Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost...

It's nearly mid-October, friends, and I can hardly believe how time is flying! It's my son's senior year of high school 😳 and I feel like I'm desperately trying to stop up the hourglass from letting the sands of time fall through. It's a season of transition, for sure.  

In our Byzantine journey this week, Henry was actually out of town for a cross country invitational, so it was just Anne and I heading to Divine Liturgy. As we settled into our pew, I reflected again that my favorite part of this whole journey East is the language of the liturgy itself. I also love the beeswax candles, the iconography and all of the new saints and traditions I'm learning about, but the liturgy has my heart. One of my very favorite moments in the liturgy is the Prayer before Holy Communion:

I believe, O Lord, and confess that You are truly Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first. 

Accept me this day, O Son of God, as a partaker of Your mystical Supper. I will not tell Your Mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief, I confess to You: 

† Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom. 

† Remember me, O Master, when You come into Your kingdom. 

† Remember me, O Holy One, when You come into Your kingdom. 

May the partaking of Your Holy Mysteries, O Lord, be unto me not for judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body. 

† God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 

† God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me. 

† I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.

And after we return from receiving Our Lord, the first words spoken are:

Priest: Save Your people, O God, and bless Your inheritance. 

Choir: We have seen the true light. We have received the heavenly Spirit. We have found the true faith. We worship the undivided Trinity for having saved us.

I noticed this past week that at one point, one of the pages in my little Eastern missal stuck to another one, and as I flipped to the "next" page, I immediately recognized that what I was looking at could not possibly be the words we were to speak next. We were missing important material! Then I saw that a ripped page in my missal had caused the snag, and it all made sense. I'm actually starting to memorize portions of the liturgy, and it's feeling more and more comfortable to participate in it. It's a lovely feeling. 

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Wow, how is it already the end of September?! That FLEW by, our first month of living Byzantinely. ;-) I have some thoughts to share on how it's going, but let's build some anticipation and leave that for the end of the post. First, let's chronicle this past Sunday!

☕

This weekend we went back to how the Eastern Church marks what we in the West would call Ordinary Time, and thus we were at the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Our Sunday once again dawned rainy (the new grass we planted is coming in great at least!) as we made our way to Divine Liturgy. Signs are up advertising the Christmas Bazaar that is to come right before Thanksgiving, and we're looking forward to it and feeling a bit more integrated into the parish now. We found our usual seats towards the back of the small worship space, and I let the opening words of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom wash over me:

"In peace, let us pray to the Lord."

"Lord have mercy."

"For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord."

"Lord have mercy."

The cadence and language of the Divine Liturgy really speaks to me. Obviously, there's this type of 'call and response', if you will, in all liturgies, including the post Vatican II one that most of us are used to. But there's something about the way it is arranged and verbalized in the Divine Liturgy that I find so spiritually nourishing. Add in the the scent and flicker of the real candles and the iconography covering the sanctuary, and this is why I feel called to come back to this style of worship week after week.

The Gospel this week featured the story of Jesus finding the fishermen and inviting them to become fishers of men. Father spoke about how we shouldn't be afraid to tackle the challenges that come our way in our daily lives, because God is always there, throughout, to support us and get us to where we need to be. 

After liturgy, we did our happy congregational chatting thing out in the entry area, accompanied by a nice sensation of being more settled and at home there. What I'm feeling at this point (very early on, to be sure) is that I may simply be a Roman Catholic who feels a pull to the Divine Liturgy and Eastern Christian spirituality; thus, I may never formally be a member of the Byzantine rite. Who knows, there are still 11 months to go, but as much as I love the liturgy and everything that I'm learning about the traditions, I'm still pretty attached to my Western ones. I also love daily Mass, as I discussed last week with regards to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. So while this all is definitely feeding my soul spiritually right now, I don't know that I see myself giving up my Roman Catholic roots. But hey. There is still quite a lot of the liturgical year to go, with the Catholic Nerd set loose with icon sprees and every Eastern prayer book imaginable each week. What could go wrong? 

😂

Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross

Icon for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Welcome back everyone, hope that you are well! It's getting decidedly fall-ish in my part of the world, and I do love this time of year, although I'm mourning the end of summer, for sure. I'm trying to see the positives in cozy fall weather and fun autumn activities like apple picking and pumpkin shopping, so keeping my spirits high! 

It was an interesting week in my little Byzantine adventure over here. Settle in with your coffee or tea and let's chat!

🍵

Last Wednesday, September 14th, was the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and I happened to be off from work that day. I noted in our monthly parish bulletin that there was Divine Liturgy that day at 10 am, and excitedly I set off to attend. I had never attended a weekday Divine Liturgy (is it like daily Mass?) and I was ever so curious.

Well. 😂 I had an interesting experience, to be sure! I arrived at the church, and nearly didn't even go in, because there were no other cars in the parking lot and I was sure that I had made a mistake when I consulted the bulletin. But I figured I would try the door, and curiously, it was open. As soon as I entered that informal space at the back of the building, I could hear chanting, so I knew that somehow, I had in fact been right. When I entered the sanctuary though, I quickly tuned into the fact that it was a small crew for weekday Divine Liturgy. It was me, the lovely lady who was singing, and Father. That's it. 😬 I felt a little awkward, because I'm still so new to the Divine Liturgy, and the liturgy was taking place in Ukrainian (which I knew was likely to be the case), but I figured I would get what I could from context and just being present. I set myself up in the back and just breathed in being in that space, which I absolutely love.

In the spot before the iconostasis where the current seasonal icon is usually set up, there was a display with a cross and flowers. I was curious about liturgical colors in the Byzantine rite, so I did a little research:

Sure enough, the cloth surrounding the cross display was red. I'm already mourning the loss of rose pink for Advent, but we'll talk about that in a few months. 😅 

Quickly, Father became aware of my presence, and he *came down off the altar* to hand me a sheet with the readings and Propers on it in both Ukrainian and English, and pointed out where we were, telling me that they were so happy that I was there. After he went back to the altar, they switched to English so that I could follow along with them.

