Did you miss me?  *smile*

PRAYER FOR HOLY WEEK

Jesus my Lord, let me strengthen my courage by taking on the courage of all those people who have been “centurions” for me. Many have faced disasters and hard times with great constancy. The upper hand of evil never turned them against you. They kept going. Let me be like them, Lord. No matter what the cross, let me never stop declaring you to be “truly the Son of God, the source of my hope, the reason why I will never quit on life.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

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Going offline until after Easter.  Blessings for a Joyous Happy Easter!

My beloved spake, and said unto me,
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over, and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the
singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle
is heard in the land.
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the
vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
…………………………………Song of Songs 2:10-13

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Enjoy these links, searching for…
“The Fragrance of Spring”

Fragrance of Spring Print

+++Fragrance of Spring
(sound on)

May Days - The Writings of Henry David Thoreau

Pucca - Fragrance of Spring
(sound on)

Fragrance of Spring - Flickr Photo

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he Anchoress has a beautiful post on our modern day saints…a good Lenten read. I’ve ordered both books by Ann Ball (Modern Saints: Their Lives and Faces Book I and Faces of Holiness II: Modern Saints in Photos and Words) for the boys for religion.

• The Process of Becoming a Saint
• EWTN’s Process of Beatification & Canonization
• Saintly Youth of Modern Times Explanation of Titles

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By Brian T. Olszewski
Catholic Herald Staff

During Lent, the church instructs its members to make prayer, fasting and almsgiving integral parts of their lives. For you who wish to supplement your spiritual diet, your Catholic Herald presents the following 40 options for prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in no particular order, as ways to help you experience a grace-filled Lent — a Lent in which you deepen your relationship with God.

1. Learn about your patron saint.
2. Pray for — by name — people you don’t like and for people that don’t like you.
3. Participate in a healing service.
4. Read a Catholic magazine every time you visit the library.
5. March 19, in honor of St. Joseph, patron saint of carpenters and fathers, build or build upon a relationship with one of your children.
6. Buy two of everything on your grocery list, and give the duplicates to the local food pantry.
7. Find out why you should have fun on Laetare Sunday, and then do so.
8. Start a “cuss bowl.” For every unkind word you utter, put in a dollar — two dollars during Holy Week. After Easter, give the money to an English as a second language program.
9. Bring a “Baltimore Catechism” to a gathering of Catholic friends, and start asking each other questions.
10. Give away a material item you really value.
11. Pray for those, e.g., children, parents, spouse, siblings, who have left the church.
12. Talk to a neighbor you rarely or never talk to.
13. Keep a dish of ashes in a prominent place as a constant reminder of the season.
14. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
15. Test your knowledge of Scripture.
16. Read a biography about Archbishop Oscar Romero and/or watch the video “Romero.”
17. Open a Christmas Club account with the intention of giving the money to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
18. Visit a church when you don’t have to.
19. Reserve a button on your car stereo for the Relevant Radio station in your area.
20. Pray the news — for the people whose stories of hardship are reported daily and weekly.
21. Read an entry from a Catholic encyclopedia.
22. Attend Mass at a parish other than your own
23. Tithe your tax return.
24. If Catholic schools get NCAA tournament bids, learn for whom those schools were named.
25. Observe five minutes of silence every day.
26. Instead of watching the Academy Awards on Feb. 27, watch “The Passion of the Christ.”
27. Use a Lenten theme in decorating part of a room.
28. Memorize a Proverb.
29. Participate in a faith formation presentation.
30. Tell someone your story(ies) of faith, how God has made a difference in your life.
31. Disconnect the TV and/or the computer.
32. Identify your God-given gifts, how you use them, and how you could use them better.
33. Fast from gossip.
34. Pull the rosary out of your drawer and say it. Too boring? Say the Scriptural rosary.
35. Remove your watch before leaving for church on Palm Sunday.
36. Develop a prayer list.
37. Read a history of the papacy.
38. Find out who Raamah, Putiel, and Uzzah are.
39. Sacrifice your time in order to help others.
40. In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”

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ooking for new ideas for Valentine’s Day I googled the words heart and valentine and wound up…
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

• At Home with Kim Vallee where there are lots of great Valentine’s Day ideas. Then I clicked on the link to Bakerella…Wow! I love all the different ideas and recipes. Two new keeper food blog links.

• Everything a Teacher Needs for Valentine’s Day with lesson ideas, crafts and more
• A cute little widget from Google that lets you say “I Love You” in different languages
• and a poem, Valentine’s Day with Jesus.

What to Give Up for Lent

Upcoming: Lent

Lent: Call an Assembly, Proclaim a Fast!

Of Lenten Strewing

Lent for Newbies

his is what Quinn will say to me when he wants me to do something impossible…like find a television show he wants to watch OnDemand or give him the exact type of crackers or poptarts he wants when the cupboards are bare. And you know what, through the grace of God I am usually able to achieve whatever it is that he wants.

Cleaning up my hard drives this morning…trying to find room to back up my photos and artwork. I’m sure I’ll be able to, cause I’m a star! *smile*

he websites are in Danish (I think) but look at the way they’ve used the Madonna (and Child) in their decorating schemes…so beautiful!

Min Lilla Veranda

Franssohnska Garden

ore web browsing for things to study in February…

Catholic Liturgical Calendar for February - The month of the Holy Family

A Calendar of Resources - Feast Days and Famous Birthdays

About.com’s:  February Special Days - Long List of February Holidays

February Holidays - A nice list with tons of links

Valentine’s Day at CatholicMom.com - A lot of really nice ideas

Groundhog Day Theme - List geared for preK through 5th grade

Leap Year Day - online educational resources for all ages

 …and some more Valentine stuff.

Love Notes for Parents of Special Kids - I’m going to print a couple out, frame them for myself and Michael

Stampington & Company Valentine Collection - Inspiration for Valentine images

Vintage Valentine Brush Set - A beautiful set of PS Valentine brushes - no restrictions on use!

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Five Pretty Valentines

Five pretty valentines waiting at the store.

Sean bought one and then there were four.

Four pretty valentines shaped like a “V”

Cade bought one and then there were three.

Three pretty valentines said “I love you”

Connor bought one and then there were two.

Two pretty valentines, this was so much fun.

Quinn bought one and then there was one.

One pretty valentine sitting on the shelf.

I felt sorry for it, so I bought it for myself!

lease keep my brother-in-law, my sister and their children in your thoughts and prayers this morning as he undergoes more tests today. 

The Anchoress has a beautiful post on A Gift of Morning Prayer.