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In a valiant attempt to switch up our meatless meals I decided to go with salmon! I am being very bold today because not only am I serving fish that is typically not eaten in this house, but we also never eat Thai food. Bring on the spice! This is an incredibly easy meal; I was able to whip it up in 30 minutes after working all day so that makes me and my feet very happy. There are several variations on this but I went with the less "fishy" route and the easiest clean up. Winning! Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15-18 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Yields: 4-6 servings Assemble the Team! 1/2 cup sweet Chili Sauce 2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce 2 cloves garlic, minced (do as I say not as I do in the ingredients picture...unless you want a little extra kick) 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tbsp lemon juice 3/4 tsp ground ginger Pinch of salt 2 lbs salmon 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped for garnish 2 tbsps chopped cilantro for garnish 2 tbsps chopped green onion for garnish Let's prepare the sauce together! While we are at it, go ahead and preheat the oven to 375. Then get yourself a bowl and measure out 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce. Pour in 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce. Then sprinkle in that garlicky goodness! The directions say 2, go with that... we just really like garlic around here. Add in 3/4 teaspoon ginger, if you are using freshly grated then you can add up to 1 tablespoon. Pour in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lime can also be used here but we had lemon on hand. To give it a little kick toss in 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. If you really like your food spicy you can also add 1 teaspoon Sriracha. Not even going to lie, I made a little Sriracha dipping sauce to go with mine on the side. Place tin foil on a baking sheet and lay your salmon on top. Sprinkle a little kosher salt and then get your sauce mixture. Note about the skin! A lot of people think that they need to remove it before cooking, this is a no no! Keep the skin on if you are grilling, baking, or pan searing so that you have that nice protective layer while you're cooking. It helps to prevent against overcooking and if cooked properly to a crisp it can add a little extra flavor. Pour or spoon the sauce over the salmon and make sure it's completely covered! Fold up the edges of your foil and give it a little scrunch or fold at the top to completely cover and seal the salmon. Your oven should be preheated now so place it in and bake until its cooked through. Remember, salmon should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Depending on your oven the cook time can range from 15-18 minutes but to be sure and not overcook, check it after 15 minutes. While that's cooking we can prepare the garnish. I did a really delicious mixture of cilantro, green onions, and peanuts! At this point I had to cook a bit longer than 15 minutes, but I watched closely and with the help of a food thermometer it has reached the perfect temperature. **This is an optional step but to get the top caramelized you can broil it for about 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, brush the top of the fillet with sweet chili sauce and broil for another 5 minutes. Take off the platter and top with the peanuts, green onion, and cilantro! I served this with a side of baked asparagus and rolls, it was so good we went back for seconds. Give it a try and let me know what you think, this one is for sure going into our meatless Friday meal collection. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days.

Happy Marian Feast Day! Our little tradition for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is to make a caramel treat, it's a delicious start to get us thinking. It's also a fun play on words and a real Starbucks ordering debate! I am constantly being corrected by the barista for the way I order anything caramel flavored. How do you say it? Car-mel or Car-a-mel? Either way you say it when you're making this treat will be fine, but there's only one way to say it when referring to the apparition of Our Lady on Mount Carmel! :) A devotion to her is one that is close to my heart, not long after starting college I decided to wear the brown scapular. But, if you would like to learn more about it you will have to scroll down passed the recipe. From personal experience, I don't like too much talking before the recipe because it usually means a lot of scrolling to get what I came for. With that said, let's get going! Prep Time: 5 Minutes Bake Time: 10-12 Minutes Yields: 24 Cookies Assemble the Gang Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (homemade or store bought) Fun Sized Snickers Bag Caramel Drizzle (squirt bottle is easiest) Cooking Spray Muffin Tin (for mini or full size muffins) Grease your tin with any cooking spray of your choice. I may or may not know how to aim... I used a mini muffin tin, which you may not be able to tell from this picture. I prefer this size because the bite size snickers fit perfectly in the center! Take a piece of your cookie dough and press it down with your thumb in the center. Then shape the cookie dough around the sides to form a cup. Try your best to make the cup even around all sides so that it bakes evenly. Repeat that until your entire tin is full, then treat yourself to a little bite of leftover cookie dough. Sneaky sneaky! Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes! The cookie dough will rise so when you take it out and you have lost your cup shape, don't fret, they will fall back down. Unwrap the bite size snickers and place them in the center of each cup. When you have placed a chocolate in each cookie you are going to pop those babies back into the oven for another minute or two depending on how melted you want them. This is my little special step! I did one minute, just enough for the chocolate to soften and form to the bottom of the cookie cup. Y'all, my mouth is already watering! Let the cookies cool a bit before trying to take them out of the muffin tin. Then put them on a paper plate or paper towel to drizzle the caramel sauce. This makes for a much easier clean up. After you have drizzled them all, give the cookies a few minutes to set! Serve them warm and gooey, or chill them in the fridge. I love cold candy bars, but either way, your family is going to love this treat! Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Pray for Us! Amen! The "Our Lady of Mt. Carmel" Scoop! Mt. Carmel, a holy mountain in northern Israel, was home to the Carmelite order. The monastics who lived there had a deep devotion to Our Lady with a chapel dedicated to her. In fact, St. Teresa of Avila called Carmel, "the Order of the Virgin," because of their love and celebration of her. After political and religious conflict in the 13th century, the Carmelites left and fled to Europe where they established monasteries in northern England. It was here that the Carmelite, St. Simon Stock, received the Brown Scapular from Our Lady. With it, Mary gave her promises for those that wear the scapular with devotion. The Scapular is a sacramental that symbolizes her protection to those that consecrate themselves to it in a special way. For more information on the Brown Scapular, read these resources! Brown Scapular Information The Powerful Scapular and Its Perennial Promises A Silent Devotion Let's say this prayer together! “O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity. O Star of the Sea, help and protect us. Show us that you are our Mother. Amen.” Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more resources on building Catholic tradition, check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to make our day to day life more joyful.

