Our 9th Annual Mass at the Cemetery…
Cathedral Cake on the Feast of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran Basilica in Rome
Today we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica which is our Holy Father’s church and also the “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.”
We will be having a potluck after Mass this afternoon and I’m bringing cake! When I realized that the potluck was going to fall on this great feast I knew I had to bake at least one cake in my Cathedral Cake Bundt Pan. It looks like Jenn and I were thinking along the same lines! (You can read her great article for today’s feast over at Catholic Culture.) I kept it simple and just baked Yellow and Triple Chocolate Fudge cakes with a couple Betty Crocker mixes, along with a Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Cake.
The Little Habit {Sponsored Giveaway}
The Little Habit is an Etsy shop which was recently opened by Summer Dubay, a creative and talented Catholic wife and mother of eight from Southern California. Some of you may recognize Summer from her gluten free guest submissions over at Catholic Cuisine! You can read more about Summer and The Little Habit here.
I fell in love with all the darling habits the moment I discovered Summer’s new shop! They are absolutely precious.
Like last Christmas, I’m hoping to give each of our children at least one faith-based gift and this year the girls will be receiving some of these sweet habits to add to their American Girl Doll Collection. I haven’t shown the pictures to my girls yet, but I know they will fall in love with them too when they discover them under the tree on Christmas morning!
It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I especially love the sweet Carmelite Nun Habit with the coordinating cross and picture frame. Of course this one will be for our little “Rose.”
Chiquita will be receiving the beautiful Poor Clare Nun Habit with Monstrance, and Twinkle Toes will receive the lovely Dominican Nun Habit with the St. Rose of Lima Pink Wreath.
I also ordered the Gentle Mary White Dress and Blue Cape and will either give it to Rose on her birthday in December or save it for her Easter Basket next year.
Summer’s latest creation is the gorgeous LIMITED EDITION Guardian Angel Dress. She stated in the description that she only has six sets of wings available and once they are sold they will be gone for good. I think I am going to have to take advantage of the free shipping code below to order this one as well while it’s still available! (Update: I just placed my order and now there are only four left! If you are interested in this dress don’t wait to place your order!)
As Shower of Roses and The Little Habit are both dedicated to St. Therese, the winner of this giveaway will receive one Carmelite Habit! The Carmelite Habit includes: 1 veil, 1 lycra coif, 1 guimpe, 1 scapular, 1 habit, 1 ribbon belt, and 1 cape.
Update: The Little Habit will be taking final orders for Christmas on December 10th. The shop will then close for the rest of Advent and the Christmas season. It will reopen on January 7, 2014 with new surprises! Thank you for your amazing support! God bless, Summer.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
New Saint Books for the November Book Basket
Our November Book Basket has been filled for the month and I have a few new additions to share with you all! I’m especially excited about the addition of The Story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by William Canton, originally published in 1912, which has just recently been reprinted. (St. Elizabeth of Hungary is one of the two patron saints I choose at my Confirmation.) I try to choose a couple chapter books on the lives of the saints to read aloud to the children each month and I plan to start reading The Story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in preparation for her feast day, just as soon as it arrives. After that we will move on to God’s Secret Agent which is out of print, but we happen to have a copy from my (or maybe this one if from my husband’s) childhood collection.
by William Canton
(reprinted by St. Augustine Academy Press)
Those who delight in Canton’s other well-loved children’s books, A Child’s Book of Saints and A Child’s Book of Warriors, will find much to satisfy in his Story of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Canton has consulted some of the earliest sources to assemble a tale as rich in historical detail as it is in poetic beauty.
Saint Elizabeth’s sweetness and generosity are brought to life in these pages, now beautifully retypeset and enhanced with a map showing the locations as they were in 13th century Europe, as well as the breathtaking full-color illustrations of Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, found in the original 1912 edition.
Other Additions to Our November Book Basket:
A Story of Saint Cecilia
by Brother Ernest, C.S.C. (In the Footsteps of the Saints Series)
This story of Saint Cecilia is set during the papacy of Urban I, which began in the year 222. Reading this story about Saint Cecilia can help us to see how the sacrament of Baptism can strengthen our faith in God and help us view the world in a new light!
