Sunday Snippets

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival is a weekly opportunity to share our best posts with the wider Catholic blogging community. To participate, create a post highlighting posts that would be of interest to Catholics and link to the host blog at This That and the Other Blog. Go to the host blog and leave a comment giving a link to your post.


I spent a lot of time in cemeteries this week working on that indulgence for the poor souls in purgatory.


You can see my best shots (in my opinion ) on my cemetery set on Flickr.

Visits to Candyland had a good discussion going on family planning here and here.



Catholics against Obamacare keeping us up to date here.


Wonderful All Souls Craft from Under her Starry Mantle.





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My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/08/2009

• Americans Would Vote Against Obama Now, Health Care Rating and Approval Down

  I think a lot of folks that voted for Obama were swept away with ... well swept away. Even staunch pro-lifers who voted for Obama and have been trying to justify it all year long.

  tags: obama, current, events

  • Washington,
    DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll shows that, on the day voters
    head to the polls in several states for off-year elections, Americans
    would vote against pro-abortion President Barack Obama for president.
    Another survey shows his approval rating down as well as his rating
    on handling health care.

• arts>World Financial Center | Press | Press Releases

  My goddaughter starts her career in new york.

  tags: family

  • Alexandra Jennings,

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

7 Quicktakes- the Saturday Edition

Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary.


1. Izzy went to her first art class at the new art center I found for her. She was excited and nervous and happy. Yesterday she checked a book out of the library of how to draw horses and has been drawing horses ever since! So she clearly has the talent, but more importantly she has the desire to pursue all things artistic. So as her mom, I am going to support that.

2. This week, if you visited a cemetery everyday a plenary indulgence could be gained for the poor souls in purgatory. I set out to do this with the best of intentions, but I think I messed it up. First of all, I forgot to go on Monday. I told Mr. Pete that I was going to make it up by going twice on Friday, but Mr. Pete was adamant that it had to be every day or bust. To which I reminded him that he didn't get to determine whether indulgences were granted or not and that I would take my chances that God would be pleased with my make-up visit on Friday. But then I noticed that I was also supposed to be receiving communion every day as well (I did the confession part last week). So for any poor soul that was counting on me, I apologize. I think a partial indulgence was the best I could do.

3. I did manage to get some great pictures of cemetery statuary though - and my artistically inclined daughter helped me find things to take pictures of!

4. I have to say that my kids have been very good sports about going to the cemetery this week with me. They are very respectful of the graves, they look at the name and dates, and they look for statues and headstones that will make interesting pictures. And from the homeschooling perspective, Izzy and Noah like to figure out how ages of the grave occupants from the dates on the stones.

5. I have an interesting picture to get for Find A Grave this week. It's for a WWII soldier who was MIA for decades but they found his remains a few years ago and he was brought home and re-interred here in his home town. The person making the request had a picture of his name on a wall for all the missing in Holland and wanted to add a picture of his grave site. So that will be an interesting one to do and since that cemetery is so big, I'll definitely need the kids to help me.

6. With the economy hitting 10.2% unemployment, I have noticed more and more panhandlers in the city. And they are getting bolder too. While we were in one of the cemeteries a man came up to us and asked me if I was visiting one of my loved ones. I explained what I was doing and he listened politely while I explained FindAGrave and being a volunteer photographer. And when I was done he promptly asked me for money to go to McDonald's. I gave him a few bucks from my pocket, but also made a mental note to not visit that particular cemetery alone even in the daylight. Another guy keeps coming by the house and calls me "soccer mom." He asked for $20 the a week or so ago. I was able to negotiate it down to $10 with a peanut butter sandwich. But I had to finally set some limits with him such as do not come up to me when I first drive in, and that I was only going to be able to help him out once a week tops and that was only if I had some extra cash. He made the mistake however of demanding some money from Mr. Pete and saying I told him to and Mr. Pete sort of got into his face a little bit. I haven't seen him since.

