Seven Months Old

Seven Months Old

Kiara 

 Brigid and Kiara

Brigid 

"Brigid, I want to fix your hair." 

"Leave my hair alone, Kiara."

Friendly Competition

 "I want the green Lego." "No, I want the green Lego."

"You play with the monkey."  "I don't want the monkey I want the Lego."

 Brigid won.

 Kiara and Brigid

"I let her have it, Mom."

Stephen's 11th Birthday

Today is Stephen's 11th birthday.  He had a rough day because he had to do school. Imagine the pain and agony!  We did make up for it after supper though.

 He was super excited about the gift that Uncle Peter and Aunt Mauri gave him.  Thanks.

Here is the gift in action.

 A National Parks quarter holder.  In one word - THRILLED!

 Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Bestgen, Loman and all the rest for the book.

Thanks to Aunt Courtney for the card and Grandpa and Grandma Gebes for the card and money.  You know what Stephen likes.

 The best gift of the day....

What a haul!  That nice kid shared his A&W cans with all his siblings for supper.

 He had a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake for his birthday.

 By the time we ate it the frosting started to melt.  It was a bit droopy.

Happy Birthday George!  We love you!!

After birthday cake we took the airplane out for a test run.

That was Stephen's first attempt at flying the plane.

The screams at the end were from me.  The laughing after that was because the kids were having way too much fun watching Mom fall to the ground and scream.

Easter Egg Hunt

Six kids...check.

Six dozen Easter Eggs hiding...check.

 On your mark, get set, Gianna stop picking up eggs!  You can only hold two at a time. GOOOO!!!!!

All six dozen eggs...found.

Easter Best

Easter Basket Morning

 Score!!  Easter basket in the cleaning closet.

 "Mommy, it's Brigid's basket."  "No, it is your basket." "MINE?!!!  YAH!!!!"

Rex finally found his basket by the stairs.

Cormac had to be creative to reach his basket.

Kiara loved her new pink bunny.

Brigid also liked her bunny.

Stephen couldn't find his basket.  He pretty much gave up.

Oh man, two times the cuteness!!

Stephen's brothers felt sorry for him.  They ended up helping him look for his basket.

He found it in a pot in the lazy susan.

Blase, Blase....share your chocolate please!

Never mind, I'll just get my own chocolate.

Eggs of Many Colors

It's that time of year again.  The time of year when my blood pressure rises and the kids have a blast.  Dying eggs on Holy Saturday is one of my favorite memories from my childhood.  Some of my more treasured Holy Saturdays were the ones spent at Papa and Grandma Bestgen's house dying eggs with my cousin Kristi.  I do believe that Grandma and Aunt Mary had to be some of the most patient people because I never recall them every getting frustrated with us.  I, on the other hand, am constantly worried about spilled dye and cracked eggs.  This is called funny stress, right?

 Cute kids making some cute eggs!

 No-spill egg coloring bowls especially for Gianna.

 Stressful moment for Mom when Brech decides to take out his egg.  I decided it would be better if I just took a picture instead of reacting like I normally would.

Tie dye egg time!  We actually had a great time experimenting with colors. 

 This was Brech's prized egg that was quickly dipped in just about every color.

 Blase was amazed at the no-spill egg bowls.  "What they won't think of next?!"

 The first "eyeball" egg of the night.

 The second "eyeball" egg of the night.

 Blase and I thought that the egg I decorated looked awesome with the 3-D glasses on.

 Blase's tri-colored egg.

The traditional "dump all the dye in one bowl" egg.  We had enough dye this year that I had to use one of my pots.  Umm, we now have a pink dyed pot for making soup in.  Here's hoping a good soak will take the color off.

Good Friday

Yesterday I tried something new with the kids.  Normally I try to keep the kids quiet from Noon until 3 PM to honor the time Jesus hung on the cross.  Have you ever tried to keep kids quiet for three hours?  It is near impossible to keep your sanity and their silence.  This year I decided to theme our prayers around the Passion of Jesus.  I actually formed this idea about five minutes after Noon.

 "O Jesus, I thank Thee for all Thou hast done and suffered for me.  Oh, by Thy blood, give me grace to conquer my passions, and never to betray Thee by any sin. Amen."

The kids and I talked a little about why Good Friday is called "Good" even though it was very sad.  We talked about how there was no Mass because the Church wants us to focus on the bloody sacrifice, not the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass.  We discussed how we should not only think of the pain and suffering that Jesus experienced, but also on the virtues practiced by Jesus that we can imitate in our own sufferings.

