Five Favs: Homeschool Additions

How is your year going?  Can you believe we are already a month in?  Time is flying!!

Here are my favorite five additions to our home school this year.  Linking up with Jenna.

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Last year, I purchased Fix It by IEW.  One night, in March, I shot up in the middle of the night and realized that I had totally forgotten to use it.  I decided it didn't make sense to start at that point in the year.  Although, I am glad that I waited.  Cowgirl is better equipped to do the tasks and can complete the assignments independently.

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Speaking of IEW, Cowgirl began Phonetic Zoo.  I am so happy with the program.  She is doing very well and definitely learning.  The program is completely self contained.  She independently listens to the lessons, takes the test, and grades herself.  The pressure of learning to spell has completely dissipated and it is one less subject that I have to teach.  A win all around.  I may have to send Andrew Pudewa a Christmas card!

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Science read aloud in the morning may be the best idea I have had this decade.  I always felt like we were behind on science and there never seemed to be time enough to get to it.  Adding science to morning meeting has been a life saver.  We get it in every day!  Yes, there are no flashy experiments, but I do plan on doing some, seem like a good snow day plan.  My favorite morning meeting science resource is the Catholic Science Stories for Little Folks.  I picked it up at a homeschooling conference for under $1.  I admit that I have learned a lot from those little stories, too.  

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On the topic of science, we joined a Forest School.  They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I always intended to take a nature hike each week, but let's be honest it never happened.  Spending three hours in the woods is exhausting, but the children are enjoying it so much and learning about so many creatures and plants just by being in the woods.  I don't know how I will feel about it come winter, but I am committed to making it to as many meetings as possible.  I think Miss Mason would be happy that my children begin their homeschool week out exploring nature. ( I also think that the two to three mile hike is the type of extra exercise I need but never make time for.)

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The Children's Dictionary we were using just isn't sophisticated enough for the level of vocabulary presented in Fix It.  Would you expect anything less from IEW?  So, we switched to a collegiate dictionary.  This posed a problem for my dyslexia child.  Very tiny print, multiple columns, it was all too much.  Enter the Merriam Webster Dictionary app.  It isn't perfect, but when it works it makes a world of difference.  It is like having a regular dictionary entry magnified to the size of my Kindle screen.  She still needs to decide on the correct definition to copy into her workbook, but is no longer spending a half hour finding the word.

The Problem with Kim Davis in 7QT

 I did not plan on posting today, although I miss writing--life has just been a little busy.  However, when I saw that Kelly was hosting Link-tober Fest with prizes, I had to jump on board.

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The biggest problem is it isn't a problem at all.  I bet you thought I would rail against the Pope or stand up for gay marriage advocates who feel slighted by this meeting.  The truth is we, as Americans, are making a common ant hill into Mount Everest.  No matter where you stand on gay marriage or Kim Davis, there really isn't a problem because the Pope meeting her changes nothing about Church doctrine, it changes nothing about the laws of America, it changes nothing about anyone's civil rights.  It was a conversation, a papal audience, common place--they happen all the time with people from all over the world, all different viewpoints, and all walks of life.

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Pope Francis has never pretended to play sides, he has always been open about his openness to everyone.  He is so well loved by even those who are against the Church because of his compassion and mercy.  Pope Francis has brought the papacy to the common man.  He has never asked any of those he embraces, dines with, visits, nor forgives about their political and personal outlooks.  He did not only wash the feet of criminals who support the views of the Church, nor did he only dine with homeless who share his political view.  While many would like to politicize his actions, and dissect his motives, his only motive is love and mercy.  It is a message he preaches with his words, but more importantly with his deeds.

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Chruch doctrine precludes the support of gay marriage.  It is completely contrary to our beliefs and the laws of the Church.  While many have decided that Pope Francis has secretly, or even publicly, changed this, it has never changed.  The Church is the Bride of Christ, She walks with Him, not popular opinion.  No matter what you think Church doctrine should be, it is what it is.  And even though Pope Francis has been very welcoming to the gay community and compassionate as he is with all people, that does not change the fact that he supports traditional marriage and has said so in various statements.  {Please read all of the Pope's public statements in their entirety not just go by the blurbs picked up by the media!} 

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Christ dined with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, failures, enemies of his mission.  He went out and met Pharisees, Saducees, and worst of all, Samaritans, where they were and preached forgiveness and service to neighbor.  However, never did He waiver in the Truth of the Gospel, the foundation of God's Law.  Sin was still sin.  He may have sat at table with some of the worst sinners, but He never allowed that to change His position, nor allowed anyone to forget the need to follow the narrow way.  Nothing has changed.  Pope Francis is the Vicar of Christ, we are Christ's hands and feet.  Our mission is the same as it was during the age of the apostles, and our rules are the same as well.

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There is a difference between love and mercy; and acceptance and condoning behavior.  The Pope preaches mercy.  Mercy is a duty of all Christians.  We are to be merciful, most merciful to all.  We are to love and pray for our enemies.  However, we are never to condone, nor accept their sins.  We are to hate all sin, no matter how trivial, no matter how politically correct, no matter how modern.  All sin is evil.  Yet, we are all sinners.  In rejecting sin, we must first begin with ourselves, we must clean up our act before pointing the finger at our brother.  In love we must repent, because the Church and Christ are always willing to forgive us in unsurpassed mercy.   

We truly must hate the sin and love the sinner.  The opposite of agreement is not hate, yet in our country we have drawn a line in the sand.  You are either for us or against us.  There is another way, Jesus preached another way.   The other way is a way of love but reproof, a way of mercy but rules.  Christ came to save all people, but He first demanded they die to self and rise in HIM.  Dying to self means laying down whatever God has forbidden, and sin we find pleasure in, any personal preference that serves ourselves before God.  Jesus asks us to love our neighbor, but reminds us that love sets boundaries and rules, love disciplines the child that goes astray, but also chases after that child to bring him home.   The Greatest Commandment is "Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself."  Loving God must come first, and that means following your conscience, abiding by God's Law, and being in the world but not of it.  Also, the greatest love of neighbor is to point him to heaven not to allow him to run amok and land in hell.

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I agree that the Pope often leaves a bit to much to interpretation, but this is not a case of that.  When Pope Francis visits prisons, do you not think that there are people there that Italians think are undeserving of mercy?  When Pope Francis visited Fidel Castro, do you not think there were Cubans who felt he was undeserving of mercy?  When the Pope met with mafia leaders, addicts, beggars on the street, the lame, the poor, the unwanted, the forgotten...wasn't there someone who thought they did not deserve it?  None of us deserve mercy, and this meeting was an act of mercy.  Everyone has their theories of what was meant by the meeting, what we should take away, who the Pope offended or should have offended.  However, in watching the Pope interact with the world, I believe this was a personal stop to spread his love and mercy as only Pope Francis can.   He came to the United States to spread his message of religious liberty, love for all people, and defense of the family; and I have a sneaking suspicion that while studying up on the current events and issues of our land, he saw a woman who tried to do what she thought was right and was kicked, beaten, and spat upon by the press and virtual world.  No matter if the Pope agreed with her actions nor her beliefs, he saw a human that was dragged through the mud and needed compassion.  He saw someone who was marginalized and villianized and needed to know God still loved her as He loves all people.  He saw someone in need of mercy, because our news outlets and social media do not allow mercy to be offered.

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The problems of the world and the Church are so much larger than who the Pope chooses to receive some simple words of encouragement.  Our brothers and sisters are being persecuted, tortured, heinously murdered, and raped half way around the world--yet we cry out that we need more, who have a safe bed to sleep in and a Church whose doors are always open.  We who send our children to school and out to play without fear, have so much food we fill bags of it to rot in landfills, and toss last year's fashion into the trash; we demand that our ideas be validated, that our enemies be persecuted, that we are forgotten and unsupported.  We have so much in this country, too much really, because we have lost sight of what a problem really is.  We have lost touch with what oppression really feels like.    

As a faithful, traditional, conservative, orthodox Catholic, I stand with the teaching of the Church that have been true for over 2,000 years.  I do not want our doctrine to change, our beliefs to be shaken, our Catechism rewritten. It is not an easy road to walk, but neither was the one to Calvary.  I do not support the national laws on abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, and contraception.   Yet, I love, and love deeply, people who subscribe to all of those practices.  I honor their personhood and dignity even though I despise their politics.  I warmly welcome them as family and neighbors, serving them before myself, but I will never condone their lifestyles.  All of my loved ones know where I stand, and even the powers of Hell will not change my mind.  Yet, each of them also know that I love them, truly love them, while hating their sin.  If I could I would convert them, but that is God's job, all I can do is pray and hope that everyone, including myself, will take that narrow path, and make it through those pearly gates, for I am sinner, but God still loves me!

