Tea Time with Tiffany #57 - Podcasting misadventures & chaplet organization...

Good morning all! I hope you have your morning beverage for a humid mid-July edition of:

Today I'm talking about troubleshooting some Skype misadventures, my upcoming Google Hangout on Air that you can join (!), and how I organize my embarrassingly vast collection of chaplets and rosaries. Come join in the fun!

**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com




Items mentioned in this episode:

• Happy feast of St. Kateri!
• My Chaplets page, which has about a dozen different video and downloadable audio recordings for you to pray along with.

How do you organize your prayer beads, or books, or whatever else you tend to collect? This librarian would love to hear all about it!

How many novenas is it possible to pray simultaneously? Join me in the St. Monica novena! :0

Photo courtesy of Allison Kinyon, Rosaries by Allison

Happy Monday to you all, I hope you are well.:) For my part, my mind is very occupied right now, I'll talk about that more during our Tea Time this week. LOTS going on right now. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be overwhelming, you know? I know that you do, and I so appreciate having you all in my life and heart.

Today, one of the happy things that is on my mind is obsessing over awaiting new rosaries and chaplets. :0 One of aforementioned chaplets is St. Monica, pictured at left here (and if you'd like your own, Rosaries by Allison is the place to go! She doesn't have a St. Monica chaplet currently listed, but message her about a custom :)) and her novena begins tomorrow. Your Resident Chaplet Aficionado is planning an audio recording and video tomorrow morning, so if you'd like to pray along, have at it! Oh wait. I have to take Henry to the allergist in the morning. OK, so I am planning an audio recording and video tomorrow *afternoon*. ;-) If you don't have chaplet beads, you can still pray along with me this way! You can also sign up with Pray More Novenas to receive the novena prayers in your email inbox each morning. I'm doing that as well. I'm just also adding in the chaplet, because I am a Chaplet Nerd.

My St. Monica chaplet is currently at the post office, and I have signed up for text alerts of when it makes any movement at all, because I am a stalker like that when it comes to things I am very excitedly expecting. I wish I could just go there and demand my rosary-containing envelopes, but I restrain myself, lest they think me odd. ;-) But I CANNOT WAIT to retrieve the mail when I get home later!

Who else is planning to pray the St. Monica novena?! I would love to hear from you!

Celebrate the feast of St. Dominic with me over at Catholic Mom! And more chaplet updates...

Happy Monday everybody! That sounds so much perkier than I actually feel, but hey; you win some, you lose some. ;-) I've just brewed afternoon tea, and feel ready to look alive!

And I always enjoy the Mondays on which my monthly posts at Catholic Mom go live, because I just love the community over there! This month, my theme is an exploration of Third Orders, and our guide is St. Dominic! This is a reworked piece that I originally wrote for this blog, but I've updated it quite a bit. Whether you've read it before, or for the first time today, I would LOVE IT if you would head over and leave me a comment over on Catholic Mom! I promise a personal reply. :)

In other news, my updates to the Chaplets page are daily at this point, though that will taper off to monthly shortly. Right now, there are 8 videos/recordings on there, with the newest being the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Tomorrow, St. Cecilia will be added, and by the end of the week, the 7 Sorrows of Mary. After that, things will stay constant until early September, when I have a few new chaplets set to arrive. ;-) So do keep checking! I'm looking forward to praying with you.

This is a short post for me today (shocker! :0) but I've been a busy bee with work-related writing today, and I'm trying to keep that groove going. :) I have been remembering you all in the intentions of my 54 Day Rosary Novena, and I have some fun family posts planned for later in the week: Epic fails in gardening, potty training, and the arrival of the first of the Christmas saint dolls, you could call it an eclectic mix. ;-) I will talk to you all then!

In the mean time...wait! Although I love it when you write to me here, write to me at Catholic Mom today! That would mean a lot. But I love you guys regardless, so if you want to write in about your own lack of gardening talents or about how your kid may never stay dry through the night just like mine, and you'd rather not advertise that over at Catholic Mom, sure, please write to me here. ;-)

Lots about St. Anne! And in your charity, please pray for me to not knock myself unconscious this weekend :0

Hi all! I have a SUPER busy day, so no time for 7 Quick Takes unfortunately (ironic that those posts usually take me longer than others to write. ;-)) But I wanted to briefly remind everyone who wants to pray the St. Anne novena that it begins TODAY.

Horray!

AND, in exciting news, when I arrived home yesterday, my St. Anne chaplet was waiting for me!

*angels sing*

So I brought it with me, and created this short video this morning, if you'd like to pray along:


I'm going to put this video on the St. Anne novena page too, for easy reference. Yay for novenas!

I have to rush off, I have a leviathan of a meeting later *insert super unhappy emoticon here* and so time is tight. BUT, I have lots of fun posts slated for next week. Remember, I'm dancing this weekend, and I already feel sick to my stomach thinking about the fact that I have a solo in the set. Public event, July heat, windy conditions, a shaky, sweaty-palmed, nervous belly dancer wielding a sword...what could go wrong?! I'll tell you all about it next week. ;-) Plus, I have more amusing knitting project tales, and my sister is potty training her twins and I thought maybe I'd write a "best of" potty training compilation post to boost her spirits. Want to join in? Come back next week!!

But don't leave before telling me all about your weekend plans. Go ahead. Tell me. In the comments.*bossy* :0

My first ever piece at Catholic Mom commemorates the feast of St. Kateri, & the St. Anne novena approaches!

Happy Tuesday to all of you, and happy feast of St. Kateri! She's certainly a favorite of mine, and quite integral to my own Catholic identity. I wrote a post about this several years ago, and recently I pulled that post up, updated it a bit, tidied up the writing, and submitted it to Catholic Mom. And *happy dance* it was published yesterday, on the vigil of her feast day!

