Good Saint Anne

HT: Homily taken from the Shrine of St Anne deBeaupre website:

Dear Friends,

We form together a large family, the family of Good Saint Anne.

Saint Anne is our spiritual ancestor. We read in Sacred Scripture: “Now will I praise those godly people, our ancestors… Their virtues have not been forgotten…; their glory will never be blotted out…; their name lives on and on…; the assembly proclaims their praise” (Si 44:1ss). Saint Anne, our spiritual ancestor, deserves to be praised. From all eternity, God chose her to be the mother of Mary, our Blessed Mother.

Saint Anne is always represented with Mary. Mary is the glory of Saint Anne. Mary is the miracle of Saint Anne. Mary is the fruit of Saint Anne. And remember what Jesus says in the Gospel: “You can tell a tree by its fruit” (Mt 7:20). We can judge the holiness of Saint Anne by the fruit of her life, the Virgin Mary, the greatest creature who ever lived, the future Mother of God, the future Queen of angels and saints. It is in Saint Anne’s body that Mary was conceived immaculate and full of grace. Saint Anne must have been very holy for such a privilege! She gave birth to Mary, she educated Mary.

One day, Saint Anne became a grandmother, the grandmother of Jesus, our Saviour. Like all grandmothers, she must have loved tenderly her Grandson Jesus. Now that she is in Heaven with Jesus, how can Jesus refuse her anything? Saint Anne is powerful, being so close to Jesus. And not only is she powerful; she is kindness itself! She is a grandmother! We always call her ‘Good’ Saint Anne. She is the Saint of God’s tenderness.

Devotion to Good Saint Anne goes back to the beginning of the Church. We walk in the footsteps of our ancestors who loved and venerated Good Saint Anne. We too pray to her with deep confidence. We pray to her for the Church and the world, for ourselves and all suffering people, living or deceased.

Everywhere in the world, there are shrines, churches and chapels dedicated to her, in Jerusalem, in Rome, in Auray…, in each of our dioceses.

In 1658, a modest chapel was built in her honour, at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, in Quebec, Canada. There was a first miracle: an infirm was miraculously cured. In 1661, the chapel was replaced by a church soon called The Church of Miracles. We have, in our archives, written testimonies of eyewitnesses of that time, including Father Thomas Morel, the first parish priest of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Blessed François de Laval, the first bishop of North America, Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, a holy Sister living in Quebec City…

After the great fire of 1922, a new church was erected. The church of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré became a magnificent Basilica, a high place of faith and prayer, a capital of spiritual life, an international parish entrusted to the care of the Redemptorist Community. This is God’s Providence. A million and a half people come every year, from all continents. They are young and old, sick and healthy, rich and poor, Catholics and non-Christians. All are welcome. All share fraternally as they pray, like members of the same family. They thank Saint Anne for graces received, for better health, for financial assistance, for happiness in their family, above all for conversion, interior peace and greater love for Jesus.

They also pray downstairs near the tomb of Venerable Alfred Pampalon, a young Redemptorist priest who, after a holy life, died at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. He is the Patron of alcoholics and drug addicts. He obtained the cure and liberation of hundreds of people enslaved by their addiction.

Pilgrims who come to the Shrine return home with renewed courage. They resume their life pilgrimage to the great Basilica of Heaven. They move in the right direction, no longer anxious to eat the fast food of sinful pleasures, remembering what is essential in life, their eternal salvation.

We are united to such pilgrims as we pray to Good Saint Anne privately or during Holy Mass. Jesus says to each one of us in the Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Let us go to Jesus, in the company of our beloved Saint Anne.

There is so much suffering in our life, physical suffering and moral suffering. The Lord “gives strength to the wearied, he strengthens the powerless” (ls 40:29). If we implore Saint Anne to intercede on our behalf, she will do so.

More than anything else, we should strive to do God’s will. We should unite our sufferings to Jesus’ sufferings to give them an eternal value. Stay peaceful. If you do not get a cure, Our Lord will give you courage and consolation. He will not forsake you.

Does he not remain with us always? He is our companion during our life on earth. He is alive and he loves us. He loves you!

One day, we will be with him, enjoying eternal happiness. One day, we will be with our sweet Mother, the Virgin Mary. One day, we will enjoy the loving presence of our dear protectress, Good Saint Anne.

