Spending a little time with the Word...

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my little blog! I can't believe that it's late August already, YIKES! My kids haven't gone back to school yet, but it's coming. We have parent orientation tonight at Henry's new high school, and I think I'm handling my interior freaking out pretty well. ;-) I'm ready for a new season, but I'm also quite nervous. It'll be OK, but there are big things in store, to be sure!

I teased today's topic in last week's post, and I'm so excited to write about this today. :-) While I was on vacation last week, my sister introduced me to these Write the Word Journals, by Cultivate What Matters. I saw her using one each morning with her Bible and was intrigued.

These are not scripture studies, or guided journaling through scripture, per se. They are different from anything I've used in the past in that each day has a passage from the Bible listed (book and verse only) and then a big space for you to write down the actual passage. So you're not reflecting on the scripture verses (although you could do that too), but you're transcribing the verses down into your journal. There's also space to write down what you're grateful for that day, a word for the day, and what's on your heart that day (which you could use for pretty much any prayer purpose you wished). What I like about this system is that:

 (a) it can help you to memorize scripture verses, and

(b) on busy mornings, no deep thought is required on your part. You can just write the verse in, and there is still a great benefit to settling into God's Word for those few minutes without having to come up with coherent thoughts of your own. ;-) Some days, no inspired/academic reflecting is coming, as I'm sure you can relate!

There are a number of these journals available from Cultivate the Word, and each is themed. So this one (which is the one that I purchased) is about renewal, but there's also faith, hope, joy, contentment, etc. Here's a peek at the interior pages:

So indeed, I ordered one of the journals to check it out. You can also get these through Amazon, which if you have Prime shipping, is a way to save a bit. That's what I did. And I've been using mine each morning for a little peaceful and happy time with my Bible and with my own thoughts.

This is a non-Catholic Christian company, so the scripture references will be from the parts of the Bible that we both share, just an FYI. But I have to say that I'm loving the set up of these. There are lots of great options out there for scripture study, to be sure, I've just taken a shine to this one as an opportunity for individual scripture study, in a format that appeals to someone with a short attention span, and with not a lot of time to spare in my morning routine. :-)

Speaking of scripture study, I have been very inspired by this of late, and so have fun plans to announce to you. :-0 I'm going to start a weekly thread with themed scripture verses for us to chat about together in the blog's Facebook group! My sister Shauna'h has agreed to lead the thread each week, and will announce the theme and a related verse for us to look up in our Bibles and write in with our thoughts if we are so inspired. This will be super low maintenance, just participate whenever you'd like and/or are able to. I even made a graphic for us and everything, horray!

Join us on Facebook for Wednesdays with the Word starting up right after Labor Day! So, our first day will be September 4th. 🤗 I can't wait for this, I'm so excited!

Springtime springs new-to-me devotionals :)

Hello friends! It's nearly Memorial Day weekend, how the heck did that happen?! I love these holiday weekends that fall during summer season. They are lovely times to spend with friends and family. And with the kids getting older...I'm definitely appreciating them more now than ever.

This spring, I am trying out a new missal/Sunday devotional, and since this is a favorite topic of mine ;-), I thought I'd do a little review. 😀

As of May, I am a new subscriber to Living with Christ. In the past, I have subscribed to Magnificat, and I LOVE that publication. Magnificat is beautifully illustrated, and very comprehensive. It is a daily missal as well as a daily aid to prayer. It is on the pricier side, though. It is absolutely worth it if you use it every single day, but I found that I was only using it on Sundays. And for Sundays, $50 a year was a lot. Granted, I used to do the multi-year renewal, which brings the price down a bit, but still even $40-$45 a year is a lot when you're only using it once per week. So I finally did not renew, and while I missed it, I felt like it was the right decision. I've been using a St. Joseph Sunday missal that cost like $1.50. :0

But then I saw a special for a free issue of Living with Christ, and decided to try it out. I definitely had been missing having something a little extra special on Sundays, and especially during Holy Week. Before Mass starts, I'm often there early owing to Henry altar serving, and I do like something devotional to stick my nose into that gets me ready for the liturgy. And during Holy Week, I used to devour the Magnificat special edition, since I attend nearly all of the liturgies that week.

I ended up adding the Living with Christ special Holy Week issue on (since my subscription didn't start until after Holy Week, they *do* have a Holy Week issue included with your regular subscription) and absolutely loved it. It's exactly what I wanted: nice little intros to the readings that breaks them down in a relatable way, some extra articles to dip into during the month when you're feeling the urge or sitting in a waiting room, and generally something to look forward to each month. AND, an annual subscription is just $24.95. Even if I only use it on Sundays still (though it does also include the daily Mass readings) that is a much more manageable price for how I use it.

I'm quite thrilled. I need to look into getting a protective cover for it for when I shove it into my purse. But I think it's the perfect solution for the on-the-go, short attention span, sort of gal that I am.

Do you have a favorite Sunday or daily devotional?

Daily devotionals, analysis #547 ;-)

Indeed, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. :) I have quite a love affair with daily and seasonal devotionals. I know that I've written about it quite a few times in the history of this blog, especially during Lent and Advent! But here we are in winter Ordinary Time, all fresh into the new year, and this is also a time that I think about dedicating myself to a daily routine with my faith. Especially lately, my kids have been on my mind quite a bit. Both are growing so quickly and going through many changes. A daily prayer ritual is exactly what I need right now to best pray and discern for them, and it always helps to hash things out with friends.

*hug*

Below are two of my favorites. Are you familiar with these? Your thoughts are most welcome!

Living Faith is just the cutest little booklet ever. I first discovered it when I was in North Carolina visiting my sister, and her parish had the current issue available to try out. They are published in 3 month segments, and always have seasonal photography on the front, which I LOVE. Each day lists the daily mass readings (but does not include them in the text, you'd need to look them in your own Bible, fyi), and includes a short reflection on the theme from the readings for that day. You could read these reflections in well under a minute, if you weren't also looking up the scripture readings. I used to have a print subscription, and I have to say that I miss it. I bought the digital copy of the January/February/March issue, and it just isn't the same. Perhaps I should resubscribe? It's a great purse tucker.

