St. Peter’s List published seven quotes from Alice von Hildebrand’s book “The Privilege of Being a Woman” on their blog recently and it is worth clicking over there to check it out.
If you don’t own a copy of her book, may I also suggest that you buy a copy?
I have always had an interest in genealogy, well maybe not always, but definitely since the early age of 9 when my mother’s family published a book on the family history. It mostly chronicled the journey of the Kress family from a small town near Fulda, Germany to Medford, Wisconsin in the 1880s. The book also contained stories of the descendants of  Conrad and Eva Kress up to the (then) present time. As a child I was fascinated by the book.
Years later, after some research, I reached out to a gentleman who was the cousin of my Grandma Martin. Through him, I found out that some of my father’s side of the family had come to the United States prior to the American Revolution.
Then last summer, I sat down and looked up a few things and stumbled upon the Iowa GenWeb Project. Volunteers in the state of Iowa are taking time to upload information about families who had settled in Iowa in the 1800 and 1900s, and it is a great treasure. I knew my grandmother on my father’s side was from Iowa and that my mother’s mother was also born in Iowa, but I didn’t know that her family had been in Iowa for a very long time.
Taking information I learned on the IA GenWeb Project page and doing a bit of google searching, I discovered a site called Find A Grave.  (Disclaimer, I knew about it for a few years, but I thought it was only for people who were famous.)  Through Find A Grave, I was able to find the cemeteries where my ancestors on my mother’s mother’s side were buried.  The site has a pretty neat feature where, if available, a bit of a family tree is posted as well as an obituary.
One of the things I found most interesting is that some of my ancestors were not Catholic. Since all of my grandparents on both sides were Catholic, when did the conversion happen? I’m hoping to be able to piece a bit more of our history together, on both sides of the family in the future and maybe do a tour of the areas they lived in.
This past Sunday, while reading Father’s column (not during the Mass) I spied this:
Thank you, Father, for this beautiful gift!
Cards and cheesecake for papa. Someone also gave him a nickel. He love it all.
Joshua designed a yearly planner book for me for this coming school year. It’s also available for sale to those who are looking for a planner. Click here to find out more information.
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and suffering of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians; I offer them for the intentions of our Bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. Â Amen
This question was posed on Twitter by Mr. Jonathan Sullivan:
So how can
#Catholic couples make manifest the joy of the Cross in marriage?
Let me start by saying this is not going to be any sort of lofty theological post about marriage, but more of a common sense post about how to be joyful in your marriage.
1. The Sacraments. Frequent the sacraments of Confession and Communion.
2. Just be joyful. No it’s not always easy and there are sometimes circumstances that really do not allow for joy to be readily lived, however, we should to strive to do our best. Yes there are times when we are disappointed by our spouses, but those are times we should be offering prayers up for them and not walking around with pouty faces.
3. I heard this one before I was married and it is simple: Never complain about your husband to your friends and family. Even simple things like “he doesn’t put his socks in the hamper” can lead to cracks in the happiness of your marriage. If there are things that you cannot resolve together, seek the counsel of your pastor or a priest you trust, avoid going to your friends or family, as they have long memories and will remember things long past the time you two have forgotten.
My job as Joshua’s wife is to work to get him to heaven and his job is to get me to heaven. Â Marriage is not easy, that’s why we need the grace from the sacrament to help us live the married vocation and why we need the help of the Church to lead us in that vocation.
From the Monks of Norcia website comes this beautiful reflection on a Eucharistic procession and God being in our streets.
In a day and age when Christianity is mocked and many Catholics don’t understand their faith, what better way to show God to the world and share the teachings of our Faith than to follow our Eucharistic Lord through the streets.
I’ll admit I probably spend more time watching cooking shows on youtube than I should each week. However, I look at them as more of a research project than just a time waster, after all I’m looking for recipe ideas for my family.
Ones that I’ve really come to enjoy actually are from England. Now, it could just be my impression, but I get the idea that portions are smaller in the UK and desserts are far less common (and less sweet) than here. While the smaller portions part doesn’t leave much for leftovers, it does help with making sure we aren’t stuffing ourselves just because there is food in front of us.
Here are a few Youtube channels I’ve found inspiration from for cooking:
Sorted Food – Four guys from London, three of whom have no idea how to cook and one who went to culinary school. They’ve been around for four years now, so there are lots of videos to watch. The nice part about them is that they keep things simple. They use fresh ingredients but a fair mix of pantry items.
Titli – Not only does Titli have a busy kitchen channel, but she also has a bread kitchen channel and a garden channel.  She’s funny and her recipes are simple to follow. She also uses a good mix of fresh and pantry items. (Let’s be realistic, we can’t always get fresh ingredients for cooking.)
Laura in the Kitchen – I don’t remember when I stumbled upon her channel, but I subscribed as soon as I watched the first video. Her foods are simple and quite delicious. Laura is from Italy but lives in the US. Her recipes are also simple and quick to prepare.
Gordon Ramsay – Most people know him as the guy who stands around and yells a lot on television. These videos don’t have any of that and he’s actually quite charming. His recipes are a bit more fancy than the sites above, for when you want to have a bit more of a fancy meal.
All of these channels have a good mix of savory and sweet recipes.
I know sometimes when I fall into a doldrum about cooking, I am usually able to find a recipe from these channels to inspire me. I hope they inspire you too!