Sunday

"We say a great many things in church (and out of church too) without thinking of what we are saying. For instance, we say in the Creed, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins." I had been saying it for several years before I asked myself why it was in the Creed. At first sight it seems hardly worth putting in. "If one is a Christian," I thought, "of course one believes in the forgiveness of sins. It goes without saying." But the people who compiled the Creed apparently thought that this was a part of our belief which we needed to be reminded of every time we went to church. And I have begun to see that, as far as I am concerned, they were right. To believe in the forgiveness of sins is not nearly so easy as I thought. Real belief in it is the sort of thing that very easily slips away if we don't keep on polishing it up.

"We believe that God forgives us our sins; but also that He will not do so unless we forgive other people their sins against us. There is no doubt about the second part of this statement. It is in the Lord's Prayer; was emphatically stated by our Lord. If you don't forgive you will not be forgiven. No part of His teaching is clearer, and there are no exceptions to it. He doesn't say that we are to forgive other people's sins provided they are not too frightful, or provided there are extenuating circumstances, or anything of that sort. We are to forgive them all however spiteful, however mean, however often they are repeated. If we don't, we shall be forgiven none of our own."

- C.S. Lewis, "On Forgiveness," The Weight of Glory

Silent Saturday

A picture is worth a thousand words. Do you have one that tells the story of your week? Or speaks of your hopes for the week to come? Share it with the Silent Saturdays community.

St. Monica: Perseverance in Hope

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

St. Monica made these words of St. James a way of life.

North African born, she became the wife of an abusive, inebriate of the Roman military. Their son, Augustine, became as much of a reprobate as his father. Both men nearly broke her heart. Yet, Monica turned not to despair and bitterness but to prayer. She prayed for the salvation of her family.

Shortly before his death, her husband converted to Christianity, and the great rift that had always been present in their marriage was healed, as the Lord transformed him into a gentle man. After her husband’s death, Monica set out in search of her wayward son. By the time she found him, he had found Christ, and she was present as her child, the man who would become the great convert St. Augustine, was baptized into the Faith she had so long prayed he would find.

I know that many of you, my readers, suffer the trial of having family members—perhaps a spouse or child—who does not know the Lord or who is set against His Church. I pray that you will seek and find in St. Monica a sister and friend whose prayers will strengthen you and give you hope to persevere.

Find strength today, and consider it pure joy.

I also recommend these books as sources of inspiration and encouragement through your trial:

St. Monica, devoted wife, loving mother, faithful apostle of prayer, pray for us.

Picture credit: Augustine and His Mother St. Monica by Ary Scheffer

Blackberry Syrup

Now, I know we are all extremely adamant and often defensive about our own parenting choices, perhaps rightly so. This is just my opinion, but I think it is a good one, perhaps rightly so. Every child should have the experience of growing, or at any rate harvesting, his own food.

Today, more than ever, I sense the importance of this simple pastime, once necessity.

  

We live in an ever-increasingly technological world.
We live in an ever-increasingly individualistic society.

Technology is not bad.
Individuals are not bad.

But, we lose our balance.

We forget our roots.
We forget—and because we forget, our children may never learn—that we are all of one family, and our roots go deep, and our identity comes from our kin and from the land, and all of it a blessing from the Lord.

 

Our children need the chance to witness the cycle of growth, to know the joy of the harvest, and see the fruits of their labors glistening in pie crust and shining in rows of jewel-toned jars.

Our children need dirt under their fingernails and juice dripping beautiful and messy from their mouths, and the felicity of sunshine, fresh air, and untainted fellowship.

Simple. Free. Necessity.

So, you may not agree with me, but I still maintain that all children ought to pick blackberries until they are stained purple in the glow of the August sun.

 

 

BLACKBERRY SYRUP
Makes 2 12-ounce jars.

8 c. fresh blackberries
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. Chambord or other raspberry liqueur
1/2 c. maple syrup
2 T lemon juice

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan for 5 minutes or until berries are soft. Mash with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Strain syrup into a clean saucepan. Return to boil for 5 more minutes. Skim foam from the top with a metal spoon. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4’’ headspace. Put lids and rings on to finger tightness, and process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Serve over pancakes in the dead of winter. We like this best with Banana Pancakes.

Feasts of Sts. Monica & Augustine

On Friday, we celebrate the Feast of St. Monica, and the following day is the Feast of her son, St. Augustine. I have included some links about St. Monica below with recipes and ideas for how I have celebrated her feast the past couple of years, but I have yet to cook up some good ideas for St. Augustine's Feast.

