The house is starting to show signs of something big coming!!! Dying to our vices and worldly desires in order to make room in our hearts for the Babe in the manger!

How to Pray the St. Andrew Christmas Novena

With a few exceptions, we pray novenas for nine days. The St. Andrew Christmas Novena is one such exception – we pray this novena for 25 days, overlapping with much of the liturgical season of Advent. We begin the novena on the feast of St. Andrew on November 30 and conclude on Christmas Eve. Tradition holds that we pray the novena 15 times daily for a particular intention. This being said, pray in a way that works best for you. Time needed: 5 minutes. Pray this novena for 25 days.

Make the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Say the St. Andrew Christmas Novena prayer.

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.

Name any intentions or other prayers you wish to share with God. Maybe consider your response to Jesus’s call to follow Him; just as he called on Andrew and Peter, he also calls on us to let go and surrender. Conclude with the Sign of the Cross.In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you’re praying this novena in the traditional fashion …Repeat the above steps 14x throughout your day. Continue praying the novena daily through Christmas Eve!May peace be with you this Advent. God bless! Source: Hallow

For the better part of 17 years Andrew and I have dreamed/talked … and then tried to put in to action some of those plans… bringing most if not all to God the Father to see if He approves… today was a busy day in Haymarsh…the shop/dance floor/basketball court/skate land floor, etc. began being poured today.  Andrew and I are still “dreaming” up a name for the building…our hope is that it’s much more than a shop.  Although, a warm spot to park the tractor and fix/maintain equipment is truly exciting!

From our retired Priest:::

Something I received from my sister.You are holding a cup of coffee ☕️when someone comes along and bumps in to you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.Why did you spill the coffee❓ “Well because someone bumped into me, of course!”Wrong answer!!!You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup, is what will spill out.Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.So we have to ask ourselves… “what’s in my cup?”When life gets tough, what spills over?Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?You choose! Today and every day let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, kindness, gentleness and love for others.

Good, clean humor ❤️

Some practical tips for us to fight materialism….

We’re excited for this to have a holier Advent!