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Jesus Asks for Some Small Effort
Persuading Our Families to Love God
Turning Mother's Work into Holy Work
A Dictatorship of Relativism - Affecting Mothers?
Ask Whatever You Will, and It Shall be Done...
Children Belong to Themselves...and to God
Children Are Terribly Intuitive
Trained in the Way They Should Go...
Holiness Thru the Very Performance of Our Tasks......
Suffering and Sanctity
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Welcome to "Thoughts for Moms"
Dear Friends,
"Thoughts for Mom" is a special place to receive spiritual
sustenance related to the vocation of motherhood. Here I will post
various reflections — from popes, saints, and Catholic writers,
to my thoughts and yours — to help us better live our mission
as Moms, and to help us give our vocation the depth of meaning God
intended it to have.
Once
more, you and I both have something to share, so please join me
in adding meditations and personal insights in the comments section
under each post, or contacting me at holly@mothersruleoflife.com
with your own reflection to add.
God Bless,
Holly Pierlot
Jesus Needs Us Right Where We Are...
"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged Jesus to let him go with Him. But Jesus refused and said to him, "Go home to your friends , and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you..." and the man went away, and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed..." (Mark 5: 18-20)
posted by Holly at 10:59 AM
1 comments
We Moms Need Education Too!
"...mothers...exert the earliest and the most intimate influence upon the souls of little ones and upon their growth in piety and virtue. We need not remind you of how important and necessary is this work of education in the home, how grave is a mother's obligation not to neglect it or to perform it with indifference... but it is not enough to be conscious of an obligation and to have the desire to discharge it; it is necessary also to render oneself capable of discharging it competently..."
Pope Piuz XII, audience with Catholic mothers 26 October 1941, as found in "Papal Teachings: Education" Boston, Mass., St Paul Editions, 1960, p315
posted by Holly at 9:09 AM
1 comments
The Parent 'Makes' the Catholic Upbringing...
"...programs of instruction, rules, methods, courses, and organization... [No]... it is the teacher who makes the school, not the program of studies to be followed. And the teacher makes the school because teaching is a vital process. Hence it is the spirit, the soul, of the teacher that counts the most in the transmission of the social inheritance from generation to generation..."
Fr Franz de Hovre, "Catholicism in Education", New York, Benzinger Brothers, 1934, p10
We , as parents, are the primary educators of our children - we make or break their Catholic formation...
posted by Holly at 8:25 PM
3 comments
Educating Our Children -'Inspire', not just 'Reason'
"For man is not a mere thinking machine set in motion by the processes of logic, and dominated by cool, calculating reason. He is a living entity, a being that feels and acts as well as thinks. As such, he is impelled to action by impressions of various kinds, by emotions, by ideals, by visions, by faith, by facts, by persons. Abstract argumentation may make some impression upon the intellect but it will not stir the depths which are the source of the real life of his soul."
Fr Franz de Hovre, "Catholicism in Education", New York, Benzinger Brothers, 1934, p335
posted by Holly at 10:20 AM
1 comments
Catholic Character Formation - Interior Harmony
"Character formation implies organization of the interior life of man and harmonization of his powers of thinking, feeling and willing... but this unity cannot be long maintained without supernatural aid. Man cannot attain to complete integration of personality without the assistance of God and His grace."
Fr Franz de Hovre in "Catholicism in Education: ...the Catholic Priniciples of Education...", trans Fr E. Jordan, New York, Benzinger Brothers, 1934, p364
posted by Holly at 3:17 PM
1 comments
The Importance of Marriage
"Marriage is a great sacrament... It is honorable... in all things because its origin, purpose, advantages, forms and matter are holy. It is the nursery of Christianity, which supplies the earth with faithful souls to fill up the number of the elect in heaven. Hence the preservation of holy marriage is of the highest importance for the state since it is the origin and source of all that flows from the state."
St. Francis de Sales, "Introduction to the Devout Life", trans & edit by John K Ryan, An Image Book: Doubleday, New York, 1966, p221-222
posted by Holly at 2:35 PM
1 comments
A Mother's Rule 'Schedule' is like Phonics Instruction...
When we are beginning reading instruction, we teach a child his phonetic sounds and symbols - all the little pieces and parts that make up words - so that he can de-code those words and read them. So too, A Mother's Rule of Life tries to go over all the little parts of the married vocation that we need to attend to, so that we can live a healthy and holy marriage. Our practical rule - the schedule- then becomes to 'training tool' to turn our hearts to our vocation, and teach us how to do it all consistently and well.
But with phonics, there comes a time when the child stops overtly decoding words, takes a 'leap' and begins reading! Usually, we discontinue phonics instruction because the child is doing this automatically and habitually. But now, he is focusing on the meaning of the words and the concepts behind them. So too with our schedules - there comes a point when the "12:00 Lunch" ceases to be our main concern. We automatically move into making lunch, but we're not so concerned with the 'schedule'. Instead, we find ourselves focusing on the meaning inherent within our vocations - the relationships we have with God, our husbands and our children.
