it will be shortly.  It is mornings like this that remind me of the lyrics to a James Taylor song: “The frost is on the pumpkin and the hay is in the barn”

The people that live in the higher elevations around here got snow yesterday. When I was coming out of town last night I saw vehicles with significant amounts of the white stuff on them.  I guess the jig is up and we are shortly going to have to pay the piper.  Well, all I can say is, bring it on.

Dear friends, I have copied and pasted this from a friend’s blog. Please pray for this most worthy intention, if you are so inclined.  Our young people are so much in need of spiritual guidence in this world today.  Thank you.

Special Novena Intention to St. John Bosco

Labels: Prayers, Saints

The following letter is from our son’s pastor, a priest our family feels honored to know (especially Gabey who shares a name-patron, and any of our our boys who’ve enjoyed his company at Boys’ Camp):

Dear Friends in Christ,

Praised be Jesus and Mary!

Could I ask your help in praying for a special intention? The prayers for this novena, which will start today, are at the end of this email. The reason for it is as follows.

In 1847 St. John Bosco wrote a book of prayers and spiritual advice for youth called The Companion of Youth. It was his best-seller so to say. During his lifetime it went through 122 printings and three editions (The first had 352 pages and the 3rd had grown to 520 pages). Each printing was about 50,000 copies.
In his Memoirs of the Oratory St. John Bosco speaks of this book as follows: “Another need showed up: a prayer book suitable for the times. There is no shortage of prayer books which have been put together by excellent people and are available to everyone. But, on the whole, these books were written for educated people, for adults, and most of them could be used by Catholics, Jews, or Protestants. Seeing how insidious heresy was spreading quietly every day, I undertook to compile a book suitable for the young, adapted to their religious ideas, based on the Bible, and setting out the foundations of the Catholic religion clearly and concisely. This was The Companion of Youth.”

In 1851 St. John Bosco added another section called “Fundamentals of the Catholic Religion”. It had been published earlier as a separate pamphlet. Speaking of this pamphlet he said: “Its aim was to put Catholics on the alert lest they let themselves be caught in the nets of the heretics. Its distribution was extraordinary; in two years it sold more than two hundred thousand copies. This pleased the good, but it enraged the Protestants, who had begun to think that they had the field of evangelization all to themselves.” He also wrote to a friend: “If you get involved in these booklets you’re sacrificing any support you might have from La Gazzetta del Popolo [a violently anti-Catholic newspaper], and maybe from others. This booklet, tiny as it is, is a nuisance to them, and they would just love to burn any copies they can get hold of.”

The book was translated into English for the first time in 1938, then again in 1955. Later revised or incomplete translations were published by the Salesians after they had become very liberal. These included changes in the Mass. Neither the old and complete translations, nor the new are in print, except for some small excerpts in another work. They are almost impossible to obtain (the Salesian publishers in NY did not even have a copy of the 1938 edition in their archives).

I obtained a copy of the 1938 edition to scan and have compared it with the 101st Italian printing (3rd edition, the most complete one published by St. John Bosco). It is a complete and accurate translation. The only omission is the Vespers of Our Lady, Vespers for the whole year, and the Office of the Dead. These were left out in order to keep the size small and because they can be obtained from many other prayer books.

There are so many of our youth today who could benefit from this book, if we could only get it in their hands. Unfortunately, due to a change in copyright law in 1996, the book is still in copyright (owned probably by the Salesians). Could you join me and a couple hundred others to whom this email is being sent in praying this novena from today, October 27th to November 4th to get permission to republish this work?

The prayers below are selected from several novena prayers to St. John Bosco which were added to the 1938 edition of The Companion of Youth. Could you pray at least one of them each day of the novena? Thank you in advance, and may God reward you abundantly for this act of zeal for the souls of the young!

In Jesus and Mary,

Fr. Gabriel


Novena prayers for permission to reprint St. John Bosco’s book, The Companion of Youth: prayers and spiritual advice for the youth.

O glorious St John Bosco, by that great love which thou didst bear towards Youth, of which thou didst make thyself Father and Teacher, and by the heroic sacrifices thou didst bear for its salvation, obtain for us, that we also may love with a holy and generous love this chosen portion of the Heart of Jesus and that in every child we may see the adorable person of our Divine Savior.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

O glorious St John Bosco, who didst love the virtue of purity with a love of predilection, and who didst inculcate it by word, writing, and example, obtain that we too, enamored of so indispensable a virtue, may practice it constantly and diffuse it by every means in our power.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

O glorious St John Bosco, who wert ever so compassionate towards human miseries, look down upon us, so greatly in need of thine aid; pray that the maternal blessings of Mary, Help of Christians may descend upon us and upon our families ; obtain for us all the spiritual and temporal favors of which we stand in need ; intercede for us in life and in death, so that we, too, eternally may sing the Divine mercies in Paradise.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

Prayer to Mary, Help of Christians

Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin, Help of Christians, we consecrate ourselves entirely to Thee and we promise always to labor for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. We pray Thee to turn thine eyes of pity on the Church, priests and missionaries; on our relatives and benefactors; on the youth confided to our care; on poor sinners and the dying, and on all the souls in Purgatory. Teach us, O most tender Mother, to copy in ourselves the virtues of St. John Bosco, particularly his angelic modesty, profound humility and ardent charity.
Grant also, O Mary, Help of Christians, that through thy powerful intercession we may be victorious over the enemies of our souls in life and in death, so that with Saint John Bosco we may be gathered round Thee in thy home in heaven. Amen.

