Sponsor Love :: Quarterly Update & Current Specials
It’s time for another quarterly update on all my amazing sponsors here at Shower of Roses. I also have some great coupon codes to share with you as well!
Please welcome my new sponsors:
Our Catholic faith is an incredible gift. It sustains us and guides us, yet at times during these years of babies and housework, it can be a struggle to FULLY ENGAGE with our faith. What is more, as Catholic Mothers we not only crave a closeness with our God, but we are charged with raising faith-filled children and creating a holy home. We take this work of living and teaching the faith very seriously, but we often forget one very important ingredient: Creativity. I believe that creativity is one of the most powerful ways we can engage with and teach our Catholic Faith. I believe that crafting can be a prayer. I believe that children learn best when given the opportunity to create–and that we should use their creativity to help them fall in love with God and his church. And finally, I believe that anyone, young or old, can create meaningful, beautiful things. Even you. On this site you will find countless ways to live out your faith by engaging your creativity.
This year we have Confirmation cards with the 7 Gifts of the Holy Ghost in English and Spanish and we have also added Divine Mercy image First Holy Communion cards!
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| Our older boys received their first box {an early Confirmation gift!} last month. |
Right now you can save 20% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH with coupon code: MAMAMARY (Expires 5/14/17)
SaongJaiNever been such devoted sisters… Ever since we were little we liked to do creative things together and we’ve always loved to bead and make jewelry. I also wanted to help my sister who has Chronic Lyme Disease. So, making and selling rosaries, Catholic jewelry, & things, will hopefully be a way to help with the cost of her treatments that are not covered by insurance. We take custom orders for rosaries, jewelry, crucifixes, and other Catholic things. Read more here…
Prayer Pillowcases… more than just a pretty place to lay your head! They’re a unique way to bring Catholic art and prayer into your home. And a practical way to share the Faith with your family and friends. Our distinctive line combines original art and favorite Catholic prayers that appeal to all ages and transform pillows from the ordinary to the divine! Honor a special occasion or make any occasion special with the gift of a joyful, lasting (and personalizable) Prayer Pillowcase. We’re always working on new designs and hope you’ll visit again soon to see even more ways to help your loved ones begin and each day with a prayerful heart.
Catholic Child“Our goal is to help you find the finest resources to help you nurture the faith of your Catholic child and strengthen him or her for the challenges of the journey ahead. Each one of the hundreds of items you find here has been chosen by us with care, reviewed for faith and quality, and has been child and parent approved. When you buy from Catholic Child Catalog you are supporting an independently owned, personally run business that remains committed to searching out products to guide, inspire and delight the young Catholics in your life.”
American Life League’s Culture of Life Studies Program (CLSP)
The Culture of Life Studies Program has several new one-class lessons on saints, including St. Damien of Molokai whose feast day is May 10. We also have a wonderful lesson on our Blessed Mother, who is honored and revered throughout the month of May. Check out our latest offerings today!
An international community of young priests known as The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, or “The Fraternity” as they have lovingly been referred to, includes some of today’s most skilled and committed singers of Gregorian chant. The community has been preparing to present ancient melodies anew, on the album Requiem, to be released on May 12, 2017 through their new international collaboration with De Montfort Music/Sony Classical…
Gail’s DesignsGail’s Designs has been creating unique, elegant jewelry and cherished rosaries since 2009. Gail has been an artist for most of her life and is grateful for her faith and being able to make elegant jewelry and cherished rosaries for people of the Catholic faith.
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| My favorite Miraculous Medal Earrings from Gail’s Designs |
Behold Publications, LLC“Behold Publications, LLC is more than just a publisher! Family owned and operated since its founding in 1999, we have developed great Catholic clubs like the Little Flowers Girls’ Club and Blue Knights Catholic Boys’ Clubs for Catholic girls and boys ages 5 and up.”
Regina Martyrum Productions“Regina Martyrum Productions produces the finest works of Catholic audio theatre. With emphasis on the lives of the Saints, these products are edifying, and entertaining.”
Be sure to subscribe for emails or follow on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and Instagram for sales and updates.
Peanut Butter & GraceThe mission of Peanut Butter & Grace is to help Catholic parents raise children who know and love Christ and his Church. We do this by providing digital and print resources that assist parents in forming their children in the faith within the daily life of their family. All of our products are made for Catholic parents—either to use themselves, or to hand to their kids.
