Quiz - Is Your Home a Catholic Home?

I found this on Ebeth's blog

Is your home a Catholic home? Do Jesus and Mary have an important place in your family? Consider the following checklist and decide:

Are morning and night prayers a daily occurrence in your home?
Yes (individually in the morning and as a family at night)

Do you say grace before and thanks to God after meals?
Before meals, yes, even in public. Afterwards, I do privately. I do not know if my family does.

Do you say a family Rosary every night?
Yes, we do now. We rarely miss an evening to pray it together as a family.

Do you carry a Rosary at all times?
Yes. I carry a beautiful wood rose Rosary my mom gave me and I wear a Rosary bracelet made by my friend Shana. I also try to remember to carry finger rosaries for my DS and DH.

Do you wear a religious medal or a scapular?
Yes, I wear a Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the jade cross my DH gave me before we got married and the Miraculous medal my sister gave me for being in her wedding.

Do you read and discuss the Bible often?
I am trying to. Especially since a dear priest here in NJ would give me the St. James's letters and the Book of Ecclesiastes for spiritual reading as my penance.

Is your home dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
Yes. Our home has been enthroned to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Is there a crucifix hanging in a prominent place?
There are several, one at the front door, in the bedrooms, in the kitchen.

Do you ask God’s help in the solution of family problems?
Yes. I do so all the time.

Do you have a sick-call set for Communion or Anointing of the Sick?
Yes. It is included in one of the Crucifixes that hang on our wall.

Do you attend church as a family?
Yes on Sundays and will be doing so with my son on a daily basis.

Do you go to Confession regularly?
Yes, my son and I go on a weekly basis. My DH approximately twice a month or so. We so need that weekly purging in order to handle the circumstances of the coming week and of course, we want to be cleansed before receiving our Lord in Holy Communion on Sunday.

Do the children attend a Catholic school or Catholic religious instruction program? We homeschool with Seton Homestudy, so yes they get very good catechesis. (Ebeth's response but ditto for us).

Do you have religious instruction at home? Yes, See above

Are there Catholic periodicals in your home?
Yes, tons. (Ebeth's response - same here)

Do you have a crib at Christmas?
Yes. Along with our Nativity sets, we bought a little crib with the most beautiful baby Jesus last year.

Do you send out cards that indicate Christmas is the birth of Christ?
Yes. And, since we are on every Catholic Religious order's mailing list, we get the cards that offer Masses. This is especially welcomed by many friends and family members.

Does Christmas mean the coming of Christ or a chance to get gifts?
Coming of Jesus of course. We look forward to this by observing Advent with as much zeal as we do Christmas.

Does Easter Sunday mean the resurrection of Christ or new clothes?
Christ's resurrection. Again, we focus on Lent first in order to have our Lord's Resurrection to look forward to.

Do you ever invite lonesome or needy people into your home?
I used too. I haven't done that in a while.

Do you ever provide a basket of food to a needy family, not just at Thanksgiving and
Christmas but during the rest of the year?
We do via our church programs and other Catholic organizations

Feast Day - Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Picture source Frassati Society of Minnesota

Book recommendation My Brother Pier Giorgio: His Last Days by Luciana Frassati

Fine Art Friday - Special Independence Day Edition

Benjamin Franklin artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Thomas Jefferson
Alexander Hamilton (the founder of Paterson, NJ)
Founding Fathers
George Washington
The Signing of the Declaration of Independence


Source of some pictures Founding Fathers Clipart
Source for the Independence Day postcard here

Feast of St. Thomas

Santo Tomás - Jusepe Martínez

St Paul and Charity Towards God

Charity is a friendship, a kindness, a love which we show in our hearts toward our heavenly Father and our brother, our neighbor. Charity toward God and charity toward our neighbor are like two rays from the same flame.

Charity toward God may be considered as the state of grace.

St Paul writes

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing..."(1 Cor. 13:1-3).

...Are you in the state of grace? If because of some grave misfortune you should be in sin, you should receive the sacrament of Penance as soon as possible, thereby regaining God's friendship.

Love of God brings us to converse often with Him. How do you receive Holy Communion? Do you keep yourself united to God in thoughts and sentiments?

Love of God makes us fear venial sin; do you avoid venial sin?
Do you feel a hatred and horror toward the slightest offense against our Savior?
Do you always try to grow in the love of God by striving to progress in the acquisitions of virtue?...

A Month With St. Paul, Pauline Books and Media

A Lesson From Saint Paul - Not Trusting Ourselves

"St. Paul never trusted in himself. Never let us think of ourselves as well grounded in virtue. Rather, we should fear our weakness, the occasions of sin, and our pride."

A Month With St. Paul, Pauline Books and Media.

Feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus

Angels Collecting the Precious Blood of Jesus
Thanks to Sue of Half the Kingdom for the picture and the following prayers that she emailed me. Please be sure to visit her site for the Prayer and Procedure for Covering You and Your Loved Ones in the Blood of Jesus.

