To Jesus through Mary! Good morning and happy feast of St. Benedict. What a great day! St. Benedict and his Benedictine monks have prayed, taught, and evangelized the world for quite some time- we owe a lot to them for preserving Catholic culture over the centuries! What You Need to Know About St. Benedict and His Medal is a great place to learn a little more about this awesome saint!
Other than a grateful tip of the hat to St. Benedict, we have a few other things cooking for you today. We’ll chat about things to do before going to sleep at night (besides cranking up the AC!) We’ll also look at how we can celebrate the great feast days this week and a few other fun things to inform you and keep that skip in your step!
So, without further ado, let’s get into this!
3 Things to do Before Going to Bed
These long, hot summer days are so looked forward to during winter months. So much daylight! So many hours to enjoy the sunshine and get things done! However, right now, when the sun has finally set, it’s pretty late and most of us are dog-tired. Before you fall off to sleep, there are a few things you can do that will settle your heart, rest your mind, and put you in a place of prayer with the God who loves you more than you can imagine. Check out 3 Things to do Before Going to Bed! We swear by these things!
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
This coming Thursday is a special feast day for us northern Michigan folks in the Gaylord Diocese- it’s the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel! Our diocese is under the patronage of Mary under this title, so we’re pretty excited about it! It is said that Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, a leader of the Carmelites, and gave him the brown scapular. To learn more about how Mary came to be honored by this name click here!
The Brown Scapular
Since we are celebrating Our Lady of Mount Carmel this week, it seems appropriate that we should include something about the devotion of the brown scapular! There are many questions and confusions regarding the scapular so we went in search of a one-stop website that would help us out. We found that the Sisters of Carmel had just what we were looking for- check out their Frequently Asked Questions page to learn everything you need to know about the scapular!
Month of the Precious Blood
In the Liturgical Calendar, every month is dedicated by the Church to a different devotion. July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. To learn Why July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ head over to Aleteia. There is also a very informative explanation of the meaning, the devotion, and things to do during this month at Catholic Culture.
Saint Spotlight
This coming Tuesday is the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized. Her short life was filled with sadness but also the sweet consolation of deep prayer and closeness to God. When she died at the age of 24, miracles began immediately. Check out Catholic News Agency’s bio to learn more about her life!
Guardian Angels
Our guardian angels are the constant companion of our lives and their role from the moment of our conception is wholly focused on bringing us into the eternal happiness of Heaven. Our angels are an immense gift to us from the Heavenly Father, especially considering that there is another faction of angels that wishes damnation for us. To learn more about your angel, head over to Catholic Exchange and read 20 Things Guardian Angels Do For Us!
Nifty News
Gregorian chant has an otherworldly-ness to it that quiets the mind, sobers the mood, and lifts the thoughts. There’s just something about it that whispers holiness. When we saw this video of 4 young men chanting in a stairwell, we got chills. It’s really good- you should check it out.
We need to thank God for sending us holy priests and pray for our priests.
Liturgical Living
There are some really great Feast Days this coming week that you can celebrate with your family. Follow the links below to get some great ideas.
–St. Benedict, July 11
–St. Kateri Tekawitha, July 14
–Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the brown scapular, July 16
Marian Center Update
The exhibit on Marian Apparitions is open to the public! We are open for our full schedule from Tuesday-Saturday, 10 to 4. Hope to see you soon!
To Christ Through Mary,
Katie Moe and Lori Mercer
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