Our Lady of La Leche

A PRAYER FOR MOTHERHOOD:

Lovely Lady of La Leche,

most loving mother of the Child Jesus, and my mother,

listen to my humble prayer.

Your motherly heart knows my every wish, my every need.

To you only,

His spotless Virgin Mother,

has your Divine Son given to understand the sentiments which fill my soul.

Yours was the sacred privilege of being the Mother of the Savior.

Intercede with Him now, my loving Mother,

that, in accordance with His will,

I may become the mother of other children of our heavenly Father.

This I ask, O Lady of La Leche,

in the Name of your Divine Son,

My Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

http://www.missionandshrine.org/la_leche.htm

For people who are never around children...

This post is fueled by a recent trip to the hair salon...We recently moved out from the city so I am now further from my hair stylist. I got a sitter to watch my children and it took me 40 minutes to get to my hair salon with traffic. I know I have a 15 minute window to arrive late. I called the salon at 18 minutes past my appointment and said I was at the light, about to turn into the parking lot. The woman on the phone said it was too late for me to come in. I really needed a break here so I asked her to ask my hair stylist if I could come in. She briefly put me on hold and quickly came back with a no and said I could reschedule for the next evening. I thought for a moment and then said, "Sure, you can put me on the schedule for the same time tomorrow" knowing full well I would not have access to a sitter. So I showed up the next evening with five kids in tow (including our toddler) and asked the children to wait up front quietly while mom got her hair cut. The look on everyone's face was of surprise like did she really bring all her kids in here? Then it was a look of disgust that prompted me to write this post (I know many of these single people in the salon do not have children and I hear about many of their adult outings so I know there are fewer opportunities to spend time with little ones.) And by the way by kids had really great behavior for waiting for their mom to get her hair cut as it was during their normal dinner time and everyone was hungry...

If you are never around children please work on finding opportunities to hang around other people's children so you don't freak out when you are forced to have them in your presence!

If your nieces and nephews are not close by make sure you visit other families in your area!

Once you find some children to hang out with, let them...

Climb on you,

Slobber on you,

Talk or yell loudly in your ear,

Sneeze on you,

Chase you,

Wrestle with you,

Laugh at you,

Etc...

And if you want to go the extra mile to ensure you are growing in tolerance of children help them...

Blow their noses,

Wipe their bums,

Etc...

(I originally said clean up their vomit or change their poopy diaper but even I know this is too extreme :)

Just please for the love of God every once in awhile do things that make you squirm and make you uncomfortable with children,
so you don't have that terrible look of disgust on your face when children come through your door...

Regardless of your state of life, it is not normal to never be around children so please find a way to somehow make this happen for you
(and for me as well...)

St. Rose of Lima August 23

Saint Rose of Lima
Virgin
(1586-1617)


St. Rose of Lima is the patroness of Latin America and the Philippines. This South American Saint's real name was Isabel, but she was such a beautiful baby that she was called Rose, and that name remained. As she grew older, she became more and more beautiful, and one day, her mother put a wreath of flowers on her head to show off her loveliness to friends. But Rose had no desire to be admired, for her heart had been given to Jesus. So she put a long pin into that wreath and it pierced her so deeply, that she had a hard time getting the wreath off afterward. Another time she became afraid that her beauty might be a temptation to someone, since people could not take their eyes off her. Therefore, she rubbed her face with pepper until it was all red and blistered.

St. Rose worked hard to support her poor parents and she humbly obeyed them, except when they tried to get her to marry. That she would not do. Her love of Jesus was so great that when she talked about Him, her face glowed and her eyes sparkled.

Rose had many temptations from the devil, and there were also many times when she had to suffer a feeling of terrible loneliness and sadness, for God seemed far away. Yet she cheerfully offered all these troubles to Him. In fact, in her last long, painful sickness, this heroic young woman use to pray: "Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart."

Many miracles followed her death. She was beatified by Clement IX, in 1667, and canonized in 1671 by Clement X, the first American to be so honoured. Her feast is celebrated 23 of August. She is represented wearing a crown of roses.