Sacred Reading is a much larger book than Living Faith, but it is also available as an ebook. I do have this one in print form, but it doesn't carry around as easily as the other. You need to keep it at your desk. ;-) But I enjoy the format a lot more. It includes the text of the daily Gospel, and several other prompts to lead you in prayer and contemplation on the theme of the text. I like it a lot. It *does* require more concentration to read the entry, which is either a great thing or a difficult thing, depending on your state in life. Once I start teaching, I'm not at my desk nearly as much.

Thoughts? Sacred Reading seems idea for Lent, and indeed, they do have a separate volume just for that season. In fact, that volume is small enough to likely fit in my purse. I'm really thinking I'll use Living Faith every day if I just resubscribe in print. I really do want a daily commitment to something. What would you choose, or do you have another suggestion? 😃 I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Keeping the faith, and preparing for more frolicking with yarn...

Hi all! I have a big weekend coming up, and this week so far has been absolutely insane, with tons going on both at home and at work. But all is well! This weekend I am bound for Rhinebeck, NY, where I will attend the NY Sheep and Wool Festival for the second straight year, and I could NOT be more thrilled! I had such a wonderful time last year, and I feel blessed to be going again with my knitting group. Mid-October, in the Hudson Valley, amongst friends, food truck falafel, fiber-bearing animals, and reams and reams of gorgeous yarn. It is a dream come true, I tell you! I will report in next week with all of the yarny goodness. 🤗

In other news, we were at an open house this past weekend for the local Catholic boys high school that Henry would like to go to next year. The excellent, expensive, Catholic boys high school. 😬But it was a wonderful experience, and Henry handled himself so beautifully in a new situation, interacting with lots of people, both of which I know make him very nervous. I was so proud of him. 💗 The entrance exam is November 17th, and I would appreciate any prayers for focus and discernment that you could wing his way!

In the lead-up to the open house on Sunday, we all attended Mass together as a family. And it was the 8 am Mass. Remember what happened the last time the kids and I went to the 8 am Mass Henry was serving at? Yeah. It was a bit of a disaster. I was feeling so low, and our experience at that Mass only made things worse. Well, needless to say, I wasn't exactly looking forward to going back, but Henry was serving, so I steeled myself, and Mike came with us, which is always lovely. After Mass, this same person came up to talk to me, which I have to say is perplexing, because we don't know each other at all, but I'm a friendly sort. It was again a little strange, but there was a key difference: God allowed me to see something very important. This man doesn't have any ill intentions, he is simply a bit socially awkward. I felt a lot of peace afterwards. And it changed the way I look back and view the other situation as well. I'm feeling peaceful and grateful for this revelation. Sometimes these little things mean a lot, you know?

And in that same vein, attending Mass has become easier for me again. In my time of spiritual dryness, it was hard to go to Mass, but I went anyway. Now, I feel peaceful there again. I know that we don't *need* that feeling in order to go, but it does help, yes? And so here is the crowd sourcing part of our time together. ;-) My subscription with Magnificat is up this month. I have always loved Magnificat, and I still do. I just ordered Anne a subscription to MagnifiKid, in fact. But I thought before taking on another 2 year subscription, I would look at the other options just to see if I liked any of those better. A refreshening and reevaluation process. I spied with my little eye Word Among Us and their format of a small monthly magazine with the optional supplement of the daily Mass readings really appealed to me. Does anybody subscribe to either of these, and what are your feelings on what they have to offer? How about a regular old Sunday missal? One of the things I love the most about Magnificat is the beautiful artwork and the special Holy Week issue each year. Word Among Us seems to have uplifting articles to read throughout, appealing to a bookworm like me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Tea Time with Tiffany #87 - Fresh inspiration, devotions to devotionals, and Blessed is She...

It's a much more inspired edition this week of:

Today I talk about fresh spring inspiration for the blog and podcast, the power of friendship and community, my devotion to Lenten devotionals, and my new sign-up over at Blessed is She. Join me!





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

Items mentioned in this episode:

• Blessed is She
• BIS Lenten devotional
• Chaplet of St. Mary Magdalene - (scroll down for both the video and audio on this specific chaplet!)
• Allison's rosary/chaplet Etsy shop
• St. Joseph novena (it *does* start Saturday March 11th, they corrected the date right after I recorded!)

Are you feeling any new spring inspiration this week? I would love to hear from you!

Tea Time with Tiffany #74 - An Advent devotional with St. Teresa of Calcutta

Hello to you all! And welcome to a special edition of:

Today I'm honing in on Advent, since it is quickly approaching! And I'm going to share a review of an Advent devotional that I cannot wait to use this year, Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta, by Heidi Hess Saxton. Let's sit together with some tea and chat about it! If you do not have time to watch the video, I am including a written review below the show notes, as well. :) But the video will have all the fun action shots of the book!





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

Items mentioned in this episode

• Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta: Daily Meditations, by Heidi Hess Saxton 

For those who prefer a written version, here is my review!

This cute little book by Heidi Hess Saxon is THE BOMB. I met Heidi at the CNMC last June, and given how sweet she was, I had a good feeling about her take on St. Teresa of Calcutta, and my expectations were more than met. This is a daily devotional for both Advent AND Christmas seasons (an author after my own liturgical calendar heart), and each short entry contains scripture references from the daily lectionary, a personal anecdote from Heidi relating to the theme of the day, along with quotes from St. Teresa, several reflection questions, and a prayer. There are special installments for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and the feasts of St. Nicholas and Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the O Antiphons begin on December 17th. You'll be able to customize the book to each individual Advent this way, as the days fall differently during the week each year. There will be meditations you may not need one year, and so the next year it will all feel fresh and new again!

I really love the tone and feel of this book. Heidi keeps it simple, but profound and personal, and that is the EXACT right vibe I was anticipating from a book featuring St. Teresa of Calcutta. She really hits the nail on the head with her selections, and even the small format of the book captures this spirit.

This book retails for $12.99, and can be ordered right now through Amazon for $11.49 in paperback, $9.99 for Kindle. For devotionals, I prefer print copies, but everyone is different, and it's certainly nice to have options! Do you own a copy of this book and plan to use it during Advent? Let me know in the comments!

Say...what do you think of using this book as our journaling aid for Advent, in the spirit of what we did with the INSPIRE posts this fall? We could have a weekly post to chat about our thoughts on the weeks themes and scripture readings. Chime in please!

*I received a free copy of Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta from Franciscan Media in exchange for my honest review.

Catholic Book Club: Walk Softly and Carry a Great Bag

Oohhh, what's this? A surprise edition of the Catholic Book Club, how fun, right?! I was asked to review a women's devotional, and since the topic is perfect for this blog, I happily agreed. Books are what we do, yes?

What we have here is Walk Softly and Carry a Great Bag: On-the-Go Devotions, by Teresa Tomeo. This is a small book, strategically designed for you to be able to carry around in your purse. If you get the physical book, that is. It is indeed also available as an ebook, but we'll come back to that.

Verdict? This is a cute little thing! I like books that are sized like this for convenience. And the tone of this book is my very favorite - light, humorous, applies real life anecdotes to larger spiritual realities.

There are 70 devotions included, so this isn't  an "entry a day" type of devotional. It's a "whenever you need a pick-me-up, open this up to a new spot and await inspiration" type of devotional, reminiscent of the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series. Each entry starts with a scripture verse, and is followed by two to three pages of reflection on how the spiritual is woven into everyday, ordinary moments. All of the reflections conclude with a short prayer to apply the spiritual lesson into our own lives.

One of my favorite entries reflects upon the following verse from Psalms:

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." Psalm 34:17.

Teresa then recounts how at one point she was struggling with an important decision about her career. She went to Mass and prayed about this. Afterward, someone came up to her and gifted her a medal of St. Gabriel with a clear answer to her question printed on the back. Obviously, the person who gave her the medal had no idea how instrumental this was for Teresa at that moment, or that the words on the medal would be so moving to her. There are a lot more details about this story in the book itself, but just using what I've written here, I LOVE reading about moments such as these. Why? Because we've ALL had moments like this. There is a storm brewing in our hearts and minds, and then suddenly...we see something, or someone says something to us, or we hear something on television, and it just FITS. It's clear to us that God was using this other person or situation to speak to us. And when we're feeling overwhelmed or blue, we need those reminders to LISTEN, you know? God hears us. He wants to speak to us and soothe us. But we need to prayerfully await His voice.

This is a lovely and engaging little book, and if you enjoy devotionals in this style, I think you will truly like this one. It's available from Amazon for $13.50 in print, and $9.99 for Kindle. From the author's website, you have an additional option: you can purchase a print book/purse combination for $45, and there are a bunch of colors to choose from. Here's my purse, hanging out on my desk in front of my holy card collage:

Isn't it precious?! I didn't know which color I would receive (since the publisher graciously sent me one) and I have to say, they obviously know me very well, because I adore fall colors. I am in love with the yellow! But there is also pink, blue, orange (*swoons!*), mango and purple, and a few sparkle options. Great gift option for the coming holiday season? Absolutely. The purse texture reminds me of those jelly shoes that were so popular when I was in junior high. ("Tiffany, you grew up in the 80's didn't you?" "How ever did you know?!") Very sturdy and durable, and importantly for moms, cleans up super easily from leaky beverage containers or explosive poo diapers. I'm just *saying*, we all know it happens. :0 There are no pockets or anything, it has a single zipper running across the entire length and sides. But the bottom is extremely wide and hence the interior is downright spacious. You could pack a lot of stuff in this girl! It is *very* cute.

I have not read any of Teresa's other books, and so I was very excited to receive and read this one. It's perfect for this time of year, with back-to-school craziness eating away at all of our peaceful mental states. Have any of you dear readers perused this book or another work by Teresa? I'd love to hear from you in the comments. :)

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Tea Time with Tiffany #15 - Are you doing any differently in your spiritual routine this fall?

Routine has been a theme here this week, yes? Despite the fact that I recorded this week's video a few days ago, it fits in nicely with the theme.

*fortuitous!*

I just watched it so that I could gather the show notes together, and MAN, my hair is crazy in this one. :0 But my week has improved, and so I'm feeling perky today as I write this. It helps that (background discussion is in the video) this morning, despite the fact that I had to start the day with a DENTIST APPOINTMENT (is there a worse way to start one's day? I ASK YOU), when I arrived on campus at the worst *possible* time of the morning, much later than I usually arrive, as I was innocently patrolling the staff parking lot, Hark! Someone was pulling out!

GOD.STILL.LOVES.ME

But I digress. Today's topic is fall and renewed spiritual routines. You got any that you want to write in about? :)

The fall always brings a feeling of new beginning into my life, and I begin to think about Advent. In preparation for that, I generally get all excited and try out new things. What's on my mind in that regard this particular September? View on, gentle viewer!


Items mentioned in this episode (there are lots today!):

• My new Contigo travel coffee mug. #bliss
• Catholic Book Club reading list has been updated through January 2016! Read along with us! The next book we'll be discussing is Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale, by Ian Morgan Cron, on Sept. 30th.
• My new 2016 Mary and the Saints Wall Calendar is in stock and on it's way to me now. *heart*
• Sacred Reading: The 2016 Guide to Daily Prayer, published by Ave Maria Press. I'm going to be trying this out, starting in Advent, for lectio divina! I mentioned in the video that I wasn't sure if it covered just the daily Gospel or all of the daily Mass readings. I checked the sample pages, and it looks like it's meditations on the Gospel alone.
• Magnificat Advent Companion, a favorite of mine every single year. My pre-order is already in. #nerd
• My brand new wood Advent calendar! I grabbed it when it went on sale for about $50, so keep an eye on it, the price fluctuates quite a bit. I can't wait to share this with the kids! They just better not lose any pieces. *glares*
• Saint dolls from St. Luke's Brush. This year Henry will be receiving St. Nicholas, and Anne a rosary case with a painted rose adornment.
• Adoration. No substitute for it. I'm going to try bringing my kids. Have any of you tried this with your kids? How did it go?

