Henry's confirmation weekend, and some summer socks...

Hello everybody, and what a spectacular June day it is! 😎 I have had such a splendid June over here, and I hope you have as well! Since June is somehow nearly over, I'll be putting up a page soon with the July novenas that I'm planning to pray in case you'd like to join along! 

So we had a big sacramental weekend over here in the home of the Catholic Librarian. One of my babies made his confirmation. 🔥😭I can hardly believe how the time has flown. It was an absolutely beautiful confirmation Mass, and Henry chose my dad as his sponsor (and the confirmation was on Father's Day!) so it was all quite special. 💗

I felt so grateful that things went so smoothly, and that the ceremony was so beautiful. Henry chose St. Maximillian Kolbe as his confirmation saint, and can you even believe these absolutely perfect socks I got for him from Sock Religious?!

They were the sock of the month for June, I mean, obviously this was divine intervention. ;-) I highly recommend their comfy and delightful socks! I just got my reminder email that the July socks will be shipping soon, and I can hardly wait to see who it is!

My sister got Henry this gorgeous St. Joseph themed home altar for his desk, and Henry's Godfather gifted him this beautiful wood rosary blessed by the pope:

He also received some St. Maximillian books. 😍 And he got the exact cake that he wanted, and we're all still enjoying it nearly one week later, hee hee!

It's so precious to have these memories. Last year was much more difficult with Anne's First Communion because of the pandemic, and I'm relieved that things are going so much better now.

In crafty news, I've been working steadily on a pair of summer lemonade themed socks:

Currently on the heel flap. They're going a bit slow, but they're the perfect project for upcoming family summer movie nights, and so I'm glad to have them by my side! This week I also received a small order that I placed with Bumblebee Acres, a skein of robin's egg blue sock yarn that I've been admiring for ages, and an outstanding plaid project bag!

Summer is good. The kids are both finished with school for the academic year, and it just feels nice to relax and have things move slower for a bit. :)

OK, that's what has been happening with me! How is your summer going so far? Any sacraments or crafts happening in your part of the world this early summer? I would love to hear about it in the comments! Also, don't forget that we'll be discussing Part 2 of our Summer Book Club novel on the life of St. Francis Xavier right here next Friday! :-0

Confirmation saints and lots of tears...

Church of St. John the Evangelist (2014), Flickr, CC BY ND 2.0

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that this final week in the Easter season is treating you well. :) I've been keeping up with the Liturgy of the Hours for Morning and Evening Prayer, and I'm excited to move back to the Ordinary Time volume with lots of summer saint feasts coming out way!

Speaking of patron saints, my Henry is preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in June, and I cannot quite believe that this has happened so quickly. Our diocese administers confirmation in 10th grade, so it's like...😳 I still picture him with his blanket lovey, wanting to sleep in our room. Now...well, he doesn't want to do that anymore. :-0 And he's HUGE, the tallest person in the family! This all is the topic of my piece for Catholic Mom for May. 

*heart*

Emotions aside, I've been guiding him through selecting a patron saint name, and also selecting a sponsor. He has selected St. Maximilian Kolbe as his patron, who has always been one of his favorites. 

*explosion of hearts*

I remember reading his story to Henry countless times when he was little and we still did our saint story time. I'm so delighted that he selected St. Maximilian as his patron! And for his sponsor, there is a happy little anecdote...

Growing up, I was raised Catholic, despite only my mom being an active Catholic. My dad had been baptized in a Protestant church, but didn't attend church services of any kind. When I was in high school, he became interested in a parish that opened on indigenous land near us, as my dad's heritage is half Mohawk. We started going to Mass there, faithfully offered by a local Barnabite community, and a few years later, my dad decided to become Catholic. My dad is a real quiet, reserved kind of a guy, and the priest let him enter the Church in a private ceremony rather than with the larger group at the Easter vigil, becuase he knew that my dad would be more comfortable with this. At the Mass, I remember assuming that my dad had picked St. Andrew as his confirmation patron (and what a worthy one!), as that was his grandfather's name. So when Father announced that my dad had picked (at that time, Blessed) Kateri Tekakwitha as his patron, I felt both a rush of surprise, and also an immediate sense of: "YES, this is the perfect choice." My dad's Mohawk heritage is a very important part of his identity, and St. Kateri is the absolute ideal patron for him. I remember so vividly how powerfully emotional that Mass was to me, even as a teenager not so interested in matters of faith, and Father's tears of joy when he welcomed my dad into the Church.

And so when I approached Henry about selecting a confirmation sponsor, I asked if he had anyone in mind, and mentioned that they should be an adult who actively practices their Catholic faith. I suggested both of his Godparents, who are my younger sister and a good friend of ours who also teaches with Mike, and also my dad. Henry surprised me by picking my dad, and I once again experienced the immediate feeling of rightness. My dad is the *perfect* confirmation sponsor for Henry! Our confirmation saints continue to work blessings in our life all of these years later. 

I am feeling so lifted up by all of this lately. Henry will be confirmed on June 20th, and we're all looking forward to this so much! Finally, I continue to plan in the background for a low key Summer Book Club. What I'm thinking is that we'll have a post every 2-3 weeks rather than every single week, and we'll take the entire summer to move our way through. I can plan more once the book is officially picked and I know how long it is. We'll be reading one of Louis de Wohl's historical fiction books based on the lives of the saints, and so far we have 2 votes for St. Francis of Assisi, and 1 each for St. Helena or St. Joan of Arc. Feel free to comment with your pick! I'll announce the title after Memorial Day weekend. :)