Jesse Tree: The Word Made Flesh

Apse Mosaic, San Clemente, Rome. 1130.

John 1:1–18

O magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio! Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia.

O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia!

Music: O Magnum Mysterium, Victoria.

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Nativity

Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452), Nativity.

Luke 2:1–20

Music: O Come, All Ye Faithful

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Visitation

Jacques Daret. The Visitation, from Altarpiece of the Virgin. 1434-1435.

Luke 1:39–56

Music: O Emmanuel

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Annunciation

Sandro Botticelli, Cestello Annunciation. 1490.

Luke 1:26–38

Music: O Rex Gentium

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Birth of John Foretold

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo,The Baptism of Christ. c.1655.

Luke 1:5–25

Music: O Oriens

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Rebuilding of Jerusalem

Piero della Francesca, Finding of the True Cross (detail). 1452–1466.

Nehemiah 1:1–2:8, 6:15–16

Music: O Clavis David

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Exile

Rembrandt, Jeremiah Lamenting the

Destruction of Jerusalem. 1630.

Lamentations 1:1-5, 5:16-22

Music: O Radix Iesse

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Messiah Foretold

Van Gogh, Sower With Setting Sun. 1888.

Isaiah 9:1–6 

Music: O Adonai

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Call of Isaiah

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Prophet Isaiah. 1729.

Isaiah 6:1–10

Music: God, We Praise You, God, We Bless You

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: Hezekiah

Unknown, King Hezekiah. 17th century. Sankta Maria kyrka in Åhus, Sweden.

2 Kings 18:1-19:19; 32-37

Music: O Come, Divine Messiah

 

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: Elijah

Washington Allston, Elijah in the Wilderness. 1817.

I Kings 17:1-16

Music: God Has Spoken By His Prophets

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: David

Erasmus Quellin, Saul and David. 1635.

  1 Samuel 16:1-23

Music: Once in Royal David's City

Jesse Tree: Samuel

Sir Joshua Reynolds, The Infant Samuel. 1776.

1 Samuel 3:1-21, 7:1-8:22, 9:15-10:9

Music: Wake, O Wake With Tidings Thrilling

Jesse Tree: Gideon

Duccio di Buoninsegna, Wedding at Cana (detail).1308-1311.

Judges 6:1–6,11–16, 7:1–8, 16–22

Music: Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Jesse Tree: The Fall of Jericho

Jean Fouquet, The Taking of Jericho. 

c. 1452-1460.

Joshua 1:1–11, 6:1–20 

Music: When the King Shall Come Again

Jesse Tree: The Giving of the Torah

Lorenzo Monaco, Moses. c.1408.

Exodus 19:1-20:20

Music: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (verse 3)

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Passover & Exodus

Francisco de Zurbarán, Agnus Dei.1635–40.

Exodus 12:1-14:31

Music: Ad Ceonam Agni Providi (English hymn: The Lamb's High Banquet We Await)

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: Joseph in Egypt

Master of the Castello Nativity, Sts Justus and Clement Multiplying the Grain of Volterra. c.1450.

Genesis 37:12-28, 41:1-40

Music: Comfort, Comfort, O My People

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Burning Bush

Dieric Bouts the Elder, Moses and the Burning Bush. 1465-70.

Exodus 2:1–4:20

Music: Fire of God, Undying Flame

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: Jacob's Ladder

Unknown Gothic Glass Painter, Jacob with the Tree of Jesse(Freiburg Cathedral). c.1218.

Genesis 27:41-28:22

“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

Music: Terribilis Est Locus Iste

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Sacrifice of Isaac

Titian, The Sacrifice of Isaac. 1542.

Genesis 22:1-19

Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus. Tu sucipe pro animabus illis, quaram hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam, Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.	Sacrifices and prayers of praise, Lord, we offer to You. Receive them in behalf of those souls we commemorate today. And let them, Lord, pass from death to life, which was promised to Abraham and his descendants.
-Requiem Mass Offertory

Music: Magnificat, Cristóbal de Morales (1500-1553).

