I don’t remember when I first learned about Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Maybe it was when I became pregnant with my oldest daughter that it clicked that this image of Mary is pregnant.  Maybe it was when our parish became home to one of a handful of images that had been touched to the original tilma of Juan Diego that I realized how this depiction of Mary seemed to look at me, to reach out to me, to embrace my fears and struggles.

In honor of her feast day on Saturday, Becky, of the great new Cafe Press shop The Whole Wide Room, has offered to give away one of her Our Lady of Guadalupe shirts.  This is a shirt that’s been on my wish list since I first saw it (and I think, working in a parish office, that I could wear it to work, don’t you?).   You get to pick the color of the sleeves, the size, the shipping address.

You have until Saturday night to leave a comment here, and then we’ll pick a random winner.

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Share your favorite Marian apparition and/or title in the comments, while you’re there in the combox. I’m working on my writing schedules for next year, and I’d love to write about something YOU are interested in learning more about.

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I’d be remiss not to mention last week’s Catholic Moments podcast, where I share about Mary’s title “Cause of Our Joy” and Lisa shares great information about the great-looking new movie The 13th Day, which is about the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal.

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This week is a heavily Marian week…tomorrow is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and I’m reflecting on that over at Today’s Catholic Woman and at CatholicMom.com.  They’re very different approaches to the title, and I hope they will help you, especially if, like me, you find yourself floundering a bit with this concept and title.

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With that, I encourage you to leave a comment to win one of Becky’s lovely shirts and enjoy this week of Mary!

I’m thankful, today, for the turkey that tasted delightful, along with all the sides served on my pretty green china, and for a day, quiet and full, in which to clean all the dishes and cupboards touched by what my mother-in-law calls “mouse dirt.”  (In the last 36 hours, my Nutcracker Prince has protected me from TEN of the little buggers, and my helpful MIL shared a stomach-wrenching statistic earlier today: where there’s one caught, there are ten in the nest.  *scream*)

I’m thankful for Advent, and I’m thankful for doing better at not hating Christmas.

I’m thankful for Mary.  Yes, I really am.  And you can hear all about it in this week’s (or, rather, last week’s) Mary Moment.

I’m thankful for a few minutes — Sunday or no — to blog.

And, most of all, I’m thankful for this day six years ago, the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent that year, when I walked down an aisle in a white dress, holding my dad’s arm and watching my strong, tall Prince Charming’s face, both of us worried about flower girls who hadn’t made it (turns out they were fine, just fine, though devastated at missing their spotlight).  (And I’m thankful for the post I wrote last year, which I just stumbled upon, started sniffling as I reread it, and think I will print out for him…)

When I listened to the interview this week on Catholic Moments, I realized that there’s a name for what I’m suffering, and it’s adultitis.  I’m going to have to learn more about that, I think (and it sounds as though the learning will be a fun adventure).  In that episode, my Mary Moment is a reflection on the wedding at Cana as I explore a bit about Mary’s title Mother of Divine Providence.  (You can read more about that title at my column a few weeks ago at Today’s Catholic Woman.)

So I’m battling being a bad fan and adultitis, but, in the midst of that knowledge (there’s always next year for being a better fan, right?), I have been talking pet challenges and Thanksgiving traditions (or lack of) with a few of my heroes good friends on the Faith & Family Live Cast.  That was such a great way to start my day.  We all had a cuppa and I hung up feeling as I always do when I’m around the ladies who make the Faith & Family Live community such an oasis for me: refreshed, renewed, ready.

And my latest column is up over at CatholicMom.com: Salon Reflections.  This is a sort of tribute to my mother-in-law, inspired by some comments I overheard at the beauty salon.

Now I must go and attend to my day.  Here’s hoping your game day (if that’s what this Saturday is to you) and your weekend are full of blessings. 

This week, I find myself, once again, using the example of my four-year-old to relate to Mary, this time under her title Our Lady of Liesse.  (Never fear; though I examine my continually evolving relationship with this old farmhouse we live in, I don’t mention stinging insects.  Much.)

