 Devotion to Mary Queen of Apostles is one of the oldest in the Church. Traditionally, the feast has been celebrated on the first Saturday after the feast of the Ascension. However, this feast day is a moveable one because of its connection to both Easter and the Ascension which are moveable feasts in their own rights. Adding to the confusion as to the exact date is the decision to allow the Ascension, which has traditionally been celebrated 40 days after Easter, on a Thursday, to be celebrated on Sunday before Pentecost. This could foster the erroneous belief that the feast day of Mary, Queen of Apostles falls on the eve of Pentecost. (http://consecratedtomary.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/our-lady-queen-of-apostles/)Since the majority of Canada and the United States now celebrate the feast of the Ascension on the Sunday before Pentecost, it might be easiest to remember the date for Our Lady’s feast as being forty-two days after Easter Sunday, whenever that day may fall.
At one time there were seven women’s congregations named for Mary, Queen of Apostles. More recently, when Blessed Father James Alberione established the Pauline family at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was with a special devotion to Mary under her title of Queen of Apostles. This special devotion continues in all the members of all the branches of the Pauline Family which includes priests, brothers, sisters, consecrated single men and women and consecrated laity, as well as cooperators. This devotion keeps them firmly rooted in Jesus and guides and strengthens them in their evangelization and media apostolate.
In their booklet, Devotion to Mary, queen of Apostles, the Daughters of St. Paul express, beautifully, the meaning of this title: “Mary is Queen of Apostles because she was chosen to be the Mother of Jesus Christ and to give Him to the world; she was made the Apostles’ Mother and our own by our Savior on the cross; she was with the Apostles while awaiting the descent fo the Holy Spirit, obtaining from them the abundance of supernatural graces they received on Pentecost.” (www.vocations-holyfamily.com/mary.html )
There are biblical roots for this title, for example Acts 1: 13-14, which show Mary in the midst of the apostles, and an early homily (erroneously attributed to Cyril of Alexandria [cf.PG 77, 992] describes Mary as the one who leads all creatures to the truth because she brought forth the Light of the World. It is through her that the apostles announce the Savior of the world (http://www.catholicweb.com/media_index.cfm?fuseaction=view_article&partnerid=48&article_id=2651.)
God bless, Marlicia.
 Dedicating the month of May to Mary is not limited to the United States, or even to the Americas. It has traditionally been dedicated to Mary in many cultures. Why? From a very early time, May was celebrated as the beginning of a time of fruitfulness and growth. For example, the ancient Greeks and Romans honored the goddesses of fertility and blossoms, respectively, at this time. The Church made many such pagan holidays their own by converting them to Christian celebrations. In the Middle Ages, the month of May was linked to the practice of expelling the winter season.
The connection between Mary and the month of May seems to have solidified in the Middle Ages. At first, special days during the month were set aside to welcome and celebrate both the month, and what it symbolized, and Mary. Later, the entire month of May was dedicated to Our Most Blessed Lady, and special devotions to her were organized for each day. This custom is thought to have begun in Italy in 1784 though it spread rapidly.
(Source material: http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/crownmed.html )
Our Lady can be honored in many ways during this month. It is traditional in many countries to organize a May crowning ceremony. Special prayers and songs are often incorporated along with a procession. Daily recitation of the rosary may be held in the Church. Two Marian liturgical celebrations fall within the month allowing us to show her special love, honor and devotion: Our Lady, Queen of Apostles (May 5th or the first Saturday after the Ascension of our Lord when it falls in May), and the Visitation (May 31 in the United States). A longer list of Marian feasts throughout the year can be found here: http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/marian-feasts.htm
At home, special prayers, rosaries and novenas may be said. Special hymns may be sung. Little home altars decorated with flowers can be set up. Spiritual books about our Lady can be read and works of charity can be done in imitation of her. In imitating and honoring Mary, we honor Jesus.
Suggestions for Marian projects and other ways to honor our Blessed Lady can be found here:
http://www.osv.com/Portals/0/images/pdf/TP0307.pdf (from Our Sunday Visitor)
http://catholicicing.com/2010/04/mary-garden-ideas-and-crafts/
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=361
and in Catholic Traditions in Crafts, by Ann Ball
How will you honor Mary this month? We’d love to hear from you.
God bless, Marlicia.
 John Clark has completed a series of conversations about a Father’s vocation on Johnnette Benkovic’s EWTN show Women of Grace.
The shows take an in-depth look at one of the greatest vocations a man can receive – the call to be a father. With wit, insight, generosity of heart, and a whole lot of common sense, John unpacked the challenges of this vocation as well as the immeasurable blessings received through it.
John’s conversations with Johnette on can be seen or purchased at Women of Grace’s website.
Watch and discover a Catholic understanding of fatherhood plus how to parent through the light of faith.
The topics of the five shows are The Catholic Man, Catholic Fatherhood: The Vision, Mission, and Purpose, Catholic Fatherhood: Creating a Catholic Culture in the Home, Catholic Fatherhood: Dad Love Your Wife, and Fathering Children in the Way They Should Go.
After watching the show, we would love to hear what touched you the most about John and Johnette’s conversation.
John Clark is a monthly contributor to the Seton Home Study School Newsletter and a speaker on Catholic fatherhood and homeschooling at Catholic Homeschooling Conferences.
John’s book, Who’s Got You? Observations of a Catholic Homeschooling Father is available from Seton Educational media at this link The book is also available for immediate delivery to your Kindle or Nook.
 Why do kids need to learn Manuscript(cursive?) today? What I mean is….we don’t write much by hand anymore, isn’t printing enough?
It is true, with the advent of the computer, we don’t write by hand very much and the value of skills such as cursive writing can become obscured. However, handwriting requires discipline and coordination. It is more than putting symbols on paper. It develops fine motor skills in the fingers and the hand, and eye-hand coordination. It takes less eye-hand coordination to print than it does to connect the letters in cursive writing. That eye-hand coordination can then be applied to other skills.
Cursive writing can help develop processing skills. The child has to think about what he wants to say and then write it legibly and coherently on the paper.
The “To the Parent” section of the Handwriting books says this about “why” cursive is taught at Seton.
“ …there are still many situations in life when handwriting is necessary and appropriate. Good, legible penmanship conveys the writer’s personal consideration and respect for the reader.”
Can’t this consideration and respect for the reader be conveyed to the reader through printing and keyboarding or typing?
Maybe, but the personal touch is likely to be missing. How important is that personal touch? Let’s consider telephone conversations. No one likes to be called by, or to speak to a machine on the telephone. Why not? The same information is imparted, but the experience is vastly different. It’s impersonal and on some level lacking in consideration and respect. (Don’t I rate speaking to a real person?).
One of our elementary counselors had this to say:
“It was also said that it is easier to reverse the formation of manuscript letters than it is cursive letters. For individuals with dyslexia, they learn to recognize manuscript letters, but they learn to write in cursive.
Also, once a person gets the form of cursive letters, they are supposed to be able to write quicker than if they were printing in manuscript. Most students in college are probably listening to lectures and typing their notes into a computer. But what if you don’t have a computer and how are college students taking tests?
One instance where cursive is used is a person’s signature. Not only do we need to know how to write our own names, but we need to be able to read what someone else writes. Perhaps, in the future, cursive will be eliminated and we will have a fingerprint code that will produce our names, but for now, cursive is still a part of our culture.”
God bless, Marlicia
One of our moms recently asked this question: “My son is in the 4th grade and seems to have trouble writing the paragraphs he is assigned. I try to help him, but sometimes think I may be doing too much. For example, the outlines – I often find myself writing the outline for him, and then having him write the paragraph from that. Is this more harm than good ?”
Our counselors tell me this is a question they get a lot. Here is their response, in case you were wondering, too. (I wasn’t sure of the answer, myself).
“Often younger students have difficulty putting their words on paper. It is expected that these writing assignments (both paragraph and book report) will be teacher directed at first. Basically what you are doing with him is modeling. After working through an assignment with full assistance then you can cut back on one portion of it to allow him to practice that part of the process. In the early stages of writing it is not a matter of giving too much help. There are other supplemental books in Seton’s catalog that might assist you but if you keep going over the process in the same manner he should in time be able to take over the assignment. Sometimes breaking it down into smaller pieces and focusing on one thing at a time will help.
With learning any new skill a person needs practice. Just because a child cannot ride a bike on the first try does not mean that he will never be able to. It just means that mom needs to be at his side balancing for a time. In a sense writing skills need the same support.” -Sharon H.
Great response, don’t you think?
Please feel free to send submissions (questions, comments, articles, advice, recipes, anything!) to clareschmitt@setonhome.org
 Giving to those around us
Is as simple as can be.
If you go the extra mile and trust,
And do so joyfully.
Spend time with those around you,
Within your daily life.
Give of yourself, joyfully
By giving of your time.
Forgetting what you think you want,
And helping others is how
To give of self and spread some cheer.
The time to begin is now.
By putting your needs last, you’ll see,
Within your heart doth lie
The key to being happy,
And spreading some sunshine.
This key to spreading joy,
And making others smile,
Is reaching out to do for them.
‘Twill make it all worthwhile.
A look, a smile, an act of love,
Can brighten someones day.
And in doing so you’ll find
All gloom doth fade away.
For when you give and die to self,
You receive oh so much more
Than ever could be gained from self,
For His grace He shall outpour.
By just remaining silent
When we wish to speak our mind,
‘Tis an act of giving in itself;
A way of being kind.
For that is what He asks of us
Is to die to self and live
For those He’s placed around us
If we’d just simply give.
Joy D. is a Seton mom who submitted this lovely poem for us to share with you! Please feel free to send submissions to clareschmitt@setonhome.org
Happy Tuesday! Only 5 more days until Christmas! I guess I was a little over-excited when I said 5 days yesterday. It was 5 days until Christmas Eve.  Our family loves Christmas Eve almost as much as we love Christmas itself. Everyone gets to open one small present when we get back from Mass on Christmas Eve, so as far as my kids are concerned: “4 days until we get a present and 5 days until Jesus is born.” That’s how the countdown goes in our house.
Our family tradition is Mass, and then we make hors d’oeuvres: cheeses and meats plate, olives, dates and other dried fruit, shrimp cocktail and any special requests and my sister and her family come over. They bring Santa Lucia buns. Here is the recipe: http://tinyurl.com/ybpnkjf and here is the story behind it: http://tinyurl.com/bq7zs3b. They also bring Montana chili. (Don’t ask me how Montana chili is different from regular chili.) The kids place baby Jesus in the manger, and then we exchange gifts with them, and then after my kids are asleep, we wrap presents, drink some eggnog (or other adult beverage) and I make a crockpot breakfast. This year I’m making this: http://tinyurl.com/cx82dar.
Christmas morning is just our family, we open presents, have our crockpot breakfast that is ready and waiting when we wake up, we play games (those of us who were up late playing Santa Claus sometimes nod off for a little while) and sing Christmas carols. We put on my old LP of Harry Simeone Chorale’s Sing We Now of Christmas. Beautiful and majestic, the record is not just holiday music; it is beautiful, spiritual Christmas music. Their rendition of O Holy Night is amazing. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it.
After our trip down memory lane, we tidy up the house and head over to Grandpa and Grandma’s house and have a wonderful feast. Some years its roast, some years turkey or lamb, one year they even made Beef Bourguignon! This year my husband’s aunt and uncle, and a cousin and his family will be joining us. For Christmas at my in-laws their motto is “the more the merrier.” Some years it is very merry indeed! After dinner, we head over to the other Grandpa and Grandma’s house and have dessert and sing more Christmas carols and play cards. Then we come home and give thanks to God for a wonderful day blessed with family and friends, good fellowship, good food, and great fun.