🥰

I felt very welcomed and at home. Occasionally, they switched back to Ukrainian for short stretches, but I easily followed along with the English side of my sheet. What wasn't on the sheet, I found in the Divine Liturgy missal book thingy. 😎 Slowly but surely, I'm figuring things out there.

At the end of the liturgy, there was a special session of bowing and recitations in front of the cross for both Father and our tiny congregation. 

Back out in the hallway after liturgy, Father greeted me and asked if I was able to follow along. I assured him that I was, and we chatted briefly about the kids and about how weekly envelopes work in that parish, which I had been wondering about.

It was LOVELY. The richness in that tradition is still keeping me entranced and engaged. In the future, I'm not sure how I'll handle weekday Divine Liturgy opportunities. They went out of their way to make me feel at home, which I appreciate more than I can ever fully express, but the thought did cross my mind that it may be a better fit for me to go to daily Mass, especially when the feast days overlap in both traditions, like this one does. Plus, the schedule for daily Mass often works better with my work schedule, as I'm not often fully off from work during the week (though usually working from home 1-2 days). So the jury is still out on that one, but this weekday jaunt with something new was a very enjoyable adventure. 

The following Sunday was officially the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross on the Byzantine calendar, but at my son's Catholic high school it was the day for his class liturgy, so we went to Mass over there this week. I missed the Divine Liturgy, for sure, but it felt comfortable being back at Mass, and I was happy to be with Henry for this special event. Later the same day, we did head to our Byzantine rite parish for the big Ukrainian festival/fundraiser they were hosting, and picked up pierogies, sauerkraut and sausage for dinner. This was a collaborative effort of the three Byzantine rite parishes in our region, and the church hall was PACKED! It was nice to see.

Next week we will be back at Divine Liturgy, and our march towards Advent continues! Do they do Advent in the Byzantine rite? 🤔 We're going to be finding out soon, and I can't wait!

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Some calendar nerdiness this week, enjoy! 😎

Happy September eveyone, and happy new liturgical year to those in the Byzantine rite! 😀 I'm used to the Latin Rite changing of the Church year being a fully new liturgical season with Advent, and that's not the case in the Eastern Church. There's a definite Happy New Year vibe, but the rotation of the liturgical weeks just chugs along as it organically does, and September 1st will fall where it may. This year, we're at the Thirteenth Week after Pentecost, horray! Most (all? still looking into this) of the Byzantine rite uses the Gregorian calendar to set the date of Easter, from which so much of the rest of the liturgical calendar ebbs and flows, and this is the same as the Western Church. Our Eastern Orthodox friends use the Julian calendar, and that's why the date for Easter is oftentimes different between their tradition and ours (but occasionally it syncs up, which is lovely!). 

I did a little research (as I am wont to do 🤓) and this being the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost syncs up with the old traditional calendar that the Western Church used to use (in the modern Latin rite this past Sunday was the Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time). There are some differences between East and West still in terms of calendar feasts (there is no Ash Wednesday in the Eastern tradition, for instance, but we'll come back to that early next year!), but those in both rites that follow the traditional calendar that is used in the Catholic Extraordinary Form count the weeks from Pentecost in this fashion. Does any of this make sense as I am hoping it does? 😂 I find calendar research so fascinating, but I may be in the minority on this one!

Our first Sunday in our Year of Byzantine rite Study dawned rainy, which we were actually glad for since we had just planted a yard full of grass seed! We had our front and back porches replaced this summer, and the construction equipment tore up both sections of the yard quite badly. So we felt blessed by the rain! 

It also dawned with quite a surprise: Mike casually mentioning to me that he would like to attend Divine Liturgy with us. So we attended Divine Liturgy as a full family together for the very first time!

*sobs*

It was very lovely. Anne and I lit a candle after liturgy for my mom, who hadn't been feeling well, and everyone congregated outside the worship space, curious about Mike. So he got some handshakes and greetings all around, and everyone chatted for a bit, including Father. Now that he's been initiated, I'm certain that Mike will be asked after each and every week. 😁 Asking about his impressions after we were back in the car, Mike reported in enjoying the liturgy, and said that he would be back. He's not a weekly church goer, but I'm very encouraged by his interest here! It was a definite blessing as we began our new year. 💗

Winter Ordinary Time 2022: Word on Fire illustrated Bible...

Hello all and happy end of week! It's SUPER chilly in my part of the world, and I'm tucked up cozy with Barney as I write this. 

*blissful sigh*

I get very inspired by the starkness and freshness of winter, and this year is no exception. I'm thinking ahead to Lenten planning (doesn't start until March this year, so still plenty of time!) and getting so excited! In the meantime, I'm enjoying the slowness of this particular part of Ordinary Time and just savoring small joys as they roll in. Related to my last post, I added a Great Feasts icon to my home icon wall, and a small and *adorable* Christ and Theotokos chapel icon set to my desk at work. I'll post photos next time as I forgot to photograph the desk set in particular, and those are just spectacular! 

I've also been allowing myself to read more this winter, and just enjoy some of the books, both fiction and non-fiction, that have been sitting on my Kindle for a long time, awaiting my attentions. One of my New Year's resolutions was to be more active on GoodReads again, keeping track of books that I'm actively reading and those that I would really like to get to in the near future. (I enjoy inspiration romances, romantic suspense, religious non-fiction titles, fitness and dance memoirs). This has helped me to stay focused on making steady progress with books, rather than allowing days to go by without reading at all (or, a single minute of reading in bed on my Kindle before my eyes drift closed). One of the things I'd like to examine for Lent is to select 1-2 non-fiction Catholic titles on my bookshelf and dedicate myself to finishing them before the end of the season. Selecting them will be the most fun!

In that realm, I got an email earlier in the week that the long-awaited new Volume II of the Word on Fire Bible was ready and available for purchase, this year it's Acts, Letters and Revelation:

I learned my lesson from last year (the Gospels) and immediately braced myself for the cost of the leather bound version, because I know now that that is what is want. :-) And there is a GREAT bundle available to purchase both Volume I and II! My order is in, and was shipped yesterday. 🙌

This will be a lifetime project to get through, to be sure, but I'd like to pick it up regularly over Lent. *quiet squee* I cannot wait to structure out my reading plan! I believe that the next volume, for 2023, will be the Pentateuch, so exciting. 

