“To Jesus through Mary” is a famous quote by Saint Louis De Monforte.  It means Mary is directing us to Jesus through her love and her intercession. “Mary is all-holy. For the community of believers she represents the paradigm of the authentic holiness that is achieved in union with Christ” (General Audience- Mary: Model of Faith, Hope, and Charity, Saint John Paul II September 3, 1997).  Mary provides us a model of how to become holy through her virtues.  While there are man

When you think of Iowa, you probably think of cornfields and you are right. But tucked in a little city called West Bend, Iowa with less than 1,000 people is a Catholic gem, literally!  In West Bend, Iowa, which is northwest of Des Moines about 2 hours and 30 minutes, you will find the largest man-made grotto in the world!  It is called The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption. History Father Paul Matthias Dobberstein started building the grotto in 1912.  Originally from Ge

Cleaning your strawberries will not only make them cleaner, but they will last longer, and it will save you money.  What you will need: Bowl Water Teaspoon Baking soda Slotted spoon Colander Drying cloth Optional: paper towel Instructions: 1. Fill a bowl with water and add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. 2. Place berries in the baking soda water mixture and wait and gently mix the berries around. Wait 10-15 minutes. 3. Next transfer the strawberries to the colander. You don’t want

For us as Catholics, receiving the Eucharist is the “source and the summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324).  When we receive the Eucharist, we are as fully united to Christ as we can be.  To really embrace this union, we should prepare our body, mind, and soul before receiving Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The way we prepare and experience a feast at a friend or family member’s house is the way we should prepare for the Eucharist at Mass.  First imagine that this

The purpose of Mother’s Day is to celebrate all mothers: spiritual mothers, physical mothers, religious sisters, consecrated women, married women, and single women.  We are all called to be mothers.  It is innate in women to care and nurture others both physically and spiritually.  Those who are married and waiting for physical motherhood can still find this day to be harder that most.  My husband and I got married in June of 2016 in our early 30s.  Since then we have struggl

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  When I was young, my mom rarely bought valentine cards at the store because they were too expensive.  Usually we printed something off the computer and colored them in or made our own with construction paper and doilies.  If you are looking for some printable Catholic options, I have scoured the Internet to find free printable valentines. While you can print in color, for a better money saving option print these in black and white

If you have researched natural laundry detergents, natural household cleaners, or even scrolled through social media, you might have heard about Branch Basics.  In short, Branch Basics was started by three women, Marliee and her two nieces Kelly, and Alison.  Years ago, Marliee’s son Douglas was exposed to harmful pesticides at age 10.  The doctors told her that her son experienced brain and immune damage that was irreparable.  After Marliee removed all harmful substances fro

Buying books can be expensive, especially new books.  There are a lot of digital options that are far more inexpensive, convenient, and take up less space, but we are old fashioned.  Over the years, I became very good at finding inexpensive books because as a former elementary school teacher, I had to be very creative in getting books to build up my classroom library.  I also buy a lot of books for my husband who loves to read.  Here are some of my favorite ways to buy inexpe

Do you remember when you found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real?   According to Google, most children find out at 8 years old. I didn’t find out until a couple days before my 13th birthday!  It was a very traumatizing experience for me.  I can understand why people do it because their parents did it and their parents did it and so forth.  Even when I was a first and second grade teacher I “played along” because that is what I guess you were supposed to do. I even went as far

Last year, in 2022 I was listening to a homily from our parish priest about evangelization.  While my husband and I are always trying to spread the faith, I got some inspiration to extend our efforts of evangelization to our neighborhood.  I decided since October is the month of the Holy Rosary, that I would evangelize with the rosary during the whole month of October.  In the past I have given away rosaries to family, friends, and strangers directly.  But this time it would

As a woman of faith, I look to up to many holy woman saints.  One in particular, Saint Anne, is a saint whom I have drawn close to over the years.  No matter your state in life, Saint Anne is a role model for all of us women as we strive to be holy on our path to sainthood. Little is known about Saint Anne; however, we can get some insight about her life from other saints who had private revelations and visions.  Public revelation refers to the Deposit of Faith our Lord left

Saving money does not only mean clipping coupons, but it also means changing our habits and how we use things.  Below I have 9 ways of how you can reduce waste and save money in the kitchen.  These are all habits I have adopted over the years and they truly work.  I hope you can find these helpful for you and your family too! 1. Stop Using Too Much Dish Soap If you were like me before, then you might be drizzling it in a pan or on your sponge like icing.  But if you are soaki

I am not Irish, but I like celebrating St. Patrick’s day with corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes.  The corn beef briskets or rounds are only available around the second or third week of March each year.  A corn beef round is incredibly rare.  If you see one, buy it, I promise you will not be disappointed!  As I was thinking ahead of when to cook the corn beef, thinking we usually cook it on St. Patrick’s day or shortly after, I pulled out my calendar.  Well, to my surprise, S

1. How long is Lent? Lent is 40 days because that is how long Jesus prayed in the desert (Matthew 4:1-2).  Forty is also a significant number in the Bible because it signifies renewal.  During the great flood, God covered the earth with water for 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:12) The Israelites were in the desert for 40 years (Numbers 14:34).  Moses was on the mountain for 40 days with God (Exodus 32).    Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Wednesday before Holy T

When we see a large corporation in the news for supporting Planned Parenthood, it makes you wonder: if I purchase from such a company, am I supporting Planned Parenthood too?  The question we should be asking ourselves is, “What is my intention in purchasing goods from this company?”  Am I purchasing from this company because I want to support Planned Parenthood?  If the answer is yes, then this is morally wrong (this is a grave mortal sin) and we call this formal cooperation

I was reminded earlier this week, at Confession actually, that in order to prepare for the coming of baby Jesus at Christmas we need to practice detachment.  When I think of things one could possibly be attached to, I usually think of material things like money, shiny cars, clothing, shoes, etc.  But we can also be attached to ideas.  For example, my husband and I are in our late thirties.  We have been married for over 6 years and are still waiting for children.  Now childre

The Rosary is a powerful prayer that was given to us by Our Lady, Mary, the Mother of Christ.  Mary appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the prayer of the rosary and instructed him to spread it.  We can pray the rosary for specific prayer intentions, but the main purpose of the rosary is to meditate on the mysteries of the lives of Mary and Jesus to ultimately get closer to our Lord.  Because our Lady specifically gave us this prayer, there are several promises and graces whe

The Seven Sorrows of Mary is a Catholic devotion given to St. Bridget of Sweden by Mary for us to grow closer to our Lord. By meditating on these sufferings of Mary, we are mediating on the sufferings of Jesus.  Mary’s heart is so intertwined with Jesus’ Heart that they are, in some sense, one heart.  While Mary had many sufferings, we meditate on seven of these sufferings because they are the deepest sorrows of Our Lady. The following are the Seven Sorrows of Mary associated

The Life of Mary As Seen by The Mystics  is a book compiled by Raphael Brown.  It consists of private revelations about Mary’s life from the engagement of her parents, St. Ann and St. Joachim, to Mary’s death, Assumption, and Crowning.  The book relies on the writings of four holy women: St. Elizabeth of Schoenau, St. Bridget of Sweden, Venerable Mother Mary of Jesus of Agreda, and Blessed Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich.    I can’t remember how this book was recommended to me

Craig’s List is a free site where people can post things they want to sell.  There are many items that you can get for free on the site.  It varies from location depending on what people are posting.  Typically in southwest Michigan I see building materials, fire wood, furniture, exercise equipment, toys, plants, home décor, etc.  The possibilities are endless. Accessing Craig’s List In Your State and/or City To access the site go to:  https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites