Pets Are Not People

I was sad after reading this article in a local pet blog Dogs Are the New Kids

The other day I had a discussion with one of my brothers about exactly this topic...how people treat their pets as if they were their children. My brother, owner of a chinchilla, cat and turtle, ended up telling me I could not tell people how to feel about their pets...except on my blog. Well, I was going to ditch the idea and had it not been for the above article, I would not have given it another thought. But I feel I must address the pet-child mindset.

It appears that more and more people are losing the distinction between a pet and a child.

- People are no longer referred to as a pet's owner. No, they are now "Mommy" or "Daddy"...pet parents. The name they choose for their precious pets are no long "Fluffy" "Lucky" "Snowball" or "Coco" Emily, Betsey, Rooney, Gracie, etc. have replaced the traditional pet name. These are human names! On the other hand babies are given what appear to be pet names e.g. Gwynth Paltrow's daughter Apple, Courtney Cox's daughter Coco... It doesn't seem that long ago that dogs were named "Fido" a name that really captured the dog's spirit...that of fidelity to its owner.

- It is not an unusual sight in my neighborhood to see an owner pushing the precious pooch in a baby stroller.

- One no longer boards a pet in a kennel. Now you have doggy daycare for the pup.

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog or who know me personally know I love animals. I have loved animals, had many pets and have rescued many animals ever since I was a little girl. I even have a pet prayer blog to pray for God's creatures, the beloved pet. I am sharing these observations with you from an animal lover's point of view.

The danger of humanizing a pet's relationship in the family is that it diminishes the value of the human person. Isn't that what the pro-life movement is fighting for...value for human life?

It is a very sad thing when all efforts are made to rescue a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest. We lose sight that sometimes a mother bird will push the sickly baby out of a nest because it will die anyway. God has a way of keeping nature in balance if we stop interfering. Yet when a defenseless human baby is in danger of being killed at the hands of an abortionist, only a few try to save the baby. Aren't these human babies even more precious, lots more cuter and loving than a baby animal?

I cringe and will continue to cringe every time a well-meaning person, usually a friend, refers to me as my dog's "Mommy". I am "Mommy" to one child and his name is not "Coco".

I Resign too

Marie posted this on View from the Pews

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult.

I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities

of an 8 year old again.

I want to go to Subway and think that it's a four star restaurant

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and

make ripples with rocks.

I want to think M&M's are better than money because

you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade

stand with my friends on a hot summer day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple.

When all you knew were colours, multiplication tables

and nursery rhymes,

but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didnt care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of

all the things that should make you worried or upset.

That everyone is good and honest.

I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and

be overly excited by the little things.

I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news.

I want to believe in the power of a smile, of hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace and dreams.

The imagination, and making angels in the snow, of seeing rainbows, jumping in puddles & dancing in the rain.

So...here's my checkbook and my car keys, my credit cards and all my responsibility.

I have officially resigned from adulthood.

If you want this too then you'll have to catch me first

'Cause...

"Tag! You're it!"


Anon

Those Who Foster in the Hearts of Children Indifference for the BVM

Consider the Blasphemies of those who openly seek to foster in the hearts of children indifference or contempt, and even hatred for our Immaculate Mother.

With all the power at his command, the Archfiend wants to deny the Virgin the opportunity to use her children as agents of grace. To achieve this end, he would first render her maternal womb infertile, barren, robbing her of those future conduits of grace, performing, in effect, a spiritual abortion. What he would like to do is completely deprive the Holy Spirit of any future means of sanctifying the Chosen by corrupting the children and turning them away from her, and even against her. This is the terrible iniquity which is the fourth sin and the fourth stage in this conflict between Mary and Lucifer announced in Genesis, “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed;” (Gen. 3:15).

Removing little ones from her side before they can be nurtured into fully-developed enlistees in her cause, the Devil would strip her of her Motherhood and deprive the Holy Ghost of this conduit of grace. By negation, this crime confirms the truth of our Faith whereby we believe that the Sanctifier does indeed save souls through the spiritual maternity of His Immaculate Spouse.

St. Maximilian Kolbe affirmed this belief in his typically concise manner: “Till the end of the world it will be the task of the Holy Ghost to form the new members predestined to glory in the Mystical Body of Christ”. As St. de Montfort shows, “this task is carried to completion with Mary, in Mary and through Mary.”

How many souls will be cast into Hell in the future because of this sin?

By Sue

Invitation From Rome to the Children of the World

The following is an email I received from Connie Schneider, Children of the Eucharist.

HI Esther,

Hope you are well! I was overjoyed to hear from Father M. Here is the video announcement from Father Patrick Byrne, General Secretary from Rome, for the

Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour. Please forward to your address book and everywhere in the world.

God Bless you Esther

Connie

Africa Americas Europe Oceania Asia,
Catholic School Children to unite globally in Eucharistic Adoration, following in the footsteps of the three little shepherds of Fatima!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

World Apostolate of Fatima USA

Holy Childhood Association

Children of the Eucharist ~ Friends of the Hidden Jesus

Invites you to join in and help gather the:

Catholic school children to unite globally in Eucharistic Adoration,

following in the footsteps of the three shepherds at Fatima!

Fr. Byrne’s Invitation from ROME!

Video:
Fr. Patrick Byrne, General Secretary from Rome, invites the Children of the World

to the 6th Annual Worldwide Children’s Holy Hour.
Click here

For more information please visit us @ Children of the Eucharist .

May God reward you for helping spread the word!

Connie Schneider

World Apostolate of Fatima

connieschneider@earthlink.net

Please forward to all in your address books!

We need volunteers to translate text below and send to Diocesan Offices around the world!

Children of the world!

Greetings from Rome!

My name is Father Patrick Byrne and I am the General Secretary of the Holy Childhood Association, and I am very happy to announce to you, that I will be joining you for the Sixth Annual “Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour.

This is also the 100th anniversary of Blessed Francisco; he was one of the three children from Fatima, of the little shepherds, who always wanted to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

I‘m inviting you to join with me and with Blessed Francisco’s and the prayers of the schoolchildren who will be gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC on First Friday, October 3rd.

We will have a lovely procession crown a lovely statue of Our Lady of Fatima, and pray before the Blessed Sacrament and join in the World Mission Rosary.

EWTN will broadcast this event to over 40 different nations, spiritually uniting the prayers of our world’s children.

I am encouraging all parishes all the schools to gather children and families before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, giving them the unique opportunity to participate in this Worldwide Eucharistic Holy Hour, to pray for peace in our families and in our world.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI counts on the prayers of the children he knows that you are part of the mission of the church, so please join in!

To keep us all united please visit us @ Children of the Eucharist

May God Bless you , Guide you and Keep you safe!

Thank you and May God bless you.

Examination of Conscience for Children

The following is from Sue of Half the Kingdom

From a book by Fr. Robert Fox who took the Ten Commandments, and showing us what sins go with each commandment & why.

I. I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides Me.
Have I:

1. Remembered to love and adore God each day?
2. Prayed my morning prayers, evening prayers and other prayers of the day with attention and devotion?
3. Studied my religion?
4. Prayed for the suffering souls in Purgatory?
5. Been devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and saints and tried to honor them?
6. Observed Friday as a day of penance?
7. Tried to bring others closer to Jesus by my words and example?

For the rest of the 10 Commandments, please visit Sue's blog.

The Story of Little Nellie - Love of the Eucharist

The following story was shared by my friend Louise.

THIS IS THE STORY OF LITTLE NELLIE OF HOLY GOD

Her real name is Nellie Organ and she was born in the family quarters of the Royal Garrison Barracks in Waterford in August 1903 since her father was working in the British army. It was just three weeks after Pius X was elected Pope. There were four children in the family. Nellie’s father, William, with his family, were transferred to the barracks on Spike Island in Cork Harbor and Nellie’s mother died there. William decided that he could not care for the children and the two girls were given to the care of the Good Shepherd Sisters at St. Finbarr’s Industrial School in Sunday’s Well, Cork and the two boys were sent to another location.

Nellie spent only one year in Sunday’s Well before she died due to illness. She had whooping cough when she arrived and it was also discovered that she had a spinal injury which was later found out to have been caused
when the family’s child-minder dropped her as a baby. She also had tuberculosis and caries, a rotting disease of the gums and jaws.