Saints come to life when kids can read, color, and play all in one book! This comic-style coloring book with cut-out trading cards, activities, and games teaches children about the amazing life of Blessed Miguel Pro. Born in Mexico in 1891, he was the third of eleven children. During Miguel’s life, Catholicism was banned in Mexico. Anyone caught practicing the Catholic faith was persecuted. Despite this risk, Miguel became a Jesuit priest and courageously celebrated Mass and administered the sacraments. His cheerfulness and great sense of humor encouraged many of his Catholic countrymen. He was eventually martyred, expressing his love for Jesus with the words “Long live Christ the King.”
Andrew the Apostle
by S.E. Danielski (In the Footsteps of the Saints Series)
Saint Andrew was the brother of Saint Peter, the first Pope of the catholic Church. After listening to the teachings of St John the Baptist, Saint Andrew became the first disciple of Jesus. Reading this story can encourage us to follow in the footsteps of St Andrew who answered the call to holiness and brought others to Jesus.
Sponsor Love: Quarterly Update & Current Specials
I am so excited to finally have the opportunity to introduce you to all my new sponsors! It’s been a year now since I first started offering ad space in the sidebar here at Shower of Roses and I just want to thank all of my great sponsors and dear visitors. You are the best!
I have always loved finding great products and businesses to share. It made me laugh when I realized that I started blogging (back in 2007) a couple years after selling my phone directory business and I needed to find “something creative” to do at home… I missed visiting with all the business owners in our area and spending my nights (and all my little ones’ nap times!) creating the annual phone books on the computer… Now, once again, I’m back to selling ads! The extra income has sure helped with our ever-growing grocery bill and we are very grateful for the support. Thank you!
Even though I spent many years in sales, I have always only been able to “sell” something if I truly believe it will benefit both the advertiser and the customers. When I had my phone directory business I was always very selective over who I would contact for advertising. You would find a whole section of Catholic Churches, including a complimentary half page ad for the local Catholic Church along with listings for every Catholic Church within driving distance, and a whole section of “Abortion Alternatives” in the yellow pages! I haven’t changed. Each and every business listed in the sidebar here at Shower of Roses is one that I whole heartedly recommend and would purchase from myself.
Please keep these great businesses in mind for your upcoming Christmas shopping. I also have a great line-up of giveaways scheduled for the next couple months so be sure to check back often!
Please welcome my new sponsors by visiting their websites:
Bethlehem Books
One of the first places I look for new books for my children has always been Bethlehem Books. Some of our very first Bethlehem Book purchases many years ago are still some of my older boys’ favorite books! We probably own at least 50-75% of the books in the Bethlehem Book catalog and are still adding to our collection. A few more titles will be showing up under the Christmas tree this year!
Regina Martyrum Productions
Regina Martyrum Productions is another company that we have loved since our oldest children were toddlers. I am so excited to see their new website and that they are working on re-releasing many of their stories digitally. These inspiring stories of the saints will make a deep impression on both children and adults!
Christmas in Harvard Square
Christmas in Harvard Square is the latest release from De Montfort Music and AimHigher Recordings, the same people who produced Advent at Ephesus! Give the gift of angelic music by The Boy’s of St. Paul’s Choir School, the only Catholic boys choir school in the US. Christmas in Harvard square is available at Amazon.com.
The Little Habit
My girls love their American Girl dolls and they really love dressing them up as saints! I was so excited to discover Summer’s new Etsy shop and can’t wait until the girls discover some of these sweet habits for their dolls under the Christmas tree this year! Of course the Carmelite Habit is my personal favorite, but they are all beautiful!
StellaMarigoldArt
Have you discovered the amazing creations by Andrea at StellaMarigoldArt yet?
I absolutely love her beautiful embroidered scapulars! I’m also really excited about the lovely Coloring Cards of the Saints and gorgeous paper dolls and coloring pages.
St. Mary’s Messenger
Did you happen to see the cover for the new Fall Issue? My children were all so excited when it arrived in the mail on Saturday, just in time for All Souls Day! We love this Catholic Magazine for Kids!
Subscriptions to the magazine make excellent birthday or Christmas gifts for children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, and Godchildren!
A Merry Nest
A Merry Nest is a Catholic-owned business specializing in personalized baby blankets. The idea stemmed from the desire to recognize each child as a precious, unique individual – whether that baby is the firstborn or the tenth in the family, every baby should be celebrated!
A Merry Nest also offers a variety of art prints, as well as Catholic gifts including handmade felt saint dolls.
