Why August Was One of My Favorite Months...
August was a challenging, but nevertheless, one of my favorite months.
August held a bit of struggle as I worked to complete my Total Consecration to Mary, but I did it and on Aug. 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, I made my consecration to Jesus through Mary.
August is a very special month for me. It is my birthday month!
The night before my birthday, I got to pick out my very own pair of Chaco sandals! I've wanted a pair for over a year and received them as a birthday gift from my family! ❤ I love them so much and now they are my new adventure buddy!
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| (Photo Credit: Francesca) |
I celebrated a wonderful day with my family for my 18th birthday!! 💕 That day included a nice lunch out at Rachel's Kitchen with my mom, family dinner of ravioli casserole (YUM!!), and we ended the night with cheesecake! (I'm such a foodie... 😜) One other very special event on my birthday, was going to the mailbox. No, it wasn't exactly going to the mailbox that was extremely special... it was what was inside. I received my MODG senior yearbook! 💝 That was really wonderful and seemed almost like a final gift from my class and school. I just can't believe I'm 18!!!
Right after my birthday, we went on a weekend trip with some friends to their cabin in MN. What a fun trip that was! Of course, when you go through the airport security, the guard asks how old you are. Now normally right after my birthday, I don't have to answer that question right away and it takes me a while to get used to my new age, but this time, I was fully prepared to state proudly, "I'm 18." Meeting new people on this trip gave me many more opportunities to get used to the number 18 very quickly.
Minnesota (and our next trip to MI) gave me such a breather! I've lived in a city my whole life and visited many busy cities on crazy busy trips all this summer. But I finally got to go to a relaxing cabin "up north" and just chill. It was so great to hang out with some amazing friends, meet new people, and unwind at a beautiful lakeshore cabin.
I have bruises from bumping into the side of our metal canoe multiple times, mosquito bites on my feet from wearing sandals at night, and I "christened" my Chaco sandals when I was practically thrown from the canoe. As the lookout, I didn't see the sunken log just under the surface of the water from the front of the canoe. We hit it with quite a force and even though my aunt and cousin leaned the opposite direction to balance the water craft, I flew out and into the cold water. My Chacos have now seen quite a bit of adventure. 😉 All in all it was a wonderful trip and I was so happy to be able to spend such great time with family and friends.
So that was my August! Thanks for reading! How was the end of your summer? Farewell to August. You've given me so many wonderful adventures and memories. Welcome September!
Happy late birthday! Sounds like you had a fun month, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteCatherine
catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com
Thank you so very much! :)
DeleteSounded like you had a great time! Happy Birthday!
ReplyDelete-Lia
catholicgirlstuff.blogspot.com
lilahsmusicals.blogspot.com
It looks like you had a wonderful summer! Happy belated birthday! Canoeing looks like a lot of fun, but I've only even been kayaking :)
ReplyDeleteI did and thank you so much! Canoeing is fun, but definitely a work out if you're not used to it. It also requires quite a bit of teamwork to steer and keep it afloat. ;)
DeleteWelcome to my blog! :D
Loved reading about your recent adventures! Sounds like a blast! ;D
ReplyDeleteThank you. It definitely was and it was so wonderful to get to spend time with you! <3
DeleteMay I just say I'm loving the Newsies references ;D
ReplyDeleteSo, what is the Total Consecration to Mary? I'm not Catholic, so I don't know. But I'd like to learn! :)
Hehe! Thanks! I'm hooked! ;)
DeleteOf course! The Total Consecration to Mary was written by St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716), a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. "The essence of this true devotion is the total offering of one's self and all one's goods both temporal (of this earth) and spiritual to Our Lady-in as much as the duties of one's state in life will allow-and then living as dependent upon her as a slave to a Queen." (Manual for Total Consecration to Mary pg. v)
(Here is a page with more info about the consecration: https://www.saintbenedict.com/tradition/total-consecration)
Our goal as children of God is to be happy with Him forever in Heaven and this is brought about by a complete and perfect union with Christ and His will. How better to achieve this than to imitate the only person on this earth who has ever attained this complete union of wills? Mary was conceived without sin (we call this the Immaculate Conception) so that she could be a pure and sinless means to bring Jesus into the world. We know this from the words of the Archangel Gabriel, "And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, FULL OF GRACE, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:28) Since Mary is without sin, her will is in perfect union with God's. Therefore, we want to imitate this most perfect example of union with God's will. We ask Mary to help us attain this perfect union with Christ.
"When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own." (John 19:26-27)
Christ gave us Mary as our mother when He gave her to the apostle St. John. If Christ is our brother and wants what is best for us, than so too would His mother be our mother and want what her Son wants for us.
Also, this consecration directs us to offer all of our prayers, sufferings, and desires to Jesus, through Mary. This concept is illustrated by Jesus' first public miracle, "And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:3-5) Mary petitioned the needs of the bride and groom at Cana to Jesus and will do so for us as well. As we see in this story, Jesus will refuse her nothing. Therefore, we ask Mary to present our needs to her Son so that He will answer them.
I hope this helps! If you have more questions I'd be happy to try and answer them or I hope you'll explore for yourself!