4. Someone very close to me received a potentially bad health diagnosis this week. Well, it's bad, but of course they make you wait until over the weekend before you can know for sure. Coming just a few months after my mom's illness this is all quite sobering. So I mentioned to Mr. Pete that my attitude about life had completely changed since Mom died. Every morning I get up and think, (for example) "Today is November 7. I have lived through 50 November 7ths. I may only have 10 to 30 November 7ths left. Maybe more. Maybe less. I better enjoy this one. I am thankful for this one." It's actually not as joyful as it sounds. It's more resignation to the fact of my mortality.












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Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83 - Yahoo! Finance

Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83 - Yahoo! Finance


None of the liberal pro-Obama bloggers that I followed last year are blogging on the economy. Are they ignoring it or is it that they simply don't understand why the stimulus isn't working?

My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/06/2009

• Shelley Hendrix Reynolds: A Decade Of Questioning Harm And The Autism-Vaccine Connection

  Excellent article - probing questions.

  tags: vaccines

  • Genetics alone has not caused autism to increase from an incidence of 1:10,000 to 1:91 in a twenty year period. I asked the CDC earlier this month to let us know of one other genetic condition that had ever demonstrated that exponential growth rate. They were stumped. Something environmental is causing this. Something universally environmental even though we all eat different food, drink different water and breathe different air.

• What to Watch for in the Employment Report - FOXBusiness.com

  How's that hopey changey thing working out?

  tags: economy, obama

• FLU VACCINE SHORTAGE: H1N1 and Seasonal Shots Running Out « On The Scene « FOXNews.com

  The decision on whether or not to vaccinate myself and the kids might be made for me!

  tags: current, events

  • Health officials have told us all along to get the H1N1 vaccine, it’s our best defense against the deadly virus. At the same time, we’ve been reminded not to forget about getting our seasonal flu shots. That’s why it’s frustrating for people waiting in long lines all over the country, only to be turned away. Vaccine supplies are running low because of production delays, but adding to the problem is an increased demand for the seasonal vaccine. Concerns over H1N1, have led many people to get vaccinated who normally wouldn’t. So far, 85 million people have gotten seasonal vaccine. That’s 25 million more than this time last year.

• Ohio.com - Wadsworth-Rittman closing birthing unit

  This is scary - Wadsworth closes its birthing center just like Cuyahoga Falls did last year. Rosie was born at CF and I received wonderful care and attention. It really was as close to being at home as it could have been (and I have done homebirth before so I have a realistic impression of it.)
  
  But why does it cost so much or need so many deliveries to stay solvent? (malpractice? inflation?) With 1000 deliveries a year women and babies start getting on that medicalized treadmill that the Business of Being Born exposed. The economy and the closing of small community hospital OB wards might help bring midwifery and homebirth into the forefront.

  tags: birth, childbirth, midwifery

  • Experts say hospitals typically must have at least 1,000 deliveries a year to break even or profit from their maternity services.

    
    
    
    
    

    ''There was no way for us to get to the number of deliveries we would need to make this a viable opportunity for us,'' Pope said.

• UT: Economy leading more women to midwives : Midwifery World

  Homebirths are more economical and in this economy, more women are willing to look into it.

  tags: birth, childbirth, midwifery

  • Licensed home-based midwives say they’ve seen a slight increase in business in part because their service tends to be less expensive than giving birth in a hospital.

    
    

    “The fact (that) people are having a lot of financial troubles is causing people to look for alternatives,” said Suzanne Smith, a midwife who said she is taking more calls from people who are uninsured or have high deductibles.

    
    

    Consulting appointments are also up at BellaNatal, a one-room birth suite in Orem run by Smith.

    
    

    At the Birth and Family Place, a birth center in Holladay, the number of women touring the center who say they’re attracted by the price has risen to about one-third, according to medical director Rebecca McInnis.

    
    

    “I don’t think it’s been that high before,” McInnis said.

    
    

    A hospital-based birth can cost about $8,300, including about $6,000 on average for the hospital charge, according to 2006 estimates by the state health department. Deliveries at home or at a birthing center can be substantially less expensive.