We keep praying for our intentions. We pray for one another.

We say in our heart: “Good Saint Anne, intercede on our behalf! Good Saint Anne, be blessed forever! We love you!” Amen.

The Icon and the Battle Axe

Here is the image taken when Sen. Hilary Clinton visited the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe..she wore red and immediately the words, "The Woman and the scarlet woman" came to mind...

A few weeks ago I posted my thoughts, titled Two Women about Sen. Hilary Clinton visiting the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe...on the very same day she received the highest award Planned Parenthood had to offer - The Margaret Sanger Award.

I feel sad. For Hilary Clinton, that is. I feel sad also for those those she sways by her clever PR exercise. How many Catholics who are not really informed about this lady's political history and what she was about to receive later that day, saw this as a positive visit?

Today I read an insightful response to that day, called The Icon and the Battle-Axe, written by Joseph P Duggan, please stop by and read if you have time, it is not long article. I'll quote a powerful statement from his writings:

"Imagine an American Secretary of State one morning praying at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall and the next evening accepting a eugenics award named for Dr. Josef Mengele. That is an apt analogy to the repugnant juxtaposition of gestures by Hillary Clinton during and following her brief visit to Mexico.."

What an accurate analogy, why can't the world see this obvious incongruity here?

The fun continues...

Remember I mentioned where I love to go for my regular, internet, Catholic laugh? (namely, the funny photo captions at The American Papist.)

Well I'm pretty chuffed to have a caption of mine chosen for the photo above. (click over to see!)

And so the fun continues with the AMP's latest photo......

My bets are on this little gem someone submitted in the comments box:

"Despite his appearance, Fr. Ted was not known for his soft and fluffy homilies."

At dawn on Anzac Day...

Lest we forget....

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.

There is a music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncountered:

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn*.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables at home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end they remain.

They shall grow not old....as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

we will remember them.

~Poem by Laurence Binyon

St Anne Chaplet and St Anne Medals

This is my fourth re-visit on St Anne's chaplet, mainly because I believe with whole heart in the efficacy of it as a beautiful way to interceed to St Anne. Also because of it's simplicity, I don't need to walk around with a prayer sheet to recite it.

It is simple, consisting of 3 Our Father's, and in between each Our Father, there are 5 Hail Mary's. Between each Hail Mary, this simple petition, "Jesus, Mary and St Anne, grant the favour I ask."

Here are my three other Tuesday with St Anne postings on St Anne's Chaplet, I recommend them to you if you have not read them already!

Chaplet of St Anne

St Anne's Chaplet, the perfect chaplet for mothers

St Anne's Chaplet

For those who would like to make their own St Anne chaplet, I highly recommend a visit to Alice's beautiful site, Gardens of Grace. There she has been generous with her talent in designing lovely, well illustrated tutorials, including one specifically for St Anne's Chaplet.

Below are some of the beautiful medals of St Anne. These are all vintage reproduction medals handcast from antique orignals from around the world. They cast in either solid bronze or sterling silver. They would make great medals for a St Anne chaplet or even to wear around the neck on a chain.

These five medals are available to anyone via a company that is open to the public, Rosary Workshop

SAINT ANNE AND THE GUARDIAN ANGEL: Guardian Angel 'My Guardian Angel be my guide' backs this beautiful medal of St Anne. St Anne is shown with her daughter Mary 'Good St Anne, pray for us'. Truly a beautiful medal for devotion.

This medal is European from the early 20th century. 1.25 inch.

SAINT ANNE AND THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL: One of the early Miraculous Medals from the mid 19c, with an rare reverse medal of Ste Anne, mother of Mary. A lovely old rare medal with body.

This is a French medal. 1.5inch.

STE ANNE AND MARY WITH JESUS: This is a precious medal that is filled with symbols of Mary, Jesus and Ste Anne. Open work adds to the design of this medal.

This is a European medal from the 1880's. 1.5inch

SAINT ANNE TEACHING HER DAUGHTER MARY: A rare and beautiful filigree medal showing St Anne, mother of St Mary and grandmother of Jesus. Traditional image with Mary standing by her side as her mother teaches her.

European medal, age unknown. 1 inch. (This is my favourite St Anne medal.)