Gentle reader, how I do appreciate being able to share time with you like this. It really buoys my spirits, especially during this busy season. What are you incorporating into your spiritual life this fall? And if you've taken children to Adoration with you, please do write in with your tips!

Advent 2014...let's start planning!

Morning everyone! I'm feeling pretty chipper today, which is surprising given that Anne didn't sleep all that well. She's been doing better overall, but last night just wasn't a good night for her. There was a "MONSTER IN MY ROOM!" incident, but I think that happened only because her mouth was bothering her and she couldn't sleep. She's getting a molar, and clearly wasn't feeling great, poor babe.

Besides that one wakeup, Mike and I slept well, although Anne woke up with a super sour expression on her little face. :) I downed a few cups of coffee and was ready for the day, so all is right with the world.

I've been thinking about Advent a lot this week, and I'm sure the thought has crossed all of your minds as well, since it will begin just over two weeks from now. This coming weekend is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, followed by the Feast of Christ the King the next, then BAM! The First Sunday of Advent. :) Hence, we need to start planning...NOW!

#hyperorganized

I treat Advent very much like Lent. It's a season of waiting, of expectation, not yet a time of celebration. And I like to have a spiritual plan for it. I try not to be TOO ambitious, in such a way that it's doubtful I'll be able to stick to The Plan for the entirety of the liturgical season. In recent years, I've tried to really tailor The Plan to my current responsibilities and lifestyle and make it doable. So here goes. :)

(1) I'd like to use my Divine Office app as much as I can. I'm aiming for Morning and Evening Prayer each day, but I recognize that I may not always get to it. That's ok, but the goal is to always get back on the horse and start praying again. I'm absolutely loving this app, so I'm optimistic on this one.

(2) The Magnificat Advent Companion. Here is my lovely print copy:

You can also download the Advent Companion for I believe 99 cents on Amazon. There are meditations for each day, special prayers for blessing your Advent wreath and tree, Advent Stations of the Cross, all kinds of Catholic goodness in there.

So, the Divine Office app and the Magnificat, those are the two things are that I will focus on daily. For weekly items, we have:

(3) Mass and adoration. As much as I love daily Mass, it's just not feasible with my current schedule and responsibilities to my job and family. But during Advent, maybe I can squeeze an extra Mass in (in addition to Sunday) once or twice per week? That is a feasible goal. The semester will end during Advent, so the parking situation, and my meeting schedule, eases, and thus getting to work 15 minutes or so later than usual will not be a problem. And I would LOVE to find a way to get to adoration once per week. We'll see how this goes, but this will be my aspirational goal for Advent. :)

I also love to fill my Advent with traditional items like Advent calendars and a family Advent wreath. Of course, I will take pictures of this year's installment to post here. :) Henry has a Lego Advent calendar, and both children are getting chocolate ones. I'm ordering a print one as our "main" Advent calendar, and this is the one I have picked:

I remember calendars like this very fondly from my childhood. Each day you open a window to see a picture and a short Scripture verse. *heart*

I also got turned on to Advent music last year:

I listened to this album on Spotify last year, but I think this year I'm planning to buy it. I actually have the old fashioned CD in my Amazon cart since that way I can listen to it easily in the car if I forget my iPod (yes, my car has a CD player, it's old fashioned just like I am :0) plus have the digital files.

Oh, oh, oh! I just saw this last night on my Facebook feed: if you're a fan of nuns and sacred music, the wonderful Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist (my favorite nuns EVER) have a new album out:

I'm planning on procuring it. :) I have their 2013 album, Mater Eucharistiae, and just love it. This will make a beautiful Advent addition to use as we pray our rosary.

So, what are your Advent plans, dear reader? Please do detail in the comments. :) And I do mean detail, I'm a detail-oriented kind of gal. :0 Let's get specific here, people!

;-)

A foray back to daily Mass on the Feast of the Visitation...

So, a couple of interesting Catholic tidbits to share today. The first is that my new experiment with Magnificat magazine, after my first full month, is officially a success. I use it pretty much every day. I don't often get to the evening prayers, but I say morning prayer nearly every morning, and I use it for Mass on Sundays as well. I've also read nearly all of the daily meditations and saint stories. It tucks easily into my purse, and I have it for all of the needs that I just mentioned in one compact source. It's quite perfect.

And today, I used it for daily Mass. :) It's been a long time since I've been to a true daily Mass, usually attending during the week only when there is a holy day of obligation. But I used to go all the time back when I was in law school and working as an attorney. My schedule, as well as my location, worked out such that I could make it nearly every day back then. I also went occasionally when I was in college, which is what initially turned me on to what daily Mass truly was.

Daily Mass is pretty much the reason why I'm a committed Catholic today, and didn't just laze around in terms of my spirituality when I was a young adult. I had always assumed that it was like Sunday Mass, just during the week. It's not. It's a lot shorter (less readings and you don't recite the Creed, usually a more concise homily as well), but it packs a heck of a powerful punch. As well, many parishes don't celebrate daily Mass in the main church, having a separate, small chapel for this purpose so that they don't have to worry about heating/cooling the larger space. Obviously, there will be a much smaller crowd for daily Mass as opposed to Sunday, but the people that do go form this cohesive little community. It's comforting to see the same faces all the time, there is a feeling of camaraderie. And these are people who treasure the Mass and the Eucharist, so the reverence level is high.

It was a huge boon to my faith life when I started to attend daily Mass in law school, and that is when the religious vocation discernment took place. After I graduated, I went during my lunch break at work, Our cathedral downtown had a beautiful daily Mass chapel that I could walk to in under 5 minutes.