Any other Word on Fire Bible fans here? How have you been approaching reading with yours? Each evening or some other system that you have? I would LOVE some ideas as we approach the start of Lent 2022!

Winter Ordinary Time 2022: Icons and Eastern traditions...

 

Hi friends, and welcome back to blog following the 2021 holiday season! :) I've decided that what I'd like to do on this blog going forward is to post with seasonal themes as regularly as I am able. This time of year, I am often inspired by Winter Ordinary Time, in this space between the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent. Each post will feature something that I'm feeling particularly inspired by this year as we journey through winter towards Ash Wednesday. As ever, I delight in hearing what you're working on during these seasons in your own life down in the comments! 

One of the devotional items that has really captured my imagination this year is Eastern style iconography. I first learned a bit about Easter Orthodox spirituality via reading Facing East, by Frederica Mathewes-Green, a number of years ago. Since that time, one of my good friends joined a Byzantine rite Catholic parish, and this has really captured my fascination to learn more about the Eastern traditions within our faith. She shared a photo with me of her home prayer corner, and the icons truly fascinated me. I went on a bit of a research and shopping expedition of my own over at Legacy icons (a beautiful Orthodox company) and have added a bit to our home artwork:

 

Gorgeous set of Christ and the Theotokos 😍

I also purchased a small icon of the Baptism of the Lord, called Theophany in the Eastern tradition, as my and Mike's wedding anniversary right near that feast each year:

They had a sale recently, and I picked up a few others for my office. ;-) A smaller Christ and Theotokos (means Mother of God/God bearer) set for my desk, and a large icon of all the Great Feasts: 

• Nativity of the Theotokos, 
• Exaltation of the Cross, 
• Entrance of the Theotokos, 
• Nativity of Christ, 
• Theophany, 
• Presentation of Christ (Candlemas), 
• Annunciation, 
• Palm Sunday, 
• Resurrection of Christ, 
• Ascension of Christ, 
• Pentecost, 
• Transfiguration of Christ, 
• Dormition (falling asleep) of the Theotokos.

I have to say, I am quite fascinated by the Eastern tradition, and I absolutely LOVE icons. Just looking at the Christ and Theotokos set in our bedroom makes me feel so comforted and happy. Icons are artistic representations of our family of faith in heaven, and their presence is such a solace to me. 

I am also loving learning more about the Eastern side to our faith. Given my attachment to our Latin rite traditions, I don't see myself ever officially changing rites, but continuing to learn more is bringing me a lot of joy, and I plan to attend a Divine Liturgy for the very first time this month! 

Have you ever attended an Eastern Divine Liturgy? Do you own any icons? Or are there other devotions you're focusing on this winter? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

New books and new inspiration...

Hello friends, and I hope that you are well! We wrapped up Anne's school year this week, much to the relief of the entire family. :-0 I'm praying that the kids are back in school in the fall, and it looks like they are planning to make that the case. She needs a school environment in order to thrive, that definitely became clear during the past 3 months! So we now have two and a half months just to take it easy and not fret about school work, and that definitely feels good. Both of the kids are registered to go back to their Catholic schools in September, and we're just hoping that all goes smoothly!

I've been amusing myself by taking an introductory ballet class, and you can see my fancy setup here:

:-0

It's all very low tech in the dance studio of the Catholic Librarian, but we make do where we can! I'm really enjoying taking a dance form at which I'm a total beginner. Technically, I studied ballet when I was a child, but that was so long ago that it's essentially like starting over. Our session is being extended by another 4 weeks, so I'll be happily plie-ing in our guest room all through July. I've also been doing a lot of belly dance, but that's par for the course! There are certain commonalities between the 2 types of dance (posture, arms, long and graceful lines, strong feet, and connection with the floor) that I'm enjoying honing in ballet so that I can apply it to my belly dancing. I'm feeling quite inspired by it all!

In other news, my Word on Fire version of the Gospels arrived this week!

I'm loving it, and apparently these are nearly all sold out until the fall already! I'm hoping I don't regret not getting one of the sturdier covers (I went with paperback), but I absolutely love it. There are a few paperback copies left to purchase as of when I'm writing this, and I will say this particular paperback is much thicker and sturdier than usual! I just started reading the opening commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, and so far, I'm intrigued. :-)

I also made a purchase I can't believe I didn't already have:

I mean...this is perfect for me, right? How did I not already own this? :-0 The Catholic All Year Compendium has suggestions for liturgical home living for the entire year. My sister mentioned populating her new academic planner with the designated "meat Fridays" (that fall on solemnities) for the year, and I was instantly interested. We don't abstain from meat on Fridays outside of Lent, but when have you ever known your Catholic Librarian to shy away from a challenge? ;-)  Lots of good stuff in here, I'm excited to get started!

Do you have any new books or new inspiration this week? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Saint themes for kids! St. Francis de Sales novena, and adventures in not-so-perpetual Adoration chapels...

Happy beginning to the St. Francis de Sales novena, everyone! :) This novena starts today, and runs through January 23rd. It is perfect for anyone with an intention regarding teaching or writing. Do pray along with us! If you have an intention that you'd like me to include in my own prayers during this novena, just leave a comment on the novena page linked above. :)

Before I get into the saint theme business, I wanted to mention my winter Ordinary Time goals in general, since the novenas are a part of that. I have a weekly Adoration goal, and so far things are going great, but I tell you, the perpetual Adoration chapel I go to isn't making it easy for me. :0 I mentioned that it was closed over the holidays, which is totally understandable. I stopped last week, no problems whatsoever, so I was lulled into a sense of confidence.

*ominous music plays*

Tuesday I hustled out to my car early so that I would have time for a holy 15 minutes prior to heading home. I zoom to the chapel. I park. I walk briskly to the back door of the church near the Adoration chapel. It is locked. I peek inside the window kind of creepily. Right! There is another door along the side. I've been outside for a whole 30 seconds by this point and am getting cold, so I start to hightail it to the side door. As this was ongoing, another car had zipped into the parking lot and made a big sweeping motion to back into the parking spot that I was currently transversing. I was already in the middle of the spot, so it's not like I could go anywhere except to hurry to the other side. Which is what I did, making a "sorry!" face as I did so, but they still nearly mowed me down. :0 But I made it to the side door unscathed, and...it too was locked.