A very ornate, filigreed medal of Ste Anne and her daughter, Mary. Reverse, 2 hearts. (Looks to be the back of a miraculous medal)

This is a 19th century French medal. 1.5 inch.

Moments of mirth staring at the face of unreason

Catholic World Report has quoted our Cardinal down under in Australia:

Cardinal George Pell of Sydney has defended comments made by Pope Benedict on March 17 on AIDS and condom use.

"To blame Catholic teaching for the spread of HIV/AIDS requires proof that those following the first essential Christian requirement of living chastely within and before marriage are still dying of AIDS," writes Cardinal Pell. "Pigs will fly before that argument does."

Cardinal Pell continues: 

"Others suggest another variant of the anti-Catholic line, namely that Christians who refuse to obey Catholic teaching against adultery, fornication and homosexual intercourse will still follow Catholic teaching against the use of condoms. Truth can be stranger than fiction, but such an individual would be rare indeed."

Australia's Sun Herald has the complete interview with Cardinal Pell.

Cardinal Pell

Haven't those who abhor the Catholic Church and truth, had a field day?

So sad really, considering what they protest so loudly over is the one thing that has had a marked effect in the battle against AIDs as a Harvard Study has shown.

I think this quote from US researcher, Joseph D’Agostino points to a stark and sad reality:

“The UN's approach has failed, and its own statistics show it,” D'Agostino wrote. “HIV rates keep rising, to over 30% in some countries. Two decades of pornographic sex education and massive shipments of condoms have sent millions of young Africans to an early grave.”

Of course I reckon the American Papist and one of his readers has given me at least one reason to smile through all of this media circus.

"...so then I made a comment about condoms not being the solution, and the MSM was all like, "Whoa! The pope's Catholic! Oooooo!" - AmP Reader Jen

St Apollonia, patroness of teeth problems

Many years ago I discovered that there was a saint in heaven that was very solicitous to my dental woes, due to her horrific martrydom on earth, during a Roman persecution many centuries ago. St Apollonia had all her teeth removed as a torture..yes, I'm sure you're wincing already.

I meditate on this everytime I find myself in the dental chair as I'm shuddering (and pinching myself...read about the gate theory as to why, 'cause it works for me!) as the blessed needle, going through flesh, is going to make my ordeal bearable (just as long as the needle doesn't hit a nerve..) As the dentist drills away on tooth or jaw socket relatively pain-free, I think, "What on earth did YOU endure St Apollonia?"

St Apollonia's feast day is the 9th of February and I think it is a feast worth remembering and offering prayers of thanksgiving rather than remembering her only as we step through the dental surgery door.

We have also incorporated this special saint into the lives of our children. St Apollonia has for many years now, been our 'tooth fairy'. And why not? Why a fairy, to mark the passage of childhood teeth to our irreplaceable set? Why not a saint whose glory for eternity will always be connected to a part of our body that we grow in appreciation for, especially as we get older and realise as another tooth goes, the truth in the saying, "Time is that in which all things pass away."

I have not done it as yet, but I yearn to make the time for the children to put together a meaningful craft where they make an image of St Apollonia with a basket at her feet, where the tooth can be placed the night of the tooth collection. When we do it, I'll post again and link back to my posting here.

My mother and I have had a bit of dental work in the past few weeks, losing 3 teeth between us (I lost the most!) Last night mum rang to say she had been reading the writings of Anne Catherine Emmerich and found a few pages dedicated to St Apollonia, as Anne Catherine saw it in a vision:

"I had the saint's relic by me, and I saw the city in which she was martyred. It stands on a cape not far from the mouth of the Nile; it is a large and beautiful city. The house of Apollonia's parents stood on an elevated spot surrounded by court-yards and gardens.

Apollonia was, at the time of her martyrdom, an aged widow, very tall. Her parents were pagans. But she had been converted in childhood by her nurse, a Christian in secret, and had married a pagan in obedience to her parents, with whom she lived at home. She had much to suffer; married life was for her a rude penance. I have seen her lying on the ground, praying, weeping, her head covered with ashes. Her husband was very thin and pale, and he died long before her, leaving her childless. She survived him thirty years.

Apollonia was extremely compassionate to the poor persecuted Christians; she was the hope and consolation of all in suffering. Her nurse also suffered martyrdom shortly before her in an insurrection, during which the dwellings of Chrsitians were plundered and burned, and many of the occupants put to death. - Later on, I saw Apollonia herself arrested in her house by the judge's orders, led before the tribunal, and cast into prison.