How does your family celebrate the Feast of St. Augustine? I would especially appreciate any ideas for celebrating with children.

God bless!

• My 2009 post tells a bit about St. Monica and gives some ideas for how to celebrate her feast.
• Ethiopian Dabo bread: a wonderful breakfast idea for the feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine!

Sts. Monica & Augustine, pray for us.


Picture Credit: St. Augustine and His Mother by Ary Scheffer

On Parenting Teens

Okay, y'all need to read this. You just do.

I'll be refering back to this one years from now and frequently.

figuring out how to parent teenagers by Ann Vos Kamp

God bless you and keep you and yours this beautiful Wednesday!

Potty Training, Cider Mill Style

Over the past week-and-a-half, Sophia successfully potty trained! Whether we were lucky or whether we did something right—I’m guessing it was a little bit of both—I can say that in a single week, my three-year-old not only made it through the day but also slept through the night without a single accident, and now does both consistently without incident.

Every child is different, and I’m not going to be foolhardy enough to think the same tactics will necessarily even be successful with James in a couple years’ time. However, on the chance that you’re a soon-to-be-potty-training parent and your little one might share similar traits to my Sophia, here is the recipe we used for quick potty training success without tears in our home:

Ingredients

1 child’s potty training chair
1-2 packs of underwear
1 bag of Skittles or other never-before-had and sure-to-be-relished treat

a dash of patience
a big smile
a generous scoop of encouragement

Directions

1. Keep an eye out for your opportunity! Step one is extremely important. Basically, what you’re doing is keeping an eye (and and ear) out for the cue that your child is ready to potty train. If you push them before their time, you are not likely to meet with success. Similarly, experts say that if you wait too long and don’t heed your child’s cues, you may find it extremely difficult for them to train successfully in the future. So, what are you looking out for? For us, it was things like Sophia starting to ask questions when someone else went to the bathroom. “Is that the toilet, Mama? Do you use the toilet paper to wipe the pee-pee?” She also started noticing when she had gone or needed to go potty and which function she was performing. For example, “Daddy, I went pee-pee. I need a diaper change,” became something we heard for a couple of days in a row.
2. A short period of anticipation helps to build excitement and a drive to succeed in your child. For us, the anticipation period was built in because our daughter is so petite, we had to order her panties online; they don’t stock her size in the store. During this time, we talked with Sophia about what a big girl she was becoming and made the idea of potty training sound super-exciting, but warned her that it might be a challenge—after all, what better way to encourage a child to rise to a challenge than to set one? It also gives the child leeway to fail at first without losing face; there’s no shame in messing up something that you know is supposed to be difficult at first. We bought our pack of Skittles and set them in the cupboard. When Sophia asked for them, we’d say, “Nope. These are just for potty training. When you go on your potty, then you’ll get a Skittle. These are Big Girl Skittles.” By the time the panties arrived five days later, she was chomping at the bit.
3. Cue your child periodically for the first few days. For the first several days of potty training, I watched Sophia carefully. If she showed any signs that she might have to go (pulling at her dress or panties or squirming where she sat) or if I thought it had been a reasonable amount of time between trips to the bathroom (about an hour), I would ask her if she needed to use the potty and encourage her to try if she seemed hesitant to answer. This was to keep her alert to the signals her body was giving her. Notice that, when training begins, your child will likely have to go more frequently than they will once they have trained. This is because they are building the capacity and awareness to be able to “hold it,” something they never had to do in diapers.
4. Anticipate accidents. Do not expect your child to go out of the house for any length of time without a diaper until you have a couple successful training days under your belt (without accidents). In addition, do anticipate accidents at home. If you have a white rug that you don’t want an accident on, make that room off limits for a few days. Keep extra sheets or some chuck pads around when you start night training. Be prepared to do an extra load of laundry if your child does not have many extra changes of clothes. Basically what you’re doing here is making sure that you can remain calm and positive in the face of an accident. Nothing is more discouraging to a young child than knowing he or she has unwittingly made Mama or Daddy upset. If you anticipate an accident and prepare yourself for that possibility, you’re more likely to be able to face an accident with a patient smile and words that build up rather than tear down.
5. Provide incentive. Some parents find the use of treats and other incentives to be manipulative. I disagree, and here is why: Yes, ultimately, a child should do something for it’s own sake. But, think about how often even adults can be so cerebral and motivated in their own efforts. You work overtime either because you want to earn extra money or because you’re afraid of losing your job. You don’t do it just because it should be done, for kicks. Now, I would not ever recommend the threat of disciplinary methods as a means of potty training. The child must be corrected by means of encouragement only. Give a child a solid, tangible (because young children are not cerebral) incentive for potty training, and you will go a long way toward effecting the desired results.
6. It is worth saying again: Do not use any disciplinary methods or means of punishment during your training. Remember that what you take for granted (bodily continence) is something entirely new to your child, something that he or she may, in fact, not be ready for at the time you desire them to potty train. This is why step #1 is so vital. Remember that no matter how upset you may be to do another load of laundry, your child in no way meant to cause you this upset, and to vent your frustration on your child will only worsen matters. You are teaching your child a new skill, not correcting a bad habit. Be encouraging, and do not punish for mistakes.
7. Communicate with your child. Throughout the training process, be sure to take your child’s emotional “temperature.” See how she or he is feeling about successes and mistakes. Ask your child if he or she feels ready to wear panties (or big boy undies) during nap. After two or three successful naps with underwear, ask if your child is ready to try going overnight without diapers. If there are setbacks, talk to your child about them. Let your child know that you do not necessarily have to continue with the latest challenge (perhaps, naps without diapers) and that he or she may choose if they would like to try again or wait a few days before trying. Remember that your child is processing something entirely new and may want and need this communication in order to sort out his or her thoughts and feelings.