• Hand sanitizer in short supply, raising hoarding concerns - Oct. 23, 2009

  A good friend of mine works for a soap manufacturer. They were getting ready to do lay offs when the economy tanked - now they are working overtime! An unintended good consequence of the H1N1.

  tags: current, events

  • NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Demand for hand sanitizer has gone through the roof since the first cases of swine flu broke out earlier this year, and some makers of the germ-fighting gels are scrambling to keep up.

• Republican Leader John Boehner | Speaker Pelosi’s Government-Run Health Plan Will Require a Monthly Abortion Premium

  The current health care bill in the house does require public money for elective abortion. Here are the links!

  tags: abortion, current, events, areyousorryyet?

  • Health care reform should not be used as an opportunity to use federal
    funds to pay for elective abortions. Health reform should be an
    opportunity to protect human life - not end it.

    
    

    Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s 2,032-page government
    takeover of health care does just that.  On line 17, p. 110, section 222 under “Abortions for which Public Funding is
    Allowed” the Health and Human Services Secretary is given the authority to
    determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run plan. 
    The Speaker’s plan also requires that at least one insurance plan offered
    in the Exchange covers abortions.

    
    

    What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be
    charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan.  It’s right
    there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under “Insurance Rating Rules.”  The
    premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account - and these federal
    funds will be used to pay for the abortion services.

    
    

    Section 213 describes the process in which the Health Benefits
    Commissioner is to assess the monthly premiums that will be used to pay
    for elective abortions under the government-run plan.  The
    Commissioner must charge at a minimum $1 per enrollee per month.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Small Successes

1. Long time readers might remember that last winter I signed up to be a volunteer photographer for the Find a Grave website. I did my first assignment last February, but was not able to locate the grave I was looking for. Then Mom got sick and died and I just haven't had time to pursue it. But this week a request came in for a nearby Catholic cemetery and since I am trying to visit a cemetery everyday until November 8 for an indulgence for the poor souls in purgatory, I decided to take it!

Izzy and Noah went with me. We went to the poor church secretary who graciously helped us find where the grave should be located and gave us a map. But with these old graves you just never know and I wasn't sure if we would be able to find it. The kids and I were looking at all of the flat markers, hoping to see the name we were looking for. And then voila! we almost ran into it!



That was nice - to actually find the grave I was supposed to photograph!!

2. Mr. Pete hasn't been to the grocery store in two weeks and we have been scraping by- quite nicely actually. It's amazing the stuff you can find to eat from the stuff you already have! Although I did have to run out for some laundry soap and toilet paper - it's hard to get by without either of those two things.

3. Yesterday, I was at another cemetery and Izzy and I were looking at some of the statuary to photograph and since we got further away from the van, Sam, who has his driving temps, took it upon himself to pull the van up behind us. He actually did pretty well and so I thought since this is an old cemetery with lots of twisty roads and hills, it would be a good place for him to practice driving. So Sam was driving us through the beautiful fall colors of this peaceful cemetery. We went down one twisty turny hill and found our path blocked by a mountain of leaves that the cemetery crew had raked and scraped together and left there. There was no where to turn around and the only way out was to back up. So we gulped and Sam backed that big van up - all the way up that curvy cemetery hill. He was quite proud of himself and I was proud of him too!

One of the statues I shot yesterday with the Pentax that I'm still learning on!













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My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/05/2009

• Yes, Every Sperm is Sacred! » The Anchoress | A First Things Blog

  Turns out, Monty Python got it right - every sperm is sacred and why not?

  tags: Catholic, contraception, birth, control, Onan, NFP

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/04/2009

• lindafay | Scribd

  tags: homeschooling

• Dawn Eden Review of A Little Guide for Your Last Days.

  tags: death, Catholic

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

201st Carnival of Homeschooling Saving Time | The Informed Parent

201st Carnival of Homeschooling Saving Time | The Informed Parent







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Month of November - praying for the dead

This is a re-publication of posts from previous years.


A few years ago I had the opportunity to find the grave of my grandparents and my uncle. I had been there before, but I always forget exactly where they are buried. We found them. Their graves were overgrown and looked untended, uncared for and unloved. That wasn't true of course. They were still loved deeply. I know my sister and I will always have a special place in our hearts for them. Yet my practice of praying for their souls was a lot like their graves had become, untended, and uncared for.



