#WorthRevisit: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

This is my contribution for #WorthRevisit with Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You this week:

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!

Nativity of Mary: Maria Bambina

Today is the Nativity of Mary or in simpler terms, the Virgin Mary's Birthday. This is a special feast day celebrated on every 8th of September. The winegrowers in France called today the feast "Our Lady of the Grape Harvest". In tradition, grapes are brought to the local church to be blessed and then some of the blessed grapes (still on the vine) are placed within the hands of the statue of Mary. Grapes are also included in the meals on this day.

France is not the only country with special traditions to honor Mary on her birthday. In Goa, the feast of Mary's Nativity, called the "Monti Fest." Today is celebrated like a United States Thanksgiving! There are festivals and blessings on the harvest of new crops.

In my research of this special day, I came across the amazing website that discusses the devotion to the Holy Infant Mary (Maria Bambina). If you have some free time I think you should check out the website and learn about some special traditions tied to Mary as an infant and child. 

To celebrate today there are so many different ways to honor Mary! You could make it as extravagant as having a full birthday party celebration in her honor or as simple as sharing a birthday cake as a family. You can enjoy some blue treats and foods like jello, blueberries in fruit salad or baked goods. Also check out Life, Love and Sacred Art for a Free Printable.

My family had a simple meal in Mary's honor because we had football practice and lots of homework tonight. We had some Italian Baked Chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and baby peas. I chose chicken and mashed potatoes because they are white to symbolize Mary's purity in infancy because she was born without sin. We added the baby peas because... well... they were baby peas. Sorry that was as far as my imagination went with our vegetable tonight. I am disappointed I forgot to snap a picture of our dinner because the boys and I were ravenous after our busy day. 

I also wanted to bake a cake to celebrate as well but the boys are not allowed to have treats because they are grounded until this weekend. I think I still might bake a cake in Mary's honor over the weekend because I will be starting another Vegan for a Week Challenge on Monday. You can see our last Vegan Challenge Here. Check out how I keep our Liturgical Celebrations next week fun and tasty with these added food restrictions. I promise you won't be disappointed. 

I also finished off the amazing bottle of wine my husband bought for us earlier in the week. Remember today is also called Our Lady of the Grape Harvest! As a lover of wine, I could not pass up the opportunity to honor Mary with that love!

How did your family honor Mary today? 

In Honor of Our Lady's Nativity:

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin; give me strength against thine enemies, and against the enemy of the whole human race. Give me strength humbly to pray to thee. Give me strength to praise thee in prayer with all my powers, through the merits of thy most sacred nativity, which for the entire Christian world was a birth of joy, the hope and solace of its life.

When thou wast born, O most holy Virgin, then was the world made light.

Happy is thy stock, holy thy root, and blessed thy fruit, for thou alone as a virgin, filled with the Holy Spirit, didst merit to conceive thy God, as a virgin to bear Thy God, as a virgin to bring Him forth, and after His birth to remain a virgin.

Have mercy therefore upon me a sinner, and give me aid, O Lady, so that just as thy nativity, glorious from the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Juda, illustrious from the stock of David, didst announce joy to the entire world, so may it fill me with true joy and cleanse me from every sin.

Pray for me, O Virgin most prudent, that the gladsome joys of thy most helpful nativity may put a cloak over all my sins.

O holy Mother of God, flowering as the lily, pray to thy sweet Son for me, a wretched sinner. 

Amen.

Blessed Virgin Mary, 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!

Transfiguration: A Fruitful Feast

The Feast of the Transfiguration today! The Transfiguration is the 4th Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. It is best described by a passage from the book of Mathew:

Matthew 17:1-8
And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. 

And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 

And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him. 

And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead

It was a custom to bless grapes on this day but now the blessing has been extended to any fruit. The symbolism of blessing fruit is to illustrate the "fruitfulness" of all creation in heaven. In Rome the Pope will use new wine at Mass and they bless raisins. Obviously this makes drinking a glass or two of wine a great way to celebrate today as well! 

Blessing of Fresh Fruit:

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: Who made heaven and earth.

P: The Lord be with you.

All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.

Lord, bless + this new fruit of the vineyard, which in your benevolence you have ripened by heavenly dew, an abundance of rainfall, gentle breezes, and fair weather; and have given us to use with gratitude in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. 

All: Amen.

(Sprinkle fruit with holy water.)

I thought it would be fun to bless some of our fresh fruit and then have the boys help make some delicious fruit salad for a mid morning snack but the boys thought having a "holy" smoothie would be better. I am preparing Chicken Walnut Craisin Stuffing Casserole for dinner (you can make it with raisins but we prefer craisins in this house).  We are also enjoying it with pecans instead of walnuts because I allowed my kids to "help" grocery shop and that's what we bought instead. Raisin Bread or Oatmeal Raisin cookies would make a great treat too.

Chicken Walnut Craisin Stuffing Casserole: 

Serves 4-6

2-3 Large Chicken Breasts (Sliced in half)

4-6 Slices of Provolone Cheese (One for each half of chicken)

1 Can of Cream of Chicken

1 Onion (diced)

1/2 Cup Green Pepper (diced)

1/4 Cup Celery (diced)

2 Cups Stuffing Mix

1/4 Chicken Broth

1/2 Cup Craisins
1/2 Cup Crushed Walnuts 

1/4 Cup Melted Butter

1 Tbsp Garlic

1 Tbsp Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large Casserole dish. Season the chicken with garlic and pepper and place the halved chicken breasts into the dish. When you half the chicken it allows it to cook faster and helps you use less meat in the recipe. It's one of a few ways I stretch the meats in my house and save a little extra money. Place a piece of Provolone cheese on each half of the chicken breast. Sprinkle the diced onion, green pepper and celery over the chicken next. Combine the Cream of Chicken and chicken broth together to create a gravy and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Finally layer the chicken with stuffing mix, craisins, walnuts and melted butter. Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes.

You can always top this with french fried onions and extra (shredded) cheese the last 10 minutes of baking to add a little extra texture! Serve with a vegetable of your choice. I am serving my casserole with broccoli.

Other Activities that I think would be appropriate would be visiting a Butterfly Garden or creating your own Butterfly Garden. The Transfiguration is described as a metamorphosis and butterflies are a great symbol of that. There is a garden at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. That great membership is coming in handy! Do to the weather our visit to the Butterfly was postponed. When we move further up north there is a Butterfly Pavilion I can't wait to visit.

An hour or Adoration would be great too. Check out this great post by Look to Him and be Radiant about children at Adoration. It includes a printable! Creating a beautiful rosary hanger to hold your rosary would be a fun and memorable craft or even coloring pictures of the Luminous Mysteries to display. Holy Heroes is also offering some online trivia and audio of the 4th Luminous mysteries. There is a Coloring Page too. Since today is Saturday, it is traditional that the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosaries are recited. In honor of the Transfiguration of Jesus, the boys and I will be meditating on the Luminous mysteries tonight.