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Showing posts with the label children

Make Me Your Manger: an Advent Prayer for Families

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(an excerpt from) Make Me Your Manger  I would like to be your crib;  Rest in me, Lord, I pray.  Make me your manger. I'll cradle you.  I'll hold you every day. Read all four stanzas of the prayer at Praying with Grace

Be a Living Rosary!

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Drawing by Anna Ponchak I believe God calls us to the vocation that is going to best help us encounter him and help us grow in holiness. The more we encounter him and grow in holiness, the more joy we will have. For me, that vocation is Motherhood.  My children have definitely helped me in my quest for holiness and have helped me grow closer to Christ. Through my first two, the Lord started teaching me about resting in him and receiving his grace. The next two helped teach me perseverance. Through my fifth child however, I feel like I have grown the most. You see, she was miserable from day one and continued to be that way until she turned four.        Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns >

The Toddler God

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After having five girls and then a boy, you can't tell me that there's no difference between boys and girls. My son, who will be two in January, makes animals growl at each other, says "vroom vroom" every time he sees a car, makes swords out of just about everything and loves to throw things. He does these things without any promptings. None of my girls did these things. Having a son is giving me a better understanding of what Jesus must have been like as a child as well as adding to our joy.  Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns>

The Case for Infant Baptism

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1 Corinthians 12:3 -" ...no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit". This is what the bible says and yet some evangelicals I've met do not agree with infant baptism. Not making the connection? How about this? These same evangelicals do not consider their children "saved" until, on their own, they can say Jesus is Lord and ask him into their heart.  Also, they are not seen as ready for baptism until they ask Jesus in their heart. However, it is by the Holy Spirit that we can truly recognize Jesus as Lord. Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestant denominations believe in infant baptism. As Catholics, we believe at the moment of baptism, when the water is poured over the baby's head, they also receive the Holy Spirit. I believe this gives them an advantage that unbaptized children do not have. I would dare to even say that since Jesus lives in their heart through baptism, they will probably be more predisposed toward the things of God.

"They Will Never Repent."

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I have never met them, but I know of them.  I don't know their names.  But I know what they did, and what they continue to do.   They abuse children which is a great evil before the Lord.   I don't want anyone to go to hell, so I prayed and asked God that if it was possible, if they could know a little of what they would suffer for all eternity HERE so that they would repent of their evil and turn back to God.  Basically, put the fear of Hell in them.   The answer made my heart drop... .TO READ MORE CLICK HERE. 

A Family Fast

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In these last days of September, we continue to pray for Pope Francis' Evangelization Intention this month: Service to the Poor. Pope Francis knows serving the poor is a divine mandate: "Whatever you do for one of these least brothers of mine, you do for me" (Matthew 25:40). We must serve the poor as Jesus did, as he continues to call us to do as the Body of Christ on earth. But the Pope calls this month's prayer request an  evangelization  intention, because he knows serving the poor also attracts others to Jesus and his Church. We share the Good News of Jesus in our deeds--if not also in our words--when we care for the poor and disenfranchised. As a mother and as the director of children's ministry at the Apostleship of Prayer, I love to consider how to help children encounter poverty in a prayerful way. Many, many children know poverty from the inside, of course. Even in this prosperous country of ours, too many children experience hunger, poor nutrition, ho

Let the Little Children Come

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I have a lot of of Protestant friends whom I love dearly. I am always encouraged and built up by their faith. One thing they often worry about however that I do not have to worry about as a Catholic is when my children will allow Jesus to come into their heart. You see, Jesus already lives in their heart through baptism. It is now up to me to cultivate that and help them fall in love with Him.  Some ways I do this is through the rosary, reading scripture, playing worship music in our home and helping them to encounter Him everyday. Continue Reading >

Patiently Enduring for God's Promises

Christians often like to say that God will not give you more than you can handle. They are well meaning people who usually like to say this to someone who is going through a tough time. Personally, I do not find these words encouraging. I think this idea comes from the scripture about God not testing us beyond our strength (1Cor.10:13). However, I see these as two different things. In my own life, I know that God has often given me more than I could handle. The reason however is so that I will learn to lean back in him and rely on his grace. I think if we limit ourselves to the things we think we can handle, we could really be missing out in life and limiting God.   Read more here .

The Mustard Seed of Prayer

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‘Whoever flees from prayer flees all that is good.’ St. John of the Cross Prayer. We often think of prayer as something difficult, especially contemplative prayer. If we read the classics, written by the saints, it seems to take years of arduous training to pass through gradually ascending levels to reach the pinnacle of prayer, complete union with Christ where we can say with St. Paul,“No longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me.” Yet after living with children for 34 years, I have good news, tidings of great joy for you. If I allow myself to relax and surrender control,  like a child trusting in her heavenly Daddy, I discover that it is God who heals, purifies and transforms me into His presence on earth. This process is all about Him, NOT me. My efforts, discipline, asceticism will not earn me union with God. This is not a competitive race to see who will succeed. This is a difficult concept to grasp for the modern Western mindset. I experienced  an eurek

Meditation for kids: the thankful leper

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    Instructions for Parents   I recommend that you meditate on Luke 17:11-19 in your own prayer time before presenting it to your kids. If you’re not sure how to do this, look at last Thanksgiving’s meditation . Talk to the Lord about it from your heart. Ask Him to teach you to be truly grateful, and to lead your children towards thankfulness. Next, read and discuss the passage with your children. Use your favorite children’s Bible. Define any words they may not know. (I have highlighted some words in the meditation you may want to define before praying with them.) Choose one or two of the optional activities at the end of this post to help them dig deeper into the meaning of the passage. Finally, read the meditation aloud to them, pausing for several seconds to a couple of minutes after each of the first two paragraphs. Ask them to repeat the final prayer after you, sentence by sentence. This meditation works best with children ages seven to ten. For

Dad is Fat, and Other Big-Family Belly Laughs

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"You know what's funny? Catholicism!" proclaimed the  Washington Post  recently. More and more Catholic public figures cheerfully crack jokes as they evangelize, including stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan, Stephen Colbert of the Comedy Central television network, and even Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York. The new book  Dad is Fat , by Irish-American comedian Jim Gaffigan, is a perfect blend of hilarity and wisdom about parenting a large Catholic family. Gaffigan hides parenting advice amidst the jokes in the same way some moms try to hide pureed zucchini in their chocolate-chip cookie recipes -- and he's probably way more successful. Gaffigan says it best in his own words, so following is his advice on everything from home birth to bedtime. Enjoy! Read more here...

The Terrors of the 7th Grade Dance

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Me to my 7th grade daughter: "You can go to the school dance, but you can't slow dance with any boys." My 7th grade daughter: "The principal said we're not allowed to say no." This conversation, naturally, almost shocked me into a full-blown panic attack. Then it got worse. Me: "Are you  sure  that's what the principal said?" My 7th grader: "Yep! And she said she wouldn't tell  anybody  who we dance with. The teachers can't tell either." I think I actually felt my heart hiccup. Because we all know who "anybody" is, don't we? Paranoid parents like me. Why would the principal ally herself with the students as the one who knows their secrets and won't tell? I had to know. Click here to read more...

Switching it Up: Changing Kids' Wardrobes from Fall to Winter

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While kids are merrily jumping in piles of fall leaves, moms of many are getting buried in piles of last season's clothing. Denim shorts and fluttery sundresses get ever so gently yanked out of clutching hands to be stored away for younger siblings. Executives of Rubbermaid and other containerizing companies must grin ear-to-ear at this change of season. Because, really, is it possible to have too many plastic storage tubs? Not in my house. So last season. In the picture above, you can see three of my daughters sitting in a sea of last season's clothes. (That's actually more like a week's worth of laundry, but you didn't think I would dump it  all  out, did you?) Read more...

Expand Your Family, Expand Your Heart (A Review of Big Hearted)

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When the cover story of  Time magazine  brags that having it all means not having children, the culture badly needs a reminder that getting married and having kids is actually a good idea. That having children, whether one or five or ten, is not only praiseworthy but worth it. The percentage of childless couples has nearly doubled since 1980, and  the percentage of families with three or more kids has dropped by almost half.  Today's burning question is no longer why would any couple want to remain childless. It's why would anyone want more than one or two. Big Hearted , by Patti Armstrong and Theresa Thomas, answers that question in a collection of moving, true-life stories, each one more inspirational than the last. The stories in  Big Hearted  open up a window into the private thoughts and feelings of parents of large families. Not all of them love babies, although some of them do. Some mothers walk away from corporate jobs without a backwards glance, and others lock the

Teach your kids the one thing necessary

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Are you teaching your kids to do mental prayer? I’ve written about this in the past with a few examples   of kids’ meditation s . Today I’m sharing with you a meditation for kids about… mental prayer. You may want to print this out. 1. Read aloud to your children Luke 10:38-42 , using your favorite children’s Bible. This is the Gospel from last Sunday, so they should recognize it. 2. Study the painting above. (It’s Christ in the House of Martha and Mary , attributed to Georg Friedrich Stettner). Ask them to identify the people in the painting. Discuss the painting in this manner: “Martha and Mary are both holding something. What do you think those objects are? What does each represent? (Mary is reading the Bible. This represents meditating on Sacred Scripture. Martha is holding a duck, symbolizing being busy with household tasks.) Who are the other people in the picture? What are they doing? How many people appear to have been listening to Jesus? (Only Mary d

But Mary Is My REAL Mum

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Some religious people would maintain that only an active Christian can act lovingly. Yet Pope Francis and even Sacred Scriptures disagree with this narrow view. St. Paul explains that God will judge everyone by  much  how truth God has revealed to them. If a tribe hidden in a jungle has never heard the gospel, God will  judge them based on what they know and St. Paul assures us that all men have the basic laws of God carved into their hearts. In modern language, we all have an awareness of good and evil or a conscience.  God has inscribed a moral code on my heart. It is  hidden in my deepest self. Actually, if  as an adult, I can block out my own ego and simply stop to listen, I can live a holy life. In fact Christ  offers an easy way to sanctity, to loving God and each other.  A spirituality that a child understands. A spirituality that St.Thérèse of Liseux understood .  Relax. Give up striving. Surrender to His love and let it saturate every cell of your body. Then simpl

Unless You Become Like Little Children or a Frog

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                                                                 Art by Yun Yi Children are delightful because they are not self-conscious and they really don’t worry too much about their appearance. Little people are too busy exploring the world and having fun just being themselves.   Thomas Merton , a  Trappist Monk ,  once wrote that frogs and trees are holy because they simply are who they are called to be b y  God ,  without masks or false personas. Little children are also simply who they are. . Christ explains this concept in the Gospels. ◄   Matthew 18:3   ► And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." An amusing story illustrates this insight into children. One visit from Grandma Jean and Grandpa Ron occurred when Jean and Ruth were about four and five years old. Grandma apply a touch of make-up each morning and my little girls were fascinated becau

My Heart is Not in Stuff

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A  month ago,  a WordPress Daily Prompt asked writers if we could only take five objects from a burning house, what would be the most difficult things for us to leave behind?  Well really, the only objects I consider to be important are photos of family, my computer, passport and ID, a bible and bank card, assuming that I am wearing my wedding ring and gold cross like always. That's it. As for regrets, I really do not think that my heart is in things. Since I was a little girl, I have felt content with what I have materially. Even now, when my nine kids ask me what I want for Christmas, I pause for a moment with a blank mind. I have to search to come up with a list. Rather a strange state to be in because this is not the result of spiritual striving, fasting or prayer, it is just how I am. Living with little people has only strengthened an innate tendency to enjoy the little things, to be grateful to be alive and in communion with the Spirit. In addition, as a large fa

But Jesus is in There!

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As David waited expectantly for my wise response, I scrambled to think quickly but answer truthfully. I was preparing dinner one afternoon, when five-year old David came running up to me with a serious look on his face. He was always full of energy and mischief but he also had a delightful spirituality that was not taught but inborn. Once again, David had  another  theological question for me, “Mum, does Mary live in my heart?” I did some  fast  thinking. Heaven is within us and Mary is in heaven, I thought. So I answered, “Yes sweetie, Mary is in your heart.” David sighed and concluded the discussion,“I guess that means that God is in my feet.” I laughed silently to myself and thought that was a very theologically correct concept since God is our foundation. I had no idea what went on in David’s head after that answer but I soon found out. It was about a week later, when all the kids who were old enough (and one who wasn't really old enough)

Celebrating a Perfect Gift!

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    Today I got to help my friend K., who teaches at the same high school I do, celebrate her daughter's first birthday! It has been a long time since I have been to a child's birthday party, given that our own sons are 13 and 16 years old. So I didn't mind driving an hour each way to help her large extended family and circle of friends celebrate Joy's first year on the planet. Keep Reading...