Nellie is famous for her outstanding love of Jesus in the Eucharist. A Jesuit, Fr Bury was giving a retreat in the convent and visited Nellie’s bedside each day. He realized that Nellie, although only four years of age, had reached the age of reason. Fr Bury asked her, “What is Holy
Communion?” She answered, “It is Holy God.” Fr Bury asked her what would happen when she would be allowed to receive Holy Communion. She answered, “Jesus will rest on my tongue and then he will do down into my heart.” One could scarcely find a more beautiful description for
receiving Jesus in Holy Communion.

One night when the Mother Superior was wishing Nellie good night Nellie asked her if she would bring Holy God up to her in the morning. Mother Francis said she would come to see her after Mass which Nellie misunderstood as meaning that she would bring her Holy Communion.
When Mother Francis came without Holy Communion Nellie was devastated. Then Nellie asked people to come to her bedside for a moment after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion and then they could return to the chapel to finish their thanksgiving. That was the closest she could get to receiving Jesus in Holy Communion.

During the retreat Fr Bury realized that Nellie, although only four years and three months, met all the criteria necessary to receive Holy Communion. And at that time children had to wait until the age of twelve to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Fr Bury heard her confession and contacted the bishop of Cork for permission to give her Holy Communion. The bishop agreed.

She was dressed in white and taken down to the convent chapel for her first Holy Communion. This is what Mother Francis said of Nellie receiving Holy Communion, "At the moment of her First Communion, which she received in a transport of love, Nellie’s features shone as if the
presence of the great light in her heart reflected itself in her face. Yes, those who saw Nellie then are well convinced that the child’s appearance was not at all ordinary. This phenomenon was seen more particularly at her other Communions because, after the first, she was taken almost immediately out of the chapel and there were only a chosen few who had the happiness to witness the transformation which took place. Then Nellie had not only a countenance more recollected, an attitude more pious than she customarily had, but an extraordinary radiance.”

It is said that Nellie’s thanksgiving for receiving Holy Communion would continue until late in the afternoon. From the day of her First Holy Communion the odor from Nellie’s mouth caused by the rotting of her gums and jaws ceased. Less than two months after receiving her First Holy
Communion Nellie died on Sunday 2nd February 1908 ages 4 years, 5 months and 8 days and was buried in St Joseph’s Cemetery in Cork. Eighteen months after her death permission was granted to have Nellie’s remains transferred to the Good Shepherd Convent Cemetery and upon
opening her grave her body was found to be incorrupt. Her body was fresh with no sign of the wasting disease she had at her death.

I have visited her grave in the Good Shepherd Convent. I was reminded of Little Nellie by the words of Jesus in our Gospel today, “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me.”

In Little Nellie's transformation after receiving Holy Communion and her extended thanksgiving until the late afternoon we see Jesus living in her and she living in him. She is a beautiful example of Jesus transforming us when we receive him in Holy Communion. Not only was Little Nellie transformed after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion but in a sense the entire Church has been transformed after her. It is reported that Pope Pius X was considering lowering the age for children to receive Holy Communion from twelve to seven and when he heard of Little Nellie he said she was the sign he was waiting for.

On 15th August 1910 Pope Pius X published his encyclical Quam Singulari encouraging early and frequent Holy Communion of children. It is nice to know that a little girl so near here influenced the Pope in his decision although the bishop of Cork waited until after the decree to officially inform the Pope in writing. The 24th of this month is the centenary of her birth and there will be an exhibition of her personal things in Dungarvan. I will conclude with some of the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel, “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me."

In looking for the original source of the above story, I came across a simplified version at the following website. I am giving you the link to the beginning of the online book of True Stories for First Communicants by Catholic Tradition

Children of the Eucharist - Worldwide Children and Youth Holy Hour

A big mahalo goes out to Amy for the reminder!

Worldwide Children and Youth Holy Hour

First Friday ~ October 5th - 2007
For Peace in our Families and World!

A Child's Missal

Nick of Mount Carmel Bloggers shares the link for a beautiful online Missal for children.