Tell me what your family tradition is on Christmas? If you care to share it on our blog, shoot me an email at: clareschmitt@setonhome.org. I’d love to hear from you and I’m sure our readers would love to hear your stories, too. On behalf of everyone here at Seton, I wish you a faith filled last week of Advent, and pray you have a blessed, joyous Christmas. -Clare
 Can you believe we only have two weeks left until Christmas? I think children give us a whole new perspective on Advent, on the preparation for the birth of Christ. It is more than just being good, so St. Nicholas/the Christ Child/Mom and Dad bring those presents. They really seem to understand the concept of preparing our hearts for the Christ Child. In our family, we do the Jesse Tree and the Advent Wreath. The kids love lighting the candles and picking an ornament for the Jesse Tree and coloring it, and reading the corresponding bible verse. As a kid, I remember putting straws in the manger for Baby Jesus every time we did a good deed. My mom finally had to tell me that the point was not to get as many straws as possible, but to do good deeds as way of preparing for Jesus. Each year, as they get older (3 and 5) and understand a little more, I find myself being drawn in more and more to the Advent season. I am starting to treat it how I used to treat the New Year. I always made resolutions like “I’m going to go the gym five times a week” or “I’m going to cut back on the TV” or “I’m going to lose ten pounds,” etc. Now, I find myself in the Advent season, searching for ways to prepare my heart for the Christ child, thinking “I need to be more patient with my children,” “I need to be kinder to my spouse,” “I need to pray more,” “I need to trust the Lord more,” etc.
Watching my children await the birth of the Christ-child with eager anticipation has enkindled in me some of that same child-like anticipation. I can’t wait to go to midnight mass and sing “What Child is This?” I can’t wait to watch my kids put baby Jesus in the manger, put that last ornament on the Jesse Tree, take out the purple and pink candles in the Advent wreath and replace them with red ones. I can’t wait to creep softly into their room on Christmas morning, and say “Jesus is born!” Who am I kidding, they’ll be the ones running into my room on Christmas morning at 5am, saying “Is He born yet?!?” 
Wishing you all a blessed and joyous remainder of Advent,
-Clare
Question from a Seton M om: What do those homeschooling moms out there with both school-age children and toddlers do to keep the little ones occupied? I have a child in 4th grade, 2nd grade, 1st grade, preschool and one that’s 2-1/2. The 2-1/2 year old is a VERY busy little girl and does her best to get the attention of her older siblings while we’re working.
Answer from a Seton Mom: What I do is rotate teaching the kids. I have my older children take turns playing with my toddler and take turns getting their lessons. This does take a little bit more time, but I feel that it works well for us all around and there are fewer distractions when I can focus on them one or two at a time. Sometimes we can set up the older children at the dining room table doing their Math lessons and have the preschoolers and toddlers set up in a different room of the house drawing, reading, or playing. Then I can concentrate for some time on my older children, while the young ones play or “study” together, although I do have to be back and forth between the two rooms, which is why more often than not, at our house we end up rotating the lessons. The goal though, is to train your little one that school time is important and she needs to not interrupt the children constantly when they are studying. But remember, at these ages, you have a lot of flexibility, and if you have to take a break every 15 minutes to read a story to your toddler, or to help her find the crayons for the thousandth time, it’s ok. The schoolbooks will still be there tomorrow.
Yoke yourself under the law of God, s o that you may be in truth a free man. ~ St. Ephraem the Syrian
For most of you, two whole months have passed since the beginning of the school year! Think about all of the things you’ve accomplished in school over the past two months. You may feel as though you’ve accomplished a lot, or perhaps you feel that you didn’t accomplish as much as you would have liked to. However, all of the hard work you’ve put into your studies these past two months have borne a lot of fruit, even if you can’t see them just yet.
St. Ephraem reminds us that it is only in following the law of God that we can be truly free. There are times in school when all of the rules, formulas, and algorithms feel stifling. Why can’t we just be allowed to think for ourselves? How can we express ourselves creatively when we have all of these rules to follow? However, the most creative and innovative artists know that they will never create a great work of art if they have never bothered learning how to draw a straight line. An artist who has never learned the rules is very limited in what he can do, while an artist who knows all of the rules, and practices them, has the freedom to create any work of art he desires. It is the same with God’s law. At times, we may feel as though the rules of the Church make us less free – wouldn’t we have more freedom if we were allowed to do what we want? However, like the artist, God’s law gives us the tools, and therefore the freedom, to do much more than we could without His guidance. Let us ask God for the grace to fulfill our calling as students, following the rules laid out for us by our parents and the Catholic Church.
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