When I started working as a librarian/went to library school (both at the same place) it wasn't as easy. There is a Newman Center here, but they only have daily Mass during the main semesters, and even then only 3 times per week. My schedule is also different here, I often have classes or meetings that conflict with the Mass time.

At first, when the Newman Center was an easy walk from my office, I would go down there occasionally for Mass. Then, last year, they built a new, gorgeous Newman Center building, which is great, but I can't walk to it. It necessitates a short drive (this is a fairly large campus) and parking here is at a premium. I didn't want to leave my spot and then have to agonize over finding a new one when I returned. Plus, all that walking out to the lot and driving to and from took my time away from my office from about 20 minutes to 40 or 45. It just didn't work.

But I had always wondered about the daily Mass at our parish. The church is maybe a 2 minute drive from our house, and they have an 8 am Mass. I usually like to get to work around 8:30, but even with attending Mass I knew I would get in before 9 am. I just often have 9 am commitments and didn't want to be feeling rushed. Well, today I had no meetings, classes, or reference shifts on my calendar and I knew the opportunity was nigh. It's also the summer, and so parking is easy. I was going to daily Mass.

I left my house at approximately 7:53 am and made it in plenty of time. The small daily Mass chapel, located in the parish center, has it's own small parking lot that I had never used before. I arrived, collected my stuff and headed in.

I was unprepared for the amount of people in there. The chapel was pretty full. I suddenly remembered that the parish Women's Sodality prays the rosary after daily Mass for the month of May, and so they must all make a special effort to come during that time. A quick perusal confirmed Mike's suspicion that, when I expressed an interest in joining the Women's Sodality, I would likely be the youngest member by at least 15-20 years. :) I slipped into a seat and scanned my Magnificat while I waited for Mass to start. There was a featured meditation on the Feast of the Visitation, since that is what we are celebrating today. Love!

I recognized all of the people present from Mass on Sundays. Many of them also serve as lectors or Eucharistic ministers, or in the choir. I sensed some interest generated amongst the congregation that a new person was suddenly in their daily Mass midst, though I'm sure they recognized me. It's not often that a new person will start going to daily Mass, especially when it's not Advent or Lent.

The chapel was quite warm (it's pretty hot here today, at least by my standards :)) but Mass was lovely. I just feel so *good* when I go to daily Mass. It's the perfect way to start your day. After Mass, Father exposed the host in a monstrance, and I stayed to pray for a few minutes before they started the rosary. I was on my way to work by 8:30 am.

So, this pretty much seals the deal that whenever I don't have a 9 am commitment I'm going to go there for Mass in the mornings all summer. It was just smashing.

My latest experiment with daily prayer: Magnificat magazine...

I've flirted with Magnificat before, and at one point before I got married I had a subscription for years. I eventually stopped subscribing because I found myself not using it as much, and I also a full set of the Liturgy of the Hours books. It's not a cheap subscription, so I let it go.

Well, this past Lent showed for sure and for certain that the Liturgy of the Hours just isn't happening at this point in my life. It's not that I don't have the time; it's that in the (somewhat limited) free time that I do have, I'm not disciplined enough to devote the necessary time to it. At some future point it will hopefully be possible, just not right now.

So I tried Magnificat again. Since I last subscribed, they added an option for a 6 month subscription for $24.95. Although you don't save as much money as if you subscribed for a longer period of time, this is a nice option for trying out the magazine at an inexpensive price. No need to shell out $45 for a full year if you're not going to like it or use it. And fyi, Magnificat offers a free sample issue to anybody to wants one, so do take them up on that to get a sense of the magazine if you've never used it before.

My first issue to arrive was May. I was very excited to tuck it into my purse yesterday and pray Morning Prayer. I am so, so glad that I gave this another chance. What Magnificat does is modify Morning and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours (they include selections of the psalms and readings only) into a shorter format. It also includes the daily Mass readings and prayers, and the Order of Mass, so you can use this instead of a permanent or annual Missal. Each day also includes a meditation and a saint story. The saint stories were always my favorite. There will be a short biography of the saint on the calendar, but the section I'm talking about is called "Saints of Today and Yesterday" and discusses a saint I've never heard of before. As is always the case with saint stories, the details are fascinating, sometimes morbidly so. :)There will be a few articles at the very beginning, an editorial and one other, addressing a theme for the month.The cover always features beautiful sacred art (and there is a description of the cover art in the back, along with another featured work of art that is given a full color display and a longer discussion).

This is really a wonderful publication. It's so much more than merely a magazine, but it's also more than a devotional. It's a daily prayer companion. If anybody else subscribes to Magnificat or starts up a subscription, do leave a comment and let me know how you like it.

From the depths of Christmas celebrations, she rises...

Looky here, I'm back. :) It's one of those mixed emotions kinds of days. Obviously, I loved being home and am sad to be back at work away from my babies. In some ways, it's nice to have my routine back, but it's bittersweet. And this morning was anything *but* routine.

Anne was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night (I have no notion why, and given that this is kid #2, I think I've finally learned not to analyze these things too deeply; young children just wake in the night. No sense in getting depressed about it. I think it's a fair assumption that by time they are teenagers, they're no longer going to want my company in the middle of the night) and both Mike and I had to take a shift going in to soothe her. It then took us some time to get back to sleep. Hence, at 3 am, we're up reading with our bedside lights aglow. Come 6:20 am, I glance at our clock and utter a word that I dare not repeat. Luckily, Henry doesn't start back to school until tomorrow, which meant that I could stay in bed a bit longer than usual. He has to be in his classroom saying morning prayers at 7:42 am, so needless to say, when we're having a typical morning we all have to be up by 6:30. Today, since we didn't have him to worry about getting ready, I stayed in bed until 6:50.