That November I made a promise to turn that around. November is a perfect time to do that as it is the month when the Catholic Church remembers all of the dearly departed. I take the pictures of all of my beloved dead relatives and friends, and put them in a prominent place so that we remember to pray for them every day during the month. I talk to the children about each one and remind them of the importance of prayer for the deceased.

That  November I found a wonderful book (that I intend to review later) called Father Phillip Tells a Ghost Story (Padre Phillip Hoce Un Cuento de Fantasmas): A Story of Divine Mercy (Un Cuento de La Divina Misericordia) It's perfect for this time of year with a very "Halloween" type of feel to it, but it puts "ghosts" into their proper perspective in regard to purgatory. After reading this with my children, I was able to better explain what a poor soul in purgatory is, and how to offer up our little pains and sufferings, in a way that they could better understand.





The Catholic Culture Site reminds us that we may earn indulgences for the souls in purgatory.

Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November




Indulgenced Acts for the Poor Souls
A partial indulgence can be obtained by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed, even if the prayer is only mental. One can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a cemetery each day between November 1 and November 8. These indulgences are applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.


A plenary indulgence, again applicable only the Souls in Purgatory, is also granted when the faithful piously visit a church or a public oratory on November 2. In visiting the church or oratory, it is required, that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.


A partial indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, can be obtained when the Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam) is prayed. This is a good prayer to recite especially during the month of November:


Requiem aeternam dona ei (eis), Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis). Requiescat (-ant) in pace Amen.
Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.


Many families add to the "Prayer Before Meals" the second half of the "Eternal Rest" prayer:
Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts,
Which we are about to receive,
from Thy bounty,
through Christ, our Lord, Amen.
And may the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace. Amen.
Other families recite the "Eternal Rest" prayer in between decades of the rosary.

From time to time, I'll get a thought in my mind of someone I use to know, who is now departed. Maybe the kid's old piano teacher, or Mr. Wolverton who use to drive us kids to band, or Uncle Harry, who really wasn't my uncle at all, but a nice friend of my grandfather's who put up with the shows my sister and I use to put on way to often. I think maybe that's a sign that I need to pray for them, or they can use those prayers for someone else. I try to say a quick prayer then.



Resources for remembering the poor souls in purgatory during the month of November.


Catholic Culture

Prayer for the poor souls in purgatory.


St. John Vianney on Purgatory.(St. John is the special Patron during this year of the priest!)


Simple prayer for the poor souls that you probably didn't learn in Catholic School.

Father Hardon on Purgatory.


Explaining purgatory to kids.

Explaining purgatory to nonCatholics.

Avoiding purgatory.

Way of the cross for the poor souls in purgatory.














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My Dearest Daughter,

October 14, 1958

Dear Maryrose:

First of all let me say that I never meant for you to think that you dropped us. I thought I was being cute, but it always comes out different. I wrote you a letter this morning tell you all about Mary, or as much as we could make out. We love you even more than we did.

Now let me tell you of our reaction to your news. The first thing that flashed thru my mind was "Isn't there doctor closer than that?" Then I thought "I wish I could do something to make things easier for you, like doing your washing and ironing," and the inevitable "why couldn't Pete have lived closer!" Of course we are happy about it and I do so wish you didn't have to go thru all of the discomfort or that in some way I could help. But everyone has to go thru it in their own particular way. I guess that is why we love the little ones after they get here.

I can't tell you very much because each of my two were different, but I don't think the nausea should last beyond the third month, but I do know you should see a good doctor no later than the 3rd month. What about that clinic Pete talked about in Chama. Of course, clinics are not as good as a good family doctor. They are so cold and impersonal. We shall be anxious to know Pete's blood type. No use saying we won't worry because we will, so when you find out for sure, let us know and find out about Pete's blood type.

For me the time won't fly fast enough til Dec. 26th. I'll have a large part of your "layette" by that time like diapers etc. By the way would you like the square ones or the rectangular ones. I should be washing clothes right now, but I couldn't until I wrote this letter.

