tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66274688067638462962024-02-07T13:16:42.348-05:00Those That Wonder"You shall draw waters with JOY out of the Savior's fountain..."
Isaiah 12:2Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.comBlogger286125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-19671624716848059902011-12-27T11:04:00.007-05:002011-12-27T11:20:07.278-05:00On the third Day of Christmas...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q0EdS7U1ImEgkJj36X0dacubdOMWkuKRJEyTKgPgsTb2uQwN16FyQ_tp-vW2NdH0fz9vXLfwI5PzBhI4dQirJiOi81TF_N6_MuaXSIQPtJrLoUtZhwmyEoBz_RkUyZR0BFMV3LGVbXI/s1600/familytgiving.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q0EdS7U1ImEgkJj36X0dacubdOMWkuKRJEyTKgPgsTb2uQwN16FyQ_tp-vW2NdH0fz9vXLfwI5PzBhI4dQirJiOi81TF_N6_MuaXSIQPtJrLoUtZhwmyEoBz_RkUyZR0BFMV3LGVbXI/s400/familytgiving.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690843469164856482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGUvPeGz5dHTZgXGvtXFK6lWuucWKGf5vYWO0ahRcqnIvkxBM5bM93pOqxfRm1DTUHsuHPr0laVFxlTuBRRaqWLhfGmQJvbMDn5xuXzZLybnLiZ_T8VQwFsu1rh6-4cGra8P0S1abD1Fc/s1600/mommjb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGUvPeGz5dHTZgXGvtXFK6lWuucWKGf5vYWO0ahRcqnIvkxBM5bM93pOqxfRm1DTUHsuHPr0laVFxlTuBRRaqWLhfGmQJvbMDn5xuXzZLybnLiZ_T8VQwFsu1rh6-4cGra8P0S1abD1Fc/s400/mommjb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690843086396148994" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sTM2_bzD2H7dOcbSnRv3YjSrbflCVBuJOF-pUt5H7hWYk9jD32G3OQUnVFKA_vzCaTM9kFgUbv1FaEmBBeNwPy0_YwmzU80C1HnsTRojEudmTIpNr81yNGtm2TErMnp4xmu0W1Kkaoc/s1600/KnowledgeMED.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sTM2_bzD2H7dOcbSnRv3YjSrbflCVBuJOF-pUt5H7hWYk9jD32G3OQUnVFKA_vzCaTM9kFgUbv1FaEmBBeNwPy0_YwmzU80C1HnsTRojEudmTIpNr81yNGtm2TErMnp4xmu0W1Kkaoc/s400/KnowledgeMED.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690842568018389410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKPzGJyYMAqlCPvVpWX71EY6ArVNBdszRRL-a5uaDwT-faQr2C_AnIOuDVPgtkrxwtQX5RqF9oKYmfANBRLp5Tn6xo9RrmZ1SdyszwAdFyEvUAcVIhq9aSBYHniFnZnhC_5QRpirz2_U/s1600/jerrydad.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKPzGJyYMAqlCPvVpWX71EY6ArVNBdszRRL-a5uaDwT-faQr2C_AnIOuDVPgtkrxwtQX5RqF9oKYmfANBRLp5Tn6xo9RrmZ1SdyszwAdFyEvUAcVIhq9aSBYHniFnZnhC_5QRpirz2_U/s400/jerrydad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690841859197639666" /></a><br />...I just could not get it all done (do we ever?) so here is a little family blessing from our house to yours. We Sullivans had such a good year and here are some photo highlights from 2011. For me, I had been dreading, for years, Maggie's obtaining her learner's permit for driving. Well, goes to show that we should truly "fear not," because helping her learn to drive has been some of the most fun I have had in years. Watching Joybeth during her first year as a teenager has been a joy in all aspects. Our son, who is 10, is full of energy and, while I do not have a soccer photo in the mix, that was such a big time for him this fall.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-34865403975638468482011-09-01T08:47:00.006-05:002011-09-01T10:26:30.672-05:00"Grandmommy loves you.......more than you'll ever know, Sara, darling."
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<br />Growing up in Kentucky, I heard this thousands of times in a soft, southern drawl. I am named after my paternal grandmother, Sara Evelyn Gott Cohron. I know few people so unadulterated, so full of wholesome love and affection. She died just a month before our wedding day, in the summer of 1994, but her pure and loving spirit abides in my heart. The beauty of the Communion of Saints is that I am still getting to know her quiet, steadfast person. She is praying for me. I know this. I know that many of the soft, sweet promptings that I feel, as a wife and mother and sister in Christ, come from the love poured in to me by my grandmother Sara. <em><strong>Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise! </strong></em>
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<br />This morning, as I was reflecting on <a href="https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/697/">a book of daily spiritual meditations </a>(I try to take some time every morning to ask God "in" to my day, hopefully listening to one or two things that I know He has planned for me for the day.) I was deeply aware, for a minute or two, of the refreshing love God is always sending our way. He is so meek and humble of heart. His servants are meek and humble of heart.
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<br />This is so sweet. I am also praying and reading alot about our need to completely experience the Father's blessing, through the one saving act of His Son on the Holy Cross. I know that sounds like remedial Christianity. It is. As I have been going around the house doing my work, I have been humming and singing the words of the good thief, the thief who "stole Heaven." We pray:
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<br /><em>Jesus, remember me, when You come in to Your Kingdom.
<br />Jesus, remember me, when You come in to Your Kingdom!</em>
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<br />As I mentioned in a recent post, lately God has been asking me to become more aware of the various charisms He gives to us, the members of the Body of Christ. Thanks be to God and his priests, there is an Awakening going on in my soul. This may sound corny. I do not care. I am, and always have been, a bit of a country girl. In the Kentucky of the 1930's, one of the delights of my grandmother Sara's youth was to feed the chickens on her family farm. Here in suburban Georgia, last month, at a recent parish mission, the priest talked about "entering the atmosphere of God's Kingdom," and he evoked an image in me of the recent movie I had seen earlier this summer with my husband and my son, "Apollo 13," with actor Tom Hanks.
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<br />In the movie, the astronauts do not make their lunar landing, as planned. They do, however, leave the atmosphere of their home planet, Earth. They circle the moon and view the Earth from afar. This has happened to me with the terrible sufferings of what has happened in Regnum Christi and the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. Sufferings shoot us out of ourselves, making us so vulnerable. So often, it can make us bitter; and, we may choose to leave our "homeland," which is God's Love and Mercy, for a long time.
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<br />Thanks be to God, this did not happen to me. I asked, and asked, and asked again for Mary to "hold me." I asked the Blessed Mother to pray to Jesus, her Divine Son, Who will refuse nothing she asks. I asked her to ask Him to tell me what I need to stay the course and live out the Father's Holy Will for my life. In a nutshell, the answer was the Holy Spirit.
