Prayer to St. Gerard against the Culture of Death

O great Wonder-Worker of our day, St. Gerard, powerful protector of the mother and her unborn child, beg God, we beseech thee, to crush the mounting forces of anti-life; and to enlighten who walk in this deadly way that they may see the enormity of their sin and return to the generous observance of the divine law. Pray, too, for mothers that they may prize the great privilege of motherhood and that they may bring up their children in the holy love and fear of God; so saving their own immortal souls and furthering the honor and glory of their Maker; through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

PRIEST: Pray for us, O Great St. Gerard!

PEOPLE: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

PRIEST: Let us pray:

ALL: O Almighty and Eternal Father, Who, in Thy all-wise Providence, has deigned to raise up St. Gerard to be the glorious protector of the mother and her unborn child: grant Thee, we beseech thee, through the powerful intercession of this, Thy servant, that all the diabolical forces of anti-life may be destroyed from the face of the earth forever; that so the Christian family may once more flourish to the praise and eternal glory of Thy Holy Name. This we ask through the merits of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost -- God forever and ever. Amen.

Imprimi Potest: John N. McCormick, C.SS.R. Provincial Superior of St. Louis, June 15, 1957. Imprimatur: Joseph E. Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis, May 21, 1957

Shared by Mary L.

A Gift Resource

Kim kindly shared this link, Saintly Sisters, with our group. If you are looking for a gift for your daughter, this website might have just what you want.

Norman Rockwell Exhibit

The Tacoma Art Museum is hosting "AMERICAN CHRONICLES: The Art of NORMAN ROCKWELL". This exhibition runs through May 30, 2011. For additional information, please visit:

http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/Page.aspx?cid=6620 

Multiplication Game

A couple of my kids have really been struggling to get their multiplication tables down. I discovered this game yesterday and it has been very helpful already. You can download the free version (which is pretty cool in itself) to see if it is a good fit for your family. The free version actually has everything you need to learn all the facts, but if you buy the upgrade it provides more entertaining "worlds" that provide a little more excitement for the kids. It does have a bit of monsters bopping the characters on the head type of violence (nothing too bad) so you may want to preview it to see if you think it is too intense for some of your younger ones. I like the fact that it makes them repeat the problems they are struggling with until they have mastered them, and reviews all problems to make sure that they have retained what they have learned. This is all done in an entertaining way that makes them want to come back again and again. I have found that the promise of 20-30 min. of  play time with this game is a great incentive for them to get their other work done (and it is downloaded on your computer so it doesn't eat up online time if that is an issue for you). The upgrade is reasonably priced, and gives you the game forever for all of your kids. So many online educational games make you pay per child, and that just doesn't work for many of us with larger families.

It looks like they have an addition, subtraction, and division version in the works as well! And no, I don't get a commission for recommending this, but if you promise to tell a friend about the program (totally honor system) you do get a discount for the upgrade....just type in "ihelped" in the appropriate field when you checkout and you get $19.99 off the deluxe package.

It has given me a ray of hope that we will finally get these times tables memorized. I hope some of you find it helpful as well! 

Here is the link:

http://www.bigbrainz.com/

God bless,

Rachel

March for Life Olympia

A Note from a Friend: 54 Day Rosary Novena

The "54-day Rosary Novena" is an uninterrupted series of Rosaries in honor of Our Lady, revelead to the incurably sick Fortuna Agrelli by Our Lady of Pompeii at Naples in 1884. For thirteen months Fortuna Agrelli had endured dreadful sufferings and torturous cramps; she had been given up by the most celebrated physicians. On February 16, 1884, the afflicted girl and her relatives commenced a novena of Rosaries. The Queen of the Holy Rosary favored her with an apparition on March 3rd. Mary, sitting upon a high throne, surrounded by luminous figures, held the divine Child on her lap, and in her hand a Rosary. The Virgin Mother and the holy Infant were clad in gold-embroidered garments. They were accompanied by St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. The throne was profusely decorated with flowers; the beauty of Our Lady was marvelous. Blessed Virgin said: "Child, thou has invoked me by various titles and hast always obtained favors from me. Now, since thou hast called me by that title so pleasing to me, 'Queen of the Holy Rosary,' I can no longer refuse the favor thou dost petition; for this name is most precious and dear to me. Make three novenas, and thou shalt obtain all."

Once more the Queen of the Holy Rosary appeared to her and said, “Whenever you wish to obtain graces from me, make three Novenas of Petition and at the same time recite the fifteen decades of my Rosary and then three Novenas of Thanks”.

The Novena consists of 5 decades of the Rosary each day for twenty-seven days in petition; then immediately 5 decades each day for twenty-seven days in thanksgiving, whether or not the request has been granted.

A laborious Novena, but a Novena of Love. You who are sincere will not find it too difficult, if you really wish to obtain your request.

Book Recommendations: Marriage

At our last beach day, I mentioned to Peggy Sue and Abby that Fr. Saguto, FSSP had recommended two books for engaged and married couples.  I thought that others might appreciate knowing about these books, too.

They are:

Covenanted Happiness by Cormac Burke

Three to Get Married by Fulton Sheen

I purchased Burke's book from Vercillos and was told that they could order Fulton Sheen's book.