I look forward to getting back into the swing of blogging. I've missed it but I was grateful for the time to clear my mind and think. Facebook does not quite hold the lure for me that it once did....but I think that is a good thing. Our family is still doing the 40 day preparation for Family Consecration to Jesus, through Mary in union with St. Joseph. I think the kids are enjoying it too. Spiritually, it is something that we needed to do as a family...but like anything else....when you do things to bring yourself closer to Christ...the enemy tries to weigh in. I try to be prepared for this...but sometimes, it takes you off guard. I will not allow my feathers to be ruffled by the distractions that will most surely come our way. I have resolved that when (not if) the distractions begin to come, I will just pray harder and call to mind The One who wins in the end!

Totus Tuus!

Yesterday, we began the 40 days of preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary for families...All done in union with St. Joseph. This is the fruit of our Lenten Mission this year given by Fr. Kevin Barrett from the Apostolate for Family Consecration. The 40 day preparation is according to St. Louis de Montfort's formula and is done with daily meditations by Pope John Paul II.

"Consecration is a way of life that will protect you and your family in these perilous times. It will help you become totally docile to Mary, who is one spirit with her Son, becoming her "consecrated slave", or as we say in the Apostolate for Family Consecration, her "consecrated spiritual child", whom she molds into the image and likeness of her Son."(from: Family Consecration Prayer and Meditation Book Series)

The Apostolate for Family Consecration was founded to help individuals, families, parishes and members of various Church movements to make this consecration and to assist them in faithfully living it. This is done through continuous formation in the truth, using all the resources available through the Apostolate....like Familyland Television Network, podcast's, and the website http://www.familyland.org/.

This is how the Apostolate suggests that you consecrate your entire family:

"It is recommended that you block out a period of time each day to read and prayerfully reflect on the meditations selected for the particular day of the preparation period. Pray and talk to God, His Mother and St. Joseph about what you are reading. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you, so that you don't rush through the readings and prayers. The objective is not necessarily to completely read all the meditations for each day, but to set aside some time every day for reflective reading of the daily meditations. You can always go back to them later after you have completed your consecration. In fact, you are encouraged to regularly reflect on these readings even after you have made your consecration. Try not to become scrupulous; if you aren't able to finish the daily readings on some of the days, it doesn't mean that you cannot make the consecration or that you need to start over again. Just keep proceeding and do your best; Our Lady understands."

I love how they remind me that we are not perfect...that I might have 7 million things going on around me on any given day....but I'm not to stress out about it. I just need to try to set aside some time for prayer and meditation. I must say also, the readings so far are very good. Sometimes, reading some of JPII's writings can be so intense that I miss the message. Not so this time. The meditations are a brief 2-3 pages....definitely doable!!

Anyway...we started yesterday (March 26) which means that our consecration day will be April 28th which is St. Louis de Montfort's Feast Day!! We simply began with one decade of the Rosary and then read the meditations. Usually, when we do our family Rosary, the kids are hanging from the ceiling fans by the time we're done! I think it was a good move to begin with just one decade. Perhaps as we move along in our preparations....we can do two decades.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to be so long...I just was excited to share with you about this new devotion that our family is embarking on. I am sure that I will be sharing more with you as we move along.

If any of you have done this consecration with your family...I'd love to hear your experience of how it has brought you closer to Our Lord.