 Next we meditated on the Scourging at the Pillar.  

We started by reading the True Letter of Our Savior Jesus Christ.  

A TRUE LETTER OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST 
Consecrating the Drops of Blood which Our Lord lost on His way to Calvary. 

Copy of a letter of the Oration found in the Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, preserved in a silver box by His Holiness and by the Emperors and Empresses of the Christian Faith.

St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with St. Matilda and St. Bridget, wishing to know something of the Passion of Jesus Christ, offered fervent and special prayers, upon which there appeared to them Our Lord Jesus Christ Who spoke to them in the following manner:  

I descended from Heaven to the Earth in order to convert you. In olden times people were religious and their harvests were abundant; at present, on the contrary, they are scanty.

If you want to reap an abundant harvest you must not work on Sunday, for on Sunday you must go to Church, and pray to God to forgive your sins. He gave you six days in which to work and one for rest and devotion and to tender your help to the poor and assist the Church.

Those people who brawl against My religion and cast slurs on this Sacred Letter, shall be forsaken by Me.

On the contrary, those people who shall carry a copy of this letter with them shall be free of death by drowning and from sudden death. They shall be free from all contagious diseases and lightning; they shall not die without Confession, and shall be free from their enemies and from the hand of wrongful authority, and from all their slanderers and false witnesses.

Women in peril at child-birth will, by keeping this Oration about them. immediately overcome the difficulty. In the houses where this Oration is kept,no evil thing will ever happen: and forty days before the death of a person who has this Oration about him or her, the Blessed Virgin will appear to him or her. So said St. Gregorius.

TO ALL THOSE FAITHFUL WHO SHALL RECITE FOR 3 YEARS, EACH DAY, 2 OUR FATHERS, HAIL MARYS, AND GLORY BES, IN HONOR OF THE DROPS OF BLOOD I LOST, I WILL CONCEDE THE FOLLOWING 5 GRACES:

1. The plenary indulgence and remittance of your sins. 

2. You will be free from the pains of Purgatory. 

3. If you should die before completing the said 3 years, for you it will be the same as if you had completed them. 

4. It will be upon your death the same as if you had shed all your blood for the Holy Faith. 

5. I will descend from Heaven to take your soul and that of your relatives, until the fourth generation.  

Be it known that the number of armed soldiers were 150; those who trailed me while I was bound were 23. The executioners of justice were 83; the blows received on my head were 150; those on my stomach, 108; kicks on my shoulders, 80. I was led, bound with cords by the hair, 24 times; spits in the face were 180; I was beaten on the body 6666 times; beaten on the head 110 times; I was roughly pushed, and at 12 o' clock I was lifted up by the hair; pricked with thorns and pulled by the beard 23 times; received 20 wounds on the head; thorns of marine junks, 72; pricks of thorns in the head, 110; mortal thorns in the forehead, 3. I was afterwards flogged and dressed as a mocked king; wounds in the body, 1000. The soldiers who led Me to the Calvary were 608; those who watched Me were 3, and those who mocked Me were 1008; the drops of blood which I lost were 28,430.

BENEDETTA DA SS., POPE LEO XIII, IN ROMA 5 APRILE 1890

We talked about the pain Jesus must have felt with all those wounds.  Cormac was especially drawn to the amount of soldiers who were present.  He asked about that a few times.  Rex commented on all the blood that Jesus had lost.  We talked about how Jesus put His ALL into opening the gates of heaven for us.  We should try to put our ALL into every job we do if we want to follow Jesus's way.

No Good Friday is complete without the annual trying on of the crown of thorns. 

 Cormac was quite willing to try it on and even wanted me to apply a bit of pressure.

 Rex, on the other hand, was not as thrilled to try it on.  I think he was afraid I would apply pressure, but I didn't.  They do this every year so they know what it feels like.  They also hold their arms in the air like Jesus did when He was nailed to the cross.  They try to see how long they can do it.  I think the longest has been only between 5-10 minutes.  The older they get the longer they can keep their arms up.

I sang for them the song "O Sacred Head Surrounded", then we read the rest of the prayer and talked about what each hard word meant.  Some of it was above their heads but I tried to explain it to them as best as I could.  I always think it is a good practice to expose them to things written in a "not-so-normal" way.  

O Sacred Head 
O Sacred Head surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding Head, so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn!
Death's pallid hue comes o'er Thee,
The glow of life decays,
Yet angel hosts adore Thee
And tremble as they gaze.

