Motherhood

My Adoration Story

All of the Adoration Materials are now available! Take advantage of the special launch deals, running now through 2-11-20!

https://catholicsprouts.com/adoration

Hey there-

Maybe you’ve noticed that I’ve gotten a little heavy-handed with the “BRING YOUR FAMILY TO ADORATION” message I’ve been preaching lately. Maybe you’re on board, or maybe you’re thinking “yeah right” every time an email or Instagram Post from me pops up.

If that’s the case, I just want you to know that I get it. Bringing the kids to adoration is intimidating.

The funny thing about the internet is that you aren’t ever able to see someone else entirely. Perhaps my little life and my family and my faith seem above average to you. Perhaps also you assume that I joyfully chose to keep a Holy Hour and that, even though it’s hard, I never hesitate to spend that time with Jesus.

If you thought either of these things you are most definitely wrong. We are, without a doubt, average on all points, and I did not choose to keep a weekly Holy Hour.

My sister made me do it.

Here is our Adoration Story.

This is the beautiful chapel of the Little Sisters of the Lamb in Kansas City, Kansas (go visit if you can). And yes, that is Jesus up on the altar.

My sister is a fully-professed member of this community (meaning she is a nun), and through the grace of God three years ago she was sent to the community’s monastery in Kansans City. At the time, we happened to be living just outside of Kansas City. And so, without asking me, my sister signed me up for a weekly Holy Hour.

I remember when she told me she said something like, “I think it will be so beautiful! To have the kids there, playing before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

I told her she was crazy. Nun or not, she was still my little sister, and on this point, she was being just stupid. My kids were crazy. Some of them are downright wild! Before this, I had “stopped by” adoration a few times with the kids, but that was it.

A whole hour, every week? Um, no. Impossible.

But the thing about nuns, especially when they are your sister, is that they can be really pushy.

She forced me to give try it, and if it really was impossible, she told me, they would find someone else to cover the hour. To make matters worse, Bill, my husband, was on my sister’s side. “It’ll be an opportunity to see your sister each week,” he reminded me, “and it could be really good for the kids.”

Easy for him to say, I told him. He isn’t going to be the one wrestling the kids in there for an hour each week.

But I submitted, and I went.

That first Wednesday at 9:30am I showed up with a huge bag of coloring books, crayons, picture books, a wooden nativity set, a knot of rosaries, 300 peg dolls, snacks and water bottles. I dropped everything in a heap on the floor and knelt down as the kids settled in. “What are we supposed to do?” they asked me. I pointed to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and said, “Say hi to Jesus.”

And that’s where it all started. We all looked up at Jesus and said “Hi”. And then the silence came in around us, for just a second.

I remember following the gaze of my little Bernadette, four at the time, as she looked at Jesus up on the altar. It was incredible to see her seeing Jesus there in the Blessed Sacrament. For a second I was transfixed. Then the baby pushed her way up onto my lap, the big bag of stuff got dumped out, and someone slipped and fell.

That first hour we spent with Jesus passed like every hour since.

I kneel as kids moved in and out of my arms. I encourage them to kneel too, to speak quietly, to talk to Jesus in their minds. They did these things, for a while. Sometimes they color or draw a picture for Jesus. Sometimes the older ones write a note to Him. There is usually a tussle or argument over something, on a number of occasions we have actually broken things, I’ve had to deal with all sorts of behavior issues while in the chapel, but, in the end, we always come back to Jesus. Before we leave we spend the last minute kneeling together saying thank you to Jesus, regardless of how the hour went.

Making it through that first hour was a victory. Not going to lie, I was WAITING for the next adorer to show up–and I still wait anxiously!--but I walked out, even that first day, knowing that we had done something special.

Keeping a Holy Hour with little kids is HARD, but it is also very special. Maybe the fact that it is hard is what makes it so special? I’m not sure, but I do know that taking my crew to Adoration is the most special thing I have done as a mother.

Needless to say, I kept the hour.

The next week I showed up with WAY LESS STUFF and no snack. I also laid down some ground rules before we walked in. There were still issues, and we were all ready to leave when the next adorer showed up, but once again we made it, and it was special.

I wish I could say more than that–that it was special–but I’m not sure what else there is to say.

That hour–full of kids and noise and mess–was a gift. A gift to a God that has already given me everything. We were there for Him. It is a joy to know that I was able to give Him something, imperfect and small, but a gift nonetheless.

And because God is so good, He has poured gifts on me in return.

