Candy Corn Cookies

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Yellow and orange food coloring

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Divide dough in half. Tint one portion yellow. Divide remaining dough into two-thirds and one-third portions. Color the larger portion orange; leave smaller portion white.
• Shape each portion of dough into two 8-in. logs. Flatten top and push sides in at a slight angle. Place orange logs on yellow logs; push the sides in at a slight angle. Top with white logs; form a rounded top. An easy way to form your cookies is to line a loaf pan with parchment paper then put your color layers in one by one, flattening them as you put them in. Cover or wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 4 hours or until firm.
• Unwrap and cut into 1/2-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 5 dozen.

One the dough has hardened, cut your dough into slices, then into triangles. If you wish, you can sprinkle with colored sugar before you bake them!

St. Jude Feast Day - October 28th

St. Jude's Feast Day is October 28th, the devotion to St. Jude is a wonderful example of the ability of ordinary people turning to their faith to triumph over what seems to be impossible odds in their daily lives. His name Jude means the giver of joy, while Thaddeus, means generous and kind.


St. Jude actually had family ties to Jesus. In Matthew (13:55) Saint Jude was described as being one of the "brethren" of Jesus, most likely meaning a cousin since the Hebrew word for "brethren" which most likely refers to a blood relationship. His mother, Mary, was referred to as a cousin of Jesus' mother Mary, while his father, Cleophas, was the brother of St. Joseph.



St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles, and he began preaching the Good News of Jesus to Jews throughout Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. He traveled throughout Mesopotamia, Libya, Turkey, and Persia with St. Simon, preaching and converting many people to Christianity.

In approximately 60 A.D., St. Jude wrote a Gospel letter to Christian converts in Eastern churches who were under persecution. He warned them against the teachers of the day who were spreading false ideas about the early Christian faith. He encouraged them to persevere in the face of the difficult circumstances in which they found themselves, just as their forefathers had. He encouraged them to keep their faith and to stay in the love of God. His inspirational support of these early believers led to him to become the the Saint the we call upon even today for cases despaired of.

It is believed that St. Jude was martyred in Persia or Syria around 65 A.D. His body was brought back to Rome and was placed in a crypt beneath St. Peter's Basilica, which people can visit even to this day.

We often see a flame around the head of St. Jude in paintings. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

St. Bridget of Sweden was a devotee of St. Jude. She, in a vision, was encouraged by Jesus to turn to St. Jude with faith and confidence. He told her that, in accordance with Jude's surname, Thaddeus (which means generous, courageous, and kind), "he will show himself to be the most willing to give you help."

So many people around the world turn to St. Jude in Novenas when they feel the most helpless and alone. St. Jude has proven to be a true friend and a beacon of hope to those who call on him--always willing to help and seek help no matter how desperate the need.

Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half with Your Coupons

Do you take advantage of the coupons in your local Sunday paper? Playing the coupon game could save you up to 50% off your grocery bill a week, no kidding. It isn't as hard as you might think in finding those coupon deals to slash your grocery bill. The Internet highway is making it easier then ever before and will actually find your local deals for you.

A great resource is couponmom.com. This website is worth signing up for to make your grocery dollars stretch. This website actually tells you the deals per store and which coupons to use, and what week they appeared in your local newspaper. If there is coupons available online for that particular product, it has the link right there to print it out. You can even sort the lists. For example, you can sort the items by the percentage off the that you will be saving starting with 100%. Yes, you can save 100% percent off an item and get it for free. Last week, I made my son very happy with a pack of free tic-tac's (His favorite!).

One thing that makes it easier to use this system on couponmom.com is to not clip the coupons right away. Take your coupon booklets out of the paper and mark on front the date that they were in the paper. This way, when coupon mom says it came in the paper on 10/23, you can go right to that circular and pull it out. After you sign up (you create and id by your email address) just click on the tab for "Grocery Deals by State", you will find a video explaining the easiest way to utilize this website. And best of all, this website is available for us to use for FREE!

You too can slash your grocery bill every week by following this simple plan. It helps not to be brand loyal, and know the coupon policies of your local grocery store. My favorite store in our area is Giant Eagle because they actually double the value of the coupons, adding up to dollars that I save my family every week.

A concept that is good to get use to is idea of stockpiling. When items go on sale, you buy in bulk. The stores put different items on sale each week, and it takes about three months to build a good stockpile. Once your stockpile is established, you rarely need to buy anything that is not on sale, other than fresh foods like dairy and produce. Once you get use to this system, you will get really good at setting limits for yourself. For example, I now never pay more than fifty cents for toothpaste and deodorant. If you are not a serious couponer, now is a great time to start, you will be amazed at the savings you will find for your family!!

Christmas Gift Giveaway #1!

