A Christina Day at Old Sturbridge Village

Christina has been off from school all week. No one else has off from school, Gabbi is preparing for chemistry, psychology,  and physiology finals, and Bella is reading The Divine Comedy as expeditiously as possible since all three books arrived from inter-library loan on the same day and must be returned soon. I have enjoyed reading it with her, but I wanted to give Christina some one on one time.

The spring weather is sunny and delightful, so I took Christina to Old Sturbridge Village to see the spring lambs. My camera batteries were dead, so we have no lamb photos.
I decided to give Christina the gift of time. We would go through OSV on her timetable (within reason, or we might still be there!) We spent as long as she wanted on what she wanted to see. No pushing her through pretty houses for my viewing pleasure or forcing her to sit through talks she doesn't understand.
She led me to sit in the schoolhouse, where she enjoys the desks and the company of the children, the coopers shop, where she impressed the cooper (barrel maker) with her skills at the wood shaping bench (this is her fifth time to OSV this year) and the barnyard where we watched the animals. We gazed at the lovely little white lambs tagging along behind their massive wooly mothers, responding to their calls with tiny bleats, and nursing with gusto as they rammed their little heads into mom's belly for more milk! What a delight it was to see her enjoy herself on the playground, when she has been denied it at school because of the risk of falling with her delicate vertebrae.
Walking leisurely through the village, stopping for a picnic or two, taking time to splash in the stone sink in one house, and trace a twig in the water of a horse trough, gave me a sense that I was on vacation. It was the most enjoyable day I've spent at OSV, with no agenda besides following Christina's lead. I wondered why I haven't done it this way before, and resolve to make tomorrow another Christina day at home. Maybe we'll walk along the river, or sit and watch birds in our little shrine in the woods.
Whenever I am interviewed about raising a child with Down syndrome, I always praise Christina's ability to stop and smell the flowers, but too often I forget to allow her to slow me down to life in the moment, absorbing the sights, sounds and aromas of life.

Thank you Lord, for this gift of a child who has the gift of living in the moment. Help me to learn from her to relish the details of this wonderful life we share.

St Philip Neri

I have a special affection for St Philip Neri, the name of the parish where I made my First Holy Communion and Confirmation. I always knew about his sense of humor but never heard about his experience of the Holy Spirit.
Please don't forget to pray the Pentecost Novena with me for my mother.

"He was twenty-nine years old at the time, and as the feast of Pentecost was approaching, Philip who had always had a special devotion to the Holy Spirit, was praying with extreme earnestness for his gifts and graces, when he seemed to see a globe of fire which entered his mouth and sank down into his heart. At the same time he was pervaded by a fire of love which seemed to be a positive physical heat, so that he had to throw himself on the ground and bare his breast to cool it. When he rose he was seized with a violent trembling, accompanied by an extraordinary sense of joy, and putting his hand to his heart, he felt there a swelling as big as a man's fist. After his death it was discovered that the first two of the false ribs were broken, and the broken ends thrust outwards, never having rejoined or return to the normal position during he fifty remaining years of Philip's life." 9
Fr. V.J. Matthews, Saint Philip Neri (Tan Books: 1984), 9.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Where the name of this blog comes from

from the daily meditations of Mary Vitamin:
Cause of Our Joy and St. Leopold Mandic
Feast day - July 30th

Quote:
“It is almost impossible to say how much Father Leopold loved the Madonna. The tone of his voice when he spoke of her, the light in his eyes when he looked at a picture of her, cannot be put into words at all. You would have to have seen him in order to comprehend something of the ardent love for Mary in the heart of this Capuchin.”
Father Pietro Bernardi, O.F.M. Cap, postulator
Ferdinand Holbock, New Saints and Blesseds of the Catholic Church Vol I, (Ignatius Press), 223.

Meditation:
“During his assignment at the friary in Thiene, near Vicenza, in the years 1906 to 1909, Father Leopold often helped the lay brothers humbly with the household chores, washed the dishes, cleaned the cells, and set the table. Since his soul was turned constantly toward God, he wanted them to pray during their work, especially the Litany of Loreto. At the invocation ‘Cause of our joy’, he interrupted his work, lifted his eyes to heaven, and remained for a while in this attitude, as though enraptured. Once a confrere asked him, ‘Father Leopold, why do you interrupt your work at this invocation of the Litany of Loreto and raise your eyes to heaven?’ At that he exclaimed, ‘O Madonna, the Madonna, the cause of our joy!’ Then he remained looking up to heaven for a long time, his face beaming.”
Ferdinand Holbock, New Saints and Blesseds of the Catholic Church Vol I,(Ignatius Press), 226-7.

Resolution:
What did St. Leopold have to be joyful about? He was only four feet six inches tall. His dream of missionary work was never fulfilled. Instead he spent hours every day in the Confessional. In fact, at his canonization John Paul referred to Saint Leopold as “the Confessor”. How many crosses did he bear in hearing so many confessions?
I will imitate St. Leopold who during his work paused at the invocation Cause of our Joy and looked up to heaven. I will ask him to explain this mystery to me and teach me to find my joy in Our Lady.

It always surprises me

. . .which posts of mine will appear in unexpected places.

Imagine this game of ring-around-the-rosy ending up in the Chicago Sun-Times? I never would have guessed.

I'm glad they liked the post. It compares the innocent joy of children to that joy we feel after receiving the Holy Eucharist.

Community after the Latin Mass

I've always noticed a sense of joy and deep peace in my heart after attending Holy Mass. That's why gatherings for community after Mass are so wonderful. The peace of receiving Our Lord makes one as free in his heart as a little child. Francisco and Christina enjoy playing "Ring around the Rosey" with some of the homeschool children after the Latin Mass last Sunday.