That is enough for me

The gentle warmth of the May sun shines upon my face. I cannot help but smile. My heart knows a deep peace in this moment—that abiding peace which only Christ can give. God’s praises swell within my soul and I sing out in joy to Him with my pen on the paper of my journal. My voice does not ring out now—though it soon will. I have not spoken in six days.
Well, to be completely honest, I have spoken a little—once each day to my spiritual director, and the responses in Mass. Amen. Alleluia. And with your spirit. But otherwise I have spoken only to God in the quiet depths of my heart. It is one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life.

The rest of my Blessed is She devotion can be read here.

All the pictures in this post are from my time on silent retreat at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House.

In my reflection, I share the Suscipe prayer from Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Below you can see a glimpse of my first encounter with this prayer while I was on retreat.

Amen.

Isn't it amazing to recognize that the fruits of Saint Ignatius' life are still being revealed today? His Spiritual Exercises and Ignatian spirituality have been such a gift to me. The holy Jesuit priests I have been blessed to know have played a pivotal role in my Catholic faith formation. I can't imagine how different my life would look if Saint Ignatius had not followed the Lord's call for his life! We may not even have our dear Jesuit Papa, Pope Francis! I am so grateful to God for the gift of the saints.

And to think we are all called to be saints! What can you do today to continue on your journey to becoming one? Might I offer a humble suggestion? (It's one I need to heed myself.) Start with silence. Put down your smart phone. Shut your laptop. Be still before the Lord. Quiet your heart. Practice listening. For it is in the silence that we can more clearly hear His voice. 

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!

AMDG – ad majorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God...

7 Quick Takes {no. 36}On Advent, Art, St. Nick & Thanksgiving

It's Friday, which means it's #7QT time - linking up with our new host, Kelly!

{1}
How's your first week of Advent going? I shared how we are preparing our home on Saturday. While it's been a crazy week, I have found peace in making time for daily Mass as often as possible, and reflecting with my Blessed is She Advent Journal, which has been such a blessing.

{2}
One of the projects that's been keeping me busiest this week is my etsy shop. I have several new downloadable, printable designs available. This is probably my favorite new one:

{also available for download in black, purple or pink ink}

You may have seen my Fiat print on a handful of blogs this week that have so kindly shared my shop. You even have a chance to win one for yourself in two places right now!

{3}
First, there's Jenna's independent artists giveaway. My shop is included on the giveaway along with eleven other wonderful artists. You could win twelve gifts! Don't miss it.

{4}
Secondly, a print is included in Kendra's amazing giveaway (which is second to her super, super exciting news!). Click on over to enter!

{5}
Or, you could just visit the shop and purchase a print yourself (the downloadable ones are less than $10 - less than $8, in fact!). The Blessed is She and the Fiat prints are especially fitting for this Monday's Feast of the Immaculate Conception (and all year long, for that matter). Thank you for letting me share, and for supporting my small business! I so appreciate it.

{6}
Speaking of upcoming feast days, St. Nicholas's Day is tomorrow! Do you and your family celebrate? Even though we don't have any children's shoes or stockings to fill just yet, we plan to fill each other's shoes with a couple little treats. Somehow I have an inkling that St. Nicholas will be bringing Michael

Scott Hahn's Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does),

and

Laura's Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting

for me. 

Fingers crossed! :)

And while we're talking about St. Nicholas - have you seen Kendra, Bonnie, & Jenny's posts about him? I loved hearing how each of these women talk about St. Nicholas/Santa Claus in their homes.

{7}
We had a great time this Thanksgiving with my in-laws who came to visit us. One of the highlights was going to the Macy's Parade on Thanksgiving morning.

We also went to Radio City to see the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular, which was so much fun!

So, so much to be thankful for this year (and every year). Praising God in a special way for our sweet baby boy who is now 25 weeks, and enjoying this second trimester energy while it lasts...

Praying you have a blessed weekend, friends.

Stay in touch! {bloglovin'} {instagram} {twitter} {pinterest} {etsy}

Celebrating St. Catherine of Alexandria

Happy Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria! She is my confirmation saint, so we are celebrating today. Can I be honest with you as to why I chose her? I am named after my mother's confirmation saint, so I thought it would be good to choose a name that I would name my future daughter. Well, I liked both Catherine (preferably spelled Kathryn) and Alexandria, so there you have it. Probably not the most ideal way to choose a confirmation saint! Ha! Turns out the time from eighth grade to adulthood is a long time, and now I have a whole different list of names, should I one day be blessed with a daughter. :)

Anywho! St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr, was really quite an incredible woman of God. A convert herself, she helped bring hundreds of men and women to the Christian faith. She refused to deny her faith to the Roman emperor, who then had her imprisoned, and eventually sentenced her to death on a spiked wheel. The wheel is said to have shattered into pieces when St. Catherine touched it, so she was beheaded.

I was inspired by this post to make St. Catherine of Alexandria's Miraculous Wheels for dinner tonight.

Here's my recipe:

{ingredients}
8 oz. pasta wheels
2 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk (I used skim)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
1/8 tsp. hot chili powder
2 cups + 1/4 cup shredded cheese, separated (you pick the type - I used sharp white cheddar this time)
3 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, separated
2 Tbsp. bread crumbs

{how to}
Boil water and cook pasta wheels according to box instructions. Drain. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons butter in large saucepan until melted. Add flour and stir until combined. Pour in the milk, salt & pepper. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring most of the time, until mixture begins to bubble. Simmer for two minutes. Turn off heat. Add nutmeg and chili powder. Stir. Pour in 2 cups of shredded cheese and stir until melted. Add the cooked pasta wheels; mix well.

Pour pasta wheel mixture into 8x8" greased baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the 1/4 cup shredded cheese and breadcrumbs. Dot with 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter.

Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes or until top is browned. Easy peasy and super delicious. Enjoy!

*     *     *

Prayer to Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Glorious St. Catherine, virgin and martyr, help me to imitate your love of purity. Give me strength and courage in fighting off the temptations of the world and evil desires. Help me to love God with my whole heart and serve Him faithfully. O St. Catherine, through your glorious martrydom for the love of Christ, help me to be loyal to my faith and my God as long as I live. Amen. {source}

St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!

Praying your Thanksgiving week is off to a good start...

Stay in touch! {bloglovin'} {instagram} {twitter} {pinterest} {etsy}

7 Quick Takes {no. 30}

Joining Jen and more for seven quick takes - thank you so much for hosting us every week, Jen!

{1}

It's been a week of fall weather here in NYC - some rain, some sunshine, and lots of cool breezes. Last weekend was the open house at Michael's campus of Columbia. It was so nice to get out of the city and see some of the colorful foliage.

 And, of course, I always love spending time with this handsome guy.

{2}

Yesterday was the feast of St. Gerard, patron saint of expectant mothers. We had cannoli for dessert in honor of his Italian heritage. 

O good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor before God

and wonder-worker of our day, I call upon thee and seek thy aid. 

Thou who on earth didst always fulfill God's design,

help me to do the holy will of God.

Beseech the Master of Life, from whom all paternity proceedeth

to render me fruitful in offspring, that I may raise up children to God

in this life and heirs to the kingdom of His glory in the world to come. Amen.

{3}
I have a very important prayer request for you: would you please pray for the repose of the soul of a dear family friend who died earlier this week? I would also especially appreciate prayers for his devoted wife and three daughters at this terribly difficult time. Thank you so much for your prayers.

{4}

I've been working on something special for my etsy shop, {with joy calligraphy}. I will continue to offer handwriting for invitations and escort cards, but I am adding something new: art prints. Here's a sneak peak at my rough sketches:

What do you think? Be sure to check back in my shop soon for these (and more) new items. And let me know if there are any prayers or quotations you'd especially love to have!

{5}

Baby Howe is continuing to grow and grow (according to my growing belly, that is). I am just over eighteen weeks now, and am so looking forward to feeling him/her move around in there! Sometimes I think I feel movement, but I'm not 100% certain just yet. If you've had a baby, do you remember how far along you were when you started to feel your sweet blessing move around in there?

{6}

Last week we were at $265 for the amount raised for the Gianna Center in memory of Thomas Gianna's upcoming due date. Thanks to a few very generous donors, here's where we are today:

Over a quarter of the way there! Woohoo!! We are so thankful! 

There are still two weeks left to donate - the deadline is October 31, 2014, our baby's due date.
Thank you for praying for the success of the Gianna Center's campaign and for considering donating.

{7}

Our weekend looks relatively low key (which I am looking forward to!). The great purge of 2014 will continue as we try to make space for the baby in our one-room apartment. Always exciting!

Wishing you a most beautiful weekend filled with blessings...

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Happy Michaelmas! {+blackberry cobbler recipe}

First of all, thank you so much for all the love you poured out on Friday's extra special post. We are very excited, and so appreciate your prayers. More on the baby soon - promise!

But today is a special day: the Feast of Michaelmas!

Honestly, I didn't know about Michaelmas until last year, but it's a feast I have quickly come to love: the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel & Raphael. It's extra special at our house, since it is my husband Michael's feast day! Haley of Carrots for Michaelmas has a great post on the feast and its traditions. Maybe you saw Bonnie's recent Knot Bad video interviewing Haley. Or perhaps you've seen Kendra's post on how her family celebrates each year. Molly has some fun ideas, too.

Here's how we celebrated the feast today:

Praying the St. Michael prayer (a prayer I say almost daily...and often multiple times a day!):

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and may thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts,

by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits

who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

Our wooden plaque with St. Michael's picture joined us at the dinner table, along with some fresh autumn flowers I bought at the farmer's market this morning. 

For dinner I tried this recipe for {Apple Roasted Chicken}. (I used drumsticks instead of a whole chicken and added potatoes.)

We had {Blackberry Cobbler} for dessert.

Here's the super easy, super delicious recipe I always use (and always love!):

{ingredients}
1 stick butter
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk (at room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. whole blackberries

{how to}
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in ~9" square baking dish and put in oven to melt butter.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk and vanilla until combined.

Remove hot baking dish from oven and immediately pour batter into it. Spoon blackberries evenly over the batter. Return the dish to the oven and bake 40-45 minutes.

Allow dish to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. It's particularly delicious warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is how we'll eat it tonight.

Hope you had a blessed Michaelmas!

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Happy Feast of Saint Gianna!Our Novena {Day 9} and Our Sweet Baby's Name

Happy Feast of Saint Gianna! I hope you'll join me in celebrating this day. I plan to make an Italian dinner in honor of her heritage - probably lasagna. And we'll have these delicious brownies for dessert, because surely St. Gianna liked chocolate. (I sure do!)

I am so thankful for each of you who has prayed this novena with me. Whether you have been here for the novena in its entirety, or if you stopped by for a day or two, I am grateful.

It is always a blessing to be able to join together in prayer, and I hope the novena was fruitful for you, as it was for me. Today I am praying for each of you and your intentions, that wherever you are in your faith journey, St. Gianna would be an inspiration and a light for you.

Our novena:

God, our Father, You have granted to Your church the gift of Gianna Beretta Molla. In her youth she lovingly sought You and drew other young people to You, involving them, through apostolic witness and Catholic Action, in the care of the sick and aged, to help and comfort them.

We thank You for the gift of this young woman, so deeply committed to You. Through her example grant us the grace to consecrate our lives to Your service, for the joy of our brothers and sisters. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, You called Saint Gianna to exercise the medical profession as a mission for the comfort of bodies and souls. In her suffering fellow men and in the little ones, deprived of all support, she saw You. 

We thank You for having revealed Yourself to this servant as “one who serves” and who soothes the sufferings of men. Treasuring her example may we become generous Christians at the service of our brothers and sisters, especially those with whom You deign to share Your Cross.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

God, Sanctifying Spirit, who love the Church as Your Bride, You poured into the heart of Saint Gianna a share of Your Love so that she could radiate it in her family, and thus cooperate with You in the wonderful plan of creation, and give life to new children who could know and love You.
We thank You for this model wife and, through her encouraging witness, we beg You to grant to our families the serene and Christian presence of mothers committed to transform their homes into cenacles of faith and love, rich with generous activity and sanctifying service.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

O God, Creator and lover of mankind, You were close to Saint Gianna when, affected by illness, she was in the painful dilemma of choosing between her own life and the life of the child whom she was carrying in herself, a gift long-awaited. Trusting You alone, and aware of Your Commandment to respect human life, Gianna found the courage to do her duty as a mother and to say “yes” to the new life of her baby, generously sacrificing her own. Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and after the example of Gianna, inspire all mothers to welcome with love the sparkle of new life. Grant us the grace we are praying for {say your intentions} and the joy to find an inspiration in Saint Gianna who, as a model spouse and mother, after the example of Christ, gave up her life for the life of others. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

{novena source}
For a wealth of information on Saint Gianna, visit saintgianna.org.

•     •     •

As you may know, in March my husband and I suffered the miscarriage of our first child. In the midst of the heartbreak and sadness, it was important to us that we give our child a name. Since we were not far enough along to know whether our baby was a boy or a girl, we chose to name him with one of each: Thomas Gianna. 

We named our sweet baby after two wonderful saints. Thomas is for St. Thomas Aquinas. His feast day is January 28. Thanks be to God for NFP, we are fairly certain our baby was conceived on or right around that day. We plan to celebrate the gift of our child's life then in the years to come. St. Thomas Aquinas was a man of great virtue and is the patron saint of students (my husband Michael is currently a Ph.D. student, and St. Thomas Aquinas is also who he received as his patron saint of the year for 2014). St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

Gianna is after St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who suffered two miscarriages. As patron saint of the unborn and of mothers, she has been a very dear saint to me in recent days. Her life was a witness to the beauty and value of human life, and the love God has for every soul. St. Gianna, pray for us.

Michael and I have faith in the loving mercy of God. We have faith that our baby now has a place among the angels and the saints, and that he now experiences the love and glory of God that we hope to one day experience together. Thomas Gianna, pray for us.

"Love and sacrifice are clearly linked, like the sun and the light.

We cannot love without suffering and we cannot suffer without love."

{Saint Gianna Beretta Molla}

{beautiful graphic via}

Wishing you a most blessed Feast of Saint Gianna...

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He is Risen! Alleluia!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

who are being protected by the power of God through faith

for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,

so that the genuineness of your faith -

being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire -

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

{1 Peter 1:3-9}

After a challenging Lenten season which included carrying my own cross, I am so thankful for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus! This beautiful scripture from 1 Peter really touched my heart. There can be no resurrection without suffering...it is the way to salvation...and when we believe in Jesus, our Messiah, we can experience that "indescribable and glorious joy." Oh, how I long to experience that joy more fully each day. How I pray for each of us to experience the gift of His joy...

Wishing you and yours a blessed Easter season -

Alleluia!

{psalm 1 series}

Stop back later day to join me in praying a novena! You can sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin', or follow me on twitter or instagram.

Celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph

This year I have been trying to celebrate the Liturgical Year a little more in our home. As the husband of Mary and as Jesus's earthly dad, St. Joseph is a wonderful role model for us in his faith and trust in God and His plans.

Joseph is also my dear husband Michael's middle name, so it's an extra special feast for us. We will celebrate this year with some St. Joseph's sfinge (cream puffs). We have never had these before, so I am looking forward to trying them. :)

After daily Mass this morning, Michael & I stopped by a local Italian bakery where they make sfinge.

I just love how they tie the box with the red and white baker's twine. That makes me smile.

They sure look good to me! A welcome treat in the middle of this Lenten season!

St. Joseph, pray for us.

{via}

Wishing you and yours a blessed St. Joseph's Day!

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5 favorites {no. 5} valentine's day edition

Just in time for February 14 - a Valentine's Day edition of 5 favorites.

I know some people don't care for this holiday. But! I think regardless of whether you are single, in a relationship, or married, St. Valentine's Day is a celebration of love. Did you know St. Valentine is the patron saint not only of happy marriages and engaged couples, but of love and young people?

Love is something we can all celebrate.

In honor of the upcoming feast day, I thought I'd share 5 of my favorite scripture verses on love.

If you have the time, praying with each verse could be a fruitful way to celebrate on February 14.

{1}

"Love is strong as death,

passion fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

a raging flame.

Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it."

{Song of Songs 8:6b-7a}

{2}

"Put on love,

that is, the bond of perfection."

{Colossians 3:14}

{3}

"Jesus said to his disciples:

'As the Father loves me, so I also love you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,

just as I have kept my Father's commandments

and remain in his love.'"

{John 15:9-10}

{4}

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your might."

{Deuteronomy 6:5}

{5}

"We love because he first loved us."

{1 John 4:19}

The first three verses I chose were all a part of our wedding ceremony. The fourth verse is the great commandment - I will always remember memorizing this verse for Sr. Lucy's scripture class in high school. :) And the last verse is one I just adore. We are only able to love because God - the source of true love, God who is love - loved us first. What a blessing. I can't even begin to comprehend it!

Hover over the graphic above & click the {pin me} button
to share with friends on Pinterest, or for future reference & reflection.

Linking up this 5 favorites post with Hallie and friends at Moxie Wife.

Do you have any favorite scriptures about love?

Wishing you a lovely week...

For more Valentine's Day inspiration, visit my Valentine's Day board on Pinterest.

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