Follow these steps and you should find that in a short time you are beginning to wean your child off of the incentive (we went through only one bag of Skittles). At the completion of training, you should be able to leave the house and your child should be able to nap without diapers. However, some children struggle with nighttime bedwetting for years, and this may require more time or the help of your pediatrician or another professional who has more knowledge of how to help a child through this particular difficulty.

Additionally, while your child may be trained in the familiar environment of your home, he or she may still be uncomfortable using a “big potty” in an unfamiliar bathroom. You might consider carrying around a diaper or an extra pair of underwear when you go out until you are assured that your child will be able to successfully use a strange toilet.

For those of you who have already potty-trained your little ones (possibly many little ones), how did you do it? What methods and tools did you find successful? What would you have done differently?

Multitude Monday

 

# 38 - 50

I give thanks to God for the utter boyishness of little boys
for tumbles without tears
and for the blessing of being here to dry the tears that fall with harder stumbles

for first words—“uh oh!” and “ball!”—
and the exclamation ringing bright in a little voice
and the dreams that come cascading in with each new step.

 

for finding my baby reading a Bible,
even though he cannot read and holds it upside-down.

for a sister’s sweet hand on a wayward brother’s arm
for a husband’s strong arms at the end of a wayward day
for a Father’s love in and through it all
in the day and at night and in all my waywardness

 

for goals worth climbing for
and the strength and will to climb…

…and for a way back down to earth when it is time.

Sunday

 “By contemplating the pierced side of Christ, …the Christian discovers the path along which his life and love must move.”

– Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est

Remember this Sabbath and keep it holy. Take some time for contemplation. The path awaits you, and He is the Light that guides.

 

 

 

 

 

Picture credit: The Crucifixion 1632 by Diego Valazquez

Silent Saturday

     

Do you have a moment captured? A pictorial reflection? An image of hope for the week ahead? Join the Silent Saturday community!

 

 

Were We There?

Yesterday, for the first time, my three-year-old daughter put together a puzzle entirely by herself. I came into the nursery to find her happily assembling it on the floor with only five or six pieces to go. Then, I watched in wonder as she fit those final pieces into place.

The funny thing was, as soon as I entered the room, she started asking me, "Mama, where does this piece go?"--even though she clearly had been doing just fine without me.

Our children want our opinions and advice. They are constantly seeking our approval and recognition. Even when they can operate solo just fine, they often want us there to celebrate and simply to participate. If we are there for them, they will continue to value our presence in their lives, and we will find that we have the most powerful God-ordained influence over these precious lives.

 
But, what happens if we aren't there? If we are gone or non-participatory because of our own choosing, our children will register this, on some level. The older they get, the more cognizant they will become that they are playing second fiddle to our own interests, work, or amusements. They may begin to form the impression that they are truly on their own, and then they may self-defensively delude themselves into thinking that they don't need us at all. In the end, they will no longer value our opinions or advice. They will no longer want us there.