!

This time I wasn't at all subtle about peering in the windows, and I saw a large sign hung on the chapel door saying that it was closed "for construction in the church hallway," whatever that means. So that was a huge bummer, but it did open back up yesterday, so I stopped then. No zoomy cars in the parking lot, so all was well. I love Adoration. It's not like I ever see visions or hear voices when I'm in there or anything, but I feel like the rest of the week following that is just smoother and it's more clear to me what decisions I should make along the way. So, that's going well. :)

For the kids, I mentioned this "saint theme" idea I had. Henry mentioned that he'd like a St. Stephen wooden peg doll to add to his collection, so I've made St. Stephen his theme for the year. :) What I plan to do is read his story with Henry throughout the year in all of the various saint books that he has, and then gift him with some St. Stephen sacramentals as a way of remembering his example. I'm going to ask my favorite Etsy saint doll artist, Gary of St. Luke's Brush, to paint him a St. Stephen doll. He doesn't have a current listing for St. Stephen, but he'll custom make whatever saint you ask, and it would be similar in style to this handsome St. Francis de Sales:

I also have a St. Stephen rosary for him, created by Allison of Rosaries by Allison:

Anne's theme is Our Lady of Lourdes. She's a huge fan of Our Lady (Our Lady Star of the Sea is a real favorite of hers), so I thought this would be a nice one for her. We'll read her story, and she'll receive a felt Our Lady of Lourdes in her Easter basket (shop is Saintly Silver on Etsy):

And an Our Lady of Lourdes rosary:

I'm planning to emphasize these feast days this year, so December 26th for St. Stephen, and upcoming February 11th for Our Lady of Lourdes. In fact, I'm planning on praying the Our Lady of Lourdes novena and trying to include Anne in that as much as I can, I will report in on how that goes. :)

I have some other saint ideas for the kids this year, the first of which involves the feast of St. Blaise, February 3rd. I will devote a whole post to St. Blaise in about two weeks, just after his novena starts on January 25th!

What are your saint traditions with your kids, or that you grew up with? Do report in the comments. :)

St. Lucy's feast day approaches - should we have Anne wear a crown of lit candles?! #CouldBeDangerous...

Happy Thursday everyone, and I hope that you are well. :) I absolutely love the feast days during Advent, and a fairly new one to my radar screen is coming up on Saturday December, 13th: the feast of St. Lucy. I thought we could talk about St. Lucy a bit and plot about how to work her feast day into a fun family activity/ domestic monastery thing. :)

Henry is the one who really drew my attention to St. Lucy. He and I read a saint story of some sort each night before bed (we have an entire library of books to pull from). And during the course of these readings last year, St. Lucy made an appearance. What with all of the dramatic eye gougings and blazing fires, the story captured Henry's imagination.

"Wow. Did that really happen to her, Mommy? How was she able to do that?"

*very big eyes*

Since then, he's always been fond of St. Lucy. Last year, I bought the book that you see above, Lucia: Saint of Light to read to the kids on her feast day. Henry read it, but Anne wasn't too interested in longer stories just yet. Plus, it really is written for slightly older children, I would say the 7-8 year range. But the pictures are intriguing, so we'll see how it goes this year.

I'd like to make St. Lucy's feast an annual celebration in our house. Thus, I decided to do some additional research this year. Who exactly was St. Lucy, you ask? Lucy was an early virgin martyr (there's that word again! :0 I always substitute "unmarried" when reading these stories to the kids ;-)) who actually appears in the canon of the Mass in Eucharistic Prayer I. Hence, the Church obviously finds her a pretty important example of courage in faith. Part of her story involves Lucy convincing her mother to seek the intercession of St. Agatha for the cure to a bleeding problem she was experiencing. The two women traveled to St. Agatha's tomb, and while there, Lucy had a vision of Agatha and her mother was cured. Subsequently, Lucy took a vow of virginity and gave her money and belongings away to the poor. When she rebuffed a smarmy suitor wanting to marry her, she was targeted as being a Christian, tried, convicted, and martyred. Unfortunately, we have the torture sequence referenced above. :-\

Traditional activities on the feast of St. Lucy involve the youngest daughter in the family wearing a crown (symbolizing martyrdom, and Lucy's status as a bride of Christ, I'm thinking) of lit candles. Her name means "light," so that's part of it, but it may also have to do with her feast falling during Advent, when we expectantly await the light of Christ. This is all very lovely, but obviously a trifle dangerous.  Especially considering our contender for the crown:

I'm not thinking this is a good idea. :0 I may try to find some crafty materials around the house to make a ribbony crown for her, we'll see. But no candles, please. The other thing that is popular on the feast of St. Lucy is serving coffee and sweet rolls that morning. I have no idea what this has to do with young Lucy herself, but this is the custom. I found a recipe here for an appropriate sweet bread for those brave souls wanting to bake. I absolutely love the idea of placing lit candles on the bread, perfect and symbolic compromise! I was all gung ho, but then I saw "active, dry yeast" on the list of ingredients. I have no notion of how one acquires yeast at all, let alone yeast that is all active :0 so I'm not sure if we'll be doing this or not. Maybe I could stop at the grocery store on my way home for some pre-baked "St. Lucy bread." Or at least, that's what I'll call it. ;-)

But I'd like to make the day notable for the kids. There are some other great St. Lucy day ideas over at this blog, if you feel ambitious.

How about you, dear reader? Doing anything special for the feast of St. Lucy?

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Reflections on gratitude and community...

There are my cute little minions at left, posing in front of the candle they lit for the intentions of my St. Monica novena. Henry looks thrilled, doesn't he? :0 Really doesn't like photographs, that child. Anne told me she didn't want to be in the picture and pouted dramatically off to the side, but when she realized that I was then taking a picture in which Henry was the star, she hustled right over. They were both very well behaved for Mass once again, and I'm very proud of them. They really are sweethearts.