I also examine Mary’s influence on my prayer life this week in my Mary Moment segment of Catholic Moments.  If you’re expecting to hear how great I am at prayer, how much success I experience, and/or tips to be more like me, then stay away.  There is none of that.  I’m all about struggling and asking for help this week.  Maybe the quote I share will inspire you to ask for Mary’s help too.

Now, with that, I’m off to other Thursday ventures.  (I guess, if I was feeling clever, I could count those as two small successes, but I’m not feeling very clever this morning.)

But, since you’re here and looking for me, check these out:

• This week’s Catholic Moments, where I’m Mary Moment-ing about Mary Vitamins.

• My column this week at CatholicMom.com, where I’m prattling about the loveliness of my car’s decorations

On the one hand, we have my beautiful daughters, one who’s a spitting image of a younger me and one who’s a spitting image of my husband (who is quite the handsome fellow!).  When people tell me, quite infrequently, that they see my husband in the daughter who looks like me, I’m overjoyed.

Because what I want for my daughters is for them to be like their Daddy.  I want them to have his quiet faith, his surefire certainty, his courage to do what’s right.  I want them to be able to stay silent when that’s what’s needed.

Oh, I know I have good traits, and my husband could probably tell you the ways he hopes the girls take after me.

But this week, reflecting on Mary’s title Queen of All Saints, I couldn’t help but think about how she must want me to be just like her Spouse, the Holy Spirit.  Does she smile ear to ear when someone compliments me on my devotion (compliments I can only point back to the Holy Spirit and God’s grace at work in my life), knowing that I’m getting closer to her Son?  Though Mary knows my failures — and there are many! — she also sees my attempts.  My kids don’t try to look like their dad, but I hope someday they try to act like him.  And that’s just the example Mary sets for me as Queen of All Saints.

Speaking of failures — did I mention there were many? — here we are at the end of the Month of the Rosary.

SIGH.

Sometimes failures are a lesson.  And sometimes I’m measuring the wrong thing.  Maybe that’s what has happened this month, a month when I was going to write all sorts of beautiful reflections and tips about the rosary, encouraging others and hoping to inspire a love it in them.

Silly me.  How could I forget that I’m not the one driving?

I didn’t do anything special this month with the rosary.  Oh, there’s the Month of the Rosary giveaway at CatholicMom.com (have you entered yet?) and I have read and started The Rosary Workout (and I’m giving a copy away — leave a comment before the 31st!).  Those things don’t really count, though…not for what I’m talking about.  Did I pray my daily rosary with deeper devotion or better attention?  For that matter, did I work to share the devotion with my family, with those other people who live in the same house?  What about my attitude and that ongoing resolution to be more like Mary?

Nope.

It’s possible I’m being too hard on myself.  I bet I’m not alone, though.  If you find yourself at the end of October, glad that the rosary hounding will stop at last, let me offer you some encouragement in this week’s Mary Moment.  Now I need to go and believe the words of encouragement in my own life! 

• This week’s Catholic Moments features Deborah Schaben and her pilgrimage along the  Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Deacon Tom and I combined the Deacon Moment and Mary Moment and discussed my conversion to the Catholic Faith and how Mary was close to me during my journey into the Church.  And, big news!  We are thrilled to announce our partnership with CatholicMatch.com as they begin sponsoring this podcast.  Please support CatholicMatch.com and be sure to enter our current CatholicMatch.com for your opportunity to win a three month membership to the Leading Catholic Singles Community.
• Over at CatholicMom.com, you’ll find my latest column: “The Hardest Prayer I Have to Say“

The story of grace on a Friday:

My mood matched the gray weather outside.  I found myself yelling at the dog and the kids.  Things weren’t going well, in my head or during my day.

Sometimes, when this happens, I’m fortunate enough to have a friend or family member who I can pop in on, and my extroverted tendencies will pull me out of my funk.  But on that gloomy Friday, my only hope was the grocery store.

