The Quiet Revolution of Women | True Power

A revolution can be quiet. While the mob rules the streets, women can be home, quietly nursing babies. The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. While children are being indoctrinated in Leftist government schools, where history is erased, women can homeschool their own and teach them in the Way they should go. While women of folly screech their abortions and emasculate men,  women of grace love their husbands and children, and quietly fill their quiver.

Women are the keepers--the guardians--of the home, and we are keepers of Beauty. While death and destruction seem to be ruling the day and America appears to be sinking in quicksand, there is an underground revolution that has already formed deep roots in the soil. And it is increasing. Many women were mandated to stay at home, and many men too, during the coronavirus lockdowns. If you can, stay there. Do not go back into the brutal world. This crisis was a blessing in disguise.

A woman's gift is holy Silence. That a woman should be silent is not that a woman should not speak. Rather, "She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue" (Prov. 31: 26, DRV).  A woman's silence is in the repose of her soul. Because her words are honorable, she is honored, and she is heard by those with ears to hear.

Do not believe, dear women of God, that you are powerless. Follow His will, and your arms will be strong to do His work. Mold yourselves in the image of Our Lady, who is the perfect feminine image of the Lord, and you will be praised in the gates. And the enemy will fall. And the darkness shall not overcome us.

How to Be Brave | The Origin of Human Dignity & Freedom

Yesterday I wrote about being brave. And moving on from the coronavirus. I realize today that I've faced much worse than this "new normal" of the pandemic. I've experienced sheer terror, and I've suffered tremendous grief. Think about what you have already survived in this life, and remember Who is the fountain of your strength. 

The media, scientists, and our government leaders have focused so much attention on this one disease that you would think there is nothing else out there. Every serious illness and health condition imaginable is only worsened by stress, and in fact very often has stress as its underlying culprit. Yet we are being encouraged to live in a constant state of panic as a way of staying healthy. This is not sane behavior. 

What if you were to choose, just for today, to silence the cacophany? Go to the Lord in the silence of your heart. Go to Him until you can hear no other voice. Then listen. What is your vocation? What is He asking you to do? It may be as simple as hugging your spouse and children, preparing a meal, throwing a load of laundry in the wash. Walk the dogs. Write a poem. Reach out to someone who is sick, depressed, or lonely. Be of service. 

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." There is no other Way. There is no other Truth. There is no other Life. Our dignity and freedom as human beings come directly from Him, the one, true God in whose image and likeness we are gloriously made. We are free only because Our Lord overcame sin and death. If we don't know this, we know nothing. 

We obey our leaders to the extent that they know and believe this Truth. We claim our freedom from Christ crucified and resurrected, not from the government. The USA was founded upon these self-evident truths. Our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness flow directly from our divine origins and the grace of God. This is why some, those who wish fervently for a socialist and communist regime, reject both our Constitution and Our Lord. They know that to uphold the one is to uphold the other. Freedom is tied directly to Faith. 

Go in silence to pray. Pray without ceasing. When the boat rocks and the seas rage, look full in His wonderful face. That is all. 

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Novena | COVID-19 Peak in U.S.

These next couple of weeks are going to be crucial for the U.S.  COVID-19 will peak, and it will be incumbent upon us to make no trips to indoor public places, to carefully shelter in our homes. Hopefully you have stocked up on groceries, toilet paper, medications, and any other necessities. I don't think it's a coincidence that this peak in the coronavirus is occurring during Holy Week. The significance of the timing might vary from person to person, but I think that it should be taken as a signal for our country to turn back to God.

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, my family watched the first hour of the Mass given by Pope Francis on YouTube, on our Smart TV. This was the portion through the homily. I finished watching the Mass by myself. Today, before beginning homeschooling, my daughter and I read the daily Mass Scripture readings from the USCCB website: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040620.cfm. You can also view Masses this week with Bishop Robert Barron on YouTube, at his "Word on Fire" program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGOpSFAsKU.

I encourage all Catholics to seek out the sources available for participation in Holy Week, and to pray family Rosaries. You could pray a sorrowful mystery each day from today through Good Friday, which will culminate with the Crucifixion of Our Lord. I also encourage all the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, including those who do not normally observe Holy Week, as well as people of other religious traditions, to make this a time of increased and fruitful spiritual practice.