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<br />So, I do not know everything. I do know that I am loved and blessed beyond my wildest imaginings. That is so good. On that, I can hang my hat. On that, I can call it a new day, a day in which I am open and ready to love others as God loves. When I fail, I jump in to Mary's lap, which is mysteriously the Seat of Wisdom.
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<br />I answered my grandmother's blessing this morning during my prayer time. I told her, "I am just starting to know what 'more than you'll ever know' is..." I am just starting to know.
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<br /><em><strong>May Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.</strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-21526400013725360312011-08-18T08:04:00.008-05:002011-09-01T09:55:49.955-05:00Renewed, restructured, repurposed......recycled, re-invited, revised...what more comes to mind? At the end of last school year, I responded "Yes" to an invitation to attend a one-day (Saturday) Catholic Charismatic Conference, here in suburban Atlanta. It was a day dedicated to "praise and teaching." My heart and mind were renewed. I was taught in a very special way, hard to articulate for me, even with two university degrees (was graduated in 1989 from Brown University, B.A. with Honors; and, again, in 1992, from Vanderbilt University, M.A. with Honors.) that God's Wisdom is truly not human wisdom. I have been thinking and praying lately that I desire and need the Holy Spirit to guide my steps, as we enter in to a new school year. Our children are 15, 13 and 10.
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<br />I am a wife and mother. Thanks be to God and to my faithful husband, I have, throughout most of my almost 17 years of marriage been a stay-at-home wife and mother. We began homeschooling 6 years ago and this little work has done so much to enrich our life of faith and grace, within the arms of Mother Church. We try hard to ask God to increase our faith, hope and love. We often fall short and are very human ("in the flesh" as one dear sister in Christ recently expressed to me). His grace is surely enough, and that is an awesome reality indeed. Alleluia!
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<br />I enjoy looking at the odds and ends around our house, garage and yard, especially our eclectic mix of furniture, and see how we can move things around, paint something, or use some <em>thing</em> or some<em> place </em>in our home for something a little fresher, a little different from <em>what</em> or <em>where</em> it has been. I think our awesome God, in His infinite creativity, often looks at our lives that way. He is inviting us to change. We know this.
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<br />If we set about to plan our daily lives -- daily, weekly, monthly...into retirement-- without Him and the Spirit of God, we will surely "poop out" and find ourselves exhausted and depleted. This has happened to "me and mine" on several occasions. On the other hand, we must turn to his holy mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and hear the Words of her Spouse, "Repent and believe the good news!" The Sacrament of Penance saves us over and over and keeps us humble, secure and free.
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<br />This summer 2011, I have been hearing God tell me to turn to Him, to wait on the Lord and let Him fill me with His grace and purpose FIRST, then I can "go out and make disciples of all the nations." Here is the big news that is big and little, at the same time:
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<br />We wives and moms are called to make these disciples first and foremost in our homes among brother husband and sister daughter. Among brother son. Among brother dog and sister cat. If I may add, with a bit of reverant humor, among brother dust and sister laundry!
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<br />I am off to do some cooking and to pray a morning offering with our son. I hope and pray for renewal in Mother Church, starting with one domestic church at a time.
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<br /><em><strong>Please, Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, renew this wife and mother's heart. Bring my heart between your Holy Hearts and make a "heart sandwich". I want my heart to be completely consumed by the fires of Divine Love, so that all evils will be conquered, especially those evils that hatch so close to home through the internet, salacious advertising and music, and general concupiscence. May Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Holy Will be Done in us, as persons and as families, now and throughout all eternity. Amen. </strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-62467575612278731502011-06-10T10:27:00.003-05:002011-06-10T10:33:07.702-05:00Beach Vacation 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZk9uGs5B8h7MEetAAxrQhGwry5DF_AjuIANz6EAKpWucWhRixsnpCNXUjjER81XgL_bGv21ngDd1oIyyA0QxGx6anwQQyVhH9fuCaJKzAwME-i00-hJGTsA46RibIpEl8G8UzYoj7Ss8/s1600/mombeach.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZk9uGs5B8h7MEetAAxrQhGwry5DF_AjuIANz6EAKpWucWhRixsnpCNXUjjER81XgL_bGv21ngDd1oIyyA0QxGx6anwQQyVhH9fuCaJKzAwME-i00-hJGTsA46RibIpEl8G8UzYoj7Ss8/s400/mombeach.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616613742991332866" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYeZWNh1iIrgFLA99qyUL76BEuAerc_F2jGLOWNp-7syayQfg3xNpwYTizvlDhmnmnxeSd2OHPE_ChNfEpKTHZ2ERda_makXB4yIIKHyIRRjr8B3kP0qqnJ6DK3hlNy4h9Vg0VVXCySY/s1600/dadjay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYeZWNh1iIrgFLA99qyUL76BEuAerc_F2jGLOWNp-7syayQfg3xNpwYTizvlDhmnmnxeSd2OHPE_ChNfEpKTHZ2ERda_makXB4yIIKHyIRRjr8B3kP0qqnJ6DK3hlNy4h9Vg0VVXCySY/s400/dadjay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616613472704203778" /></a>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-25736918368336988152011-04-28T17:41:00.005-05:002011-04-29T07:56:09.654-05:00Easter Blessings 2011!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1TWdoYjU_n0Pt9npj-jF4H1I8er7wF5Y4BTfBFx4Avk86x972UtV4IJ-C17M4d5N6QqvukilwkaeVomjycc6RIN8I9nBY8qyhQEXoDWE_j_VRrA-UhzZHc4mDQazjmllLaCShDTNw5A/s1600/Easter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1TWdoYjU_n0Pt9npj-jF4H1I8er7wF5Y4BTfBFx4Avk86x972UtV4IJ-C17M4d5N6QqvukilwkaeVomjycc6RIN8I9nBY8qyhQEXoDWE_j_VRrA-UhzZHc4mDQazjmllLaCShDTNw5A/s400/Easter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600771969729005138" /></a><br />I will hopefully add some family photos to this post soon. Spiritual renewal is ongoing; and, this time of year we feel the blessing and power of the Resurrection. We pray to be risen, to live and work and see all reality with that supernatural vision that faith in Jesus Christ and His Mission give us. I have ups and downs like everyone, even still, there is one constant thought in my mind -- it is the utter and absolute amazement that Christ would die for us sinners. This is inseparable from the reality that He rose for us too, so that we would have the courage and confidence to accept our adoption as children of God.