Retreat for praying for husbands

One of my new homeschooling friends is hosting an on-line retreat to pray for our husbands on her blog. Check it out here:

http://mum2best7.blogspot.com/2008/09/retreat-starts-tomorrow.html

Inspirational Quotes

These inspirational quotes were found in the October 7th issue of Women's Day Magazine.

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow them - Louisa May Alcott

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. - Anne Frank

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Celebrating Guardian Angels

Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
to whom God's love commits me here,
ever this day,
be at my side
to light and guard,
to rule and guide.

Like many parents, I pray this simple prayer with my children each morning as we begin our day. It's comforting to know that we have this supernatural beings around to help us and protect us as we go through life. Plus, I know that both my children and I need all the extra help we can get! Sometimes I think that my boys' guardian angels must be exhausted by the time that my children go to bed at night.

October 2nd is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. It has been formally celebrated by the Church since the 17th century, but belief in guardian angels predates Christianity. According to www.newadvent.org, pagans such as Plutarch and Neo-Platonists such as Plotinius acknowledged the existence of guardian angels. The Assyrians and Babylonians also believed in guardian angels. In the Old Testament, angels make guest appearances. Angels visit Abraham and deliver Lot from danger. In the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that “my angel shall go before you” (Exodus 32:34) and Psalm 90:11 states that “For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.”

The New Testament offers much more evidence for belief in individual guardian angels. In Matthew 18:10, Christ refers to children's guardian angels: “See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church also confirms that “From infancy to death human life is surrounded by [angels'] watchful care and intercession. 'Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.'” (CCC 336) Catholic.org states that “the role of the guardian angels is both to guide us to good thoughts, works and words, and to preserve us from evil.”

Belief in guardian angels, therefore, has much to recommend it. I truly believe that there are angels that walk beside each one of us, however it is strange to try to picture my particular angel or those of my children. I wonder what their names are and what they look like. Who else have they watched over? I imagine that we actually get to meet our guardian angels once they deliver us safely to the other side of life. In the meantime, I ask for my angel's help each day and trust that he or she is looking out for me. I sometimes even ask my angel to wake me up at a certain time if I want to get up early. My angel has never failed.

The Feast of the Guardian Angels is a good time to remember our guardian angels, especially if one hasn't given them much thought in a while. It is an opportunity to say 'thank you” to them for their faithful service, as well as to say “thank you” to God for providing them in the first place. God in His wisdom knew we could use the extra assistance!

A Mother's Prayer to the Guardian Angels of her Children

The Feast of the Guardian Angels is October 2nd.

I humbly salute you, O you faithful,
heavenly Friends of my children!
I give you heartfelt thanks
for all the love and goodness you show them.
At some future day I shall,
with thanks more worthy than I can now give,
repay your care for them,
and before the whole heavenly court
acknowledge their indebtedness to your guidance and
protection.
Continue to watch over them.
Provide for all their needs of body and soul.
Pray, likewise, for me,
for my husband,
and my whole family,
that we may all one day rejoice in your blessed company.

Amen.

Catechist Training

As part of my efforts to be a better CCD teacher, I am attending a series of workshops being held at my parish. The first one was tonight. I did learn quite a bit. Here were a few of the ideas presented by Sr. Paula Robillard, SSJ, Director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Springfield, MA:

A parish is a religious education program - need to always be welcoming. Catechesis is everything a parish does.

We have a responsibility as Church to share our faith.

The fundamental tasks of catechesis are:
- Promoting knowledge of the faith
- Liturgical education (understanding mass and sacraments)
- Moral formation (10 Commandments and Beatitudes)
- Teaching to Pray (emphasis on talking to God)
- Education for Community Life
- Missionary initiation (get children involved in service projects with their families)

Articles Wanted!

I am looking for more articles for my Spiritual Woman website. If you have written a book review or article that you would be willing to share and you feel would be appropriate to the site, please send it to me at pfmacarthur(at)comcast.net. I will, of course, provide a link to your website or blog.

Thank you!

"The Faith of a Child"

The Faith of a Child is an interesting article by Ann Garrido in "America" Magazine on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a method of teaching religion to children that uses Montessori-type materials and works on the assumption that "the child is someone who already has a deep relationship with God." In many ways, it is child-based learning, focusing on where the child is in his or her spiritual journey and what he or she wants to know. It makes use of hands-on materials so that the child can make the lesson his own.

As someone who is involved with religious education at my parish as well as in teaching my own children, I can definitely see the value in this approach. Providing the information a child is ready for and is asking about is so important. Children come up with all sorts of questions about God and heaven and it is of vital importance that we provide the information that they need. By the same token, preaching to a child about a topic he has no interest in is often a losing battle. I think that there is a place for both traditional instruction in the faith and this more child-centered approach. For more information on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, please visit www.cgsusa.org . I would definitely be interested in reading some of the materials listed in their publications catalog.