#WorthRevisit: Parish May Crowning

In honor of the of the feasts celebrating Mary the past two weeks, the Queenship of Mary and the Assumption. I thought it would be a great idea to share my boys first experience at a May Crowning. May Crownings are normally done during May but I think that it would be appropriate to adorn our lady with a crown again during the month of August. The entire month of August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as well. I believe that I am raising my children to have a strong love for their faith, at least that is my goal, and this way a big milestone for us. I'm not going to lie, reading over this post from four years ago brought tears to my eyes. Time flies and seeing how much my boys have grown as young men of faith is heart warming. Here is my post I am sharing for #WorthRevisit with Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Parish May Crowning

I know this is going to sound outrageous but even though I was raised Catholic, I have only been to one May Crowning, and unfortunately I don't even remember it. I was talking to my parents about the ceremony and my mom mentioned my sister and I had participated in one during the year of our First Communion. I thought I had never been to one before, well today my boys and I experienced our first ceremony together! The ceremony was at Little Man's School and it was absolutely amazing, very simple and meaningful.

It so happens that today was also Little Man's last Field Trip so we didn't get dressed up for the Crowning. Next year I hope the timing works out better because I love getting the boys dressed in their Sunday best. The school attends mass Thursday mornings and the Crowning was scheduled to follow mass in the school courtyard. I brought Little Man to school and Squishy did not want to leave him in class so the teacher allowed us to stay and participate in snack and coloring while the courtyard was being set up for the May Crowning ceremony.

 Its the quiet moments like this that make my heart feel so full. I am so blessed with these children. Loving them makes me a better person

Squishy wants to be just like his big brother. He kept "helping" Little Man color his paper too.

Here is a picture of the courtyard while they setup everything. Below is a picture of the bells used to go along with the procession of the First Communion classes. I do not know the name of the song that was sang as the children processed in but it was beautiful... Maybe it was Salve Regina? I'm not sure so please don't quote me. The jingling of the bells complimented the song so well and it caused all the small children to fall into a silent stare, especially Squishy. He was quite restless because he missed his morning nap and was overwhelmed by all the activity but the beautiful colors and sounds of the bells calmed him. I was also quite impressed with the way they executed the performance of the song. There was an older woman holding up cards that had the corresponding colors to the bells pictured to signal the children to ring the bell of the appropriate color. I can still hear the sounds of the bells as I hum the melody to the song.

The children looked so adorable in their First Communion outfits.

Squishy was impressed with the beautiful clothes too because he kept saying "Wow" and "Ooo" as the children walked by, I tried to take a picture with him but he was not paying me any attention. :o)

Little Man was very attentive and was excited to say a decade of the rosary with his class. We also made a Consecration to Mary.

My Queen and my Mother, I give myself entirely to you; and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am your own, keep me, guard me, as your property and possession. Amen.

 I was so pleased I was able to get a picture of the chosen girl placing the crown upon Mary's head. It was such a beautiful ceremony.

I will definitely be holding a casual May Crowning for our family at home this Sunday, on Mother's Day. What would be a better day to do it? It is also the Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima!

The Assumption: The Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary

The Assumption is also known as the Dormition of Mary and the "Falling Asleep of Mary". The Assumption of Mary is the 4th Glorious Mystery of the Rosary. It is the feast of the day that our Blessed Virgin Mother was taken into heaven body and soul. This year the Feast of the Assumption falls on a Monday so it is not an obligation to attend mass this year but it is normally a Holy day of Obligation. It is traditional on this day to bless flowers and herbs. You can find the Blessing of the Fruits and Herbs at Catholic Culture. I really wanted to be able to plant a small herb garden or do another crowning of Mary today but we ran out of time. In addition to the celebration of the Assumption of Mary, it was the boys school orientation and we had football practice. It was a very busy yet productive day!

The boys orientation went very well and they are excited to start the new school year. Both boys have several friends in their classes and they both loved their new teachers.

We will be enjoying some Herb seasoned Steak with Assumpta Salad for dinner. You can check out Catholic Cuisine for another recipe as well. I modified the recipe and served the tomatoes and herbs on a bed of spring mix. The salad is tossed with oil and fresh herbs. It was amazing. I added some french fried onions and some avocado to add some texture. I am happy to say we all finished every bite on our plates.

Being such a beautiful and important day, I had to grab a special bottle of wine. The Monterey Vineyards Pinot Noir was on sale for $10 (normally a $17 bottle) and it was amazing!

Fruit Salad or Fruit topped Angel Food Cake, or cupcakes, would be some appropriate desserts to end your celebration! We had no time to prepare one of the previous named desserts so we opted for some ice cream cones. Before bedtime we will all enjoy a nice cup of Sleepytime Tea (also an herbal tea) to help us as we all fall asleep tonight and be ready for our first day back to school! Prayers are much appreciated as we make the full transition.

How did your celebration go today? I would love to hear all about it!

Prayer for the Feast of the Assumption:

Almighty and everlasting God,

You have taken up body and soul

into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,

Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,

that, ever intent upon heavenly things,

we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.

Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us!

Menu Plan Monday: August 15- August 21

I have a confession to make, I really did not follow my menu plan last week. I did not handle all the extra to-dos I knew were coming all that well so we did not eat the healthiest foods last week. Man Oh Man! Let me tell you, all of us have had not so happy tummies so it is important we get back on track this week. I am admitting this because we have things that I planned on making last week that will be here on this menu since it was never actually made last week or a variation of something I was going to make last week. My poor husband has been waiting a long time for that meatloaf he's been requesting. We have another 4 day week of football practice, school starts, soccer should be starting and it will be my first full week at work. This is linked to the Menu Plan Monday linkup. Here is our menu plan for the week:

Monday: The Assumption

Steak and Assumpta Salad

Tuesday: First Day of School

Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Salad

Wednesday:

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

Thursday:

Leftover Dinner Buffet

Friday:

Spinach and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Saturday: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Crockpot Dijion Chicken with Rice and Vegetables

Sunday:
Chicken Noodle Soup

I am a huge fan of Catholic Cuisine and the amazing recipes that are shared on this blog. If you are looking for some great Liturgical feast recipes they can be found there. Check out these recipes suggested for the Feast of the Assumption, it is where I found the Assumpta Salad recipe and the suggestion for Dijion Chicken in honor of Saint Bernard! I used my own recipe so I could utilize my crockpot but this website gave me the idea. I didn't include any recipes yet, I will be sharing them throughout the week so please come back and check out my latest posts!