At morning prayer Joseph and Maria announced that it was the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and then each child was gifted a their name placard made by their mom... Hector with his gift with the nativity looking on and baby Jesus snuggled into his manger filled with soft hay placed there by the good deeds of the kids during advent or the sacrifices they made for one another.
Prayer before bed gathered around the manger at night...
These words from the first reading... I John 2
"Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure..."
Praying to Our Lady and All the Saints!
Patrick's night to get prayed over by the family - "Come Holy Spirit!"
Gathered around the baby in the manger for the Holy Name of Jesus Feast/"We named you special names from our family or our Church."
Evangeline Mary is her name, and her patron Saint is St JPII as he promotes the Evangelization...
This from Nancy yesterday speaking about Evangelizing her children... whom she is most responsible in this life to evangelize and share the Faith/Truth/Purity and all that they need to truly take to heart!
These are the souls that I am most called to evangelize, so off to adoration we go! Because seriously, where else can we so perfectly experience the loving natu
re of God?
Last night while picking our 14 patron saints of 2020 and dreaming about all that the year might yield, my husband and I returned to this idea of evangelization, and how as parents we are called to evangelize our kids first and foremost!
When I think about evangelization I usually think about talking to other adults our defending the Faith in argument. And that’s a part of evangelization, but so is raising holy kids, learning about the Faith with them, going to mass and adoration together.
A few months ago I realized that this is the calling of 🌱Catholic Sprouts🌱: To Help Parents Evangelize Their Children!
So, let’s do this! Let’s evangelize our kids! They are the future and evangelizing then is the best thing we can do for our church!
Newest name in the family... after his great-grandfather Hector Louwagie. How we are loving getting to know him and Pat and sibs love the name!
3 year old Evangeline is named after the Evangelization mission given us by St JPII and for sure that must begin in our homes!
Out to visit the log cabin that dad and kids built over many months! Therese planted tomatoes, beans, peppers, carrots and the tomato plant grew up and over the roof and was amazing, but the peppers were a fail and will not be planted again.
Therese and Evie in the doorway!
Maria now allows her daughter to bake the pies - pumpkin for dessert.
Crust from scratch and such precise edges are a work of art that this pie making grandma has not ever taken the time for.
A year ago cleaning the snow out of the bunks before they feed the cows. The kids are already back at school the day after New Years!
Prayer with the family last night is so special to focus on what is the most important part of our days and our lives in our domestic Church/family!
On our knees seeking The Lord's blessing upon our family as we go to bed in peace and comfort!
Putting the canning away... this is why we do the work! Maria's family loves our tomato soup and applesauce and slowly eats it as it is precious stuff!
Since we made the trip we brought a lot!!!
Watercolors with grandma is what we do on a rainy morning!
Therese and I are still at it... the others took off after about an hour!
Evie likes pink we all decided!
Mary's picture of Fanjeaux from last winter... today Therese is working on her version and we are so enjoying our time together - me on my computer and Therese painting next to me!
Bernadette and I collaborated on one when baby George was born in KC!
Hard at work in KC!
The special unique one that Gus made last winter with grandma!
Now Therese working on her own version of our amazing village in France where we stayed in an ancient house for Hallel's vows. Therese put all 18 of those that attended from our family in her picture, and even Hallel on the top of the mountain! LOVE!
The tree the red roofs and the umbrella are red... now the other colors!
Always take 3!
More from our time - grandpa with the grandkids - he is a kid magnet!
The 4 boys are gathered around him!
Hector approves of grandma too!
Wearing Aunt Nancy's creation - St Therese on Therese.
May we always love our roots in family and the Saints! Jesus, your name is filled with all we need!
"Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
At every Mass, before the priest begins the Eucharistic prayer,
we pray:“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
St Paul proclaims: "God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him
the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. - Phil 2:9-11
"There are two things that make it easy for souls to adore Our Lord in the Sacrament of His Love: they can seek His Human Face, though it be veiled by the appearance of the Sacred Host; and they can call upon Him by His Human Name.
These are the two things that people crave in a relationship: knowledge of a face and of a name. From these, one experiences the heart of the other, and so a relationship becomes a communion, an exchange in which one finds fulfillment, that is, joy and a response to one's love in the other. ...
Come close to Him, then, who has made Himself so close to us. ...
