Discovering God’s Design...through the Life Cycle of a Butterfly

About a week ago we purchased a Monarch Butterfly rearing kit from a nearby Butterfly Conservatory. It’s a pretty interesting kit, includes 6 caterpillars, a milkweed plant, a cage and all you need to learn about their life cycle and how to tag them, so they can be tracked, usually as far as Mexico.

I should mention that I am usually uneasy around any type of bug or insect, so if someone had asked me if I ever saw myself with pet caterpillars, I would definitely have said, “No way”

Picture of our caterpillar on the milkweed plant in our cage, getting ready to change into a chrysalis.

I agreed to this undertaking for the benefit of my boys and the children I provide care for, especially since I have mostly boys in my care, I figured this was something they would totally get into, and I was right.

What I didn’t expect is how much I would get out of this undertaking. They are like our little pets, and now they have provided an opportunity for all us to appreciate God’s design for all His creatures.



I am sure most of you reading this know the life cycle of a butterfly, however, if you are like me, perhaps you haven’t given this process much thought. The Monarch egg hatches after 3 – 5 days, and the caterpillar will eat its egg shell. The caterpillar will shed its skin four times, this is called molting, during its 10 -14 days as a caterpillar. When the caterpillars are ready they will attach themselves with silken threads and will hang upside down in a “J” position, very soon they form a chrysalis or pupa. This pupa easily camouflages as it is the same colour as the milkweed plant. This stage will last another 10 -14 days. The butterfly will push itself out of the chrysalis and will hang upside down and it will pump fluid from its abdomen into its wings, which causes the wings to grow in size, in another 2 -3 hours the butterfly is ready to fly away!



What I marvel at is the transformation stage. How the caterpillar has everything it needs to be a caterpillar, and then somehow, instinctively knows what to do, positioning and all, in order to undergo the transformation into a chrysalis and then to a butterfly; at which time it has everything it needs to be a butterfly.

For me this is another affirmation of God’s perfect design; his awesome attention to detail!

The 4 and 5 year old boys I care for are marvelling too and their innocent questions like: How do they change? Why they change? When they take the position and hang like the letter “J” do they know what’s going to happen next? These questions led me to point them to God as well.

I am sure there are countless creatures we could examine to discover more about the mystery of God’s creative design, for now I’ll enjoy discovering it through the life cycle of a butterfly and through the eyes of a child!

Watch this awesome video for a time lapsed view of the process.

Sharing Our Dirty Laundry

Letter from Linda Gibbons...

“Though weary, love is not tired; though pressed, it is not straightened; though alarmed, it is not confounded. Love securely passes through all.” Thomas á Kempis

Greetings in the blessed name of Jesus...

I am glad you walked out your story journey. Yes, its putting out our dirty laundry but we do it so others won’t have to – their only dirty laundry will be in the diaper pail.

You know of the National Post article it was in depth (read long line of dirty laundry) the night before publication I had a few “nervous tremors” but then I said, “It’s worth it.” Too many are in let’s pretend land, we “fix it and forget it and move on” until it all comes back in spades.

When we write about our dark page others can identify with the struggle to get out of the social mess we’ve faced and our failure to take the moral high road. Our dirty laundry testimony tells them they are not alone in their situation and that abortion doesn’t fix anything and they’ll not soon forget! And moving on or getting over it is not the simple task the feminist tripe imagine. So thanks for the brave outing, may God use it to save a life and a lifetime for mother and child. Life and liberty lived in harmony.

Here is a quote from Steve Jalsevac – he’s with Campaign Life Coalition in Toronto:
“Each individual who values traditional morality and principles must take personal and courageous responsibility to act appropriately on what they know is wrong and harmful. There is no “they”. There is only you.”

Sending you a little poem I know you’ll appreciate:

His Number

While waiting as a mother-to-be,
I heard God firmly speak to me.

To cast aside the world’s device
And become a living sacrifice.

Namely, that my womb should bear
The one He planned to cradle there.

And that no humanistic creed,
Should limit my fertility.

Oh, how I wrestled with that word,
So unusual, so absurd.

Could God? Would God take control?
And what would His requirement hold?

After much debate and doubt,
I threw my own decisions out.

If God can measure earth and sea,
Can He not chart a family?

And if He names and number stars,
Then is His book is each of ours.

We therefore gave Him the right
To build the house and take the charge

A mother now with five on hand,
By faith and grace I have no plan.

But cast aside the things that kill
To let His number be fulfilled.

-Author Unknown

Peace in Christ. Love in Jesus
Linda

Christ In The Details

As I contemplate today’s gospel, John 1:45 – 51 I find myself intrigued by Nathanael’s encounter with Christ. I can only imagine what Nathanael must have felt when he met Jesus for the first time and yet Jesus seems to know him; he is struck by this and questions him, "How do you know me?"