Again I saw her brought before the judge and horribly maltreated, on account of her severe and resolute answers. It was a heart-rendering sight and I cried bitterly, although I had witnessed with less emotion even more cruel punishments; perhaps it was her age and dignified bearing that touched me.

They beat her with clubs, and struck her on the face and head with stones until her nose was broken. Blood flowed from her head, her cheeks and chin were all torn, and her teeth shattered in her gums. She wore the open white robe in which I have so often seen the martyrs, and under it a coloured woollen tunic. The executioners placed her on a stone seat without a back, her hands chained behind her to the stone, her feet in fetters. Her veil was torn off, and her long hair hung around her face, which was quite disfigured and covered with blood.

One executioner stood behind and violently forced back her head, whilst another opened wide her torn mouth and pressed into it a small block of lead. Then with great pincers he drew out the broken teeth one after the other, tearing away with each a piece of the jaw-bone. Apollonia almost fainted under this torture, but I saw angels, souls of other martyrs, and Jesus Himself strengthening, and consoling her.

At her own request, the power was conferred upon her of relieving all pains of the teeth, head, or face. As she still continued to glorify Jesus and insult the idols, the judge ordered her to be thrown on the funeral pile. She could not walk alone, she was half dead; consequently, two executioners had to support her under the arms to a high place where a fire burned in a pit.

As she stood a moment before it, she appeared to pray for something; she could no longer hold up her head. The pagans thought she was about to deny Jesus, that she was wavering, and so they released their hold upon her. She sank on the ground as if dying, lay there a moment, and then suddenly arose praying, and leaped into the flames. - During the whole time of her martyrdom, I saw crowds of the poor whom she had befriended wringing their hands, weeping, and lamenting.

Apollonia could never have leaped into the fire by herself. Strength came to her with the inspiration from God. She was not consumed, but only scorched. When she was dead, the pagans withdrew; and the Christians, approaching stealthily, took the holy body and buried it in a vault."

The Life of Anne Catherine Emmerich Vol 2 pages 456 - 458

I believe there is a St Apollonia listed who was virgin and martry but Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria (247–265), relates the sufferings of his people in a letter addressed to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, of which long extracts have been preserved in Eusebius' Historia Ecclesiae, mentions that:

"At that time Apollonia, parthénos presbytis (by which he very probably means not a virgin advanced in years as is generally reported, but a deaconess)"

This historical text gives more weight to Anne Catherine Emmerich's description.

I pray that on reading the life of this saint that you will spread devotion to her to those who find themselves in a dental chair (and that's about everyone!)

Winter health initiatives part 2: Stocks

Image HT: Stocks by Sally Fallon

To build upon my last posting about my winter inititives, I'm sharing the recipes for my stocks, soups and casseroles. Though in this post I'll start with stocks only, there is alot to say about them!

I use to make a 14litre pot of lamb stock and chicken stock but I tend to make chicken only these days..I've sort of gotten into the habit of this for no particular reason. I'll share both recipes though, I have modified them from the Nourishing Traditions book.

Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions quotes this about broths:

"Good broth will resurrect the dead," says a South American proverb. Said Escoffier: "Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, nothing can be done."

A cure-all in traditional households and the magic ingredient in classic gourmet cuisine, stock or broth made from bones of chicken, fish and beef builds strong bones, assuages sore throats, nurtures the sick, puts vigor in the step and sparkle in love life--so say grandmothers, midwives and healers. For chefs, stock is the magic elixir for making soul-warming soups and matchless sauces.

In folk wisdom, rich chicken broth-the famous Jewish penicillin-is a valued remedy for the flu. The 12th-century physician Moses Maimonides prescribed chicken broth as a treatment for colds and asthma. Modern research has confirmed that broth helps prevent and mitigate infectious diseases. The wise food provider, who uses gelatin-rich broth on a daily or frequent basis, provides continuous protection from many health problems. "

Chicken Stock.

I start with my 6 chicken frames, organic and free range. I tend to believe that it is important to track down a supplier of at least free range frames but ones that have not been fed hormones and antibiotics, that would be a must for me, I don't want hormones and antibiotics that are most likely stored in the marrow, leaching out into my glorious, life-giving stock!