Robin Nest Lane
I have been admiring the many beautiful and unique veils at Robin Nest Lane for awhile now. I especially love the Light Pink Veil with the Rosette Cluster and can’t wait to give one to my sweet little “Rose!”
Here is a little introduction from Robin: “I am a blessed wife and mother to seven wonderful children, from 13 years old to 1. My husband and I were married in the Traditional Latin form of the Mass by a dear French priest, and have had the pleasure and blessings of raising our children in TLM communities in both Kansas and North Carolina. We have been homeschooling our children for the past eight years. As a military family, home is wherever the army says it is and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I am honored to love my husband and support him in his vocation as a Soldier of Christ, both temporally and spiritually. I really enjoy sewing and creating. In the early years of marriage, sewing was a little more than just self-expression… It was necessity! Back then, and even now, I see my sewing as little acts of love for my family and friends, making each item very special to me. It brings me great joy to create these veils. I pray for each recipient as I make them. In this way, I hope to make my work pleasing to Our Lord. I thank you for taking the time to visit my site, and I welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions. Get to know me better at Facebook.”
Trendzilly
Trendzilly is my dear friend Ann-Marie’s Etsy shop! We have known each other since we were children. In fact, it was her mother who convinced my mother to start home educating when I was in the 5th grade! Ann-Marie was one of the bridesmaids in my wedding and is now the mother of three boys (including those adorable twins you’ve seen pictured at our annual All Hallows’ Eve parties) with another baby on the way! Last year I purchased one of her wonderful Therapy Packs and this year Rose will be receiving one of her darling Handmade Soft Saints!
Advent Aprons at Catholic Cuisine
Now is the perfect time to place an order for your Advent Apron over at Catholic Cuisine. Any of the beautiful aprons would make a lovely Christmas gift as well!
Please note that the shipping process (directly from Catholic Embroidery) may take up to 10 days. All orders placed before December 8th include guaranteed pre-Christmas delivery.
Holy Heroes has recently published a brand new Advent Adventure Activity Book! There is still time to take advantage of the Advent “early bird” deal!
Prayer Pillowcases Do your children have a Prayer Pillowcase yet? These make perfect Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers. The Our Lady of Guadalupe design is perfect for December!
Christ 101 now offers the option of either Instant Online Access or a DVD set shipped to you!
Catholic Embroidery is temporally closed due to recent developments within their company. They are currently revamping their entire product line and look forward to re-opening the website after January 1, 2015. This launching will include re-designed favorites and new styles we are so excited to share with you!
Mama’s Notebooks is currently offering 10% OFF ALL PRODUCTS! You can also get an additional 5% off with coupon code FAST5.
Jesse Tree Treasures creates beautiful handcrafted gifts for the liturgical seasons. Advent begins on November 30th this year so be sure to order your Jesse Tree Ornaments soon, if you haven’t already!
Gail Giron Designs has been restocking her shop with all sorts of beautiful creations! I love all her earrings and the gorgeous Rosa Mystica Rosary is one of my new favorites. Custom orders are accepted so be sure to look through her past sales for ideas!
Harvey House Publishing
Looking for some great fiction for pre-teen Catholic children? be sure to check out Olivia and the Little Way, Olivia’s Gift and The Gate by Nancy Carabio Belanger!
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. What makes these clubs unique is that they are at their core faithfully Catholic. We don’t “tack on” Catholic identity as other clubs might, but begin and end with a Catholic world view. We also believe that local clubs best operate the way they see fit, so there is no national organization, policies, registration or dues. Groups can easily adjust the program to fit their local needs. Behold Publications also produce a line of historical fiction based on American history and American saints for ages 7-15.”
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Sacred Heart Books & Gifts offers Catholic books, gifts & homeschool curriculum at discount prices!
Holy Learning Our family has enjoyed the Advent Faith Folder from Holy Learning in the past! You can order a copy for your family here.
Saints 365 is a Catholic blog by Debbie Gaudino, a happily married, homeschooling Mom of 2 children who is currently studying theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. The subtitle of the blog is “Striving for the heights of holiness in the trenches of everyday life”. Visit Saints 365 for down-to-earth reflections which draw from the scriptures, the wisdom of the saints and church teachings and join us as we all strive together to live out the “universal call to holiness”.