<br /><br />For a wonderfully inspiring article that encourages us to see how St. Therese can give such timely spiritual guidance throughout the Easter season, go <a href="http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Mar2009/Feature1.asp">here.<br /></a><br /><em><strong>“Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples” (Matthew 28:8).</strong></em><br /><br /><em><strong>"Ascending on high he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:10)</strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-9459558077773730672011-04-11T19:40:00.001-05:002011-04-11T19:41:57.442-05:00The Teaching of St. Therese on PurgatoryThe link is <a href="http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/ap/litfwrpu.htm">here</a>.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-64145921159401032002011-04-09T08:34:00.001-05:002011-04-09T08:35:22.315-05:00from all your idols I will cleanse you...Canticle – Ezekiel 36:24-28<br />The Lord will renew his people<br />They will be his own people, and God himself will be with them, their own God (Revelation 21:3).<br /><br />I will take you away from among the nations,<br />gather you from all the foreign lands,<br />and bring you back to your own land.<br /><br />I will sprinkle clean water upon you<br />to cleanse you from all your impurities,<br />and <em><strong>from all your idols I will cleanse you.</strong></em><br />I will give you a new heart<br />and place a new spirit within you,<br />taking from your bodies your stony hearts<br />and giving you natural hearts.<br /><br />I will put my spirit within you<br />and make you live by my statutes,<br />careful to observe my decrees.<br /><br />You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;<br />you shall be my people,<br />and I will be your God.<br /><br />Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:<br />– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.<br /><br />from Morning Prayer (Divineoffice.org)Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-54438362101908958422011-04-08T19:35:00.002-05:002011-04-08T19:39:53.578-05:00Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila to keep keeping Lent“Why O Lord, should I be preoccupied with my fears and lose courage in the face of my weakness? You give me to understand that I must fortify myself in humility, and convince myself that I can do very little alone, and that without your help I am nothing. I shall put all my confidence in your mercy, and shall distrust my own strength, convinced that my weakness is caused by my self-reliance. You teach me not to be astonished at my struggle, for when a soul wishes to give itself over to mortification, it encounters difficulties on all sides. Does it wish to give up its ease? What a hardship! To scorn a point of honor? What a torture! To endure harsh words? Intolerable suffering! In short, it becomes filled with extreme sadness, but as soon as it resolved to die to the world, every anguish is at an end.”<br /><br />Saint Teresa of Avila <br /><br />I was over at the <a href="http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/">Catholic Spiritual Direction blog</a> and found this prayer. Perfect timing!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-55583792182133143962011-03-25T07:20:00.002-05:002011-03-25T07:24:15.507-05:00Our Lady of the Annunciation, pray for us!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2sjxXIT2vONY-l6wEOSE_C8eLvMrV3VFNrFcpUvdOBrN-TTnLCgPkBSAK5BUT2_2YoqgtpW75TYjM0S7z5A2Ucyvi7dgTu1eI7QDgMw1_ZuxShhXka5CYdqVtZpMIcb5XE_00hwNZMY/s1600/Annunciation.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2sjxXIT2vONY-l6wEOSE_C8eLvMrV3VFNrFcpUvdOBrN-TTnLCgPkBSAK5BUT2_2YoqgtpW75TYjM0S7z5A2Ucyvi7dgTu1eI7QDgMw1_ZuxShhXka5CYdqVtZpMIcb5XE_00hwNZMY/s320/Annunciation.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587992287663265106" /></a><br />This prayer is from the Invitatory on DivineOffice.org:<br /><br />Prayer to Our Lady of the Annunciation<br /><br />Queen of heaven and earth,<br />daughter of the Father,<br />Mother of the divine Son,<br />spouse of the Holy Spirit,<br /><br />I praise God for the unique grace given to you.<br />Mary, you became the great Mother of our divine Savior,<br />our Master, true Light of the world,<br />uncreated Wisdom, source of all truth and first Apostle of truth.<br />You gave the world the book to read, the eternal Word.<br /><br />For this I bless the holy Trinity<br />and I ask you to obtain for me<br />the grace of heavenly wisdom,<br />to be a fervent disciple of Jesus<br />and to be lovingly devoted to the Church,<br />the pillar of truth.<br /><br />Make the light of the Gospel<br />shine to the farthest bounds of the earth.<br />Queen of the Apostles, pray for us!<br /><br />Prayer Source: Fr. James Alberione SSPSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-92067098116648670742011-03-15T07:59:00.000-05:002011-03-15T08:00:01.133-05:00A Poem for MarchWritten in March<br /><br /> THE cock is crowing, <br /> The stream is flowing, <br /> The small birds twitter, <br /> The lake doth glitter <br />The green field sleeps in the sun; <br /> The oldest and youngest <br /> Are at work with the strongest; <br /> The cattle are grazing, <br /> Their heads never raising; <br />There are forty feeding like one! <br /><br /> Like an army defeated <br /> The snow hath retreated, <br /> And now doth fare ill <br /> On the top of the bare hill; <br />The plowboy is whooping- anon-anon: <br /> There's joy in the mountains; <br /> There's life in the fountains; <br /> Small clouds are sailing, <br /> Blue sky prevailing; <br />The rain is over and gone! <br /><br />William WordsworthSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-30469619956349509662011-03-13T19:16:00.001-05:002011-03-13T19:18:23.865-05:00Snapshot from parish St. Patrick's day party...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Hu0UuS3vtDWESDR8w1jCPGEPXCumDywir6bX7DFNGrlM4ZmkFz6Ojb7DGUhpCVMd9nAXPuFfTSioLyxuzM3I4a4M4uHnV0VGK6ofgHRVA0h-ONXh62qIUBjf9xxKMFFuIxhJdTbxCIA/s1600/greenSandJ.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Hu0UuS3vtDWESDR8w1jCPGEPXCumDywir6bX7DFNGrlM4ZmkFz6Ojb7DGUhpCVMd9nAXPuFfTSioLyxuzM3I4a4M4uHnV0VGK6ofgHRVA0h-ONXh62qIUBjf9xxKMFFuIxhJdTbxCIA/s400/greenSandJ.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583723288731779234" /></a>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-86468606992808341162011-02-23T09:41:00.000-05:002011-02-23T09:42:56.930-05:00from Morning Prayer<strong>READING 2 Corinthians 1:3-5<br /><br />Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him. As we have shared much in the sufferings of Christ, so through Christ do we share abundantly in his consolation.</strong>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-14081659791172037962011-02-14T14:26:00.004-05:002011-02-14T14:31:39.434-05:00Loving Christ JesusReading <a href="http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2010/09/the-face-of-love/">this blog post by Mark Mallett</a> and trying to stay upbeat even though we have a lingering stomach-flu over here. It gives more time for prayer; I wish I had more energy for cleaning.<br /><br />This post is sure to warm the soul.