I'm not saying that we can or even should hold our children's hands every step of the way, nor that we must forgo all other interests and relationships for the sake of participating in every little struggle and triumph. Nor am I saying that there is a quantitative amount of time or any one way of being present with our children. We do have lives to attend to outside of our children, and there is a time when all little birds need to leave the nest. There are moments when even my three-year-old will bat aside my hand and proclaim, "No, Mama! Let me do it!" And, there are times when I will turn to her and say, “Sweetheart, Mama and Daddy are talking right now, please go to the other room and play.”

What I am trying to say is that the world is a giant, exciting puzzle to the young. Ultimately, they will be responsible before their Savior for how they fit it together. But, we their parents will be held responsible for our part. Did we guide them? Did we offer our advice, and did we cheer when all the edge pieces came together just so?

Were we there? Were we there when they needed us...and when they just needed a smile, applause, a gentle correction, a softly spoken word of encouragement:

"You're doing wonderfully, Sweetheart. You show me where that piece goes."

Proverbs 31 Reflections: Verse 17

"She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms."

What is the image that comes to your mind when someone says the words "Christian wife"?

Is your concept of biblical womanhood a cookie-cutter sitcom, or perhaps an abusive, hope-sapped tragedy? Is your vision of a "godly wife" someone who is belittled, undervalued, or set apart as a Victorian doll like Ibsen's Nora? And, when you hear the words "wifely submission," does your mind immediately conjure up thoughts of weakness and degradation?

Try this image on for size: A Godly woman is a strong woman.

And, I don't just mean in a "She's a prayer warrior" sort of way. Take a look at that verse. "She is girt about with strength..." Her whole body is capable, adept, and ready for action. "[S]turdy are her arms." This woman can move mountains, and not just with her prayers.

My downstairs neighbor, a dimunuitive woman who loves to bake her adoring husband pies and take her infant son for walks in the sunshine, often surprises people with the fact that she was a state champion weight lifter in high school not many years ago. I'm not necessarily saying that we all are expected to have that kind of strength (I certainly don't!), but I am saying that this sort of strength does not in anyway diminish my friend's femininity or her standing as a Godly wife and woman in her husband's or anyone else's eyes.

Ladies, why are we so often ashamed of our own capabilities? Of our own strength? Why are we afraid to be what God made us?

Are we worried that our husbands will be respected less if we show our true power? That's not what happened to the husband of the Proverbs 31 wife. His wife was as strong as they come, and he was "prominent at the city gates". He "[sat] with the elders of the land." (Proverbs 31:23). He was the antithesis of disrespected.

Are we worried that we won't appear feminine enough if we are strong? Remember, this lady is the Ideal Wife. The ideal, ladies. The paragon. This is femininity. Psalm 144:12 says that we are built to be pillars! Strength is a part of God's design for his daughters. It is part of His design for you. Your soul was made for strength.

Scripture says that God gave us a spirit of power, not timidity. That's a description of the Spirit at work in all Christians, not just Christian men. We all--not just our brothers--are called to be warriors for Christ. Do you see yourself as a warrior? Well, there are real enemies out there, and Scripture is a real sword and Faith a real shield. You are called to fight the good fight, not merely wait on the sidelines for the men to do all the work and give Him all the glory.

Do you think, perhaps, that strength and submission form a contradiction in terms? You could not be more mistaken. Submission takes strength. As Christ submitted to death on a cross, so we are called to submit to our husbands in all things. If you lay down your life for fear or because you respect your husband more than you respect yourself, then you are not in Godly submission. Submission is an act of the informed, capable, and disciplined will. It is not weakness, and it can never be forced or coerced. Godly submission is always a choice--one that can only be truly made in strength.

Our strength will not prove our men weak; it will make them stronger.
Our strength will not diminish our femininity; it will make women of us.
Our strength will not dishonor God; it will glorify Him.
Our strength will move mountains.
Our strength will unleash the power of God in our midsts.

Today, choose to be who God made you to be: a strong woman, made in His image.

Picture credit: Joan of Arc by Sir John Everett Millais

Multitude Monday

#26-37

Today, I give thanks...

for budding ideas that hold all the wonder and promise of unbounded imagination.

for true neighbors.
for a true home.
for open windows to welcome guests on a hot, Pacific breeze.

for blueberry bushes heavy with fruit on a cool, pale summer morning.
for my own Little Sal,
and an Assumption Day pie...
     even though it could have used a bit more cornstarch.

for lessons learned
and for new beginnings.

for The Beginning...

...and The End that is still to come.

Sunday - Feast of the Assumption

"It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees." - Psalm 119:71

I would like to say that my father's death has been a lesson in grief. To say that would make it easy. It has been so much more than grief.