I am so sorry you didn't read my letter as I had meant it to sound. I won't try to be cute anymore it always turns out sardonic.

October 15, 1958
Dear Kids:
Just a note. I have written you 2 letters one went out yesterday and the other today. We received the enclosed ones mailman went yesterday. A Bonanza! So I'll share them with you

Note: (Grandma received some more letters with good news about an engagement and she passed those on to mom.)

The boy Janet Sue is engaged to is the son of a minister who married your Aunt Mary and Fred. Remember? I guess they fell for each other like a ton of bricks. He teaches high school in Brethren and had been going around with your cousin M, but when he met Janet he was a goner! M met a boy she likes very much at some young people's convention out east so lots of love going around! yes!!?

Gosh December 26 seems so far away. It will just creep I suppose. Oh I do so pray nothing happens to change plans.

God Bless you,

Mother

I've been meaning to ask how Pete's mother and Lucy are and I forget. Please greet them for us and give them our love and best wishes.










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My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/03/2009

• NEA - Recommended Reading: Saul Alinsky, The American Organizer

  Another reason to homeschool. The NEA recommending Rules for Radicals.

  tags: current, events

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Ebooks and homeschooling

I have been homeschooling for 14 or 15 years now and I have lots and lots of books and reference material, but the ones I am using the most these days are right on my computer!

For Geography I started using the resources over on Geography Matters. I can print whatever I want whenever I want and it's so much easier to store than three or more Geography books. My children have enjoyed using the maps and resources through them as well.

Of course I have used the Language Arts Program for two years now and have found them to be very good and my kids enjoy them. I have the high school writing program as well.

I recently discovered that Kathryn Stout's Design a Study books are available as e-books and I highly recommend them. They are low cost and cover many grades and make it easier for mom to teach several kids at once with supplemental library books and resources. It helps me to know that I have covered everything that I need to cover particularly in science, history and spelling.

And the best part about all of these programs is that I can use them, save on my computer and print them out whenever I need to and I'll also have them when Rosie is old enough to need them.

Of course I also use Mozy Unlimited Backup to make sure my e-book purchases can travel with me from computer to computer.








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Simple Woman

Outside my window...
This isn't exactly out my window, but this is what it looked like last night in one of the metro parks we hiked in just before dusk.



I am thinking...
about my baby boy. He was born still 7 years ago yesterday. I miss his presence every day and often wonder what it would be like to have a little six year old boy to snuggle, to read to, to play with his little sister when she is looking for a playmate.

And yet the grief for him, at least this year, is a distant dull ache. I looked forward to making his birthday cake with the kids and eating it, and we had a good time decorating his grave this year.

They had mass in the cemetery today and we went. Calvin took Sarah too. Mr. Pete couldn't be there because he was working, but it was still very meaningful to me to have all of my children all together.



I am thankful for...
for this great weather and that Mr. Pete seems to have a lot of work.

From the learning rooms...
Starting The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Noah and Gabe this week. If I can say I have my two middle sons reading authors like C.S. Lewis, I will feel as if I quite accomplished something. Sam is also starting a study of the King Arthur and Christ next week.

From the kitchen...
Barbecued pork steaks and Rachel Rae Smashed potatoes!

I am wearing...
Black sweat pants and a glue sweat shirt.

I am creating...
memories for my kids I hope.

I am going...
to be playing my flute at a wedding next week so I have a lot of practicing to do this week!

I am reading...
Dr. Susan Love's Menopause and Hormone Book: Making Informed Choices
An Excellent book so far!

I am hoping...
to keep my house clean this week and catch up on the laundry.

I am hearing...

Mr. Pete move around in the kitchen.

Around the house...

Taking down Halloween and decorating for All Saints Day and Thanksgiving. 

A few plans for the rest of the week:
1. Walk or exercise tape every day.
2. Bible study with Gabe getting ready for confirmation.
3. Get math and reading done with everyone this week and get one library trip in.
4. Keep up with my typing.
5. Finish inventory on my Mom's estate for the attorney.