As we got situated in the pew, I thought to myself how I'd like to pay more attention to the readings this week. It's not totally my fault that I can't completely follow this part of the liturgy - the first reading is inevitably when Anne asks me to take her back to the restroom. But I started trying out a podcast that is new to me, Monday Morning Catholic (that's a link to their videos, but you can also subscribe to the audio right through iTunes), and in each episode the panel discusses the readings and homilies from their parish, and the liturgy for that week. I love nitty-gritty stuff like this when it comes to my obsessions (of which, Catholicism is one of them ;-)) so I've listened the past few weeks and felt inspired. If I had to give a summary of what our pastor discussed in the homily, could I do so in an intelligible manner? Usually not, I'll just come clean. The liturgy I could discuss with some semblance of coherency, but during the readings and homily my mind is usually quite divided and distracted. 

So I did my best this weekend, and the children mostly obliged me, aside from the requisite bathroom visit. Anne and I are wearing a path in the marble from our pew to the sacristy bathroom, let me tell you. But I was able to pay *more* attention this week. My Magnificat subscription helps, since I can read everything back over in a spare moment after Anne and I return to the pew. :0 The Gospel was the well-known: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" passage from Matthew.

Reflecting on both Monday Morning Catholic as well as my experience at Mass yesterday, I was thinking about how wonderful it is that we have a standard lectionary/schedule of readings worldwide. No matter where you go to Mass, you will hear the same readings that relate to the liturgical season, and in three years you will hear a good portion of the Bible. Catholics get a bad reputation for not "being immersed in Scripture," but if one truly makes an effort to attend Mass and listen to the Word, you will be immersed in a great deal of Scripture.

I love being a part of this global Church. It makes me feel a part of something so much larger than myself, and something important. Sitting in my small parish in Western New York, I feel connected with those who are sitting around me, but I also feel connected to Catholics everywhere. It's a wonderful thing, and I'm so grateful for that. *You all* are also part of my global community, and I thank you for sticking around to read what I write each week.

*blows kiss* :)

I love my little parish too. The pastor and deacon who baptized Anne recognize us and greet us by name. We know the ushers and parishoners who usually sit near us by sight and exchange happy smiles during the Sign of Peace. I'm excited for the fall events and ministries to get started back up again in a few weeks. It's all just lovely.

Continuing our theme of "community" for the week, I have a few fun things in store. Wednesday is Catholic Book Club day, and I will be posting on Erin McCole Cupp's Don't You Forget About Me, including an interview with Erin! Thursday is the August installment of The Church Triumphant, so check back then to see the featured saints for the month. *squeals!* I love this stuff. :0

How was your weekend, dear reader? Leave me a comment!

A Liturgical Year Book Review & Giveaway: Epiphany & Lent

Afternoon everyone! Fresh on the heels of Candlemas, I thought today was a perfect day to review the next book in the Let Us Keep the Feast series, Epiphany & Lent (series edited by Jessica Snell). I reviewed the first book, Advent & Christmas, back in December, and some foundational information about the series can be found in that post (so go read it if you haven't already, quick like a bunny. ;-)).

In a nutshell, these are small but wonderful little books that discuss a particular portion of the liturgical year from a Christian perspective (this includes Catholic as well as some Protestant traditions). Included in each is a history of the liturgical season, any special feasts therein, associated traditions and suggestions for old and new ways to engage in these, recipe and craft ideas, and ways to celebrate the season out in the larger community. There are always some really good suggestions that I would not have thought of on my own.

And so this Epiphany & Lent volume was really interesting to me because I learned some things about other Christian traditions. In the Catholic Church, Epiphany is fixed on the calendar at January 6th, but celebrated in Mass on the Sunday following that. The subsequent Sunday will be the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and formally begins a sliver of Ordinary Time leading up to Lent. In other churches, Epiphany is a full liturgical season celebrated up until Ash Wednesday. The librarian learned a new liturgical tidbit, and she likes this very much! Of course, the traditions and suggested activities apply regardless of how long one celebrates Epiphany, and are beautiful things to reflect on leading up to Lent.

In the Epiphany segment of this book, the author addresses Twelfth Night traditions, a blessing of homes, gift giving during this season, and Shrove Tuesday. In the "New Traditions" section, she includes some suggestions with a theme of Christ as the Light of the World that I thought were lovely and inspiring. And there is a recipe for King Cake! Who of you are very ambitious bakers out there?! *cups hands over eyes to scan the crowd* I also really enjoyed reading about a traditional home blessing during Epiphany. Some nice ideas in this section for including your children in this activity.

In the Lent portion of the book, I once again found very good suggestions that I have not have done before. Fasting from something other than food, for instance, making your Lenten world less "noisy." Incorporating spring cleaning, which I LOVED. They can be little things, but when done with great love we can transform both them and ourselves. A very. St. Therese of Lisieux interpretation of Lent. :) There are some nice suggestions for your children, including creating a child-friendly daily devotional time, and allowing them to choose for themselves something meaningful to give up until Easter. Suggestions very dear to my heart were to craft and give those items away during Lent, and to keep a reflection journal.

Once again, I was impressed with this series. I am pleased to be compiling a print copy of every volume in the set, and have already given a few away as gifts. You can buy these books at the Doulos Resources eStore in either print or ebook form. Use the discount code “LUKTFBlogTour” to receive 15% off your order!

I am, though, also giving away a copy, *insert happy noise*! Enter below with Rafflecopter. I will announce the winner Friday morning!

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A liturgical year book review - and a giveaway!

Lots of excitement, no? :) I am very pleased to be a reviewer of the Let Us Keep the Feast series of books from Doulos Press, chronicling the liturgical year. There will be 4 books total in the series, and yours truly will be hosting a review and a giveaway for a print copy of each! Lots of squealing going on over here, rest assured. I love this stuff. Let us begin with the first volume, which covers Advent & Christmas.

