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Here's a chatty little look at our Advent plans.  They may not be elaborate but they are helping to point us to Christmas and the sweet celebration of the Christ Child's birth. Read more at Veils and Vocations .

Just 12 days now 'til Christmas!! ...Not to be confused with THE Twelve Days of Christmas, of course.  But I saw an amusing health article this evening (December 13th) that I thought was rather creative (& silly) about a very different kind of 12 days: " the 12 days of fitness ”... involving an accumulating circuit of exercises over a twelve-day period [per Huffington Post]. So naturally I started singing it along to the classic tune!  Here goes... On the 1st day of fitness, my true love gave to me, a one-minute plank to do.  On the 2nd day of fitness, my true love gave to me, two-minute wall squat, and a 1-minute plank to do.  On the 3rd day of fitness, my true love gave to me, 3-minute bridge, 2-minute wall squat, and a 1-minute plank to do.   On the 4 th day of fitness, my true love gave to me… [See link for complete list]  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/12-days-of-fitness_n_4277152.html?utm_hp_ref=health-fitn...

Advent is here! It's time to prepare our hearts for Jesus. Here are a few things we are implementing into our Advent season....  Each year when we set up our Nativity we leave Jesus out until Christmas morning. We also leave the wise men out of the scene until the Epiphany. I really don't like seeing Mary and Joseph adoring and empty manger so I am on a hunt for a wooden figurine of the expectant Mary on the donkey, on their way to Bethlehem. My plan is to have this figure outside the stable until Christmas and then move The Holy Family into the stable on Christmas morning. I am loving this idea of the changing scene throughout the month. Another idea I just recently heard about is to place a piece of straw in the manger each time someone sacrifices something or does something kind for another. This is in an effort to build a soft bed for Jesus through acts of love.  I can't wait to see the stable fill with straw over the next few weeks! T...

Happy Feast of John Bosco! Since I am a mom of four boys I was particularly interested in  St. John's mother,   Venerable Margaret Bosco.  Since she was so successful in raising a saint (and in becoming one herself) I think it is important to see how she did it. I thought this piece was illuminating. Catholic Culture : Library : Don Bosco, Seeker of Souls : "When he consulted his mother, always his wise adviser, she demurred and said, 'The only thing I want of you is the salvation of your soul. Follow God's will.' After praying over the matter John resolved to enter the Franciscans. At this point he was advised to consult Don Cafasso, a saintly young priest who had the gift of guiding souls. His adviser did not hesitate: John should enter the secular priesthood. 'Go on studying,' he said, 'then to the seminary, and there hold yourself in readiness to follow the guidance of God's grace.' John made his final decision in response to this advice...

Oftentimes the seasons of Lent and Advent are filled with our good intentions about what we will do, what we will read, and the changes we will make in our daily lives. The weeks stretch out ahead of us and we begin with great plans and an eagerness to experience the holy season in a new way. Then reality sets in and our original plans for a “different” experience evaporate. I can’t tell you how many Lenten books sit on my shelf partially read and how many Advent wreaths are in the closet, half finished. That all changed last year when I purchased  The Sacred Heart for Lent by Fr. Thomas Williams  and  33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley.   I read  The Sacred Heart for Lent  on my own and cajoled my husband into the Marian Consecration by Gaitley. It was all such a blessing that this Lent I wanted to share those resources with others. Last Lent it quickly became obvious to me that a priest brings something very unique to a book:...

Inspired by the blogger at Feast of the Immaculate Conception : Family in Feast and Feria as well as this thread, my daughter Izzy and I made our own candle for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception back in 2009. Two years later, it's still holding up! I bought a simple white candle at Walmart. Izzy found a picture of Mary to color on line. Then we glued it to the candle and to set it- we melted wax and rolled our candle in the wax to give it a coating and protect it to the candle. I think it turned out pretty well for a first effort! We will light it tonight for dinner!

Last Sunday's  advent readings were about John the Baptist and today is the Feast of St. Nicholas! So with that in mind here is a picture from a few years ago - a good friend of ours portraying good St. Nick and Mr. Pete as the voice in the wilderness, John the Baptist! This is one of my favorite Advent feasts! Be sure to visit the St. Nicholas Center today. Also the Bounty of St. Nicholas Fair My links for St. Nicholas on Diigo and also my mega Advent links page! A few years ago we made a  St. Nicholas Spoon Saint! Our assorted St. Nicholas statues come out today.  Here is one that Rosie and I made yesterday. More Feast Day Fun with St. Nicholas here...

Tomorrow is the feast of St. Andrew, apostle, and martyr. St. Andrew was St. Peter's brother. St. Andrew actually heard of Jesus first and took his brother to meet him. What a wonderful example of the importance of Godly siblings in our lives and the positive influence they can have on us! After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles scattered all over the known world to spread the Gospel message. Andrew went to Greece where he was eventually martyred. Andrew felt that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as our Lord, so his cross was set up diagonally like a big X. This type of cross is called "St. Andrew's Cross." (Andrew's brother Peter also felt unworthy to be baptized as Jesus was and was consequently crucified upside down.) St. Andrew is to the Scottish what St. Patrick is to the Irish, although as far as we know, the saint never set a foot on the isle! There are two legends explaining this. The first is that St. Regulus had a dream t...

St. Martin shared his heavy cloak with the beggar in need of some warmth. And thus was born the tradition of children and Christians carrying beggars' lanterns around on the feast of the saint in honor of this noble deed. Most of the web sites I looked at for this make paper lanterns, but I wanted something that I could put outside this evening that wouldn't get easily blown about in the Ohio wind.  So we opted for autumn lanterns made from glass Ball jars. We started with fall colored tissue paper torn into different sizes and shapes. Then we used Mod Podge to glue the papers to the jars. I used rafia to tie around the tops of the jars in a decorative bow. Twine was tied on each side of the jar to the rafia for a handle.   A votive candle is fastened inside the jar with a bit of wax - and voila! Lanterns suitable for hanging, setting on the table or placed outside.

All of my previous posts and pictures about All Saints Day/Halloween can be found via my del.icio.us links here. Some Christian blogs and even some Catholic forums have been vacillating about whether or not it is right to celebrate Halloween. My answer to that is absolutely it's okay to celebrate! as long as you understand exactly what it is that you are celebrating! There is really no historical connection between the setting of this feast to November 1 (naturally placing the Eve to October 31), and the Pagan Celebration of Samhain other than Pope Boniface moved the feast to the same time of year when Samhain is celebrated. But I like to look at it another way. The change of seasons and the harvest are gifts from God, even if the ancient Celts didn't quite see it that way, and as the scriptures say, " Test everything. Hold on to the good, " and Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, wh...