I am still such an imperfect Mom, but I find it easier to pray for my children and to see God in them. I am still such an imperfect wife, but even when I fail him in so many ways, I know I can give my husband the gift of prayer each week as I kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. And, I am still such an imperfect daughter of the Most High God, but spending time with Him each week has reminded me of His faithfulness, His mercy and His determination to be close to me.

In short, that hour with the Lord as my children fall in and out of prayer has changed me utterly and completely.

Because of my own experiences, I believe so strongly that adoration is for everyone, even families with little ones. Bring the crabby, wild kids. Bring the nursing babies and moody big kids. Bring them all and give the Lord an hour.

He doesn’t ask us to be perfect before we come. He will work on us while we are there.

your sister in the small things,

Nancy

All of the Adoration Materials are now available! Take advantage of the special launch deals, running now through 2-11-20!

https://catholicsprouts.com/adoration

My Obsessive Focus for 2020

by Nancy Bandzuch · 2 Comments

All of the Adoration Materials are now available! Take advantage of the special launch deals, running now through 2-11-20!

https://catholicsprouts.com/adoration

Hey there-

So, I’m not the type of person that picks a word or starts some crazy diet at the start of the year. I’ve also learned the hard way that setting too many goals during this phase of life (babies and littles) is just not very realistic. Most of my day I have zero control over what happens…and what doesn’t.

But this year I did feel called to set one big whopper of a goal.

And here it is:

Help more families get to Adoration.

That’s it. That is my 2020 goal.

Help more families get to Eucharistic Adoration.

Families of all types.

Even families with little kids, and families with busy big kids, and families where both parents work, and families where the parents are new to the faith, and families where the marriage is less than perfect or even non-existent.

All families. Even your family.

Because Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, is there for everyone. Children, parents, sinners. Everyone.

This year I plan to commit myself to help families get to adoration.

I tell you this knowing full well just how hard it is to get to Adoration with the kids.

I have been keeping a weekly Holy Hour with the kids for over 3 years now. You would think that after 3 years my kids would be little angels walking into Adoration each week. You might think that…but you’d be wrong. SO WRONG!

My oldest 2 are getting used to Adoration and even look forward to it, but that’s where the good behavior ends.

I am an impatient, crabby mom most days. My three-year-old, JoJo, is a typical 3-year-old, swinging between sugar-sweet and viper. Dominic, now 5, is outspokenly against Adoration screaming as we walk in each week, “I don’t want to go in! No!” He walks in, reluctantly, after I give him the eye… And Georgie spends the hour either nursing nonstop or working really hard to get trapped under a pew.

It can be rough, but you know what? It’s so worth it, and not just because of what happens during that hour.

Keeping a weekly adoration hour has radically transformed my life!

Here is just a short list of what that weekly Holy Hour has helped me realize and live out:

Jesus is real and present, waiting for me (literally!) to stop by and see Him. If I make an appointment with Him, nothing should keep me from getting there!
My children are a gift from Him, and I need to bring them back to Him. There is no better way to pray directly for their needs than with them in Adoration.
Children can be quiet and prayerful if given the opportunity (maybe not for a whole hour, but for a little while!).
If I really believe that this is Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, then, OF COURSE, I would bring my children to Him!
Other adorers (generally) love when children come into the chapel. And if they don’t love it, they should!
Jesus made a point of welcoming children when He was on Earth. So obviously, He wants them in Adoration.

There is so much more I could say here. I honestly trace all good things in my life back to time spent in Adoration. It has played that key of a roll for our family, in this ministry…in everything.

I can trace it ALL back to adoration.

Okay, let’s just pause here and take a breath.

The last thing I want to do is make you feel bad about not going to adoration more often. Shame is not a step on the path to holiness. I also don’t want to make it seem like the only way to adore is to spend a full hour each week in Adoration.

First of all, you don’t have to go for a full hour. A 10-minute stop-by is a great place to start. And if your parish doesn’t offer Adoration, pray in front of the tabernacle. He is inside! And then when you are done, bug your priest to start Adoration 😉

Besides these little pep-talks, I have been working hard to create little things that might help you get to Adoration as a family.

First up-The Adoration Patch.

Kids are encouraged to earn an Adoration Patch by spending a TOTAL of 2 hours adoring Jesus (again, ideally in Adoration, but in front of the tabernacle works as well if you don’t have access to Adoration). Reach 2 hours in any way you like, 10 minutes at a time, or all at once, whatever. Then mail this completed sheet to me and I’ll send you a patch.

100% free, for everyone, no exception, as usual.