This series is edited by Jessica Snell, but one of the authors included in volume 1 is the fabulous Michelle Bychek of Liturgical Time, much beloved by yours truly for her blog and veil shop. The other co-author of this volume is Rachel Telander, who wrote the excellent Advent portion of the book. The books are written from a traditional Christian perspective, and are very accessible to Christians from a variety of affiliations. Including, of course, us happy Catholics. :)

These are slim volumes, but are packed with beautifully written and useful information. For each season (so in this volume, Advent and Christmas) there is a standard format for ease of use:

(1) Introduction - background and historical information, including relevant foundational Scripture passages;

(2) Calendar - highlights of special feast days therein;

(3) Traditions - Both historical traditions and suggestions for creative ideas to supplement those;

(4) In the Kitchen - Ideas for seasonal dishes;

(5) For the Very Young - Ways to adapt seasonal traditions to accommodate the tiniest among us;

(6) Things to Make - Crafts! The sure way to my heart.

(7) Beyond the Home - Ideas for celebrations out in your community;

(8) Resources - Lists of applicable Scripture verses, books, music and prayers.

Nothing pleases me more than a standard format for a series of books, it makes it so much easier to pull them off your shelf and use them as reference sources during the season in question. And the sections chosen for this series are just perfect.

The Advent portion discusses Advent wreaths and calendars, the Jesse Tree, and even mentions fasting (a long standing, but often not well-known, Advent tradition). *swoons with delight* St. Nicholas and St. Lucy make strong appearances, and indeed these are the two feast days that I really emphasized with my children this Advent. The resources section discusses the O Antiphons, and on this I really learned something. Of course, I have sung "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" many times in church, but I had not really put two and two together on this. The O Antiphons are the verses from this hymn, and for centuries have traditionally been recited or sung during the last seven days of Advent. Yes, that is December 17th through the 23rd, perfect timing for this blog post!! Each of the antiphons is fully listed in the Advent Resources section. Reading them evokes being in Mass amongst the lit Advent candles and a darkened sky permeating the stained glass windows. Just beautiful.

The Christmas section nearly brought tears to my eyes, it is so lovely. And this is the information that we need to share with others - Christmas is NOT a day, it is a SEASON! There is SO much beautiful tradition still to come following December 25th. In this section, we learn about the Christ candle, a progressive approach to laying out the family nativity set, the history and symbolism of Christmas trees, the Twelve Days of Christmas, and so much more. The author discusses the feasts of St. Stephen, St. John the Apostle, and the Holy Innocents. *Lots* of suggestions for activities with small children in this section, it is delightful! The children will be off from school until after the new year, and thus it is a perfect time to have crafty things to do together at home, especially if the weather prohibits outside play. Holy Name sugar cookies, anyone? Sounds delicious.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and cannot wait to read the next volume, Epiphany & Lent! Look for a review and giveaway of that volume to come in February.

This book is available both in print, and as an ebook from the Doulos Resources eStore, (*UPDATE: use the code "LUKTFBlogTour" to get 15% off your purchase!) as well as on Amazon. They are *extremely* reasonably priced, at $9.95 for a print copy and $1.99 (!) for the ebook. You may also download only the Advent segment, or only the Christmas segment, for a mere 99 cents! If you want to get right on those O Antiphons, download away!

There is, however, an opportunity to win a free print copy. I subjected myself to Rafflecopter just for you all. :0 It really wasn't that complicated, I'm just being curmudgeonly. I actually contemplated having you simply leave a comment and I would pick names out of a hat, just to let you know what you're dealing with here.

#oldfashionedlibrarian

#bunheadsrule

Anyway, enter below! This is for a bound print copy that includes both the Advent and Christmas segments. The giveaway is only open until midnight Thursday December 19th, EST! So enter quick like bunnies!

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A return to Ordinary Time...

This isn't exactly new news, since Pentecost was over a week ago, but I was reflecting on it more this past weekend (and feast of the Holy Trinity :)). It'll be Ordinary Time now until Advent, so we have quite a long stretch ahead of us. But lots of interesting feasts mixed in there, so we'll stay entertained to be sure.

Coming off of this Memorial Day weekend, I'm feeling very reflective. I spoke a bit last week about my cousin who committed suicide very unexpectedly (not that that sort of thing can ever really be expected) and the devastation in the family that he left behind. I mentioned that we were all struggling to understand *why* he would do something so drastic. Well, I can't really go into any sort of detail, but I can say that we learned some information over the weekend and we now know why he did it. And the story isn't pleasant, as you would expect. There's nothing that we can do about it, obviously, and knowledge can be painful. But we soldier on as best we can.

In trying to see some positive, summer is approaching, which is usually my least favorite time of year (yes, I'm a freak) but this year I'm really looking forward to it. We're all prepared with our air conditioners (we finally purchased a portable unit for Anne's room, which is a big relief) so it should be fine. And I'm looking forward to lots of dance events and family gatherings. Mike and I also watch lots of good tv and movies in the summer together. :)

Oh! Speaking of dance, we're throwing around ideas for a new choreography, and I'm terribly, terribly excited. I may have the opportunity to learn to balance a candle tray (yes, just what I need, to add FIRE into the range of things that can go wrong when I dance) and/or Isis Wings. Both are new props to me, and I love learning new things. Balancing a tray is much more difficult than balancing a sword, so it would definitely be a challenge. Very, very excited about this.

But otherwise, I'm hoping just for a quiet and prayerful summer.

Speaking of praying, Pray More Novenas is slated to being the June novena tomorrow, and this year we're doing a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Join us. :)

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

This is another interesting factoid courtesy of my Lenten Liturgy of the Hours foray. I've noticed this feast on the church calendar in the past, but never paid it much mind. This year, it seems particularly poignant that it falls within the week that Pope Benedict XVI will resign.

According to my Proper of Saints for February 22nd:

Chair of Peter, Apostle
Since the fourth century, the feast of the Chair of Peter has been celebrated at Rome as a sign of the unity of the Church founded upon that apostle.

There are special antiphons for today, plus a completely separate reading, intercessions and prayer. For Evening Prayer, I see that we will use the Common of Apostles rather than the Psalter. I know that I am a nerd because I find this so fascinating. All I can say is thank goodness for these little St. Joseph guides for praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

Tonight our dance class is off due to another commitment by my teacher, so I'll be at home happily knitting by Mike's side as we watch a movie. Fittingly, it has started to snow, just to make things cozier for us, isn't that nice?

