Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
From then on, with the other holy women, Mary humbly served Jesus and His Apostles. And when Our Lord was crucified, she was there at the food of His cross, unafraid for herself, and thinking only of His sufferings. No wonder Jesus said of her: “She has loved much.”
After Jesus’ body had been placed in the tomb, Mary went to anoint it with spices early Easter Sunday morning. Not finding the sacred body, she began to weep, and seeing someone whom she thought was a gardener, she asked him if he knew where the Body of her beloved Master had been taken. But then the Person spoke in a voice she knew well: “Mary!” It was Jesus, risen from the dead! And He had chosen to show Himself first to Mary Magdalen, the repentant sinner.”
Our 4 year old discovered the Risen Jesus and Mary Magdalene in his Easter Basket earlier this year, along with the He Is Risen! set from Naturally Catholic. Our little ones pulled it out of the basket to play with as we read the story of St. Mary Magdalene today.
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| I had to go to the office and work for a few hours this afternoon. When I got back home the little kids were “playing Mass,” our oldest son had started preparing dinner, and our oldest daughter was finishing up a batch of Madeleines (her very first time making them!) to celebrate today’s FEAST of Saint Mary Magdalene! |
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| Saint Mary Magdalen form Saints: A Year in Faith and Art Photo Credit: Twinkle Toes |
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| “Playing Mass!” – Photo Credit: Twinkle Toes |
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| Mary Magdalene from Lives and Legends of the Saints |
Marvel’s Avengers :: Captain America Birthday Party
Captain turned SIXTEEN this week!!! We started celebrating the night before with a Captain America Movie Night with a few friends and continued the party with extended family on his actual birthday. Captain America theme of course!
Captain America’s Shield :: An Avenger Themed Birthday Cake {Dye-Free}
After making a Thor’s Hammer for Ranger’s Thor Birthday Party earlier this year, I knew I had to make Captain America’s Shield Birthday Cake for Captain’s 16th birthday! After looking through various ideas (and being inspired by one of Charlotte’s recent cakes!) I decided to make an M&M’s version (the M&M’s Archery Cake I made last year was easy and turned out great!) but this time I wanted to use Little Secrets Chocolates instead with “NO ARTIFICIAL ANYTHING.”
- 2 – 9″ round cakes
- White Frosting
- Red, Blue & White Little Secrets Chocolates
Captain America Movie Night & Birthday Golf
Wednesday night: “{very} Last minute plans for a movie night with friends {who leave for vacation in the morning} on the eve of our oldest son’s 16th {!!!} birthday. I’m baking a cake to decorate for tomorrow night, but decided to quickly decorate one more for tonight as well! Let the party begin!!!”
It only took about 5 minutes to decorate! I used a star cookie cutter as a guide when placing the berries and ended up just leaving it on the cake until I replaced it with the candles just before serving.
Twinkle Toes, who happens to be allergic to Red 40, was so happy that I made a special batch for her using Milk Chocolate Little Secrets. I discovered these last Christmas and she was so excited when she found some RED & white peppermint “M&M’s” in her stocking! I used these for his birthday cake too, which I’ll post about soon.
- Popcorn, popped
- Red & Blue Milk Chocolate Little Secrets (or Red, White & Blue M&M’s)
- Mini Marshmallows
- Melted Chocolate
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and cover with popcorn. Sprinkle chocolate candy and marshmallows over popcorn. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Let set until chocolate hardens. Serve.
In between the two movies the boys took a break for birthday cake! Captain was only able to blow out 15 of the candles… The kids all teased him that he had to wait until his actual birthday to be able to blow out all 16!
Thursday afternoon: Sean was able to get off work early today so that we could take the birthday boy (and Ranger) golfing! My first time… ⛳️ 😬😂😂
I had some AMAZING shots! My favorite was the one that landed over in the trees, IN A HOLE (but not the right hole) and under a stick! :/ I also managed to land behind a building and roll into the water. It was so awesome! I managed to score a 72, which isn’t really that bad, at least not when you are playing 18. We played 9. Even the squirrels were terrified. It was so much fun!
After golfing we headed back home to get ready for all the extended family who were coming over for pizza and cake. I’ll be back with the rest of the pictures soon. Happy 16th birthday, Captain!
A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis {Book Review & Giveaway}
Happy feast of St. Camillus de Lellis! In honor of today’s feast, author Susan Peek has generously offered to send one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses a copy of the second volume in her series
God’s Forgotten Friends: Lives of Little-known Saints: A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis.
Yesterday afternoon I pulled my son’s copy of A Soldier Surrenders (we actually own the out of print 2007 edition published by Ignatius Press) off his bookshelf to skim through before posting the giveaway. Here is an excerpt from the introduction written by the author’s husband Jeff Peek which caught my eye:
“If you, while skimming these words, are casually standing in your local bookstore browsing for a good book to read, but you feel you are already well advanced on the road to sanctity, this book is probably not for you. No, this book is a story for the rest of us, the common herd – we folk who, when entering the confessional, still find we have some actual sins to confess. Saint Camillus is for us. He is our champion. He could be aptly described as the unofficial patron of strugglers.”
Well, that would be me. I read through the rest of the introduction, then the first chapter, and then wasn’t able to put the book down. I’m looking forward to finishing it this week today. It is excellent! I have always loved reading historical novels about the saints. The books by author Louis de Wohl were some of my favorites as a young adult and Susan’s books are just as intriguing and inspiring!
At last . . . a saint for strugglers! Soldiering, gambling, brawling, drinking. As a young man, Saint Camillus excelled at them all. Add to that his fiery temper and innate knack for getting in trouble, and Camillus de Lellis seems the last person who could ever achieve holiness! But God had plans for the stubborn young soldier, whether Camillus liked it or not . . .
“This novel for adult and young adult readers will introduce them to a great saint – a physical giant who had to contend with many personal struggles, much weakness, and repeated failures before he could become a moral giant. The story of Camillus de Lellis’ conversion will leave no reader unmoved, and those that feel hopeless about themselves will find new hope, a hero, and a friend in Christ.”
Back in print by popular demand, this fast-paced and inspiring story of the wayward soldier-of-fortune who became an intrepid Soldier of Christ will appeal even to those who don’t normally like to read!
In addition to A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis, recommend for ages 15 and up, Susan Peek has also written Saint Magnus,The Last Viking, the first volume in her series God’s Forgotten Friends: Lives of Little-known Saints, which was awarded the Catholic Writers’ Guild Seal of Approval in June 2015, and Crusader King: A Novel of Baldwin IV and the Crusades, which made it onto the list of the Top 50 Most Popular Homeschooling Books in 2013.
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Celebrating the Saints :: Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin
Today is the very first time we celebrate the feast of Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin as canonized saints! Our family has had two jam-packed days, since I arrived back home from my wonderful trip to Colorado late Sunday night, with driver’s ed classes for our oldest each day, quite a few hours catching up at the office, heading back to the airport to pick up my delayed/damaged luggage, a birthday party for the five oldest to attend yesterday afternoon, braces (day 1 of phase 2) for our oldest daughter this morning, and golf practice for the older boys this evening. Despite all the time in the car or at the office, I managed to pull together a quick and simple, yet still beautiful celebration for today’s special feast.
Our nine year read the story of “A Little Girl Named Therese” to his younger siblings from Catholic Children’s Treasure Box Book 1.
{pretty, happy, funny, real} Instagram Recap
Celebrating the 4th of July
4th of July Handprint Flag
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