Christmas is Coming in 7QT

It is three months until Christmas.  I always bawk at the media hype about how many shopping days remain until the feast day of consumerism and gluttony arrives.  However, I do like to prepare, and part of my preparing is shopping early so that when the beginning of Advent rolls around I can focus on celebrating the season and preparing for the Christmas feast, instead of standing in line at the mall. Below is a list of some Christmas gift ideas that I would like to share.

Linking up with Kelly who has been having a whole lot of fun at the World Meeting of Families.

This post contains affiliate links.  If you click on the links and purchase something, I will receive a small rewards for my efforts.  This helps support our homeschool.  Thanks.

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Do you remember the company that was raising funds to bring these beautiful dolls to fruition?  Well they are in production and will be ready for Christmas giving.  This beautiful St Therese doll is the perfect gift for the little girl in your life.  Be sure to look at the exquisite Sunday best dress, lovely accessories, and enchanting book.  Until October 3rd, use coupon code THERESE to save an 25% off of your order.  So many reasons to bring a Doll from Heaven home this holiday.

 

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How about giving the gift of exploring nature?  Harrington Harmonies has their notebooking bundle (affiliate link) on sale for only $17.95.  Pair it with some nice colored pencils (affiliate link) , and beautiful binder (affiliate link )for a truly unique gift.

 

 

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Have a homeschooling mom or inquisitive student in your life?  A Currclick gift card (affiliate link) may be the best gift.  Currclick offers live, hybrid, and self-paced classes (affiliate link).  Also, check out the wonderful lapbooks(affiliate link)  and e-books (affiliate link).  Need a little help getting organized?  There's a whole collection of planners (affiliate link).  Best of all it is all available instantly at very low prices

 

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Give the gift of faith and fun with my Holy Sisters dolls.  Order three dolls and get one free, simply message me which doll you would like free after ordering.  Until October 25th, use coupon code CHRISTMASISCOMING for an additional 10% off your entire order.  While at Aurelius Cabrini, check out my min hat pins, baby bonnets, and boutonnieres, something for everyone on your list. 

 

 

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Welcome to my newest venture--Young Living Essential Oils.  I am super excited to begin this business and help you care for your family naturally.  Give the gift of health and wellness this winter with Young Living products.  For only $41.25, you can give your loved ones a Basic Membership Kit plus a full sized bottle of some of the best selling oils including lemongrass, lemon, and cedar wood.  Plus your loved one receives wholesale prices and the opportunity to earn free products for an entire year.  Want to know more?  Visit my page, once we reach 100 likes, I am giving away a $10 gift certificate.

 

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Visit Elizabeth's Novel Designs for the sweetest doll clothes based on classic literature.  Elizabeth is a homeschooled young lady with a bright smile and a whole lot of talent.  If you don't see what you want, feel free to message her and request a custom order. Maybe you could pick up an extra outfit for your St Therese doll from above!

 

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In honor of Buddy, I am including a food option.  Thrive Market (affiliate link) is a great online store for everything natural and healthy.  They have amazing prices!  Stock up on a favorite snack or fill the stockings with nutritious food.  So much to chose from, you can get your shopping done in no time!

 







Works of Mercy Bouquet: Ransom the Captive

Ransoming the captive has changed in connotation over the centuries.  I still wonder what our obligation is as Catholics.  I don't feel it right to negotiate with terrorists, however, we are called to set captives free.  Not captives justly jailed because of laws broken, but those held prisoner by governments and individuals holding captives for political power, persecution, and exacting terror.

The Church was built by the blood of martyrs and the persecuted.  Today, the assault on Christianity is rampant.  The number of martyrs is growing exponentially and there are many who say this is the greatest age of Christian martyrs.  The persecution of Christians around the world is an overwhelming heartbreak and dire situation.  I would love to sit down with ISIS and convince them to ransom the captives of their reign of terror, however that is not realistic.  Because of all this, I have postponed writing this post, what could I do?  What can I tell my readers to do?  Then I saw an article asking for prayer for Pastor Saeed Abedini, and knew God wanted me to write this very imperfect post.