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-81167891393136546862011-02-13T09:24:00.002-05:002011-02-13T09:27:59.625-05:00from the Liturgy of the HoursAn answer to prayers of late:<br /><br />"...Be glad then that you are overwhelmed, and do not be saddened because he has overcome you. A thirsty man is happy when he is drinking, and he is not depressed because he cannot exhaust the spring. So let this spring quench your thirst, and not your thirst the spring. For if you can satisfy your thirst without exhausting the spring, then when you thirst again you can drink from it once more; but if when your thirst is sated the spring is also dried up, then your victory would turn to your own harm.<br /><br />Be thankful then for what you have received, and do not be saddened at all that such an abundance still remains. What you have received and attained is your present share, while what is left will be your heritage. For what you could not take at one time because of your weakness, you will be able to grasp at another if you only persevere. So do not foolishly try to drain in one draught what cannot be consumed all at once, and do not cease out of faintheartedness from what you will be able to absorb as time goes on..."<br /><br /><a href="http://divineoffice.org/">Second reading</a><br />From a commentary on the Diatessaron by Saint Ephrem, deacon<br />God’s word is an inexhaustible spring of life<br />Office of Readings 2/13/2011Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-80149089758861301382011-02-07T09:20:00.007-05:002011-02-08T21:36:26.576-05:00February Daybook<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIg-yaDw0gmMfeRM3c2cMQ8zsGKMkemPAg3_JCE2-Tr0OfRutudCaRRJQNiIWEEWQ1eqmp5b30fvu25lBl-Yw3_Fp1v8S_hCWMvuALFW2GZPb4GuBemqBNy0xBf5R-V6gMqIudq5EeyOA/s1600/brotha.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIg-yaDw0gmMfeRM3c2cMQ8zsGKMkemPAg3_JCE2-Tr0OfRutudCaRRJQNiIWEEWQ1eqmp5b30fvu25lBl-Yw3_Fp1v8S_hCWMvuALFW2GZPb4GuBemqBNy0xBf5R-V6gMqIudq5EeyOA/s320/brotha.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571513061816701970" /></a><br />I am listening to...<br /><br />Dogs laping up water and circling the kitchen ready to go out after a late breakfast. <br /><br />I am wearing...<br /><br />Lots of layers as the rain makes me cold.<br /><br />I am so grateful for...<br /><br />My husband's job, my children's strong bodies and active minds, my arthritis.<br /><br />I'm pondering...<br /><br />The best possible rhythmn for an inspired, Catholic family life. Every family has different needs, challenges, joys, sorrows that go in to the way they work out their schedule. It is a juggling act; and, we need not work so hard at it that there is no room to let God help us. I find that when I push too hard, all the balls fall.<br /><br />I am reading...<br /><br />"The Secret Garden" aloud to our son (so good!) and many other things. I was over reading <a href="http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/2011/01/smallstepstogethersimplicity.html">this post by Elizabeth Foss</a> this morning and it gave me needed time and space to pray and think and breathe about our approach to education, especially religious education. It all starts at home and ends at home.<br /><br />I am thinking...<br /><br />So much about how we live and how we might live a better quality of life. I am frustrated by "suburban sprawl" and its difficulties. Catholics see "challenges" and "opportunities" in every circumstance and our adventure of home education has greatly helped in "making lemonade from lemons." I am trying hard to pray, study and think and do little things to help the children and young be prepared for what I think will surely be some very challenging times ahead in our social landscape.<br /><br />I am creating...<br /><br />Too much clutter on our main level. I am constantly piling things on the dining room table, kitchen table, and kitchen counters and have plenty of room to organize a little prayer corner and "mini study" up in our master bedroom. I am creating this in my mind, now to get the job done! Like many, we do most of our homeschooling at the kitchen table. I need a new habit of taking things up in the mornings, after coffee and up again in the evenings after tea ("pegging" as many moms call it).<br /><br />To live the Liturgy...<br /><br />Jay and I are watching the Ken Burns series on the Civil War off Netflix and tomorrow us the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita of Sudan so I pulled our Pauline biography off the shelf of this saint and hope to read it over the next couple of days. I hope to make at least one daily Mass this week and to get us AS A FAMILY to Confession. This has been very hard this school year.<br /><br />I am hoping and praying...<br /><br />That with our BELOVED pastor leaving that things will work out to give God glory. I am praying for many intentions.<br /><br />Around the House...<br /><br />Really need to create the mini study upstairs and keep the main level clutter free.<br /><br />From the kitchen...<br /><br />Made a chicken and fresh broccoli casserole last night that was a hit, served with hot buttered rice.<br /><br />One of my favorite things...<br /><br />A husband who hoses off the back patio and stepping stones out back on a weekend when he is tending to lots of driving, animal care..."He does things for me, I do things for him" (from an article I read last week on marriage-- I'll add link later,if I think of it).<br /><br />A few plans for the rest of the week...<br /><br />So happy with son's ice hockey camp and homeschool ice skating at The Ice here in Cumming. Making plans for upcoming swim team banquet for the girls and big grandparent visit (we have three winter bdays that we will celebrate together). And, need to make small steps every day toward that upstairs space and back to "tried and true" de-clutter habits and add a few new ones, by God's grace.<br /><br />Picture thoughts...<br /><br />We are less than two weeks away from a big 10 for our son, and just celebrated the big 13 for JB, so here is this:Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-67181032128520864712011-02-01T12:01:00.002-05:002011-02-01T12:06:54.382-05:00You are the hands with which He is to bless men now.I just found this quote attributed to St. Teresa of Avila in <a href="http://www.catholiccompany.com/prove-it-jesus-p1001551/">this book</a>:<br /><br /><em><strong><strong></strong><em></em>Christ has no body on earth but yours,<br />no hands but yours, no feet but yours,<br />Yours are the eyes through which is to look out<br />Christ's compassion to the world;<br />Yours are the feet with which he is to go about<br />doing good;<br />Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.</strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-64487407081986351392011-01-31T13:46:00.004-05:002011-01-31T13:51:43.251-05:00His grace is sufficient for the task at hand...I was <a href="http://divineoffice.org/#top">over here </a>pausing for a little prayer time and cannot believe how the Scriptures give the good and wise counsel needed for me personally but even down to the exact challenges that I face today.<br /><br />Here is the concluding prayer, and it is like music to my ears:<br /><br />Father,<br />yours is the harvest<br />and yours is the vineyard:<br />you assign the task<br />and pay a wage that is just.<br />Help us to meet this day’s responsibilities,<br />and let nothing separate us from your love.<br />Grant this through Christ our Lord.<br />– Amen.<br /><br /><em><strong>St. John Bosco, pray for us!</strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-30987364552183674042011-01-23T17:04:00.003-05:002011-01-23T17:13:33.676-05:00Authentic Compassion<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqJgmUim0rFf09Xhxt6yUP4j5jIaEYTfpewPe5ehXvkU7qAZbFfEwWhWuquoSc4j9qsX9t-C-sdzkS4wR9rqopsFgeMKfYEmyKAyDWlBXD2kmyz3wAPB72V0i4rLH_UyuxFgp6Y1J7Wc/s1600/two+hearts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 363px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqJgmUim0rFf09Xhxt6yUP4j5jIaEYTfpewPe5ehXvkU7qAZbFfEwWhWuquoSc4j9qsX9t-C-sdzkS4wR9rqopsFgeMKfYEmyKAyDWlBXD2kmyz3wAPB72V0i4rLH_UyuxFgp6Y1J7Wc/s400/two+hearts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565507880215471698" /></a><br /><a href="http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2010/05/cardinal-omalley-false-compassion.html">This blog post over at La Salette Journey</a> gives a thought-provoking meditation on compassion. As I prayerfully work out my vocation as a Catholic married woman, I hope that the "fear and trembling" caused by the action of the Holy Spirit clarifies my spiritual vision. <br /><br /><em>Open my eyes, Lord! Open my ears, Mother!</em><br /><br />Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!<br />Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-71804630178717717972011-01-18T13:47:00.002-05:002011-01-18T13:51:52.579-05:00Queen of Heaven, pray for us!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25vW0xBz4M-Jn32jMRbDQ96ZKcj9h4Knj9faRQUhzrKwcProkIN24UkzWkzOBdVxeYV0CpvufVxBKaimPoIu17yMM_S6wIiZ1E6NzQa_HlqE2Vud-SX30Yzf-jz5HrxKt3eQLvLIs0lI/s1600/our-lady-queen-of-purgatory.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 153px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25vW0xBz4M-Jn32jMRbDQ96ZKcj9h4Knj9faRQUhzrKwcProkIN24UkzWkzOBdVxeYV0CpvufVxBKaimPoIu17yMM_S6wIiZ1E6NzQa_HlqE2Vud-SX30Yzf-jz5HrxKt3eQLvLIs0lI/s200/our-lady-queen-of-purgatory.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563600520722558210" /></a><br /><em>O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!</em><br /><br />I am posting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Heaven">this link</a> for the amazing artwork included at the bottom of the Wikipedia article. May the Mother of Mercy bring us to Life Everlasting!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-90885053207986260242011-01-17T17:41:00.017-05:002011-01-17T21:10:05.349-05:00Savoring Christmas Memories and Joyful Winter Decluttering....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVRNGWLay2a4_n3g53lCf6D3VZBNO3KNISQLS_Nu_FtsHnCLM0qAZuqeoAbQxANW0esbTVY4kltZSmieKIa78gvL6CevAjzWSiK_NSllt71MpILU0j77rILccBRIMqQrbHLeG63AWOtU/s1600/newyrs2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVRNGWLay2a4_n3g53lCf6D3VZBNO3KNISQLS_Nu_FtsHnCLM0qAZuqeoAbQxANW0esbTVY4kltZSmieKIa78gvL6CevAjzWSiK_NSllt71MpILU0j77rILccBRIMqQrbHLeG63AWOtU/s320/newyrs2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563334353806100898" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB6cLvhk_syZ3NSvrnd-dDrssqTptP8Z6AJcCQKFS5Ns9KZ00hNACTmzZOyQg6NlcgkVdYY7bT22yDkiAVKrb-ivV9jBzVqrpADYkdKzkrp-mBKcMINaMEfLVfeUgnrWj9IVKay4NhoE/s1600/mags2010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB6cLvhk_syZ3NSvrnd-dDrssqTptP8Z6AJcCQKFS5Ns9KZ00hNACTmzZOyQg6NlcgkVdYY7bT22yDkiAVKrb-ivV9jBzVqrpADYkdKzkrp-mBKcMINaMEfLVfeUgnrWj9IVKay4NhoE/s320/mags2010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563334194540003778" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7xmBGE1XgVFRs9GdfMkY-j61jDeas8bGCmSDLMl53pyx1tlGy3N6xh3adUUOrzL_q9hX2-4a6lx9bxeAMNOl0f84COFJpqcRpURYWe4C5YMTUF3MTO0WmHa8P4c0vMFyIx0OsUkXebI/s1600/Chris32010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7xmBGE1XgVFRs9GdfMkY-j61jDeas8bGCmSDLMl53pyx1tlGy3N6xh3adUUOrzL_q9hX2-4a6lx9bxeAMNOl0f84COFJpqcRpURYWe4C5YMTUF3MTO0WmHa8P4c0vMFyIx0OsUkXebI/s320/Chris32010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563334021236339586" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvwSgOvYod6fN0g5ZbWlLGeRKJ1qFFwRZcA6h8MtlmxCgzO_sUf73zmXt8EBEQohPmqgdMz32Wxke8IY5rTIq7l0qyDc4ODjknZlmzJYP0w9EbG_8jbKf2yIdOzLs7mhgJrZVT5hSCpQ/s1600/Chris12010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvwSgOvYod6fN0g5ZbWlLGeRKJ1qFFwRZcA6h8MtlmxCgzO_sUf73zmXt8EBEQohPmqgdMz32Wxke8IY5rTIq7l0qyDc4ODjknZlmzJYP0w9EbG_8jbKf2yIdOzLs7mhgJrZVT5hSCpQ/s320/Chris12010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563333809626166866" /></a><br /><br /><br />Is decluttering really a word? It is a wonderful concept. A noble action. Removing clutter, a.k.a. "decluttering," is my 2011 resolution. <br /><br />Webster's defines "clutter" as both noun and verb. It is "an untidy mess, a state of disorder" or "liter, things left around untidily." As well, to clutter is "to disorder, make untidy." <br /><br />So, to declutter is to role one's sleeves up and put things in proper order. I like it. I need it. I was just telling the girls that I love seeing the human hope for renewal and improvement that roles around every January. All the shops showcase cleverly designed shelving, colorful storage boxes and some very nice exercise suits. In these North Atlanta suburbs, the air is full of resolution and of home and self improvement.<br /><br />As Catholics, we pass on to our young the idea that "Hope springs eternal." From the Sacraments, God's grace springs forth giving us baptized faithful life, renewal, strength and reconciliation. We Catholics are called to declutter our souls regularly through daily prayer, good works, frequent reception of our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (also called Penance and Confession).<br /><br />We had the beautiful gift of hosting our dear family friends from Miami over Christmas week. Other homeschooling friends joined us for Christmas feasting; and, it was one of the merriest Christmas seasons of my life. My dear sisters in Christ have always shown me the joys of authentic Catholic housekeeping and homeschooling. We all know that joy is not an absence of pain. My personal experience is that joy increases where there is deep and abiding faith. We are up against a culture that challenges our faith on so many levels. But back to Christmas and grace-filled resolutions for 2011... <br /><br />All of us moms enjoyed revisiting certain practical and spiritual topics; and I felt the quiet, yet powerful, presence of the Holy Spirit in all of the love and friendship of our Christmastide festivities and warm, homey visits. Along side all the festivities with our homeschooling brothers and sisters in Christ, we gathered with grandparents and much loved brothers and sisters in Christ from our parish during Christmastide, including Happy New Year 2011! It was so hard to get back to work and school, but God had a marvelous plan! We had just been back to the "daily grind" for a week when we got a HUGE and wonderful SNOW. We were trapped and I was about as far from "cabin fever" as you can get (I was hoping for more snow!).