It has been pain, the merciless ripping open of old wounds that had barely begun to heal.

It has been betrayal, the desecration of trust after sacred trust, to the point where nothing that is sacred has been left inviolate.

It has been bewilderment, with questions that will never be answered this side of death.

It has been an aching longing for the hope of absolution and reconciliation that were abandoned, extinguished with his life.

I have felt abandoned, unloved, forsaken, deceived. Yes, this has been much more than grief.

But, I am not without fault. For with every stab of pain or betrayal, every disillusioned thought, every unfulfilled hope, I have had a choice: to love and feel pity, or to retaliate in anger and resentment. I confess that I have quite frequently chosen the latter.

Oh, I can pity him the pain he obviously suffered. I can miss the man who held me in his arms when I was a little girl and scared, until I fell asleep to the sound of his breathing. I can love.

And, I can resent the man who chose not to see my children grow. Who abandoned me. Who first had abandoned my mother and our family in the most cruel and callous way possible. Who left me not so much as a farewell letter, though he had written several that morning, to others. Not to me. Yes, I can resent this man.

I say that "it was good for me to be afflicted." There is so much I need to learn.

To pray for those who hurt me.
To judge not, lest I be judged.
To be filled to overflowing with gratitude for the love of God and for His salvation.
To stare my anger in the face and stare it down, and choose, instead, to love.

To love.
Is this not the root of it all? The Decree of Decrees?

And, if all of this has taught me how to love just a little more--to really love, when it hurts--can I call this affliction anything but good?

O Blessed Mother, who prays for me, though I caused your Son to be crucified, pray for me now; teach me to love. And, on this day when we celebrate your Assumption into Heaven, pray for the soul of my father. Bring him home to be with you and your Son, Our Lord, Jesus. Amen.

Be Refueled

"I never get over the wonder that God makes the tarnished His temples — and that He doesn’t move out."
- Ann Vos Kamp

If your soul needs filling up today, head over to A Holy Experience, and be refueled, and be refreshed.

Photo credit: Ann vos Kamp

Starting School

It crept up on me unexpectedly: my little girl is ready to start formal schooling!

Now, Sophia only turned three in July, and I normally would not advocate schooling so young, but this little soul is ready for some scholarship. She is brimming over with questionst that she wants answers to, and she absolutely thrives on the sort of routine and focused tasks that formal schooling centers on.

I will be homeschooling Sophia for four days a week (with Fridays being our Field Trip day) for 26 weeks--one week for each letter of the Alphabet. Rather than use a purchased curriculum, I am writing my own. I hope to share it with you next year when it is not only completed but tested! I will be sharing photos and projects throughout the year here at The Apple Cider Mill under the new Homeschooling label, so stay tuned. (And maybe say a little prayer for me!)

The whole family is so excited to begin school this September 6th! In the meantime, please forgive me if my posts are a bit sporadic, but this curriculum building is currently taking up a lot of my time. ;-)

For those of you in the same boat as me, just beginning the homeschooling journey, here are some general resources I have found both helpful and inspirational so far:

Blueberry Picking

Sometimes, you just have one of those days.

You know, the good kind…

…where the berries are all ripe, and the lighting is just right…

 

…and the company is sweet….

…and the farmers encourage pint-sized pickers to eat…

…and all is fresh air and light and sweetness and joy…

And, on top of it all, you get to go home with 14 pounds of blueberries!

His blessings are so gratuitous, we have to call it grace.

The Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Anyone who has ever struggled with their faith will find a friend and guide in St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Those who have born persecution will find inspiration and comfort in her. All humanity is upheld in her holy prayers.

She was born into a Jewish family in Breslau, Germany during Yom Kippur in 1898 and given the name Edith Stein. Edith, which means "Great War," would prove to hold a dark irony for this saint.

Edith's father died when she was two, and her admirable and faithful mother managed to raise her 11 children while running the family's timber business. Despite her mother's faith, Edith, while still a young child, "consciously decided, of my own volition, to give up praying."

Edith was a passionate and brilliant scholar, particularly interested in philosophy and women's rights issues. In her youth, she was a fiery suffragette, though she later abandoned the movement. During World War I, Edith served in the typhus ward of a field hospital, and after the war, returned to academia. In 1917, she graduated summa cum laude (again), this time with a doctorate. Her doctoral thesis was entitled, "The Problem of Empathy."