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Seek out information on those held captive.  Captive doesn't always mean locked behind bars.  There are those who are held captive by fear by terrorists, or neglect by apathetic care givers.  Read updates on sites like The Voice of the Martyrs and International Christian Concern.  Become active in pro-life activities and organizations to bring a voice to those imprisoned without voices--the elderly, unborn, and disabled.  Information is power, and knowing the truth gives wings to those who cannot speak for themselves, educate yourself and share what you have learned.  This is how strength in numbers grows, and spotlights are shined in the darkest corners.

 

 

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Sign petitions to set captives free and raise awareness.  If you need a place to start, go to Change.org human rights page and see what you can do to set a captive free.

 

 

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Visit Free Pastor Saeed and read the story of an American citizen, jailed in Iran while building orphanages for three years for his Christian faith.  He is an American, and is still held captive, and he is not the only one!  Learn his story and share it, because if this poor man can be jailed for years, any of us can.  Do not let his story be forgotten, his wife and children need him home.

 

 

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Support organizations on the ground ministering to people held captive by poverty, fear, and persecution.  Samaritan's Purse, Mary's Meals, and Operation Christmas Child take your gifts and bring them right to those most in need.  When choosing a charity, choose carefully.  Find one that puts its effort into serving, not all charities are created equal.

 

 

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Lastly, PRAY.  Pray for the conversion of our enemies and the release of all captives.  This Saturday, September 26, 2015 marks three years of imprisonment for Pastor Saeed.  His wife and young daughters have asked for a day for prayer for his release.  Please pray at noon that this American husband, father, and Christian maybe set free, along with the countless prisoners of conscience around the world.  Pray for the persecuted that they may be ransomed and protected.

 

It is not that Pastor Saeed is more important than any other prisoner, it is that his story is the story of far too many prisoners, many that we will never know their names.  Please rally and pray on his behalf and for all the Pastor Saeeds that feel forgotten.  Thank you.

 

Linking up with Jenna.





Praying Us Home

I know that I have been MIA for a couple of weeks now. Please don't take it personally, school began, we are days away from closing on a new house, and efforts to clean out my parents' home have reached feverish level because we are rapidly running out of time.  Needless to say, free time has been an enigma of late.  However, I wanted to jump on to share a little something I wrote and say hi.  I hope to get up a couple of more posts this week--pray for me, there is too much to be done and not enough time to do it, but all things are possible with GOD!

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The closing date on our new home is fast approaching and I can't stop thinking of my grandmother. The last time I visited her at home, she asked, "Dolly, did you find a house yet?"

I explained that we hadn't because all the ones in our price range weren't what we needed or needed way too much work. She patted my hand and kissed me, "I'm going to pray that you find a good house that is just what you need."

 A couple of months later, we had had a house hunting day set up but I wasn't in the mood to go.... My heart was too heavy from packing up my grandmother's treasures and visiting her home for the last time. I was ready to give up, we weren't finding what we wanted and had started looking out of state. But, we went for the appointment anyway. A house had popped up on our realtor's list at the last moment, once we had visited the ones we had originally planned, we headed there for a quick look to end the day. We arrived at that house and as soon as I walked in, I knew it was home.

We checked out the bathroom and it was bitter-sweet. It was so similar to my grandmother's and I had to fight back the tears as I remembered how my heart broke when I walked through hers the day before for the last time, it had always been my favorite room.

As we looked around the kitchen, something caught my eye. The curtains in the living room--the only curtains still up in the house--jogged my memory. As I had been cleaning out my grandmother's cedar chest, I kept coming back to this one pair of curtains. I didn't know why and couldn't figure out why they were speaking to me. They definitely weren't her prettiest curtains. After picking them up for the fifth time, I decided to take them and maybe I would figure out their significance later---and there they were, the same curtains!

My grandmother had prayed us into the perfect house for us. There were so many little things that reminded me of her. When Mama told you she would pray, it was a promise not a platitude. She embodied St Paul's call to pray without ceasing. She didn't pray when it was convenient and go on with her life--she prayed in spite of her life. I'm so thankful that my grandmother was willing to go the extra five miles past what would have been considered more than enough, that her children and grandchildren were her all, that she was there when she had better things to do or it wasn't easy for her, that she lived every moment of her life for everyone else. I'm thankful that she taught me that vacations, pedicures, new clothes, nice furniture, and splurges for me don't make a life worth it. It's giving all that you have and more to your family--that is the gift that lasts generations.

Bishop Barron always describes true love as the willing of the good of the other for the others' sake.  In other words, all is motivated by the benefit and cost to the other, the loved one, not measured by the benefit and cost to self.  By that definition, my grandmother was the truest human definition of true love I have ever known.

I miss my grandmother terribly, every day. This house is her last birthday gift to me. But, I know that she is still looking out for me, her Dolly and always will. If I ever amount to half the woman she was, I will have lived an extraordinary life.

{p, h, f, r} The September 11th Edition

Linking up with Auntie Leila.

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Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?

 Alan Jackson pretty much captured my 9/11 experience. I was a teacher in a room of innocent children.  Although I worked in a rural school, it was only 55 miles from New York City and over 60% of our families had at least one parent who worked in the city. I drove to school and taught my lessons just like any other day.  When it came time for lunch, I considered eating it cold at my desk in order to catch up on work, but part of me felt restless and I decided to at least walk to the teacher's room to heat up my food, then come back and work.

I rounded the first corner and saw a father dressed in scrubs quickly leading his daughter out.  She looked up at him and kept asking, "But why do I have to leave?"  He replied that he had to go to work.  I really wondered what that father was thinking, I mean how do you pick up your child from school every time you need to work--they obviously needed a better child care plan.

As I waited for my turn in the microwave, I sat down to chat with some of the other teachers. Just then, our librarian came in.  She asked if we had heard about what had happened in the city.  None of us had. She said that a plane had hit the North Tower just about when school was starting.  I had to stiffle a snicker--all i could picture was a small two passenger plane on a joy ride and wondered how in the world one could miss the Twin Towers and fly into them. She continued, "Then a second plane hit, now it is gone, the whole thing is gone."

I dropped my fork and ran to the library.  There one of the TV's was broadcasting emergency breaking news.  I stood there in disbelief--how? How did this happen?  My jaw dropped open, I clenched my chest and cried out, "Oh, dear God, what has happened?"  I stood there a moment more, not knowing what to do.  I had only ten minutes left at this point, suddenly a horrifying thought flashed through my mind.  My Godmother's daughter was getting married in Washington, DC that weekend.  Tuesday was the day that the family was flying in from Colorado and New Jersey to get everything set.  The newscaster announced that there were many casualties at the Pentagon, there were fires and suspected bombs on the Mall, and at least fifteen planes were missing.

I ran to the office and waited in line to make a phone call.  The phone lines were jammed and cell phones were out.  I managed to get through to my Godmother's home on the third try.  As the answering machine beeped, my entire body began to convulse.  I tried to speak, but pure fear like I had never known washed over me.  All I could get out was, "Please call me!"  The world seemed to be ending and I had five more classes to teach.  I wiped off my cheeks, took several deep breaths, and walked back to my classroom.  I never had eaten lunch, and I was under strict orders to say nothing.  My heart was shattering and I felt completely incapable of properly taking care of my students--how could I protect them?

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Throughout that long afternoon, student after student got called down to the office for pick up.  The children knew something was going on, but I couldn't tell them anything.  When my student whose two parents are pilots got called to the office, my heart sunk to my ankles.  I didn't know if any of these children were being called down to hear devastating news.  Our school staff was busy calling every parent to find out if they were safe.  No children would be released until their family had been found--I just didn't know if the ones being called down were the ones whose parents hadn't survived.  For hours, I had no idea what was happening in the world and I began to wonder if my little country school was all that remained of life as we knew it.

Amazingly, every parent was accounted for.  Although there were losses in the larger community and extended families, everyone of our students went home to their mom and dad.  After a day in the dark, I couldn't stop watching the news.  I was still trying to comprehend what had happened.  My brother, in college in Hoboken, NJ, had seen the smoke from the collapsing towers.  His best friend had watched from his Manhattan apartment the second plane hit the south tower as he called his father to let him know he was all right.  Phones were out, internet down, the only programming on TV was the news which was still confusing and sketchy.  I laid in bed, but did not sleep.  My heart ached, but tears could not come.