Both children and Mike were still sleeping (I peeked in at Anne through her keyhole and glared at her while she snoozed away; lovingly, of course) so I tiptoed around and straightened my hair/applied my makeup in the bathroom and let them sleep. By time I was done shortly after 7, Mike was awake. We had breakfast together without either of the kids, which is pretty unprecedented. As I was finishing up, Henry came downstairs in his PJ's, looking rumpled and confused. I had a quick cup of coffee while reading one of the latest Love Inspired titles on my Kindle, then went up to brush my teeth and fetch Anne, who was just stirring. Naturally, she looked cute enough to eat in her reindeer footed sleeper. I brought her down, got her some breakfast, and then she "helped" me pack my lunch. As soon as I was done, it was time to leave, since I had the first morning reference shift. Anne's face was still all warm and kissable when I left. I felt sad.

I got in the car and froze my buns off, since the temperatures have suddenly dipped into the teens around here. I listened to a podcast on my way in and felt a bit soothed. As I was walking from my car to the library I realized that I forgot my shoes.

*sighs*

I had on my boots, and usually I leave my cute black Mary Janes in my office to slip into. But I took those home since I was going to be off for nearly 2 weeks, and naturally, they did not cross my mind this morning. I remembered that I did have an emergency pair of shoes in my office, although they only marginally match what I'm wearing. However, they're better than my boots, so they're on my feet presently.

I got in and checked my email. I sent off a few and mercifully remembered to turn off my automatic replies that I was out of the office. I made tea, and fetched my snail mail. As I got back to my office to mix my tea before my 9 am reference shift, I realized that it was somehow 8:58. I mixed my tea, grabbed the latest Library Journal that I need to order some books from, as well as my copy of Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts, Fasts, and Other Solemnities of the Church by our beloved pope to review for Catholic Library World. I step out of my office and close the door. The instant the latch locks, I realize that I left my keys inside the office.

*repeats scandalous curse word from earlier in the morning*

I got set up on the desk and observed the completely empty library. So I put up the "Librarian will be right back!" sign and fetched the sub-master key from our facilities guy. I rescued my key ring and was back down at the desk within 3 minutes.

Needless to say, I'm feeling off-kilter this morning, but I'm hanging in there. I'm looking forward to reviewing the Holy Days book I mentioned above. I also am excited about my new subscription to Word Among Us: Catholic Mass Edition, also my very first Kindle subscription.

I've bought the little Living Faith devotionals for a long time (for a while in print, and then on my Kindle) and they come in 3 month increments. My latest one lapsed after December, so I thought I'd try something new. I've always liked Word Among Us, but have never taken out an official subscription. They offer a 30 day free trial for Kindle, so I took advantage.

So far so good! For each day, it includes the Mass readings plus all the Mass prayers if you are able to attend daily Mass. There is also a daily meditation, and longer articles that you can read over the course of the entire month. If you keep the subscription, it downloads automatically to your Kindle each month and charges $1.99 to your credit card. It's very easy to navigate amongst the articles and the daily meditations, they clearly set this digital edition up with ease of ebook reader use in mind. I read today's installment at 3 am when I was trying to get re-sleepy after soothing Anne. I really enjoyed it.

We'll see how I stick with it for January, but if I like it, I won't cancel the subscription and February's issue will just download for me and then begin charging me. I think $1.99 is more than reasonable for a month of content, and you can immediately cancel at any time, which is a another advantage over a print subscription. I'm super pleased.

I hope that everybody had a wonderful new year, and I look forward to chatting with you Monday through Friday again as we begin 2013. :)

Afternoon obsessions

It's 3 pm. What am I doing?

I just finished working on a document for a presentation I'll give in a few weeks. Thus, I'm obsessively tracking a pair of dance shoes that I ordered that I'd like to practice in this weekend. They started out in Wiles Barre, PA and are now in Philadelphia. That seems backwards to me, but such is the way of things with shipping these days. The tracking page assures me that my shoes are set to be delivered tomorrow, and for its sake, I hope that it's right.

Anyway, I received an email this morning from my friends at Living Faith, that little daily devotional that I have a soft spot for. Over the weekend I'm set to download the new October/November/December issue for my Kindle (also available in print) but I see that they are promoting a new edition just for Advent. 99 Cents for Kindle, what a deal!

Anticipating Advent, and antics in Anne's world

Yesterday when I got home from work, Anne was just awakening from her afternoon nap. Eagerly, I headed upstairs. Is there anything better than the fresh face of your baby/toddler when they first get up from a nap? It's so very kissable.

That is, if your toddler will allow you to kiss her. I knew I was in trouble when I turned on her light to see her face all scrunched up and angry looking. Definitely looked as if she had woken up on the wrong side of the crib. As I headed toward her, she *ran away from me to the other side of her crib.* This is not easy to do in such a small space, but she managed it. When I picked her up, she *kicked* and squirmed. Changing her diaper didn't go much better. I didn't take it personally (she has these "bad afternoon naps" sometimes) but holy smokes.

Shortly thereafter, my mom came over for dinner and got the same treatment. Anne (aka Sassy Pants) refused to let my mom kiss or hold her and THEN was suddenly All About Mommy (naturally, as I was trying to eat) demanding to sit on my lap while I ate and Koala-ing onto me. I really hope this "stage" passes quickly.

In Catholic world, I received a book to review that has me all excited about Advent's approach. I review books for a Catholic journal, and this month they sent me The Little Way of Advent: Meditations in the Spirit of St. Therese of Lisieux by Fr. Gary Caster. I *love* seasonal meditation volumes like this one. I expected this one to be writings of St. Therese to meditate upon each day, but it wasn't like that at all. Instead, the author focuses on St. Therese's devotion to both the infant Jesus and to the Holy Face, and explores how those themes weave their way through the Advent readings (including Sundays in all 3 cycles). Good stuff.

The Year of Faith Approacheth

Yesterday at Mass, I was contemplating the upcoming fall liturgical season, complete with the Year of Faith set to begin in October. By October, I'm always thinking about Advent (oh, and my Advent candles shipped out though the nativity wreath is still back ordered. *narrows eyes suspiciously* It's *supposed* to be available to ship on Wednesday, we'll see) And I almost always get a special Advent devotional. But this Year of Faith business has gotten me to thinking that I could come up with a spiritual plan for the entire year.