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| Brand New Release: In the Realm of Mist and Mercy with Lesson Plans |
a 45-day return policy, and secure payment via Amazon,
credit card, Paypal, or check…
Kolbe Academy “Kolbe Academy was founded in 1980 by three families who experienced first-hand the rapid decline of the public school system and who were looking for a wholesome, academically challenging educational environment. The founders anticipated the need to form young Catholic citizens who could effectively defend their Faith through a thorough understanding of doctrine and regular reception of the Sacraments. They also foresaw the growing need for better, more individualized and intensive instruction in basic education. Kolbe Academy Home School became an outgrowth of the day school in 1993 when parents who lived too far away to commute asked for our help with home schooling their children. Recently Kolbe Academy merged with Trinity Grammar and Prep to become Kolbe Academy/Trinity Prep, which educates students from Pre K through high school. With a focus on providing an education that is Ignatian in Method, Classical in Content and Loyal to the Magisterium in a small-class size environment or at home, Kolbe Academy continues to thrive.”
“Give Him 5 Ministries is about falling in love with Jesus! Just as Jesus Christ is the center of our Catholic faith, He is also meant to be the center of our daily lives. Give Him 5 provides people with the encouragement and tools they need to ignite their prayer life and to fall deeply in love with the Lord. Give Him 5 Prayer bags make wonderful gifts.”
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| Give Him 5 Mug or Gift Set |
Specializing in high quality veils and mantillas for ladies and girls. Robin is a Catholic mother of 15 ( 7 with Our Lord ) who spends her days serving, loving, praying, and sewing. Robin started making veils for her daughters and wanted to share with others. She truly loves creating veils to serve Our Lord!
Almond Rod ToysAlmond Rod Toys makes Saint Blocks that are just the right size for little hands and can be used for imaginative play, building, stacking or collecting. The front has a print of original watercolor artwork. The back has a quote or a prayer chosen to inspire little ones and the one that cleans up behind them. The saint’s name, feast day and patronage are also listed; just enough to be a reminder and an inspiration for further learning.
Visit Almond Roy Toys at Etsy and follow the Facebook page!
“Et Corde means “open heart”. I create rosaries, bracelets and necklaces using the hand wire wrap technique with beautiful antique reproduction medals. I hope that my pieces can be an heirloom that can be passed down in your family.”
Catholic Cuisine ApronsAll of our aprons are embroidered, not screen printed, giving them a rich, elegant, look! Our durable 100% cotton-twill aprons, with soil-release finish for added stain protection, provide ultimate full length cover and comfort.
Catholic T-Shirt Club {An Early Confirmation Gift}
Our older boys love Catholic T-Shirts and they each have a few personal favorites that they received over the last couple years in their Easter Baskets. They are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation this year and one of their gifts is a subscription to the Catholic T-Shirt Club! They recently received their first box and this month’s T-Shirt focused on St. John Paul II and Divine Mercy. Jesus, I Trust in You.
Rather than having duplicate T-Shirts (there is an option for double of everything, but they prefer having their own styles/shirts) they are getting the “Bishop Box” which comes with an exclusive Catholic T-Shirt each month, as well as sacramentals and holy cards that tie into the monthly theme. This month Ranger kept the T-shirt and Captain kept the rosary and they spilt up the rest.
…but I’m still looking for a couple more Confirmation gifts for our boys.
I’d love to hear about any of your favorite Confirmation gifts to give and/or receive!
Baking Emoji Shortbread Sugar Cookies
Brunch on Divine Mercy Sunday
This year, instead of using store bought cinnamon rolls, I used the leftover half of Pioneer Woman’s “Cinnamon Roll Dough” to make our Divine Mercy Sunday Cinnamon Rolls!
“Mom! Are you making a cinnamon roll scroll?!?!” – Bud (5)
It sure looked like it from his viewpoint over at the counter.
It worked out wonderfully! After rolling out the dough (30″x10″) and covering it in softened butter (I think it’s a little easier to work with softened instead of melted as she suggests) along with sugar and cinnamon, I rolled both sides until they met in the middle, sliced and then pinched the bottom to create the point of the heart.
Meanwhile the girls washed the berries and made scrambled eggs and bacon. They all liked the Orange Marmalade Rolls we made for the recent Narnia birthday party, but apparently nothing compares to the original Maple Frosting covered version!
Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls
I love shaping cinnamon rolls into all sorts of shapes for our children including Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day and Turkeys for Thanksgiving! Last year I ended up shaping our cinnamon rolls into hearts and serving them with whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries for Divine Mercy Sunday.