<br /><br />As the snowstorm hit ten or so days ago, I was surprised at the blessing of this gift to stay put for a number of days. My houseguests had left the house cleaner than when they came, so I kept the cleaning/decluttering ball rolling. I also gave much more time than usual to quiet and to prayer. I realized how much shopping that I had been doing and how exhausting and depleting that can be for me. With our middle child's 13th birthday this week, we finished our snow days making merry with friends and family again over these past few days.<br /><br />I know God speaks to us through our friendships and our daily duties and our family ups and downs. The good news for us Sullivans is that 2011 is already, and I pray it continues, a year of rolling up the sleeves and decluttering our souls, our home and our schedule. I learn every year that our sweet Savior and His Blessed Mother, draw us in to their Holy Hearts. Jesus and Mary want us to help them save souls. <br /><br />An act of housekeeping, a home-cooked meal,a warm embrace from a loved one, a listening ear or kind remark can all be little works of redemption. Wow and Alleluia all at once! We must keep house for Christ and build a strong Mother Church from our little domestic churches. God will bring us guests and make us guests of His awesome Love and Mercy. Jesus burns for love of us, fallen creatures that we are. He wants us to give every possible effort to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with His Eucharistic Heart. We must, in earnest, ask the Mother of Mercy to hide us in her Immaculate Heart so that we will be properly disposed to receive her Son in a spirit of truth and light. I am reading an excellent treatment of this, <a href="http://unbornwordoftheday.com/2007/10/29/caryl-houselander-on-the-power-of-the-infancy-of-chist/"><em>The Passion of the Infant Christ</em></a>, by <a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/CARYLLH.TXT">Caryll Houselander</a>.<br /><br />Read this book. It could change your life, and we must pray for the grace to be constantly changing and growing. May we all bless God in thought, word and deed. I look forward to all of us making Confession soon, knowing in my heart that Holy Mother Church will declutter her children. I am learning more and more about our Heavenly Father's plan for all of His children. He wants us all to be a new creation in Christ Jesus. We have only to ask our Blessed Mother for her help, and grace will do the work in our souls.<br /><br /><em><strong> <strong></strong><em></em>Thank you, Lord Jesus and Mother Mary for all of our many blessings! May the Infant Christ reign in our hearts -- Amen.</strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-8131784603707195732010-12-10T07:24:00.002-05:002010-12-10T07:26:55.412-05:00Great Conversion Story<a href="http://archives.nd.edu/episodes/visitors/rhb/bensonc.htm">Confessions of a Convert by Robert Hugh Benson</a>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-22303924781324969882010-11-25T15:24:00.005-05:002010-11-26T11:35:59.846-05:00Our first Thanksgiving in the 'new' house<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKEWzcxJpPKTDUCZ1bFd_iJBPp4DmSHJb5Yp3v0S7gXWy7fTBmAKej_-rdEpQa3zHRrmQRj2OQlnhMDUT5FfIiNivcWGSa8W3zb_r0TZpL56eawtMD0xDHQvOTgpEai2iTf-zSTjT6c8/s1600/thanksgiving.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKEWzcxJpPKTDUCZ1bFd_iJBPp4DmSHJb5Yp3v0S7gXWy7fTBmAKej_-rdEpQa3zHRrmQRj2OQlnhMDUT5FfIiNivcWGSa8W3zb_r0TZpL56eawtMD0xDHQvOTgpEai2iTf-zSTjT6c8/s400/thanksgiving.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543896415549433842" /></a><br /><em><strong> Our MENU 2010<br />a 16lb oven-roasted TURKEY (first one)<br />jellied cranberries<br />green beans<br />gourmet mac and cheese (recipe below)<br />mashed potatoes and gravy<br />baked sweet potatoes and marshmallows<br />homemade stuffing casserole<br />yeast rolls and Irish butter<br />Joybeth's pumpkin bread<br />pumpkin pie and whipped cream</strong></em><br /><br />My daughter, Jb was looking through the November Food Network Magazine and she came across "Bobby Flay's Macaroni & Cheese Carbonara." We decided to make the recipe for Thanksgiving 2010 and I wanted to share the recipe with you!<br /><br />Unsalted Butter, for the baking dish<br />1 tablespoon olive oil<br />1 1-inch thick slice pancettam cut into small dice (or fatty part of bacon)<br />3 cloves garlic, finely chopped<br />3 tablespoons all-purpose flour<br />5 cups whole milk, hot<br />4 large egg yolks, lightly whisked<br />2 teaspoons thyme leaves<br />1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper<br />2 cups grated asiago cheese, plus more for top<br />1 1/2 cups grated Irish white cheddar cheese, plus more for top<br />1 1/2 cups grated American Cheddar cheese, plus more for top<br />1 cup aged fontina cheese, plus more for top<br />1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for top<br />Kosher salt & ground black pepper<br />1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked just under al dente<br />1/2 cup coarsley chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves.<br /><br />1. Preheat the oven to 375. Butter the bottowm and sides of a 10-by-10-by-2-inch baking dish and set aside.<br />2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. <br />3. Add the garlic to the fat in the pan & cook until lightly golden brown, 1 minute. Whisk in the flower & cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk, raise the heat to high & cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 3 to about 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated & let cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat & whisk in the thyme, cayenne & all the different cheeses until completely melted. Season with salt & pepper. If the mixture appears to thick, add additional warm milk, 1/4 cup at a time.<br />4. Put the cooked macaroni in a large bowl, add the cheese sauce, reserved pancetta, and the parsley. Stir until combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.<br />5. Combine an addition 1/4 cup each asiago, cheddars, fontina, & parmesan in a bowl & sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake until the dish is heated through and the top is a light golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-4216318711613353732010-11-02T15:58:00.006-05:002010-11-02T17:26:14.077-05:00God is weaving the tapestry of life and using everything!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUx_LecJozE63NkueVGTyIZD78s4ksoN1v9rCzOTOriSGW9n-_FG_0aEvGGDuk-kHA-KyGHNHk8tziSecHW2wrld_U-asFd4YVrijiBh-gB6wrVYxkhptRYk09VMXbshYd7HwDMP1sXg/s1600/ourladypeace.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 138px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUx_LecJozE63NkueVGTyIZD78s4ksoN1v9rCzOTOriSGW9n-_FG_0aEvGGDuk-kHA-KyGHNHk8tziSecHW2wrld_U-asFd4YVrijiBh-gB6wrVYxkhptRYk09VMXbshYd7HwDMP1sXg/s400/ourladypeace.