You should have heard me squeal when I saw it. Well, OK, maybe you wouldn't have liked that. ;-) But I was *excited* and the timing is perfect. I've even gotten a few comments over there, which made me all giddy anew. Of course, I responded to every single one personally. Don't you want to go read and leave a comment now? Hummmmmm? :0 I'm waiting for you over there, with much excited anticipation. If you enjoy conversion stories, you'll enjoy reading this one, I think. I hope! Come visit me over there. :)

In other saint news, the novena to St. Anne start date is rapidly approaching, and I created a page with all the details. We'll start praying along on Friday, leading to her feast day of July 26th. I have a St. Anne chaplet on it's happy way to me, so that I can pray that in tandem with the novena prayers:

Photo courtesy of Allison Kinyon, Rosaries by Allison

Allison, the dear soul that she is, whipped this up for me over the weekend at my request, and mailed it out on Monday. She's on the other side of the country from me, but it should be here tomorrow or Thursday. If I have time, I'll record a short video of me praying the chaplet and post it on that novena page so that we can pray together if you like. I don't have audio file capabilities just yet, that's coming, just not ready for prime time this week. Since you can't download it, I know it's not as helpful, but for anyone who wants to, it would be there. I'll let you know if that comes to pass!

But if you're a fan of St. Anne, definitely join the rest of the community in prayer! Who's planning to pray the novena? Do you have a devotion to St. Anne? Please leave a comment and let me know all the sainty details. And you can also leave me prayer intentions in the comments, as well!

The Catholic Nook: Sacred Heart Devotion & Chaplet

Good morning all! Since today is the first day of the Sacred Heart novena, I thought it was perfect timing to discuss devotion to the Sacred Heart as part of my Catholic Nook series. If you'd like to pray along with the novena, click on the link above to join in!

But the Sacred Heart is a devotion that I've always been curious about. As a cradle Catholic, I've heard the concept bandied about for most of my life, and been somewhat familiar with what it means, but nothing official. Then a few years ago, I heard Channing talk about it on her "This Catholic Life" podcast (it's no longer available, as she's a cloistered Carmelite nun, miss her!) and she mentioned that it was her very favorite devotion, which intrigued me even further. So, what is devotion to the Sacred Heart exactly?

In a nutshell, it's based (mostly) upon visions experienced by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century. St. Margaret Mary was a French nun who described Jesus appearing to her and giving her this message:

My Sacred Heart is so intense in its love for men, and for you in particular, that not being able to contain within it the flames of its ardent charity, they must be transmitted through all means.

During the vision, Jesus showed her a human heart, aflame as if with love. He told her that he would be present with devotees to his Sacred Heart in a special way, and that their devotion would lead to peace in families, conversion of sinners, and perseverance when death was near.

The First Friday tradition that you may have heard of amongst Catholics is also tied to devotion to the Sacred Heart. Specifically, Jesus asked the following of St. Margaret Mary:

• Frequent reception of the Eucharist
• On the First Friday of each month for nine consecutive months, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
• Attend Eucharistic Adoration for one hour on Thursdays.
• Celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart (this year, it's June 12th). This feast will always be on a Friday, and will follow the second Sunday after Pentecost each year.
  

There is a lot of information about this devotion in a book that I reviewed last year, Sacred Fire by Phillip Michael Bulman, if you're interested to read more, as well as at the Salt and Light TV blog.

There is also a chaplet that can also be prayed in honor of this devotion.* The Sacred Heart Chaplet has 5 large beads, and then 33 beads that representing the years of Christ's earthly life.

http://michelis.shopinas.com/product/view/seed-chaplet-of-sacred-heart-of-jesus-b--michelis-8807/

To begin the chaplet, pray:

Soul of Jesus Christ, sactify me.
Heart of Jesus, inflame me with love.
Body of Jesus Christ, save me.
Blood of Jesus Christ, inebriate me.
Water out of the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy Wounds, hide me. Let me not be separated from Thee. Defend me from the malignant enemy. At the hour of death, call me, and bid me to come unto Thee, that with the saints, I may praise Thee for all eternity.
Amen.

Before each large bead, pray:

Jesus most meek, make my heart like unto thine. We adore Thee, O Jesus, who has been afflicted in the Garden of Gethsemani, and who still in our time are outraged in the Blessed Sacrament by the impious conduct of men. O most amiable Saviour, we recognize that Thou alone art Holy, Thou alone art Lord, Thou alone art Most High.

One each small bead (3 on the drop, and then in groups of 6), pray:

I adore Thee, O most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Inflame my heart with the divine love with which thine own is all on fire.

At the conclusion of the chaplet, when you reach the Sacred Heart centerpiece, pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and the following prayer:

O Lord Jesus Christ, who by an ineffable miracle of love, hast deigned to give Thy Heart to men to serve as their nourishment, in order thereby to gain their hearts, graciously hear our humble prayers, and pardon us for the sins of which we confess ourselves guilty before Thee. Cast an eye of compassion and mercy upon those towards whom Thou dost condescend to direct the affections of Thine amiable Heart. And since we desire to honor Thee in the adorable Mystery of the Altar to the utmost of our power and to render Thee most pleasing Homage and for that intention, weep for and detest from the bottom of our hearts all the outrages, contempt, mockery, sacrileges, and other acts of impiety which ungrateful men in every part of the world have committed against Thee, enkindle therefore in our hearts this divine love which Thine Own is inflamed, and inspire us with sentiments like unto Thine, in order that we may be able worthily to praise for all praise for all eternity the love which which this Sacred Heart burns for us. This our prayer to Thee who lives and reigns with the Father, in unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

I'd like to get one of these chaplets and add it to my collection, as well as make a recording of the prayers so that we could pray together. Add that to the list!

#check :)

Does anyone else have a devotion to the Sacred Heart? Do write in a comment!

*Found in Devotion to the Sacred Heart, by Fr. John Croiset

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet of St. Dymphna

Good day to you all, and I hope that your Thursday after Ash Wednesday is off to a good start. :) I've been happily reading along with my Magnificat Lenten Companion, do you have your copy? If not, you can download the Kindle version for 99 cents. I'm loving mine. Today's suggested penance is to offer up your day for someone, and keep that person in mind all day. I love that! I have my person all tucked in my brain, and am offering away. :)

And with Lent turning all of our minds to prayer, I thought I'd pen a Catholic Nook post today. These posts tend to favor a discussion of chaplets, because I love them so much. :) And here we have another one!