I put the 6 frames into my 14litre pot and I fill it will filtered water and pour about a cup of apple cider vinegar into the water and let stand for an hour. The vinegar helps the calcium to release from the bones more easily.

I then throw in the following ingredients, two or three carrots, I don't peel them or cut the ends, just all chopped up roughly. Two or three celery sticks including the leafy end, nothing wasted, all chopped. Two onions, peeled the roughly chopped. Then I add a bunch of fresh thyme. If you can get a bit of thyme growing in your garden that would be a continual cheap option..while you are at it, grow some parsley, because they are your two main stock herbs. Don't throw your parsley in yet though. Now I would also sometimes throw in some dried nettle and dried comfrey herbs - I particularly recommend the dried nettle if you can get some and be liberal with it, a handful. The herbalist Culpepper recommends you add calendula flowers to your broth:

"The flowers, either green or dried, are much used in possets, broths, and drink, as a comforter of the heart and spirits, and to expel any malignant or pestilential quality which might annoy them."

And then this quote:

"It has been cultivated in the kitchen garden for the flowers, which are dried for broth, and said to comfort the heart and spirits.

Fuller writes: The yellow leaves of the flowers are dried and kept throughout Dutchland against winter to put into broths, physicall potions and for divers other purposes, in such quantity that in some Grocers or Spicesellers are to be found barrels filled with them and retailed by the penny or less, insomuch that no broths are well made without dried Marigold.'

Once the hour is up I turn on the stove and get the stock cooking, within half and hour you will get alot of thickish, grey scum rising to the top, skim it off as it spoils the flavour of your stock.

Then you boil for a minimum of seven hours or as long as you like, I tend to boil anything from 10 to 24 hours. I will often have the stock boiling through the night, put it on in the evening, ready to take off in the morning. In that last 15 mins you throw in your sprig of parsley this will add additional mineral ions to the stock.

I then strain the fluid from the ingredients. Take from your ingredients all the lovely chicken meat and freeze it for a future recipe you would like to make with it. Or if you have an industrial blender (Vita Mix) like we have, you can stick the WHOLE LOT of the remaining stock ingredients into the blender in a few lots and blend it until it looks like a pate. I bag it in little cliplock bags and give it to my mother to feed her dog, if you have animals and you want to keep them well, can you think of anything better? Nothing is wasted then.

I stick my stock into the fridge or even the freezer, still in a pot or pots of some sort so as to skim the fat off the top as it rises and sets. When I say the freezer, not to let it freeze at this stage but to speed up the fat rising and setting to the top so I can skim it off. The fat can be popped into jars and kept in the fridge, making a great fat for cooking.

Once the stock is skimmed of fat and cool, I bag it into varying sized cliplock bags, cup sized bags when I need only a cup of stock for a recipe. Then bigger bags containing 4 cups of stock, I mark the bag 'casserole' that will be the base for one casserole. Then the biggest cliplock bags I fill with stock (I'm not sure of how many cups exactly but I'd say at least 10?) This bag is used for a big pot of soup (I use my 14litre pot for cooking it, though the soup might not come to the very top) and usually I'll get 2 to 3 soup meals for a family of 8 from that. I feel this is a fairly ordered system which is important if you are going to keep this up on a regular basis, efficiency and order, it keeps me sane and making it.

Here is my old recipe for making a lamb stock (or beef):

For a 14 litre pot I think I was popping in 2 to 3kgs or so of lamb necks (my favourite choice of bone) I'd get the butcher to par off as much meat as he could, knowing there would still be some on the necks, which is perfect.

I used exactly the same ingredients as the chicken stock above and the method of making it. The only difference being, I'd put all the neck bones on a tray and brown them in the oven first before adding it to the stock to draw with the apple cider vinegar. You would probably cook your lamb/beef stock for a bit longer than the chicken, considering the difference in size of bones. When I finish a chicken stock the bones will crumble completely when touched - that's what you want. The lamb or beef bones, if cooked long enough will look sort of hole-ridden. Alot of goodness has been leached out of those bones!

You know you have made a particularly FABULOUS pot of stock when it is been sitting in the fridge for some time or you look at it before it freezes completely and it is gelatinous, that's what you want!!! That gelatin is the life-force of your stock!