Here is a great opportunity to win a great Christmas Gift for a special grandparent, godparent, aunt, sister, friend, mother-in-law,teacher, practically anyone or your list this year!! How do you enter? Take a look at the wonderful personalized gifts on www.thecustomquill.com, and pick the gift that you would like to win. Then, become a fan of The Custom Quill on Facebook, the badge is on the right hand side of The Catholic Mom's Mentor for your convenience (it is located after the The Catholic Moms Mentor's Follower's in the right margin). After becoming a fan, just make a comment on the facebook page so I know you are in the contest, "Christmas Gift". That's it!! The winner will be chose on Wednesday, October 27th, the winner will be notified, listed on this blog as well as on the The Custom Quill's facebook page. Winner's mailing address has to be in the United States. Good Luck!!

Why Do Catholics Light Prayer Candles?

I have not been working on my blog as I had hoped the last couple of weeks, I have sick, sick, sick. I hope to never take my health for granted again!!

After the first week of lightening a candle for the Haven Fall Challenge, I started pondering the lightening of candles in general that Catholics so often do for a prayer intention. It is commonplace to see candles burning in a Catholic Church, usually before statues of saints or icons. We have a shrine in walking distance of our home that has a large statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Center, surrounded by hundreds of candles that people come in 24 hours a day to light and prayer for their special intentions.

I started this past week to research the mean of lighting candles in the Catholic Church. When we light our prayer candles we remember and truly live the words of our Lord, : "I am the Light of the World." When we light the candles with a prayer intention, we are not only praying , but our prayers actually become smaller symbols of the One Light of Christ. When we burn prayer candles, our prayers rise up to Heaven day and night.

According to A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals, by Ann Ball, the practice of lighting candles to obtain a favor probably has its origins in the custom of burning lights at the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs. The lights burned as a sign of solidarity with Christians still on earth. The candles continually burned as a silent vigil, hence they became commonly known as vigil lights.

Vigil Lights (from the Latin vigilia, which means "waiting" or "watching") are traditionally accompanied by prayers of attention or waiting. We often see in our church's or shrines a prayer candle called the votive light. Very often when those are lit, they are done when one is seeking a favor from our Lord or a particular Saint in front of whom the candle was placed.

In the New Testament God is called the Light (I Jn. 1:5), dwelling in the "inaccessible light" (I Tim. 6:16). And Our Lord Jesus Christ is described to us as "the true Light that enlightens all men" (Jn. 1:9). He called Himself, "the Light of the world" (Jn. 9:5). For this reason we profess our Savior as being "Light of Light (cf. Symbol of Faith) or, poetically, "Joyful Light."

Early Christians associated light with the sacred presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in their midst, being assured by Him: "Where two or three come together in my name, there I shall be in their midst" (Mt. 8:20). Thus during their evening gatherings, as the candles or the lamps were being lit, the Christians symbolically (mystically) welcomed the Eternal Light, Jesus into their midst with the joyous hymn, O Joyful Light (see below), hailing from the second century.


In the Byzantine Catholic Rite, during evening vespers we sing:

O Joyful Light ("Svite Tichij")

O Joyful Light! Light and Holy Glory of the Father Immortal, the heavenly, holy, the Blessed One, O Jesus Christ! Now that we have reached the setting of the sun, and see the evening light, we sing to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is fitting at all times to raise a song of praise in measured melody to you, O Son of God, the Giver of Life. Behold, the universe sings your glory.
(Anonymous, from the 2nd century)

This was Week One Of Making Your Home a Haven Challenge

It was week one of the Making Your Home a Haven challenge with Courtney at Women Living Well. I meant to put this up earlier this week, but I have be down with the flu. The idea of the challenge is that as we create the physical environment of our home, we are also creating the spiritual environment that can bring a sense of peace and calmness in our homes.

We are encouraged to keep a big candle lit in our home this week, and each time that we glance at it, we are encourage to pray for the peace in our homes. This week, I'm going to light a candle mid afternoon and pray for my family. The candle can symbolize many things. My candle to me will remind me to pray for the peace in my home but also will remind me to:

~ keep up with the cleaning and tidying up of my home
~ to pray for each of my children specifically
~ pray for guidance in my eldest child's high school question at the
moment, catholic or public.

Next week, she suggest bringing calming, peaceful music into our homes as an element in making our homes a haven for our families. If you you have time, I have the link above to her website, it worth checking out!

Making Your Home a Haven Challenge

A wise woman builds up her home, but a foolish women tears it down with her own hands Proverbs 14:1


I saw this woman on Rachel Ray a week or so ago, and stopped by to see her blog early yesterday morning. Found this challenge and loved it, thought it was worth posting for you to see!!