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535061486028282370" /></a><br /><blockquote><strong><em>Dear children; With motherly perseverance and love I am bringing you the light of life to destroy the darkness of death in you. Do not reject me, my children. Stop and look within yourselves and see how sinful you are. Be aware of your sins and pray for forgiveness. My children, you do not desire to accept that you are weak and little, but you can be strong and great by doing God’s will. Give me your cleansed hearts that I may illuminate them with the light of life, my Son. Thank you.</em> <br />Medjugorje message, November 2, 2010 </blockquote></strong>I copied this utterly inspiring message from <a href="http://crownofstars.blogspot.com/2010/11/our-ladys-november-message-to-mirjana.html">this blog</a>. I am amazed at how pertinent this is to my life right now, <em>in this very moment</em>. I had my first day -- ever-- of physical therapy today and am really looking forward to working with Linnet, a young and capable woman, who has a plan to help me help myself to strengthen my body, especially my lower back. This commitment to physical therapy is itself the fruit of almost two years of monthly spiritual direction, one of the many gifts of my life in Regnum Christi.<br /><br />I try hard to live a life filled with apostolic zeal and the daily perseverance required to live well (see <a href="http://despitelupus.blogspot.com/">Despite Lupus blog </a>-- so good!) with a chronic illness is the same daily perseverance needed to pray well. I often do neither well. (I blog to reflect and to take time to count my blessings.) In my younger days, I was such a talker and loved to "think out loud," with a good friend. These days, I nearly crave silence, and I find that writing helps me get my thoughts out. I can put words to concerns and blessings. I can try to complain less and live more. I can stop and love the rich tapestry of life, even if my particular tapestry has lots of frayed spots! <br /><br />I, by temperament (sanguine), am not one who likes to plan. I find it boring and would rather "fly by the seat of my pants". All my duties require flexibility, prudent spontaneity and, yes, lots of planning. Through the eyes and ears of faith, it is abundantly clear to me that I "cannot always get what I want but I just might find that I get what I need". I want to encourage myself and others to "work against themselves," meaning to dig hard and learn what it is that personally impedes LOVE. Through almost 10 years of living with "something like Lupus," I have found that I do not have to say "yes" to all the (perceived) needs and activities around me --that sounds anti-Gospel but HOLD ON...<br /><br />I must say "yes" to Christ, "yes" to time in prayer, "yes" to interruptions and to duties, "yes" to a daily rhythm that leaves a calm and smiling face on this constantly tired and achy woman and "yes" to laughter and to tears. "Yes," my Lord, "yes," my Mother, I will stop and garner strength from the Holy Spirit, so that I am not sinking in to my lower nature, sinking in to the sin that potentially separates me from who God has created me to be. For me, making the commitment to Regnum Christi was a means to deepen my practice of the Catholic Faith. Living in the "ever ancient, ever fresh" daily routine of prayer and penance is to continually feel the providential hand of the most perfect and loving Blessed Trinity, Who has the answers to all the questions, even those questions that we do not, as yet, know exactly how to formulate. <br /><br />God makes no mistakes. We are perfectly capable, in any and all circumstances, to be a conduit for His Love and His most glorious salvation. This makes even a tired person smile. I cannot express properly how humiliating life with chronic illness can be; at the same time, it is a great blessing to be able to stop and offer all of the physical and psychological pain for my own salvation and the salvation of others, as if it were a lovely pearl. This is the gift of suffering -- it is a time to open up, to share with those around you that THIS IS NOT ALL THERE IS. We are pilgrims. We are going somewhere and all of these exercises are preparations to draw us closer and closer to Him who is LOVE.<br /><br />I have a dear friend who I have not seen in too long, and she used to tell me that God "wastes nothing and weaves everything!" (maybe from St. Paul?) It is so true. We ought to pause often throughout the day and think of Heaven. Heaven is, in some ways, as near as the beating of our hearts. Heaven is always challenging us to change -- to be better, holier and happier.<br /><br /><strong><em>Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us!</em></strong>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-50596894030441035352010-10-17T09:27:00.010-05:002010-10-17T19:17:47.010-05:00Thoughts as we approach All Hallows Eve, All Saints, and All Souls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYk9QZh7B_6ZDMO79MOxuj6F9EHso9vr282PTfZ8RKdlSx06ibf2o7AmI8VSY3UkMkCX4RruT9wqp1vsnN9Twdg88kxkzuGxQWTjcpn2D5LtSONUQYCCehAriGURA6J-acpf6SaeS1lg/s1600/snoopy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYk9QZh7B_6ZDMO79MOxuj6F9EHso9vr282PTfZ8RKdlSx06ibf2o7AmI8VSY3UkMkCX4RruT9wqp1vsnN9Twdg88kxkzuGxQWTjcpn2D5LtSONUQYCCehAriGURA6J-acpf6SaeS1lg/s400/snoopy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529028228639210834" /></a><br />Counting our blessings: we lived in such a good neighborhood for 15 years and enjoyed such lovely, wholesome Halloween celebrations with a hay ride and chili cookoff before the trick or treating began. I wish I could find the photo the year the girls and I dressed up as a medieval queen and princesses. Every year, my husband carves the pumpkins and roasts the seeds with lots of seasoning salt. Usually, his parents have come down to enjoy the children and help hand out candy and watch an old classic movie.<br /><br />Still counting our blessings: we are in a new, much smaller neighborhood with many kind people and families, and the annual, fall festival atmostphere of our Roswell celebrations accompany us here. The memories of good people and good times help us to bring forth new celebrations and new friends. We have our Faith and have always had many good family prayers around this time to the holy souls and to the saints. One year we even made a little saints museum in one of the children's rooms as the big days (<a href="http://www.americancatholic.org/features/default.aspx?id=23">read good link on All Hallows Eve, All Saints and All Souls</a>) approached. At our parish (which has not changed, even though we moved farther north), there is that lovely feeling of expectation for Advent, just a few weeks away! Fall blazes in and out so quickly; it is such a lovely time of year!<br /><br />Each year, in August, I pick a saint to pray to for our homeschooling. Education means to nurture; and, many parents see the family as a garden, a place where we work, play and pray to bring forth good produce. I have asked St. Gemma Galgani to be our special, educational protectress this year. It is not an easy culture within which to raise children and young people.<br /><br />I regret letting my children read and watch all the Harry Potter stories, but I have to move forward continuing to humbly pray for the Blessed Mother's intercession and the fathomless Mercy of Christ our King, our Lord and Savior of all who call upon Him in faith, hope and love. Of these, the greatest is <strong>LOVE</strong>.