Happy Feast Day! Today is familiar to all of us as we honor when the Blessed Virgin Mary gave her Fiat to the Lord. She said Yes! to whatever God had in store for her, and because of her yes, we are the adopted children of God, freed from sin and working towards Heaven.
There is so much to contemplate with this. During Daily Mass, I thought about all the times I have yes to God. Some of my yes’s were eager and happily done – marrying Matt comes to mind. Many of my yeses are more half-hearted such as the yes attached to the cooking and cleaning for necessary for my family. A few yeses are very grudgingly given such as to my MS every morning I get out of bed having prayed (again) to be healed.
But one yes I have given has had more surprises than I could never have imagined. It was saying yes to God when I was inspired to write the Little Flowers program over 30 years ago. I had no expectation of what God would do with my little ‘yes’. An avalanche of good friends, wonderful experiences, meeting so many of you and on and on and on just because I said ‘yes’.
In no way does my little yes compare to our Blessed Mother’s fiat or the yes of so many saints before me, but I hope to encourage you to consider saying yes to whatever God is asking of you. No matter how insignificant it may seem, how outlandish, how impossible it may be! If you know it is coming from God and you have the full support of your husband and family saying Yes to His will always come with unexpected blessings.
My pastor, Fr. Rich Jasper, is doing a quick 5 minute reflection on the Gospel for Lent. He is much more eloquent than I am in talking about the power of a Yes! to God. I hope you enjoy this and know I am praying for you and the yeses in your life.
At Mass recently, I felt the need to check in. How are you doing? How is 2025 going in your house?
Easter is 30 days away and I was taking an assessment of how Lent in my house is going. How is yours?
Do you need an adjustment? At this same Mass, during the homily, the priest spoke about changing up your fast in the middle of Lent and I was shocked! You can do that? Really?!!
I left that Mass feeling lighter about Lent. I always overshoot and try to do too much rather than focus on the quality of what I do. So, I am setting some of my really good ideas for Lent to another time.
If you are looking to change up your family’s Lent or your own here’s some ideas:
As I first mentioned, we have another month of days before Easter so if your Lent isn’t going the way you have hoped, if your heart isn’t into what you doing, change it up.
The Book of Joel gives us familiar direction, Ch. 2: 12 “Yet even now—oracle of the LORD— return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment.”
May the rest of your Lent bring you closer to Christ.
Fathers declare to their sons, O Lord, thy faithfulness. (Isa 38:19)
It is a fact that many Blue Knights groups are run by Moms; and I thank them for that. But one of the best selling points of the program when it first came out was that it was I called a “clandestine catechesis” aimed at the Dads. This helps fathers take on their role to lead their boys to men.
Like many Dads, I had grown lukewarm in my faith (see Rev 3:16 about that). Oh sure, I went to Mass every week and confession every few months…but I’m a busy guy, I argued. As an active duty Marine, there are important things to do. I left the religion thing to my wife who was the primary homeschooler. I lent a hand as needed, and if asked – I did not seek to take my place.
The Father’s Role through Blue Knights Boys’ Club
Things changed as I started study theology (and writing the Blue Knights). I began to see that in Jesus’ day, the fathers were responsible for teaching their sons about God. For a Jewish man it was about handing on the identity as a people – the Chosen People – and it was transmitted from father to son.
I also realized that young boys spent most of their day with women as role models. At home or in school, they were surrounded by feminine virtue. The little time they had with masculine role models was with dad, after work or (perhaps) on weekends If that time was spent watching the news, surfing the net or hiding in the “man cave”; what did the sons get? A snake instead of a fish? (Lk 11:11)
The Father’s Mission to Lead Boys to Men
So the Blue Knights has a section of leader’s talks and some (short) background to help the dad prepare to give that leader’s talk. This was the “clandestine catechesis”. It was small, but a step. I trusted that the Holy Spirit would use the overall experience of leading the group to do the heavy lifting of conversion.
We all need conversion. Even the Apostles underwent a series of conversions…moving ever more deeply into their mission and their relationship with Christ. It is my hope that the Blue Knights moves toward that end in some way.
Rachel and I often talk about the beginning of Little Flowers over 30 years ago and where we are today. But what we don’t often talk about is why a couple of young moms, homeschooling and having babies year in and year out, felt compelled to develop these Catholic virtue programs? I think that part of the call to serve the Church came through the inspiration of Pope John Paul II’s call for a New Evangelization. Our encounters with Christ through encountering Pope John Paul II inspired Rachel and I and our husbands, our collective 21 children and so many others to step up and out and be a part of Pope John Paul’s call, indeed, the call of every disciple, to evangelize.