Allison made this chaplet for me, that is in fact my St. Dymphna chaplet posing in the photo for this post. She almost always has a St. Dymphna chaplet in her Etsy store (like this one), or you can ask her to custom make one for you.

St. Dymphna is the patron saint for those suffering from mental illness. She has a rather sad story, involving her father trying to attack her, and ultimately killing her. The mental illness patronage comes into play since what father not afflicted by mental illness in some way would treat his daughter like this? St. Dymphna forgave and prayed for him, and now we can ask her intercession for matters involving mental health. For me, I've struggled with postpartum depression in the past, and so I'm very sensitive to this issue. I find this chaplet soothing to pray if I'm feeling anxious or down about something.

The traditional colors of a St. Dymphna chaplet are red (symbolizing martyrdom), white (symbolizing virginity), and green (representing mental illness). To pray with this chaplet:

• On the St. Dymphna medal, ask for her intercession and lay out your intention.
  
• On the two "drop" beads, pray 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary.
  
• Then, on the other beads, pray the Glory Be 15 times, in honor of the 15 years of St. Dymphna's life.

Simple and fast, and very comforting.  Has anybody else prayed this chaplet before?

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet of Our Lady of the Snows

Happy Catholic Nook Wednesday everybody. :) These posts can really be about any sort of Catholic devotion or practice, but I notice that I've devoted quite a few of them to chaplets. The reason for this is, well...I love chaplets. And I own quite a few of them. :0 OK, a LOT of them, if you must know. I have several small pouches that I keep in my purse loaded up with all of them, you know, in case of emergency and I need to whip one of them out and pray. My mom has always had the biggest purses of anyone I've ever known. She carries things around in there like snacks for the kids, water bottles, tissues, and hand sanitizer. I have chaplets. It's my contribution to the world. ;-)

I received a few new chaplets this month, and so this Nook and the next will be devoted to them. I love chaplets because they're usually small and quick to pray, but they pack a powerful punch. They also are tied to a specific saint, title of Our Lady, or devotion (the sacred heart, that sort of thing) and so in my experience, chaplets help me to focus my prayer. What do I have in store for you this month? Settle in with your tea or coffee. :)

In December, I wrote about my devotion to Our Lady of the Snows. Our Lady under this title is credited with a miraculous summer snowfall in Rome. I love asking for the intercession of Our Lady, and the reminder that prayer can work miracles is so soothing to me. I'm also a lover of beautiful snowfalls (generally :)) and so this devotion just really speaks to me. After I wrote that post, I started wondering if there was a specific chaplet devoted to Our Lady of the Snows. Hum...

*librarian zooms in!*

Why yes, there is! And you can see one pictured above, that Allison crafted for me. (and pssst! She has another one just like it listed in her shop. #ChapletEnabler ;-)). The fact that the beads are Snowflake Lapis and Snow Quartz, with a snowflake centerpiece, just adds to the perfection, in my opinion. So how do you pray this chaplet?

This chaplet configuration is very similar to a traditional rosary with five segments of prayers (albeit shorter segments), but with some customizations. To begin:

• Make the Sign of the Cross on the Crucifix.
• On the three beads of the "drop," pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.
• At the centerpiece, pray the Memorare:

  Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer them. Amen.

• On the white beads, pray five Hail Marys.
• On the blue beads, pray:

  Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us.
  St. Joseph, pray for us.
  St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
  St. Eugene de Mazenod, pray for us.

• Repeat that for each of the five segments. Then, back at the centerpiece, pray the beginning of the Magnificat:

  My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day, all generations shall call me blessed. The Almighty has done great things for me, and Holy is his name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

• Pray a Glory Be.
• Make the Sign of the Cross, and you're done!

I've used my chaplet several times since I received it, and absolutely love it. The Memorare is one of my favorite prayers, there is something about the lilting Marian phrases that really draw me in. The beads on my particular chaplet are a bit heavier than most of my rosaries, and very smooth, and they feel so solid and comforting moving through my fingers. I just love it.

This isn't a very well known chaplet, at least it seems that way to me. Has anybody else prayed this chaplet before? Do leave a comment. :)

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet of St. Monica

Good day all! In case you were wondering ;-) we did have a better night with Anne, thank you for your prayers. :0 I'm hoping that that "sticks," we'll see. It seems that having Mike bring her up to bed is the better way to go nowadays, she knows that Mommy is a softer touch (read: can be manipulated easily), for sure.

Since I am so well rested, downright bright eyed and bushy tailed even, I thought today would make a nice day to indulge in an installment of the Catholic Nook. I'm currently praying the novena to St. Monica, leading up to her feast day of August 27th. Since she was on my mind, I wondered to myself whether or not there is a special chaplet devoted just to her intercession. I am a chaplet fiend, as you well know, and so away I Googled. And TA DA! Yes, there is in fact a chaplet to St. Monica, and I simply must have one now that I know this! I already started building my cart over at Fusion Beads to procure supplies to make one. :)

I have a deep fondness for St. Monica given that she was a wife and mother who worried and prayed over her children for her whole life. A fellow worrywart? Instant bond! I'm certain we all know the story of her son Augustine, who gave his poor mother heart palpitations for many years before settling down to become one of the greatest saints in Church history. No small feat, that. Whenever I see a wayward child, I think to myself: "does he/she know how this affects his MOTHER?!" I mean, after all we go through for these children, the least they can do is toe the line to show their appreciation. Now I sound like my *own* mother, which is a humbling thing indeed, dear reader. But St. Monica was vindicated in her decades of prayer given the results with St. Augustine. Victory is hers. :0

This chaplet consists of 32 beads (6 large and 26 small) and a St. Monica medal. Apparently, the 32 beads represent the number of years poor St. Monica labored away praying for that ingrate St. Augustine. ;-) There is a special prayer to St. Monica that we begin with at her medal:

"O holy Monica, by your burning tears and unceasing prayers, you did save your son from eternal damnation. Obtain for us the grace ever to comprehend what is most conducive to the salvation of our children, so that we may effectively restrain them from the way of sin and lead them by that of virtue and piety to heaven!"

