Babies Can Pray Too!

It's never too early to start!  Magdalene has been hearing her mommy and daddy pray since she was inside of mommy.  She loves to hear Jordan leading the rosary at home and in church.  Her favorite prayer is "Hail Mary", and the above video shows us praying that prayer.  I also learned a prayer when I was in Kindergarten called "Little Jesus."   I'm teaching that prayer to her as well. 

Prayer.   A simple act to show our love and devotion to God.  Nothing is sweeter than to see a child in prayer.  When I taught in Catholic School my first year of teaching, I was moved by the pious acts my students did.  Children are deeply genuine with their prayers.

 I also was deeply moved by something I had read that St. Therese of the Child Jesus had written,

"For me, prayer means launching out from the heart toward God; a cry of grateful love from the crest of joy or the trough of despair: it is a vast supernatural force that opens out my heart and binds me close to Jesus."

Thank you St. Therese for reminding us all that prayer should mean exactly that--it should be an act of love toward our Creator!  Jesus loves when we also honor His Mother.  Good job Magdalene!

Good Example

Being a mother is the best thing in the world!  But it also has its moments that you question your ability to parent.  You want to do what is best for your child in every way possible.  From making sure Magdalene gets enough sleep to be the best example I can be for my little girl.  Although she may not understand very much at this age, she will in time.  Recently, I have been really focusing on praying with my little baby.  One may wonder whether that is necessary, but I think it's a good habit to start right now.  I remember when my mother took the time to carefully teach my sisters and me our prayers.  She would have us say Hail Mary in Portuguese every night, and I remember how intent my mother was in making sure we knew that prayer.  My mother would also make sure we were always attending Mass each Sunday.  Those were amazing examples set by my mother.  My father made sure we were able to attend Catholic schools when we were growing up.  He worked very, very hard to ensure we were able to receive a proper education. 

The examples set by my parents showed me how extremely important is to be a good example for Magdalene.  We prayed very hard for Daddy's safety to work today and asked that our guardian angels be sent to help Daddy dig himself out of the drift he went into this morning.  How wonderful it is to pray with my daughter!  Her attention span is obviously of a four month old so she immediately wants to start playing with her toes again after we pray, but that is to be expected!  :)

Praying with your children is a great way to bring them closer to God, and it is our duties as parents to ensure they receive a proper education.  It is part of our state in life, and how I am as a mother and wife will determine my final resting place.  I so do want to go to Heaven and be with Jesus, but I know it will take a great deal of hard work to get there. 

One of the biggest things I struggled with about a few  years ago was making sure I was dressing modestly. I knew that I needed to make some changes if I were to fulfill the Marian code of modesty.  Mother Mary always dressed modestly, and most women in history were dressing modestly.  When did this change?  Why are women suddenly wearing things that would be considered street walker attire?  How did this happen?  I was always brought up having respect for my body and to wear decent attire, but I was never completely sold on the idea.  I have strong opinions on this topic and will write about it more later, but for now I will close saying that everything I do for now on is for the honor and glory of God.....my daughter and husband depend on me for that.