Kings of the Mountain

"The Lord's power and glory can be seen in the distance."
Isaiah 30:27

We hiked to the top of Mount Helena this past weekend (believe it or not, the following day the mountain was covered in snow!). Paul and the older boys loved the hike; whereas, Dominic and I did a fair share of whining :} It is so beautiful at the top to overlook the city and the surrounding mountains. One truly understand why Montana is called "Big Sky Country" when you're looking at the state from the top of a mountain! We feel so blessed to be here and hope to embark upon many more hikes in the years to come...hopefully with less whining!

The Mighty Hunters

Here's a photo of the mighty hunters who unfortunately came back empty handed in the meat department but loaded with animated stories :) From left to right: My brothers Steve and Jon, my dad Pat, my brother Mike, and my husband Paul. Despite no one shooting an elk, they had a blast bonding in the way men do: telling stories, drinking beer, and finding some sort of strange fulfillment roughing it in the wild. I am glad they all had such a good time, and I hope they all are able to put something in their freezers before the season comes to an end. I have to admit I will breathe a huge sigh of relief once the season is over :} Perhaps then it will be time for me to go on a 3-week "Camp for Girls" getaway! Any ladies out there want to join me? ;)

The Little Flower of Lisieux

Today is the Feast Day of one of the saints dearest to my heart: St. Therese the Little Flower. I've prayed many a novena to her and received many heavenly roses from her hand. I've read her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, and will forever strive to imitate her "little way," as she calls it, to holiness. Her way simply consists of daily dying to self and living solely for God by loving and serving others. My mom, who is fittingly named Theresa, has a deep devotion to St. Therese and so beautifully models "the Little Flower" every day through small (and big) acts of sacrifice and love. Hopefully, I'll catch on soon and be able to follow in both of their footsteps :) Here is a little excerpt about St. Therese's life that I found inspiring:

Few saints are more popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world. Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24. Life in a Carmelite convent is indeed uneventful and consists mainly of prayer and hard domestic work. But Thérèse possessed that holy insight that redeems the time, however dull that time may be. She found holiness in quiet, redemptive suffering, suffering that was indeed her apostolate. Thérèse said she came to the Carmel convent "to save souls and pray for priests." And shortly before she died, she wrote: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth." Many people claim to receive miraculous roses from Therese when they seek her intercession. Thérèse has much to teach our age. We have become a dangerously self-conscious people, painfully aware of the need to be fulfilled, yet knowing we are not. Thérèse, like so many saints, sought to serve others, to do something outside herself, to forget herself in quiet acts of love. She is one of the great examples of the gospel paradox that we gain our life by losing it, and that the seed that falls to the ground must die in order to live (see John 12). Preoccupation with self separates modern men and women from God, from their fellow human beings and ultimately from themselves. We must relearn to forget ourselves, to contemplate a God who draws us out of ourselves and to serve others as the ultimate expression of selfhood. These are the insights of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and they are more valid today than ever.

I find it ironic that on this special Feast Day of St. Therese, I am feeling so absolutely unlike her. For weeks I have been battling with serious selfishness, wanting to be loved and served rather than loving and serving others, preoccupying myself with worldly and vain thoughts, and finding it very difficult to be joyful or even to pray. Although it humbles me and troubles me how far I feel from St. Therese's "little way" lately, I am so thankful for her example and her intercession. So from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely pray, St. Therese, pray for me.

Feast of St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael, pray for us, especially for our little Michael.
Please protect him and help him to be fearless for the faith, just like you were and still are!

Happy Feast of St. Michael!!! I thought it would be fitting to put this adorable picture of our little "saint" Michael on the blog today to warm people's hearts. I know I'm a biased mother, but truly, it just doesn't get any cuter than this! :) If you look closely, he even has band-aids on his naked little thigh from immunizations that day, which seems fitting for his costume of the brave angel who cast Satan out of Heaven. This photo was taken 4 years ago when Michael was only 2. Michael found this costume in the toy box one day and decided to take all his clothes off to put it on. I was total unaware of what he was doing until he called for me at the top of the stairs. What a surprise! Of course, I told him to freeze while I ran to get the camera :) And I'm so glad I did because I get to look at this picture any time I want and it never ceases to make me smile.

The Saint Michael Prayer:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. And may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

ABRAKADABRA!!!

Uncle Jon being Joseph's volunteer for a magical card trick.

"Hey Joseph, could you magically make Jon's side-burns disappear, please?"

"ABRAKADABRA!"

This week my brother Jon came to visit for an evening (in route to join "The Hunting Camp" with my husband, my dad, and my 2 other brothers the following morning). We packed a lot of food, fun, and magic into that short evening. Uncle Jon brought gifts for all the boys, which was a huge hit (I think gift-giving is Uncle Jon's love language...it must run in the family because that's definitely mine too) :) After the boys played with their new toys and talked non-stop to Uncle Jon, it was time for supper. I made a delicious Chicken Pesto Lasagna...however, as I was taking the tin foil off the top, one of the lasagna noodles stuck to the tin foil and fell to the bottom of the hot oven creating a nice smokey display. And then it was time for the real excitement: Joseph's Amazing Magic Show! He did a fine job, and truly did amaze us with a few of his tricks. And, boy, did he do a few tricks...24 to be exact. It was a 45 minute performance, and he certainly kept us entertained! I was hoping that for his last trick, he would magically make Uncle Jon's strange side-burns disappear and reapper on top of his head where his hair belongs :) Abrakadabra just couldn't cut it for that trick. Oh well, all of us love Uncle Jon just the way he is. Truly, he has a heart of gold and my boys think he hung the moon. I think he's pretty swell too; however, I still harbor some resentment from years and years of being tortured as his little sister :}

St. Padre Pio, Pray for Us!

This week the Church celebrated the Feast Day of one of my favorite saints: Padre Pio. His life truly is awe-inspiring and full of miracles. Below is a short excerpt of his biography:

Padre Pio is most well-known for receiving the wounds of Christ on his hands and feet, called the stigmata, which he received on September 20, 1918 after having a vision of Jesus shortly after Mass. He humbly and with tremendous pain bore the wounds for the remaining 50 years of his life. The blood from the stigmata had an odor described by many as similar to that of perfume or flowers. Padre Pio also had the unique ability to read the hearts and know the sins of the penitents who flocked to him for confession which he heard for ten or twelve hours per day. Padre Pio used the confessional to bring both sinners and devout souls closer to God; he would know just the right word of counsel or encouragement that was needed. For Padre Pio, faith was life: he willed everything and did everything in the light of faith. He was passionately devoted to prayer. He passed the day and a large part of the night in conversation with God. He would say: “In books we seek God, in prayer we find him. Prayer is the key which opens God's heart."

I also read a very touching, true story by a mother who experienced Padre Pio's miraculous intercession for her young daughter a few years ago. Click here to be inspired.

St. Padre Pio, pray for us!

Faith and Family

This is an old photo taken last Easter at the Cathedral, but I posted it because it sums up how I'm feeling at the moment: overwhelmingly thankful for my Catholic faith and my beautiful family. I love how the tabernacle is centered behind us because it reminds me to strive to keep Christ at the center of our family at all times.

Thank you, Lord, for my beautiful family and the beautiful Church you have established for us on earth. May I learn how to better love and serve them both.