<br /><br />Here is <a href="http://thosethatwonder.blogspot.com/2009/10/getting-ready-for-all-hallows-eve.html">my Halloween post from last year</a>.<br /><br />I just found <a href="http://marysaggies.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-happened-to-halloween.html">this thought provoking article</a>. <br /><br /><em><strong>St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us and for all families striving to bring up their young in the best possible garden.</strong></em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627468806763846296.post-75615518037832531722010-10-15T08:17:00.015-05:002010-10-15T11:05:10.358-05:00Let's work hard against contempt, let's adore Him, let's love...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNFAHq3TKkpAMCQcTFfv4txQTxqm66vGcgO6NW_rbBDPQGRHGZtnQRiNH4WbTdNKrrEuzo9lwxy_q8x8wp8OaefcU1j11m0jcWY2tlN6AY4Zq6UQ1pzglDhybr60CV5t8jaEbBoUBzkI/s1600/Holy+Mass.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 373px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNFAHq3TKkpAMCQcTFfv4txQTxqm66vGcgO6NW_rbBDPQGRHGZtnQRiNH4WbTdNKrrEuzo9lwxy_q8x8wp8OaefcU1j11m0jcWY2tlN6AY4Zq6UQ1pzglDhybr60CV5t8jaEbBoUBzkI/s400/Holy+Mass.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528263634035488450" /></a><br /><blockquote>"We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can -- namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us." --St. Teresa of Avila</blockquote>I have a few quiet moments and am thinking about how fast the rest of the year will go by...and, I want to bring a grateful heart to each day, not worrying if I "get everything done". I am a "worry wart," as they used to call my grandpa (my dad's dad). It is important for me to stop and see the big picture, to stop and adore our Eucharistic Lord, even when I am not directly in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He, the Prince of Peace is, so very mysteriously, living inside of me and, as a beautiful song goes, "He is the air I breathe..."<br /><br />We are all called to be living tabernacles. I love this thought and know that the Incarnation made this all possible. No wonder so many love Christmas. The miracle of Christmas is the gift of Mother Church. Christ came as a baby and would become even smaller in the Sacred Host (think of that!). As a convert, I am still learning and renewing, via His sacramental graces, my knowledge of the truths of the Faith. We know that Purgatory is the "Church Suffering" and that we, pilgrims on earth, are the "Church Militant" and that all persons are created to journey in faith, hope and love to our ultimate destiny of utter refuge, known to Catholics as the "Church Triumphant."<br /><br />Heaven is the goal. It is the place to which we run. I was talking to some of the members of my Regnum Christ small prayer group (know as our "Encounters with Christ")about the idea that Heaven will be, for me, a place not of rest, as we tend to think of it. As a disabled person, I like to think of Heaven as a place where we are always free to move, free to act with verve and full-blown energy to love perfectly all the time. Come to think of it, that would be eternal rest because we would "rest" in the peace of a fully certain conscience, meaning that our hearts would be utterly pure. We would be unencumbered by our mental, emotional and physical disabilities. Living fully in the embrace of the Blessed Mother gazing in complete communion with the Blessed Trinity, we would be one act of pure love all of the time -- Heaven!!!<br /><br />I know it is not a sin to be tired, but, as I am so tired so much of the time, I am blessed, if you will, to think, from time to time, of all the good works that I could initiate, if I were to have more energy. Alas, nothing is wasted! What I mean by that is that we can pray with all of our might for souls. We can offer everything up to Him who is Love. And, we must do what we can when we can to inspire and encourage ourselves and others.<br /><br />We can offer each and every aspect of our daily lives for the salvation of souls, beginning first with our own. A related item I have been pondering is the fact that we must work and pray very hard not to be contemptuous of our own failings or those of others. Our Lord warns us of the only "unforgivable sin" being (all) that which opposes the Holy Spirit (do not quench the Spirit!). God never fails to forgive. We condemn ourselves. We know this. When we make our morning offering and ask for the special intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we must do so humbly and in full recognition of our potential for contempt, of ourselves and of others. <br /><br />I just looked up contempt and you may be given a bit of a jolt --it is from the Latin <em>contemnere</em>, meaning to despise. Wow! Contempt is "an attitude to something (or someone, I add) which one <strong><em>despises as worthless, insignificant or vile</em></strong>; total disregard." (Webster's)<br /><br />I believe this is key to understanding the internal persecutions of Mother Church. When any human person is deemed worthless (which can happen internally or externally, or both), then the demons leap in to the situation. When an idea that is good, truthful and beautiful is distorted, then the same occurs. The godly practices of celibacy for the Kingdom, worship of the Blessed Sacrament, family prayer, parish renewal, true friendship, authentic love, filial obedience to Mother Church -- there are so many more -- when these are held in contempt, watch out! <br /><br />But first, return every hour of every day to the Lord with your whole heart. Ask our Lady to be your mother, to guide you, pray with you and for you. Ask for prayers from the holy souls and pray for them (then you will have "friends in high places," as I tell the kids). Here is a <a href="http://www.sistersofcarmel.com/purgatory.php">good link on Purgatory</a>. <br /><br />The one, sure prophetic word of God is to love. Spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament will increase your capacity to love, of this I am sure for I have experienced it in my own life. I know it to be true both from doctrine and from experience. Both are good and sound. Only magisterial doctrine is constant, but it must be experienced to be transmitted, so that we may evangelize the world.<br /><br />Is it possible that the teaching can be more sound, more constant, than the teacher? I am speaking of apostles, not our Lord Himself, of course. He mysteriously acts through clay pots. I have more cracks than most! I do know that true and real devotion to our Blessed Mother includes an ardent desire to free the holy souls from Purgatory. <br /><br /><em><strong>Holy Souls in Purgatory, pray for us! I pray that the holy souls know that we care, that they do have us to pray for them and that they will help us love ourselves as children of the Most High God the Father and that they will help us love others as our Savior has loved us! Amen </strong></em><br /><br /><em>St. Teresa of Avila (my Confirmation saint), pray for all inhabitants of this good earth!</em>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16065189626418846450noreply@blogger.com0