Tomorrow, Mike and I are going out to dinner to celebrate my birthday, and Sunday I'm making a pizza so that we can watch the Daytona 500. Mike rolls his eyes whenever I mention this, but I always remind him that many men would love to have a wife who was interested in auto racing. He always compliments be appropriately. :) It should be a nice weekend.

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

This feast has held a special place in my heart since I got married 8 years ago. In that year, our wedding Mass was the day before the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which made it stick out in my mind. Every year, our anniversary falls during the Christmas season, varying of course in how close it is to this feast. I just love that our wedding occurred liturgically during Christmas. :)

But I also love the symbolism of this feast, and the fact that it signals the end of Christmas and the beginning of the winter segment of Ordinary Time. It feels like such a fresh start for January. And Lent/Easter is never far off, so something to look forward to.

Hank and I were admiring the Christmas decorations for the last time yesterday during Mass. He got to see the wise men at the stable, and yesterday also marked the Rite of Acceptance for the RCIA candidates in our parish. Whenever I see an RCIA ritual, I think of my friend Irena who came home to the Church during the Easter vigil in 2011. That was such a special year, and although I'm a cradle Catholic, I learned so much from her about the RCIA process. I was sad that I couldn't be at the different rites with her since she lives about 7 hours from me (although I was at her baptism/confirmation, wouldn't have missed that for the world, even at 36 weeks pregnant!) but each week we would talk about the rituals and how excited she was about them all. So meaningful.

So anyway, the Rite of Acceptance was yesterday, formally marking those participating as catechumens (preparing for baptism) or candidates (already baptized, but preparing for confirmation and full communion in the Church). This year we have 6 adults who will be received into the Church on the Easter vigil. Beautiful! I get teared up just thinking about it.

Henry and I were also talking about his upcoming first reconcilliation in early March. He's nervous about it, but I'm trying to reassure him. Back when I was making my sacraments, we did first reconcilliation AND first communion in second grade. It seems to be the norm that it is not done that way anymore. Henry does first confession this year (in second grade) and first communion next year in third grade. But I promised him that I would buy him his very own big boy rosary from Carm at unbreakablerosaries to commemorate the occasion and we went online yesterday to select one. He has his eye on one (the center medal is Bl. John Paul II, I'm thrilled!) and as long as he doesn't change his mind (which he's prone to do) I'll order that by the end of the week. He's precious.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time...

...is coming right up, and I am on Children's Liturgy of the Word duty, my second session of this new academic year. I'm going to be preparing my lesson tomorrow, but I looked at my liturgy preparation sheets provided by the religious education office and I see that we're going to be talking about Jesus interacting with his disciples and answering their questions about how to best follow Him.

The provided sheets always begin with a section called "Liturgical Season Background" that I enjoy reading, and I almost always use the information in here when I'm talking to the kids. For this session that section relays that the final weeks of Ordinary Time (Advent draws closer!) form a pattern until the feast of Christ the King of "adventures with Jesus." The way that Mark writes about this time is to focus on what it means to be a person of faith and follower of Jesus. I always talk to the children about our current place in the liturgical calendar: what is happening now and what is coming around the corner. This always seems to capture their attention. I also put out a cloth on our little table that is the color of the current liturgical season to illustrate things.

I'm actually looking forward to my installment this coming Sunday rather than dreading it like last time (although that session went beautifully) so I'm hoping for another good one. Sometimes I'm so convinced that God wants me to move in a different direction but things happen that cause me to not in fact veer my path. And then it seems that things work out in the original circumstance so much better than I could have imagined. I don't know if that's what is going on here in Children's Liturgy of the Word, but I'm keeping my eyes open. One never knows.

Ravellenic Games Day 3, and grateful for Ordinary Time...

Ok, so I've been watching a lot of the Olympics. And I've been knitting while I do so. A lot. Well, I mean, I have 2 small children, which translates into = Not Nearly As Much As I'd Like To. But I've been getting a lot done.

Friday afternoon I threw caution to the wind, and cast on right from my desk during the Mass Cast On. Sisterly Knitting Energy wrapped itself around me like a cashmere/Merino wool blend. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. Later, after dance class, I picked up my fledgling sweater and began to lovingly knit again. I got about 5 rounds in, and I could really see the pattern developing. The fabric is absolutely to die for. Then I saw it.

IT.

There it was. A twist in my in-the-round knitting. What does this mean? It means that, despite how careful I was, when I joined my cast-on row in the round, the stitches were slightly twisted on one side, and now my fabric was twisted. Unless I wanted a moebius sweater, or to steek a cardigan, this is a fatal condition, and I must rip back.

I.was.CRANKY.

I hadn't gotten that far, but I still didn't want to have to start over. Plus, my cast-on was all symbolic and perfect.

Instead of taking this hit like a mature person, I bitched about it to Mike, and then stubbornly stayed up until nearly midnight to knit back to where I had to pull it out.

The next morning I was tired, but determined. I worked on the sweater when I could, and am now past the waist shaping decreases and have 2.5 inches to go before I have to increase for the bust and armholes. I'm a very happy woman on a mission.

Tonight, my goal is to get to those increases. I think I can do it. The sweater is now going so well that I also cast on for a pair of fingerless mittens to enter in the Mitten Medley.

I'm insane.

But on a related note, who else is highly amused that the female beach volleyball players have had to cover up more because the weather is so chilly and rainy in London?

*raises hand*

And modesty aside, seriously. WHO (I ask you) looks good in teeny tiny bikini bottoms running around chasing after a ball on a bunch of sand? I don't care how slim are, NOBODY looks good in this situation. You spend 75% of the time not-so-delicately yanking aforementioned bottoms back to where they should be, and my friends, this is not a flattering look. If you are a teenager, please take note of this. In this case, MORE really is more.

Ok, moving on. I'll post pictures of my in-progress sweater later this week. Henry and I attended Mass yesterday, and I think that finally everyone has gotten the hang of the new responses. And I know there is still some disgruntlement amongst some Catholics about the new translation, but I really like the new responses. Having attended the Mass in Latin recently, I can say that the new responses are much closer to those from the Extraordinary Form. I like them very much.

And as Henry and I sat during the Homily, I was thinking about how nice this summer stretch of Ordinary Time is. It's a good time for contemplation on key parts of the Gospel (the multiplication of the loaves and fish yesterday) and is a wonderful buildup to the busy fall season of saint feasts and Advent.

By the way, Advent is *late* this year; it doesn't start until December 2nd! I can't remember the last time the first Sunday of Advent wasn't Thanksgiving weekend. I'm sad about this, since I'm super excited for Advent to come.

*frowns*

Ordinary Time? Not so ordinary

I'm sure that I've mentioned before that I absolutely *love* the Church's liturgical calendar, and following along with the different liturgical seasons. Right now, we're in "Ordinary Time," and in the past, the name always made me feel a bit ho hum. You know, Christmas is over, Lent hasn't started yet, so we're just filling in the gap. The priest wears green vestments, and there are no special flowers or decorations at the church right now.

Well. I couldn't have been more wrong. :) And, as ever, I'm grateful that I teach Children's Liturgy of the Word and have the opportunity to learn new things about my faith along with the children.

This morning I was on the very quiet reference desk, and so pulled out my preparation sheets for this Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. There's always an introduction for the catechist to the readings for that day plus some background on the current liturgical season. And here's where it gets interesting. At least for me. :)

The sheet notes that the word "ordinary," as used to denote liturgical time, does not mean "commonplace." The original meaning of the word was a person occupying a high office, and thus indicates a loftiness of rank. As well:

"Ordinary time is that grouping of Sundays lying between the great Incarnational observances of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, and the great Resurrection observances of Lent, Easter and Pentecost. After the feasts and fasts of these two great centers of our lives, ordinary time provides us with an opportunity to take a more detailed look at our spiritual life and its underpinnings. Having just celebrated the Incarnation, we now turn our attention, during the next four weeks, to how it is that the Christ, born in us at Christmas, lives in us, and we in Christ. Who is Jesus, and what does Jesus mean to me? These are the questions for post-Christmas ordinary time. But these are not ordinary questions."

I loved, loved, loved this explanation. And for the past couple of years, I have indeed felt more of a significance to Ordinary Time. It's a time for reflection and preparation for the major feasts of the Church. How are the major events of our faith, and our day-to-day relationship with Jesus, impacting our everyday lives? And so the above explanation for this next month in particular really resonated with me.

As I drove into work this morning, I was thinking about Lent coming up next month. I love Lent. And this year, I don't want to be caught unprepared for how I want to approach that 6 week period. I'm planning a time of spiritual reading that I'll write more about in a separate post, and I'm very excited about it.

Excited about Lent = weird? Not sure, but it is noteworthy. :)

Looking forward to Holy Week

Palm Sunday to Easter is one of my favorite weeks of the liturgical year. I just love the different liturgies, and the physical reminders all week long of the passion of our Lord.

As ever, I'm very contemplative this year as we approach the end of Lent. I finished my main spiritual reading for the season already, and I'd love to start more. However, I'm getting kind of close to "my time,"if you will, and so I've delved into the Hypnobirthing book that just came for me from Amazon Marketplace. I'm quite intrigued, I'll be reviewing that one on here, fyi. But anyway, my reading time is limited, so I'm in a quandry. After I finish Hypnobirthing, even if Lent is over, I think I'm just going to pick up another hardcore spiritual title. It'll do me good in the weeks leading up to my delivery.

This weekend, we're slated to begin painting the nursery. As well, we're taking Hank on an Easter egg hunt and to see the bunny. And of course, Palm Sunday Mass on Sunday morning. It'll be a busy one.

Baby CL has been busy as well. I'm feeling some cervical pressure (not painful, and aren't you glad I'm telling you all this personal information about my innards?) and TONS of Braxton Hicks contractions, as well as menstrual-like cramping. Again, none of this is painful nor causing bleeding of any kind, which of course would immediately warrant a call to my doctor. But wow is this different from my first pregnancy. I suppose I got occasional Braxton Hicks then, but absolutely nothing was going on until the day before I delivered. It's nice to know that things are progressing in the way that they should, but I definitely want Baby CL to stay *in* for at least another two and a half weeks, preferably another month. He or she needs that extra baking time!

In the mean time, I'm preparing as best I can both physically and spiritually. One day at a time.

Happy feast days, and our liturgical calendar

This time of year provides some of my favorite feasts on our liturgical calendar. The feast of the archangels (Sept. 29th), St. Therese (Oct. 1st) and the guardian angels (Oct. 2nd).

I've always loved the angels. Something very comforting in thinking about us having an angel, no? I used to read those books you see all over now about "encounters with angels" or some such notion. Now, I tend to simply say the guardian angel prayer whenever I'm worried about something that may transpire that day; it's very soothing.

"Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen."

And St. Therese has always been one of my favorites. Her autobiography is one of the few writings of the saints that I can manage to slog through. Not to knock saints' writings, of course. It's just that oftentimes, I find them...challenging. You know. HEAVY READING. I would classify myself as a *light reading* kind of gal. Her autobiography is just so sweet and touching. A profound read, and a fast one at that. The year Mike and I were engaged, I hosted a St. Therese party on October 1st. I loved that, super fun. It was really just an excuse to get together with my Catholic friends, and what better reason than St. Therese?

As well, this time of the year, (my favorite, as you all know :) I start to think ahead to the start of the upcoming new liturgical year. Usually in October, I start stalking my local Catholic bookstore for the new St. Joseph's Sunday Missal. LOVE that little thing. I bring it to Mass with me every week, and I love that it's specifically for the year in question. No flipping to figure out if we're on cycle A, B or C, and what week in Ordinary Time we happen to be at. Certainly, a permanent missal would be more cost efficient in the long run, but at $5 a year, I stick with good old St. Joseph.

And of course, with the new liturgical year, comes Advent. AAAhhhh, Advent. I so adore Advent and Lent. Two of my other favorite times of the year :)