The New Catholic Media Awards

The former Catholic Blogger Awards has now been revamped into the Catholic New Media Awards and this year it includes alongside with Catholic blogs, Catholic websites and podcasts.

I wanted to share who I know that has been nominated, hopefully you will step on over at the beginning of June and chose the ones that you love most!

Some of my favourites have been nominated numerous times in most categories, like American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic (a great favourite of mine) and What Does the Prayer Really Say? also Jennifer over at Conversion Diary: The Diary of a Former Atheist. I'll mention these great blogs now and here rather than listing them over and over again in the different categories, I certainly will be giving each one a vote in some of the categories listed.

What I really wanted to share was those the nominations of fellow Catholic mothers that I admire greatly and value their presence and friendship in the online world, they each share a beautiful bit of happiness and holiness with us all.

People's Choice Blog

Shower of Roses (Jessica's beautiful liturgical blog dedicated to St Therese of the Little Flower)
In the Heart of My Home (Elizabeth's beautiful and ever inspiring blog)

Jessica and Elizabeth have recieved many nominations throughout, which is so great to see!

Best Blog by a Woman

In the Heart of My Home
Enjoy the Journey (Yeah! Marilyn writes from the heart and shares beautiful things all year round)
Shower of Roses
A Maiden's Wreath: For Young Catholic Ladies (Clare's blog is one to pass out to young Catholic women that you know, she writes beautifully and is an extrodinary thinker, it's always a pleasure to read.)
Under Her Starry Mantle (Thank you kindly to the person who nominated me in this category)

Best Group Blog

(A hard choice here! Two great blogs, one dedicated to liturgical foods for Catholic feastdays all year round and the other dedicated to the preparation and celebration of Advent - so wonderful to see them being nominated!)

Catholic Cuisine
O Night Divine

Best Written Blog

Sierra Highlands (Willa is one of the most incredible blog writers I know, this is a very worthy nomination in particular.)
Shower of Roses
A Maiden's Wreath: For Young Catholic Ladies
In the Heart of My Home

Most Spiritual Blog

In the Heart of My Home
Shower of Roses

Most Informative Blog

and sometimes tea (Red's blog is very prolific and informative, no doubts about that!)
Starry Sky Ranch (Kym is one of my favourite reads, I never tire of being inspired and informed on so many important topics, from homeschooling, mothering, keeping house and home and so much more.)
Shower of Roses

Funniest Blog

Tales from the Bonny Blue House (Mary Ellen, great to see your lovely blog in this category!)

Most Entertaining Blog

Shower of Roses

Best New Blog

Cherished Hearts at Home (Gae is a Catholic homeschooling mum in Australia and her blog is only very new but she is tremendously inspiring, I hope more will pop over and visit Gae regularly, you won't be disappointed!)

Best Overall Catholic Website

Faith Filled Days (Erin you up against BIG nominees including EWTN!! But I'm so glad to see you here, your site offers so much to Catholic mothers everywhere by compiling so many wonderful contributors offering Catholic craft ideas, liturgical activities, celebrating feast days. Everything is in calendar order to make life easier when it comes to planning a rich life of Catholic living in the home with our children, many thanks to you Erin. I hope you receive many nominations!)

Mondays with Mary is finally here!

I have been waiting long for the release of Monday's with Mary written by Meredith over at Sweetness and Light. The trouble with waiting long and eagerly, you can often be let down by high expectations but I was delighted to see that this beautiful book lives up to them and much more.

Meredith had a desire to share and spread the Marian devotion she has fostered in her own sweet family with families everywhere, that is our good fortune. Meredith's approach has been done in a very unique and special way.

Most of us know of the Litany of Our Lady, it has been in the church for centuries, a beautiful prayer of speaking the titles of Mary, a wonderful way of expressing our love for her. It actually makes me think of this line from poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." That is precisely what we are doing when we recite this sublime litany of love for our mother. Saints have been reciting this daily for centuries and we should too, as often as we can. Meredith has incorporated the titles of Mary from the Litany into the various Marian feasts throughout the year.