I see Thy strength and vigor
All fading in the strife,
And death, with cruel vigor,
Bereaving Thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn Thy face on me!

In this Thy bitter Passion,
Good Shepherd, think. of me,
With Thy most sweet compassion,
Unworthy though I be;
Beneath Thy Cross abiding,
'Forever would I rest,
In Thy dear love confiding,
And wilth Thy presence blest. 
~~ by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

We also prayed the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds.

(said on a regular rosary)

On the large beads:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of our souls.

On the smaller beads:

My Jesus, pardon and mercy, through the merits of Thy Holy Wounds.

 To remember the carrying of the cross we focused on the Sorrowful Mother.  I firmly believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary should never be forgotten when we talk about the Passion of Christ.  She suffered so much for our sake.  As a mother I can only imagine the pain she must have felt when she watched her only Son suffer.  He was innocent and yet treated as the worst criminal.  I have tried to be extra devoted to the Sorrowful Mother because her pain reaches deep into my heart.

We prayed the Seven Prayers in Honor of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

(Approved by Pope Pius VII in 1815)

V. O God, come to my assistance.

R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,

R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and every shall be, world without end. Amen.

First Sorrow
The Prophecy of Simeon

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, the affliction of thy tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon.  Dear Mother, by they heart so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of the holy fear of God.  Hail Mary full of grace.....

Second Sorrow

The Flight into Egypt

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of thy most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and thy sojourn there.  Dear Mother, by thy heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of piety.  Hail Mary full of grace.....

Third Sorrow

The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried thy troubled heart at the loss of thy dear Jesus.  Dear Mother, by thy heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge.  Hail Mary full of grace.....

Fourth Sorrow

Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the consternation of thy heart at meeting Jesus as He carried His Cross.  Dear Mother, by thy heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of fortitude.  Hail Mary full of grace....

Fifth Sorrow

Jesus Dies on the Cross

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, the martyrdom which thy generous heart endured in standing hear Jesus in His agony.  Dear Mother, by thy afflicted heart, obtain for me the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel.  Hail Mary full of grace....

Sixth Sorrow

Mary Receives the Dead Body of Jesus in Her Arms

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the wounding of thy compassionate heart, when the side of Jesus was struck by a lance and His Heart was pierced before His body was removed from the Cross.  Dear Mother, by thy heart thus transfixed, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding.  Hail Mary full of grace....

Seventh Sorrow

Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched thy most loving heart at the burial of Jesus.  Dear Mother, by thy heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom.  Hail Mary full of grace....

V. Pray for us, O Virgin most sorrowful,

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Let intercession be made for us, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, before the throne of Thy mercy, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy bitter Passion.  Through Thee, O Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

We also said the Litany of the Sorrowful Mother.

Litany of the Sorrowful Mother

For private use only.

Lord, have mercy on us. 

Christ, have mercy on us. 

Lord, have mercy on us. 

Christ, hear us. 

Christ, graciously hear us. 

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. 

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. 

God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. 

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, conceived without sin, Pray for us. 

Holy Mother of God, Pray for us. 

Mother of Christ, etc. 

Mother of Our Saviour Crucified, 

Mother most Sorrowful, 

Mother most tearful, 

Mother most afflicted, 

Mother most lonely, 

Mother most desolate, 

Mother pierced by the sword of sorrow, 

Queen of Martyrs, 

Comfort of the sorrowful, 

Help of the needy, 

Protectress of the forsaken, 

Support of widows and orphans, 

Health of the sick, 

Hope of the troubled, 

Haven of the ship-wrecked, 

Refuge of sinners, 

Hope of the despairing, 

Mother of mercy, 

Through thy poverty in the stable of Bethlehem, 

Through thy sorrow at the prophecy of Simeon, 

Through thy sad flight into Egypt, 

Through thy anxiety when seeking thy lost Child, 

Through thy grief when seeing thy Divine Son persecuted, 

Through thy fear and anxiety when Jesus was apprehended, 

Through thy pain caused by the treason of Judas and the denial of Peter, 

Through thy sad meeting with Jesus on the way of the Cross, 

Through the tortures of thy loving Heart at the Crucifixion of Jesus, 

Through thy agony at the death of Jesus, 

Through the sword of sorrow that pierced thy heart when the side of Jesus was transfixed by the lance, 

Through thy lamentations over the dead Body of thy Divine Son lying on thy bosom, 

Through thy deep mourning at His tomb, 

Through thy desolation after the burial of Jesus, 

Through the tears thou didst shed for thy beloved Son, 

Through thy wonderful resignation to the will of God in all thy sufferings, 

O Queen of peace, 

In all our tribulations, 

In our illnesses and pains, 

In our sorrows and afflictions, 

In our need and destitution, 

In our fears and dangers, 

In the hour of our death, 

On the Day of Judgment, 

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. 