A picture I am sharing:













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My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/02/2009

• CBS News – Research Links Kids Vaccines & Brain Damage « ________________Child Health Safety_________________

  tags: vaccines, vaccinations

• ThimerosalScandalFINAL.PDF (application/pdf Object)

  tags: vaccines, vaccinations

• Birth plan? Doula? Natural birth? Not here you don't. | BlogHer

  An Aspen OBGYN office puts up a sign - no Doulas, no Bradly method and no birth plan allowed -making it much easier for women who want natural childbirth to weed this medical group of knuckleheads out!

  tags: pregnancy, birth

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Sunday Snippets - A Catholic Carnival.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival is a weekly opportunity to share our best posts with the wider Catholic blogging community. To participate, create a post highlighting posts that would be of interest to Catholics and link to the host blog at This That and the Other Blog. Go to the host blog and leave a comment giving a link to your post.


A few seasonal things this week.

See my All Saints Day Links on del.icio.us.

A Halloween celebration low on spooks and the occult and high on fun.

An All Saints Day offering.

Also an Update on Bai MacFarlane and her divorce battle.


Debate on sex, sexuality and contraception on this blog.

Discussion on Apostolic Succession over here.







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Our All Hallows Eve Celebration

In the past we have had the opportunity celebrate All Saints day with an orthodox Catholic Group, usually associated with homeschooling. There wasn't anything like that available to us this year and my parish didn't have anything and I wasn't up for planning a big event like that.

Also for the past four years we had gone to a Halloween Brunch and then trick or treating at my mother's Catholic retirement home. But with Mom gone I knew that wasn't an option. I suppose I could have called to see if we would have been allowed to trick or treat, but I didn't think I was ready to walk past her apartment door yet. I'm just not ready.

So instead we invited the neighborhood kids over for a Halloween party. Izzy was very excited about this and I wanted to do my best to make her happy. I didn't do costumes, but I told the kids they could wear them if they wanted to. Some years you just have to make things more low key. I guess that was true for me this year.

Nonetheless we plunged head with our party. I tried to find a nice balance between All Saints Day and following our Catholic beliefs on the holiday and the more secular Halloween. So to that end I had our spoon saints out on the buffet and I put a few of the saints under our plastic table covering.



Our pumpkin cake decorated with M&Ms.





When friends showed up we carved pumpkins!








We also decorated little pumpkins
 


 Then we said grace before our feast of pizza, apples and cake!


and bobbed for apples




 

The final fun feature of our party was the scary movie, and what could be scarier than a horror musical!  We watched Little Shop of Horrors
 - the kids laughed and I think I heard some of the tunes being whistled on the way to PSR this morning!

All and all I think a successful and fun evening.



My Favorite scenes from LSOH.


What's scarier than the dentist!!?















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My Domestic Church Daily Clips 11/01/2009

• feminine-genius: The rest of the story

  Helen Keller was a socialist who admired Lenin and was pro-abortion and euthanasia. The irony of that is stunning.

  tags: history, HelenKeller, socialism

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

All Saints Day

First posted 10/29/2007

All of my previous posts and pictures about All Saints Day/Halloween can be found via my del.icio.us links here.

Some Christian blogs and even some Catholic forums have been vacillating about whether or not it is right to celebrate Halloween. My answer to that is absolutely it's okay to celebrate! as long as you understand exactly what it is that you are celebrating! There is really no historical connection between the setting of this feast to November 1 (naturally placing the Eve to October 31), and the Pagan Celebration of Samhain other than Pope Boniface moved the feast to the same time of year when Samhain is celebrated. But I like to look at it another way. The change of seasons and the harvest are gifts from God, even if the ancient Celts didn't quite see it that way, and as the scriptures say, "Test everything. Hold on to the good," and Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Christians have long honored the martyrs who have died for the faith and the Christian aspect of this feast day comes from 4th Century on as All Martyrs Day. It use to be observed the first Sunday after Pentecost and then it eventually came to include all of the saints known and unknown and the feast was set for November 1, making the vigil of course All Hallows Even, October 31.

