Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Saturday, May 16, 2009

Mother of Our Hearts, Pray for us

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Yesterday we celebrated May Crowning at our house -- just the little homeschoolers and mama, and I thought I'd share some thoughts and pictures.

We moved our statue to the driveway to clean her up -- she was looking pretty green. If you notice that Mary looks like her head has been patched, you'd be right. But we think she''s beautiful. A little soapy water, and finally some Tilex, got most of the green off.




We planted some Petunias and Lobelia in the ground in front of Mary's place. It's so shady in our front yard, not much does well in this spot, but we always try. I probably should have bought Impatiens, but the kids wanted the Petunias and I picked the pretty blue Lobelia.




We put Mary back in her place and lit a new blue vigil candle on the ground next to her.

Peach (the youngest student) crowned Mary and we prayed a (short) Litany.




And lest you think my little home school students are just so sweet, I'll tell you that the whole time we were washing Mary, and planting the flowers, and even lighting the candle, I was hearing, "Hey let me do that." "But mom, she got to the last one." "Not fair, it's my turn." I had quite a headache by the time the whole thing was over and I was thinking that blue drink would be good with a shot of something clear and strong, if you know what I mean.




I used the idea for a Mary crown of Rice Krispie Treat found over at Catholic Cuisine (sans blue food color) for afternoon snack. I picked up some Duncan Hines cookie icing to add some blue flowers, but it's very runny -- perfect for frosting cookies, hence the name -- duh! Never let it be said I only share the beautiful things. And the blue Hawaiian punch was pretty good, even without a shot.

We love you, Mary. You are worth the headache.


Marianist Litany

Mary, God chose you as the mother of his Son and called all nations and generations to bless the gift of grace he gave you. In the company of those who have gone before us, with people of all races and languages, we call upon you in prayer.


Holy Mary, (Response: pray for us)
Mother of God,
Mother of our redemption,
Mother of a lost child,
Mother of comfort and understanding,
Mother who shares our joys,
Mother who endures our sorrows,
Mother whose heart was pierced by a sword,
Mother most merciful,
Woman responsive to God's word,
Woman willing to believe the impossible,
Woman who rejoices in her lowliness,
Woman with an undivided heart,
Woman of perfect freedom,
Woman wrapped in mystery,
Woman moved by the Spirit,
Woman champion of the poor and lowly,
Woman graced by a husband's love,
Woman widowed by a husband's death,
Woman at the cross,
Woman patient and waiting,
Woman clothed with the sun,
Queen of the fullness of times,
Queen of beauty unalloyed,
Queen of integrity,
Queen of painful meetings,
Queen of all our heart's treasure,
Queen of our destiny,
Queen of peace,

Mary, you are mother and virgin, wife and widow, peasant and queen - blessed for all time. We need the comfort of your prayers. Remember us always to our Father through your Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord for ever and ever. Amen.


Grandma brought over a little arrangement so that indoor Mary would have flowers, too. Thanks, Grandma.




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7 comments:

  1. How lovely!

    Please consider offering your rosaries( scandal at Notre Dame) see my blog for details. Thank you!

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  2. Your May crowning was beautiful!
    Love the fighting comment, glad my kids are not the only ones who fight like that!

    I love your rice crispy crown...better than the blue one, it looks more appetizing!

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  3. Beautiful May Crowning, Barbara (and children)!! My daughter's school does one to close out the school year, so we look forward to it in a couple weeks. Thanks for sharing your kids' comments during the ceremony, too. It gives me some relief to know those kinds of things aren't just said among my kids =) Blessings to you this Saturday!

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  4. Very lovely....all of it. I can recall family rosary around the May altar in our bedroom and the kids jumping off the bed. Not what was intended but I'm sure Mary was laughing. Remember,"Love resides in the will" (St. John of the Cross. Love to you, Grandma

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  5. So beautiful! Love the edible crown too. :)

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  6. Well done, what a beautiful day even with the bickering. Are you sure my kids weren't there? lol Those flowers that Grandma brought over for indoor Mary are just too precious.

    I'm leaving the green on our outdoor Mary. It's Ohio green and will be a sweet reminder of our little adventure here this year when we move.

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  7. Barbara, I've very much enjoyed this post! How fun to wash up and prepare the statue for a special crowning of Our Lady, and yes, don't children always love, love, love to do this! It takes a child to remind us of the absolute honor associated with such a moment, to appreciate it all in fact. I love May just for this reason and was able to enjoy a crowning while out West, to come in my blogging.

    I was so saddened to lose a very large statue of Our Blessed Mother during our first move east and have yet to be able to find another quite like it. I recently found a lovely concrete statue for my garden at a local nursery, so I'm saving my dollars for its ching-ching pricing. :-) Next year we will have our own crowning again, outdoors in the garden here. Yeah!

    Blessings to you Barbara! :-)

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!