Beautiful Solemn High Mass at Carmel for the Annunciation and Lady Day Feasting
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| St Mary, the New Eve Block • The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary |
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| St Mary, the New Eve Block • St. Gabriel the Archangel Patron Saint Block The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary |
Saint Joseph’s Day
We had our first St. Joseph Altar in our new home on the feast of St. Joseph!
The “tavola di San Giuseppe” (St. Joseph’s Table or Altar) is an Italian Catholic tradition. You can read about it over at Catholic Cuisine along with descriptions of some of the foods that are usually included. Back in 2009 we made a craft version and I explained the tradition to our children. The following year we made our first edible altar! You can scroll through all our past St. Joseph posts here.
I hadn’t planned to even do the St. Joseph’s Altar this year. However, after months of praying to St. Joseph for his intercession, our house in Oregon officially closed escrow on March 12th (such mixed emotions!) and it’s been a huge relief to pay off/down our loans and be back to just one mortgage. (Thank you for all your prayers for the sale of our old home! We actually took it off the market at the end of December to do a few more little projects and revise the marketing plan and then re-listed it following another painful price reduction on February 4th. We accepted a full price offer on February 8th!) Anyway, after finishing up work and school work that morning, we decided we needed to pull together a celebration for his feast!
It actually all came together quickly and easily! In the afternoon, once the baby fell asleep, Rose and I made a quick trip to Trader Joes while some frozen dinner rolls for the kids to shape were defrosting. Meanwhile Chiquita baked a spice cake in our “cathedral” cake pan since St. Joseph is the patron of the universal church. We picked up fruit, drinks, flowers (red, white and green for the Italian flag), and some Italian desserts. When we got back home the all shaped a few rolls, and then the three oldest left for golf practice while I finished setting up the treats. The food maybe took an hour to prepare – bake rolls, boil pasta, bake fish (12 fish for the 12 apostles!), and make an AIP pizza – so not much longer than I generally spend making dinner. While I cooked the little ones rounded up all our St. Joseph themed toys, statues, and all of their St. Joseph holy cards from their holy card albums. Finding some of my candles was the biggest issue… I couldn’t remember where they were packed/unpacked. I am still adjusting to living in a new home after nearly 19 years in our old home!
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| IHS Candle from Saong Jai • St. Joseph from Naturally Catholic |
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| We pulled out St. Joseph Holy Cards and Holy Cards from the funerals of Loved Ones to place on our St. Joseph Altar. Grapes • Host & Chalice • Nails • Ladder • Chalice • Saw • Lily |
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| Sacred Heart • Scapular • Cross • Crown of Thorns • Monstrance and Host • Butterfly |
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| Fish • Candle • Rosary • Star |
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| St. Joseph Patron Saint Block from Almond Rod Toys |
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| Pope & Swiss Guard Set from Naturally Catholic |
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| Prosciutto & Fig Bistro Pizza (AIP/Paleo) |
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| Saint Goals T-Shirt from Annunciation Designs |
I keep getting teary eyed every time I start thinking that this could be the last time I have our two older boys, who will both be graduating high school this spring, at home for many of these feast days… Please keep them in your prayers as they discern where they will be heading in the fall!
Celebrating the Feast of Saint Patrick
After Sunday morning Mass on March 17th, the feast of St. Patrick, we headed back home to make our annual Shamrock Cinnamon Rolls for with Sunday brunch, then get started on our Irish Beef and Guinness Stew and Irish Soda Bread. ☘️
I hadn’t done much to prepare, other than order each of the kids and our priests St. Patrick’s Day Potatoes and grocery shop the day before. It is so nice to have a house full of helpful teens who want to pick up my slack when it comes to some of their favorite family traditions/patron saint feast days, since I haven’t been feeling very well or had much energy this pregnancy.
We all made sure to wear green and our oldest son had his underneath his Mass shirt. One of my brothers-in-law (Fr. J Gordon) sent Sean and I each a “Can’t Keep Calm I’m Irish” t-shirt, but my pregnant tummy isn’t fitting into t-shirts very well these days so I let our oldest son have mine.
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| The Rhymed Life of St. Patrick • St. Patrick from Naturally Catholic |
While the girls shaped and baked the Shamrock Cinnamon Rolls (also pictured here and here) and decorated Chocolate Coins with images of St. Patrick, I read some of The Rhymed Life of St. Patrick from our March Book Basket/Cart to the little ones. ☘
Sean made another amazing Paleo Spinach and Bacon Frittata to go along with the Shamrock Cinnamon Rolls.
The boys hung a couple flags from the second floor interior balcony, turned on some Irish music, and volunteered to make this year’s Irish Beef and Guinness Stew and Traditional Irish Soda Bread. I wasn’t able to make it for St. Patrick’s Day last year (since I spent that weekend at the hospital with my brother’s family – Happy birthday up in heaven to sweet little Millie!) so the boys ended up teaching themselves to make those particular recipes last spring while the rest of us were in Arizona visiting my mother-in-law. They’re becoming quite efficient in the kitchen!
It all turned out beautifully and delicious!
(Ora et Labora Apron can be found over at Catholic Cuisine)
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| St. Patrick T-Shirt from Totally Catholic Tees • March Picture Books |
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| Reading the sermon for the day from our copy of the Sermons of the Cure of Ars which was recently touched to the Reliquary containing The Heart of a Priest |
Paint by Number :: Spring Birds
This beautiful paint by number was a gift from Grandma Murphy last year for her, at her bird themed 13th birthday party, and she finally had a chance to pull it out and paint! I think I’ll have to order her one or two more from the series for her 14th birthday next month.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
When our girls were little they had the opportunity to take nine Irish Dance lessons one spring leading up to our parish’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. The girls have always wished to continue learning to Irish Dance, but there just weren’t any options near our old home. When we moved to Idaho last fall they were so excited to be able to join the classes here which are taught by a fellow parishioner out of her home. This weekend they got to dance their way through downtown Coeur d’Alene in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade! Meanwhile the rest of our family enjoyed watching the parade with friends.
The Heart of a Priest
We ventured downtown to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes to venerate the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Vianney!
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| Touching her scapular to the reliquary containing the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Vianney ♥ |
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| My husband also brought along one of our family’s favorite books to touch to the reliquary too: Sermons of the Cure of Ars ♥ (We have a beautiful hardcover edition from Neumann Press that is out of print) My husband often reads his sermons aloud at dinner time. You can find the links to a couple sermons in this post from 2007. |
A St. Valentine’s Day Surprise
I wanted to come up with another fun way to tell our children so we kept it a secret until St. Valentine’s Day. Last time we filled a box with balloons for them to open on Christmas Eve. This time I decided to just bake a cake using the same idea as I used for one of our Escape the Dragon’s Lair birthday, just pink and white this time!
The night before I had stopped at Hobby Lobby and Party City (it’s so fun to have these stores near our new home – I had never been to them before our recent move) and bought the little pink or blue cake topper, sprinkles and some pink candy.
I finished frosting the outside of the cake, adding sprinkles to the sides (There is probably an easier way to do it, but I just filled the palm of my hand and then angled my hand so that my palm was almost touching the cake and they started falling onto the side… and every where else… It didn’t turn out as nice as I had visioned, but thankfully some of them stuck!) and then topping the cake with the little sign.
It was pretty much the quickest party I’ve ever hosted!
I planned it at the last minute, trying to figure out a time when everyone could be home at the same time… Sean said he’d be able to get off work early and be home by 3pm. The girls needed to leave by 3:45 for Irish Dance and then they’d go straight to Choir Practice so they wouldn’t get back home until 8:30 (which is pretty much my bedtime this pregnancy)… I sent my husband’s brother, Father D. Gordon, a text asking if he could join us too. He had a meeting from 2-3, but could come right after that. I told him we’d wait, if he thought he could arrive by 3:30! He arrived at our home at 3:32 and we asked him to cut the cake for us! 🙂
We had a few other last minute guests too, since our friends who were giving the girls a ride arrived right at 3:30! I ran out and asked if they could come in for 10-15 minutes for a quick for a piece of cake! 😉
It all worked out perfectly and our 15 minute party was so much fun!
Here are a couple videos of the cake cutting. In the first (taken by my husband) you can see the cake and in the second you get a better view of some of the reactions.
On the Feast of Saint Brigid
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| Original St. Brigid Painting from Sleightholm Folk Art – Prints Available Here |
Happy feast of St. Brigid! ☘️ I haven’t been able to respond to all the comments on my last post here on the blog and over at Instagram, but I wanted to thank you all for the prayers and encouragement. I feel very blessed to have been given so much love and support! I saw the doctor again yesterday morning (Jan 31st) and ended up getting another peek at the baby! A little hard to see on the portable ultrasound, but such a relief to hear baby’s heart still beating strongly. #week11day4 #dueaug19th2019
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| Her beautiful skirt is from BabyMyLove |
I love that Candlemas Day falls on First Saturday this year! My girls are currently busy making crêpes for the French Breakfast they will be serving (along with the rest of the of the girls in our parish’s Maidens of St. Joan group) following the Blessing of Candles, Procession and Sung Mass tomorrow morning.