I happen to have some leftover “Cinnamon Roll Dough” from the Orange Marmalade Rolls I made for our daughter’s Narnia themed birthday a couple days ago so I’m planning to use it to make Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls again this year! You can find the directions over at Catholic Cuisine.
Chronicles of Narnia Birthday Party
I stayed up late baking “a great and gloriously sticky marmalade roll” as a special treat for the birthday girl! I used this Orange-Marmalade Rolls recipe with St. Dalfour Orange Marmalade.
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| From Instagram: Instead of frying up some “new-caught fish” we opted for bacon and fruit to go along with the potatoes and marmalade rolls. I also served a “jug of creamy milk for the children (Mr. Beaver stuck to beer)…” #akahotchocolate #chroniclesofnarnia #lionthewitchandthewardrobe #adaywiththebeavers #orangemarmaladerolls #birthdaybrunch Now to figure out how I’m going to talk my kids into “sardines on toast” for teatime! 😉 |
Her one birthday wish was “new books!” She received her own set of The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Tales of the Texas Panhandle Series: The Wind Blows Free, The Wide Horizon, and The Good Land. She also received an eeboo Birthday Book!
Holy Saturday in Pictures
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| So grateful to have help in the kitchen! |
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| Making their annual Chocolate Nests for Easter |
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| The beginnings of another AIP Raspberry Cake! |
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| Our oldest son helped make the Scalloped Potatoes this year! |
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| Taking a break from baking to fill Easter eggs for tomorrow’s hunt! 🐤🐣🐥 |
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Who will find the golden egg this year? ✨ #EasterEggHunt #GoldenEgg
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| Baking Paska {Recipe: Basic Paska for Easter} |
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| All ready for the oven! |
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| While the Paska was baking we molded another little Easter Lamb out of butter! |
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| Every year (at least for the last four years) I have said “Next year we will definitely make a new Paschal Candle!” … and every year I end up scraping off the last digit of the year and reshaping it into the next number. Good thing this has been such a slow burning candle! #paschalcandle #2012to2017 #nextyearforsure {Details and directions can be found here: Creating Our Paschal Candle} |
My parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary on Easter Sunday this year so I offered to host the party at our home, despite all of my pregnancy challenges. Between our trip to the coast and Redwoods last Sunday-Monday, working most of Tuesday-Wednesday combined with keeping up with our school week, and out-of-state friends visiting Thursday-Friday I hadn’t had any time to prepare ahead of time this year. I finally made it to Costco and the grocery store late Friday evening and was so grateful to have help in the kitchen on Holy Saturday! Some of our children started coming down sick on Easter Sunday, but we still had such a nice day and I’ll be back with more pictures soon. Happy Easter!
Requiem – The Fraternity {Sponsored Giveaway}
The FSSP has added a new CD to their superb collection of CDs! Requiem is the latest addition (available for pre-order now here) and it’s quality surpasses their previous works. Even though all three of my husband’s brothers are Fraternity priests (you can see pictures from their ordinations here, here, and here!) our family doesn’t have an FSSP parish in our state and CDs like this are such a beautiful and welcome addition to our home. (We are grateful to have access to the extraordinary form of the Mass once every other month and a Sacred Liturgy Conference coming up this summer!) I’m especially looking forward to hearing them chant the Antiphon: In Paradisum, one of my favorites. Here is a great video along with the press release for this new CD. Be sure to scroll to the bottom to enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of three copies of Requiem!
An international community of young priests known as The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, or “The Fraternity” as they have lovingly been referred to, includes some of today’s most skilled and committed singers of Gregorian chant. The community has been preparing to present ancient melodies anew, on the album Requiem, to be released on May 12, 2017 through their new international collaboration with De Montfort Music/Sony Classical.
Many have heard The Fraternity sing Requiem chants at funeral Masses over the years, often suggesting that the group, who is so close to this treasured music, record this moving collection. The decision to make their major-label debut with the music of Requiem was unanimous among the priestly singers, as they know well that nothing is so universal as the experience of death, the care of souls and as well the many emotions evoked by the living. The text of the Mass – beginning with “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” (Grant them eternal rest, O Lord) – is spiritually uplifting, meant to convey souls to a particular vision of the beyond; the effect of the music is far-reaching and timeless, bound to touch the deepest emotions of any human heart.