Mary Reed Newland in her book "The Year and Our Children" put it this way:

The Feast of All Saints is one of the greatest of all feasts because it celebrates what could have been impossible. The cross is a tree that bears fruit. This is the feast of its harvest. The celebrations of the mysteries in the life of Our Lord are glorious and there is no detracting from them. But he was God. This day we celebrate the perfecting or human nature by grace pouring form the side of Christ on the cross, through His Church and His sacraments, remaking men after their despoiling in the Garden.

Aside from all the lofty things to be said about the saints and to the saints on this day, we want our children to understand in the marrow of their bones what the principal idea is: "We are so glad for you. Now pray, so we'll be there too!" And they must add to this and to every feast and endless: "Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making it possible."

For the Catholic family I believe preparing children for All Saints Day really is a year-long activity. Our liturgical calendar is full of feast days all year round and it is important to remember and acknowledge these events as they happen throughout the liturgical year. Parents should take the time and the opportunity for just a few minutes each day to educate our children about the holy men and women who have become saints. This year I was inspired by Cottage Blessing's Spoon saints and so we tried to make a spoon saint for each saint that we talked about in depth during the year. Before Halloween I hope to have the children add each of the saints that they are portraying this year to our collection.






I have several tools that help me keep on top of the liturgical year. Of course I use the links from Universalis on my blog, as well as Saint of the Day from American Catholic.

I also use this lovely Catholic Woman's Planner, and have a calendar from the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception up on my wall. With these tools I can see and plan for the liturgical year, all of the feasts and commemorations, almost effortlessly.

Most days we read something about the saint for the day and we ask that saint to, "Pray for Us" after our prayer before meals.

During the year, I like to read more about the saints to the children.
I particularly like, 57 Stories of Saints, by the Daughters of St. Paul, the Picture Book of Saints by Father Lovasik.

A new treasure for me last year was is Father Phillip Tells a Ghost Story, from Adoremus Books (HT to the Happy Catholic for writing about this.) This really does a nice job of incorporating the other connection with ghosts and the dead with their proper place in Catholic life with prayers for the dead and purgatory.

Throughout the year I try to encourage my children to choose which saint they would like to be for All Saints Day and then we decide about costumes. work on costumes. I have had a lot of success in the past with Simplicity Pattern 4797 Bible characters are easier to make because you don't require a lot of extra detailing or fitting. Please see my past links for examples of our costumes and how I made them.

Perhaps the easiest costumes we have made were the archangels. I had my boys wear white sweat pants and sweat shirts and just put the wings on their back. Gabriel had a trumpet, the Archangel Raphael carried a plastic fish and St. Michael had a breast plate and a sword! Another favorite was John the Baptist. I took white long johns and died them brown and then made a tunic from fake fur. A wild wig added to John's rustic look and he also carried a honey jar and some fake books (John ate wild honey and locusts. A simple tunic with a set of keys and you have St. Peter! A block of wood with some holes to stick arrows in, hidden under a tunic and you have St. Sebastian! Martyrs are lots of fun and little boys like them because you can use lots of fake blood and that seems to appeal to their sense of gore that goes with Halloween. Calvin once appealed to his sense of comedy by stuffing himself with pillows and a skull cap, which we glued fuzzy hair to, so that he could portray Thomas Aquinas! He carried a big old fashioned Ledger book as his Summa.


I'm to a point now that I have A LOT of boy's costumes in our costume box. Gabriel wears a black medieval frock that I bought for a a buck at our local community center's yard sale . With that he has been Saint Isaac Joques and Father Damien the Leper. This year we added a beard and voila - St. Ignatius Loyola! For Noah we added a beard to our St. Francis robe and we had an instant St. Anthony of Egypt the Hermit. I bought a costume for Isadora last year and we are getting lots of use to it. It too is a medieval costume so we go down the list of medieval female saints and she chooses from that. An addition bonus is that she will get to wear it for the Medieval feast that the community center throws every other year and of course if we take good care of it, Rosie can wear it in the future too!

This year the kids are St. Anthony of Egypt,
Blessed Imelda (before she entered the convent!) and
St. Ignatius Loyola





The kids with Grandma for the Halloween Brunch!