Ejaculation: Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us. (300 days indulgence.)


PS:  Also our family is adding the intention to this novena of the spiritual well-being of all our young people, but especially our sons, that prayer being the mission of St. John Bosco’s life. (We like to “Pile On” in our novenas…

you blessed and holy

cloud of witnesses

look down upon me

and upon my beloved

those who are close

and those far

those remembered

and those long forgotten

Beg Our Lord for His grace

to forgive and bless

to amend and strengthen

to stand firm

and to fight

And when the time is right

grace to look into his light

and follow him home.

I would have put a window right there too. 

If I squint my eyes a bit and not look too closely

That is my grandson I see but it could be

any one of my sons on any day gone by.

If I listen closely but don’t try too hard to hear

high pitched voices come back to me

“Here comes daddy on the 424!”

“No, I think he’s driving the 656!”

They could all tell the tractor by its unique sound

I never could.

If I had built this house

I would put that window right there

looking out onto the shop,

with a glimpse of the barn,

in touch with all the action.

Perfect for a little boy who loves his dad.

This may be true of mother’s but let me amend it for grandmothers and add with a smile (not always sincere, that would be pushing it.)

Layn and I drove into town to take Uncle Matt to work.  I decided that we both could use some strenuous exercise to help exorcise our colds.  We spent a lovely half hour paddling around in the pool (water temp. 85).  Then we went out to WalMart to do some much needed shopping.  I dislike WalMart and shopping with everything that is in me so it really has to be necessary for me to drive out there.  We did the store in record time and to treat Layn for being a good boy I bought a highly priced pumpkin to carve (into chunks to cook down for pies). 

We had no sooner gotten out of the parking lot and onto the highway when I heard what sounded like a quiet cough from the back seat. When I look in the rearview there was Layn with vomit all over the front of himself.  This is where the smile comes in.  This grandma will change the yuckiest diaper.  I will shovel manure from just about any animal on the farm.  I have been shoulder deep in pigs countless times helping them to deliver their piglets but I don’t do vomit!  I pulled over, got out and wiped him up with the only thing that I had available, the wet towel from our pool bag. 

We haven’t been home more than 30 minutes when the phone rings and it is Matthew sounding terrible.  Can he have a ride home, he feels sick.  Here goes round two of the stomach bug.  Thank God for good neighbors.  I called Suzanne our neighbor one door up and asked if she would come and sit with Layn so he doesn’t have to be wakened from his nap.  She volunteered to go get Matthew at work.  So here I sit thinking about vomit and the conversation that my dad and I had this morning.  Okay Lord, I have committed some sins in my life and I need to atone, bring it on.

Outside my window…the sun is up and there is a nice breeze blowing.  I think today is the last of the nice fall days for awhile.  Rain and cold are supposed to move in here during the middle of the day.  This fall has been an intoxicating one.  I don’t know if it is me or the season but the colors seem to have changed more gradually and the smells have been more intense.  The farmer who rents our fields started combining the corn yesterday.  Now there are ribbons of brown interspersed with the gold, it looks like a package all done up for Christmas.

I am thinking…about meanings and about the people who get so hung up on the connotative meaning of words and ignore the actual true meanings.  Life would be simpler if folks would use their dictionaries, just saying.

I am thankful for…my brothers and sister.  I thank God everyday for my parents and the beginning that they gave me.  Without the faith that was instilled in me from a young age and nurtured as I grew up I would not have been able to weather the trials and crosses that have peppered my life.

From the kitchen….there is leftover roast chicken from yesterday.  I am thinking of doing some chicken tarragon with artichoke hearts over a bed of spinach and pasta.

I am wearing…cozy sweats! It is chilly out there yet.  Today is a casual dress day though. I think Layn and I will go to the pool when we take Uncle Matt to work.  A little strenuous exercise might be just the ticket to drive this cold out of both of us.

I am creating….four brilliant research papers for the last week of the semester.  I would like to get them all written and submitted by Wednesday. We will see how that goes.

I am going…to take Matthew to work, have a swim at the pool, pick up a few things at Price Chopper and then come home for the rest of the day.

I am reading…nothing yet but my fingers are itching to pick up my new book.  Only a few more days.

I am hoping…that Ian is able to get his corn picked without getting stuck too many times, that Jason can get his beans combined successfully and that both of them get a good price when they are done.

I am hearing…the schoolbus going by on the road out front, Melissa fussing around in the kitchen, the fan running on the furnace in the basement, and the soft sighing of the wind in the cedars outside my window.

Around the house….the weekdays are too quiet.  I love the weekends.  Everyone is home and it is almost like when the kids were younger.  I like to sit in the bedroom upstairs and listen to the rumble of the boys, now men, talking in the kitchen with their father.  I can hear the sounds of MK, Melissa and Kim in the livingroom chatting about movies, the babies, and horses.  Punctuating all of that is the sound of Layn’s chatter as he plays and Savannah talking to herself as she sits in her swing.  Wrapped around all that sound are the enticing odors of roasting chicken, mashed squash and potatoes, and green beans. 

One of my favorite things….the long walk that we took after dinner last night.  Time together to talk over the day and the coming week.  Just the two of us reveling in our children and grandchildren and the joy that they bring.

A few plans for the rest of the week….finish up the research papers that I have to submit for school.  I’d like to get them all done and gone by Wed.  I have a pile of crochetting that needs to be finished up.  Two sweaters need buttons, two prayer shawls need embellishments, a headband needs to be put together, and there is a pile of mending to do.  I have to visit a young friend on Friday and take a half gallon of cookie dough ice cream to pay her for the fall ornament that she is making.  Perhaps Layn and I will carve some pumpkins also.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you…

Half a mile out and half a mile back!  He is a good walker.  Ian only had to carry him a little way (around those pesky mud puddles)

My dear blogging friend Lisa,  http://arewethereyet-davisfarmmom.blogspot.com/, graciously presented me with this lovely award.  I want to thank her very much for thinking of me and for appreciating my blog.  There are, of course, rules to follow in order to be able to post the award.  I have to post seven things about myself and then bestow this award on five blogging friends.  Posting 7 things about myself isn’t difficult but for those of you who have been here before I am afraid they won’t be new.

1. I am head over heals in love with my family.  There is not a thing that I wouldn’t do to help them become better people or happier.  The fact that that family is expanding everytime I turn around makes me terribly happy too.  I plan on spending the rest of my life working everyday to be the best mother, wife, grandmother, and person that I can be for all of them.

2.  My favorite colors are the colors of the fall.  Greens, golds, burgundies, browns, and the grey of a lowering sky are the colors that stir up the creative in me and soothe the beast as well.  The color green especially has mystical powers over me.  The greens of spring can clear away the murk and must of a long winter and freshen the spaces in my heart.  The deep greens of a forest can fill my soul and make me imagine that God is strolling right beside me.  The more sprightly greens of fall, as the color is leached out of the leaves by the cold, give me an odd sense of safety and blessing. 

3.  I am going on a trip with my husband in two weeks. Our second son, Ryan is graduating from the training he has been doing to get his green beret and he has made arrangements to fly us there to share his special day.  I rejoice and cry alternately at his generosity.  Not only will we be able to see his graduation but there is a chance that I will get to see my father too.  Only my family can possibly know what that means to me.  I had resigned myself to our good-byes two years ago and had not even dared to dream that I would ever get to see him this side of eternity.  God is so good.

4.  I wear glasses but not to see only to read with.  My arms seem to be getting a bit short lately.  This has become a bit of a joke around here.  Mom can’t keep track of her glasses since she really doesn’t need them.  It isn’t vanity really after all there are some really beautiful women who wear glasses.  My husband says he loves me with them or without (is there hidden meaning in that statement). If I could find my glasses I could read his expression and figure out if he is teasing me again.

5.  I write poetry about very strange and unusual subjects.  It’s the muse I guess but love is rarely on the menu.  I wrote a haiku about asparagus once and I just turned in one for a class about soybeans. (do we detect a common theme…food)  I am rarely inspired by emotion but frequently inspired by my stomach.  That is a sad testimony.

6.  I taught my grandson to eat some very uncommon foods (uncommon for an 18 month old).  He devours such things as asparagus, pate, tomatoes, spinache, broccoli (both cooked and raw), raw green beans, radishes, and peppers and onions. My philosophy is if you are going to beg for food from grandma’s plate you’d better not spit it out.

7. Last but not least, I drink coffee by the pot.  Never used to drink the stuff but menopause seems to have cured that.  I’m the same way about chocolate, gasp! I never touched the stuff until menopause.  Now my husband is amazed at the way I can’t seem to stay away from it.  It works for him since he has a mouth full of sweet teeth.

Now that I have revealed all, I would like to bestow this Stylish Blogger award on @amelia, @jessicafleur, @saintvi, @wildwomanofthewest, and @seedsower.  These women are some classy bloggers.