There follow 2 beads on the "drop" of the chaplet, on which we pray an Our Father and a Hail Mary. The loop consists of 6 segments of 5 beads each. On the large beads, we pray an invocation:

"I join my tears to yours -[fill in intention in order set forth below] - St. Monica, pray for us in the Holy Name of Jesus!

(1) - against the spirit of Despair, toward the spirit of Hope -

(2) - against the spirit of Anger, toward the spirit of Love -

(3) - against the spirit of Blame, toward the spirit of Forgiveness -

(4) - against the spirit of Suspicion, toward the spirit of Trust -

(5) - against the spirit of Doubt, toward the spirit of Faith -

(6) - against the spirit of Fear, toward the spirit of Peace -

On the smaller beads, we pray 4 Hail Marys for each of the 6 segments.

In conclusion, we pray:

"Saint Monica, Exemplary mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray."

I absolutely love the idea of this chaplet to pray for our children. One of my daily intentions is that my children always, throughout their lives, remain close to Christ and His Church, and St. Monica is certainly a perfect intercessor to aid me in this endeavor. When I place my next bead order, I think that I'm definitely going to order the supplies to make this chaplet. Has anybody ever prayed this chaplet before, or otherwise have a devotion to St. Monica? Leave me a comment!

The Chaplet of St. Monica for Despondent Mothers, Composed by M. Kadala and R. Eicher.
http://www.viarosa.com/VR/StMonica/Chaplets.html

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet of St. Dominic Savio

Morning all! Via the fabulousness that is My Treasury of Chaplets, I am able to explore making special chaplets as gifts, and being the bead fan that I am, I am always on the prowl for an excuse to buy and mold more into wonderful prayer configurations. As I was flipping through the book a few months ago, I saw that it had an Appendix. Huh. Never noticed that before. The entries usually all have full descriptions and photos of each chaplet, making it easy to create them on your own. The Appendix lacked pictures, but the descriptions were still sufficient. A chaplet to St. Dominic Savio was listed in there.

Score. Henry *loves* St. Dominic Savio. Since St. Dominic is a child saint, Henry really relates to his story, and I think that it's an excellent example for young boys. I thought that if I made him this chaplet, we could pray it together at night before he went to bed.

It was tougher with no photograph, but I managed and some image searches online seem to indicate that I did it correctly. For this chaplet, what we have is a crucifix and center, 3 white beads and 14 blue beads. The white beads represent the Trinity, while the blue beads represent the 14 years of St. Dominic's life and his devotion to Our Lady.

To begin the chaplet, you pray a Glory Be at the crucifix to thank God for the graces St. Dominic Savio received during his lifetime. On each of the 3 white beads, you pray:

"St. Dominic Savio, intercede for me. As Our Lady to obtain for me a great increase in...":

First Bead: Faith. Pray a Hail Mary.
Second Bead: Hope. Pray a Hail Mary.
Third Bead: Charity. Pray a Hail Mary.

You will now move into a series of 3 invocations that begin and end at the centerpiece. You pray the invocation at the center, then move around to each of the 14 blue beads, reciting St. Dominic's personal motto on each: "Death before sin." (a little heavy for young children, but I think with a good explanation all will be well. :)) Repeat for each invocation.

First Invocation: St. Dominic, you know how hard it is to fight temptation in this life. Consider me as your friend in need. Obtain for me the grace of purity in thought, word, and deed. Help me to improve my self control.

Second Invocation: St. Dominic, you loved Our Lady and went to her with your needs. Go to her and ask the grace to help me remember to ask for her help especially when I am most sorely tempted. Obtain for me an increase in love for her, our most tender and loving Mother.

Third Invocation: St. Dominic, you prayed for your family and friends. Please go to Our Lady and intercede for my family and friends, and also for my personal intentions.

Concluding Prayer: Thank you, St. Dominic, for your intercessions on my behalf. Please pray for me every day of my life. St. Dominic, you struggled in this life with the same temptations to sin as I have, but you never gave up trying. Obtain for me great confidence in Our Lady and the grace of final perseverance, that some day in heaven we may enjoy the delights of her company and sing the praises of the Most Holy Trinity. Through the intercession of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Graces. Amen.

For Henry's chaplet, I chose a First Communion centerpiece, since that is appropriate for his current state in life, plus St. Dominic Savio was devoted to the Eucharist. And for whatever reason, centerpieces with the majority of saint images on them are very rare and hard to find. St. Joseph? You're golden. St. Anthony, St. Francis, also no problem. But St. Cecelia? Not so much. St. Kateri, for whatever reason, a snap. St. Maximillian Kolbe or St. Dominic Savio? Move along, sister! Unless you want to pay nearly $40 for a sterling silver variety, impossible to come by. Saint *medals* abound, but the rosary centerpieces are much more limited. So I procured one with the First Communion image and affixed a St. Dominic Savio medal, voila! I used large white pearls from a necklace of mine that had broken, and cobalt blue beads for the main section. I love how it turned out and can't wait to tuck it into Henry's Christmas stocking.

Any other St. Dominic Savio devotees out there? :) Leave me a comment!