Prayers Honoring the Seven Times Jesus Spilled His Precious Blood for Us,
as Revealed by Our Lady to St. Bridget, and Approved by Pope Clement XII
Source 2HeartsNetwork

Our Lord made these promises to anyone who recited/prayed these prayers for 12 entire years**:

1. The soul who prays them will suffer no Purgatory.
2. The soul who prays them will be accepted among the Martyrs as though he had spilled his blood for his faith.
3. The soul who prays them can choose three others whom Jesus will then keep in a state of grace sufficient to become holy.
4. No one in the four successive generations of the soul who prays them will be lost.
5. The soul who prays them will be made conscious of his death one month in advance.

** If the soul praying these prayers dies before the entire 12 years of prayers have been completed, the Lord will accept them as having been prayed in their entirety, because the intention of the soul was to complete them as directed.

If a day or a few days are missed due to a valid reason, they can be made up for later, at the soul's earliest opportunity.

The 12 Year Prayers:

O Jesus, now I wish to pray the Lord's Prayer seven times in unity with the love with which You sanctified this prayer in Your Heart. Take it from my lips into Your Divine Heart. Improve and complete it so much that it brings as much honor and joy to the Trinity as You granted it on earth with this prayer. May these pour upon Your Holy Humanity in Glorification to Your Painful Wounds and the Precious Blood that You spilled from them.

First Prayer: The Circumcision

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the first wounds, the first pains, and the first Bloodshed as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of youth, as protection against the first mortal sin, especially among my relatives.

Second Prayer: The Suffering on the Mount of Olives

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the terrifying suffering of Jesus' Heart on the Mount of Olives and every drop of His Bloody Sweat as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the heart, as protection against such sins and for the spreading of Divine and brotherly Love.

Third Prayer: The Flogging

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the many thousands of Wounds, the gruesome Pains, and the Precious Blood of the Flogging as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the Flesh, as protection against such sins and the preservation of innocence, especially among my relatives.

Fourth Prayer: The Crowning of Thorns

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Wounds, the Pains, and the Precious Blood of Jesus' Holy Head from the Crowning with Thorns as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the Spirit, as protection against such sins and the spreading of Christ's kingdom here on earth.

Fifth Prayer: The Carrying of the Cross

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Sufferings on the way of the Cross, especially His Holy Wound on His Shoulder and its Precious Blood as atonement for my and all of humanity's rebellion against the Cross, every grumbling against Your Holy Arrangements and all other sins of the tongue, as protection against such sins and for true love of the Cross.

Sixth Prayer: The Crucifixion

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You Your Son on the Cross, His Nailing and Raising, His Wounds on the Hands and Feet and the three streams of His Precious Blood that poured forth from these for us, His extreme tortures of the Body and Soul, His precious Death and its non-bleeding Renewal in all Holy Masses on earth as atonement for all wounds against vows and regulations within the Orders, as reparation for my and all of the world's sins, for the sick and the dying, for all holy priests and laymen, for the Holy Father's intentions toward the restoration of Christian families, for the strengthening of Faith, for our country and unity among all nations in Christ and His Church, as well as for the Diaspora.

Seventh Prayer: The Piercing of Jesus' Side

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, accept as worthy, for the needs of the Holy Church and as atonement for the sins of all Mankind, the Precious Blood and Water which poured forth from the Wound of Jesus' Divine Heart. Be gracious and merciful toward us. Blood of Christ, the last precious content of His Holy Heart, wash me of all my and others' guilt of sin! Water from the Side of Christ, wash me clean of all punishments for sin and extinguish the flames of Purgatory for me and for all the Poor Souls. Amen.

Warnings From St. Paul

St. Paul warns us:

not to be proud.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God." (Eph. 2.8)

and

Avoid dangers to the faith, "

especially, the company of the wicked, perverse books and newspapers and pride of mind and heart. The things of God will remain hidden from the proud and will be made known to the humble... Fr. James Alberione and Fr. Timothy Giaccardo

A Month With St. Paul, Daughters of St. Paul

Catholic Burial for the Murdered Innocents

Te Deum Laudamus - An Act of Mercy: Mass and Burial of the Unborn with Fr. Frank Pavone and Bishop John M. Quinn at Assumption Grotto

God bless Fr. Pavone and Bishop Quinn.

St. Paul and Pope Paul VI

"In the last audience that I had with Pope Paul VI, I said, 'You're well named, Paul, because you are stoned as Paul was. Stoned by your own, as Paul was stoned when he went from Lystra to Derbe and Antioch in Pisidia.' 'Yes', he said, 'I open my mail at midnight and in almost every letter there is a thorn. And when I lay my head at night on the pillow, I lay it on a crown of thorns. But I cannot tell you what ineffable joy I have in being able to fill up in my poor flesh the sufferings that are wanting, wanting in the passion of Christ for the sake of his body which is the church."

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Gospel- Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

Matt. 16: 18-19
Source

Quotes on St. Paul

"The devotion to the Apostle Paul in the Church has been universal, constant and powerful. Yet in some way it can be said that this devotion has not been as popular as that to many other saints. The reason is that St. Paul is not known or popularized well enough". - Rev. James Alberione

"...it pains me almost beyond endurance that not everyone knows this man as he should be known..." St. John Chrysostom

From A Month with St. Paul by Rev. James Alberione, SSP, STD and Rev. Timothy Giaccardo, SSP, Translated by the Daughters of St. Paul.