Crafts

Lourdes Themed Rosary Bracelet

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Hello everyone! Today I want to share a craft with you. I really enjoy jewelry making, particularly making rosaries and rosary bracelets. Rosary bracelets are some of my favorite items. I love the ability to reach over to my wrist and pray the rosary anywhere I am, as well as the fact that they are a subtle reminder of prayer in the midst of the day. Recently I designed a rosary bracelet themed around Lourdes and want to show you all!

Supplies

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The Hail Mary and Our Father beads are 12mm turquoise colored round glass beads. To space the large beads, I used small 4mm clear glass round beads. Between the Hail Mary beads, I used one spacer bead. To separate the Our Father bead from the others, I used three spacer beads on each side. The beads are strung on 49 strand wire, which allows the bracelet to drape nicely. The fastener is a stainless steel lobster clasp and ring. Next to the Our Father bead, I placed a small crucifix and a medal with an image of Our Lady of Lourdes on one side and St. Bernadette on the other. I used crimp tubes on the ends of the bracelet.

I decided to use blue as the main color for several reasons. For one, blue is a color which is often associated with Our Lady. Fulton Sheen often quoted the poem (or was it a prayer) “Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue”, which is extremely beautiful. Another reason I chose blue as the main color is the fact that water was such an important part of Our Lady’s apparition at Lourdes. When unclasped, the bracelet is approximately 8.25 in. long. Overall I am happy with how this bracelet turned out. I particularly like the medal of Our Lady of Lourdes. The blue beads are a little bit larger than I usually go with for rosary bracelets, but I think the final effect is pleasing. These beads are crackled glass, which creates an interesting look when light shines through them.

Book Reviews · Reviews

Review of “Manual for Spiritual Warfare”

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Are you all doing well? I am having a really enjoyable summer. My one struggle is that

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everyday, I find another book I want to order! There are so many magnificent books to read, and it is not possible for me to get them all! I thought that today I would post a review of a book which I have greatly enjoyed. It is another TAN Books publication! Today I will be reviewing Paul Thigpen’s Manual for Spiritual Warfare, which is available here.

 

Physical Characteristics (Leatherette Edition) – 5/5 stars

Like so many of TAN’s publications, this book is truly beautiful. The cover is simple, but elegant. The leatherette feels very nice when being held and is durable. There is a ribbon bookmark. The pages are made of very nice creamy paper, with the printing in black with red accents. The edges of the pages are silver and shiny! It is the same size as the Manual for Eucharistic Adoration; just the right size to fit in a purse. Overall, this is a high quality volume.

Content – 5/5 stars

This book carries with it a nihil obstat and imprimatur, which is especially important in a book dealing with a topic like spiritual warfare. This book is divided into two sections. The first section, titled “Preparing for Battle”, is devoted to explaining Church teaching on the reality of the devil, how the virtues protect us from evil, as well as the importance of the Sacraments and the Mass in our spiritual lives. It also explains the various things which people need to avoid to keep from opening the doors of their souls to the devil. I really appreciated the sober treatment of these subjects. I also thought that the book did an excellent job in warning those who are not trained exorcists with the approval of the Church against attempting exorcisms or directly addressing the devil. By doing either one of these things, the Catholic exhibits spiritual pride and puts oneself in great spiritual danger. This section of the book is really well done. It provides much needed information to people in an age when the devil and hell are too often dismissed as myths.

The second part of the books is titled, “Aids in Battle”. It is really the prayer book section of this volume. It contains quotations from Scripture, which provide ample fruit for meditation and prayer. It also has quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, quotations from various Church councils, and from the Saints. There are also many beautiful hymns and devotions. I particularly love the rosary meditations in this book.

The Manual of Spiritual Warfare is a wonderful resource dealing with a very important topic. It is not sensationalist, but rather provides a sober treatment of the topic of spiritual warfare.  It beautifully illustrates the truth that we can be confident that we are safe when we submit ourselves to the authority of the Church and frequent Mass and the Sacraments, and live virtuous lives. I really enjoyed the section which compiled many quotations from the saints. I had not seen a lot of these before and found them to be profound.

I would recommend this book to everyone. It is an invaluable resource for prayer and meditation!

Reviews · Reviews of Other Stuff

Review of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Rosary Pouch

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Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel! Here is an interesting article from EWTN

BeFunky-photo (2)about this day. I love the Carmelite order very much, and I also frequently ask Our Lady’s intercession under her title as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Thus, this is a day which means a lot to me. As an aside, I also find the connection between Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Fatima to be fascinating. If you don’t know what I am talking about, check out this article at the National Catholic Register here.  In honor of this feast day, I thought that I would post a review of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Rosary pouch. It is available from EWTN’s Religious Catalogue for $8 here.

4/5 stars

There is a beautiful image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel holding the Child Jesus, with each of them holding a brown scapular on each side of the rosary pouch. The image is very detailed, and has very beautiful golden threads woven throughout. You might be able to see from my picture, but some of the threads have ends poking out. The pouch is not unraveling, but I think what happened is that some of the ends were not woven in properly. This isn’t a big deal, but was a little disappointing.

The pouch is very large. I was able to fit my rosary and my St. Michael Chaplet inside and not fill it halfway. I think that this pouch would be excellent to take on a trip because of how much you could fit inside. I am thinking about keeping several holy cards in here…

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The zipper seems pretty nice. One thing which I absolutely love is the cross attached to the zipper. It is gorgeous! The inside of the pouch is lined with black fabric. This is an excellent rosary pouch for the price. The beautiful image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel holding the Child Jesus is the best part.

Book Reviews · Reviews

Review of “Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles”

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Hello,

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How is your summer? Time seems to be just flying by. I cannot believe that we are already a week into July. It seems like we were just in May, but I guess that is how things go. Fall will be here before we know it! Today I thought I would give you all my review of one of my favorite books: Raymond Arroyo’s first biography of Mother Angelica. I originally read this a year or two ago, but have re-read it several times since then. For those of you who are interested, it is available from EWTN’s Religious Catalogue in paperback here.

Physical Characteristics (Paperback Edition) – 4.5/5 stars

I will not be able to really do a review of the physical characteristics of this volume because I bought my copy used. That said, I will comment that the cover is nice and the binding has held up well. My one quibble would be that the section in the middle of the book which has the photos is printed on the same paper as the rest of the book. I would have liked it if those were perhaps printed on some glossy paper, etc. This is minor though. It is a good quality paperback overall.

Content – 5/5 stars

I loved this book so much. Before I read it, I had seen a few programs on EWTN, but not very many. I did not really know much about Mother Angelica. Since then, I have watched many of the Mother Angelica Live reruns, and enjoyed them immensely.

The writing was very well done. It grips your attention. The descriptions of Mother Angelica’s childhood were fascinating; I only wish that more stories and anecdotes had been included. Learning about her family was especially interesting. It was also interesting to hear about how she became more fervent in her faith after a miraculous healing.

I found the account of Mother Angelica entering the convent to be so moving. Raymond Arroyo did an excellent job of describing the convent like it really was (i.e. full of human beings with flaws and foibles), but also of conveying the true beauty and high calling of contemplative life. This cannot have been an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. Mother Angelica’s close relationship with Jesus and her total dedication to Him were truly moving. Women considering their vocation should read this book, because it is a true portrait of the beauty which comes from total dedication to Christ.

Another wonderful part of the book which was really inspiring to me personally was seeing how often Mother Angelica placed her trust in God when other people doubted her. As a certified worrier myself, her radical trust in Jesus and His plan was a really powerful example. The book does a good job of portraying a real human being. Raymond Arroyo describes the pain and frustration which Mother Angelica experienced, but also shows her heroic response to that pain.

The account of EWTN’s founding was amazing. It was another testament to the power of trust in God. The book does an excellent job of describing Mother’s personal life in the midst of her activities. There was a nice section in the middle of the book with photos from all different periods of Mother Angelica’s life. I wish there had been more!