What a perfect idea.

This helps children explore and understand the meaning of each title in the litany and also gives families another great reason to learn about and celebrate many lovely Marian feasts ~ the well known ones and some not so well known, so I can guarantee you will learn more about Mary in the reading of it!

In fact there was a very special revelation in it for me. My oldest child was born on the 19th of November, the Saturday before the 3rd Sunday of November in that year and I now know that it is the feast of Mother of Divine Providence. I am so grateful to now know this, her image is..beautiful, the Child Jesus lying in her lap, gazing up lovingly at His Blessed Mother.

Mother of Divine Providence

The layout of the book is very appealing and straightforward, just what my poor brain needs! Meredith has dedicated a few pages to each litany verse and the Marian feast day that she has thoughtfully matched to it.

Within those pages she starts with a quote and then explains the Litany title and Marian feast day and why she has brought the two together. This introduction leads onto 'teatime chat' a section giving practical suggestions and helps in presenting this to our children, in order to generate a good, meaningful discussion with them..just how can we live out the virtues Our Lady possessed in that title and feast? Meredith draws upon scripture, tradition, church history and the saints' example mixed with her own intuitive ideas and thoughts in these two sections.

Teatime chat is followed by 'Devotional activities' and here Meredith has showcased the best of what she has shared over the years at Sweetness and Light, one of the reasons her 'sweet' corner of blogsphere is so popular with so many mothers . Devotional activities incorporate great craft activities, with a sprinkling of photos and hand drawn pictures. There are also prayers, hymns, and spiritual exercises, encouraging mothers and children to really live out their faith in service to others with Mary as their gentle guide.

Lastly there is 'teatime recipe ideas.' Good food and feasts always go hand in hand, creating enjoyable moments. Sharing together delicious, often symbolic meals creates and binds together those 'love ties' in the hearts of little ones, for what would a birthday be, in the fond memories of children without a birthday cake? Meredith has shared recipes she has used within her own family that look simply delightful!

At the back of the book there are appendixes that support the many things shared throughout the book.

Meredith in her introduction sums up why I believe this book will be a gem in the lives of many mothers and their children in the years to come:

"Mondays with Mary represents a glimpse into the life and heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary for our children. We as their parents are the windows to her world; we just need to open it for them. Let us go to Jesus through Mary!"

For my family the delight I have experienced in the reading of Mondays with Mary, begins for them in the practical use of it from this day on.

My sincerest thanks to you Meredith, for this beautiful, big book dedicated to the Mother of us all.

May Crown revitalized

The very best of plans often go astray. At our house it applies doubly. We had planned a big May Day crowning on the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians 24th of May, it fell on a sunday this year, it would have been wonderful.

Trouble is I had more jaw surgery at the dentist a week and half ago and I've been slowly recovering since. It was big work this time and I knew from day one those plans were gone. Also in our part of the world the weather has been wild and wet with yards a virtual muddy stomping ground and we got off lightly compared to those whose homes and yards were completely flooded.

My very capable husband still continued the building of our Mary garden and we are almost there, some capping to do, the garden soil is almost filled and then only comes the flowers. I think I'll hold off on photos until we are complete.

We now think we ought to plan for a crowning in October, it will be our spring and it will be another month dedicated to Our Lady.

What I am sharing today is an old crown reworked for a bright and beautiful makeover. What a difference some artificial flowers and a collection of beads make! The flowers are particularly delicate and sweet. I have used a golden 'rosebud' bead in the center of each peak and then surrounded it with smaller pearl-like beads in delicate shades of pink, blue and cream. This will fit our outdoor statue of Our Lady that sits in our mary garden.

Archbishop Chaput's response to Notre Dame

Over at the website of the Archdiocese of Denver, Archbishop Chuput has released a letter in response to the scandal at Notre Dame, which I've printed here in full:

May 18, 2009

Archbishop Chaput on Notre Dame and the issues that remain

"I have found that even among those who did not go to Notre Dame, even among those who do not share the Catholic faith, there is a special expectation, a special hope, for what Notre Dame can accomplish in the world."