Nearly 30 years ago, Rachel, her husband, Matt, I, with my late husband, Bob, all attended the Pope’s visit to Baltimore. The Holy Father offered Mass in Camden Yards, which had been finished just a few years previously.
The picture at left is from a special edition of the Baltimore Sun commemorating the Papal visit and showing a young, and enthusiastic Rachel and Matt during the Papal Mass. Rachel and Matt met the Holy Father on more than one occasion, but this one is the one that is publicly recorded!
Our families have not lost their enthusiasm for the faith and we all continue to work towards the New Evangelization. This call is ongoing even as we pass it on to the next generation of disciples. May St. John Paul the Great pray for all of you and your efforts for the New Evangelization!
St. John Paul, Pray for us!
Photo credit: newspapers.com Baltimore Sun, Special Papal Edition, October 9, 1995
Happy Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch! This little bit of wisdom comes directly from him.
He was a first century bishop. Traditions holds that he was the child that Jesus drew to himself in Mark 9:37, “whoever receives one child such as this receives me”. He is also connected to Apostle John. A bishop in Syria for over 40 years he was arrested and transported to Rome to be martyred by wild beasts in front of a cheering crowd.
“Avoid the noxious weeds.” This quote comes from one of the letters he wrote to his churches on his way to his death.
I love this imagery as it is perfect for our work in creating our own gardens for the Lord through our programs.
WHAT WEEDS ARE GROWING YOUR GARDEN?
I am not sure what your weeds might look like but we all have them. Those recurring bad habits or even sins that we just can’t seem to be rid of. We make promises to ourselves and God, head to confession, and on and on. But there we are again, watching a weed grow in the garden of our soul that we want so much to be beautiful. He writes:
“Avoid the noxious weeds. Their gardener is not Jesus Christ because they are not planting of the Father…All those that may yet change their mind and return to the unity of the Church will likewise belong to God, and thus lead a life acceptable to Jesus Christ.”
My advice to keeping our noxious weeds at bay within our lives and souls comes from actual gardening advice. General advice for tackling weeds in our gardens includes weeding by hand, overfill an area with better plants to push the weeds out, and spread some mulch.
FILLING YOUR GARDEN WITH SOMETHING BETTER
When it comes to spiritual weeds this means pulling out those habits that have become noxious weeds in our day. You know the list already: too much time on our phones or computers, on YouTube, binge watching anything instead of caring for ourselves, our families and our homes. We all know what it is like to realize we’ve wasted an hour watching cat videos. There other habits/noxious weeds need to grabbed one at a time and just ripped out. You know what yours are and a trip to confession will always help.
Overfilling an area with better flowers might be replacing those stupid cat videos with a visit to some good Catholic sites. We all know Ascension Presents and Bishop Barron but another favorite of mine is Called to More with Fr. Columba Jordan, CFR. Fr. Columba’s videos are typically under 10 minutes and his Irish accent will pull you in and make you smile.
Mulching is simply smothering your weeds with something better for the soil. Much like overfilling, make sure you are surrounding yourself with good stuff. Daily prayer, frequent Mass, Confession, good books, good music and good friendships. Noxious weeds and noxious habits can’t survive in an area where there is so much love, joy and virtue.
BUT ARE ALL WEEDS BAD?
What about dandelions? Aren’t those weeds? I know, I know one of our virtues – eutrapelia – has as its flower the dandelion. It is considered a noxious weeds by many but not in my world. It was chosen on purpose as eutrapelia is defined as the golden mean between buffoonery and boorishness. It is all about knowing how to restore yourself in a meaningful way and that will vary from person to person, just like the enjoyment of a dandelion.
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us eutrapelia is mental relaxation and honorable fun; hence, the dandelion. For me, this ‘weed’ brings forth images of a fistful of flowers from a child and the blowing of puff to send its floaters flying in the wind. It also can be eaten in salads and used to make wine. A weed to some, a blessing to others.
For good gardeners, some weeds are just left alone. In my yard, it is the dandelions; my husband resists the urge to be rid of them because of my love for them.
For our analogy, are there weeds you might be able to ignore? Yes, those are habits some might say are wrong or the ones Satan wants to shame you with but aren’t actually sinful.
For me? The first one that comes to mind is my occasional habit of leaving dinner dishes until the morning. For some people, cleaning the kitchen is absolutely necessary and those who don’t are just wrong. Housekeeping articles tell me that it will make my mornings harder. Satan likes to make me feel lazy. Oh, well. My family is in the living room, it’s too nice to be inside or I’m just too tired. The dishes can wait.