I have learned through the years that we all have a story, especially about our personal encounter with Christ, while some of us may share a story similar to St. Paul, I am certain that for most of us, God revealed himself to us in a subtle way, just as Christ did with Nathanael.

What strikes me about this is that Jesus is in the details. He cares about every moment of our day, and he is there with us, whether we realize it or not. He cares about us enough to be aware of every moment of our lives. Jesus and Nathanael share an intimate moment, as only the two of them know what is significant about Nathanael under the fig tree. Don’t we all long to share an intimate moment like that with Christ? Isn’t it awesome to acknowledge that we can have those moments, every day?

So whether I am washing dishes, writing this post or listening to the children’s make believe stories, whenever I turn my heart and mind to my creator, He is here with me. The fact that he is such a faithful friend motivates me to be accountable for the times I give into temptation to judge or criticize those around me, at those times I know I can rely on His help as long as I am ready to co-operate with him, he’ll help me overcome the struggles I will undoubtedly face today.

Reflecting further brings more questions to mind...

Could Jesus say the same thing to me that he said to Nathanael? “There is no duplicity in her.”

Am I as faithful a friend to others, as Christ is to me? Do I pay attention to the details in the lives of those around me?

Do I respond as Nathanael did, greeting Jesus as the son of God, and King of Kings?

Picture: Saying Grace by Norman Rockwell

Favourite Devotional Prayers

I was tagged almost a week ago, by Jenna at Caring Catholic Convert to list my favorite 3 prayers and then to tag 5 other people to do the same.

Here they are:

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Holy Spirit, inspire in me
what I should think,
what I should say,
what I should leave unsaid,
what I should write,
what I should do,
and how I should act
to bring about the good of souls,
the fulfillment of my mission
and the triumph of the Kingdom of Christ.
Amen.

This provides me with a daily reminder that I can't go it alone, left to my own devices I easily say, do, think or write the wrong thing.

The Litany of Humility

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me!
From the desire of being esteemed, Lord Jesus, free me!
From the desire of being loved, ...
From the desire of being acclaimed,...
From the desire of being honoured,...
From the desire of being praised,...
From the desire of being preferred...
From the desire of being consulted...
From the desire of being approved...
From the desire of being valued,...
From the fear of being humbled, Lord Jesus, free me!
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of being dismissed...
From the fear of being rejected...
From the fear of being defamed...
From the fear of being forgotten...
From the fear of being ridiculed...
From the fear of being wronged...
From the fear of being suspected...
From resenting that my opinion is not followed...
That others will be more loved than I, Lord Jesus, make this my prayer!
That others will be esteemed more than I...
That others will increase in the opinion of the world while I diminish...
That others will be chosen while I am set aside...
That others will be praised while I am overlooked...
That others will be preferred to me in everything...

Lord Jesus, though you were God, you humbled yourself to the extreme of dying on a cross, to set an enduring example to the shame of my arrogance and vanity. Help me to learn your example and put into practice so that, by humbling myself in accordance with my lowliness here on earth, you can lift me up to rejoice in you forever in heaven. Amen.
-Cardinal Merry del Val, Secretary of State under Pope St. Pius X (!865-1930)

This one is a difficult one to say and to live, but in my struggle to attain true humility, saying this prayer itself has been humbling as many times I have recited it in tears.

Pardon Prayer

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you.
I beg your pardon for those who do not believe,
do not adore, do not hope, and do not love you. Amen.

This is a new favourite, and actually reminds me of the importance of Our Blessed Mother's role since this prayer was taught to the Sheppard children of Fatima, to whom the Blessed Mother appeared to.

Now for the hard part...who to tag:

Dorothy at Gutsy Catholic Mom
Janelle at http://wwwjanellecc.blogspot.com/
Kate at Momopoly
Stay at Home Mom at Work
Mary Saylor at http://marysayler.blogspot.com/


The rules are as follows:
Name your three most favourite Catholic devotional prayers, and explain why they're your favorites. Then tag five bloggers - give them a link, and then go and tell them they have been tagged. Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme. The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here. I'm more interested in people's favourite devotional prayers.

Twilight Untwisted: Breaking Dawn

Deforming Our Conscience

This was by far the most difficult book of the series for me to read. It took me less time to complete it because I couldn’t wait to be done with this series so I picked it up as often as I could. I prayed before and after I read it, because I was considering not completing this read. I know some may ask, “Why did you read it?”

As I mentioned in my first post on this series, Twilight Untwisted: A Catholic Mom’s Perspective I felt compelled to review this series and it has taken much discernment and prayer to make it through.

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Are we all just a bunch of hypocrites?

As per http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Hypocricy
Hypocrisy is the act of pretending or claiming to have beliefs, feelings, morals or virtues that one does not truly possess or practice.

Hypocrisy is a deliberate pretence used to convey sentiments or ideas that are false (acting as if one likes something or someone or agrees with a belief or political position when in fact they do not).

What may not be hypocrisy?

Some people sincerely regret that they cannot overcome temptation over some harmful behaviour. An example is someone who says something like, “Please never start smoking. I wish I could stop." Also, some people genuinely fail to recognize that they have character faults which they condemn in others. This is called Psychological projection. This is Self-deception rather than deliberate deception of other people. People understand vices which they are struggling to overcome or have overcome in the past. Efforts to get other people to overcome such vices may be sincere.

"Do as I say and not as I do" is not a false representation of one's own true feelings or beliefs (including moral beliefs). It is the belief that one is above or otherwise not subject to the same rules they apply to others. An adult proscribing alcohol or tobacco use, or driving or sexual behaviour to a minor is an example.

A personal example is how we can minister to engaged couples on the value of chastity and openness to life regardless of the choices we made in our past that may have been contrary to this. To emphasize that now that we see how this can strengthen marriage we want to help others make better choices than we did.

I recall a conversation with someone who was a life-long smoker, dealing with severe lung disease, when questioned if he would have quit the habit sooner he response, was I never would have started.

I’ve often thought, it truly takes a certain amount of wisdom to learn these types of lessons through the mistakes of others instead of having to learn the hard way by experiencing the hardships first hand.

So does this make us all hypocrites? Surely we have all made decisions in our past that time, wisdom and maturity have shown us that in reality the consequences far outweighed any benefit we thought we’d receive.

As we find in Matthew 7:5 “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast the mote out of your brother's eye.” The passage means that it would be ridiculous to help someone remove a splinter or a piece of sawdust from their own eye, if you yourself had an entire log in yours and hadn't first tried to remove it (i.e. attempt to resolve your own flaw).

We may not all be hypocrites, but we certainly are all sinners!
What is the difference? Well, there isn’t really a contrast here, since hypocrisy would also be a sin.

I’ll attempt to illustrate an example...
Two Catholic women, who both know their faith and try their best to live it, are very much aware that it is a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass. However, while one of them attends every Sunday, the other struggles to make this commitment and occasionally gives in to the temptation to sleep in rather than make the effort to attend one of the many Eucharistic celebrations on Sunday.
Does this make her a hypocrite? No. Has she given in to sin? Yes. The question would then rely on what she does in this state of sin, is she quick to go to confession and does she attempt to discover what the route of the problem is that keeps her away from committing to mass? (That is a whole other post: There is a great book on this topic by Mathew Pinto: Do I Have to Go? )

What does it mean then to be a hypocrite? Well in the above example we already established that the women who occasionally gives in to the temptation to forgo attending weekly mass is a sinner, she could not easily become a hypocrite, by not attempting to overcome this sin. If she remains in the state of sin, and then continues to participate fully in the Eucharistic celebration, or she attempts to pass on to her children the importance of attending mass, while she herself doesn’t regularly attend.

An example of hypocrisy is when one claims to be a Catholic, but holds beliefs that are very much contrary to the Catholic faith.

An example I saw on a bumper sticker while on vacation last week that read:
“You cannot be Catholic and be pro-choice”

Sometimes I think, when I hear the accusation that the Church is full of hypocrites, I wonder if they just mean full of sinners, which in that case they would be correct. We only have to look at the Gospels to see and understand that Christ came for sinners, what better place for us to be then where he is?

Other times, I think what they mean to say is that perhaps they believe we are being pharisaic. Do they feel that we are expecting them to live up to a standard we ourselves are not living up to? If we are all trying, all struggling and in this process we are accepting, loving and taking advantage of all the sacraments, including reconciliation, then NO, we are not being pharisaic, we are expecting that all of us are trying to live a life of virtue and when we fail, we will turn to Christ for forgiveness and a fresh slate.

I’d like to say it as we find in Timothy 1:15:
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Twilight Untwisted: Eclipse

Relativism at Its Best

There is a running theme in the 3rd book of the Twilight Series, Eclipse that shows the main character Bella torn between to loves. At first glance one may think that Bella’s predicament is that she must choose between to ‘goods’. Two good-looking, strong caring young men are willing to ‘fight’ to win her heart. Lest we forget that Bella’s choice is actually between two evils – wolf or vampire? [...]


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