Sister Mary Peter and Cecilia help Maria Pilar

As the weather warms up, we are watching the snow and ice on our ponds, streams, and roads melt away. Last month, right before the rink closed, we took the entire school ice skating (at a “real rink”). You will notice that this is a very practical lesson in physics! Here are a few pictures.

Grand Prize - Luke Bednar - Grade Seven

For students in grades seven through twelve, the first half of the school year carries the excitement (and anxiety!) of getting ready for the year’s Science Fair. Each science project includes a research paper, experiment, oral presentation, and presentation board upon which each student is graded (usually this is most of the second quarter science and research grades). At the public portion of the project, the Fair itself, the students are judged by Fair judges (pun intended). This year the junior-high students make an excellent showing. The winners are:

Grand Prize: Luke Bednar (grade seven) – Duct Tape

First Place: James Bednar (grade ten) – Electromagnets

Second Place: Maria Bosonetto (grade eight) – The Effects of Sugar

Third Place: Samuel Bednar (grade ten) – Left Brain/Right Brain

Congratulations! Other interesting projects covered hair color and IQ, the comparative merits of specific chainsaws, persuasion, kinesiology, pain tolerance in men vs women, the effect of video games on vital signs, and

“Use your discretion and common sense when visiting each site and selecting clothing for your family. I only offer these websites as a service. I do not guarantee the sites, nor do I promise anything about them, endorse them, or recommend any one website [sic] or business over another.”  “  . . . and not all the clothing on each website will pass the Outfit Guidelines, either!” Colleen Hammond

Swimwear

HydroChic (about $70 per piece) – see especially “Breezy Yoke Swim Skirt”            women/teens

Alex and Me ($30-70) – has some options for “swimshirts”

Swim Modest ($50-75) — family business — much better than regular swimsuits, but still pretty tight/short (one piece) – also has a swim shirt for boys/men (www.greatlengthsshorts.com Has knee-length men’s swim trunks)

Simply Modest Swimwear ($15-100) – family business — patterns, material, ready made and custom-made swimwear for girls of all ages (two-piece: leggings/dress)

Wholesome Wear ($60-100) – (one-piece/two layer in three styles, little girls to ladies)

Below the Knee ($44) – one style (looks like a dress)

Lydia of Purple ($22-50, you provide the material and notions) – old-fashioned dress/bloomer combination (can be ordered with a nursing option) **This business is currently for sale & not taking orders**

Lilies of the Field ($47-63) – for girls & ladies (two-piece) – similar to Simply Modest, but looser fit (and shorter sleeves)

Works of the Heart ($57-81) – for girls & ladies (two-piece: swimdress plus leggings)

Modest Kini – A British Web site with lots of options for men & women of all ages (Moslem)

Other Resources for Modest Clothes

Hannah Lise – “Modest fashion without the frump” – really nice clothing for girls & ladies with a very high standard of modesty and quality (a direct merchant – family owned and operated)

4 Modesty – skirts, jumpers, and tops for ladies and teens

Phyllis Jean – clothes for women, young ladies, little girls, and maternity. Made in the US and ready to ship.

Cotton Tops – a British company providing modest blouses & tops

Shukr Islamic Clothing – men & women– a high quality clothing by a company with an excellent work ethic (read their “About Us”) The skirts are particularly lovely and the tunic tops could fix those hip-hugging skirts you don’t want to get rid of!

Yana Nurse Everywhere – an Israeli company with clothing for nursing mothers

Modest Clothing – scarves and ladies’ clothing

Modest Apparel USA – Ladies’ and girls’

Macabi – a fun “transformer” skirt

Dressed in White – white clothing for the whole family            (Mormon)

Custom/Hand Sewn (see also some of the companies under Swimwear)

Works of the Heart – for ladies of all ages; also sells fabric by the yard (and other items)

The King’s Daughters – for ladies of all ages (including slips)

Sew Original (Morman)

Seams Like Yesterday – maternity and baby clothes

Ringger Clothing – clothing for the family (This company works with independent contractors – and also sells patterns)

Modest Seamstress at Modest Prices

Made with TLC

Anna Bouche Christening etc. (Baptismal, First Holy Communion, and other little girl’s dresses)

Formal/Bridal

Modest by Design – Clothing your father would approve of  (Morman)

Beautifully Modest

Eternity

Simply Elegant

and others!

Foundations

ModesTee

Aliza’s Boutique (and clink on Layering Shells, etc.)