I notice that Magnificat is putting out a Year of Faith companion that I'm interested in. Doesn't that look precious? I do love those little devotionals. Sometimes I find that I don't use them as much as I should, and other times I use them every single day. Hard to say why. Lately, I've been using my Living Faith (on my Kindle) daily so I thought I might order one of the Year of Faith companions, we'll see.

Does anybody else have special plans for the Year of Faith?

Precious Kindle, how I love thee...

Yesterday was July 1st, you know what that means, right?

I used my downloaded version of Living Faith for the first time on my Kindle.

*angels sing*

I used to subscribe to Living Faith in print, but somewhere in the past year trailed off. I received an email from them recently advertising their brand new e-versions of the pocket devotional for both Kindle and Nook. Say no more. I headed right to Amazon and downloaded the July/August/September issue to my Kindle.

I love this little devotional. It's a short entry each day tied to the Mass readings. And having them on my Kindle makes it all very accessible for me, since my Kindle accompanies me pretty much everywhere. *kiss*

Relatedly, I have an rss suggestion that you'll love should you also have an e-reader in your life. Inspired Reads is a blog with daily updates on free and heavily discounted inspirational fiction and non-fiction in the Kindle store. Although I've yet to see any offerings on this site from Catholic publishers, I have downloaded some really books based on what I've found here, and all are very wholesome and solidly Christian. I just read a Mennonite fiction romance that was just adorable, and the only reason I found the author was because of this blog (my husband is hysterical that such a thing exists as "Mennonite fiction", but hey, if it's out there, I will find it :)). I have it entered into my Google Reader, so I catch all of their posts. Usually, the books are free that they advertise, but sometimes they'll be titles that are on a deep discount, maybe for $1.99 or $2.99. I've been quite happy with what I've found there.

Still loving my Kindle, and trying to bellydance in the kitchen

So, I had a very nice weekend, despite the long day on Saturday. Hank had a great time and was very cute about the whole thing. An exhibit entitled "Grossology" does appeal to little boys, no? Learning about snot and gas just makes their day, apparently.

I also managed to sneak in some dance practice, and I feel like I worked the kinks out. My index cards and I have been spending lots of quality time together, and I've just committed to running through the music a few times each day and I can tell it's going better. I just have an entrance, finale, and a few accents planned, the rest is improv. But I listened to the whole song to get a feel for when those accents fall and what other types of musical similarities come in between, and I have a better idea of what types of things to put where. I also need to get on top of practicing our group number and the sword number, which I need to add a solo piece to (!) but I'm not too worried about those. They are infinitely easier for me, psychologically. At least right now, sitting in front of my computer in my air conditioned office, rather than at the dance studio in a sweaty lycra costume trying to balance a sword on my head in front of a room full of people. Good times.

In totally different news, I'm still in absolute love with my Kindle. AND, I just discovered that a little devotional that I really love, Living Faith, is now available for Kindle. I used to subscribe in print, and it's very inexpensive, $11 for a year. It comes in seasonal 3-month segments, and the daily readings are very short, but quite sweet. I always liked it. It is now available for all sorts of devices, including Kindle. Each 3-month segment is only $2.99! So I'm going to download the July, August and September volume. Super excited.

Multitude of things, but importantly, a perking...

Happy feast of the Ascension. :)

Happily, I'm not feeling like Death today. I left work early yesterday, and just crocheted and relaxed for the rest of the day. It took the sting out of the partial weaning thing too. Mike made us enchiladas for dinner, Anne cut a tooth and was back to normal talking to her toys, I took a nice hot shower, and we watched Mad Men. All was well.

My nasal congestion does seem to be clearing (and my lips are better too, for those that care :) ), although I have coughed a few times. *glares* If this settles in my lungs, I'll just start crying. If that happens, I'll probably be too inconsolable to blog, so at least you'll be spared. I still haven't felt well enough to resume my daily walks, and I'm trying to conserve my energy for my balance class tonight. We'll see how that goes.

In other news, I'm preparing for Children's Liturgy of the Word this Sunday. It's my last one for this "year", since the program takes the summers off. I've finally admitted that I'm considering not participating again next year.

I've gotten a lot out of it, but honestly, I don't know if it's where my strongest skill set lies. I like helping out in the parish and feeling like a valuable member of the community. I'm certain that at least some of the kids take something positive away from our sessions together. However. I'm an introverted person, and this feels a lot like herding cats. I think one needs a more commanding voice and personality to really keep the kids in check. It's not like they're running wild in the sacristy when I'm back there, I maintain control. But it's HARD for me to do that, kwim? I'm not enjoying it the way that I used to.

But at any rate, I'm committed for this Sunday, and we'll see how it goes. It'll be decision time this summer. The parish is looking for new lectors, and I'm contemplating signing up for that instead. I'm a good reader. *halo* I have good pacing and all that. And Henry is old enough that he'd be ok sitting by himself in the pew while I did my reading and processing in. Mike would have to be there for me to bring Anne, but I think we could make it work.

So, we'll see. I have time to make up my mind. In other church news, Henry has been very cute with his Magnifikid! He even followed along with the readings and prayers last week. That is one nice thing over this option rather than a generic children's missal like I had gotten him previously. The Magnifikid! has the specific readers and liturgical prayers in them. He's a definite follow-alonger. It's precious.

A lenten update, and the future of our Catholic schools

I was thinking about Lent this morning because I haven't been doing nearly as well as I would like with my daily devotions. When March started, I moved over to trying out the sample copy of Magnificat that I received, and as happened before, I'm just not using it. The simple truth is that I get lazy. I love saying my rosary in the mornings, but reading the morning and evening prayers just isn't happening. I did do better with my Liturgy of the Hours set, maybe I should go back to those. But as much as I admire Magnificat, I just don't use it to it's fullest potential. Hank at least has been using his Magnifikid! He still has 2 more issues left (they're actually divided into small booklets for each week) and we'll see how he does with those. I'm on the fence about getting him a subscription. I'm much more likely to pursue a subscription for him than I am for myself for the monthly Magnificat, I just want to make sure that he's going to really, really use it for $35 a year. I'll make a decision in the next week or so.