This and That

• Last night was the final night of our Lenten Parish Mission. This was probably one of the very best Mission's that I've been able to attend. Fr. Kevin from the Apostolate for Family Consecration was an excellent speaker and I truly believe that the Holy Spirit was in cahoots with Fr. Kevin to make sure I was there every night!
• A funny thing happened during the closing mass last night.....there was a family with two small boys sitting behind us. The boys behaved VERY WELL all through mass. At the end, right before the final blessing....when the church is at it's quietest...the youngest boy sneezed...after which he stated loudly..."Look, no boogies mom"! Well, it was very hard to contain myself! I started laughing (quietly, of course), but, I couldn't stop! It was not a very prayerful ending to a very spiritually uplifting mass! The kid in me still lives!
• I saw my OB/GYN yesterday morning for my two week surgical follow up! He says I'm healing well! My hemoglobin is still at the level I was two weeks ago...but...he said he will check it again in another 3 weeks. He doesn't want me to go back to work before my 6 weeks is up. I'm still not to lift more than 10 lbs. I only have pain when I've been standing too long. It also seems to really be painful when I'm kneeling at church. Whatever muscles you use to kneel are apparently connected in some way to my lower abdominal muscles. Does this count as a legitimate reason to sit instead of kneel?
• This morning, while doing my hour for the 40 Days for Life vigil in front of the Planned Parenthood....I was struck by the two women that PPH were using as escorts. These women actually think they are HELPING those that come for abortions! How is it that they can't see that what they are doing is actually harmful to the Body of Christ as a whole, as well as to that individual soul inside the womb of these mothers? How can they believe that murder for convenience is helping? These unborn babies are human beings...they are souls created by God. This is why God does not want sex outside of the marriage covenant. This is why in our marriage vows we promise to "accept children lovingly from God". Did you know that there are approximately 8,000 abortions performed in Jacksonville EVERY year! You can not tell me that 8,000 murders every year are due to rape, incest, or the health of the mother. Women are using abortion as a form of birth control! Does Planned Parenthood explain to these women that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer? Do these women understand that their fertility is a gift....that not everyone is even able to conceive? Do people realize that in those 8,000 murders...how many potential doctors, nurses, priests, humanitarians, lawyers, social workers, teachers, mothers, fathers, policemen/women that have been denied the right to life? It could be that we've just murdered a future president, pope, ambassador, or the person who would find the cure for cancer? Interestingly, here in Florida...I could go to jail for disturbing a turtle nest/eggs that I might come across on the beach.....however, I could kill as many babies as I want....and NEVER face a court of law. As a matter of fact, if I went to Planned Parenthood to do it...I would have an escort to help me get there! Do you see how backwards our society is? We value animals and birds more than we value human life. How this must just devastate Our Lord and Our Lady! May God have mercy on us all!

Lenten Mission

I am so excited!! Our Lenten Mission this year will be given by Fr. Kevin Barrett. Fr. Kevin is an International Chaplain for the Apostolate for Family Consecration. This apostolate was founded by Jerome and Gwen Coniker.

To begin with, here is a little "fact sheet" about this lay movement. The mission is , basically, to consecrate families to the Holy Family.

I encourage you to visit their site for the Family Consecration and their site specifically for Catholic Familyland.

Here is the scheduled for our wonderful mission week:

Monday-March 2nd
10:00am - Introducing an On-line, Interactive, Family Catechism and Familyland TV
7:00pm - SIN, the cause of all unhappiness

Tuesday-March 3rd
10:00am - Conversion at Fatima
7:00pm - GRACE, more powerful than sin

Wednesday- March 4th
10:00am - Families Helping Families Get to Heaven: the Power of Marian Consecration
7:00pm - HOLINESS, faithfully fulfilling our daily religious and worldly duties

Thursday-March 5th
10:00am - Catholic Familyland, A Place Set Apart for Families
7:00pm - CONSECRATION, to Jesus through Mary, in union with St.Joesph! We can offset the evil in this world!

I am so very excited for this mission. I was first introduced to this apostolate a few years ago when Jacksonville hosted a 'Theology of the Body" conference. I was really impressed with the Family Catechism. A very good friend of mine and her family have been to Catholic Familyland several times and recommend it to anyone interested. It is very reasonably priced.

The family is under attack and I know of no better way to handle it than to use everything that God has given us through the Church. I believe this is a powerful weapon! Consider doing some kind of family consecration and home blessing this Easter season. If you've done it in the past...redo it! We can make a difference in this world!

If any of you happen to be in the Jacksonville area this week...don't hesitate to stop by, we would love to have you!