Updated with a couple pictures from Candlemas:
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| My little helper insisted on carrying the basket filled with our beeswax candles to be blessed at Mass. |
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| The Maidens of St. Joan ended up cooking (the day before) and then serving (following the First Saturday Mass on Candlemas Day) somewhere between 500-700 crêpes! |
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| Topping the crêpes with Nutella, Jam, and/or Whipping Cream |
A Christmas Surprise
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I didn’t mean to disappear following my post last month, but there’s a good reason, and I would really appreciate prayers!
On December 12th the stomach flu started hitting our family. I was grateful that I didn’t come down with it until the following weekend, after we finished celebrating our daughter’s 9th birthday and that I felt well enough to bake another cake the following week for our son’s 7th birthday… But then, the weekend before Christmas, the stomach flu really hit me. When I didn’t fully recover, along with the rest of the family, I went and bought a pregnancy test on December 23rd. I really thought it would be negative.
It’s no secret that my last pregnancy was especially hard, between the hyperemesis gravidarum and back/tailbone/hip issues that left me barely able to walk it was a traumatizing pregnancy. After I delivered I told my husband, “I can’t do this again. I really mean it this time.” He understood. I’ve joked with friends that there was a good reason God sent us this last baby as #8 instead of one of our first! Despite how difficult it was, and how difficult our darling baby girl has been (she is finally, after 19 months, sleeping a few hours straight each night!), we just can’t imagine our family without her. She has brought so much joy and laughter and we all love her dearly! God knew that we needed her. Still, I was too scared to chance another pregnancy.
After over 18 months of 100% abstinence, all it took was once…
I wish I could say that I met those two little pink lines with joy and excitement, but honestly I sobbed. It was Sunday night. I had missed Mass and spent all day sick in bed until going out to the store. I had to get out of the house so I got back in the car to go for another drive. I ended up at the church and thankfully there was still a priest in the confessional following the 5pm evening Mass. I was so grateful for the sacrament and for the advice and encouragement I was given that night. I know God will send me the graces and strength I need to carry this precious baby!
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| January 3, 2019 – Our Baby at 7 1/2 weeks |
The Great O Antiphons, The Golden Nights
Ever since our oldest children were very little, we have been implementing an old monastic custom in our home by providing special treats, representing each of the “O Antiphons” on the days leading up to Christmas. The O Antiphon prayers begin on December 17th and end on the 23rd, which is the last Vespers of Advent, since the evening prayer on the 24th is the Vigil of Christmas.
The Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one – Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia – the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.
Each night, following our family rosary, we pray the O Antiphon for the day, sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, which was inspired by this ancient tradition, and then give the children a special treat.
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| Advent Hymns from We Sing and Chant |
The “treats” have varied from year to year. Some years it has been little gifts or activities for the family, some years it is all food related, and some years it is a mix of both, depending on our schedule and budget. It doesn’t need to cost much or even anything at all! Be creative!
Sometimes the treats are a bit of a stretch, but my goal is try and find gifts that will either help increase our faith (Catechism books, holy family, saints, prayer, etc) or encourage family time (games, puzzles, going to look at Christmas lights, etc). You can find some of our past O Antiphon treats by scrolling through the archives and visiting Catholic Cuisine.
Our family loves this tradition. It is such a fun way to teach the children about these beautiful prayers of the church and also increase their excitement as Christmas gets closer.
Below I’ve listed the treats I choose for this year, as well as additional ideas (food, activities and gifts – or simply decorate chocolate coins) for each of the O Antiphons.
Once again I am hosting an O ANTIPHON GIVEAWAY! One lucky visitor here at Shower of Roses will receive a gift package including seven Cookie Stamps, one to represent each of the seven O Antiphons! Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the details and to enter.
- Bible Cookies or Bible Candies
- Brain Food (Dark Chocolate, Deviled Eggs, etc – I’m hoping to tuck some of the Theo Christmas Bars into stockings this Christmas.)
- Play a Trivia Game (Christmas Trivia, Catholic Trivia, Cranium)
- Play Memory with Catholic Words Memory Match, Saint Memory, or Catholic Quiz games (Scattergories-Catholic Edition is fun with the older kids too!)
- Bookmarks or Holy Cards
- Family Prayer Book, Catechism, or other Book (The Christmas Book, The Catechism in Pictures with review here, Jesus Make Me Worthy, My Catholic Faith, A Catholic Child’s Picture Dictionary, Around the Year: Once Upon a Time Saints, etc… The possibilities are endless.)
- Books including The Wonder Story and The Wonder Days from St. Augustine Academy Press.
