Raising Hearts Blog

What are Ember Days?
Ember days indicate the start of each season in the Catholic Church's liturgical year. The Church seasons are Advent, Lent, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time. Coincidentally (or perhaps as Church history dictates), each season also aligns with the natural seasons particularly in the US climate. Ember days are traditionally a day of fasting and abstinence, at least in the US only a partial abstinence is observed. Abstinence means avoiding eating meat, while fasting means eating only one-full meal. It is still being practiced by traditional Catholics. Ember Days occur on the... Read more...
Review: Our Lady's Wardrobe by Anthony DeStefano
Review: Our Lady's Wardrobe by Anthony DeStefano
The book Our Lady's Wardrobe by Anthony Stefano is such a genius idea to teach children the apparitions of Our Lady on earth, all in the context of the dresses... Read more...
How to Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Review)
I tried the book Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for my 4-year-old. We are still on day 38 and she can now read all by herself. This simple, stress-free, scientifically-tested approach to teaching reading ain't a bestseller for nothing! When my firstborn baby came, I had this goal: that she would be able to read by 2 years old. I was very optimistic and was up to the challenge. After all, I can read, right? I can teach my child the same thing. Then the sleepless... Read more...
What age should we begin teaching kids about God?
At their tender age, will kids understand if we teach them about God? What is the best age to start teaching them about the faith? One normal night as I was doing some cleaning in the kitchen, my 4-year-old daughter came to me with a worried face. "Mama, papa said there's a shark in the swimming pool," she said in our dialect. Her cute sweet innocent eyes doesn't hide the true fear and worry in her eyes. She was utterly serious and very sure that there is a shark in... Read more...
The Things our Children Teaches Us
When a child comes into your life, you make plans, including how to teach the child according to your own ways. But lo and behold, it is the child who teaches you things beyond your expectations. But we can try. We can do our best. There are many things that our children can teach us. And a few of these are: 1. That kids learn from our actions/ examples When a child comes into the world, it seems they already bring their own personalities. And what you can at least... Read more...
Why do Traditional Catholics say Holy Ghost and not Holy Spirit?
I was nine years old when we began attending Traditional Latin Mass. One of the prominent differences I noticed is the mention of the Holy Ghost everywhere in prayers and especially in the Sign of the Cross. Whenever I say it out loud to others, they would be shocked as why I used that terminology. Because for all we know, ghost is defined as the horror spirits that children are afraid of. So fast forward now, how do we explain such difference to young children? My daughter herself understands ghosts... Read more...
Review on the Ultimate Catholic Bundle (July) by IamHis365.com
The Ultimate Catholic Bundle is a subscription-based printable product from IamHis365.com, a blog full of Catholic resources to help you organize your prayer life. What I truly love about the blog is that its theme centers around Traditional Catholic especially their calendar printables which is in accordance to the 1962 Missal. What is the Ultimate Catholic Bundle? The Ultimate Catholic Bundle is a collection of Traditional Catholic printables to help you organize and cultivate a life of prayer. It comes as a monthly subscription where you receive additional resources each... Read more...
3 best Catholic books for moms when you need direction
3 best Catholic books for moms when you need direction
Let me share to you these Catholic books for moms that give no non-sense approach to the noble vocation of motherhood. Read them while you breastfeed or when the baby... Read more...
When the kids are young, be kind to yourself
It's not everyday that your emotional tank is full. As anything in life, there are highs and lows. With motherhood, I did not expect the lows could be so lows. Prayers were my only weapon. As time went by, I slowly learned to let go. Let go of being a perfect mom. Let go of having the house squeaky clean. Let go of fears and worries. And most of all, to let go of control. As much as we want them to be perfect kids, we cannot control their imperfect... Read more...
The invisible load of motherhood
When I was growing up, I often hear my mom say that she has so many things to do. At the end of some days, I remember her so exhausted and complaining of aches. She'd asked us to massage her head sometimes. Fast forward. I am a mother myself and I see mothers in a different light. The whole busy-ness of a homemaker, it makes sense to me now. It happens right before everyone's eyes, but is never really understood unless you become a mother yourself. It cannot be explained,... Read more...
5 Catholic Sacramentals for your family and home's powerful protection
What are Catholic sacramentals? They are specific religious artifacts that once blessed by a priest are means to invoke protection and receive graces from God, both spiritual and temporal graces. If used as part of a prayer, Catholic sacramentals can remit venial sins. What are the Catholic sacramentals? Examples of sacramentals include Rosaries, Miraculous medals, Crucifixes, Holy Water, scapulars, Holy Bible, and more. They should be blessed by a priest. According to Church teaching, there are different types of adoration or devotion. Latria is the love and adoration we offer to... Read more...
Why I don't teach Disney princesses to my daughter (or my son) [Warning: this is a rant]
Hey there! This conviction might sound surprising to a lot of people. Disney princesses, or Disney movies in general, have taken vast roots in our pop culture that it infiltrates even our own lives. So why I, an ordinary mum, would stray away from what is most loved by young kids and adults alike. Perhaps, I just can't let it go. That there is something wrong with the lessons and messages conveyed by their stories. It started as a hunch, somewhat a kick in the back, that through the years... Read more...