Saint Rose of Lima: A Vegetarian Saint

Today is the feast of Saint Rose of Lima and we sure had a busy day! Goalie headed back to behavioral therapy today for the first time in two weeks and we are discussing having him tested for more disabilities including the autism scale. If you don't mind, please include my Goalie in your prayers so we can make sure he is receiving the correct and most beneficial assistance he needs. We are doing our best to keep away from medications and I am praying that the results from this testing won't bring pressure from the therapists to start medication. On a happier note, my husband and I had a brunch date this morning and are planning to enjoy some quiet time tonight with a Red Box movie and wine! These are the free/cheap dates for our Date Your Mate Challenge we are participating in until the end of September.

Well as I stated before, it is the feast of Saint Rose. Saint Rose of Lima is the patroness of gardeners, people you suffer from family problems, Latin America and the Philippines. Saint Rose was exquisitely beautiful. It is said, she was so beautiful that she looked like a rose. Hence the name Saint Rose. Saint Rose became scared that her beauty would turn people to temptation so she began rubbing pepper and lye on her face to diminish her complexion and chopped off her hair. She also gave up eating meat as a penance. She only allowed herself two hours of sleep each night and wore a heavy crown made of silver, with small spikes on the inside.

To honor Saint Rose of Lima's decision to not eat meat, I thought we would try a Peruvian Vegetarian recipe called Solterito.

Solterito:

1 Cup Lima Beans
1/2 Cup Red Onion (Diced)
1 Cup Tomato (Diced)
1 Cup Corn
1 Cup White Queso Fresco Cheese (Diced)

1/2 Cup Carrots (Diced)
2 Tbsp Cup Red Chili Pepper
3 Tbsp Red or White Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

1/4 Cup Black Olives (Sliced)
2 Tbsp Cilantro

Combine the Lima Beans, Onion, Tomato, Corn, White Cheese and Red Pepper. Season with vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the Cilantro and Black Olives. Serve over lettuce (optional).

While I was researching the background on this Peruvian dish, I learned that you can also serve it mixed with quinoa. That is how I decided to make my Solterito. I also omitted the spicy chili pepper and olives because I am the only one in this house who enjoys them. I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone in the house really enjoyed this dinner.

There is a beautiful coloring page of Saint Rose from Mod H Mary.

In addition to Saint Rose of Lima's devotion to penance she often wrote her thoughts about our Lord. Here is a small sample of some of her writings where Saint Rose discusses the relationship of struggling in life and God:

Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: "Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven."

When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me and seemed to place me in the middle of a street, so that I might say in a loud voice to people of every age, sex and status: "Hear, O people; hear, O nations. I am warning you about the commandment of Christ by using words that came from his own lips: We cannot obtain grace unless we suffer afflictions. We must heap trouble upon trouble to attain a deep participation in the divine nature, the glory of the sons of God and perfect happiness of soul."

"If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men."

I truly believe that we all have struggles. Some are personal and kept secret while others are more noticeable and public. For me personally, I know that I have had some times in my life when God carried me because I was too weak to do it myself. I love Saint Rose of Lima for making it known that suffering is universal and a ladder to the gates of heaven. 

Prayer in Honor of Saint Rose of Lima:

God our Father, for love of you St. Rose gave up everything to devote herself to a life of penance. 

By the help of her prayers, may we imitate 

her selfless way of life on earth and enjoy the fullness of your blessings in heaven. 

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee 

and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us!

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Prayer is a Wine which Makes Glad the Heart of Man

If you have been visiting my site you already know that I have a special connection to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. A famous quote he said is the tagline of my blog:

An interesting fact about the time period of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is that Abbots were responsible for preparing wine. Saint Bernard was the Abbot of Clairvaux.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is considered a Doctor of the Church and is often referred to as the apostle of the Crusades. Saint Bernard is also known as the Mellifluous, or sweet tongued. He is the patron saint of bees, candlemakers, wax-melters and chandlers. Saint Bernard was born in Burgundy, France at Fontaines-les-Dijon - the castle of the Fontaines. He was born into a wealthy family and had a very strong relationship with his mom. After her death, he decided to become a monk to avoid falling into the temptation of the world. He entered the Cistercian monastery at Citeaux with thirty young noblemen, including his father, brothers, uncles and friends. After Saint Bernard made it clear that he was making great progress in his personal spiritual life, he and twelve other monks were sent to found a new monastery. It was known as the Valley of Wormwood, better known as the Valley of Light, or Clairvaux. Saint Bernard had a great devotion to the Virgin Mary and was contributed with many miracles. Saint Bernard was a man of many talents and wrote often, including poetry and hymns. Check out Hymnary if you would like to listen to some of his beautiful songs. 

