December Saints and Feast Days

Again, I am so impressed with how succinctly Enid Chadwick depicts the three types of martyrs in My Book of the Church's Year. I do love all the feast days during the penitential season of Advent. However, the challenge isn't the feasting, it's the fasting. Thankfully we have Christmas music to practice to keep the proper focus. We have four concerts between recorder group and barbershop as well as a couple of Christmas parties and I view it as a time of sharing our hope and joy of Christmas. Of course, this year it's extra-busy making final wedding preparations. It's going to be wonderful. Dagny and Ian have waited so patiently. They had a beautiful betrothal ceremony--it really is going to be the most blessed Advent for them. Pray for them.  

A Shower of Blessings

Within Max and Dagny's circle of friends, there've been ten weddings this year. Dagny's will be the last, but after the longest engagement. They can hardly wait to be married, but I'm grateful for this time they've had to grow and mature. It is so beautiful to see young men and women making this lifelong commitment in Holy Matrimony. And we are so blessed to have a beautiful community of faithful women, young and old, who support one another. We have a lot of fun together too! 

Wedding Anniversary

Michael and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a renewal of our vows in our beloved Stella Maris. I cried again saying those vows. I believe the next 30 years will be even better with Christ at the center of our marriage. Our pastor bestowed many blessings upon us. So much grace! God poured it out on us even while we didn't acknowledge Him, believe in Him, or give Him thanks. I am filled with awe at His generosity at what He's accomplishing in our lives. Ah, He will bring to perfection what He has started! Deo gratias!!!

We celebrated at Dunleavy's pub afterwards with our witnesses. 

Yesterday, we went out to celebrate at Lost Isle on John's Island. Lovely ambience and wonderful food! We take most of our meals on the porch so it was great to be seated outdoors in the shade, smelling the wood smoked meat as it was being prepared, and enjoying a cooling spray from the fan. Much like home, without dishes to wash :)  

I love that our anniversary falls on the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Vigil of Assumption of Mary. Both speak powerfully to the married life and its sanctification. Michael and I are reading Preparation for Death: Consideration of Eternal Truths by St. Alphonsus Ligouri and such rich meditations on leading a good Christian life so that we may be assured of a happy death. Our Lord, by his horrible death, has opened the doors of heaven for those who love Him. I will forever be grateful that our Lord never stopped chasing us and brought us to Himself.  Now we pray for the final perseverance so that we're never ever separated from Him. On this Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, we can never assume that we'll go to heaven but pray for the grace.

Young Love

Our minds have been on our marriage, so I was delighted to discover this young man's intentions towards our daughter. Michael, being a typical dad, is still wondering how these kids got to this stage so quickly (they've been dating a year). It was a whirlwind weekend for Ian. He was finishing up an internship in Ohio. Dagny flew to see him and drive back with him. Here they are at Cumberland Falls in KY. We met with Ian privately on Sat. and he proposed to Dagny that evening. It will necessarily be a longish engagement because Ian is still in school (leaving today), but I've not met a more mature young man, who knows whom he wants to spend the rest of his life with and isn't afraid to make a commitment. Dagny, too. They don't have to "play the field" or get their hearts broken. It is so lovely to imagine our children entering into marriage with time to grow in virtue as they prepare themselves for this most beautiful of Sacraments.

I also love that they have a faithful community of Catholic friends who will support them as well as our wider Church family. Our families have known each other for over a decade. Ian is literally the boy next door. Of course, when they were children, they ran around in their own friend groups--Ian with all the boys in the church. At one point there were something like 15 boys at the Altar, serving. There were far fewer girls so they were a tight little group. But all our children are growing up and I'm especially grateful that for many, this is home, this is where they want to be, and where they want to raise a family.

Mass was especially beautiful with a medieval motet for Holy Communion: Maria Matrem. Deo gratias! 

Summer Memories

It's fall, y'all. But I have wonderful summer memories--our 28th wedding anniversary falling exactly on Sunday (you might remember my marriage and math post) so it was lovely to celebrate with Mass on this feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Dinner at Spice Palette, a new Indian restaurant followed by a harbor cruise.                                                                                             

Ravenel bridge, Morris Island (a bird sanctuary), Yorktown, gorgeous sunsets.

Walks on the beach, collecting shells, seeing marine life, celebrating birthdays, meeting family and friends for supper. 

We've been foraging--so lovely to have chanterelles on our walks. Garden has been bountiful--greens, okra, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Lots of poblanos. Michael has been fermenting them and they make excellent sauces.

I love seeing the progress on St. Clare of Assisi right here on Daniel Island. Once it's finished, I imagine walking over for daily Mass and Adoration. Beautiful High Mass! I love how our little Latin choir is growing! So thankful to God for all His blessings! 

June Joys and May Memories

I can't believe it's already June...I feel as if I'm in a whirlwind with so many things happening in the world, from the war in Ukraine to the draft leaked from the Supreme Court regarding Roe v Wade to the spate of shootings. It's as if the demons are unleashed. My response to all of this is to retreat into prayer: Thy Kingdom come, O Lord, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Only God can save us; alas, we've forgotten Him, His commandments. Instead, we worship power, prestige, pleasures. Yet, God showers so many graces upon us, continually calling us to turn toward Him. Here's Max in the Holy Land at the place where our Lord preached the Sermon on the Mount. So beautiful. We are praying for Max to enter deeper into the mysteries of our faith, and for peace in the Middle East. He sent us a picture of this Jerusalem cat too :)

June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and we've been celebrating lots, beginning with Ascension Thursday and Pentecost, with several more feasts on the way. I love living a liturgical life, the days marked by fasts and feasts. We're in the Octave of Pentecost. I love these feast days so much because the reality of the Holy Spirit within us is so present. He's imbued in all creation but He comes to us in a special way, to consecrate us in the Truth, and the more attention we pay to Him, the more He makes Himself and His Holy Will known to us. The Christian story astounds me--God comes down from Heaven as a poor and defenseless Baby to save us from our sins. And as if it's not enough that He suffers and dies for us, He stays with us in a real, physical manner in the consecrated Bread and Wine, and gives us the Holy Spirit as our Advocate. He does this all for me and for you! Is it any wonder that we fall down in Adoration?   

But before I get to June, I must post some pictures from May. With Dagny at home, Michael and I decided to take the train up to DC to spend a weekend with Max. It was lovely to have some one-on-one time with him, doing some sight-seeing, visiting his favorite places, and friends too. What a treat it was to have really good Chinese food! Sunday we went to Mass at St. Rita in Alexandria (it was the closest parish to where we were staying that offered the traditional Latin Mass) and it happened to be her feast day (May 22nd) so there was a High Mass. The church was packed with young families and many babies made a joyful sound with the choir. They sang Gregorian chant propers and a mix of Missa de Angelis and Byrd Mass for Three Voices. It was lovely. Later, we visited the Second Story warehouse! Max and I both bought only the books we could carry :) Best of all, when we arrived at his home, we got to see his article on Stella Maris in print in the Easter issue of the Lamp! 

Soon after we returned home, Dagny took a week-long trip to Texas for her best friends' wedding. I really love how these kids prepare themselves for marriage--what a gift to bestow upon your beloved. I highly recommend Three to Get Married by Ap. Fulton Sheen.  

I'm spending as much time as I can with my kiddos--they grow up too quickly. Reading lots too. Reviews forthcoming.