So, be kind to yourself in regards to the weeds you might have. Just like building virtue on virtue, taking care of one bad habit often leads to you tackling another. And some of those weeds Satan wants you to shame you with are just the dandelions in your life. Prayerful time with Christ will help you discern.
As final encouragement let’s move from a garden to an orchard with St. Ignatius of Antioch as he tells us:
“We recognize a tree by its fruit, and we ought to be able to recognize a Christian by his action. The fruit of faith should be evident in our lives, for being a Christian is more than making sound professions of faith. It should reveal itself in practical and visible ways. Indeed it is better to keep quiet about our beliefs, and live them out, than to talk eloquently about what we believe, but fail to live by it.”
(Images: Wikicommons – GrammarFascist – Own work and Erlend Schei)
Throughout our Church’s history we can find saints who have found another person with whom to share their vision or mission. We have St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare, Sts. Bonaventure and Scholastica were siblings as well as partners in bringing others to holiness. We have St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal
Having a ‘partner in crime’ is a phrase we all have heard and might even use. My husband and I talk about being ‘partners in crime’ when we are trying to plan time away from responsibilities and family obligations. We’re partners in crime making a smooth getaway for – date night!
COMPLIMENTS GO A LONG WAY TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS
Just this past week, Joan and I remarked on how Little Flowers, and the rest of the Behold Publications clubs and projects use the best of what each of us have brought to our work and mission.
“I forgot to let you know that I really enjoyed your last blog post (in honor of St. Francis of Assisi’s feast day). Interestingly, my confirmation saint is also a man who lived and even met St. Francis. Mine is St. Dominic! (although I feminized it to Dominica when being confirmed.) Sometimes these orders are friendly rivals, but at the same time, they worked together with their different strengths and talents to rebuild a church when it was sorely in need of rebuilding. I think we complement each other in a similar way. We have different gifts and talents, but we are doing our best to rebuild and build up the Church. Thank you for being St. Francis to my St. Dominic!”
Her compliment meant the world to me and I was so glad to get it. My regard for Joan is just has high. Her commitment to what we do, her ability to see clearly what needs to happen and so much more. We would have made it over 30 years now if we were not committed to each other as friends as well as business partners.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What about you? Do you have a partner who helps you on your path to holiness? Who helps you with the club? Are you like Joan and I who have found out for ourselves that when two (or more) work together we can make the best use of each other’s gifts and talents. Jesus himself found 12 who worked well, for the most part, to spread His kingdom.
If you have found your partner in faith, be sure to thank them for their help and efforts. St. Francis de Sales called St. Jane Frances de Chantal, “a broad and very capable mind” and complimented the “courage of her soul”. We can easily imagine how those kind words lifted her spirits.
On the other side of it; are you lacking someone? If you find yourself working alone, intercede to Jesus for some help. Consider asking Naomi and Ruth or Mary and Martha to bring you someone to share the work and share the mission.
Almost every endeavor we undertake is better and easier when we have a partner. Not for crime so much but definitely for the furthering of the Kingdom.
(Image of St. Frances de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal – www.setonshrine.org)
While not a Little Flower saint due to his, well, being a man, St. Francis of Assisi will forever be one of my top 5 saints. The reasons are numerous from my love for the film Brother Sun, Sister Moon, (1972), my love for animals and the thought that I might someday be a veterinarian from my love of Dr. James Herriott’s All Creatures Great and Small series of book of the mid 1970’s. This led me to having him as my Confirmation saint.
I bring him up today as it his feast day! I remember during my Confirmation instruction having to explain why I was choosing a male saint and gave the same reasons as above. I was given the okay, so, here I am Rachel Mary Francis (VanDurme) Watkins.
(Philip Fruytiers, St. Francis of Assisi, oil on canvas, 259.5 x 169.3 cm, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp)
THOUGHTS ON CONFIRMATION
Coming back to Confirmation; I gave it some thought today as well. I regularly forget I have a Confirmation saint. I forget I have another saint dedicated to helping me get back to heaven. Along with my name saints and guardian angel, confirmation saints are there to help us. In other words, a team of holy people and angelic beings have only our best interests at heart. How wonderful is that?!