It's MICHAELMAS Day, also known as the Feast of the Archangels! The St. Michael's Lent ends today so if you powered through that Novena, you are amazing! I have a little bit about the feast day below the recipe (because raise your hand if you hate having to scroll past a ton of text to get to a recipe). Celebrating St. Michael and the archangels is a must right?! We integrated the St. Michael prayer into our marriage from the very beginning and I cannot recommend doing that with your family enough. He is there fighting our spiritual battles alongside us and I have always felt his presence in challenging times. I encourage you to find a place for him in your home. Alright now for the recipe, which is what you are here for! Why Blackberries? I'm part Irish so this traditional folk tale brings a little bit of my own culture into our home. It is said that when Satan was kicked out of Heaven that he landed in a blackberry patch! He returns every year to curse and spit on the fruit that he landed on, making them sour so they cannot be picked after the feast of Michaelmas. This story has inspired a yearly tradition of a blackberry dessert! This year I went with blackberry cobbler and this easy recipe was taken from The Pioneer Woman. Prep Time: 20 minutes Bake Time: 1:00 hour Yields: 8 servings Ingredients 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) 1 1/4 c. sugar 1 c. self rising flour 1 c. milk 2 c. fresh blackberries (two small containers will suffice) There is no easier blackberry cobbler recipe online, this was perfect for making in the middle of the week. However, it is also pretty non-traditional in the sense that it is more cakey but will still give you the cobbled texture on top which is where this dessert gets its name. Before you get going, take your 1/2 cup of butter and place it in a small glass bowl to melt in the microwave. While that is melting, you can pour 1 cup of sugar into a glass mixing bowl. Measure out 1 cup of self rising flour and add that to your bowl of sugar. Now reach for your milk! Pour in 1 cup of milk like so! I took this own action shot by myself without spilling milk all over the place. Look out world, my left hand is going places. Whisk those three ingredients together until your mixture is nice and smooth. Now grab my favorite ingredient, the butter, and pour it into your well-whisked wet mixture. Careful, the glass might still be hot. Take any left over butter and give your baking dish a very good coating! Go on and get in there! (That's what my dad would say when he wanted me to get something "real good." East Texas girl over here. Pour the batter into your baking dish! Don't forget to rinse your blackberries and pat dry before starting. Once you've checked that off your list you will measure out two cups and evenly distribute them throughout the mixture. I'm going to make a confession, I didn't pour those blackberries out of the measuring cup. I started to and they all ended up in one corner of the baking dish. I picked them up by the hand and plopped them in there myself. Do what you will! Measure out the remainder of the required sugar, 1/4 cup, and sprinkle evenly over the top. Reminds me of that oldie but goodie by the Archies. "Sugar sugar, ah honey honey! You are my candy girl and you've got me wanting you!" Stuck in your head now isn't it? :) Pop in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Per recommendation, I baked this for 50 minutes, took it out, and sprinkled it with another teaspoon of sugar then put it back in to bake for the last 10 minutes. Let me just say... do this! Serve hot with ice cream and a cup of coffee and just try to tell me you aren't having a good feast day! If you would like to know a tad more about this feast day, I invite you to keep on reading. This feast also follows the Fall Ember Days that we just observed. And fun fact, did you know that today was a holy day of obligation until the 18th century? I vote we add it back to the list, I'm all about reestablishing a more fervent and celebratory Catholicism. A little bit about St. Michael, he is the archangel who fought against Lucifer, the fallen angel, and cast him out of Heaven. In Scott Hahn's book "Lamb’s Supper," he touches on angels and the spiritual warfare that goes on with little to no awareness on our part. I was intrigued by this point, that there is a battle for our souls which the angels of God are fighting for us and WITH us. Start asking today for their intercession and celebrate the many supernatural things they do on our behalf. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen. Hope that you are having a blessed feast of St. Michael and the archangels. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more resources on building Catholic tradition, check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to make our day to day life more joyful.

As some of you know, I have a love for St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. She came into my life through an unexpected devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which my husband and I enthroned our home to just after getting married. As I came to learn more about the Sacred Heart, this saint of course took a special place in my spiritual life as she is the woman we should thank for this increased awareness to the immense love of Jesus. And in addition to that, she just so happens to be the confirmation saint of my mother in law! There are rarely coincidences when it comes to our faith, don't you think? In honor of her feast day I am making a tasty French inspired lunch, Spinach Bacon Quiche. I like this recipe because it's very light and can be served with a little arugula salad, veggies, or even a side soup. Pull out your ingredients and lets get cookin'! Prep Time: 15 minutes Bake Time: 35-45 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes to 1 hour Servings: 8-10 Ingredients 1. 1 - 9 inch pie crust, I had one from scratch that was in my freezer but feel free to grab one pre-made from the grocery story. Also why you don't see mine pictured. 2. 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella 3. 6 large eggs 4. 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 5. 2 cups chopped fresh spinach 6. 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms 7. 6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped 8. Salt and pepper to taste Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and lay your pie crust into your pie dish. You can keep the crust from shrinking by putting dry beans or rice on top of parchment paper and keep it there for about 8-10 minutes. While that is resting, let's give our other ingredients some attention! Cook your bacon in a skillet and dice it up so that it will be ready for later. Crack 6 eggs into a bowl! Measure out 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream and pour that into the bowl of eggs. Add a little salt and pepper to taste, no measuring needed. Shakey, shakey! Now whisk that together thoroughly to make sure that your eggs are completely blended into the mixture. If you used the rice or dry beans trick, remove that now so we can dump in the other ingredients. Chop 2 cups of fresh spinach and toss it evenly into the pie crust. Grab the ingredient from Heaven, what might also be popularly known as bacon, and sprinkle that on top of the spinach. Chop 2 cups of fresh mushroom and add that on top of the bacon. You may be thinking, what's up with this arrangement? My husband does not do mushrooms but I love them, so half for me and half for him! Now for the chhheeessseee! Add in 1 1/2 cups mozzarella. Some people do this first, but I do it before the wet ingredients so that the cheesy goodness spreads throughout the center. This is beauty. Pour your egg mixture over the top, easy cheesy! If you'd like you can do another sprinkle of salt and pepper, then slide it into the oven for 35-45 minutes. You will know it is ready when the eggs are set. You can test this by doing one of two, very professional, things. You can poke it with a toothpick and pull it out slowly to see if there is any wet egg texture remaining, or you can give it a little shake to see how it moves. If it's finished, it really shouldn't move all that much. There you have it, a beautiful, French lunch to serve for the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Let it cool before slicing and while you do that you can read to or with your family the 12 promises of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary for those devoted to the Sacred Heart. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. I will establish peace in their families. I will console them in all their troubles. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy. Tepid souls shall become fervent. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Prayer Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, your life of prayer and devotion to Jesus was that of a prolonged discussion with an intimate friend. Help us to dialogue with Jesus like you, knowing Him and loving Him in the hiddenness of the tabernacle. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more resources on building Catholic tradition, check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to make our day to day life more joyful.

The holiday time, as it is with many families, is a time for baking and trying new foods. I grew up with a dad that would make all kinds of appetizers, sides, main courses, desserts, and barely even look at a recipe. It really was remarkable to watch, and even better to eat! It was also a time to gather around in the kitchen to talk, laugh, share a drink, and work together on a beautiful meal. I strive to emulate that in my own home and find myself seeking to try out new recipes around holiday and feast day times of year. That's where this one came about! My husband and I both love pumpkin, and while Starbucks may get rid of it at a certain time of the year, we keep it going through Christmas. It's a yearly tradition to make our own puree which goes towards pumpkin pies and other treats like this one. Around October we had a home blessing and gathering with friends where we served this and it was a big hit. I think it's the perfect combination of savory and sweet served with a cinnamon pita chip and cup of coffee, delicious! Let's get started. Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes Yields: 8 servings What You Need! 1 c. pumpkin puree (store bought or homemade) 1 (15-oz.) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/2 c. tahini 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish 1/2 tsp. paprika, plus more for garnish Kosher salt Pita chips, for serving Take out a large food processor and then we will begin unloading everything! Add 1 cup of pumpkin puree to the food processor. You can pick up a can from the grocery store or you can make your own. We usually make our own for pumpkin pies and use the extra for other fun recipes like this. If you would like to make your own, you can see my tutorial for that right here. Perfect Pumpkin Puree Next up will be to pour in the 15 oz can of chickpeas. Make sure that you drain and dab them dry before tossing them in. Measure out 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and add that to the pumpkin puree and chickpeas. No blending yet, just keep adding the ingredients! Then pour in 1/2 cup of tahini. Measure out 2 tbsps olive oil and add that in with the rest of the gang. Moment of honesty, I think it was at this point that I became a little uncertain that I was going to serve this at the party we were preparing this for but trust me when I say, this was the most complimented snack that we served. Scoop out 1 chipotle pepper from the adobo sauce and toss it in. Lastly, we will add in the spices and give this a good ole' mixing. Measure out 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and sprinkle that holiday cheer. Add in 1/2 tsp paprika to give it a little pizzazz, as if the chipotle pepper won't do that! Give the salt a little shakey shake and that will be the last of our ingredients until we add garnish. Close the lid and pulse until it is smooth. If you scroll down I will show you a couple of pictures, if you find you are having a hard time achieving this you can add a little bit of water 1 tbsp at a time. This is the almost there stage, well blended but not yet as smooth as we want it so keep going! Now we are finished! Take a cinnamon pita chip and give it a try, because ya know, we certainly don't want to serve our guests something that isn't good. 😉 And of course, you deserve to enjoy a few bites before it goes in the blink of an eye. Don't mind me, I'll just be over here enjoying this little treat, until my husband tells me to stop. I have no self control. 😂 Let's talk garnish, but first spoon the hummus into a nice serving bowl. Then I took a baking spatula and smoothed the top in a circular motion. Crumble a corner of a cinnamon pita chip into the center and dust the top with paprika, cinnamon, and if you have nutmeg add that too. Perfection! Plate the hummus next to the pita chips, toss in a spoon for easy serving, and there you have it. We will definitely be making this again and I hope that you like it as much as we did. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday or Instagram @Steffani_HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days.

This year, in addition to our regular Christmas cookie and pie baking, I decided to throw in some reindeer bait. My family used to do little goodies like this when I was in school because it's easy and inexpensive to make a lot of. Adapting this is also really simple because you can put in whatever yummy snacks you like. However you decide to toss it together, it's right on theme. I always appreciate themed snacks, feels more intentional and is just a nice touch to hosting and gifting seasonal foods. As a heads up, when you make this be sure to give yourself plenty of time to refrigerate before delivering them to others. I bagged these in Ziplock bags, which you can kick up a notch by cutting off the ziplock strip and tying with a beautiful ribbon or curly string. If you aren't able to deliver them right away just bag them as you desire and place them back in the fridge so the chocolate stays chilled and the snack sticks together. Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes Yields: 8-10 servings Ingredients 3 cups corn Chex 2 cups mini pretzels 2 cups mini marshmallows 1 cup M&Ms (red and green are preferable, but I already had a mixed bag on hand) 11 oz white baking chocolate (go with 2 bags if you like a lot of chocolate) Red and green sprinkles for topping In a large glass bowl combine all of your ingredients. Start with pouring in 3 cups corn Chex. Next up, 2 cups mini pretzels! Adding to the Chex and pretzels, toss in 2 cups mini marshmallows. If you can get red and green M&Ms more power to you! I had peanut butter M&Ms which I took from my little refrigerator stash of snacks and went with that. Do what you like, it's Christmas! Moment of truth, once I got to this stage I was a little nervous because the last time I attempted to melt chocolate I did so poorly that it somehow became powder. This didn't just happen to me once, but TWO times! Yes, I should have just done it on the stove top, which probably would have been easier, but I went with trying to melt it in the microwave because I was being a lazy bones. I am happy to say that I survived the chocolate melting processes of Christmas 2021 and I have regained a small sense of confidence. For those of you with chocolate melting trauma like me, this is what it will look like after about 1 1/2 minutes. Oh... I'm the only one... 😂 Continue warming and stirring in 15-30 second intervals until it's really smooth like this. Pour the entire bowl over the mixture. Note: if you like a lot of chocolate I would recommend doing two bags. I like it to be more moderate so I only used one. Mix using a spatula until everything is fully coated with the melted chocolate. Pour out over a lined baking sheet, it's okay if some of it is clumped together, it's supposed to be like that. Top with red and green sprinkles to your heart's content. Lastly, you are going to let this refrigerate for at least an hour or until it's firm. And there you have it, reindeer bait, or if you're a little more edgy I've heard people call it reindeer poop! Bag it Tag it and send it off! Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday or Instagram @Steffani_HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days. God love you! Steffani

In my home, black-eyed peas and cabbage was a New Year family tradition. After staying up all night to watch the ball drop and set off fireworks we would wake up late and make this simple yet delicious meal. My dad taught me how to make it, but the crockpot was my own rendition. It basically goes like this, toss everything that I told you to purchase into a crockpot, stir, and sit back for 4 hours. It also makes going to Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God easier. By the time we come home we have lunch ready! Use this blessing from the USCCB to bless your family and the new year together before eating. On New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, the household gathers at the table or at the Christmas tree or manger scene. Many people make New Year’s Day a day of prayer for peace. All make the sign of the cross. The leader begins: Let us praise the Lord of days and seasons and years, saying: Glory to God in the highest! R/. And peace to his people on earth! The leader may use these or similar words to introduce the blessing: Our lives are made of days and nights, of seasons and years, for we are part of a universe of suns and moons and planets. We mark ends and we make beginnings and, in all, we praise God for the grace and mercy that fill our days. Then the Scripture is read, Book of Genesis 1:14-19: Listen to the words of the Book of Genesis: God said: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.” And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day. (The family’s Bible may be used for an alternate reading such as Psalm 90:1-4.) Reader: The Word of the Lord. R/. Thanks be to God. After a time of silence, members of the household offer prayers of thanksgiving for the past year, and of intercession for the year to come. On January 1, it may be appropriate to conclude these prayers with the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in Part VII: Litanies) since this is the solemn feast of Mary, Mother of God. In conclusion, all join hands for the Lord’s Prayer. Then the leader continues: Let us now pray for God’s blessing in the new year. After a short silence, parents may place their hands on their children in blessing as the leader says: Remember us, O God; from age to age be our comforter. You have given us the wonder of time, blessings in days and nights, seasons and years. Bless your children at the turning of the year and fill the months ahead with the bright hope that is ours in the coming of Christ. You are our God, living and reigning, forever and ever. R/. Amen. Another prayer for peace may be said: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. R/. Amen. —Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi The leader says: Let us bless the Lord. All respond, making the sign of the cross: Thanks be to God. The prayer may conclude with the singing of a Christmas carol. It's also a time to begin thinking about what we hope to attain as we begin anew. While your slow cooker is going, you can read this related post about the Catholic meaning of a resolution with tips and tricks for keeping them. Click the button! Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Total Time: 4 hours Yields: 6 servings Meet the Team! 1 lb little smokies, cut each one in half 4 cans black-eyed peas with jalapeños 1/2 medium onion, chopped 4 clove garlic, minced 1/2 medium cabbage head, thinly sliced 3 cups chicken broth 1 ham hock (not pictured) Get your ingredients ready by chopping your onion and mincing the garlic. Pour the three cans of black-eyed peas into the crockpot. Note: Don't drain the black-eyed peas! Add in 1/2 chopped medium onion and 4 cloves minced garlic. Note: I am missing a picture, but this would be the time to add the ham hock into the crockpot. Just toss the entire thing in there. This is going to give your black-eyed peas and cabbage some massive flavor, enjoy! Thinly slice 1/2 of a medium head of cabbage and if you haven't already, cut your little smokies in half. Put the cabbage and little smokies into the crockpot with the rest of your ingredients. The last thing you need to do before taking it easy after a long night of partying, is pour in 3 cups of chicken broth. Mix it all together so that the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Cook on high for 4 hours occasionally coming back to stir. Spoon a heaping portion into a bowl and sprinkle with cajun seasoning. I highly recommend serving with cornbread! This can be made a heartier by serving over a bed of rice and if your family likes vegetables, feel free to get creative with diced bell peppers, tomatoes, and jalapeños. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday or Instagram @Steffani_HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days.

A Brief 2020 Takeaway Like most people, I have been contemplating the routine end of the year goals and resolutions that we all feel inclined to make. If there is anything 2020 taught me it's that the only thing you can be sure of is God's infinite love and mercy. Everything else is fleeting and should be counted as a blessing only to help us pursue a deeper relationship with Our Lord, if it doesn't do that it isn't worth entertaining. That is what I believe, now only to adapt my attitude and actions... it takes practice. That isn't to say that we can't enjoy the temporal things that we have or what we earn, but that they should be held in balance. With that perspective in mind, I feel even more compelled this year to pick a resolution that pertains to spiritual matters. These types of resolutions tend to help me to keep in mind that what I have committed to doing is not just for my own good, but also for a greater good. I learned after years of failing to uphold resolutions that if something is simply just for me, then I'm less motived to maintain it. I think in some way we can all be fickle like that and experts at making excuses, I am speaking mostly of myself of course. The Catholic Meaning of a Resolution I've also been reflecting on the term resolution, it's interesting that it is widely used only one time a year at New Years, but as Catholics we use this every time we go to the Sacrament of Penance. As a theological term, it means that we have a firm determination to carry into effect whatever it is that we have decided must be done. Given that we do this within the context of the Sacrament means that we have prayerfully reflected on said thing and arrived at this point with conversion. I have resolved to do or not do x, y, or z; of course we do our utmost but in our frailty we may falter and have to renew that resolve again in Confession. This is the wisdom and love of Christ in the sacraments, He understands our human nature and the need we have to renew that resolve over and over again. We can imitate this in our New Year's resolutions by first and foremost going to Reconciliation more because this is where we are strengthened; and in a lesser way by knowing that if you drop the ball on whatever it is you promised yourself for 2021, you can always begin again! A Virtue a Year Several years ago I decided that I was going to pick a virtue to work on every 6 months to a year. The virtue would be chosen through prayerful reflection or something that I felt that God kept bringing up in my life. One year it was joy, another year it was modesty, the next it was patience, you get the idea. I did this without anyone's knowledge and then told my husband who recalled this quote from the Imitation of Christ. "If we would overcome one fault a year, we would soon be perfect." (Chapter 11) I took this as confirmation that my way to sanctification would be through working on a virtue a year, and God please grant me many years. A year gives me plenty of time to practice, fail, perfect, fail, and eventually make it a habit. 3 Simple Tips for Keeping Your Resolution If your resolution is really important to you, tell a trusted friend, while accountability partners may feel awkward they will inevitably provide you with support. Pick one or two tangible things that you can remember and keep track of. It's okay to not be perfect, keep going, maybe reassess your goals as the year goes on. 10 Ideas for Catholic New Year's Resolutions! Choose a virtue to work on for the entire year. Pick a saint to get to know. Start a Bible challenge. Create a routine for going to adoration or reconciliation more often. Do a daily examen. Join a group or start volunteering at Church. Give back to the Church, start tithing. Pick a Marian prayer to help grow closer to the Blessed Mother. Spend five minutes in silence every day, set a timer! Read that spiritual book you've been telling yourself you would get to. Bonus Idea: Go an extra day a week or a month to Mass. Bonus BONUS Idea: Add a Catholic tradition into your domestic church to do with family or friends. I hope and pray that regardless of what the year brings, that your relationship with Jesus is brought into greater depths. In the midst of all that 2020 brought our family, I can honestly say that I have never felt a greater closeness with Christ. If you picked one of the things off of this list, tell me about it! I'd love to hear what you chose and why, hopefully we can journey to Heaven together. As for me, I will be carrying on with a new virtue, a new saint, and five minutes of silence every day. Keep celebrating Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Every year I share these stories because of the love and friendship I have for St. Therese of Lisieux. She was my first "spiritual friend" and walked with me through many difficult times in my life and I promised her that I would share this novena as far and wide as I could. When I taught Theology I would do this with my students and print the novena for them to carry in their planner or backpack as a physical reminder to pray always. My husband and I now continue this together with the intercession of being blessed with children, but we prayed this long before we were married. Let me tell you some rose receiving experiences I have had with this novena. Two days ago, September 22nd, the novena to St. Therese of Lisieux began and it ends the day before her feast day which is October 1st. I have done this novena every year for over 8 years and anytime I am feeling unrest in my heart. Very few prayers are said to end with a tangible response but this one does, St. Therese giving you a rose from the Heavenly garden. I have prayed it many times and no, I don't always receive a rose, but there were several times that I did. I share this reminding my friends that this isn't some magical experience, it's a relationship of intercessory prayer with the blessing of graces. When I met my now husband over 9 years ago I prayed this novena in discernment of our dating. I was in and our of poor relationships and wanted to date someone that I could share my faith with, someone that I could truly discern with. I prayed a novena to St. Therese asking her to give me clarity and often prayed with her asking her intercession on this matter. The day my now husband asked me out I was praying in the chapel of St. Basil at our university when he came in with a rose that he picked from a garden along the way. He sat down, handed it to me, and asked me to be his girlfriend but had no idea that I had been praying the novena. (Read the crazy connection at the end too!) The second time happened while we were dating, again without his knowledge of me praying this novena. We dated for a long time and I was beginning to feel restless. I felt like I was so ready for marriage but it was not happening! Looking back I see that was for our good, but things can get so confusing in the midst of it. I always had this intuition that he was meant to be my husband, but I was afraid that maybe it taking so long meant something else. I prayed a novena to St. Therese again and kept her close to me in prayer. Towards the end of the novena he came to see me and brought with him a rose. I asked him where he got it and he said while walking over someone just gave it to him and he knew he had to give it to me. The last time I prayed this novena and received a rose it was for our engagement. I knew we were getting close and asked St. Therese through her novena to give me affirmation that this was God's will, that getting married would be pleasing to God. The day my husband proposed he was supposed to ask at the parish we spent many years going to Mass together. We went to confession, Mass, and sat out in the courtyard talking, and just as he was about to ask we were kicked out because they needed to lock up! I thought, oh my Lord, you've got to be kidding me. Thinking on his toes, and without knowing about all my prayer, he took me back to the rose garden at the university chapel where he initially asked me to be his girlfriend and where I once received that initial rose. I sat amongst some early blooms and he asked me to be his wife. Like I said, the St. Therese Rose Novena isn't some magical prayer! It's a prayer that you say because you love God and you want to follow the little way of St. Therese, doing small things with great love. There were also many times where I have said the novena but did not receive a rose, and that is okay because it doesn't mean that my prayer wasn't heard! I would encourage you to say this novena too, maybe not to see if you'll get a physical rose, although that would be a great blessing, but so that you can know the sweet friendship of St. Therese. Walking closer to God with her has brought my life lots of joy and many blessings. And if not St. Therese, then find your Heavenly friend to connect with, and share their story with others.

Shortly after my husband proposed, we came to one another with the desire to have a Betrothal Ceremony. For me, it was something that I knew I wanted to do even before we got engaged. We dated longer than I would say that couples typically do, about 6 years, and during that time we were very intentional about our discernment. Engagement is of course a time to continue that discernment but by the time he asked, my heart was already set! However, we brought the idea to one another and took time to pray and discern before committing to it. When we did agree to move forward with the process, we couldn't wait to share it with others and extend an invitation. However, I knew that choosing a Betrothal Ceremony wasn't common practice and when we spoke about it with others we received curious looks. Some would ask, "So you're getting married early?" Others would say, "Oh! This is like a smaller ceremony before the big event." I quickly realized that this was an opportunity to discuss the ancient Rite of a Betrothal and share with others why we found this to be an important part of our engagement process. What is a Betrothal Ceremony? Betrothals go back to the early Church and have roots that extend all the way to Jewish tradition. While not intended for the same type of purchase or contractual exchange as it was in Jewish custom, it is a promise that the couple will be giving themselves to one another in marriage. Technically speaking, a betrothal is the giving of one’s troth, a solemn pledge to give one’s true fidelity and promise to marry. This isn't just an engagement ceremony, but a binding agreement to marry each other on a specific date. If you have a moment, read the words of the Solemn Rite of Betrothal, they are beautiful. In the name of the Lord, I, Steffani Aquila, do declare that, in the form and manner wherein thou has promised thyself unto me, do declare and affirm that I will one day bind and oblige myself unto thee, and will take thee as my husband. And all that thou has pledged. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary We decided on September 8th, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For us, this had to happen on a Marian feast day to honor her betrothal to St. Joseph and to continue our devotion to her. “ Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 1:18) Our engagement period was dedicated to her and it only seemed right that we follow her footsteps in this regard. I wore a white and light blue dress to remind us of Mary on her birthday, and the imitation of her and the Holy Family that we were so intentionally seeking. Sanctifying Our Engagement We chose this for our engagement because we both wanted to bless this short 9 months of preparation and seek God's graces. I knew from spending many years as an event planner that this time would go by quickly and be filled with lots of hype, distractions, obligations, and preparation. It happens to everyone, and it's inevitable! But as Catholics we know that the most important thing is the Sacrament of Marriage, not the details of the party which can demandingly present themselves. Taking myself out of "event planning mode" was the most fruitful thing I did during this brief engagement. It gave me the mental, spiritual, and emotional space that I needed to elevate our relationship from dating to preparing for a life long marriage. That didn't just happen, it took work on our part! We also were fully aware that good preparation would not just happen by our own merit, but through God's grace and mercy so we sought to intensify our relationship with God. We decided on several concrete actions to be able to attain this and build a routine that would hopefully pour out into our marriage. We would start by praying together more intentionally throughout the week. We went to confession together every two weeks (we were already attending weekly Mass together). We would have a betrothal ceremony. A Fringe Benefit In addition to that came a benefit that we still reminisce about three years later. A celebration of our engagement that had lots of loved ones from our community! We still had an engagement party and of course a full wedding and reception, but there were so many people dear to us that it was impossible to invite them all to those things. By having a Betrothal Ceremony, we were able to extend an invitation to all our family, friends, and members of the parish community that my husband was working at during that time. An absolutely lovely couple from the parish offered us the gift of a reception to follow where we played some fun games, had light bites, and were able to visit with everyone. They presented us with handmade gifts that we still have in our home, and a picture of Mary and Joseph's betrothal which hangs in our room. Consider this in your engagement preparations, or if you know someone that is engaged, suggest it to them. Engagement can become such a race to the finish line, but it was honestly one of my favorite seasons in life, I want everyone to feel this way. It comes and goes so quickly, but is filled with a sweetness that should be savored. Remember that Betrothal Ceremonies are not intended to be "one more thing," but a point in time where you intentionally dedicate your relationship to each other and God. It can be done simply and beautifully, with or without a large crowd, with or without a reception. The purpose is to help you more fully prepare for the Sacrament, and give you the graces to do just that!

The Tapering Off of Tradition Growing up my family had a lot of traditions that revolved around food, activities, games, movies, gatherings, etc. Admittedly they weren't Catholic traditions, but they brought the family together no less and provided me with many experiences and memories of joy. I loved these opportunities to bake & deliver cookies during the holidays, barricade the street for yearly neighborhood block parties, or make holiday crafts. In fact, not only did I love these things, I longed for them. They were things to look forward to out of the typical/ordinary day to be around others in festivity and happiness. As I got older these traditions changed and in fact most of them just tapered off. Life became overwhelmingly mundane, and as I matured I intuitively saw that time for festivity became dictated, for myself and the masses, by societal norms. Holidays are regulated by big name brands, work schedules, and whatever limitations our very utilitarian world decides for that year. I knew what I had inevitably yielded to by default of going with the culture, but I didn't know how to get out of it. It felt like tradition was tailored to children, and when you're not a child anymore there just isn't much to celebrate unless you have children. It just seemed like there wasn't much that could be done until I was married and had children to pass tradition down to. Through my teenage years and and college I observed the usual holidays, but there was no other communal engagement for celebrating life or faith in the way my heart desired. A New Experience of Tradition At the end of college I met my husband and was introduced to his family who also had a wealth of traditions, much of them specifically Catholic. My worldview was broadened as I learned about a culture very different from my own and deepened my understanding of how to live out the faith. We not only spent many holidays with them, but also feast days which I had never seen celebrated before. I could see that I didn't have to wait once every several months to take delight in a holiday! Feast days provided us with more opportunities to come together and gave us the ability celebrate and strive to be like the saints. When we got engaged we immediately discussed tradition because we both valued tradition for its own sake! We knew that we had to take our favorites from both families as a collaboration of culture and heritage. Looking back I can say that I am so glad we did this, and by the way, it's never too late to have that conversation because it has given our domestic church a reason to look outside of itself. In other words, we don't just go home to only focus on each other or our routine, but liturgical living has given us reason to look to God and the Church in our every day life. It was clear that some of the traditions we wanted to continue from both families would need to be adapted to fit our family and much of this we were able to do with our own creativity. This is the nature of tradition by the way, to be passed down while also organically changed or developed to fit a new generation. However, there were some feast days and holiday traditions that we wanted to create for ourselves and like the rest of the world does when in need, I took to Google. Who is Liturgical Living for? By doing this I learned that there was a catchy little phrase for building tradition based on the liturgical calendar called, "liturgical living." This essentially means living out the liturgical year of the Church in your home. I found so many amazing resources, lists upon lists... and they were all for children. The more I looked for ideas for adults, the more disappointed I became. I thought to myself, where is all of the Catholic joy and festivity of the liturgical year for married couples, engaged couples, communities, parishes, teenagers, college students, or single people? I thought back to the pictures and writings from centuries ago when Catholic festivals crowded the streets with dancing, singing, food, and friendship. I couldn't help but feel gypped! We no longer live in societies that are fueled with jubilation over Christ, Mary, or the saints. I believe that even the Church herself struggles sometimes to communicate these things beyond the Sunday liturgy and into daily life. Then it hit me, I realized that what I experienced in a small way in my own life, the tapering off of tradition, was a part of a larger scale struggle. Therein lies the misconception about liturgical living, the idea that living out the liturgical year is primarily concerned with providing Catholic educational resources and experiences for children. Liturgical living should include this, but it should also engage everyone at varying ages and stages of life. Tradition is transcendental in that we echo in our daily lives the Great Feast that is going on perpetually in Heaven! That begins as an interior disposition of the heart and then manifests itself in celebration. Festivity is the physical expression of our love and rejoicing for God and His infinite goodness. I say this not to devalue what is there for children! I whole heartedly and fundamentally believe that children should be taught in the faith not only in CCE, but in the home! Before I got my Masters in Theology I earned a degree in Education with a specialization in EC-6 and I taught elementary children for many years. As a teacher I worked every day to do that in tangible, tactile, and experiential ways for my students as well. We have a duty to provide them with the richness of our faith! However, our society is in desperate need of young people, adults, and whole families who are joyous about life, the conquering of sin and death by Our Lord, and the gift of our faith. I worry that if we don't collectively begin to revive our Catholic and cultural traditions as a community, then the same thing will inevitably happen as I experienced in my youth. At some point the liturgical living which pertains strictly to children will be out grown and there will be no tradition, for tradition's sake! The other thing I noticed was that tradition itself was being defined by the activities that we do, the exterior manifestation. When instead it should be understood as the intrinsic love of God that sparks joy and happiness, this presupposes the former. Young or Old, Be Festive Out of Love for God I remember discussing this with a friend who expressed to me that at first she was confused by the way my husband and I lived liturgically, or carried out tradition. She explained, "you don't have children so it's not like there is anything to pass on, but now I realize this is about something more." It's true, there is a deeper meaning to what we have chosen. We love God and each other so we delight in praising Him while on the path to Heaven! It is a gift to celebrate, pray, and enjoy each other and our community out of a shared love for Christ and His Church. This is a beautiful way of living that I hope everyone comes to find, especially as adults that are very much conditioned to focused their lives primarily on work. Lest we forget, we don't live to work, we work so that you can live to give God glory! As Josef Pieper states, "A festival is essentially a phenomenon of wealth; not, to be sure, the wealth of money, but of existential richness." In addition to this, carrying on tradition means that we are memorializing something that still stands as relevant to our lives today. The highest and most principle event being the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus which we don't just seek to celebrate on Easter, but every Sunday. Additionally, we celebrate saints, Our Lady, and life as a whole which was created as good by God and affirmed in its goodness by us. We are festive because we love and affirm God and our created life! We are festive because we want to live a long married life that is full of rejoicing! We are festive here because we unite ourselves with the festivity in Heaven! We are festive because we want to respond to God's love with love! Practical Tips for Liturgical Living as Adults Practically speaking, we do this in a variety of ways, many of which include our community. It is my heart's desire to share this with our friends and family, so I host as much as I possibly can. I believe that festivity should happen in community and maybe one day so many people will want to join us that we will fill the streets again. Food is a great place to start! When there is a special feast day invite your friends over for traditional foods, set your table, and play music that fits the celebration. For us, building tradition as a married couple revolves around some of our favorite things like cooking together! I had so much fun doing this that I decided to start providing picture by picture feast day recipes so that families could have as much fun in the kitchen as we do. The beauty of this is that anyone can make this a tradition, engaged couples, families with kids coming back on college break, retired couples, you name it! Given that liturgical living is an extension of the liturgy itself, prayer must be a vital component. We spend time praying together as couple every day, and we invite our friends to pray with us too! We are very blessed to have musically talented friends so we ask them to chant or sing with us if people are over for a Catholic celebration. This can happen in ways big and small such as hosting people for an evening/afternoon of prayer, praying together as a family before bed, setting up a quick Zoom call with friends, or texting in prayer intentions. Get creative, think about your family's needs and the needs of your immediate community, then collaborate. Activities can also be fun ways to integrate or build tradition. Our family loves games, this last Christmas we integrated a few hilarious minute to win it activities since my husband's siblings are all older! If you have a bold group of friends you could hold an All Hallows' Eve costume contest at your place. Perhaps you host an adult beverage "drinking with the saints" inspired evening. We love brewing beer, I bought an awesome at home kit several years ago, and we made our own beer for the feast of St. Benedict. Sometimes it's less tied to a specific saint and we just have friends over to hang out on a Solemnity and simply being together becomes the tradition! The point is that you do what works, and then you repeat it and let it naturally grow and change as it continues on in the years to come. I share all of this in retrospect and out of reflection for where God has called me to in this moment and to encourage you to bring back experiences of tradition to your family life. As Venerable Fulton Sheen says, "Life is worth living!" You were not created for the workaday with a couple of days break to get you rested and ready to go back to the workaday. You were created to experience life and happiness with God now and for eternity. Continuing tradition is a call for everyone to be engaged in these fundamental principles that we sometimes write off with a list of excuses. We were meant for abundant lives and in building tradition and festivity I have found this out of love for Our Lord. Be festive Catholics for the good of your life, for the sake of tradition, and for the glory of God!

The Reminder to Pray in Thanksgiving of the Eucharist The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is this coming weekend and the 1st Communions are rolling. This last weekend I went to Mass at a near by parish, not knowing that the first communicants would be there, and the priest did something at the end of Mass that really stood out to me. He came down from the altar and asked the children to say thank you to Jesus for giving us His body and blood, and sharing that with us in the Eucharist. Father then went on to instruct them to say a prayer of thanksgiving with him for Jesus' sacrifice. This small gesture actually made a big impact on me because I do not remember being taught to pray after communion, or after Mass. It wasn't until the beginning of college that I became cognizant of the need to pray after Mass when I noticed other people doing that. I remember initially thinking, why are they all praying after Mass when we just spent the entirety of Mass in prayer? Then I realized in a more personal way that it is important to give thanks and praise to God for receiving Him within the intimacy of our hearts and minds. And it is equally important to take a moment to just rest in the reality that we have been physically united with Christ. Prayer Is at the Heart of Liturgy and Liturgical Living Over the years I have collected a few go-to prayers either in preparation of receiving communion or after. Some of these I say by myself, others I say every Mass with my husband. I mention that because I think it should be said that we cannot have a prayer life with our family if we don't have one on our own. At the center of liturgical living and building Catholic tradition in the home is a prayer life rooted in the faith. Liturgy is the divine worship of the Church, so to live liturgically is to extend the liturgy into your day to day life. The heart of worship is our offering and prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God! Personal Prayer Builds Family Prayer It took many years to cultivate that for myself, and with all honesty, I used to think that having a prayer life didn't really matter all that much. I felt I knew God by learning about Him in school, I experienced him with other Catholics, and I was very involved in the life of the Church. Essentially, even writing that list I see, that I was making a lot of excuses for myself. I didn't realize that what I was lacking was a personal, intimate relationship with Christ. Me + Jesus I share that because I couldn't give to others what I didn't have. And when I got married, I realized that the prayer life between us would be lacking, if I didn't have one first. That's not to say that the two can't develop simultaneously, personal prayer and marital prayer, but they both have to exist! My Personal Favs So, in honor of Corpus Christ, the solemnity that focuses our attention on the source and summit of our faith, I want to spotlight the prayers that helped build my relationship with Christ during Communion. Prayers Before Communion O my God, help me to make a good Communion. Mary, my mother, pray to Jesus for me. All you holy Angels and saints, pray for me. My dear Angel Guardian, lead me to the altar of God. A Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas After Communion I thank You, Lord, Almighty Father, Everlasting God, for having been pleased, through no merit of mine, but of Your great mercy alone, to feed me, a sinner, and Your unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that this Holy Communion may not be for my judgment and condemnation, but for my pardon and salvation. Let this Holy Communion be to me an armor of faith and a shield of good will, a cleansing of all vices, and a rooting out of all evil desires. May it increase love and patience, humility and obedience, and all virtues. May it be a firm defense against the evil designs of all my visible and invisible enemies, a perfect quieting of all the desires of soul and body. May this Holy Communion bring about a perfect union with You, the one true God, and at last enable me to reach eternal bliss when You will call me. I pray that You bring me, a sinner, to the indescribable Feast where You, with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, are to Your saints true light, full blessedness, everlasting joy, and perfect happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. Anima Christi Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O Good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds hide me. Permit me not to be separated from you. From the wicked foe, defend me. At the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you That with your saints I may praise you For ever and ever. Amen. Meditation of St. Therese O how sweet it is, the first kiss of Jesus to my soul. Yes, it is a kiss of love. I feel I am loved, and I too say: “I love Thee, I give myself to Thee forever!” Jesus asks nothing of me, demands no sacrifice. Already for a long time past, He and I have watched and understood each other. This day our meeting is no longer a simple look but a fusion. No longer are we two. I have disappeared as the drop of water which loses itself in the depths of the ocean. Jesus alone remains: The Master, the King. Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary O most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of gentleness and mercy, I, a miserable and unworthy sinner, fly to thy protection with every sentiment of humility and love; and I implore of thy loving kindness that thou wouldst vouchsafe graciously to be near me, and all who throughout the whole Church are to receive the Body and Blood of thy Son this day, even as thou wert near thy sweetest Son as He hung bleeding on the Cross. Aided by thy gracious help, may we worthily approach this august Sacrament. Amen. Everyone has their go-to prayers, I'm sure you do too, leave a comment and share your favorites. See You in the Eucharist! His Girl Sunday