Celebrating the Saints :: Our 2014 Costumes
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| St. Patrick, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Luke, St. Margaret of Scotland, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Helen – All Saints in Heaven, Pray for us! |
Last night we hosted our annual All Hallows’ Eve party! Other than ordering a couple dresses for the girls back in September the children were pretty much on their own this year to come up with their costumes. (I was busy preparing our home for the party and creating printables for the Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes! I did help create a couple paper crowns at the last minute.) I think they did a great job. I’ll be back with pictures from the party sometime next week… In the meantime, here are this year’s saint costumes!
Costume: Repurposed costume from St. Paul, an image of the Icon written by Saint Luke of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and a wood art palette (like this one) and paintbrush. For the paint he painted some card stock with tempera paint, cut it out, and attached it to the palette.
Costume: Once again he wore the white gown from my childhood saint costume. (He’s outgrown it, but it was the best we could come up with this year with limited time and resources. I sure wish I had some skill with the sewing machine…) For the hood and cloak he wore a black hooded sweatshirt underneath some black fabric (that’s white on the inside) which we wrapped around and pinned… He wanted a real tonsure, but since he’ll be serving Mass at the cemetery on the Feast of All Souls we decided to pin a piece of felt to the top of his head. He held one of my husband’s old books (to represent the Summa Theologica) and a feather in the other hand.
Costume: Victorian Rose Costume in Large, scarf, and a homemade crown created at the last minute with gold/silver poster board, acrylic gems, and this template.
Costume: Crimson Princess Costume in Large, with a wood cross made by Chiquita and Daddy.
Costume: This little guy put his costume together all on his own, and wanted to “look serious” in the pictures! My youngest brother’s miter from at least 10 years ago has been used and reused by my boys, and with a couple new staples it survived one more year of use! Snuggles also wanted to wear the green vestments he received last Christmas over the white cassock from one of the older boy’s vestment sets for playing Mass. He also decided he needed to wear the grey beard (previously St. Paul’s) and carry a bell!
Costume: Brown Tunic and Scapular (from St. Therese Costume), Veil (from Saint Brigid), Scapular pinned to sleeve, Baby doll wrapped in white for Baby Jesus, and crowns made from gold/silver poster board with this template.
Costume: Bud really wanted to dress up as St. Michael. Even though the costume was a little big for him, we were able to make it work! Snuggles was 5 years old when he wore this costume which kind of gives you a little idea of how small Snuggles was and still is… I have a feeling it won’t be too many years before (not quite 3 year old) Bud is taller than his older brother.
Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. As a reminder of our duty to pray for the suffering faithful in Purgatory, the Church has dedicated the month of November to the Holy Souls. The Holy Souls are those who have died in the state of grace but who are not yet free from all punishment due to their unforgiven venial sins and all other sins already forgiven for which satisfaction is still to be made. They are certain of entering Heaven, but first they must suffer in Purgatory. The Holy Souls cannot help themselves because for them the night has come, when no man can work (John 9:4). It is our great privilege of brotherhood that we can shorten their time of separation from God by our prayers, good works, and, especially, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. (source)
Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes make a sweet and prayerful activity for the Holy Souls in the month of November, the month dedicated to the Church Suffering. This idea was shared by one of my blog visitors (Thank you, Kim!) and I created printable box or bag labels, a calendar, and directions to go along with the boxes. If you have any trouble downloading the printable documents over at Scribd just send me an email and I will do my best to forward them to you directly. I ended up creating Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes to send home with all the children who attended our annual All Hallows’ Eve party last night! My children are so excited to begin this activity today!
Supplies:
+ 30 pieces of candy per box (leftover All Saints candy is great for this!)
+ black treat boxes or bags (2021 Update: Black Treat Boxes that are currently available)
+ white foam sticker crosses or “Ora Pro Nobis” box/bag labels
+ color pencils, crayons, or another media of their choice
+ calendar (create your own or use free printable)
+ list of departed family, friends, religious
+ particular prayer(s) to be offered
Directions:
Place a cross or label on the front of each box (or bag)
Each day of the month, after the child has offered a prayer for the departed soul listed, they may take one (1) piece of candy, or they may leave it in the box as an additional sacrifice for the departed soul!
The intention is to encourage prayers and sacrifices for the Church Suffering in a sweet and tangible way!
Happy All Hallows’ Eve!
Carving Our 2014 Saint-O-Lanterns
Pretty pumpkins all ready to carve into this year’s Saint-O-Lanterns!
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