The next morning, I got up in a fog and got ready.  Life had changed, but we still did not know how much.  As I drove to work, Lee Greensburg's Proud to be An American came over the radio. The floodgates broke and I cried a thousand buckets.  I didn't know how I would get through the day, what I would say, how my students would be.  Suddenly, teaching French and Spanish vocabulary and grammar didn't seem to matter a whole lot.  Everyone was driving slowly, cautiously; not a single horn was heard.  My world was in mourning.

I dried off my tears and plunged ahead.  My students were shell shocked, lesson plans went out the window and we just talked.  They asked so many questions for which I had no answer to give.  By the end of the week I was depleted, but their homeroom teachers were so happy.  School had just started the week before, the homeroom teachers were still new to the students; but I had been there World Language teacher for two years already.  They spilled their entire hearts and souls to me.  The other teachers were relieved that they were talking, because none of the students wanted to talk in the other classes.

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My husband and I had been planning our wedding and honeymoon.  We decided to take a dream trip, sail over on Cunard Line QEII and then spend a week touring Ireland and England before flying home.  The brochure for this extravaganza arrived September 12th--I looked at it and told my fiancé, "I just can't!"  We threw it into the trash and went back to the drawing board.  When it came down to it, the only place I felt safe was my own car.  We decided to drive to Nova Scotia and although it wasn't our dream vacation, it was wonderful and we are still happy we did it.

My wedding tiara came in that same week.  On Saturday, I drove to the post office, postcard in hand to claim it.  As I stood on a line of at least twelve people, I was stuck by the fact that it was dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop, the shock had not worn off--if anything it had deepened as the magnitude of the attack set in.  My Godmother made it safely to Washington, it had taken until Thursday to get through to her because even land lines crashed.  The wedding was on, with less than half the guest able to make it.

My then fiance and I joked that we should just get married right then and there, all the dinners were paid for and details set.  After all, I had my tiara, what else could I need? A double wedding what could be better??  It was the levity we needed.

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That day is as real today as it was in the moments I lived it. I know that it affected our entire nation, but in my area it hit us personally.  Everyone knew at least two people who had narrowly escaped, and another who never came home.  Every conversation for years, came back to that day.  We needed to talk about it.  It still comes up, but once we hit ten years past, it stopped coming up as often.

As a political science major with a concentration in International Studies, I had heard the rumblings.  I saw the signs.  I knew something was coming, never could I had imagined this.  I spent my junior year abroad and my year right after graduation working three blocks from the White House.  My friends who were also involved in political science, saw it too.  We talked about the warning signals and wondered what it meant.  I wish we had known enough to have been able to stop it.

The world is rumbling again, even louder than fourteen years ago.  Yet, so many are ignoring it.  We have forgotten how it felt to know terror and fear.  We have forgotten what it is like to have our country attacked and not know what will happen next.  We have been blessed with an eerie peace that isn't really peace, but isn't really war.  We have become complacent and once again think it could never happen here.  When I lay awake at night, prayerfully wrestling with the happenings of our current day, I remember those sleepless nights when I just wanted to close my eyes and "pretend it didn't happen"  but I laid awake unable to make my mind forget.  I beg God that my children will never know terror, that He will preserve us from the wolf at the door.  There are many events that I still remember, but 9/11 is one I will never forget!









Urgent Call to Prayer!! Please Pray Along with Me

I have hosted a Novena of Novenas before.  I think it is time we do so again.  The conditions for Christians in the Middle East are beyond horrendous! When the photos were released of the Holocaust, the world vowed, never again!  Yet, photos are flooding out of the largest and most vicious genocide ever, and our world is waiting and watching in silence. 

Syrian Christians are on the cusp of mass slaughter, already displaced and starving, they now face certain death at the hands of ISIS. Am I being over dramatic?  I think not. I think that there are no real words to explain to horror.  We have been inundated by such horror of late, we are paralyzed, overwhelmed by the onslaught of endless evil and darkness.

I am begging you all to pray a Novena of Novenas for the Christians under attack by ISIS and for a sincere conversion of not only our enemies, but our nation at well.  Pray for God to break our hearts and bend our knees.  We have no hope left, but our LORD.

Here is how to join in:

Pray the Memorare nine times a day for nine days.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, 

but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

 

Pray the St Michael Prayer each day and after every Mass

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Pray the Holy Spirit Prayer each morning and night

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Lastly, share this prayer request as far and wide as you can. We must awaken the giant and begin to fight the evil in our midst.  Our world is becoming very dark, let us shine our lights in the darkness!