The Catholic Nook: Chaplets

Hi y'all! Time for another Catholic Nook installment, and I have been feeling inspired lately by this small book pictured left, My Treasury of Chaplets, by Patricia Quintiliani. It's out of print, but available still via the Amazon Marketplace, and I bought a copy a few years ago. (reality check: Amazon is telling me that I bought this book in December 2010, that's more than "a few years ago." Folks, this is what happens when you approach 40. You start to lose brain cells and your ability to judge spans of time. You've been warned). ;-)

The reason I originally bought this book is as a reference guide for praying different chaplets. I'm a librarian, I love reference material. *halo* Chaplets are traditionally designed to invoke the intercession of a particular saint or as devotion to a certain title for Mary or Jesus. So, for instance, the chaplet of St. Therese. It has 24 beads, memorializing the 24 years of her life, and on each you pray a Glory Be. Or the chaplet to Our Lady Star of the Sea, with 12 beads representing the 12 stars on Mary's crown, on which you pray a Hail Mary with a special acclamation at the end of each prayer. There are tons of such devotions like this out there, each with (if you wish) customized prayer beads to assist you in praying that particular chaplet. St. Michael, St. Philomena, Padre Pio, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the 7 Sorrows of Mary, the Precious Blood of Jesus, all have a unique chaplet for that specific devotion. I find it all fascinating, so I purchased this book. The author helpfully divides the book into sections for chaplets of the saints, Marian chaplets, and those focused on Jesus.

So, this book sits on my bookshelf, and I pull it out when I need it to look up a particular chaplet and how to pray it. With the novena to the Sacred Heart going on right now, I had thought about learning more on this devotion, and wondered whether there was a special chaplet. There is. For each chaplet, there is a description of how to pray it, and a photo of the chaplet, which makes this book unique as far as what I've ever seen. If I don't have beads configured exactly in the way the chaplet is described, it helps to get a sense of how many times to pray which prayers and in what order by looking at a physical item. It also makes it easier to look for such a chaplet to purchase online if you'd like to. Or to make one yourself. *exciting music crescendos* :0

I looked over the Sacred Heart chaplet. 33 red beads, representing each year of Jesus' life, plus 6 larger beads. From the photo, I could see that the arrangement was 6 sets of 5 red beads apiece, with larger beads in between, and then a "drop" with larger beads on either side of a trio of the red beads. With a sacred heart centerpiece and a crucifix on the bottom, it's a slam dunk. :0 I could make this!

I didn't, although I tripped over myself on the way to grab the tablet and load up red and yellow beads into my Fusion Beads shopping cart, simply because I wouldn't be able to obtain the supplies and get it made in time for the novena, which at that point was only about a week away. You don't need the beads in order to pray the novena, I just thought it would be nice. But certainly for the future, I will make this at some point.

As I flipped through, I came across a chaplet to St. Dominic Savio. St. Dominic Savio is a patron of young boys, and his story is a favorite of Henry's. His chaplet consists of 3 white beads on the drop, and 14 blue beads, the colors representing St. Dominic's purity and his devotion to Our Lady. There are specific prayers for each bead. Eureka! I have cobalt blue beads and white pearls in my bead stash. Yes, I now have a bead stash in addition to a yarn stash, no judging. ;-) All I would need was a centerpiece and crucifix, since Henry owns a St. Dominic Savio medal that I could hook on. I found a chalice First Communion-type centerpiece and a coordinating crucifix, ordered those, and away we go. Chaplet will be created soon! I'd like to pray it with him sometimes before he goes to sleep. Fascinating stuff, no?

Do you all have a favorite chaplet that you pray either regularly or around a specific feast day? Leave me a comment!

Just a housekeeping fyi: I'm headed to Pittsburgh this weekend with Mike and the kids, so no post tomorrow. I'll be back with you with full details on Monday. Talk to you then!

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet of St. Therese and the "Little Way"

I've been thinking a lot about St. Therese lately. Part of it, I suppose is that my spiritual reading is currently focused on her in Shirt of Flame: A Year With St. Therese of Lisieux. When I do spiritual reading, I normally allot a specified time period in the evening to it. I'll devise a page quota so that I don't slack off. What I'm finding with this book, though, is that I'm so into it that I use it in the prime "reading as I lay happily in bed" time slot. That's pretty major for a non-fiction book, quite an achievement really. This is when I usually read a romance novel involving autumn weather, race car drivers, or cowboys.

And last night I pulled my Kindle out really hoping to see something from St. Therese that "spoke" to me. I had had, let's just say, a *challenging* day. As you can imagine, being a librarian means that I deal with people a lot. And sometimes, as we all know, people aren't so nice. I had a patron yesterday who was so rude I was forced to break out The Librarian Is Being Stern With You look. As a child, I used to be afraid of loud, obnoxious people. No longer. I don't cherish opportunities to deal with them, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. If you are going to march over and attempt to verbally abuse me, I am not going to stand for it, no sir. It only took 30+ years of life lessons to teach me that I don't have to allow anybody to treat me that way. It actually is a disservice to the abuser in question to not let them know that their behavior is out of line and unacceptable. How can they ever try to do better if nobody lets them know that they are acting like a jackass? Forgive my language, but sometimes you've got to call it like you see it. I'm not going to yell back or drop to their level by disrespecting them, but I *am* going to be firm in my response to them. And if they persist, I am going to ask them to leave.

And so yesterday morning, I had one of *those*. I'm actually quite proud of how I handled it, but the whole thing left me shaky and contemplative. This guy (who was very clearly an extreme case) aside, I've been dealing with a lot of students lately, some of them being wonderful experiences, others being quite challenging and annoying. It got me to thinking: am I doing all that I can to stay upbeat in my approach to interacting with them, to stay charitable at all times? On the latter, I can say "yes" without question. I am always charitable to people, even when they are unkind to me. But on the former, I know that I struggle. And not just with the students. I work for my state, and at times things get a bit...bureaucratic. This can lead to disillusionment and downright crotchedyness (new term: officially coined). It's easy to complain a lot about some of the things we deal with here at work, and I have become aware of the fact that the more I complain, the worse I feel about the situation.

Hence, yesterday was a good opportunity for self-reflection and it tied directly into St. Therese's Little Way. How can I do small things with great love and offer them up, the way that she did in the convent? I certainly did offer up my experience yesterday, but there are so many other small opportunities that I just internally whine about rather than try to be more spiritual in my approach. As I read Shirt of Flame, I came to this reflection of author Heather King in the chapter discussing Therese's handling of the painful physical and mental decline of Louis Martin, her father:

"I began to see the value of refraining from criticizing and complaining. The goal isn't to masochistically endure conditions that we could change, if we were willing to make the effort. The goal is to adopt a general policy of not complaining about things that can't be changed, not because we enjoy being rigidly ascetic but because complaining about our private sorrows - traffic, the cost of living, our health, our endless suffering - is not helpful. I began to notice how, when someone called me to 'vent,' I felt as if I myself needed an oxygen tank when I got off the phone."