Additional Ideas:
- Ten Commandment Cookies
- Cookies made with this Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter or this cute 3-D Mini Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter made by Sweet Creations, emphasizing the word “house”
- Pull out the Smore’s Maker or light a bonfire and Roast Marshmallows, in reference to “Moses in the burning bush”
- Decorate Gingerbread Houses (my girls surprised me with this pan one year)
- Notre Dame 3-D Church Puzzle, Forest Nativity Shaped Puzzle (shaped like house), or this Stained Glass Holy Night
- Father Leopold Lego Set or Architecture Blocks would also tie in nicely
- Discuss the various names for Our Lady, including House of Gold! The Virgin Mary Around the World or any of the Marian dolls (Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Our Lady of China, Our Lady of Vailankanni, etc) would be perfect.
- Root Beer Floats or Carrot Cake
- Roasted Root Vegetable, Hearty Healing Beef Stew or Hamburger Stew (pictured)… Yum!
- Purchase a Christmas Poinsettia (In the past we have also incorporated other Poinsettias: 12 Red Glitter Poinsettia Ornaments, Miracle of the Poinsettia, The Miracle of the First Poinsettia and Poinsettia Cupcakes)
- Play some sort of Gardening or Nature Game as a Family (perhaps Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game, Gathering a Garden, or The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game!)
- A new “Family” Ornament
- Old Fashioned Root Beer Drops
- Bonus: You could even have a Jesse Tea!
- Shepherd Puzzle Set made by Naturally Catholic
We’ll have another family game night, along with some sparkling drinks!
- Key Lime Pie
- Special drink with dinner. Since this is initially a monastic tradition, and on this night, the monk in charge of the wine cellar would provide a special bottle of wine.
- Surprise the family with tickets (“key”) to something local – Christmas play, the Nutcracker, etc. One year I took our older children to see A Christmas Carol at the theatre.
- Key Puzzle/Brainteaser
- Tiny Saints Key Hooks (One year I purchased a couple key hook rails to use to hang our Rosaries. You can see them in our old home in this post.)
- Advent At Ephesus, Caroling at Ephesus, or this Music of Midnight Mass!
- Incorporate Music “keys” with Catholic Songs for Children CD, Sheet Music Book and St. Cecelia Doll
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| Christmas Morning 2017 |
I decided to go a different direction all together this year… I’m going to surprise the kids with their Christmas Eve pajamas a few days early. I’ve found that there is just too much going on Christmas Eve (especially since we love to attend the midnight mass) to wait until then. Last year I gave them to them all on the feast of St. Nicholas, but this year I didn’t have them all in time. I think they will be perfect to go along with this O Antiphon. We’ll also try and go out to see Christmas lights, as usual, weather permitting.
- O Dayspring Ice Cream
- Non-Alcoholic Mimosas or Texas Sunrise with Breakfast
- Decorate a Christmas Candle (We use a tiny wax baby Jesus I purchased years ago along with Stockmar Gold Decorating Beeswax.)
- Our favorite tradition for this O Antiphon is to pile in the car after dinner with hot cocoa and drive around to look at all the Christmas lights. We have also added these to our tree: Kurt Adler 10-Light Candle with Gold Dish Light Set
- Candles from The Cloister Shoppe
- Our Lady of Fatima: The Graphic Novel and Coloring Book (miracle of the sun)
- Grimm’s CASA SOLE Stacking Blocks (The set we have isn’t currently available. Other options can be found online and over at Etsy including: Sun Block Wood Toy Stacker and these)
- Crown Cake, Cupcakes or Cookies
- Bake Cookies using the Wise Men Cookie Stamp from Rycraft, Inc
- Assemble a Three Kings Puzzle and this beautiful Stained Glass Nativity Puzzle
- Listen to King of the Golden City CD
- One year I picked out one of the beautiful sets of Three Kings Gifts – we pull it out every Christmas!
- Rex Gentium Nail Polish
- Twas the Evening of Christmas Picture Book – Our daughter received this one year on the feast of St. Nicholas. It’s such a lovely book!
- Make a Chocolate Nativity Scene for Christmas
- Decorate Nativity Cookies to give as gifts or Cookie Cutters Tell the Christmas Story
- 500-Piece Stained Glass Jigsaw Puzzle or Holy Family Puzzle
- Decorate Chocolate Christmas Coins using this FREE Printable
- Children’s Nativity Set – you can find some of our favorites in this post and more of our collection here (scroll down a bit)
- Christmas picture books, coloring books including the beautiful Eucharistic Adoration: With Saints And Symbols Of The Eucharist coloring book, or the Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring: Christmas with The Dominican Sisters of Mary.
- Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story Board Book
- Midnight Mass Puzzle
Here are the cookie stamps I picked out to go along with each of the O Antiphons.
The winner will recieve one of each!
Wisdom: #460 – Triune God
House: #214 – Home Sweet Home
Root of Jesse: #520 – Willow Tree
Key of David: #543 – Key to My Heart
Dayspring: #291 – Moravian Star
King: #448 – Norwegian Wedding Crown
Emmanuel: #368 – Nativity
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