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. 

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Lord. 

V. Pray for us, O Sorrowful Virgin, 

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let Us Pray .

We beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, let Thy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the hour of Thy passion, implore Thy mercy for us, both now and at the hour of our death, Who livest and reignest, world without end. R. Amen. 

We moved on to the death of Jesus on the Cross.

As a family we try to remember to pray for the poor souls in purgatory every day.  We prayed the St. Gertrude the Great prayer for the poor souls and sinners three times.

St. Gertrude the Great is invoked for souls in purgatory and for living sinners. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release 1000 souls from purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well.

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

Darren then read us the Passion of Christ according to Matthew.  Then we meditated on the Seven Last Words of Jesus as He hung on the Cross.

Meditations and Prayers on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

V. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.

First Word: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Dear Jesus, Who for my love, suffered upon the Cross in order to pay with Your sufferings the debt of my sins and opened Your Divine Lips to obtain for me their remission from the eternal justice of God, have pity on me and on all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I come to that last hour, by the merits of Your most Precious Blood, which was shed for my salvation, give me such a lively sorrow for my sins that my soul will then expire in the bosom of Your Divine Mercy. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Second Word: "This day you shall be with Me in paradise."

Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and with such readiness and bounty responds to the Good Thief when he acknowledges You to be the Son of God, and assures him of paradise, have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I shall come to the end of my life, by the merits of Your most Precious Blood, inspire in my soul a faith so firm and constant that it shall not waver at any suggestions of the evil one, so I may obtain the reward of holy paradise. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Third Word: "Behold your mother; behold your son."

Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross and Who, forgetting Your own sufferings, gifted me with Your Holy Mother as a pledge of Your love through her, I pray that I will be enabled to call upon You with confidence in my greatest need. Have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. Through the interior martyrdom of Your dear Mother, inspire in my heart a firm trust in the infinite merits of Your most Precious Blood, so that I may be able to escape the eternal damnation, which I have merited by my sins. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Fourth Word: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross and Who, adding suffering to suffering, in addition to Your bodily pains, endured with infinite patience the most painful affliction of spirit at being abandoned by Your Eternal Father, have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I come to the hour of my own death, by the merits of Your Precious Blood, grant me the grace of suffering with true patience all the pains and agony of my death struggle, so that by uniting my sufferings to Yours, I may be able at last to share Your glory in paradise. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Fifth Word: "I thirst."

Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and Who, not yet satisfied with so many reproaches and sufferings, suffered even more so that all people might be saved. The whole torrent of Your Passion is not enough to slake the thirst of Your Loving Heart. Have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony, and upon me, so when I arrive at my final hour I will have lighted within me a fire of love so great that my heart will be filled with the desire of being united with You for all of eternity. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Sixth Word: "It is finished."

Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and from that pulpit of truth proclaimed that You had finished the work of our redemption, whereby humankind, from being children of wrath and perdition, have been made children of God and heirs of heaven, have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I arrive at my final hour, by the merits of Your most Precious Blood, detach me completely from the world and from myself, granting me the grace to offer You from my heart the sacrifice of my life in expiation of my sins. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Seventh Word: "Father, into Your Hands I commend My Spirit."

Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and in order to complete the great sacrifice embraced the Will of Your Eternal Father, resigning Your Spirit into His Hands and then bowing Your Head and dying. Have pity on all the faithful who are in their last agony and upon me. When I have come to my final moment, by the merits of Your Precious Blood, grant me a perfect conformity to Your Divine Will, so that I may be ready to live or die as it pleases You. I desire nothing else except the perfect fulfillment in me of Your Divine Will. Amen.

We then watched the Way of the Cross for Children by Pro Multis Media

We had about five minutes left until 3:00 PM after the Stations were completed.  We took this time for silence and personal prayer.  It was a beautiful three hours.  I can't say the kids thought the same, but at least we attempted to grow in holiness for those three hours.

I changed the mantle word to LOVE to remind us why Jesus suffered and died for us.  It hopefully reminds the children what they must practice towards each other and those outside of our family.  

God bless you and your family!