Faith Fundamentals Placemats from Ascension

Recently, I was excited to receive a set of four placemats from Ascension. The Faith Fundamentals Placemats feature: the beatitudes, the seven sacraments, the steps for Reconciliation, and the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. I appreciate that the placemats can prompt a range of discussions over time as we share meals together.

My 6 year old will be preparing for her First Reconciliation and First Communion next school year, so the Reconciliation placemat will be especially helpful as she prepares for First Reconciliation. As I have helped with sacramental preparation in previous years, sometimes kids are anxious about remembering what to expect or the steps to follow during Reconciliation. This placemat will likely be one more layer in place to help her to feel more comfortable and to focus her attention instead on the excitement of being able to access another sacrament. I also love that the sacraments placemat highlights both of the sacraments she will be preparing for within the context of all of the sacraments.

Since the resource is something to be used again and again, as a mom I can have different levels of interaction/prompting over time. As we used the placemats for the first time, my 3 year old was instantly drawn towards the baby being baptized. Later in the evening, after we had finished dinner, she brought the mat with the beatitudes on it and started asking some questions about it (based on the illustration of Jesus). We can have natural, authentic conversations as they arise over time. Having the mats within our home environment is a good visual prompt to spark the girls' curiosity and to initiate faith-based conversations.

I appreciate that my 1 year old will hear glimpses into conversations and then eventually be able to grasp more and more. The concepts will be beneficial for my husband, teens, and I as well. It is good to have reminders and refreshers of important concepts. For example, I think that the mats featuring the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and the beatitudes can be good self-reflections. Unlike the 7 Sacraments and 5 Aspects of a Good Confession mats, these two do not feature an image for each concept, some of the concepts are more abstract, and the vocabulary is more challenging, so the most fruitful conversations about this for younger kids will likely come from interactions with others who know the concepts and understand how to convey them in a developmentally appropriate way to younger members of the family.

Ascension has another version that I am even more excited about focused on the Rosary - each one portraying one set of mysteries. Though I cannot currently find it on their site, I did find it in another location. I plan on getting this set sometime as my girls already know that I love the Rosary, and they enjoy praying it with me. I appreciate that the set would help them to visually see the mysteries and to prompt additional discussion so that as they grow and pray the Rosary on their own they would have a stronger foundation to meditate on the different mysteries as they pray.

*Set provided for review.

Reading Round Up January 2019

CURRENTLY READING

Side by Side: A Catholic Mother-Daughter Journal

by Lori and Ava Ubowski

2018 Ave Maria Press

This book is intended as a way for a mom to bond with her tween daughter; however, I decided to use it as a means to connect with two of my daughters as knew that both my 15 year old and 12 year old would appreciate and enjoy the process. It will take a little bit of adapting as we go along to make it work in this way, but so far we have just divided the daughter responses in half. We have the book in a Ziplock bag with a different colored pen for each of us. This will be a good way for the three of us to connect, while also nurturing our faith as it connects to Catholic Saints and scripture woven among other general topics. As a mom still adjusting to having 5 girls and trying to navigate meeting the needs of each daughter, I appreciate this as one means to keep open the lines of communication with my oldest two as they navigate their first years of middle school and high school. As I anticipated, we are all enjoying it so far. 

*Note: Review copy provided by the publisher.

Life of Christ Lectio Divina Journal

by Sister John Dominic Rasmussen, O.P. 

2015 Lumen Ecclesiae Press

paired with

The Great Adventure Catholic Bible

2018 Ascension

I am still reading the Life of Christ Lectio Divina Journal with The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for the Scripture readings (as the readings are not included in the journal). I started this journal back in August and am not about half way through the book. I have really appreciated the format of the book - some predictable structures and prompts mixed with those tailored to the specific reading. I had been wanting to read Scripture beyond daily readings more consistently and also wanted to explore lectio divina. This has been a perfect scaffold for me to be better equipped to pray lectio divina on my own. However, I was also excited to see that there is also an Advent Journal and a Lenten Journal by the same author with a similar look and feel that I will likely read in the future, perhaps in the next liturgical year. 

I also continue to love my The Great Adventure Catholic Bible. I love the aesthetics of the Bible, as well as the way it feels physically. One area that has taken some adjusting for me though is that it is a different translation than what is used for daily readings on the USCCB site that matches the lectionary at my parish. There are some verses where I miss the wording I am more familiar with; however, having different wording of some of those passages has also helped me to consider based on the subtle differences. I love thinking about language and translation, so I have enjoyed that layer. 

A Family of Saints: The Martins of Lisieux

by Fr. Stéphane-Joseph Piat, O.F.M.

2016 Ignatius Press

This has been on my to read pile for over a year. I am still on the initial pages but am excited to delve deeper into it. Jackie and Bobby Angel recently mentioned it in one of their Ascension videos, and it was a great reminder to prompt me to finally pull it out. 

RECENTLY READ AND LOVED

Broken and Blessed: An Invitation to My Generation

by Fr. Josh Johnson

2018 Ascension Publishing

I have loved Fr. Josh's voice since I first saw him on Altaration from Ascension where he shared his vocation story alongside Fr. Mike Schmitz - I Will Follow. I saw him in some other Ascension Presents videos, including one that I especially loved about lectio divina, so I was thrilled when earlier this summer he started the podcast, Ask Fr. Josh and then when he announced his book. This break in between terms I read it, and as expected, really appreciated the ideas. There were a lot of familiar concepts and stories based on having listened to his podcast and viewed his other videos; however, the book also provided other details and suggestions. It also wove together the ideas with a common thread of prayer linked to the ideas in order to nurture a stronger relationship with God. 

The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture

by Haley Stewart

2018 Ave Maria Press

and

Don't Forget to Say Thank You: And Other Parenting Lessons That Brought Me Closer to God

by Lindsay Schlegel

2018 Ave Maria Press

I read these two books at the same time throughout the fall because I just couldn't choose one to begin and finish before starting the other and they were both featured as online book club books. I enjoyed the voices of both (I was already familiar with Lindsay Schlegel from her CatholicMom posts). Both of these books inspired me and gave me a lot to think about related to my vocation. I appreciated both of their experiences. There were concepts in both that I revisited multiple times and want to keep both to re-read in the future. Both had concepts that highly resonated with me and my experiences/thoughts/feelings in this phase of life. 

RECENTLY RE-READ

Time With God

by Fr. Jacques Philippe

In anticipation for a retreat later this spring with Fr. Jacques Philippe, I am re-reading his books, and this was the first one. Read just about a year after the first time, I benefited from refreshing my memory and once again enjoyed his ideas.

Remaining Calm

Yesterday I talked about how a sense of letting go and trusting more often in my life helps to counteract rising stress and worry. Doing so is vital in being able to serve in different capacities and roles in life, including: wife, mother, parishioner, colleague, Director of Religious Education/Youth Minister, and teacher educator. At the start of last year, as part of my one little word - core journey, I wrote, "Begin to live with this mission in mind: Strive to live life according to God's will by nourishing spiritual life and nurturing connections. Conscientiously focus on showing family is important, value self care, and work with joy." Shortly after, I took the Upstream Field Guide course which prompted me to think about my purpose beyond my current context. It pushed me to see beyond this phase of motherhood and my career.

Lately, I have been feeling certainty that a couple of cross-cutting aspects I want to embody and continue to nurture are contributing to a positive culture and joyful interactions. Feeling a sense of calm and peace helps me to better live these two out in my life. I think that is why when I saw this image from Ascension Press on Facebook it spoke to me enough to print it out and put it on my bulletin board at church.

This week I returned to work as a teacher educator after maternity leave and summer vacation. This song keeps coming to mind as I know it is essential so that I don't get too wrapped up in different aspects of life. One of my favorite lines is "Lay down what's good and find what's best." You can hear about the background of the song from the singer's perspective here.

What aspects prompt you to feel stress and worry? What are some things that help you or inspire you to not let different worries or concerns in life turn into bigger issues than they need to be?