Now that Summorum Pontificum is in full force, I thought I'd repost this link to A Child's Missal from The Society of St. John which beautifully explains The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The illustrations come from a deep immersion in iconographic language and the pictures of the Mass show its timelessness. It's great even for adults. So if you're looking for a resource to teach the Mass, this is a fine one to add to your library. Best of all, you may download the complete book in pdf. However, it is worth getting hardbound.

Children's Mass

Every Wednesday, the morning Mass is moved to 8:30 a.m. instead of the usual 7:30 a.m. so that the parochial school children have an opportunity to attend Mass. This was the idea of the parish priest Fr. Patrick. From my observations and listening to his homilies, he seems to be a priest who really loves the Eucharist.

This is evident when you see the children approach the altar for Holy Communion. You will see many receive on the tongue, even the youngest of them. They will then proceed back to their pews with their little hands folded in prayer.

I remember one of Father's homilies about the time he went to Cardinal Ratzinger's installation as our pontiff. He arrived close to the time everyone had to take their seat, if they wanted a good seat. But instead of going to his seat, Father asked someone, where the Blessed Sacrament was. The young man who guided him to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel told him, he as the only one who had gone to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel FIRST.

I might as well share his story about why Father was so intend on attending the installation. Seems that when he was in Rome one time, he had difficulty finding a certain tomb or grave. He saw a priest approach and he asked him where it was. The priest led him to the place personally. When the priest bend over, a bit of red poked out of his coat. He then realized it was Cardinal Ratzinger! I don't recall all the details but I think that was the gist of it.

A Saint for Abused Children

After reading the story of St. Germain Cousins (Germana) of Pribac, I have no doubt she is the patron saint of abused children.

1579-1601, Feast day p June 15, Canonized in 1867 by Pope Pius IX,

The story of little Germain is so heart wrenching, it would make the hardest of hearts weep. She was a little girl who tended the sheep for her father and cruel stepmother. She is described as a very unattractive little girl who was half-starved and her body covered with ugly bruises. She was forced to go around barefooted. She was a cripple and had only rags to clothe her. Yet, she had a very sweet, generous and kind nature and she never complained against the injustices and cruelty done to her.

For some reason, her stepmother hated this little girl. Germain never knew kindness or love from a human being in her short live. The only one who loved her was God and His blessed Mother and she loved them.

She was not permitted inside the house and would be forced to sleep in the barn with the cattle to keep her warm. She wasn't permitted to come in contact with her half-siblings. Her stepmother forbade it. It is not known why her father permitted the treatment of this girl. One theory is that he really wasn't her father but took her into his home when her own parents died. It is really not known.

The villagers also treated her badly as they seemed to follow the cruel stepmother's example.

Towards the end of her life, her saintly nature caught the attention of the village and even her stepmother tried to be kind in her own way. But it was too late for God rewarded this suffering little soul by bringing her to live in Heaven.

Child Prodigy

H/T to my friend Vicky

Today I Taught My Child

Thank you for sharing this Marcella.

When I got mad today and hit my child
"For his own good, " I reconciled,
and then I realized my plight...
Today, I taught my child to fight.

When interrupted by the phone,
I said, "tell them I'm not home."
And then I thought, and had to sigh...
Today I taught my child to lie.

I told the tax man what I made,
forgetting cash that was paid,
And than I blushed at this sad feat...
Today I taught my child to cheat.

I smugly copied a cassette,
To keep me from one more debt,
But now the bells of shame must peal...
Today I taught my child to steal.

Today I cursed another race,
Oh God, protect what I debase,
for now, I fear it is too late...
Today I taught my child to hate.

By my example, children learn
That I must lead in life's sojourn
In such a way they are led
By what is done and not what is said.

Today I gave my child his due
By praise for him instead of rue.
And now I have begun my guide;
Today I gave my child his pride.

I now have reconciled and paid
to IRS all that I have made.
And now I know that this dear youth,
Today has learned from me the truth.

The alms I give are not for show,
And yet, this child must surely know
That charity is worth the price:
Today he saw my sacrifice.

I clasp within a warm embrace
My neighbor of another race.
The great commandment from up above.
Today I taught my child to love.

Someday my child must face alone
This fearsome undertone,
But I have blazed a sure pathway:
Today I taught my child to pray.

-- Author Unknown