ANNNNNDDD….HERE IS MY BIG SECRET….

I am SO EXCITED to share a few projects I have been working on to help children understand the amazing experience of going to Adoration. These books were created to be used either IN Adoration or BEFORE Adoration to help prepare children for what they will experience.

First up: An Adoration Board Book for Toddlers:

A sturdy board book that will help children connect Jesus in the monstrance to Jesus they know from the Bible.

Can’t wait to show you the inside!!

And next, Coloring with the Saints Adoration Book for Little Kids:

But that’s not it!

I am also excited to offer an ADORATION GUIDE FOR PARENTS and a CHILD’S ADORATION JOURNAL.

That’s right–there is something for EVERYONE in the family. Something that will help them go deeper and love Jesus better while in Eucharistic Adoration.

My own children have been “product testing” these books this last month (meaning we took them with to our Holy Hour) and it has been a joy to see their little minds grasp just a little bit more completely the incredible thing that we are doing when we go to Adoration.

In fact, last week my 8-year-old read the board book to the little ones in Adoration and I heard an audible “oh!” at one point, as a child put together the stories of Jesus they know and love with Jesus in the monstrance.

And then my heart burst. Literally.

I am working really hard to get these books ready for you, and plan to make them available (along with some other goodies for people that order early!) on Monday, February 3rd!

But for now, I encourage you to do just one thing: pull out your planner and find 15 minutes for your family to visit Jesus. Maybe right after school pickup? Maybe in the morning before drop-off? Maybe Saturday morning on your way out of town?

Find that time, make an appointment with Jesus and remain determined not to stand Him up, no matter what.

You remain in my daily prayers.

Your sister in the small things,

Nancy

All of the Adoration Materials are now available! Take advantage of the special launch deals, running now through 2-11-20!

https://catholicsprouts.com/adoration

J1ST 100: Advent Book Study on Interior Freedom Pt 2

by Nancy Bandzuch · Leave a Comment

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Hey Friends!

Happy Fourth Week of Advent! Today we are wrapping up our book study on Interior Freedom, and sticking with the theme of ‘we can only control what is within ourselves,’ Nancy is without a voice this week so it’s just me, Katie.

This episode focuses on the last third of the book (that first section was so huge!!). And for me, the two words that kept popping out were HOPE and IDENTITY, so they are the focus of the episode as well.

Fr. Jacques Philippe defines hope as, “the virtue of people who know they are infinitely weak and easily broken and rely firmly on God with utter trust… To learn hope, we have to pass through impoverishment.” (p100-101) On page 105, he goes on to say, “lacking hope, we don’t really believe God can make us happy, and so we construct our happiness out of covetousness and lust.” And doesn’t that capture the frantic-ness of “preparation for Christmas?” Our to-do list triples in length, we spend money we may not have (or don’t really need to), say yes to more events and outtings than is our norm (possibly even our comfort level) and why? Because it’s Baby Jesus’ birthday and He wants us to or are we afraid that that Good News isn’t enough?

I think the way the world prepares for Christmas (consumerism, greed, busy-ness, etc.) can also be linked to our need for Identity, the other theme for today. We desperately want others to like us, or at least others to ‘see’ us in some favorable light… This feeds our Social Media addiction (or maybe just mine?). Doing and making things, decorating in certain ways, so we can get that perfect picture worthy of a hundred likes and comments. As modern moms, we are more isolated than any other generation of mothers before us. If we haven’t worked hard to create and maintain our ‘village,’ we’re without one, so we put that time into an online presence which doesn’t actually fulfill our need for friendship and camaraderie. In the words of Fr. Philippe:

One of man’s deepest needs is the need for identity… we are trying to satisfy a need for being by having… or confuse being with doing. (p 121)

It is extremely dangerous to identify ourselves with the spiritual good we are able to do. (123)

Humans beings are more than the sum of the good they can accomplish. They are children of God, whether they do good or cannot yet manage to do anything… this is why humility, spiritual poverty is so precious: it locates our identity securely in the one place where it will be safe from all harm. If our treasure is in God, no one can take it from us. (p124)

So this Advent, my challenge to you is this: some time between Now and Christmas, sit silently for just 5 minutes, holding the creche in your hands, and ask Him “What do you see when you look at me?” Then ask Him to fill you with Hope and Awe at the mystery of the Incarnation.