I will say that I've been keeping up with reading only Catholic nonfiction and religious fiction for Lent. I've been moving forward with The End and the Beginning and I love it. I finished up my Amish book and I plucked a new Catholic fiction volume off my shelf that I received for my birthday. I've been *very* tempted by some secular romance novels lately. I feel no compunction in saying that my reading roots are romance fiction, and I love this genre. I've been hoarding inexpensive Harlequin titles on my shelves that I picked up on the cheap, and I'm *dying* to delve into them, but I'm managed herculean restraint and I'm saying them for Easter time. I feel very martyr-like for my efforts.

Anyway, I was dwelling on my lenten failures this morning as I poured my cereal and Anne attempted to eat the throw rug at my feet, when Mike drew my attention to an article in the local section of our newspaper: yet another nearby Catholic school, running for the past *95 years* is closing at the end of this academic year.

This is so, so sad. Over the past 5 years or so, this area has seen a deluge of beautiful and historic Catholic parishes and schools close, and it's just heartbreaking.

We live in the heart of the Rust Belt. This area, once thriving with immigrants and their families, has had a massive loss of population. Those immigrants were mainly of Italian and Polish descent, so there were a LOT of Catholics. All of those Catholics attended gorgeous old-style Catholic churches and sent their kids to Catholic school. This school in question, the one that is closing, peaked in attendance with approximately 650 students back in the late 1950's and early 1960's. 10 years ago it had about 185 students. This school year, it had 109 students. For the upcoming academic year, only 60 students had enrolled, despite aggressive efforts to boost enrollment.

There's a lot of competition in this area, despite prior school closings. Very close to this school are 2 other Catholic schools , plus 5 others within a decently close driving distance, including the one Henry attends. And that's after 3 Catholic schools in this same area closed over the past few years! And the fact of the matter is, there's not as many people living in this area anymore. And of those people remaining that are Catholic, many of them just don't feel a pressing need to send their kids to Catholic school the way families used to. Now granted, there are lots of reasons parents decide to send their children to a public or otherwise non-Catholic school, and that's totally understandable. For many people, it's financial. The public school is free (aside from our tax money, of course). And for children with special needs the public school often offers more services for them.

But I can't help but think a huge issue is the fact that so many Catholics do not (or rarely) attend Mass anymore. People that aren't involved in their parish community are much less likely to send their children to the parish school. That combined with the two issues I mentioned above translates into a much smaller pool of students interspersed over all of these old Catholic schools, and you see the closings that we're experiencing now.

The school that Henry attends is doing well, thankfully, but it *is* smaller than the other 2 close by Catholic schools, which are absolutely thriving. This makes me terribly nervous. I just continue to recommend the school to other parents and hope for the best. I'd think that Henry's school would get a few families from this school that is closing, since it's not too far away. There's one that is closer that I'm certain will pick up the majority of them. Our diocese is offering a $500 stipend to all families in the closing school to enroll in any other diocesan Catholic school next year. And they'll be eligible for the discounted parishoner tuition rate. We also receive this rate, since we attend a parish without a Catholic school. Our parish school closed after running for just over 100 years. Only 80 students enrolled. So, so sad.

I mentioned my sadness to Mike, who concurred. I expressed a bit of anxiety about what we would do should Henry's school close, and happily he mentioned that we could look at the other 2 Catholic schools in our town. So, we'll see what happens. But we take pride in Henry's school and support it as much as we can. Enrollment time came up recently for next year, and I'm thrilled that we registered Henry for second grade there.

He came home the other day with a lenten journal that he had to decorate. PRECIOUS. I just love that he is there.

All excited about Lenten devotionals...

...because that's just the sort of thing that I regularly get excited about. I posted not too long ago about requesting free sample copies of Magnificat for myself and Magnifikid! for Henry to see how we liked them. And yay, they arrived!

I used to subscribe to Magnificat a number of years ago (won't think about how many years ago, too depressing...somebody's *birthday* is coming up this weekend) and I really did like it, but I found that eventually I wasn't using it as much, and for $45 per year you really want to use it to its fullest potential. I really liked the saint biographies that were included for each day, and they were usually of more obscrue saints I'd never heard of before. I also loved the artwork and the additional articles and special devotions that appeared in each issue. I did use it for daily Mass (when I was able to attend) and Sunday Mass, for the readings. I didn't really use the included daily prayers, based on the Liturgy of the Hours.

Now, I have a Sunday Missal, so I wouldn't even use the readings, but I'm re-curious (new coined term) about whether or not I'd use the prayers as a daily devotional. I have a full set of the Liturgy of the Hours, but I haven't used them in awhile since it's difficult to find enough uninterrupted time to pray all of the hours, especially evening prayer and the office of readings. I do get the Advent and Lent companions each year that Magnificat puts out, so I thought maybe it was time to reconsider it. So I ordered that sample copy along with Hank's Magnifikid!

Both came the other day. Neither officially starts until March, so we won't get the full test until then. But I did notice that Magnificat now has a 6 month subscription option which I don't remember them having before. Obviously, it's cheaper to subscribe right off the bat for a longer period of time, but that's a nice way to try it for a short duration and see if you use it and like it. It's only $24.95 for the 6 month option.

Hank's Magnifikid is actually a series of little booklets, one for each weekend of Mass. The first one is March 4th. And it includes some relevant mazes and puzzles, as well as a recurring comic scene that looks like he'll find interesting. There's also the readings written in an kid-friendly format, with a cutout explaining the more difficult words. We'll see. I'm hoping that he'll find it to be something that he enjoys looking at in Mass. That only comes with a 1 year subscription option, and it's $34.95 (or 3 years for $79). I'll have him test it out that first weekend in March.

I don't want to rush into any subscription options, but I'm definitely intrigued. Anybody else subscribe to either of these?