Sally Fallon once again writes about the benefits of gelatine:

"Dr. Francis Pottenger, author of the famous cat studies as well as articles on the benefits of gelatin in broth, taught that the stockpot was the most important piece of equipment to have in one's kitchen.

It was Dr. Pottenger who pointed out that stock is also of great value because it supplies hydrophilic colloids to the diet. Raw food compounds are colloidal and tend to be hydrophilic, meaning that they attract liquids. Thus when we eat a salad or some other raw food, the hydrophilic colloids attract digestive juices for rapid and effective digestion. Colloids that have been heated are generally hydrophobic-they repel liquids, making cooked foods harder to digest. However, the proteinaceous gelatin in meat broths has the unusual property of attracting liquids-it is hydrophilic-even after it has been heated. The same property by which gelatin attracts water to form desserts, like Jello, allows it to attract digestive juices to the surface of cooked food particles.

The public is generally unaware of the large amount of research on the beneficial effects of gelatin taken with food. Gelatin acts first and foremost as an aid to digestion and has been used successfully in the treatment of many intestinal disorders, including hyperacidity, colitis and Crohn's disease. Although gelatin is by no means a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, allowing the body to more fully utilize the complete proteins that are taken in. Thus, gelatin-rich broths are a must for those who cannot afford large amounts of meat in their diets. Gelatin also seems to be of use in the treatment of many chronic disorders, including anemia and other diseases of the blood, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and even cancer."

My health initiatives for winter

My pumpkin soup

Down under in Australia we are in the middle of autumn. Though it is not cold at all at present, we have had humid weather that is unseasonal and with it has come heavy, continuous rain.

This has been a real blessing because we are pulling slowly out of a long, protracted drought...Funny though, it's always been green living near the sea but it hadn't been raining over our dams, so that last year the dams had dropped to 16% which was dire.

So even though it is not cold I am determined to be more prepared for the winter season and the seasonal illnesses that can come with it. We had a sick year last year. We do not want to repeat that. So this is my focus:

1. Prayer. I believe it is vitally important to pray for good health. I will always resign myself to God's will but I will pray that He will guide me in making good choices for my family, to find me the best and most economical way to achieve this. I have seen the fruits of such prayers for which I am very grateful for.

2. Stocks. It is going to the BEDROCK of our diet. Here is why. I buy organic, free-range chicken frames and make up 14litre posts of stock using 6 frames per pot. This is so incredibly nourishing and it dramatically alters that flavour of everything you cook with it. I am planning that most of our lunches will be soups. Thick, hearty soups using chicken stock for any water content.

So far I have made pumpkin soup and pea and ham soup...but I want to build the repertoire but it must be soups that are not complicated and hard to make OR overly expensive, with too many ingredients.

With the lunchtime soup I usually have in our freezer a good supply of sour dough bread I buy as yesterday's bread at a quality sour dough bakery - this has been a blessing and kept the bread affordable and yesterday's sour dough bread is not like normal bread that is a day old, there is no real dramatic difference in it's texture etc.

Then our nighttime meals will consist mainly of casseroles. I cook all my fortnight's casseroles and bag them in large clip-lock bags. Then all I need to do is throw them in into the slow cooker each day. What HAS worked for me is when I buy my fortnight's supply of organic meat I braise the casserole meat, onions and liberal amounts of garlic together and clip-lock each meal lot together with the stock's I need for each casserole...sort of my casserole base, you would call it. Then each day I defrost a bag and when I cook that night I need only throw in my vegetables and maybe a can of diced tomatoes or sour cream depending on the desired flavour. This IS working! I usually use 4 cups of stock to a casserole.

Our breakfast we like to make sure is a protein breakfast in order to help with daily detoxification so we buy organic, free-range eggs. Once again we have been blessed. A community truck arrives in our area every week and sells food off the farm at a fraction of the normal price. I can buy 2 and half dozen eggs for less than what I'd pay for one dozen and these are stamped organic, free-range! This allows us to use the eggs a little more liberally and save quite a bit of money from our food budget.
We use blessed salt in our soups, casseroles and our salt grinder, for healing of both body and soul.

going......

3. Lime Water. My dear friend Elizabeth put me onto this one and for all the ladies entering summer in the northern hemisphere I highly recommend this. I buy limes (I hope to plant a tree this year) and I usually squeeze half a lime to a good sized jug of water, I also add some probiotic powder, a great way to get this important supplement into the children. This drink has an AMAZING effect on me.

Confession time: .....I can get addicted to soft drinks.....do I have to say that louder? it's embarrasing....I can find myself on the soft drink vicious circle, the more I drink the more my body craves it. It's embarrasing because I believe I am health conscience and this is a major obstacle in that goal, I know it.

It has been a BLESSING to discover that this simple, refreshing, unsweetened drink actually kills the addictive desire for a softdrink. So when I experience this inordinate desire (I did yesterday driving in the car) I had waited until I got home and made up a punchbowl full. On this occasion I threw in some crushed ice as well. I was satisfied and the children flocked around like birds, enjoying this cold, healthy, delightful drink. When I make a big punchbowl I use two limes, so it is quite economical. I even served this in a punchbowl on Easter Sunday to family and relatives, they all loved it! There were no softdrinks served that day and we did not miss it. I will continue to use this drink through winter.

gone.

4. Herbs. They are truly God's natural pharmacy gift to mankind. While there is always a time and a place for antibiotics in order to save lives, the less often they are used the better. Herbs are a daily health regime for us and antibiotics are our last resort for something serious.

In the last 6 months I have made a conscience decision to use the herbs on a daily basis without fail. No more, hot and cold with this important aspect of my family's healthcare and my own. I hope to post again soon to show you what my dear husband has done for me in the kitchen to make this a much easier task for me. This is important. That you are set up in a way that using the herbs is not a big imposition to your daily life. I have also found a online dried herbal site in Australia where I can buy them wholesale if I spend a minimum of $50, this has been a significant find for me.
I have in the last 4 months been making tinctures for the first time. The main tincture I have focused on is bottles of elderberry tincture, they are 'brewing' at present in preparation for the winter season. I have also started making herbal oils and we have been using this with good success already - comfrey oil and calendula oil. I've prepared a gotu kola oil and a horsetail oil. I'll post about them in depth in the future, why I've chosen those herbs and what I will use them for.

I brew up big pots of herbs, usually a mix of about five herbs. In regard to the children, I put dried herbs into all the soups and casseroles, usually stinging nettle and comfrey. I put the children in stinging nettle baths (they call 'the pond' bath, they feel like frogs!)

We use Swedish Bitters for everything, it is our number one cure-all in a cupboard! We also been greatly blessed to have a very experienced herbalist that we visit for all our general health complaints, I thank God the day she came into our lives.

5. Blueberries and Sheep's Yogurt. Who hasn't got a sweet tooth? I think most people have. This is also another 'Achilles' heel' for me. I suffer functional hypoglycemia and when you get on that 'sugar bandwagon' it is often not easy to get off. Until I discovered my blueberries and and sheep's yogurt. Firstly this is a very healthy food in itself:

Blueberries, the health benefits are innumerable, a powerful antioxidant.

Raw honey for a little sweetner, also with many health benefits.

Then the sheep's yogurt is better for you than cows and in my opinion the best tasting, not gamey like goat's, not heavy like cow's, it's just right! A good probiotic food for the body.

This one dish has stopped me many a time in recent months from getting back onto that awful food spiral, and of course for those enjoying spring in the northern hemisphere, it's prefect!

I use frozen blueberries, I do not let them thaw, it gives it that lovely icecream effect.
I pour a little honey but it is a dish that can do without it if need be.
A few tablespoons of the sheep's yogurt.
All stirred together to create a delightful sweet!
Now I know this may not seem like a winter dish, I do believe it will keep me on track when I'm tempted with some heavy, sugary treat.

6. Other miscellaneous health ideas. This will consist of the regular use of castor oil packs otherwise known as the Palma Christi, the Palm of Christ -for myself and other family members when needed. I hope to do a series of them on my liver and also for the abdomen area.

Also the need to be more sensible with clothing choices for the family. We can get caught out thinking we are in a warm, sub-tropical climate, that we can still walk around the house in the morning barefoot. Warmer clothes that we can always peel off if it becomes too warm (which is usually the case) is better than not wearing them at all. I really believe that these are just common sense approaches. We continue to use the terramin clay for our teeth brushing. We drink the clay as well and make good use of our "St Benedict's Well."

So this is my arsenal for this coming winter. Arsenal oh yeah, it's a war. I don't want a year like last year, it is a major stress and disruptor in our lives and I do believe deep down that a great deal of it is preventable.

Christ Has Risen! Alleluia!

Today we experienced a glorious Easter morning! We were blessed to be Godparents to a beautiful, baby boy - Ignatius. What heightened the spiritual experience was the Easter Mass and baptism in the Latin rite. Everything is saturated in symbols and deep meaning, particularly so, in the Latin rite.

Never is there a better time to bring new life into the life of Christ than at Eastertime, they run parallel together. New life of Easter morn. New life in the saving waters of baptism.

It was beautiful in particular, to listen to the antiphon chant at the beginning of Mass. Normally we it would be the Asperges but in Eastertime it is the Vidi Aquam.

Vidi Aquam - The Choir of Etheldredas

Father Leonard M Puech explains how the words in this chant are connected to baptism:

"Eastertide, we sing a beautiful antiphon, the Vidi aquam: "I saw water coming out from the right side of the temple, alleluia! And all those, whom this water reached, were saved and will say: Alleluia, alleluia!" Then followed a verse from Ps. 117: "Praise the Lord for he is good, for eternal is he mercy." It contained a twofold allusion to Ezekiel and to Saint John and applied their texts to baptism.

Ezekiel was a man of great visions. He describes one: he saw a stream coming out from the right side of the future Temple, seen in a series of visions, and it kept growing until it became a river, which it was impossible to cross, teeming with fish, making every kind of fruit tree grow on its banks, bearing abundant fruit in all seasons and flowing into the sea and making its water wholesome (Ez.17,1-2). For his part Saint John insists (Jo. 19,34-35), that he saw blood and water coming out from the side of Jesus, when one of the soldiers pierced it with a lance.

This water, coming out from the right side of the Temple, naturally suggested the water coming out from the right side of Jesus, who said of his body:"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again" (Jo.2,19). This water from the side of Jesus was for many of the Fathers a symbol of baptism, figured also by the all-curing and life-giving water described by Ezekiel, since it purifies from sin and bestows grace, that we may bear abundant fruit spiritually (Jo.15,8). This was the meaning of the beautiful Vidi aquam: the grace of baptism comes from the Passion and death of Jesus, it purifies us and makes us spiritually fruitful."

Here area some of the beautiful parts of the baptism that I had never witnessed before (I have quoted only the English translation):

The Exsufflation

The priest then breathes 3 times on the child in the form of a Cross, recalling the Spirit (breath, wind, "ruach") of God.

P: Go forth from him, unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost, the Parclete.

The Imposition of Salt

Now the priest puts a little blessed salt in the child's mouth. Salt is the symbol of that wisdom which gives a relish for the sweetness of divine nourishment; preserves, by the teaching of the Gospel, from the corruption of sin, and prevents evil passions from growing in men's souls.

P: Ignatius, receive this salt learning from it how to relish what is right and good. May it make your waty easy to eternal life.

(It continues on, which I am not quoting here.)

The Exorcism

The priest makes the Sign of the Cross over the child three times and says:

P: I adjure thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Ghost, to depart and remain far from this servant of God, Ignatius. He commands thee now, accursed one, Who walked upon the sea, and stretched out His reight hand to Peter about to sink. Therefore, accursed spirit, acknowledge thy sentence, and give honour to the living and true God: give honour to Jesus Christ His Son, and to the Holy Ghost; and begone from this servant of God, Ignatius, for God and our Lord Jesus Christ has called him to His holy grace and benediction and to the font of Baptism.

All this takes place before entering the Church!

There was another prayer that was new to me:

The Solemn Exorcism

I adjure thee, every unclean spirit, in the name of God the Father + Almighty, in the name of Jesus + Christ, His Son, our Lord and Judge, and in the power of the Holy + Ghost, to be gone from this creature of God Ignatius, whom our Lord in His goodness has called to His holy tempole, that he himself may become a temple of the living God, and that the Holy Ghost may dwell therein. Through the same Christ our Lord, who shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire.

Amen.

It was such a blessed experience to hold this precious child at one of the most important moments in his life, it is grace I will be pondering upon in the days to come.

Wishing everyone a blessed Easter Season!

Christ has Risen! Alleluia!