Chastity in Marriage

When it comes to talking to our kids about “chastity,” the very word can make us cringe as we imagine ourselves using words for body parts we’re not comfortable using, and even less comfortable hearing come out of the mouths of our children.  But the truth is, our Catholic faith teaches that our sexuality is a gift from God to be enjoyed and reverenced!  

Find out how one mom's quest to answer her teen's questions about sex changed her marriage, her faith, and her life.

Click below to listen to this inspiring 20 min talk:

Having trouble? Listen directly at www.CatholicMomsConnect.com.

Serving Those In Need

Our Moms Group volunteered at Community Missions recently, a soup kitchen in Niagara Falls, NY.  Seven of us (including one of our Mom’s teenage daughters), prepared and served food to the city’s hungry on a frigid winter day.  The Mission’s regular staff was very welcoming and by the end of the morning we were all conversing and laughing together.  The few hours we were there was a gentle reminder of needed prayers for our brothers and sisters that find themselves in need of a meal, and the need for our time to support ministries like this.  We all left Community Missions feeling that it was a special time for us and that we’d like to do it again.

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me...  

Matthew 25:34,35 

Moms Meeting w/ local guest speaker Joanne Lorenzo

The NFC Moms Group was very blessed to have Joanne Lorenzo speak at our meeting this past Saturday.  She is the Founder and Director of The Magdalene Project, working tirelessly to help those who are in need. Listen below:

(~20 min)

The Magdalene Project - Our Mission

Every Saturday evening an R.V. travels the streets of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y. searching for people in need. It moves up and down drug infested areas of the inner city seeking men, women, and children whose lives have been abused by drugs, alcohol, domestic abuse, and prostitution.

"This is "The Magdalene Project."

The mission of the "Magdalene Project is to seek out people who have lost hope and share the love of Jesus with them. People whose lives have become hopeless for various reasons.

We distribute roses to women and pray for them. Many have broken down in tears, told us their whole life story and many dream of a better life. We tell them there a better life with Jesus and then pray they give Him a chance. Men are addicted to drugs and alcohol and have given up hope, and children and teens are wandering around the streets looking for some form of attention and self worth. We know they are looking for love and acceptance and can only get that through the love of Jesus.

God has a great plan for all of us if we would just follow and obey Him.

http://www.magdalene-project.org/

Raising Kids Catholic

Mom and Grandma Louise Ziarnowski spoke at our last Moms meeting on raising kids Catholic.  She shared tips on teaching the Catholic Faith and keeping kids balanced.  She explained their family motto, her approach to discipline, how she took care of herself, and more.

Here's another example of a family motto:

J-O-Y
J: Put JESUS first
O: OTHERS second
Y: YOURSELF last


Do you have a family motto? Comment below  or email us at catholicmomsconnect@gmail.com.


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Today is the Feast day of St. Martha.  Every mom can relate to the struggle Martha feels.  Check out today's gospel from John 11:19-27. 

JN 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

How do I know this is Martha's Feast Day? I know because I have been trying to be very disciplined in my daily prayer life.  A few weeks ago I committed (I should say re-committed) to spend my first cup of coffee in prayer with Jesus.  I read the daily gospel and readings through my phone app and then start a Rosary (usually the first half and I finish the rest throughout the day).  Today I was so happy to see this gospel message - it's one of my favorites.

I must tell you, moms, that my day is radically different now.  Not radical in earthly terms (no, I don't get super-charged to clean my entire house or my kids cease to fight), but in heavenly terms.  The grace and peace I feel throughout my day is hard to describe, and it is life-changing.   I feel more patient. I feel more loving, more forgiving. I make better choices centered around what God wants me to do, not what I want to do.  God is so good - He gives me all of this grace and peace when I simply and humbly lay my day at his feet first thing each morning and say, "Here I am Lord, help do your will."

Are you reading the gospel daily? If not, start today!

Attend Daily Mass:

Bookmark the USCCB Daily Readings:

Download an APP for your phone or tablet:

Opening The Word

Laudate

Purchase a daily meditation book:

 

Back to Martha...check out the inspiring reflection for all moms on the Laudate App.  What a great reminder to spend time with our Lord each day.

BTW, want to start a Moms Group? It can be as simple as getting a group of women together each week and reflect on the gospel reading.

Good Friday & Easter Project for Little People

Catholic Mom Lacy Rabideau at Catholic Icing has the best and easiest craft projects (I need easy!).

We don't always follow the directions perfectly but it always seems to work out.  This morning we combined The Last Supper Project  with the Resurrection Set so we can see it all at one glance and help the kids better understand what happened each day leading up to Easter.

The boys (ages 8,6,4) have been talking and asking questions about the Jesus, the crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the 12 apostles while coloring and cutting.  Thanks for making it so easy, Lacy!

Bitter or Better

Every Cross Can Make You Either Bitter or Better

Kathy Skipper spoke at the Niagara Falls Catholic Moms Group on April 5, 2014. Listen to her amazing witness below.

(If you have trouble opening the audio, click here and try again.)

Kathleen Skipper is a Registered Nurse, a writer, a lecturer and mentor for the bereaved.  She holds a B.S. in Human Services. Kathleen worked as a labor and delivery nurse for twenty four years before founding Caring Arms in 199 (an in hospital perinatal bereavement program). She conducted perinatal bereavement conferences for physicians, nurses and staff in area hospitals on an on-going basis. Besides facilitating five support groups she did one-on-one care for parents who chose to carry their babies with lethal anomalies. In addition, she was the Bereavement Coordinator in a local hospital before retirement. Today she is a part of the Bereavement Team and Outreach at St. Christopher Parish.

Along with many articles, a Patient Care Guide, she authored A Rose is God’s Autograph, a story about the loss of her two sons.  Recently she was published in “They Were Still Born”, a collection of parent stories and medical information for parents who have experienced stillbirth.

Kathleen received the N.Y.S. Nurse of Distinction Award twice from her health care system and the C.A.R.E. Award from the Catholic Health System.

She continues to lecture and mentor on behalf of the bereaved.

She has three living children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

Bella and Sarah read Mary's Way of the Cross at the end of the meeting as well.