~ Reverend John Jenkins, C.S.C., May 17, 2009

Most graduation speeches are a mix of piety and optimism designed to ease students smoothly into real life. The best have humor. Some genuinely inspire. But only a rare few manage to be pious, optimistic, evasive, sad and damaging all at the same time. Father John Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president, is a man of substantial intellect and ability. This makes his introductory comments to President Obama’s Notre Dame commencement speech on May 17 all the more embarrassing.

Let’s remember that the debate over President Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame was never about whether he is a good or bad man. The president is clearly a sincere and able man. By his own words, religion has had a major influence in his life. We owe him the respect Scripture calls us to show all public officials. We have a duty to pray for his wisdom and for the success of his service to the common good -- insofar as it is guided by right moral reasoning.

We also have the duty to oppose him when he’s wrong on foundational issues like abortion, embryonic stem cell research and similar matters. And we also have the duty to avoid prostituting our Catholic identity by appeals to phony dialogue that mask an abdication of our moral witness. Notre Dame did not merely invite the president to speak at its commencement. It also conferred an unnecessary and unearned honorary law degree on a man committed to upholding one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in our nation’s history: Roe v. Wade.

In doing so, Notre Dame ignored the U.S. bishops’ guidance in their 2004 statement, Catholics in Political Life. It ignored the concerns of Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon, Notre Dame’s 2009 Laetare Medal honoree – who, unlike the president, certainly did deserve her award, but finally declined it in frustration with the university’s action. It ignored appeals from the university’s local bishop, the president of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, more than 70 other bishops, many thousands of Notre Dame alumni and hundreds of thousands of other American Catholics. Even here in Colorado, I’ve heard from too many to count.

There was no excuse – none, except intellectual vanity – for the university to persist in its course. And Father Jenkins compounded a bad original decision with evasive and disingenuous explanations to subsequently justify it.

These are hard words, but they’re deserved precisely because of Father Jenkins’ own remarks on May 17: Until now, American Catholics have indeed had "a special expectation, a special hope for what Notre Dame can accomplish in the world." For many faithful Catholics – and not just a "small but vocal group" described with such inexcusable disdain and ignorance in journals like Time magazine -- that changed Sunday.

The May 17 events do have some fitting irony, though. Almost exactly 25 years ago, Notre Dame provided the forum for Gov. Mario Cuomo to outline the "Catholic" case for "pro-choice" public service. At the time, Cuomo’s speech was hailed in the media as a masterpiece of American Catholic legal and moral reasoning. In retrospect, it’s clearly adroit. It’s also, just as clearly, an illogical and intellectually shabby exercise in the manufacture of excuses. Father Jenkins’ explanations, and President Obama’s honorary degree, are a fitting national bookend to a quarter century of softening Catholic witness in Catholic higher education. Together, they’ve given the next generation of Catholic leadership all the excuses they need to baptize their personal conveniences and ignore what it really demands to be "Catholic" in the public square.

Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George has suggested that Notre Dame "didn’t understand" what it means to be Catholic before these events began. He's correct, and Notre Dame is hardly alone in its institutional confusion. That's the heart of the matter. Notre Dame’s leadership has done a real disservice to the Church, and now seeks to ride out the criticism by treating it as an expression of fringe anger. But the damage remains, and Notre Dame’s critics are right. The most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist – by their words, actions and financial support – that institutions claiming to be "Catholic" actually live the faith with courage and consistency. If that happens, Notre Dame’s failure may yet do some unintended good.

A sad day has just past..

A sad day has past in the States recently due to the honorary degree given by Notre Dame, a Catholic university, to the most rabidly pro-abortion president of the United States the world has ever seen. Obama's speech was cleverly written and executed but based on lies and false reasoning.

I suppose I feel very emotional about this terrible travesty and so I leave it to Father Z from What Does the Prayer Really Say? to express something of what I feel.