Yep. Spoke to me. I knew that St. Therese was looking out for me. :) It was nice to have something positive to take away from a very difficult day. Hopefully I won't have to deal with Rude Guy again anytime soon, but just in the students I see and chat with each day, and in the way I view the hoops we have to jump through here at work sometimes, I can do better in my attitude.

And so this got me to thinking about asking for St. Therese's intercession more often. Obviously, she is a woman who speaks my language. :) The photo at the top of this post is a gorgeous St. Therese chaplet designed by Carm at unbreakablerosaries. The chaplet has 24 beads, one for each year of St. Therese's short life. There is one additional bead on the "drop" near her medal, and on this you request: "St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Patroness of Missions, pray for us." A Glory Be is recited on each of the other 24 beads in thanksgiving for St. Therese. It is customary to pray this chaplet for a traditional nine day novena.

This is a chaplet that I do not own. Shocking. Clearly, I need to remedy this situation.

I'll be talking more about St. Therese on October 23rd, our Catholic Book Club day, when I review Shirt of Flame. If you'd like to join me in reading, please hop on the bandwagon now, I'd love to have you. :) Heather King mentions another book that has my curiosity piqued, The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux, by Ida Friederike Gorres. Yep, that may make it's way to my Kindle posthaste.

*Image from http://patroncatholicsaints.blogspot.com/2010_02_08_archive.html

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet to Our Lady Star of the Sea (Stella Maris)

This is one of my very favorite Marian devotions, and this day is quickly becoming icky poo, so I desperately needed a soothing distraction. :)

I've blogged about my discovery of Our Lady under the title of "Star of the Sea/Stella Maris" here before, which was an interesting tale about a book that I read and a chaplet that I spotted in my favorite online rosary shop. For some reason, the title just evokes serene images to me, Our Lady dressed in blue, calming rough waters and coming to our aid, we all need that, right? So I thought I'd write about this devotion again and flesh it out a bit more, since it's been awhile since I've discussed it.

Our Lady Star of the Sea is traditionally the patroness of those who are seafarers. She is also, however, the patroness of all those needing guidance "on the sea of life" which is certainly all of us when we're going through a tough time. I think that's a lovely way of looking at things. The water of our life is going to always be a mixture of rough and calm, but it's a matter of finding a way to ride out the rough waters. We can ask for Our Lady's intercession for these intentions under this title.

Carm put together this page with information on the chaplet itself, and in an update since I wrote the post I linked to above a few years ago, I acquired a Stella Maris chaplet. I don't think it's a surprise to anybody that I acquire as many rosaries and chaplets as is humanly possible, because I love them so much:

I am lovely.

Here I am posing with it, because I am a nerd.

This chaplet has a Stella Maris medal on which you say a special prayer asking for Our Lady's intercession, and there are three beads on the "drop" prior to the chaplet center. On these three beads you recite an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be for the intentions of the pope, your bishop, and your parish priest. Moving past the center, we now have 12 beads which represent the 12 stars of Mary's crown. On each of these beads, you pray a Hail Mary, ending each with:

"Our Lady Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands."

It doesn't take long to pray this chaplet, and I always feel SO much better after doing so. I'm planning to pray one on my way home from work, so if you'd like me to add your intention, just leave me a comment. :)

My beautiful chaplet was a gift from my knitting friends, who purchased it from Carm's shop. She doesn't have any Stella Maris chaplets listed now, but if she does, they will appear in the chaplets section, and you can always request a custom order from her if you would like your own. I just love the blue/green and dark blue sparkly beads on mine, very water-inspired.

This is one of my favorite chaplets. Perhaps it will become one of yours too!

My prayer arsenal

With my ongoing 54 day rosary novena, I was contemplating my little collection of rosaries and chaplets that I pray with regularly. Now, granted, the actual *prayers* are the most important thing here. But I'll be honest. I have a rosary fetish. As in, the actual, physical beads. I love them. And my collection isn't actually so little.

*unladylike snort*

I have a LOT of rosary beads. A LOT. I have them scattered throughout my house. Some in the kitchen, the living room, a set next to my bed, each of the children have *several* in their rooms. But I rarely use those.

The beads I use the most are small 1 decade chaplets. When I'm praying a regular rosary, I have a 1 decade "decina" chaplet that I use, which is the traditional 1 Our Father and 10 Hail Mary beads. This is my absolute favorite, and I use it just about every day:

 I bought this from the fabulously talented Carm at Unbreakable Rosaries. She is my absolute favorite rosary maker. I also have a full rosary that she made, and the beads are wrapped in copper, it's absolutely to die for. I don't have a picture of it, but I love this rosary too. I don't use it as often, because I simply find that I love the tiny little chaplets better since I'm usually praying the rosary in the car. It's easier to hold in my hand as I drive.  So this little chaplet pictured above is my all time favorite rosary. The beads are smooth and slip through my fingers so nice as I pray, and they're very sparkly and pretty. I also like the 4-way medal cross at the end. It's nice and compact and very light. The centerpiece is Our Lady giving the rosary to St. Dominic. It's my favorite. *kiss*

I also love specialized chaplets, and I think they make a nice addition to my prayer repertoire every once in awhile. I have several tucked into a little case in my purse. My favorites are:

Our Lady Star of the Sea. Carm also made this one, and some friends bought it for me 2 years ago. The beads are turquoise and deep, deep blue, making this chaplet just stunning, and fitting the sea theme so well. :) I love to pray this chaplet and ask for Our Lady's intercession for guidance on specific challenges I'm working through. It mainly consists of praying 12 Hail Marys, but full directions for praying the chaplet may be found here. This chaplet also has beautifully smooth beads and the physical experience of praying with them is so pleasing. I'm a knitter, I'm very tactile. :) Carm doesn't have any of these chaplets listed right now in her shop, but she makes them and posts listings for them often. You can also request that she make you a custom chaplet in whatever beads and medals she has in stock or can get access to.

