Liturgical Living:: All Saints Day Complete & All Souls Day Plans

All Saints Day:
Today was a pretty ordinary day with feeding steers, organizing, homework and babysitting.
A few days ago I wrote out an "All Saints" list in my notebook.
I know that last year I did some "pump up" writing/reflections on the day but it is 10:30 pm now and I haven't done any writing like that yet today so It probably won't happen....
I went to 7am Low Mass, this was my first All Saints Day Latin Mass in my life so that was exciting. I took some notes before Mass and during the sermon of course. It was early in the morning and there is only so much writing you can do while half awake.
I did a bunch of liturgical year organizing and sorting around so I have some "improved" displays out.
I've been listening to Don William's "Come Early Morning" on repeat all day. Although I don't think this song is really about heaven or anything like that...I've been especially reflecting on the words, "Come Early Morning, I'll be home and satisfied". This song has really been the highlight of my liturgical living today for some reason. Really the whole song is great. Maybe I will take the time to write some reflections on this song....
I read several chapters from With the Church Volume II by Mother Mary Loyola--there were a bunch of chapters for today. I took notes but nothing grand.
Later on, I'll be sure to do my usual nightly litany of the saints. 
I did want to go gaze upon some relics and bless myself with them but that didn't happen....maybe tomorrow I will do that. (I don't own any relics in reliquaries myself but I do have a rosary that was touched to Jerry Coniker after he died and a book that he gave me....)

All Souls Day:
On Deck for tomorrow-
-Reading from With the Church volume II
-making a list of all the souls in purgatory who I regularly pray for (almost every time I go to mass) & remember them all
-a trip to/through the cemetery in town. We probably won't get out of the car while there. but the idea is that we will whip through there on our way to Mass. Maybe I'll hit the cemetery where our last baby is buried on my own....
-High Mass at Night
-some writing
-reading my new liturgical living books 

Liturgical Year Shelf Improvements

I recently got a $200 Amazon gift card and was sure to spend it all at once. My purchases have been arriving. I got 2 white veils-an infinity one and a "regular" one. I think I'll keep the infinity one but not the regular because I don't love the color and It has a rounded edge (not a triangle edge). I've been wanting to arrange my Liturgical year "reference" books and my religious art books (although not all of them) in the same place, but not on my desk as my desk is getting to cluttered. Of the books shown I already had: Art through Faith, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, Saints A Year in Faith and Art, my Missal (Angelus Press), To Whom Shall We Go?, the red booklet missal,  With the Church Volume 2, The Catholic All Year Compendium, the Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices and A Year with God. My new books are: Monday's With Mary, Catholic Mosaic and the Year & our Children. I haven't started to look at these books very much yet but I expect to this weekend. The pile in the front is what is in my little bag for mass but I am washing that bag now so everything is sitting there--Jesus Make Me Worthy, Rosaries, veils, a rosary card, Pieta book, The Sacred Heart and Mine in Holy Communion & St Raphael booklet. In the white binder are: liturgical calendar printouts (I have 5 or 6 in there + my tan books calendar on top of my cube shelf), mysteries of the rosary card, rosary art prints (new), various litanies and printed prayers (my favorites are always in there and some rotate with the liturgical year), some religious art, pages about my favorite nun and the Conikers, and a page of Mother Teresa. I used to use a clipboard on my desk as a place to display rotating religious art but now I have been using the cover of this binder and keep all of the extras in the back. My missal, little black bag and binder usually live on my desk so I don't know how long they will stay there since they don't really need shelf space and I use them so much. But it might be nice to have a place to store them.
Next to my cube shelf I have a bin/basket with past liturgical calendars, Lenten books, With the Church Volume 1, my Holy cards, other litanies and printables, more religious art books,my box of colored pencils, catholic coloring books, coloring pages, other religious goods (mostly things from my Grandma that I don't want to get rid of but don't want out). I also have a Latin Mass Children's Missal (new), a new book for Christmas and my next tan books calendar. These are "future" things. The Latin Mass Children's Missal I will start in Advent, the Christmas books is for Christmas, and the Calendar is for next year (although there is some overlap with this year). Also, for next year I think I will still printout several liturgical calendars that I find online when they become available.
On top of my cube shelf I have some new medals out on display that I bought a few weeks ago, some holy cards are out, a stack of books/magazines for reading with Mrs KBL-I want all of those option in one place, and I moved this stack of prayerbooks from my desk to their (I took my light up picture out to make room): Mother Love prayerbook, Sacred Heart Book, Rural Life Prayerbook, Christian Prayer and my book from/by Jerry Coniker. To be completely honest I hardly ever use these prayerbooks anymore (I used to with great frequently) but I don't want them sitting in a box or under my desk.
My cube shelf is a 2X2 shelf. The bottom two shelves contain all of my written in notebooks labeled by date (I fill a notebook about every 10 days so these two shelves are about to overflow) and the top right contains my courtship books, dating books, NFP books, spiritual motherhood for priests/seminarians booklets, Theology of the body books, "womanhood" books, the love languages, "self help" and advice books, temperaments books and such. It's it not the neatest shelf, but I want all of those books in one place. This cube shelf is basically an extension of my desk.
The rest  of my books--saints books, art books, agriculture books, nature books, catechism books, Charlotte Mason books and the rest of the homeschool curriculum live under my desk. It's not a particularly organized sight.
I still have some more new things coming in the mail this week and the next. With $200, I was able to get quite a bit.

Happy All Saints Day!

preparing for all saints day:: favorite saints

I've been doing lots of liturgical planning/preparing lately and, with All Saints Day ahead of us, I've been thinking of my favorite saints. Most of these saints I pray to during mass and at night, some I pray to for "special occasions". I hope to make a litany of my favorites and print it out....

Titles of Mary:
-Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Pompeii. our home parish in Kenosha.
-Our Lady of Lourdes. My favorite nun gave me a necklace with our Lady of Lourdes and St Bernadette on it.
-Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Name Saints:
I am not named after a particular saint, but the Confirmation Saint Name I chose was St Brigid of Ireland. I chose her one night rather spontaneous during a talk on her in February of 2014 at DTS. and that is how she became my confirmation saint.  (I suppose it could be argued that I am named after St Francis of Assisi although that is technically not accurate.)

Popes:
-St Pope Pius X.
-St Peter
-St John Paul II

Vocational Patrons:
-St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
-St Raphael
-St Anne
-St Joseph
-St Veronica
-St Andrew the Apostle
-St Therese (a recent addition)

These are the saints who inspire me in my own vocation now and who I pray for to/about my future vocation.

Academic Patrons:
-St Joseph of Cupertino 
-St Maximilian Kolbe
-St Bernadette 
-St Elizabeth Ann Seton

Priests:
-St John Bosco 

The 40 dreams of St John Bosco has got to be my favorite spiritual reading book!

Family Patrons:
-St Lucy
-St Philomena
-St Faustina
-Fulton Sheen
-St Francis of Assisi
-Bl Elena Aiello 
-St Bruno
-St Anthony

Not officially saints but I add them to my litany anyway:
-Jerry Coniker. the man, the myth, the legend.
-Gwen Coniker. I don't think I've ever met her (if we were ever at the same event, I don't remember it) through her husband, her writings and her daughter I have come to ask for her intercession.)
-Sr RoseAnne. my favorite nun.
-Del Latham. we've never met but I take care of his wife, and I basically feel like I know him.

some on these lists I've met, some tombs I've visited, all have managed to and keep impacting my life :)