Roses Cake pops for Therese - the little flower!

First, please forgive my pictures! They were taken with my phone :-) This was the bouquet I made for a Carmelite benefit dinner. It's made of cake pops! I'm sure you have heard about them; they are so delicious and so fun to make, and always a big hit.

So here is what you will need:

Cake pop recipe (you can find one anywhere - there are some tips though that I will write on the bottom of the post);

Mini-rose silicone mold- (mine is from ebay);

Candy melts;

Paramount crystal (if you use Wilton's candy melts);

Lollipop sticks;

Toothpick.

Make your cake pops according to the recipe you find the best, shape the balls like a tear drop, making sure the cake balls are smaller than the silicone mold otherwise the cake will break when you try to take out the mold. Chill them.

Melt you candy melts (I prefer double-boil but you can use a microwave). Fill the silicone mold up to 2/3 only (actually it may depend on the size of your cake balls). Put the round side of the cake balls inside of the mold making sure there is no candy dripping over the mold, which would make hard to get out. If some candy starts coming out on the sides just gently clean it off using a toothpick - do not press the side of the mold. 

After that, put them in a refrigerator to speed the process of drying. It does not take too long. It should come out really easily from the mold, use a toothpick to pull the mold up, gently, pushing it against the mold, not the cake.

Dip the bottom side of the rose into the melted candy - you may hold with your hands the rose side - stick the lollipop sticks inside of the cake pop, shake the excess of candy and put in the styrofoam to dry.

I made tags with famous quotes of St.Therese and turned into a bouquet using a vase from Ikea.

Here it is! Next time, I will add some edible leaves.

I really like it! And it could be made in red for St. Rita of Cascia or Our Lady!

***************

Here are some tips to make your cake pop making more fun!

- do not use oil for baking, if the recipe calls for oil replace it with butter (not margarine), the cake will be firmer,  not falling off the sticks when dipping and not having oil coming out trough the cake pops later either;

- make your own frosting! It does not take too long, it tastes better, it will no be too sweet and also will not fall off the sticks when dipping because of the butter;

- do not put too much frosting into the crumbled cake before kneading it thoroughly and molding it into balls - I have found that 3 to 4 tablespoons are more than enough. 

Read more ...

Marian Months

 

 

190. With regard to the observance of "Marian months", which is widespread in the Latin and Oriental Churches(223), a number of essential points can be mentioned(224).

 

In the West, the practise of observing months dedicated to the Blessed Virgin emerged from a context in which the Liturgy was not always regarded as the normative form of Christian worship. This caused, and continues to cause, some difficulties at a liturgico-pastoral level that should be carefully examined.

 

191. In relation to the western custom of observing a "Marian month" during the month of May (or in November in some parts of the Southern hemisphere), it would seem opportune to take into account the demands of the Liturgy, the expectations of the faithful, their maturity in the faith, in an eventual study of the problems deriving from the "Marian months" in the overall pastoral activity of the local Church, as might happen, for example, with any suggestion of abolishing the Marian observances during the month of May.

 

In many cases, the solution for such problems would seem to lay in harmonizing the content of the "Marian months" with the concomitant season of the Liturgical Year. For example, since the month of May largely corresponds with the fifty days of Easter, the pious exercises practised at this time could emphasize Our Lady's participation in the Paschal mystery (cf. John 19, 25-27), and the Pentecost event (cf, Acts 1, 14) with which the Church begins: Our Lady journeys with the Church having shared in the novum of the Resurrection, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The fifty days are also a time for the celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation and of the mystagogy. The pious exercises connected with the month of May could easily highlight the earthly role played by the glorified Queen of Heaven, here and now, in the celebration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist(225).

 

The directives of Sacrosanctum Concilium on the need to orient the "minds of the faithful...firstly to the feasts of the Lord, in which, the mysteries of salvation are celebrated during the year"(226), and with which the Blessed Virgin Mary is certainly associated, should be closely followed.

 

Opportune catechesis should remind the faithful that the weekly Sunday memorial of the Paschal Mystery is "the primordial feast day". Bearing in mind that the four weeks of Advent are an example of a Marian time that has been incorporated harmoniously into the Liturgical Year, the faithful should be assisted in coming to a full appreciation of the numerous references to the Mother of our Saviour during this particular period.

 

 

Source: Directory on Popular Piety

 

Read more ...

The Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God

 

 

115. On New Year's Day, the octave day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. The divine and virginal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular salvific event: for Our Lady it was the foretaste and cause of her extraordinary glory; for us it is a source of grace and salvation because "through her we have received the Author of life"(127).

 

The solemnity of the 1 January, an eminently Marian feast, presents an excellent opportunity for liturgical piety to encounter popular piety: the first celebrates this event in a manner proper to it; the second, when duly catechised, lends joy and happiness to the various expressions of praise offered to Our Lady on the birth of her divine Son, to deepen our understanding of many prayers, beginning with that which says: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners".

 

116. In the West, 1 January is an inaugural day marking the beginning of the civil year. The faithful are also involved in the celebrations for the beginning of the new year and exchange "new year" greetings. However, they should try to lend a Christian understanding to this custom making of these greetings an expression of popular piety.

The faithful, naturally, realise that the "new year" is placed under the patronage of the Lord, and in exchanging new year greetings they implicitly and explicitly place the New Year under the Lord's dominion, since to him belongs all time (cf. Ap 1, 8; 22,13)(128).

A connection between this consciousness and the popular custom of singing the Veni Creator Spiritus can easily be made so that on 1 January the faithful can pray that the Spirit may direct their thoughts and actions, and those of the community during the course of the year(129).

 

117. New year greetings also include an expression of hope for a peaceful New Year. This has profound biblical, Christological and incarnational origins. The "quality of peace" has always been invoked throughout history by all men, and especially during violent and destructive times of war.

 

The Holy See shares the profound aspirations of man for peace. Since 1967, 1 January has been designated "world day for peace".

 

Popular piety has not been oblivious to this initiative of the Holy See. In the light of the new born Prince of Peace, it reserves this day for intense prayer for peace, education towards peace and those value inextricably linked with it, such as liberty, fraternal solidarity, the dignity of the human person, respect for nature, the right to work, the sacredness of human life, and the denunciation of injustices which trouble the conscience of man and threaten peace.

 

 

Source:Directory on Popular Piety

 

 

 

 

Read more ...

Decoration ideas for New Year's Eve + free printable

New Year's Eve is a special day to celebrate. My family goes to Mass on the last day of the year, where we sing Te Deum on the vigil of the Feast of  Mary Mother of God.*

 

 

 

 

Traditional Dining Room design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unless it is somebody else's birthday...disregard the cake:)

 

 

I thought those inspirations would go well with a angel candy box!

Here we go. Use the free printable angel candy box with silver snowflakes pattern!

Here is a picture to give you an idea of how to make the angel box.

It will be available for free for a short time...soon it will be exclusive to our mailing list's friends !
 

*************
 **A plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions to those who sing or recite the Te Deum on the last day of the year, and to those who sing or recite the Veni, Creator on the first day of the new year. (Enchiridion #60, #61)




 

Blessed people

Read more ...

Decorations ideas for Marian Feasts

 

 

 

 

 

 

And why not to give a treat to her?

 

Ave Maria Stella

Latim
1. Ave maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix caeli porta.

2. Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Hevae nomen.

3. Solve vincla reis,
Profer lumen caecis:
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce.

4. Monstra t(e) esse matrem:
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus,
Tulit esse tuus.

5. Virgo singularis,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solutos,
Mites fac et castos.

6. Vitam praesta puram,
Iter para tutum:
Ut videntes Iesum,
Semper collaetemur.

7. Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus,
Spiritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus. Amen.

Read more ...

How to make a crown for Mary

Catholics honor Mary at home, too, crowning the true "May Queen's" statue with flowers at their family altars, and leaving roses (especially red and/or white) at her feet, for the entire month of May. If you don't have a statue of Our Lady, you can place flowers around a picture of her. ^Source

Here is a easy and fun craft- crowns made with lace.

You will need:
lace 
fabric stiffener or modge podge
paint
wax paper

Get the full tutorial Here

Bring flow'rs of the fairest, Bring flow'rs of the rarest, From garden and woodland And hillside and vale; Our full hearts are swelling, Our glad voices telling The praise of the loveliest Rose of the vale. Chorus: O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May, O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May. Our voices ascending, In harmony blending, Oh! Thus may our hearts turn Dear Mother, to thee; Oh! Thus shall we prove thee How truly we love thee, How dark without Mary Life's journey would be. (Chorus)

O Virgin most tender, Our homage we render, Thy love and protection, Sweet Mother, to win; In danger defend us, In sorrow befriend us, And shield our hearts From contagion and sin. (Chorus) Of Mothers the dearest, Oh, wilt thou be nearest, When life with temptation Is darkly replete? Forsake us, O never! Our hearts be they ever As Pure as the lilies We lay at thy feet. (Chorus)

Picture from thisismeinspired

Read more ...