Also: The God of Abraham Praise

Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments here.

Jesse Tree: The Covenant

Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6

He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Music: Conditor Alme Siderum (Chant, 7th cent.)

Jesse Tree: The Flood

Jacopo Bassano, The Animals Entering Noah' Ark. 1570s.

Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17

"... the church is Noah's ark, moving through the stormy waters of sin, the place of safety into which sinners have been called. So the church is shelter from the storm, a boat tossing on the waves of a dysfunctional world. If we follow the church fathers in their development of this image, we will understand that this defensiveness, this over-and-against quality, serves finally a positive purpose. According to the narrative in the book of Genesis, once the flood waters receded, Noah eagerly and immediately let out the life that he had so carefully preserved. That microcosm of God's good order was not meant to hunker down permanently aboard the ark, but rather to flood out into the world and remake it." 

- Fr. Robert Barron, "Catholicism"

Music: Behold! The Baptist's Warning Sounds

Tune: SPIRES

2015 Patron Saints

Happy New Liturgical Year!  As has been our custom, the Church Ladies have compiled a list of patron saints for 2015, based on the Holy Father's Year of Consecrated Life.  You'll see some well known saints, but also saints from around the world and across history.  To use with your family or church group, simply print the image above and cut into slips for selection.  We wish you the best for the upcoming year, and regret that due to other obligations on our time, we can no longer draw saints for individuals.

On the first of January a new calendar year begins. On the first Sunday of Advent the new year of the Church begins. Therefore, the Saturday preceding the first Advent Sunday has something of the character of a New Year's Eve. One of the old customs is to choose a patron saint for the new year of the Church... We always choose them according to a special theme. One year, for instance, we had all the different Church Fathers; another year we chose only martyrs; then again, only saints of the new world....During the war we chose one saint of every country at war. 

  

After our first gathering around the Advent light, and the singing of the first Advent hymn, an air of expectancy spreads over the family group; now comes the moment when the mother goes around with a bowl in which are the little cards with the names of the new saints. Everybody draws a card... This saint will be invoked every morning after morning prayer. Everyone is supposed to look up and study the life story of his new friend, and some time during the coming year he will tell the family all about it...But the custom has become very dear to us, and every year it seems as if the family circle were enlarged by all those new brothers and sisters entering in and becoming known and loved by all.

 

(Maria Trapp, Around the Year with the Trapp Family)

Jesse Tree: The Fall of Man

Genesis 2:4–3:24

"O certe necessárium Adæ peccátum,

quod Christi morte delétum est!

O felix culpa,

quæ talem ac tantum méruit habére Redemptórem!"

"O truly necessary sin of Adam,

destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!

O happy fault

that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!"
-The Exsultet

Music: Adam Lay Ybounden

Jesse Tree: Creation

Giovanni di Paolo, The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise. 1445.

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Music: All Creatures of Our God and King

Jesse Tree Day One

Absolon Stumme, Hamburg Altar (The Tree of Jesse). 1499.

Isaiah 11:1–10

"The patriarch Jesse belonged to the royal family, that is why the root of Jesse signifies the lineage of kings. As to the rod, it symbolises Mary as the flower symbolises Jesus Christ."

- Hervaeus, Commentarii in Isaiam prophetam

Music: There Shall a Star, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

also: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Meatball express

I hate frying, probably a holdover from my childhood task of manning the backyard deep fryer.  But my husband loves spaghetti and meatballs, and meatballs are a handy item to make in bulk and stash in your freezer (at our house, meatballs are popular in curry, sub sandwiches, and in a savory cherry sauce for pot lucks).

When the butcher had ground beef on sale this week, I steeled myself to spend a morning frying several pounds worth of meatballs.  Even with an electric skillet, multiple batches would be required. I'm no stranger to baking meatballs- my mom used to bake meatballs and hamburger patties in cake pans lined with aluminum foil. It was certainly time saving but they tasted steamed and slightly tinny. Then I came across a suggestion from the Barefoot Contessa to bake meatballs on a parchment paper (or its silicone equivalent) lined rimmed cookie sheet- the low sides allow for heat circulation while trapping the fat.

Instead of getting greasy while falling over small children, it took me five minutes of hands on time to go from 5 lbs of raw beef to trays full of meatballs (probably even quicker if I had a cookie scoop).  Then in the oven for 30 minutes at 350, and dozens of perfectly browned meatballs (and no frying pan full of burnt meat pieces!) awaited me. And because the meatballs don't have to be flipped, you can use far less bread crumbs and get a more delicately textured product.  

I'm never frying meatballs again.

A bishop's costume (for less than $1)!

I am really happy with how my older son's All Saints Day costume turned out. I purchased about 3/4 yard of 60" decorator fabric and 10 yards assorted gold and silver satin ribbon for from our local Catholic thrift store for seventy five cents total and few common household materials and a raid of the rag bag rounded out the supply list.

The fabric had been cut in two pieces- one selvedge to selvedge piece less than half a yard long and one smaller irregular piece.  I used the larger piece to make the chasuble and the smaller for the mitre.  The chasuble was pretty easy- I cut a poncho shape, finished and hemmed the edges, and sewed on the trim in a yoke shape.  

I winged the mitre, and I wanted to document the process for future years. I overlapped two manila file folders snugly on my son's head, with the folds above each ear.  I taped the folders together, then cut a peaked shape at one end.  Then I taped the peaks together separately. Using the folder as a pattern, I cut 2 mitre shapes from each of the red decorator fabric and some scrap gold cotton for lining.  I sewed the trim on one of the red panels, then with the right sides together, sewed the red panels together at the side seams and repeated the process for the lining.  I turned the red panels right side out but left the lining right side in.  I topstitched the red and gold pieces together (one of each in each seam) to make the "wings" of the mitre. (Our copy of The Church Visible absconded to my husband's office, so I apologize for the lack of technical terms.)  I pushed in the cardboard insert, then whip-stitched the exterior and the lining together around the bottom edge and tacked the "tails" in place. 

Our parish All Saints Day party offers prizes for families who come costumed in saint groups.  The son pictured will be St Augustine of Hippo; I will be St Monica (pashmina as a headcovering, tears drawn on cheek with eyeliner); the baby will be Adeodatus (cloak); and my husband, declining to be St Ambrose, will be Patricius (bedsheet toga). 

What's the best All Saints Day costume you've seen?

Pumpkin carving (and pumpkin recipes links)

 

Tonight is pumpkin carving night at our house, with my husband and my younger son's godfather doing the honors.  Since at least two of the pumpkins are pretty small, they will probably stick to faces, but if you have more pumpkin surface area to work with, check out these saint jack-o-lanterns from Catholic Cuisine.  What a nice way to mark All Saints Day!

But!  What to do with all the leftover pumpkin (since everybody had to have their own pumpkin from the pumpkin patch)? I'm planning on serving homemade pumpkin pasta for a yummy meatless Friday dinner tomorrow night, and this slow cooker pumpkin curry is definitely on the horizon for one of our busy nights next week. Maybe I'll make some pumpkin butter. From soup to nuts, Libby's has some great pumpkin recipes to choose from, like pumpkin gouda mac and cheese, pumpkin shepherd's pie, and tantalizing pumpkin desserts (to get your fresh pumpkin into an equivalent puree, roast it).  Pumpkin steel cut oatmeal is my older son's favorite breakfast. If your sweet tooth is still not satisfied, King Arthur Flour also has some delicious recipes for pumpkin baked goods.  Bon Appetit!

A Baptism Party for 68

My younger son was baptized at the beginning of the summer, and we had quite the party to celebrate!  Sixty-eight friends and family joined us on this special day. About 2/3 of the guests were children (reflecting our parish's demographics), and I found that the menu below was both economical and popular, in addition to lending itself well to having components prepared in advance. I will definitely be repeating this menu for my children's future sacramental occasions!


The Menu
Pork/bean tacos (slow cooker recipe follows)
Chips and salsa
Lemon poppy seed cake with Meyer lemon curd glaze
Iced tea-lemonade
Eponymous vineyard wine

Notes on Quantities

1. I made four batches of the taco filling and bought ten 20 count bags of tortillas and three 2 cup bags of grated cheddar cheese. I borrowed extra slow cookers from neighbors, and made the taco filling the previous day.  On the day of the baptism, I kept it warm in the oven in foil pans while we were at church. I had a batch and a half of taco filling (which froze well) and two and a half packages of tortillas remaining.  More cheese would probably have been eaten. The Sriracha bottle also took a hit.
2. I bought a gigantic bag of chips and a gallon of salsa. The kids preferred using the taco filling as a dip, so another bag of chips (and more of the filling and salsa) probably would have been eaten.
3. I made one batch of the cake (using two boxes of yellow cake mix) and a double batch of the lemon curd in advance; I froze the former.  The tiered cake was elegant, but no one else felt comfortable cutting into it. Maybe I would try a sheet cake next time. Everyone got a piece, but not a scrap of cake was left, so I would make an extra half batch of cake.
4. I purchased two packages of Lipton iced tea-lemonade mix (each making 10 quarts) and borrowed a beverage dispenser from a friend. The blend was extremely popular and having one beverage kept things simple.  Keeping the dispenser filled was also an easy task to delegate with a mix (versus using a homemade concentrate).
5. A few families brought cookies and a salad, which were very much appreciated.
6. A magnum of wine and a couple bottles of champagne were sufficient.  
7. I bought the paper goods on post Easter clearance, opting for solid pastels.

Pork and Bean Tacos
Each batch makes 10-12 burritos (or more smaller tacos)
3 cups dried pinto beans, soaked overnight and drained
2 lb pork loin, seared (do not sub pork shoulder, as it will be greasy)
4 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T salt
2 T chipotle
1 T cumin
1 t oregano
lemon or lime juice to taste
1 lb bag of frozen corn
Optional garnish: chopped cilantro and/or scallions

Combine all ingredients but lemon juice and corn in slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.  Shred meat and stir in remaining ingredients.

When the swallows return to Capistrano

Mission San Juan Capistrano

 A little reading from today's saint and about the mission that bears his name...

 Those who are called to the table of the Lord must glow with the brightness that comes from the good example of a praiseworthy and blameless life. They must completely remove from their lives the filth and uncleanness of vice. Their upright lives must make them like the salt of the earth for themselves and for the rest of mankind...So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord.(
Mirror of the Clergyby Saint John of Capistrano)

There’s a figure in all this...for the condition of American Catholicism. Its long history, certainly, from the Spanish colonial beginnings on. But, most of all, San Juan Capistrano seems an image for recent decades—because sometime around 1970, the leaders of the Catholic Church in America took a stick and knocked down all the swallows’ nests...And it wasn’t until the swallows had been chased away that anyone seemed to realize how much the Church itself needed them, darting around the chapels and flitting through the cathedrals. They provided beauty, and eccentricity, and life. What they did, really, was provide Catholicism to the Catholic Church in America, and none of the multimedia Masses and liturgical extravaganzas in the years since—none of the decoy nests and artificial puddles—has managed to call them home. (Joseph Bottum, First Things)

Image source

A paper doll to call your own

Check out a blast from the past!  These paper dolls of Father Peter and an altar boy (circa 1943) were used by Catholic Extension to teach children about the Mass and Benediction.  With eight pages of cut outs, including a pop-up altar with candlesticks, there's a lot to keep little hands busy.

Image source

Fall Gleaning

 She said, "Pray, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers." (Ruth 2, 7)

Ma and Laura picked the tomatoes...even the smallest green tomatoes.  There were enough ripe tomatoes to make almost a gallon of preserves...She sliced [the green tomatoes] and cooked them with salt, pepper, vinegar, and spices.  "That's almost two quarts of green tomato pickle.  Even if it's only our first garden on the sod and nothing could grow well, these pickles will be a treat with baked beans this winter," Ma gloated. (The Long Winter)

While at a pumpkin patch with my sons this weekend, I commented to the farm owner that fruit remained on the vine in the tomato patch.  She encouraged me to glean the vines, and I ended up with an unexpected bounty of cherry tomatoes, ripe tomatoes, and green tomatoes.  I slow roasted the grape tomatoes, made American Masala's "better than ketchup" tomato chutney from the ripe tomatoes, and salsa verde from the green tomatoes. 

Subbing green tomatoes for tomatillos has been a game changer for me, as my rural grocery store doesn't always have the latter and I am partial to green salsa.  Do you have a lot of green tomatoes left in your garden? Here are some recipe ideas so they don't go to waste.
 

From Today's Gospel

The Divine Sower

The seed is the word of God.

Hint of the day: double duty cookie press

Deviled eggs- an economical meatless Friday hors d'ouevres popular with many.  But I hate washing out decorating bags (especially for a Sriracha filling) and I've never had much luck with substituting parchment paper or baggies.  My aluminum cookie press came to the rescue!  Just a few quick turns, and my deviled egg tray was completed and cleanup made easy.

Hint of the day: lay flat to dry

 

As the days are getting warmer, I have been washing winter clothes and putting them away for next season.   But I ran out of space on my drying rack for garments that need to dry flat.  Fortunately,  my patio set came to the rescue! Children's garments would fit on the chair seats.

From the archives

and worth re-reading :

Why Catholics Give the Best Parties

Verily Magazine

In case you haven't heard of it, Verily Magazine is an online publication focusing on style, relationships, culture and lifestyle, all aimed at young women and all pleasing to read from a Catholic point of view. The newest edition of Verily's online magazine was in my inbox this morning and I was able to paste it in below.  You'll want to subscribe for yourself and get your friends to do so as well.

The Church Ladies heartily approve!  (You can sign up to subscribe here.)

KEEP IT SIMPLE: PACKING FOR A WEEKEND GETAWAY Packing for a weekend trip can be tough. You just never know what you'll need! Kat of The Refined Woman is here to save the day with her easy packing tips. Read more... WHAT TO TELL A GUY WHEN YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED Art by Nima Salimi Is it ok to tell a guy you have a boyfriend when really you're just not interested? Author Elise Italiano answers this question, plus advice on how to let a man down respectfully. Read more... FOUR WAYS TO STAY SHARP AFTER GIVING BIRTH Art by Lucy O Photography New moms have heard advice on how to get fit, eat healthy, and keep their marriages strong, but there's not a lot of advice out there on how to keep your brain sharp. Mom and blogger Nicole offers four ways to keep your mind afloat. Read more... STYLE HOW TO: WEAR BOTANICAL PRINTS Art by Aaron Lee Craig Stylist and blogger Brynn of Being Elliott looks print perfect in botanicals. She's here to help us pull off the look ourselves this summer. Read more... 5 THINGS EVERY DAUGHTER SHOULD BE TAUGHT Art by Andrea Rose In light of Father's Day, we're sharing the five things every daughter needs to hear. Rule number five: You can be delicate and strong all at once. Read more... MONICA LEWINSKY AND OUR CULTURE OF HUMILIATION Art via The Incredible Tide Can we change our culture if it punishes women more than men for the same crimes? Read more...

Copyright © 2014 Verily Magazine, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in on our website. Our mailing address is: Verily Magazine 54 W 40th St New York, NY 10018 Add us to your address book Want to change the types of emails you receive from Verily? Update subscription preferences Don't want to hear from Verily anymore? Unsubscribe from this list