Kosher Casual (“Sleevies”, “Teenecks”, “Bolero Shrug”, plus clothes for the whole family — although the women’s/girls’ options tend to be tight/slinky, there is coverage; good for layering)

Funky Frum (Layering Shells, plus other clothing – just avoid the pencil skirts)

Cotton Tops

CoverMeModest (A simple neckline fix)

Patterns

Common Sense Patterns

Ringger Clothing

Baker Lane – Dressmaking & Design            (patterns)

Candle on the Hill – Modest Sewing Patterns            (for the whole family)

Free Period Clothing Patterns

Sense & Sensibility Patterns

Harper House – Vintage Costuming Pattern Catalog

In Timely Fashion (patterns, hairstyles, articles, etc. – a very fun site)

Veils/Head-coverings

Modesty Veils

Modest Clothing

Immaculate Heart Mantillas

She Maketh Herself Coverings

Halo-Works

Plain-n-Simple Headcoverings (Mennonite)

Christian Coverings (Protestant – also has a few clothing options)

Tznius (Jewish – beautiful scarves and also some clothing) For instruction on neat tying designs, click on “How do I tie my scarf?”

Some mainstream companies that include modest clothing in their selections:

Appleseed’s April Cornell Blair Christopher and Banks

Coldwater Creek French Toast Land’s End Orvis

Talbots Travelsmith Vermont Country Store Willow Ridge

[And then, because the questions of modesty-in-dress tends to become a negative series of "do nots", here are a few quotes from winners of the Modest By Design Clothing Company’s Prom Dress Contest. These are teen-age girls for whom modesty is something positive.]

Why I Make the Choice

by Leslie Gerber (Viewmont High, Centerville, Utah)

A wise man once appraised the value of modesty.  He declared, “When virtue and modesty enlighten her charms, the luster of a beautiful woman is brighter than the stars of heaven, and the influence of her power it is in vain to resist.”  The weight that modesty carries is absolutely incredible, but to live modestly is a lot more than just dressing appropriately; it is a living, breathing, principle that demands nurturing and constant attention.  That nurturing comes by the way you live your life; what you say and do, and how you treat others in the world around you.  Modesty shows a person’s love and respect for their God, themselves, and the people they are around.  Although the price of living modestly is difficult to pay, I wouldn’t choose to live any other way.

Dress Like Royalty

by Tomoko Goddard (Orlando, Florida)

You are my child, my princess

Wear the things of royalty

And seeing you wear anything less

In my sight I would hate to see

Cover yourself in holy things

That would be righteous in my sight

Dress like the daughter of a king

For this is my delight

The clothes that you wear defines

How people see and perceive you

To them it is like a sign

Of your should that they can view

Your body is my house

The temple that I live in

Not the color of a blouse

That matters, but the attitude within.

Confidence

by Krista Purser (Murray, Utah)

There is power in confidence.

Confidence is the charisma to draw people in.

Confidence is the assurance to look in the mirror and love.

Confidence is the courage to act on the faith in heart and mind.

Confidence is the ability to change through sheer conviction and determination.

Immodesty is no part of confidence. It is, instead, the mask of confidence, an outward appearance that hides insecurities.

Immodesty is a distraction from the honest beauty of soul and body.

Modesty is courageous. It is, quite simply, laying bare in a different sense. It does not conceal who you are, but instead allows your beauty to shine.

That is confidence: the knowledge of the divinity in the human soul and the belief that who you are will always be enough.

Modesty declares this knowledge to the world.

I owe myself nothing less than that.

For that is confidence.

Our Philoso-Fur!

The Sisters are taking evening classes in Philosophy, going through Brother Francis’ Philosophia Perrenis lectures on tape with the assistance of a tutor-at-a-distance (using a speaker phone). We are almost to the end of the course on Cosmology, and there is never a lecture that doesn’t touch on something we can use in the classroom. This last week one of my students asked me about the resurrection of the bodies at the general judgment, when everyone who ever lived gets their bodies back. The question was: If someone is cremated (the morality of which was also discussed) or completely decomposed and the exact matter is no longer “free” — how do we get our bodies back? The very day that I answered that question (does anyone know the answer?), I heard Brother’s answer in our evening class. I was very glad to see that I’d answered it correctly! Rhipsime is a regular guest at our class, a regular little philoso-fur (as you can see from her choice of books!).

Immaculate Heart of Mary Brigade in front of the Shrine of the Eight North American Martyrs, Auriesville, NY.