Requiem, the debut major-label release by The Fraternity, was recorded by two of the top talents working in classical music today: multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Christopher Alder and engineer Brad Michel, also a Grammy winner. The executive producers of Requiem are Kevin and Monica Fitzgibbons of De Montfort Music, which has helped cultivate a new audience for ancient choral music by developing several chart-topping albums of Sacred Music. The industry veterans had this to say about the Requiem recording, “It has been an honor to work with The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, as they are excellent ambassadors for this repertoire- they are intimately familiar with this music- thus its deeper meaning is inescapable throughout the album-and the care and excellence that they brought to recording this Requiem is an inspiration.”
Fr. Gerard Saguto, the North American Superior of The Fraternity who also sang on Requiem, explains that the daily responsibilities of the priests entail shepherding its flock’s greatest joys and its deepest sorrows, from a marriage in the morning to a funeral in the afternoon. St. Augustine’s sense of the sacred was a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” This beautiful work that’s ancient yet made anew whenever he and his confreres sing it – serves as a message of hope. And for Fr. Saguto, this new recording of the Requiem – was “a way to share some of what we do on a wider scale, to put something beautiful and sacred out into the world.”
This recording transfigures the sound of mourning and remembrance into something mystical and beautiful, inspiring a feeling of hope in the cycle of life and an embrace of the eternal through the gift of meditative song. Requiem is a uniquely curated presentation, comprising 20 tracks of sublime melody, mostly monophonic Gregorian chant but concluding with the lush sound of polyphonic motets by the great 16th-century Italian composer Palestrina and a less well-remembered 18th-century composer, Giovanni Battista Martini, one of Mozart’s teachers.
Fr. Zachary Akers, music director of The Fraternity and a singer on Requiem, explains the relationship of the words to the melodies by noting, “I’ve heard it said that the music is meant to ‘clothe’ the texts.” Although most people may only know the Requiem via the celebrated version by Mozart, the composer was himself inspired by the somber beauty and unadorned profundity of Gregorian chant, taking it as an emotional-aesthetic standard. Fr. Akers explains: “In this album we are hearing this type of music that was around long before Mozart, approaching the beginning of sacred music.”
Fr. Garrick Huang, co-music director of The Fraternity and a singer on Requiem, reflected on the roots of Gregorian chant, saying: “The style of chant that we sing go all the way back to ancient Rome, but it even has its sources, as certain people believe, in Jerusalem, with certain melodies Middle Eastern in origin. Rome has been cosmopolitan for centuries, of course, so it has always been a crossroads of many cultures. So there are even some sounds that we could say come from the East (Byzantine), or even different parts of the eastern empire.” Fr. Huang points out that for monks down through the centuries, it was never enough to simply recite the sacred texts: “We sing them, because it has always been part of human nature to express love and joy, despair and sadness – the gamut of emotions – in song. That said, the Requiem chant is not a performance for us. We say that we ‘sing’ the Requiem, but it’s more that we’re praying the Requiem.”
Christopher Alder, who has worked with some of the greatest classical singers of the past 30 years, echoes this idea that the words and melodies of the Requiem chant are deep inside the members of The Fraternity. “This community has obviously put a lot of emphasis on concentrated musical training in their education of young men to become priests,” he says. “They know this material intimately, as it rolls out of them as if it were poetry that one has recited countless times. They know it by heart, in every sense of the term because the text is being simultaneously believed and sung at the highest level.”
About The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
The Fraternity began in 1988, from its roots in Rome, the community has spread far and wide, now including some 280 priests in missions worldwide. They are a youthful community, with 35 being the average age of its priests. They are located in missions and parishes around the world including Germany, Great Britain, Nigeria, France, Colombia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the USA, Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Mexico, Poland, New Zealand and Belgium. In 2017, The Fraternity will ordain 17 priests: 7 in the US, 7 in Germany, 2 in England and 1 in Nigeria. The Roman Catholic community of priests is an ambassador to the world of the treasured traditional Mass in Latin, as well as specializing in Gregorian chant. For more information visit: www.FSSP.com.
De Montfort Music has generously offered to send three of my visitors here at Shower of Roses a copy of this brand new CD! This giveaway will remain open through Divine Mercy Sunday, April 23, 2017. The winner will be announced in this post and contacted by email on Monday, April 24, 2017.
Good Friday
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| An Alphabet of the Altar And Other Holies |
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| Hot Cross Buns – a simple lunch for all the kids – between Stations of the Cross/Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Good Friday Service/Veneration of the Cross 🙏🏻 Catholic Cuisine: Hot Cross Buns – A History |
Holy Thursday
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| An Alphabet of the Altar And Other Holies |
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| The Jesus Tree • A Lenten Calendar for Catholic Children |
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