Do we stop following the schedule? No, not completely, but there is more flexibility because the schedule has become automatic, a 'habit' - we naturally are fulfilling our daily duties. Instead, we desire and seek to live the meaning inherent within the vocation - the 'spirit' of our Mother's Rule. This is the most important aspect of A Mother's Rule of Life...
posted by Holly at 3:40 PM
1 comments
Obedience in Marriage II
What makes a religious gain merit for her obedience to her superiors? It is that in obeying them, she obeys the voice of God.
In marriage, the wise and considered opinions of our spouse is also the voice of God for us. What my husband tells me, in response to a question, is something I am called to consider and not take lightly, as he too is a channel of the Holy Spirit in my life.
posted by Holly at 5:45 PM
1 comments
The Gift of Freedom - For Ourselves and Our Children
"God never says unqualifiedly to a human being, "You shall not exercise your faculty of choice between the way of life and the way of death; you shall walk in the way in which I know to be the best for you." But on the contrary, God says to every one (Duet. 30:15): "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil," - for thy choice....
"The representative of God clothed with power, as he stood before the people, did not say, "You shall choose God's service now; and if you deliberately refuse to do so, God will break your will so that you do do it"; but He said, "If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose this day whom ye will serve" (Josh. 24:15)"
H. Clay Trumbull, "Hints on Child Training", Oregon, Great Expectations Book Co., date unknown, p 20-21.
posted by Holly at 1:23 PM
5 comments
Getting a Good Start to the Morning
"Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to Thy Word"
"Let that saying inflame your heart on your awakening every morning. Respond to the love of your dear Mother by rising punctually and promptly, for she is there near you wanting to gather the first fruit of your heart. Do as the Child Jesus did; greet Our Lady as soon as you awake, and offer yourself to God through her. As a token of your love and dependence, kiss your crucifix, your scapular, or your medal and say: "I am all thine, my dear Mother, and all that I have is thine." Follow the example of the saints and humbly beg Mary to bless you. Interior joy will be the reward of this pious practice."
Gabriel Denis, s.m.m., The Reign of Jesus Through Mary, Bay Shore NY, The Montfor Fathers, 1951, p57.
posted by Holly at 10:36 AM
4 comments
A Saint-Mother's Prayer Schedule
Gianna Beretta Molla's 'program of spiritual life' (rule):
"Morning and evening prayer, done properly - not in bed, but kneeling & in recollection.
Holy Mass, an irreplaceable practice. Incomparable.
Holy Communion, possibly. Maximum freedom: one who feels to and one who understands what it means should receive it.
Meditation, at least ten minutes.
Visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
Holy Rosary: without Our Lady's help no one enters Paradise."
taken from "Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla - A Woman's Life", by Giuliana Pelucchi, Boston, Pauline Books & Media, 2002, p43
posted by Holly at 2:35 PM
2 comments
The Contemplative Life in the Home
"All those who, according to their rule, lead a secluded life, remote from the din and follies of the world, and who not only assiduously contemplate the divine mysteries and eternal truths and pour out ardent and continual prayers to God that his kingdom may flourish... but who also atone for the sins of other men, still more than for their own, by mortification, prescribed or voluntary, of mind or body - such must be said to have chosen the best part.
...Very many [people] , whether clerical or lay, engaged in an active or semi-active life are contemplatives, not only by being informed by the true spirit of divine contemplation, but also by the attainment of that perfection of prayer."
Donald Attwater, Gen. Editor of "A Catholic Dictionary", New York, The MacMillan Co., 1943, p 127
posted by Holly at 8:55 AM
2 comments
Becoming Who We Are Meant to Be
"If you want to put your entire self into what you do, if you want to give yourself completely, if you want to be fully at the service of others, if you want to love with all your heart, if you want to pray with total attention, then strive to take perfect possession of your body, your heart, your spirit, and all their robust vitality, strive to take possession of yourself and then you will be able to say: I am acting, I am giving myself, I am at the service of others, I am loving, I am praying.
To live life at its fullest means to draw together all your energies, to unify them, to personalize them, and to concentrate them on the present moment just as a magnifying glass concentrates the rays of the sun on a particular spot. And the [person] who has unified his own personal life is able to bring tranquility and peace into the lives of others. If you want to be a bearer of peace to others, you first have to establish peace in your own interior household..."
Rev. Michel Quoist, in "The Meaning of Success", Indiana, A Fides Dome Book, 1963, p34-35
posted by Holly at 1:05 PM
1 comments
We Must Not Fear Our Busy-ness
"Now, how do we refer our thoughts, words, and actions to God? By our intention - that is, by the motive [for doing all we do]... in other words, if, being in a state of grace, we generously accept all the obligations of a Christian life, having the sincere desire to offer all to God -- our intention is pure. We effectively practice simplicity as long as our soul remains in this state and attitude, even if we are not always actually thinking of it. "The traveler who is on the right road," says St. Thomas, "has no need to think at each step of his destination."
Emmanuel de Gibergues, "Keep It Simple - The busy catholic's guide to growing closer to God" , New Hampshire, Sophia Institute Press, 2000, p 6, 12
posted by Holly at 6:00 PM
1 comments
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