Monday, June 26, 2023
My Simple Daybook vol. III
Closing Notes
Friday, June 23, 2023
Catholic Holy Cards: What to do with them all?
"How do you pray with your holy cards?"
That's a great question! Besides using them as bookmarks, holy cards can be a tremendous spiritual aid. I really like to use ones that have my favorite prayers, quotes, and images on them when I'm praying at church or sitting in quiet meditation at home.
I keep the bulk of my holy card collection in a box from my Little Flower's Girls Group growing up. The box was part of our project for the virtue of orderliness. I have to chuckle a little bit because, while the box keeps my holy cards all in one place and is not visibly a mess, the inside of the box is a little chaotic. But there is a method to the madness.
"...I beheld His body bruised and beaten to the very ribs, so that His ribs could be seen; and what was still more bitter, when the scourge was raised, His very flesh was furrowed by the thongs. ... my Son stood thus, all bloody, all torn, so that no soundness could be found in Him nor any spot to scourge..."
Venerable Fulton Sheen also wrote in his book, "The Life of Christ" speaking of Our Lord,
"He will find Himself without a friend in the world, an outcast on a hill, with mobs shouting His death, and His flesh hanging from Him like purple rags."
So you see, this image of Our Lord could be very accurate and I find it so helpful in meditation on Our Lord's suffering and passion. Now to the praying part!! I have this picture opposite The Litany of Humility. A great pairing, right? (You can find both of these holy cards here!)
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Goodbye Social Media, Hello TAN Books
Hello, my dear readers,
I hope you're doing well! Here I am again after a long silence. One of these days, I'll get regular about posting! (Right?π ) Anyway, you may recall that I've been trying to keep my social media time in check for a while now. (I blogged about it here and here.) Well, as much as I tried and hoped to balance my time and maintain self-control, I still struggled with endless scrolling. Yes, there were so many good Catholic quotes, adorable knitting patterns, and lovely inspiration, but I was overall being harmed by my time on social media. Along with the good posts, there were so many occasions to be accosted by language. When scrolling reels, who knows how many times you'll hear curse words or, even worse, God's name used in vain. It really is upsetting to the soul. Not only that, but it's very hard not to fall into the comparison game whether that be wanting all the beautiful yarn or desiring a life and vocation that is not your own. It's so important to focus on the here and now; what's right in front of us. I was seeing all of these lovely posts from wives, mothers, and homemakers, but that is not my calling right now. Right now, I need to focus on cultivating virtue in myself towards God, my family, and my friends; not the husband I don't have.
So with that, I've finally decided to deactivate my Instagram accounts. (Facebook will remain to stay connected to family and friends.) The accounts are not completely deleted in case I would like to make the time to come back to them, but in my mind, they're just as good as deleted for now. Instead, I would like to make more time for prayer, reading, work, knitting, and blogging here! This blog has always been my favorite way to share experiences and thoughts. I've just wasted so much time trying to keep up with trends that I don't set aside the longer block of time required to post here.
But now that I don't have Instagram, I wanted to share one of my latest endeavors here with you!!
Introducing my very own TAN books Affiliate Link!! π
For every purchase made using the link above, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! This is a small way to support my endeavors and adventures at home for the rest of this summer. (That will be changing this fall; stay tuned for more announcements!) So if you enjoy reading great Catholic literature, both classic and new, please prayerfully consider using my link! Thank you!!
My old blog, The Life of a Homeschooler, was all about my homeschooling adventures and learning. However, for me, homeschooling never stops even after you graduate. I'm constantly learning, especially about my faith and I want to have the best books possible for doing that! I've read TAN Books throughout my life and schooling. They have a wonderful selection for early readers through the learned adult. These books will help you grow in your faith and spirituality while keeping your mind and imagination engaged!
In the future, whenever I post about the TAN Books I'm reading or sharing in a gift guide, I'll share this affiliate link so stay tuned for lots of great Catholic literature content!
Thank you so much for being here, friend! I hope to share lots more wonderful Catholic content in the very near future without any of the added stress of social media. Is there anything in particular you would like to read about here? Please do let me know in the comments below!
In cordibus Jesu et Mariae,
Sarah
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