Beading contentment

Some more beading done over the weekend while trying to keep things quiet still.

A few new St Anne chaplets with a totally new St Anne medal. Isn't it a beautiful medal? It is of St Anne deAuray which I blogged about here. St Anne and the Child Mary surrounds by flowers. It comes in sterling silver only at present, hopefully it will come out in bronze down the track.

Here is the same St Anne medal made up in a blue chaplet with goregeous Pacific Opal swarovski crystals for the Pater beads.

Another blue St Anne chaplet, I've used filigree sterling silver beads for the Paters with another sterling silver bead cap either side of it.

This is one of my favourite necklaces. So many love St Therese of the Little Flower and I use a particularly lovely medal from Rosary Workshop and a lovely rose rosary center, the symbolic theme is 'roses' (of course!) roses among the greenery. I've use a lovely fire-polished czech rosebud shaped 8mm bead for the main rose in each section, they are sitting in a solid bronze 'leaf' bead cap, lots of swarovski crystals and Forest Green Jasper gemstones. It looks so nice on.

Here is a close up of the center piece, the rose rosary center, then the crystals arranged to look like a rose and it's rosebud and the St Therese medal.

Quickly snapped a photo with it on, so you see how it sits.

Two lovely marian rosary beads flying overseas soon. I never tire of the blue crazy lace agate and unfortunately you need to get the beads in direct sunlight to do true justice to the brilliance of this gorgeous gemstone.

Here is the second pair, both in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I've made a new background for my beads to be photographed on and that inspiration has come from Alice's beautiful site, Gardens of Grace and the very creative and perfect way she has photographed her creations. (Though I can't photograph like her though, still working on that..) I have thought about doing it for a while for I have been in a gregorian chant choir for 6 years and we have chant notation books in home which I use in choir, it seemed the perfect background for me.

Convalescing creativity

I have had precious little time to bead this year due to so many things, time has been a hugh issue as well. So I've had a burst of beading work due to my jaw surgery two days ago, something quite, restful and stress-free.

I have a friend in Sydney hosting a Belle La Femme night of Catholic fashion to raise money for the Fraternity of St Peter parish. So most of these will be going down for that event.

Another St Anne chaplet...

"O Maria Flos Virginum" Necklace and matching earrings.

"Massabielle Madonna" Necklace and earrings.

Miraculous Medal Necklace and earrings.

"Guadalupian Golden Rose" Necklace and earrings.

Despite a bit of pain etc, I've had a good couple of days with all of this.

Mother's Day delight

Today is Mother's Day. What a delight to wake to this! Six children very eager with a little package and card in hand! What thrilled me the most were their homemade cards (with the help of Nan..)

This is the front of the card from my George (6)

And here is the inside! That's a familiar face I see.....

My darling little Anna (1) had this card made up for her to give to me. Yes, definately a familiar face looking out at me...

The inside of the card..oh goodness, another photo!

My Therese (9) was responsible for this card..I think this girl knows her mum well!

The inside of the card...loved gardening since ever I can remember..

My Faustina (12) made up this card and here I am at her age with my best friend.

The inside of the card...we were skating fanatics...just LOVE my dress and long socks!

Francis (14) put together this card. I had owned a horse for a few years when we lived in the country.

Inside the card..my dad and myself riding "Paint" my horse.

Finally, Ambrose (4) was given a little help with this card...one of our dogs from many years ago in fancy dress.

Inside the card - I won first prize with this dress up for some event, Raggedy Ann and a Jack-in-the Box. I had won $500! Here I am with my sister and our dear nextdoor neighbour friends..we had alot of fun that day.

What a lovely walk down memory lane, just such a lovely blessing for me and lots of fun and giggles for the children.

Actually, I asked my dear children for a very, very special gift today. To offer their Holy Communions in honour of St Anne and St Appolonia for my jaw surgery this Wednesday...how can you put a price on such a gift, especially when given with such eagerness and love?