Through certain friendships, Edith became intrigued by "the Cross." Yet, for years, she ignored these gentle proddings to faith. Instead, she single-mindedly sought a professorship. However, her way was barred, first because of her gender, and later because she was a Jew. She went back to Breslau and wrote on the philosophy of pyschology (weighty stuff). In her studies, she read the New Testament, Kierkegaard, and St. Ignatius of Loyola. But, when she picked up an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, she proclaimed, "This is the truth."

On 1 January 1922 Edith Stein was baptized. After her conversion, Edith once wrote, "I had given up practising my Jewish religion when I was a 14-year-old girl and did not begin to feel Jewish again until I had returned to God." Her conversion had brought her to faith in Christ, but it had also given her back her Jewish identity.

Immediately, Edith wanted to join the Carmelite Order, but her spiritual mentor urged her to wait. She had many lessons in faith to learn first. Meanwhile, she worked tirelessly translating the pre-conversion letters and diaries of Cardinal Newman, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas' Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate. In doing this work, she discovered that scholarship was not some worldy thing that needed to be renounced but was, in fact, "a service to God."

After being summarily rejected for professorships wherever she sought them, Edith took up a post as a lecturer in the Roman Catholic division of the German Institute for Educational Studies at the University of Munst. And then in 1933, Hitler became Chancellor.

"I had heard," Edith wrote, "of severe measures against Jews before. But now it dawned on me that God had laid his hand heavily on His people, and that the destiny of these people would also be mine."

That same year, Edith was permitted by her bishop to join the Carmelites. Her last day at home was her birthday, and her mother cried and could not understand why she chose to follow this Jesus. "I don't want to say anything against him. He may have been a very good person. But why did he make himself God?" There were no words that brilliant Edith could find to explain, and she left home with a heavy heart, but she entered the convent with a profound sense of peace. Here, she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

On 21 April 1938, Teresa made her final profession. She did not see the Carmelite vocation as escapism. Instead, she saw it as the most profound way to serve God and others in this life where she was now "a stranger in the world" and where things seemed to be terrifically out of control. "I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort."

On New Year's Eve 1938, Teresa was smuggled across the border into the Netherlands, to the Carmelite Convent in Echt. It was here that Teresa completed her final work, "The Church's Teacher of Mysticism and the Father of the Carmelites, John of the Cross, on the Occasion of the 400th Anniversary of His Birth, 1542-1942," in haste. Here, she also wrote her will, which states, "I ask the Lord to accept my life and my death ... so that the Lord will be accepted by His people and that His Kingdom may come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world."

Teresa was arrested by the Gestapo on August 2, 1942 while at chapel, along with another sister convert, Rosa. Her last words at Echt were addressed to Rosa: "Come, we are going for our people."

Teresa was taken to a transit camp in Amersfoort and then to Westerbork. She wrote, "I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this. ... I pray for them every hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly hear them in their distress."

Early in the morning of August 7th, Teresa was deported with nearly 1,000 other Jews to Auscwitz. There, she was gassed. Cologne on 1 May 1987, the Church honoured "a daughter of Israel." Pope John Paul, a survivor of the Nazi occupation of Poland himself, said of Teresa that she "as a Catholic during Nazi persecution, remained faithful to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and, as a Jew, to her people in loving faithfulness."

Her feast day is August 9th. She is the patron of Europe, loss of parents, martyrs, and World Youth Day.

St. Teresa Benedicta a Cruce, pray for us.

Sunday

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

He creates, and I can.

Feast of the Transfiguration

The Transfiguration of Christ by Theophanes the Greek

The Transfiguration of Christ is recorded in the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke and has been celebrated since the late 4th century in the Eastern Church. The Roman Rite later embraced the Holy Feast, and in 2002, Bl. Pope John Paul II instituted it as one of the Five Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.

More than a celebration of Christ, it is a celebration of the entire Trinity, for God the Father spoke from Heaven, God the Spirit appeared in the form of a cloud, and God the Son was the one transformed before the eyes of Peter, James, and John. This is very similar to how the Trinity appeared at the Baptism of Jesus. On both occassions, the Father used the same words:

"This is my Son, whom I love."

Read it.
Pray it.

Read it anew.
Pray it morning, noon, evening, and at the close of blessed day.

You can even let the kids color it.

Someday, we who follow in His footsteps will likewise be transfigured. Someday, we too will hear those longed for words:

"This is my son, this is my daughter, whom I love."

Profound is our hope.

Freshly Ironed Baby Clothes

 

The only things sweeter are the babies who wear them.