I rounded the kids up with a promise of going to McDonald’s and eating inside.  It got them moving, but once the car was moving, I promptly forgot the eating inside part of the deal.  As I pulled into the drive-thru, my four-year-old called from the back, “Hey!  You said we could eat inside!”

It sounded like a good idea in the house, but faced with the parking lot and the image of frowning faces and hyper kids and…well, you get the idea.

But I had promised.  And she was excited.

I sighed a big sigh and found a parking spot.

There was a line inside, and it looked like we were going to get Mean Grouchy Person as our cashier.  A woman with a boy who looked about four offered to let me go first, but I declined.  “No, you were here.  Really.  We’re in no hurry.  Thanks, though.”  My kids were being good, but I could feel that my hold on the storm inside me was slight, bound to slip at any moment.

And that’s when it happened.  It was just a little thing, hardly worth mentioning.

The tall man in the immaculate suit held out his hand and said, “Your turn,” letting me go next with a graciousness that I hope to someday emulate.  Then, after the juggling act of holding the almost-two-year-old while carrying the tray and getting drinks, I found myself in front of him again.  As I put the lid on my iced tea, I said something about being in his way, and he replied, “You’re doing a great job, Mom.”

That’s all.  Just a few words of encouragement from a stranger in a nice suit at our small town McDonald’s.

Later, as I was trying to keep the toddler seated and the four-year-old eating (she had chosen a seat right beside that mom with the young boy, and had a dialogue going), an older woman, who had been eyeing us, came over and smiled at me.  “You have such beautiful children,” she said.

Sitting by that other young mom, who I ended up exchanging phone numbers with (shock!), I couldn’t help but feel the Hand of God.  It wasn’t a bolt of lightening or a sign in the sky, but it was encouragement at a point when I really needed it.

And for that, I’m grateful.

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There’s a giveaway at CatholicMom.com in honor of the Month of the Rosary that’s worth checking out.  Not only are a few of my favorite books included, but there’s a handmade rosary that’s to drool over (and pray with).  Be sure to leave your name in the comments this month for a chance to win!

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This take is for my dad, who emailed me this morning asking why there were no pictures on my blog.  Apparently, not everyone enjoys my writing, huh?  (Just kidding, Dad!)

Yes, that’s a shot put.  Yes, my 15-pound Jack Russell Terror is playing with it.  Yes, it makes us laugh (but no, it doesn’t surprise us).

He wanted pictures of my girls too, but, ahem, the person in charge of photography around here has really been sluffing off.

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The Catholic Writers Conference Online is scheduled for February 26-March 5. I’m registered. Are you?  This will be my third conference, and it’s a great help.  And it’s online!  If you’re just getting started as a writer, or if you want to meet other Catholic writers, or if you’re just curious…well, get on over there and register!  Did I mention it’s also free?  Yeah, lots of reasons to attend.

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I can’t resist sharing this lovely piece of art, courtesy of my four-year-old:

That floating blue oval is Mother Mary, watching over her and I (the pink and orange circles below).  We’re standing in a field of roses and though I can’t remember what the brown crosses represent (trees maybe?), it doesn’t matter.  Mother Mary is watching over us.  Isn’t it great when God sends messengers to remind you of how much he loves you? 

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“I find myself, lately, avoiding the area surrounding my house.  I all but close my eyes as I walk around it.” What does this have to do with Mary and her title as Our Lady of Good Remedy?  You can find out in my latest column, Our Lady of Good Remedy, is up over at Today’s Catholic Woman.

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Do you get sick of my plugs for Catholic Moments? If so, too bad! 

This week, Lisa interviews a favorite author of mine, Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and a noted Catholic author and speaker.  On this Deacon Moment: words on an Archbishop… an Irish curmudgeon priest… and the late Holy Father John Paul II. Join Deacon Tom in a tender moment about priests in this, the Year of the Priest.  October is the Month of the Rosary, but it’s also Respect Life Month, and during the Mary Moment, I encourage everyone to pray a rosary — even if you’re no good at it — for human life.