Izzy as an angel, and Rosie as St. Kateri.







I use cards from a collection called Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives. I can't find that available anywhere on the net. Old holy cards or other pictures you can find and save on the net also work very well.





For us I put them on the table cloth and cover them with a plastic covering, that way the kids can talk about them during meals. I also put up some of the children's other holiday art including pumpkins and spiders!



All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day are a wonderful Christian time of the year. With a little thought and creativity it can make wonderful memories for families and provide our children with more education about their Catholic faith and Christian heritage as well as deepening their faith.







Other Links:
Women for Faith and Family.
A great article by Scott Richert here.








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McFarlane update

Parents who Lose Custody in No-Fault Divorce Routine | Spero News: "by Martin Barillas Monday, October 26, 2009
For: National Desk
From: Bai McFarlane, Mary's Advocates

Contact: Bai McFarlane
Email: ma.defending@marysadvocates.org

Parents who Lose Custody in No-Fault Divorce Routine
Should Still be Able to Take Care of Children

October 24, 2009 - Cleveland OH

Bai Macfarlane brought to the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals questions affecting the divorced and child support. Her husband forced the divorce upon her. He used the courts to take the children from her, though she was never found to be an unfit parent. Despite her much lower income, she was ordered to pay her husband child support.

In her oral arguments in the appellate court on Wednesday, October 21, Macfarlane argued that her child support order should be reversed (see argument). She can't afford legal counsel so she served as her own attorney.

Ray Lautenschlager, President of Parents and Children for Equality, says she is correct. He has been following the Macfarlane case for years. 'Parents who lose custody are being ordered to pay to support their children twice: first in their home where when they spend time with the children, and then in the other parent's home.'


Macfarlane cited case law from an appeals court in Columbus, Ohio, that found the non-custodial parent to owe no child support because all the income of the non-custodial parent was used on her own necessities and the custodial parent did not need more money.

In the Ohio Revised Code, there is a conflict of law regarding which parent should pay support, asserted Macfarlane. One part of the law says the parent who loses the children should always pay child support. However, three other sections of the law conflict, and justify support being paid to the parent who lost the children.

Mrs. Macfarlane asked the appeals court to resolve the conflict in Ohio law and follow the example set by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. They ruled that it is in the best interest of children for the high-income-earning custodial parent to pay child support to the low-income-earning non-custodial parent. This better provides for the children in both homes when there is a large difference between both parents' income.

Macfarlane was adamant that both parents' voluntary adherence to the Catholic Church's ecclesiastic laws is relevant to the civil court. She asked that the matter be sent to the Catholic Bishop or Tribunal because their Church laws include canon law on separation of spouses and canon law considers obligations of parents toward their children. The lower court denied Macfarlane the chance to question her husband about their shared religion. She asked the appeals court to remand the case back to the trial court so she can establish the fact that both parents are professed canon-law-following Catholics. 'If both parents agree to follow their Church's canon law' said Macfarlane, 'the civil court must let the Church apply its own canon law to our family.'

To strengthen marriage and to eliminate forced no-fault divorce are two objectives of the non-profit organization that Macfarlane founded, Mary's Advocates. They are inviting everyone to pray for the appeals court judges, two who went to local Catholic High schools. Presiding Judge, Sean Gallagher, graduated from St. Edward High School and was named 'Legal Eagle - Man of the Year' for the School in 2005. Judge Frank Celebrezze attended Holy Name High School. The third judge is James Sweeney.

The mission of Mary's Advocates is to strengthen marriage, to eliminate forced no-fault divorce, and to support those who have been unjustly abandoned by their spouse. We emphasize the constitutional rights of those who choose to enter traditional marriage, namely the right to uphold the intentions of both parties in a contract, and the right to freely practice one's religion.

Sources: http://appeals.cuyahogacounty.us/judges/GallagherSeanC.htm

http://appeals.cuyahogacounty.us/judges/Celebrezze.htm

http://appeals.cuyahogacounty.us/judges/JJSweeney.htm

http://www.marysadvocates.org/ohiocase/091021opening.html"