It was also a good day to reflect and remember the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit – wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Do I ever think of asking St. Francis for help when I need an increase in these gifts? No! I fumble along and do my best. These gifts are given to us to help us become soldiers for Christ; warriors ready to battle temptation and sin. They are gifts given to help form ourselves into greater reflections of Christ to those around us. As we use these gifts for ourselves and others we are calling them to be reflections as well.
Today was then a doubly great day to thank St. Francis of Assisi for being a great confirmation saint AND to ask him to increase in me all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. While Confirmation is a one-time-only sacrament, we can always ask for those gifts to be dusted off from lack of use and increased in times of heavy use. And parenting is a time of heavy use in all of these gifts from God.
WHO IS YOUR CONFIRMATION SAINT?
Perhaps you might give your own Confirmation saint a little extra attention today or at least circle their feast day on your calendar. If you have children already confirmed, maybe take a moment to remind them of their saints and the gifts they were given to better live the Catholic life.
We have not been left alone to figure life out. God is generous in giving and giving and giving. He cannot be outdone in generosity. We are the ones who forget to ask!
(If you are looking for support for one of your children a study for the sacrament of Confirmation, we have one!
Just a quick heads up – the very first Little Flower, our own St. Therese’s 151st birthday is tomorrow. Maybe a good day for a surprise treat for you and any Little Flowers you might know? I’m all for good food and good fun on feast days.
My Mass tomorrow morning with be offered for all of you.
And just in case you are hoping to see some roses, I would love to give you a few! With love and prayers to you, your family and all of your intentions.
Today is the feast of St. Vincent de Paul (St. VdP), a familiar saint to most of us. Many of us have a society in his honor in our parish or diocese. Those who are extra blessed may have a St. VdP store close by where great treasures can be found and bought; while your payment brings treasure to others.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
This image, found on wiki, is delightful in its simplicity and clarity. You can almost see him smile! His love for the poor and ability to see Jesus in them can be an inspiration for our own lives.
One of my favorites? “If we are faithful to God, we will lack nothing.” However, I find this faith difficult to secure in my soul and mind. Seeing what I lack is always been so easy for me. Some of this ease comes from my disability, some from my childhood where my large family would never have been described as well to do. See the pattern? What I see or don’t see comes only from envy and jealousy towards what others have. I have focused on what the world has said I “need.”
But, if I focus on what God has given me!? I am wealthy beyond words. From access to Daily Mass, the sacraments, access to faith formation on-line, my dear husband, my children, my siblings, dear friends, and on and on.
THANK GOD FOR ALL YOU HAVE and SHARE WITH OTHERS
In thanksgiving for all we do have, perhaps you might consider holding a food/clothing drive at one of your upcoming meetings. Find the nearest St. Vincent de Paul center or food pantry and see if they have any specific needs. Let your member families know and ask them to bring in one or two items at your next meeting. Perhaps you can have the members create a spiritual bouquet to include for the volunteers and the families who rely on what we have given in quiet charity. Let’s carry on the good work St. Vincent started!
Today’s Gospel, a short one, from Luke 8:1-3, is all for us women:
“Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.”
Some women. That came seem rather vague but Luke does mention a number of them by name. There are familiar names to us, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna.
Then it gets open-ended “many others who provided for them out of their resources.” This is where we get to come in. We are included in those “many others” here and now in 2024! How exciting is that? We get opportunities every day to be an active part of that amazing group of first followers of Jesus.
As wives, mothers, and friends we are providing for so many others and therefore Jesus : ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matt 25:40.
It’s actually cool when we think of the work we do as a real part of accompanying Jesus, isn’t it? Many of us have watched episodes of The Chosen, so we place ourselves on set, wearing in a tunic, with a head covering and walking down the dusty roads with Jesus.
AND FOR US, TODAY?
Taking from my pastor’s homily this morning, he told everyone to think of these women’s faith in letting go of their previous life to follow Jesus.
They had real perseverance that even the apostles lacked. Outside of John, all the other men ran from the cross. The women remained and were the first at the tomb in the morning.
And those resources? Who knows who brought what but it isn’t always about money. It was their time and their talents. Perhaps as cooks, organizers or business women. They were willing to share it all.
They had a selfless love that we can pray for, meditate on and strive to imitate. They all did their very best with what God had given them and were willing gave it right back to Christ to be used as needed.
As the school year gets started, your clubs get up and running remember you are one of many others; the women following Jesus wherever He asks us to go. Everything you do for others can easily be offered to Jesus.
Remember the Blessed Mother and St. Therese are always here to encourage us and I’ll be praying for you as I make this same walk with Jesus!
(James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). The Holy Women (Les femmes saintes), 1886–1896).