Finally, I think that the book fairly describes Mother Angelica’s conflicts with various bishops. It also details her response to the 1993 World Youth Day in which a female portrayed Jesus during the Stations of the Cross. I don’t know if anyone can watch the video of her response to that event and not want to cheer. I know that I certainly wanted to applaud! 🙂

Mother Angelica was one of the most inspirational figures of modern times. This book does what all the best ones do: make its readers strive for holiness.

Book Reviews · Reviews

Review of “Manual for Eucharistic Adoration”

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Hello,

How are you all doing today? I feel like I am in that part of summer where time passes slowly. There are not very many pressing responsibilities at the moment. I find it strange that when I have more free time, I feel less inclined to devote any of it to something productive. Isn’t that odd? Thus, this blog post is me valiantly struggling against the inertia of leisure :-).

Today I will be reviewing the Manual for Eucharistic Adoration published by TAN Books, and available here. It was put together by the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration from St. Joseph’s Monastery.

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Physical Characteristics (Leatherette Cover Edition) – 5/5 stars

This is one of the most beautiful prayer books that has been put on the market recently. You can feel that it is high quality. The cover is flexible and a beautiful deep red.  The leatherette has a nice feel to it, and is very durable. The design is simple and aesthetically pleasing. There is also a beautiful gold colored ribbon bookmark, which looks beautiful next to the red cover. The edges of the pages are gilded (YES!), and the paper itself is thick and creamy colored. The beginnings of the chapters have the first letter of the first sentence beautifully embellished in a style which calls to mind illuminated manuscripts. The printing is done mostly in black, with red used as a contrast color for the titles to great effect. When it comes to size, the book fits comfortably in my smallish hands. It would fit well in a purse.

Content – 5/5 stars (Extra Latin points!)

As usual when it comes to prayer books, I look for ecclesiastical approval. This book carries with it both a Nihil Obstat and an Imprimatur. If you are wondering what these mean, EWTN has a nice Q and A explaining it here. The beginning of the book has a nice page for those who may be giving the book as a gift. It has spaces where the giver can write to whom the book is given, the occasion or date, and leave a note. I think this is a great idea, because this book would make a wonderful Confirmation or First Communion gift.

The book has an introduction and is then divided into two sections: “Preparing for Adoration” and “Aids in Adoration”. One lovely aspect of the book is that the very first chapter begins with a J.R.R. Tolkien quote, which is always good! It then goes on to lay out the Biblical foundations for the Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist, beginning with the foreshadowing in the Old Testament, and moving on to Christ giving us the Eucharist in the New Testament. Next, it describes the Biblical and historical roots of adoration in particular. The first section ends with a guide telling you how to go adoration.

The second section of the book begins by providing quotations about the Church’s teaching on adoration. Next come Scriptural quotations, which can be meditated on during adoration. There are also quotations from the saints. This section includes rosary meditations, chaplets, prayers, etc.  The chaplets I found especially helpful, as there were a few which I had not seen before. There are many traditional prayers and hymns. I also liked that some of them were sorted by your need or intention at the moment. Many of the hymns are English translations of originals written by St. Thomas Aquinas in Latin. Chapter 10 even has the Latin text of Tantum Ergo with an English translation!

This book is something which, ideally, everyone would own. It provides an excellent introduction to and companion for Eucharistic adoration. It is a wonderful compilation of traditional Catholic teaching and devotion to the Eucharist. The hymns are both beautiful and doctrinally rich, as all the best hymns are.  The amount of material here is enough to really kickstart someone’s love of Eucharistic Adoration.

Please consider getting this book, because it really is excellent. Even if you don’t, please make a Holy Hour this summer. In the midst of these lazy summer days, Jesus waits in the chapel. The King of kings and the Lord of lords is there; present your needs to him. In the midst of a world embroiled in sin, sacrilege, and blasphemy, let us make reparation to Him before Whom the angels tremble.

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas