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}

7 Quick Takes {no. 31}inspiration series, gifts that give twice, and giving glory

Wow, Friday - am I glad to see you! It's been a busy week around these parts. (I typed that sentence and wanted to delete it after writing this post earlier this week, but I'll leave it to keep things honest.)

{1}

Last week I showed you some sketches of a new series I was working on for my etsy shop. This week I am delighted to share the finished products with you! Here are some of the new pieces available:

{2}
I designed this prayer inspiration series in hopes that these pieces will jump start prayer in your life:

{prayer inspiration series}

{3}

Here are two close-up shots of a couple of my favorites from the series:

{glory be}

{bless us, o lord}

{4}

I also designed two quotation inspiration prints with quotations from two of my favorite saints:

{the things that we love}

{love is the most beautiful sentiment}

St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Gianna Beretta Molla. Gotta love them.

{5}

Speaking of St. Thomas and St. Gianna - as you may know - we named our first child, whom we lost to a miscarriage, Thomas Gianna after these two saints. You also may know about the birthday gift we are giving to the Gianna Center for Women in honor of our child. For one week only, all the proceeds from the sales of this new inspiration series will be going to the Gianna Center for Women as a part of our birthday gift fundraiser. So! If you are looking for a gift - whether it be for yourself, a birthday, a hostess gift, a baptism, (dare I mention) Christmas - you'll be giving twice when you purchase one of these prints. Thanks for visiting my shop and taking a look.

{6}

And, of course, I owe you an update on the birthday gift fundraising. Last week we had raised $715. Here's where we are this week:

Sing it with me! "Ooooooh, we're halfway there! Oooh-OH! Livin' on a prayer!" Thanks to a few generous donors we are now over halfway there. We are so grateful. Only one week left to reach our goal! We need YOU to help us get there! Thank you, as always, for your prayerful consideration.

{7}

I just want to leave you all with this beautiful song that I can't get out of my head lately. I'm sure my long-time readers will be shocked at who is singing:

To the Father, to the Son,

and to the Spirit be,

blessing, glory, honor, power,

might and majesty...

Amen. Amen, amen, amen.

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary and many more - click over to read more takes.

Have a beautiful weekend, dear readers...

Sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin' or your favorite blogreader, and follow me on twitter & instagram.

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...

Sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin' or your favorite blogreader, and follow me on twitter & instagram.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

Did you know today, October 15, is a day of remembrance for those who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss? I actually didn't know myself until recently.

As many of you know, Michael and I lost our first baby earlier this year to miscarriage. He would have been due in a little over two weeks. It's hard to imagine what it would be like if our sweet Thomas Gianna was still with us in my womb. Since then, we have been blessed to conceive again, and I am now eighteen weeks pregnant with our second child. God's plans are often so different than our own, which can be so difficult to understand.

Our priest shared this beautiful prayer with us at Mass today, which is also the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. Regardless of what you are going through today, this prayer may touch your heart:

It's the kind of prayer that makes you stop, take a deep breath, and spend some time reflecting.

I also wanted to share some resources that were helpful to me when we lost our baby:
• for Pete's sake - Prayer Ministry at A Knotted Life
• Pregnancy Loss page at Better Than Eden
• Magnolia Sweet Healing Ministry
• Miscarriage Prayers
• Shrine of the Holy Innocents
• Hannah's Tears

Would you take a moment with me today to say a prayer for all those women and men who have lost pregnancies and children over the years? May God bless us all, and may our beloved children in heaven pray for us...

As a way to remember our baby, Thomas Gianna, and to celebrate his upcoming due date,

we are in the process of trying to raise $2,500 to donate to the Gianna Center for Women.

Read more and contribute by clicking here. Thank you!

{give a gift}

7 Quick Takes {no. 20}

Happy Friday! Here are my quick takes (with Theme Thursday in take no. 5!):

{1}
Today is the feast of St. Anthony. I found this quotation of his this morning, and thought I would share it here:

St. Anthony's words ring truer than ever in today's world. How often external noise - noise that comes in many forms - distracts me from seeing the face of our Lord Jesus. St. Anthony, pray for us. 

{2}

I had an NYC first (and hopefully last) this week, friends: I was hit by a biker. My guardian angel must have been watching over me because somehow I didn't even fall down and the biker didn't fall off his bike. My hand got scratched up from his handlebars and I have a big ugly bruise/goose egg on my calf, but it could have been so much worse. Moral of the story: always double check that no one is coming, even when you have the right of way to cross the street. Oof.

{3}

On Wednesday my 5 favorites were about my favorite flower. I know there's been a lot of peony-love around this place lately, but I just can't help but share this picture with you:

God's creation is glorious.

{4}

Did you see this awesome post by Meg with 100 ideas for serving your church? It's a great read, and gave me a lot to think & pray about as I examine how I am serving the church in this season of life.

{5}

When I heard Cari's Theme Thursday yesterday was old-fashioned, something immediately jumped to mind: When Michael & I first moved to NYC we were engaged, but not married. We were living in different parts of town; Michael lived in Manhattan, near Columbia, and I lived in Astoria. I remember so many people being (very) surprised that we weren't living together. I'll never forget when one person said, "Wow! That's so old-fashioned!" He paused before continuing, "I like it!" Yes! Me too. Would it have been more convenient or cheaper to share an apartment, or less annoying than commuting a total of two hours a day to see each other? Yes. If I could go back, would I change what we did? No way. I wish that our choice to wait wasn't thought of as old-fashioned. I wish everyone could see the beauty of waiting for marriage to live with one another.

#proudtobeoldfashioned
{photo by A Thousand Words Photography}

The joy of marriage: completely worth the wait!

{6}
Speaking of marriage...Monday is Michael's & my two-year anniversary. Stop back then for a special post...if you like that sorta thing. :)

{7}

I'm fresh out of takes, my friends. It's a little quiet around here these days without my love. Counting down the days to seeing him again!

Linking up these quick takes with our guest hostess with the mostess (and that she is), the birthday gal, Kathryn at Team Whitaker!

Have a beautiful weekend!

Sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin' or your favorite blogreader, and follow me on twitter & instagram.

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...

Sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin' or your favorite blogreader, and follow me on twitter & instagram.

Answer Me This & St. Gianna Novena {Day 8}

Happy Sunday! 

Kendra of Catholic All Year recently started a Sunday series called Answer Me This where she asks her readers a few questions, and then anyone can play along and answer. Fun, right? 

Well, the delightful Miss Kendra herself tagged me last Sunday, and I'd love to join in - so here are my answers to this week's questions: 

1. Do you hate happy clappy church music?
I suppose that would depend upon what one considers to be "happy clappy church music." 

When I was going to school in Ann Arbor I served as the music director for the Newman Choir at St. Mary Student Parish for five years. This choir sang at the 7:00 p.m. Mass, and our repertoire often leaned towards/was contemporary. One may have even considered some of our selections "happy clappy." I'm sure of it, in fact. (It may be worth mentioning that for some reason I have a negative connotation with the adjectives "happy clappy." Maybe it's because the question asks me if I hate it, or maybe I'm just being overly sensitive and taking this question too seriously because I am passionate about church music. Probably the latter.)

To answer the question: If the music moves the congregation in prayer or in praise and has appropriate placement within the Mass, then no, I don't hate happy clappy church music. (Though I probably wouldn't describe that music as "happy clappy.") However, as soon as the music becomes a distraction or showy in any way, I think there's a problem. But music that enhances liturgy, inspires prayer and leads the congregation closer to our Lord - I can get behind that, clapping or no clapping. 

Graduation Mass 2008
Disclaimer: Michael is very distressed that he is wearing jeans in this picture,
which is not his preferred Mass attire.

2. What is your priority: eating or sleeping?
Oh, tough question! I think I would have to say...hmm...eating. Though sleeping is definitely good, too!

3. What type of milk do you drink in your house?
Skim. And if we lived in a town that sold Prairie Farms dairy, that would be the brand because my father-in-law works for them. Family pride & loyalty! Though honestly, I can't remember the last time I poured myself a glass of milk to drink (must have been with a piece of cake or cookies!). This may or may not have something to do with the fact that when I was growing up, my sister and I had to have a glass of milk with dinner every.single.night. When we got a little older we could choose to have water instead - oh, that was a happy day!  

4. What is a book that changed your perspective on something?
Life-Giving Love : Embracing God's Beautiful Design for Marriage by Kimberly Hahn opened my eyes and changed my perspective on living out God's design for marriage. It is truly beautiful.  

5. Who is your favorite saint?

Though I am a cradle Catholic, I did not fully appreciate the blessing of the Communion of Saints until very recently. In the week of waiting when we weren't sure what was going to happen to our baby I would pray a litany of the saints or just call on all the saints I could think of to pray for us. As for my favorite saint...if you've been reading my blog this week, I bet you'll never guess. {wink.}

My favorite saint would probably have to be St. Gianna (though St. Michael the Archangel is a close second!). This is the eighth day of a novena I have been praying here on the blog along with my readers. Do you know her? If not, reading some of her quotations might be a great place to start.

6. Introvert or extrovert?
I don't think I'm completely one or the other, though if I absolutely had to pick one, I'd say introvert. 

That was fun! Thank you, Kendra! Click on over to the linkup for more answers to these questions. I'd love to hear yours. :)

And, as I mentioned in question no. 5, today is the eighth day of our novena to ask St. Gianna Beretta Molla, patron saint of mothers, unborn children, and physicians, to pray for us. We'll finish the novena tomorrow, April 28 - St. Gianna's feast day! Whether you've been praying with us daily or you just stopped by today, I'd love for you to join us in prayer. And if you have any intentions you'd like to pray for, I invite you to share them in the comments. 

Please pray with me:

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}

•     •     •

Please stop by again tomorrow to finish praying our novena, to celebrate the Feast of St. Gianna, and to learn a little something special about our sweet baby. 

Wishing you a very blessed Divine Mercy Sunday...
Saint John Paul II, pray for us.
Saint John XXIII, pray for us.

Sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin' or your favorite blogreader, and follow me on twitter & instagram.

This post contains an Amazon affiliate link --  thank you for supporting {in endless song}!