Today I began a novena (a period of 9 days of prayer) to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, using A Book of Marian Prayers by Loyola Press. There are many online links to this novena in its various forms. Here is one, with the subsequent prayers for each day at the very bottom: http://www.god-answers-prayers.com/mother_mary_prayers/perpetual_help_9days2_novena_prayer/index.html. Calling on Our Lady's intercession at this difficult time will keep us safely under her mantle of protection, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

May you have a blessed Holy Week, mining the treasures of the Christian Faith, and offer up your sufferings in union with Christ on the Cross. Godspeed, Rita Michele

What to Do When the Laundry Is Caught Up | Taking Stock

I could see the light at the end of the laundry tunnel, so yesterday, after having a rare good night's sleep and feeling very energetic, I blew the laundry out, washing every last item. My theory has been that as long as I am behind on regular housework, like laundry and dishes, I can't in good conscience delve into other projects. Maybe this is a subconscious ploy of procrastination, even if logically sound. 

I had big dreams for today, no longer shackled by a mountain of unwashed garments and linens; but alas, I slept poorly and feel the sinus gunk bringing me down again. I think the brief snow we got tamped down the spring pollen, but then it melted. One possibility that we may not have considered during this coronavirus semi-quarantine is that maybe God wants us to rest. Maybe he wants us to pause, to reflect. Not only to muddle through, to bide our time until the crisis has passed, but to just plain stop whatever we've been doing and take stock. 

What do we most value but have habitually taken for granted? How many times, for instance, did I choose to stay home from church and not receive the Eucharist, and now am heartbroken to be deprived of Jesus' Real Presence in the way that only the Blessed Sacrament can provide? There were people I had planned to visit during Lent, like my great-aunts in nursing homes, and now I can't go see them. I look at my calendar and see future plans that will not come to pass. We all had looked forward to events that we assumed were unchangeable. The idea of not going to Mass on Easter Sunday, because there won't be one, seems like something out of the Twilight Zone. 

Now let's see where we're at on the FlyLady path. So far we have established a few things for our morning and evening routines. We shine our sinks and put out tomorrow's outfit in the evening, and go to bed at a decent hour, turning off screens an hour prior. In the morning we put away the clean dishes, start the laundry (one load per day at least, washed, dried, folded, and put away), and get dressed to shoes. At some point in the day we do a 15-minute, whole house (or main level) declutter. We set our timers to manage our time. I should note that Diane in Denmark admitted that she doesn't necessarily do everything in her routines every single day. It's okay to miss, say, a day of shining your sink, but try not to miss more than two, or you may fall out of the habit. But even if that happens, you just jump back in from wherever you are.

I'm only going to add one more thing at this time, and that is self-care. Every day we must take time, if only 15 minutes, for our personal well-being. My husband told me that for our mental health, the WHO has recommended that we only read about or watch news of COVID-19 for ten minutes, twice a day. Yes, it's important to stay current with the mandates and developments, but we must not immerse ourselves. We must not obsess. 

Today I didn't have the energy to take a shower, so I just soaked in the tub while I read a book and treated myself to a clarifying clay facial mask.  I read today's Mass readings and the meditation for this date in Simple Abundance. But I've been watching myself sneak onto the internet beyond the allowance of checking email that I had planned for Lent. 

Basically I only wanted to go online to use the library services, do whatever was necessary for homeschooling, to blog and to receive the communications from our homeschool co-op. Co-op is of course cancelled for the time being, so I don't even really need to check email very often. Following the coronavirus progress got me on YouTube, and it's so easy to fall back into old habits once we open the door. I felt I was being of service to post this blog to Facebook, though that was the main internet usage that I had intended to give up.

So I will share this post on FB, and then that will be it for the remainder of Lent, and likely for longer.  I've encouraged my friends to sign up for email notification of new blog articles. I will go back to strict avoidance of the internet. I'm sure my husband will keep me abreast of anything I need to know about the pandemic.  Things on the internet can surely be inspiring, but I believe increasingly that we are being guided to a new and better way of living, if only we will stop and listen.  There is no reason to go full speed ahead. I think I can use these bare bones of the FlyLady system to keep things humming along nicely, to have a solid framework for my days. If I can add more, great. If not, no big deal. 

We're experiencing the reality, right this moment, of what can happen to our best laid plans. There must be something more. 
A secret garden. A buried key.