Another chaplet that I pray often is St. Kateri Tekakwitha:

Cam made this for me, in her Full of Grace Creations shop. You pray 8 Our Fathers, 8 Hail Marys, and 8 Glory Be prayers in this chaplet, each prayer representing a year of St. Kateri's life. I love how the bead colors are very nature inspired, and these beads are made of stone; they are heavy and feel wonderful in your hand. I think Cam's shop is on vacation mode right now, but she'll be back, and she had more of these chaplets listed, so you can get yours too. :)

And...on it's way to it's new home right now is the newest addition to my prayer arsenal:

This is a 7 Sorrows of Mary Chaplet, and I can't wait for it to arrive! I just love the combination of the black and purple beads, and there is my favorite 4-way medal cross again. :) Instruction on this chaplet may be found here. When you pray this, you meditate on the 7 sorrows that Mary experienced during her life (prophecy of Simeon, flight into Egypt, child Jesus lost in the Temple, Jesus carrying the cross, etc.). I can't wait to begin using this one. :)

I also love rosary bracelets (available from both Carm and Cam's shops). I really wanted a new one, but I figured this is a want and not a need. I already own a handful of lovely rosary bracelets, and I wear one every day, but I can hold off. Very saintly of me, wouldn't you say?

So, even though rosaries and chaplets abound in my house and in my purse, I feel no guilt. At least they're cheaper than belly dance costumes, my other weakness. Well, there's also books, but those are also cheap, especially for my Kindle.

*feels very justified*

Anyway, I'm excited. Do you have any favorite chaplets that you pray on a regular basis?

Please wait

Image not available

Please wait

Image not available

A new chaplet in my arsenal...

I just added a new chaplet to my bevy of rosaries and chaplets, and thought I'd share.

Cam over at Full of Grace Creations on etsy made me a chaplet dedicated to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the only Native American ever beatified, at my request. I detailed Blessed Kateri's importance to my family's faith life about a month ago, and read up on her chaplet.

It's a set of 24 beads, one devoted to each year of her life. Each set of 8 has different significance. On the 8 brown beads you recite 8 Our Fathers; on the 8 red beads you recite Hail Mary's; and on the 8 crystal beads you recite Glory Be's. The colors represent earth, blood/love, and water, respectively. It's officially called a "Kateri Indian Rosary" although I don't totally love that name. :)

Here's my chaplet:


So pretty. :) I plan to ask Blessed Kateri's intercession on any number of intentions.

Another beautiful giveaway at A Woman's Place...

This week, Cam is giving away an adorable pearl Holy Communion Chaplet. I'm entering, and you should too. :) This is a short chaplet that you can use to prepare to receive the Eucharist. You can read all about how to pray it by clicking on the link, as well as how to enter. Enjoy!

Giveaway for a Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception...

Tag teaming onto yesterday's beautiful feast of the Immaculate Conception, I thought I'd mention a giveaway over at one of my favorite blogs, A Woman's Place. The giveaway is for a gorgeous Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception. It's a lovely chaplet in blue freshwater pearl stones. Directions for praying the chaplet can be found over there as well. I love chaplets; I also love learning about devotions like these and how they originated. I was so taken with this particular chaplet that I ordered a used copy of the book, Treasure of Chaplets, that Cam mentions over at the giveaway. Go check it out and enter!

Gardening with Henry, and much praying going on...

The other day, Hank went to check on the little flower seed he had growing in a pot on our dining room windowsill. Suddenly, we heard the sound parents are so very used to:

*small crash*

"Uh oh..... Sowy."

I knew that he felt bad about it, and he had been so excited about planting that little seed. So, yesterday on my way home, I stopped off at Home Depot's nursery, since I had a gift card. I picked up a kit for a small potted herb garden, and a potted cactus.

Major caveat: Your Catholic Librarian does *not* have a green thumb. I kill things. I don't mean to! I think I kill them with love. "You look like you need more water even though I just watered you 10 minutes ago. Here you go..." This actually also goes for pets, and is part of the reason why we have none. Just ask Mike about the fish. I was forever obsessively cleaning their tank and worrying over them. "Honey, I think Ignatius has fin rot! Do vets see Beta Fish?"

So, I figured with a cactus, much harder to kill. The instructions say to water only very sparingly and only when the soil is completely dry. All they need is some sun (well, that is a bit of a problem around here) and occasional watering. I spotted one sporting an orange flower. Orange is a color that simply isn't appreciated enough. I love orange. "Do you want to go home with me? You *do*? Ok." *beams*

I arrive home, and Hank is all excited about the herbs. Mike looks at my new friend, the cactus, with much suspicion.

"Hank, don't touch it! It'll hurt you. Why did you get a cactus?"

I explained my theory and he wasn't impressed. I popped it on the kitchen windowsill, and it immediately caught it's spiny things on the kitchen curtain and prevented it from billowing out with the open window. This furthered Mike's displeasure with it's existence in our house. Arching a brow, I accused him of being an Anti-Cacti - A cactus hater :) *I* like the cactus. Hopefully, it won't croak.

After dinner, Hank and I glommed onto the herb kit. It came with a stand, 5 pots, 5 "dirt pellets" (kind of creepy) and 5 packets of seeds for cilantro, chives, basil, parsley, and thyme. We had to soak the dirt pellets in water. Hank loved this part. Before I knew it, he had dumped in enough water to flood the kitchen, and scarily enough, the pellets waited a beat, and then slurped the water down as if they were alive. I think this is why I don't garden much.

We mushed up the dirt, popped it into the pots, and arranged the seeds, covering them with a bit more dirt. We have them by our dining room windows. Crossing our fingers that they grow. I love fresh herbs. Cilantro = fresh guacamole. Yum.......

This morning dawned as a beautiful spring day. Before I even got Hank to school, I received a call on my cell from my mom, with grandmother updates. I talked to her on my way in to work, so I wasn't able to pray my usual morning rosary. On my walk from the parking lot into my office, I whipped out my new Our Lady Star of the Sea chaplet and prayed that. It's so, so perfect for a shorter window of opportunity for prayer, and it soothed me greatly. It fits in my hand nicely too; more portable than a full set of rosary beads. I'm planning to visit my grandmother this afternoon at the hospital. After she has her surgery, it's going to be a long haul between her recovery and all of us pitching in to care for my frailer grandfather. One day at a time.

Hanging in there, and many craft projects are born

Hank took this picture; can you tell? :) It's the only one I could secure that didn't have his little finger going across the lens. At any rate, it's me with MY NEW CHAPLET!! Which I love to pieces. I recited it both yesterday evening and this morning, and it brought me much comfort. Oh dearest chaplet, how I love thee...

The beads are nice and smooth, perfect for slipping through your fingers while praying. Here is a view of just the chaplet itself:

*beams* The chaplet is very happy in its new home. It's being well cared for and loved. And most importantly, prayed.

Henry and I had a little photo session last night while Mike was at his summer class. I also have some new crafts to show off. I'm all into this seasonal table settings thing now, and for the past month or so I've been busily crocheting us a summer table runner and placemats. Here is an overview of the table:

I really like the placemats. It's a great pattern I got off of e-Patterns Central for Citrus Lunch Mats:


As part of my stress relief knitting, I made a few dishcloths last weekend. I love this particular pattern, also from e-Patterns Central, for Spring Is In the Air Dishcloths:


This one is a free pattern off the Lily Sugar 'n Cream web site for striped dishcloths:

The yarn is Sugar 'n Cream Violet Stripes. Super pretty.

Last night, I knitted away on the prayer shawl I'm making for my grandmother. I'm using the Lion Brand Homespun yarn I mentioned before. The color is called Parfait, and it creates a beautiful rose-colored striping pattern as you knit in garter stitch. Hank walked by, picked up the skein of yarn, and held it to his little cheek:

"OOhhhh. Mommy. Can I take this to bed with me?"

Um, no. But I had to promise to knit him a blanket in the yarn, and I just happen to have a blue/green color in my stash called Waterfall. I found a free pattern on Lion's web site for a diagonal blanket, and away I go. There is certainly something oddly alluring about this yarn, despite its idiosyncrasies. I pet it frequently.

Ok, I'm bound for the reference desk, so I'm off to transform into Super Librarian. I hope you all are having a blessed day!

Long morning, but the value of friends...

I came into the day today with a bit of a sense of dread in my stomach. My grandmother has been having some heart problems, so I've been worried about her, and family drama abounded. Plus, I had the Meeting Of Doom stretching before me beginning at 9 am. I told myself that I'm grateful that I have a job and that we were not furloughed this week; I should feel glad just to be here and to be getting paid. And I am.

But still. So much sighing. I have a hard time sitting still for meetings that last 2 hours plus, and this one promised to be a doozy. I loaded up on tea heavily flavored with vodka... just kidding :) That's what I *wanted* to do, but I didn't, you see. Instead I stopped off at Dunkin' Donuts on my way in and got a gigantic cup of tea with double cream and double sugar. I should have made that a triple/triple.

The meeting actually wasn't as bad as I feared, but honestly, part of that is that my standards for meetings are so low :) If I don't actually harm myself so that I can get out of the meeting earlier, I consider such a meeting "not that bad." So, that's what we ended up with this morning. All I'll say is that meetings so often get bogged down with commenters who just don't know how to keep their comments anything resembling concise. Alas. It's a fact of working life.

So, then, I got back to my office to find my sisters clamoring for my electronic attentions. Lots of new developments with our grandmother. She's in the hospital, and will have bypass surgery within the week. Prayers are much appreciated. We have lots of concerns about caring for our frail grandfather with her laid up, as well. It's all very difficult.

After all that, I collected my stuff and headed to knitting group. I arrived late, and quickly got to work on the prayer shawl I'm making for my grandmother. Whereupon I was presented with the magnificent chaplet of Our Lady Star of the Sea that I blogged about last week from my beloved knitting friends! I was so thrilled I could hardly contain myself.

The funny thing is, even though I wasn't planning to buy the chaplet (trying to conserve money...) I was still stalking it on etsy so that I could admire it. And Monday morning I noticed that someone had bought it. I sniffled. And I thought to myself "I wonder if someone saw it on my blog and bought it... That's exciting! I'm happy for them, but on the other hand, I WANT IT." I even went back and sadly looked at the Sold listing, so that I could read about it and look at it some more. Pretty pathetic, really. Your Catholic Librarian doesn't exactly have a sparkling social life.

And then, at knitting group today, my friend Karen whipped it out of her knitting bag and said that they had all chipped in on it for me. *squeals* I love, love, love it. I promise to post a picture of it tomorrow.

The bottom of the chaplet features a beautiful medal of Our Lady Star of the Sea. In the image, Mary is holding the child Jesus, and they are in a boat, right on the water. Mary is wearing a crown. The chaplet consists of 15 beads. The initial 3 on this one are a beautiful blue goldstone, and they sparkle :) On these, you pray an Our Father, Haily Mary and Glory Be. There is a rosary centerpiece in the chaplet, and this one features a color image of Our Lady of Fatima, with the holy face of Jesus on the back. The other 12 beads are for praying Hail Marys, invoking the intercession of Our Lady Star of the Sea. In this chaplet, those beads are turquoise jasper and they're fabulous. The color scheme has a definite beachy feel of serene flowing water. I LOVE IT.

On one web page that I read about the devotion, the author noted that Our Lady under this designation intercedes for all travelers, not just those who do so on the sea, as well as all of us as we travel through life's trials. I loved that. Perfect for my current life's journey. It will receive it's inaugural recitation this evening in the car, and I'll report in with all the details in the morning...