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Starting on Sunday, I’m honored to host Jerry Weber for a series of weekly posts. You might remember Jerry from the wonderful interview he did on Catholic Moments a few months ago.  He’s going to share some insight and wisdom he’s gleaned, especially about depression and anxiety issues.  We’ll begin with an introduction this Sunday.  I hope you’ll stop by next week to welcome him!

Conversion Diary is the headquarters, as usual, of this week’s full collection of Quick Takes.

It’s been a nice, quiet week since I’ve been “out of the blogfice.” A big thank you to Kate Wicker for visiting this week and sharing her wisdom.

It’s amazing how my online time changes when I’m not (a) getting on my blog or thinking about what to blog, (b) reading blogs (or printing them out to read later), or (c) interacting on Facebook or Twitter (though I did still post updates from Ping this week).

I actually had time to read a novel — for fun! — one morning this week, before we had to leave or start school!  That was a treat.  (And what a novel!  I can’t wait to review it, along with the first in the series…the library is getting them all in in the wrong order, but these are so going to be gifts for my nieces and myself!!!)  Usually, my reading time is tacked on at the end of the day.

I’ve also had some time to consider this online time.  No, I’m not going anywhere.  But it’s nice to have a break from a screen.  Sometimes, there’s nothing like a fast to make you appreciate the feast (which must be the appeal of Lent, among other things).

In other places this week:

• My column at Today’s Catholic Woman didn’t go live until yesterday, because of the floods in Georgia (you know, if I’d been reading blogs this week, I would have known about that!).  In it, you’ll get some observations about my time being stuck at the train tracks and how that relates to Mary in her title as Our Lady of Mercy (aka Our Lady of Ransom).

• This week’s Catholic Moments is more of what you’d expect — and no, I’m not talking about my segment.    Peggy Bowes is a former Air Force pilot who left the military to raise and homeschool her two children.  Peggy’s lifelong enthusiasm for fitness led her to bocome certified as an aerobics instructor, personal trainer and Lifestyle and Weight Management consultant.  Her devotion to our Blessed Mother and her great prayer, the Rosary, inspired Peggy to create the Rosary Workout and to share this devotion with others.  Deacon Tom’s reflection invites us to consider Thomas More as we head towards Respect Life Sunday.  I challenge you to think of Mary as a blankie, and you’ll get some history of Our Lady of Walsingham too!  (Note: much of this material originally appeared in my column on Our Lady of Walsingham at Today’s Catholic Woman.)

• Over at CatholicMom.com, my latest column discusses my prayer in the kitchen and the story of my kitchen table.  I think I wrote this piece for me, really.  When my mother-in-law told me the story of my long kitchen table, the home to my morning prayers and so many important discussions in my life, quite a few of the things I thought I had known were shattered.  Here I thought it was a historical family piece — and it is, just not the way I thought it was.

Photo from algo

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Your Heart, being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father pleading for the coming of His Kingdom.
Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as You will for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.
Most holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Your Special Child. Amen.

In fact, to give you a taste of what you’re missing when you don’t listen my Mary Moments segments on Catholic Moments, I’ll share some of my reflections too.

My first reaction to this prayer is a sort of astonishment.

Because, you know, God LISTENS.  I just prayed “use me as you will” — and it’s a good thing that I have Mary beside me to help me when He starts following through on my request.

Am I ready to say Yes as she did?  Can I swallow my pride and muster the courage to let go of what I want to do so that I can do what HE wants me to do?

My prayer has addendum:

Lord, grant me the grace to cooperate with you.  Help me follow the gentle nudge of your mother as she points me toward You.

Well, one thing’s for sure.  I won’t be able to do it alone.

But I also just asked Mary to keep me as her special child.  Isn’t THAT a lovely picture?  What do you suppose special treatment from Mary involves?  Can I curl up on her lap?  Will she rub my back as I’m falling asleep at night?  Do I get a special tour of the gardens in heaven?

I think I’ll be OK.  God listens, but so does Mary.  She’s working on the same team, but with a mother’s touch.

May Mary help you to say Yes to growing closer to her Son.