Also: reach out to a real life friend and make plans for sometime in the next month (if you don’t have something on the calendar already). Maybe it’s just me (introvert and HSP), but in winter, I tend to ‘hibernate,’ despite my need for some (even just a little) interaction with other mommas. This hibernation tends to cause a resurgence of my ‘media addiction,’ which feeds the Mom-Guilt-Monster, so… I am going to be proactive and make some real life plans for interaction and I challenge you to do the same.

To close: I want to share a few of the quotes I shared in this episode that I haven’t already mentioned above. Anyone of these would be amazing to take before the Blessed Sacrament and ‘chew’ on. Here we go:

(on being Hopeful)

Pure-hearted people are not so much those free of all faults and all wounds, as those who put all their hope in God and are certain his promises will be fulfilled. The pure-hearted expect everything from God; they hope in him and in him alone. (p110)

(On gracefully receiving more than we could ever return)

It doesn’t come naturally to us to give freely… nor do we find it easy to receive freely… receiving freely means trusting the giver, with open hearts, It also means abandoning ourselves and it requires a lot of humility…. We commit a fault against this free giving and receiving in our relationship with God or with other people every time we make the good we’ve done into an excuse for claiming a right, demanding gratitude or recompense… learning to give and receive freely requires a long laborious process of re-educating our minds, which have been conditioned by thousands of years of struggle for survival. (p119)

(Words of Christ to an anonymous Spanish spiritual writer)

“Doesn’t God reveal himself as your Abba? Have not I, the Son, taken on your condition at its most wretched? Doesn’t the Paraclete defend you? Believe all this with heart and soul and it will fill you with trust and confidence…. God pitches his tent to dwell with YOU. God is incarnation. God’s new name is Emmanuel, God With Us: God with YOUR reality. Open yourself to it without fear.“

Your sisters in the small things,

Nancy and Katie

PS: If you still haven’t bought the book and this series sparked your interest, it’s available right here.

St. Paul’s School of the Word: Lectio Divina for the Family

by Nancy Bandzuch · Leave a Comment

Today a new study is available for your families! It is called St. Paul’s School of the Word and it will teach your families a very simple, yet effective, method of Lectio Divina, or Divine Reading, that will teach your family to PRAY through scripture. It is based on the Letters of St. Paul, and you can grab a copy for just $9. Grab a copy and get all of the details right here: https://catholicsprouts.com/stpaul-school-of-word.

So, I started out this year with a couple of missions:

1. Help families pray the Rosary.

2. Help families fall in love with Eucharistic Adoration.

3. Help families pray through Scripture.

If you have been following along, you might have noticed that I have been picking away at these missions, although I still have a ways to go. Although it might not look like it, my third mission, to help families pray through Scripture, was the one that gave me the most trouble.

It’s funny because that might seem like the easiest, right? We all have a Bible in our homes…or at least we have super easy access to one online. We all know how to read…and yet how many of us know how to PRAY THROUGH SCRIPTURE? Honestly, I am still learning how to do this, and I struggle to quiet myself and slow down enough to actually do it.

So, if I have a hard time praying through scripture than how in the world will I ever teach my children to do this?

I alone could not have cracked this riddle. But luckily I hang out with smarter, more faithful people than myself. And through them, I have learned about the SCHOOL OF THE WORD.

What is the world is a SCHOOL OF THE WORD?

Quick story-

So, about six months ago I was hanging out with the Little Sisters of the Lamb in Kansas City on a Saturday. Each Saturday they host something called Open Table where everyone is welcome to come and share a meal. People from ALL WALKS OF LIFE show up, and it is such a beautiful way to spend an afternoon. After the meal they “break open the Word” by reading the Gospel for the next day. Sometimes there is a skit or a song, and other times they split into two groups, adults and children, to pray and discuss.

This Saturday a boatload of kids were there, including my five. The sisters bravely took all of the kids into the chapel and announced that they were going to mendicate (from the Latin, meaning to chew on) the Gospel. In other words, they expected the kids to sit and prayerfully work their way through the Gospel reading.

I was sitting in the back nursing George, who was a new-born at the time, and I privately thought, ‘ha! Good luck sisters! Those kids are going to sit still for about 1 minute!’

But, as usual, I was wrong. SO WRONG!

The sisters used the Telephone Game (remember that one, from when you were a kid?) to chew on the Gospel, only no whispering. The first person read a small part of the verse to the next person, who turned and repeated it to the next, and so on. On and on the verse went around the circle and even Josie, my ornery three-year-old, was repeating and REMEMBERING the verses. They did this with each verse of the Gospel and when it was done, even Dominic, my wild five-year-old, understood the reading and proudly declared his favorite verse.

And what’s even more amazing–I was able to meditate on the Gospel and understand it better too! Each time the little verse was repeated and pass around the circle I heard it just a little bit more clearly. Gradually the entire reading was opened up to me in a whole new way and I marveled that I had never really understood this reading before.

So, that is what the school of the Word is–an environment where YOU AND YOUR KIDS can interact with and pray through Scripture.

ST PAUL’S SCHOOL OF THE WORD

The new study, St. Paul’s School of the Word, uses this exact practice to explore Scripture: the Telephone game. This Study contains 55 separate readings, all taken from the second readings we hear at mass.

St. Paul is one of the most important writers in Human History, and he played such a big role in establishing our Church. We can learn so much from his letters to the early Church if we just slow down and listen to them.

Here is an example of one day of the study:

The day begins with the scripture. First, read the entire scripture, then play the telephone game with the scripture, stopping to have the family repeat each time you run into a dot. Only the parent needs the book, or even the ability to read, as everyone else is simply repeating.

Then, share as a family. What did this say to you? What was your favorite verse or word and why?

Next, read through the Lesson, and then say the prayer as a family.

Finally, color and paste your “token” onto the Risen Lord Poster (all included in the digital pack you get with the booklet) to both count down the days of the study and really lock a few of the key words from this reading into the minds and hearts of your family.

As I said, there are 55 different days included in this study, so it is longer and is meant to be used in any way that you like! Make it part of your homeschool day. Use it only a couple of times a week over the course of Ordinary Time, use just the first 24 days to earn your SCRIPTURE PATCH, or plow through it 55 days in a row!

I just really hope and pray that this study teaches your family an easy, effective and beautiful way to PRAY through Scripture.

Because helping families pray through Scripture is a mission of mine, I am offering the PHYSICAL booklet for just $9 this week. The booklet comes with all of the digital materials as well. You can also grab a DIGITAL booklet for $8, which also comes with all of the digital materials.

Also, since Advent is right around the corner, I am offering a Scripture Study Combo which includes the St. Paul Study as well as the Jesse Tree Advent Devotional for families. You can get both for just $19. Just click the button on the sales page to get find all of these different offerings.

To grab a copy or learn more about St Paul’s School of the Word, just head here: https://catholicsprouts.com/stpaul-school-of-word

Praised be Jesus Christ!

your sister in the small things,

J1ST 090: Miracles of the Rosary

by Nancy Bandzuch · 1 Comment

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Hi Friends!

Happy October!!! You probably know that October is considered the month of the Holy Rosary, but do you know why? If you’re listening the evening this episode goes live, it’s the eve of Our Lady of Victory’s feast day, also known as Our Lady of the Rosary! This feast day was established during the pontificate of Pope Pius V after an astounding victory of Christian forces against the Ottoman Turks on October 7th, 1571. The Battle of Lepanto! The Christian forces by all accounts shouldn’t have won… They were outnumbered and fairly inexperienced with naval battle. But the leader, Don Juan of Austria, issued a weapon to each of his soldiers upon the eve of battle: a Rosary. And all the soldiers knelt and prayed it together before heading into battle and Our Lady came to their aide.

In this episode, you’ll learn all about the Battle of Lepanto, hear some personal rosary experiences of ours, and learn about some other miracles attributed to the rosary, one of them in late 1970s!

Our Lady has been clear: over and over she has asked us to pray the rosary daily for peace in the world. She never said it had to be prayed all in one ‘sitting’ or while sitting in a chair with candles lit. We need to pray it as we CAN not as we CAN’T. A decade here, another decade there, maybe even a decade or two as a family or with your spouse. And as evidenced by our miracle stories today, Mary honors our efforts. To close: here are a few quotes to inspire and encourage.

“Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.”

-St. Padre Pio

“Say the Holy Rosary. Blessed be that monotony of Hail Mary’s which purifies the monotony of your sins!”

-St. Josemaria Escriva

“You always leave the Rosary for later, and you end up not saying it at all because you are sleepy. If there is no other time, say it in the street without letting anybody notice it. It will, moreover, help you to have presence of God.”

– St. Josemaria Escriva

“The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.”

– Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Have you experienced a miracle through the rosary? How do you get your rosary in every day? Share your tips in the comments!

Your sisters in the Small Things,

Nancy and Katie

In this episode:

Nancy’s new Rosary Board Books

Fr. Calloway’s lecture at Steubenville

Fr. Calloway’s book Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon

Chesterton’s poem Lepanto

This image of Mary wrapping the infant Christ in her mantle