At the end of September every year, the older students have a chance to go on the seventy-two mile Pilgrimage for Restoration. It is a wonderfully painful walking retreat — with amazing spiritual results!

Lining up to get the banners blessed at the beginning of the pilgrimage, Lake George (Lake of the Blessed Sacrament), NY.

Part of Saint Joseph's Brigade

Brother Andre, Chief of Brigadiers

Friday evening Benediction at Blessed Kateri's shrine in Fonda, NY. The celebrant is Canon Andreas Hellmann of the Institute of Christ the King.

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

Temper tantrums in adults (or students acting adult parts) are not pretty.

Chapter VII. - Of Rewards and Punishments.

A stubborn evil spirit that resists the ordinary means of control, is driven out according to the words of our Lord by prayer and fasting. This is also the means by which deeply-rooted defects and faults in children must be driven out. Prayer and fasting will win. Still as long as a child is young enough to be coerced, it should be compelled to pray and fast in its own behalf, though it may be good and advisable that a mother pray for such a child and offer for it many personal acts of self-denial. Prayer humbles the spirit, while fasting chastens the flesh and is the sovereign remedy against sensuality.

This two-fold means is indicated in all cases which do not yield to admonitions and remonstrances, nor to kind words or threats. The mother should consider the source of the fault–pride or sensuality–and choose the remedy accordingly. But she should remember that prayer alone, though very efficacious, will not in itself subdue a proud spirit. It is also necessary to make the child feel humiliation. This may be done by showing preference to its brothers and sisters, by being brief and curt, by disregarding its advances, by isolating it from the others, and by other such minor humiliations.

Humiliations come in many forms.

Repeated faults of sensuality are most easily conquered by denying a child a dessert or some delicacies and knick-knacks for which it may have a special predilection; in extreme cases sine favorite dish of necessary food may also be denied. In serious breaches of sensuality the child should be compelled to sleep on a hard, springless bed, or some other physical chastisement be administered with the palm of the hand or with the rattan or rod. Hardness of heart against the poor should be conquered by distributing alms to the needy through the hand of the child, avarice and greed may be corrected by depriving the child of things to which it may be much attached and by insisting upon its sharing liberally with its brothers and sisters whatever it possesses. The same means, namely distributing alms through the hands of the child and denial of the comforts and luxuries of life, may be used when the child is inclined to extravagance.

The choice of the particular punishment to be administered in the individual case must be a subject of intelligent study. A mother’s intention must never be merely the infliction of pain, but rather the amendment of the child. Severe punishments should only be resorted to, when light punishments produce no results. The punishment also which was fixed upon, should never be applied more severely than necessary, and it should always be administered with due regard for the child’s physical condition. Frequent mistakes are made in the choice and infliction of chastisement.

Drama queens require special treatment.

They are mostly administered without reflection, on the spur of the moment and thoughtlessly. On one occasion parents will punish excessively, and on another not enough, or not at all. Would to God that every mother and every father understood the value of conscientious punishment! The punishment of children has for its object the correction and amendment of faults, and if it is to produce these results, parents must consider it one of their most important obligations, the faithful fulfillment of which becomes a source of untold benefit to their boys and girls and also the occasion of infinite merits to themselves.

However, it is not sufficient to inculcate merely a fear of sin in the hearts of children by the infliction of some punishment; parents must also instil [sic] in them a love of virtue for its own sake and for the sake of the joys and rewards attached to the practice of virtue. This may be done by portraying to them the inner peace which is consequent upon the doing of good works in the service of God and of our neighbor, and by describing in some appropriate story the unrest and remorse of conscience which the sinner experiences after his misdeeds.

Sticky Fingers claims her own reward (and then loses it).

Parents should not be chary of words of commendation and encouragement when a child perseveringly strives to get rid of some fault, or when it had performed some act of self-denial, of patience, of kindness, of obedience, or of forgiveness, which perhaps required no little moral courage. Indeed, mother and father should show sincere pleasure in any act of virtue that the child might perform, and at times, even reward it with some material recompense. Still, in doing so, they should remind the child of the greater pleasure which God has in its well-doing, and how He will reward it with the eternal happiness of His own heavenly home, if it will only persevere in its efforts till the end of its days.

Valuable presents and extraordinary pleasures should rarely be given as a reward. Trifling gifts and minor enjoyments may be granted, but not too frequently, otherwise the child may learn to despise them. The child should never join in the amusements proper to adults only, neither should it be drawn into their cares and worries. The longer we can preserve in the children the simplicity and the innocence of childhood, the more shall we be able also to preserve in them the spirit of docility and obedience and their love for the simple pleasures of home-life.

To be continued . . .

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

Looking at science projects

On the Christian Training of Children

Chapter VI. - How the Christian Mother Should Combat Pride in Her Child.

In the last two chapters I have briefly pointed out how a Christian Mother may successfully counteract in a child its inborn lust of the eyes and of the flesh. The means recommended are, indeed, effective but not infallible, unless the mother will reenforce [sic] her instructions, her admonitions and her corrections by the mortification of her own evil inclinations and by presenting to her children in her own daily life an example of self-denial and restraint. Teaching and good example are practically certain of producing favorable results under the grace of God. In the present chapter I shall give a more detailed instruction on the manner of combating the third concupiscence, called by St. John the pride of life. The conquering of this concupiscence is more difficult, because the sins caused by it, seemingly contain something elevating and pure, although they are more offensive to God and more destructive to the soul. Some pious author distinguished the lust of the eyes as a human fault, the lust of the flesh as a bestial aberration, but the pride of life as a hellish, a devilish guilt. Pride is, indeed, the worst of the three concupiscences and must, therefore, be combated just as relentlessly as the other two.

St. Michael the Archangel with the cry-Who is like to God-drove the bad angels out of heaven and out of the company of the good angels. In the same manner a Christian Mother should contemplate the dignity and majesty of God, and remember His rightful claim upon our worship and submission; hence like St. Michael she must not relax in her efforts, until the devil of pride is cast out of the heart of her child, and the child itself, strengthened in earnest piety, has become an angel of humility and modesty, of obedience and good deportment.

The first visible sign of pride in a child is wilfulness [sic]. In combating it, the mother must, indeed, manifest a knowing and prudent love which never connives at a child’s contrariness or humors its exhibitions of obstinacy. The child may weep and cry, it may fuss and stomp its feet-the more unruly it conducts itself, the more the mother must ignore it. Such treatment will soon put an end to its noisy demonstrations, and the child will gradually show a more tractable disposition. Then also insist on immediate and prompt obedience. “A good child must obey quickly.”

Shut the Door - a skit performed by the 7th & 8th grades for Saint Patrick's Day

Irreverence, stubborness [sic] and insubordination must not be tolerated. A command given by father or mother, must be carried out, and the child that will not obey, should be banished from the table and from the presence of father and mother and no conciliatory countenance be turned to it until it has fulfilled the will of its parents. Certainly the directions and the commands of father and mother must not exceed the limitations of the child; they should be reasonable and well-considered, and be given with dignified earnestness, in brief and gentle words, and with perceptible marks of affection. Children should be taught to obey cheerfully to please their parents; they should obey conscientiously, whether they be observed or not, because Jesus Christ gave the example of obedience, because parents are representatives of God, because the will of the parents is the will of God, because obedience or disobedience to them is obedience or disobedience to God, and therefore will be rewarded or punished by God.

Considerate and affectionate demands on the part of the parents, and ready, cheerful obedience on the part of the children are the foundation stones of a good education. When, therefore, a good education is not achieved it is usually due to some defect in the exercise of parental authority or in the observance of filial submission. Generally speaking, the greatest fault is on the side of the parents. Children are so completely dependent on their parents, that they must practically obey, if the parents earnestly insist upon it. When the children are disobedient, disrespectful, bold and spiteful, there is no other cause but lack of firmness and enforcement of parental rights. In every Christian family one principle must always stand forth in the fullness of its meaning, namely: Not the will of the children is law, but the children must obey the will of the parents without exception and without contradiction.

Another St. Patrick's Day skit

Other manifestations of pride are meddlesomeness, lying, and an assumption of cleverness and wisdom. Among girls are to be found especially dissimulation, self-love, vanity and conceit. A child must be trained to be truthful and sincere in its words and its conduct, and simple and modest in all its dealings with others. Whatever good it may possess, it should consider an undeserved gift of God, for which it must be grateful, and of the use of which it must some day render a strict account. The child’s attention should be called to its own shortcomings, and at the same [time] be directed to the good qualities of others, to the virtues of the saints and to the perfections of God, so that it may learn to think lowly of itself and willingly humble itself before others.

Pride shows itself also in quarrelsomeness, in lording it over others, and in vengefulness. Among boys, in particular, we also find as a fruit of pride a certain spirit of independence which brooks no restraint, and ambition that tolerates no rivalry, and a coarseness of feeling that borders on brutality. All these qualities are evidences of a hard heart and must be corrected with a firm hand; and, if no improvement is observed, mother and father should even resort to severe corporal punishment.

After the child’s natural roughness has been pretty well polished off in this manner, it must also be taught to get rid of its sensitiveness or touchiness and to conquer its natural aversions or dislikes. The wonderful example of Christ should constantly be kept before its mind, especially His patient endurance of all kinds of injuries, His imperturbably meekness and mildness and His everready [sic] willingness to forgive His enemies and traducers for whom He even prayed after they nailed Him to the Cross. Surely this example will have a powerful influence over the impressionable child-mind and inspire the child to earnest efforts of imitation.

Immaculate Heart of Mary - The high school classroom statue

The worst fruits of human pride are sins against God Himself, namely, indifference to religion and religious practices. These manifest themselves by repeated neglect of divine service, particularly, of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass, by irreverent conduct in Church and at devotional exercises, by desecration of the Lord’s Day and feast days of obligation, by superstitious observances and mockery of religion, by ridiculing the veneration of the saints, their pictures and relics, by cursing and sinful taking of oaths and such other sins against the three first commandments of the decalogue. Indifference towards God and all that relates to Him is, indeed, at the bottom of man’s perversity as of all sin, and only in so far as this indifference can be rooted out, can the heart of man be remodeled and the image of the Divinity be restored in him. Hence the principal efforts must be directed towards this purpose and parents must never cease till they have implanted into the hearts of their children a sincere love of God and a salutary filial fear of Him, till they have awakened in them an ardent zeal for His honor and glory and an eager, joyous readiness to live according to His Will. In this matter, particularly, parents must give a good example, so that the child may see that they themselves are sincerely and truly religious.

The parents must also carefully observe the child at its prayers, never condone any fault in the recital of them, immediately correct any faulty pronunciation of the names of God or of the saints, and, in general, supervise its conduct in all matters pertaining to religion and its practices. Faults and sins against the first three commandments must not be considered lightly and should be earnestly reprehended and, if necessary, more severely punished than faults and sins against any other commandment. The degree of firmness with which parents persist in their efforts to educate and train their children in the proper reverence towards God and religion, will naturally depend upon the degree of esteem in which they hold their dignity as representatives of God and guardians of His honor; the more they realize the dignity of their position, the more they will uphold and defend the rights of God.

To be continued . . .

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

We should see the goodness of God in everything!

Chapter V. - How the Christian Mother Should Combat the Concupiscence of the Eyes in Her Child.

The second evil propensity, the concupiscence of the eyes, is the inordinate pleasure in things which attract the eye, such as riches, clothes, houses, furniture, etc. Holy Scripture says: “What doth it profit the owner of riches, except to feast his eyes on them?” Ecclesiasticus, ch. 5, v. 10.

The child must be made to realize that it had, properly speaking, nothing of its own, that everything belongs to its parents. The things a child receives from them, should be considered a gift, for which it owes them a debt of gratitude. It should also be made to understand, that even its parents can call nothing their own, that all they have is loaned to them and should be used for performing works of love and mercy according to the Will of God. Furthermore, the child should be taught to consider the poor its equals, and be glad to share with them whatever they need, so that in the day of judgment it may be rewarded for its helpfulness as having done unto Christ whatever was done unto the least of His brethren. Poverty, in general, should be appreciated as a visitation and a grace of God, by which men become like unto the Master and worthy of eternal life. Heaven should be described to the child as a land teeming with riches and treasures, the least part of which is more valuable than all the accumulated values of the whole world. Finally, the child should be taught that riches and possessions are rather dangerous for the soul and that rich people who are not poor in spirit, whose hearts are not detached from the things of this world, have a hard time saving their souls, as Christ Himself says, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Poverty, on the other hand, with its privations, when borne with patience and for the love and glory of God, is a rich source of eternal merit and reward.

Watching the Blueberry Melodrama with a Sister for company!

Pilfering, which is frequently practiced among children, should be earnestly censured, because it is petty thieving; and continued pilfering as well as larger thefts should be severely punished. A child should never be allowed to take anything without permission, and whatever it needs, it should be obliged to ask for. If the child’s wishes are granted, it should be required to express its thanks, and, if they be refused, it should be trained to accept the refusal with submission and never be permitted to show its disappointment by pouting or grumbling. It should be taught gladly to share with others whatever it has received for its own use or pleasure. When others have more, or prettier, or better things, it should be taught to rejoice in their greater fortune, while on the other hand it should deeply sympathize with the losses of others as if those losses were its own. Gifts of money[,] which a child sometimes receives from friends and relatives, should not be at its own disposal, nor should it have the control of its own little money-bank. Money expenditures for any purpose whatever should always have the permission and the approval of the parents.

Combating the spirit of the world and the inordinate love for temporal possessions, fostering in her children the spirit of Christ, and arousing in their hearts an ardent desire for heavenly things-it is these duties that a Christian mother should consider her most important task, and what we have said may assist her in her very arduous task.

To be continued . . .

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

Yes, come with me!

Chapter IV. - How the Christian Mother Should Combat in Her Child the Concupiscence of the Flesh.

The first evil inclination, the concupiscence of the flesh, seeks inordinately after all that gratifies the body, tickles the senses, and excites them to pleasure. Certainly the physical needs must be provided for and the sense activities must be exercised, otherwise life would not be worth living. But, how easily may the proper measure of enjoyment be exceeded, and thus that which might have been, according to St. Paul, a source of heavenly merit and for the greater honor and glory of God, is turned into a source of demerit, sin and punishment!

If then, dear Christian mother, you do not want your child to become the slave of sensual and carnal pleasures, you must train it from its earliest years to self-restraint and self-denial, to application and industry, to order and cleanliness. Among other things therefore a prudent Christian mother will provide for a thorough ventilation of the living and the bed rooms, so that wholesome, fresh air may constantly fill them. She will provide for the children plain, nourishing food, sensible clothing, and a neat comfortable bed; on the other hand, she will withhold from them everything that merely indulges the sensual appetite or wantonly excites the nerves. Children must not be permitted to eat as much and as often as they please, but whatever their reasonable needs demand, should be granted kindly and graciously. Cookies and candies and other palate-ticklers should not be allowed too frequently, since experience teaches that excessive munching of sweetmeats is not only injurious to the teeth and stomach but also to the general health. Try to impress upon the minds of your little ones, Christian mother, that it is a good work occasionally to give up some creature comforts and enjoyments for the love of God, that God especially loves children who act that way and rewards them for it in body and soul. Performing such little mortifications with a good intention is a powerful means of obtaining many favors from God. But in these mortifications children should be supervised so that they may not overdo them.

Playing is hard work!

A Christian mother should let her children play much in the open air, even when the weather is somewhat cold and unpleasant. She should put them to bed early and in the morning also get them out early. They should be taught to get up immediately on the first call, to dress themselves quickly and to make their morning ablutions with cold water. Each child should have its own little daily work to do according to its age and strength, and a fixed time to do it. Dresses and coats, hats and caps, shoes and slippers, as well as playthings should not be allowed to be scattered around, and for everything that belongs to a child there should be a fixed place and it must be trained to put them in the proper places itself. Dirty hands and dirty faces as well as dirty clothes must never be tolerated.

Children should always be cheerful not only at their games and recreations but also at their work and even in their little trials and hurts. As early in life as possible they should be taught that the afflictions and reverses of life, such as excessive cold or heat, slander or gossip, offenses and insults and abuse, sickness and wounds and death, are blessings in disguise and sent by God to wean us from the world and its attractions and arouse in us a greater love and desire for the eternal joys of heaven. They should also be taught to see in them a means which God provides, to atone for our sins, our faults and imperfections. Finally, they should be taught that Jesus Christ Himself was willing to endure the same or similar afflictions during His life here on earth, and that it is a mark of great love of Christ to be satisfied to live amid the same conditions as He did and to bear willingly what He was willing to bear.

Many things are sources of pleasure to children. In the first place there are the things of nature itself. These captivate the eyes of children by their beauty and variety. Naturally, the child admires them, asks questions about them and is happy in knowing them. A Christian mother will not only call attention to their beauty and variety of arrangement, but she will also show how they are evidences of God’s goodness and love as well as proofs of His infinite wisdom and power. The parish church is another source of joy to the child: its majestic appearance, its length and width and height on the outside, and on the inside its altars and their ornamentation, its pews and pictures and statues, its pulpit and confessionals. Gradually, the mother should teach the child the purpose and meaning of them all, so that it may learn to appreciate them as the means by which the salvation of mankind is affected. The feasts of the Church should give the mother opportunities for explanations and stories from the life of Christ in order to instill a greater love of Christ into the heart of her child; when occasion offers she will also narrate stories from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that the child’s affection for our heavenly Mother may constantly grow and confidence in her tender mercy may increase. Again and again she will tell of the lives of different saints, of their zeal for their own salvation as well as for the salvation of the souls of others and of their love of God and His glory. All that was ever learned in Catechism or Bible History, in sermons or conference, in the Lives of the Saints or some other spiritual book, the Christian mother will impart to her little ones in such simple words that even the youngest may understand. Her efforts will surely be blessed by God and she will enjoy not only the pleasure of gladdening the hearts of her children by her story-telling but will also be rewarded by the earnest endeavors with which her children will try to imitate the virtues of Jesus and Mary and of the saints.

Folk dancing - wholesome entertainment

Another species of joy is derived from home-life and the intimate associations of the family-members. Home, sweet home! Oh, that every home were so sweet and inviting, so pleasant and cheery, that neither father nor children would ever desire to be anywhere else but with and around mother! In such a home every say is the herald of new joys, and certain occasions such as the nameday or birthday of father, mother, brother, or sister and the anniversary of some joyous, important event, are celebrated in a festive manner with some innocent amusements and recreation and sincere testimonies of mutual affection.

In this manner the children will be protected against the deceitful allurements of carnal and worldly pleasures which alas! are only too often the death of purity and innocence. Would to God that every mother at least realized her responsibility in this matter! It may be safely affirmed that the loss of the sense of shame and modesty, so noticeable among the youth of the present generation, is primarily due to the indifference of mothers in observing proper precautions in bathing, dressing and bedding her little ones. Other causes are frequently assigned such as the prevailing fashions of the day, the promiscuous gatherings of young people in dancehalls and amusement places and the modern dances themselves, but all these should be considered as contributing causes merely, since the seed of immodesty and shamelessness was sowed earlier in life.

I can only indicate the sowing of this seed by telling what a mother should not do. A Christian mother will never bathe a child while other children are looking on, nor will she bathe them together at the same time. She will never strip them entirely to change their underwear in the presence of others; she will always have separate rooms and beds for her boys and girls. She will earnestly reprimand even the least breach against modesty and, if repeated, she should severely punish the offender. True, the little one may not understand the indecency of its act, but it is important to impress upon it the gravity of the fault by the infliction of some punishment so that it may not in later life fall into sins which, more that all others, are the cause of eternal damnation. The girls in particular, should be trained in Christian modesty, which includes also decency in dress. Fashions change with the times, so that sooner or later we may expect some improvement in present-day styles; but a mother who today dresses her girls in fashionable décolleté and sleeveless undress, is surely not preventing the violation of the sense of modesty, and is, indeed, contributing to the moral laxity of her daughters.

As the children grow older, the vigilance of parents must become more alert, so that the boys and girls may not become victims of vicious companions who are ever ready to initiate the innocent into the clandestine and sinful methods of sex gratification. As soon as parents observe in their boys and girls a curiosity regarding sex, it would be highly imprudent to conceal from them the desired sex-knowledge, because they will not content themselves with evasions, and the danger is lest they obtain that knowledge in a crude and sinful way. Tell them briefly and frankly what they desire to know, and at the same time warn them against speaking on such subjects with outsiders and encourage them to seek all sex-information from you only-the girls from mother and the boys from father. But also, according to the age of the children, admonish them to preserve their mind[s] and heart[s] pure and chaste through an earnest devotion to the immaculate Blessed Virgin, who is ever ready to help and protect us in all unprovoked dangers and temptations.

To be continued . . .

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

A yummy Field Day treat

Chapter III. – Admonition to the Mother.

Above all things, Christian mother, you yourself should be animated with the love of Christ! You should be a pious disciple, a courageous soldier of Jesus Christ, a Catholic Christian ardently desirous of the attainment of virtue. Have you not been such from your early youth? Be such, at least, and with redoubled earnestness, from the day on which you feel that you are a mother. Permit not the poison of unmortified passions to flow with your milk and life-blood into the heart of your child. That poison will, in later life, expose it to numerous and violent temptations, and even to the danger of eternal damnation. When you carry it in your arms, let Christian meekness, peace, and love beam in your eyes; for your child understands their language, and responds to it eagerly in its own little heart. When it begins to lisp and, under your direction, tries to stammer its first word, then teach it as its firs word, not “Mamma,” or “Papa,” but that name which should be to you also the sweetest and the dearest of all names, namely, the name of Jesus, which will rise as a loving sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise to its Creator, its Redeemer, its Judge, and its Savior. The second should be that which, next to the name of Jesus, has the sweetest sound, namely the dear name of our heavenly Mother Mary. Believe me, the child will experience something of the blessing of these sweet names which causes hell to tremble and heaven to thrill with joy.

Teach your child by your own example. Let all your words and actions in its presence bear upon them the impress of innocence and Christian piety. The child hangs upon you as the apple on the tree, and draws from your deportment and expressions nourishment for the life of its soul. Ah, give it not poison. Supply it with Christian, edifying, enlightening, consoling food; and as its years multiply, be still more careful on this point.

Hold pious converse with your child as soon as it is capable of answering. Sing to it holy hymns, and teach it to sing them after you. Pray with your child. Teach it to repeat with joined hands the words of the prayers after you. If it does not understand your words, it certainly does comprehend your devotion; and the Holy Ghost who dwells in its soul, will effect in its depths the wonders of His inexpressible love.

Pray for your child. You could not free it from original sin, had God not seconded your pious desire by holy Baptism; and just as little, without the grace and mercy of God, can you release it from the threefold concupiscence and imbue it with Christian sentiments. The Divine Savior alone can do that, for He has said: “Without Me you can do nothing.” Turn, then, to Him. Entreat Him, expect everything from His blessing, and attach to your own efforts only as much value as the Lord will be please by His helping hand to supply. You must, indeed, “always pray and never faint,” as the Divine Savior teaches. For as it is your duty ever to provide for the good of your child, so must Jesus Christ constantly lend you His support that you may always make use of the right word and the right manner of acting; namely, that which springing from the Heart of Jesus, will bear fruits of salvation. May your heart, O Christian Mother, be ever as full of prayer to God as it is at all times full of love for your children!

This exhibit tied for Third Place (Science Fair '09)

Be watchful and combat the threefold concupiscence in the heart[s] of your children, wherever and as soon as it shows itself. Do not wait until bad habits have become deeply rooted. Keep the pruning knife always at hand, and cut away the wild branches as soon as they put forth their little heads. What may be easily removed in the beginning, might later on cost you years of bitter tears, tears of heartfelt regret, and even then you might be unable to effect a reform. Rear your little on in such a way that the power of its evil inclinations may be broken before it knows what evil is. Well disposed and carefully reared children, even at the early age of four, no longer need corporal chastisement, no longer have need of severe correction; a glance, a gentle sign or a word is sufficient. Still, I know well that children are not alike. Some give more trouble and take longer to correct than others. But if a child over twelve years of age still needs chastisements, it is, for the most part, a sign that in the administration of such punishment in the past, something has been wanting.

Bring before your child the words and example of Jesus, as soon as it is able to understand. Has it been guilty of some naughtiness say “Little Jesus never did anything like that!” “Ah, now you are grieving dear little Jesus!” “What would the little Child Jesus think were you to do such a thing!” -If the child has performed some good action, say: “That’s the way little Jesus used to do!” He says, “if you love Me keep My commandments!” “He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words!” “Jesus loves good little children!” Or again, “Jesus Chirst forbids that!” or, “Jesus commands this,” etc.

Be not without anxiety when your children are out of the house. You know how inexperienced, innocent, and thoughtless they are. Do not permit them to go into neighbors’ houses, or to any place in which you are not sure that their innocence and their soul’s welfare will receive no harm. Give them rules, instructions, and warnings for their conduct on the street; and on their return inquire how they have behaved themselves, what they did and said, what they heard. Make yourself acquainted with these points by means of others, and direct your future line conduct by what you may discover. Many a child well guarded at home has learned wickedness out-doors and stained its soul.

If the child gives evidence of possessing one of the three concupiscences in an especially strong form[,] search your own heart and actions, notice the disposition and life of the father, and see whether the same inclination is not found there. Consider whether or not up to the present you have taken serious action against it. Resolve now, at least, to free yourself from it. Facilitate by your own conversion that of your child; by your own improvement, the improvement of the child.

And when you have done all that lies in your power, say in your heart: “I am a useless servant. I have done what I was obliged to do, and by far not as I should have done.” The good results that you observe in the child, attribute humbly to divine grace, ascribing to yourself only faults and sins; and beg Almighty God to repair and forgive the harm you have done your child. Then your merit and reward will be truly great, if you refer to God alone all the honor your children bring you.

To be continued . . .