St. Rose of Lima,

Pray for us...

On Contraception...

I have not had the energy needed to write about all the things on my heart recently.

They are my heavy and deep thoughts that people who want to avoid controversy and pain don't want to read.

My blog started as a way to share with and educate people on being open to children in their marriage, hence the name, "Leslie on Life."

I truly believe contracepting in our marriages has a most damaging effect. I believe the lie of contraception is the root of the abortion industry as well.

Contraception contradicts what our marriages are supposed to be...a total giving of oneself in love to our spouse...

And Lord knows we need all the help we can get with being more loving to our spouses and shifting the focus off of ourselves and on to others...

Living a life without contraception in marriage is the definition of freedom to me. I desire for others to know of this freedom as well...

We know the roots of all our faiths are open to life. We know it was the invention of birth control that started to change our morals regarding life in the early 1900's.

Today 96% of American Catholics contracept in their marriages.

American Catholics are not receiving the truth or are simply rejecting it. And we know it has to do with both. Regardless of why there is an enormous problem in the Catholic Church regarding this life giving aspect of church teaching.

In our Protestant churches, people do a great job of abstaining from sex before marriage but many do not see a problem with contraception once they are married. What do Protestant preachers believe and teach on contraception? Are Protestant preachers practicing contraception in their own marriages? If so, how do they counsel their church members on family life within marriage?

What about our brothers and sisters outside of Christianity? What do their religious leaders teach regarding contraception?

And what do we do if we have a medical condition that endangers mamas from having more children? Are our husbands automatically sterilized or do we learn how to chart our fertility to postpone babies and trust that the Lord will take care of us and our families?

I constantly meet people who say to me, "I would love another child but my spouse is not open to another child." This would break my heart the day I would hear my husband say, "I'm sorry you desire another child but I'm not going to give you one."

So many thoughts to think of and to address...

So I will continue to work on the original intent of my blog...

Leslie on Life...

Prayer to Our Lady of America

http://www.ourladyofamerica.org/explanation.php

Prayer to Our Lady of America, Patroness of our Land

Written at the behest of Our Lady, October 5, 1956 by Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil)


Oh Immaculate Mother, Queen of our country, open our hearts, our homes, and our land to the coming of Jesus, your Divine Son.
With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so pure and so bright with the radiance of Gods light shining in and about you.
Be our leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves us with infinite charity.

We gather about you, O chaste and holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land, determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God and without your loving maternal care.

We consecrate our hearts, our homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.

We ask no special sign of you, sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in you our entire confidence.
We promise to honor you by faith, love, and the purity of our lives according to your desire.

Reign over us, then, O Virgin Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us.
Use us, your children of America, as your instruments of peace among men and nations.
Work your miracle of grace in us, so that we may be a glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.

May your valiant spouse, St. Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in "renewing the face of the earth."
Then when our work is over, come, Holy Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King.

Amen

(200 days)
Nihil Obstat: Daniel Pilarczyk, S.T.D.
Imprimatur: +Paul F. Leibold, V.G.
Cincinnati, Jan. 25, 1963

In Texas, we eat popsicles year round!

(This picture was taken in April...)

A Mother's Prayer...

Lord of all pots and pans and things,
since I've not time to be

A saint by doing lovely things
or watching late with Thee

Or dreaming in the dawn light
or storming Heaven's gates -

Make me a saint by getting out the meals
and washing up the plates.

Although I must have Martha's hands,
I have a Mary mind -

And when I pick up boots and shoes,
Thy sandals, Lord, I find.

I think of how they trod the earth,
whenever I scrub the floor.

Accept this meditation, Lord,
I haven't time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with Thy love,
and light it with Thy peace.

Forgive me all my worrying
and make my grumbling cease.

Thou who loved to give men food,
in room or by the sea -

Accept this service that I do,
I do it unto Thee.

-author unknown

Thanks Cathy H. for this...