During my research of Saint Bernard, I came across a wine brand that references my favorite Saint Bernard of Clairvaux quote and speaks of the great saint in detail on their homepage. I will be checking out some places to try to find a bottle of J.Jencquel & Cie in honor of Saint Bernard later today. As of right now I have been unsuccessful because I believe this brand may only be in Europe but if I can't find a bottle of J.Jencquel & Cie, I will purchase a bottle created from the Burgundy region of France.

There are so many fun and simple ways to celebrate this great saint. Purchase a new candle, make some candles, change out the scents in your wax warmers. I changed our wax warmers over to autumn scents like spiced apples and pumpkins! Try out a recipe that uses honey too. There are many different desserts or entrees that incorporate the sweet ingredient. My husband bought me a Shadow box to hold my wine corks earlier in the week! I don't think he knew how appropriate the gift would be for this week

My husband and I used the quiet morning to enjoy a small hike and go grab a cup of coffee. Getting that hour alone was a nice, rejuvenating way to start the day and helped us complete our Date Your Mate Dates this week. A nature and adrenaline date all in one! I have to write him a love note tonight to complete the additional challenges for our first week of the challenge. I think I'll do it later tonight while I am relaxing with my bottle of wine since he is working late tonight. 

My family will be enjoying a delicious dinner of Crockpot Honey Dijon Chicken with rice and vegetables by candle light with a nice glass of wine for me and a bottle of sparkling wine for the boys! Maybe I will play a hymn or two during dinner too. I chose the recipe for Honey Dijon Chicken because it incorporates honey made from bees since he is the patron saint of bees and Dijon mustard as a play on words because he was born at Fontaines-les-Dijon. Here is the recipe I used.

Crockpot Honey Dijon Chicken:

2-3 Large Chicken Breasts

1 Cup Honey

1 Cup Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp Miced Garlic

1 Tsp Italian Seasoning

Combine Honey, Dijon Mustard, Garlic and Italian Seasoning together in a bowl and set aside. Place Chicken in a lined or pan sprayed crock pot. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours. Serve over rice and Enjoy!

Saint Bernard was such a brilliant writer! There are many quotes that are shared nowadays that he has been contributed to including:

"We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place for those who love us."

It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment."

"What I know of the divine science and Holy Scriptures, I learnt in woods and fields."

"You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward Vision."

I hope everyone had a great day celebrating the feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux! I know our celebration was short and sweet and sometimes that's all you really need. We will probably end the day with a nice cup of honey chamomile tea on our porch and enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend before hurrying back to real life and the craziness it brings.

Prayer to the Most Holy Name of Jesus:

{Written by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux}

Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills the breast! 

Yet sweeter far Thy face to see And in Thy presence rest. 

No voice can sing, no heart can frame, Nor can the memory find, 

A sweeter sound than Jesus' name, The Savior of mankind. 

O hope of every contrite heart! 0 joy of all the meek! To those who fall, how kind Thou art! 

How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah! this Nor tongue nor pen can show 
The love of Jesus, what it is, 

None but His loved ones know. 

Jesus! our only hope be Thou, As Thou our prize shalt be; 

In Thee be all our glory now, And through eternity.

Amen.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us!

{SQT}: Date Your Mate & Loving Family

Life is really never predictable and mine is no different. We have had so many different things going on this week, I don't even know where to begin! Here are my Seven Quick Takes I am sharing at This Ain't The Lyceum for this week.

{ONE}

We have two new additions to the family! Shadow and Cloudy are two cats we adopted earlier in the week. We did not plan on adopting these cats but we saw them at a pet shop and we couldn't resist. I am proud to say neither of these cats are kittens. They are 6 and 10 years old. We learned from the pet shop owner that because of their age and the fact that they were taken into the shelter due to a hoarding situation that they assumed the cats would never be adopted. They have a strong bond so they had to be adopted together, which caused additional placement issues. These two fur babies are the most loving creatures we have ever come across. They are always purring and following everyone around and are always ready to sit in your lap. Lemon, our first kitten is about 2 and is still transitioning but I know they will all love each other soon enough. 

Welcome to the family, Shadow and Cloudy!

{TWO}

This past Tuesday was the first day of school! Little Man started 4th grade and Goalie started Kindergarten. We love the boys teachers and they are enjoying the routine that the school year brings. Both boys have friends from their classes last year and because they are at the same school this year, they are both excited to walk together. We also have a sweet little bot that lives in the complex and he joins us on our walks everyday. 

The only hiccup we are experiencing from the start of the school year is Goalie being super tired in the afternoon. He was taking naps all the way up to the start of the school year and not having one during the day while at school is really been difficult on my sweet boy. I am hoping we can find a way to calm the sensory breaks we are having in the afternoon due to his afternoon exhaustion. Goalie gets home from school in great spirits and then as the afternoon progresses I start to see a steady decline in his attitude, patience and irritability until he breaks. My poor baby will cry and be miserable until bedtime. Prayers for my Goalie while we figure out a healthy solution to keep him happy and focused throughout the day.

{THREE}

This week was the first week of the Date Your Mate Challenge! My hubby and I thought this challenge would be fun and put a focus on us growing our marriage stronger. For our first date this week we had a sushi date! It was nice because it was the first time we have had some quiet time to have adult conversations. We want to set an example for our children about what a happy and healthy relationship looks like and the only way to make that possible is to make sure it is strong in faith and love. This date was an amazing break from our daily routine and was so much fun. We have two more dates, a nature date and an adrenaline date, we are suppose to accomplish plus some additional challenges, writing a love letter to our spouse,  for the week. I'll keep everyone updated with all of our fun activities! 

{FOUR}

As much as I love football season, I am so glad we won't be having practices 4 times a week anymore this season. I am so exhausted from running around. I have been waking up early to help the boys get ready for school, working out, going to work, picking up the kids from school and heading straight over to the football field for two hour long practices. After practice, we rush to get everyone fed dinner and ready for bed. Then I do all the really fun stuff like completing the laundry and dishes. This week has been brutal. At least today there is no practice so I will probably have a movie night with the boys to relax and celebrate the end of a very busy and productive week. Next week we have practices 3 days a week and it's not 3 days in a row! YAY!!

I still haven't heard any news about soccer and Goalie is getting super anxious so I will try to make a call down to the sports office to figure out what is going on and whether we can expect to have a season or not. If there will be no season, I might sign Goalie up for some karate again. 

{FIVE}

I decided that since I am doing all this extra walking from taking the boys to and from school, working as a server and after school extracurricular activities that I needed to up the amount of steps I would attempt to reach each day. My goal was 10,000 steps during the summer and now my goal is 20,000. It's only been a couple days but I am feeling the burn! I am still searching for a new fitness challenge so if you have a suggestion, I would love to hear it! Maybe you would be interested in joining me? We could create an accountability group on Facebook. 

{SIX}

I am starting to stock up on all the yummy fall goodies that are being released. Pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spiced chai tea are the first of many delicious concoctions I will be sampling throughout autumn. I couldn't wait to enjoy the delicious coffee my husband got me so I am enjoying my second cup this morning. It's so delicious! I might enjoy a nice cup of tea after work for an afternoon pick me up out on the patio before the boys get home from school.

What other beverages do you drink during this season of spiced beverages? 

{SEVEN}

Last but not least, I completed our Autumn Bucket List. I always find moe things to add to our list throughout the season but we have a very long and exciting list of activities and adventures I can't wait to explore. Today I woke up and it is a crisp 60 degrees F and the high isn't suppose to go higher than 73 degrees! Its suppose to be even cooler tomorrow, however it is suppose to be warming up after this weekend so I will enjoy my little taste of Fall while I can.

What are traditions you do throughout the Autumn season? Are there any things that you think I should add to my families list?

I am excited for the weekend and I hope every one else had an amazing week with their families. Just a short work shift stands between me and my Saturday off to celebrate Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.