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The Sacrament of Confirmation for Confirmation Candidates is a concise, thorough, and faithful resource for confirmation preparation.

The book is divided into three parts. The first section covers what the sacrament of Confirmation is and the rite and its effects, providing a basic understanding of the sacrament in question-and-answer form. The second section breaks down the creed as it explains the truths of the Catholic faith. This also is presented in question and answer form. The third section discusses witnesses (or martyrs) of the Faith and highlights the lives of a few, selected saints.

A sample Q&A from Part I:

Q. When did Jesus institute the sacrament?

A. After having promised this sacrament, Jesus instituted Confirmation on the day of Pentecost when He sent the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Mary gathered in the Cenacle. The Apostles immediately began to preach and make known their faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.

Other questions in Part I include, “How is the sacrament of Confirmation conferred?", "What is chrism?" and "What are the names of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit?"

I particularly like the way they break down the Creed into question and answer form in Part II, giving depth and meaning to it as they explain many truths of our Faith. The questions include many which are often asked of Catholics, making this a helpful apolgetics tool. For example:

Is faith the only way to know that God exists?
How can our reason prove the existence of God?
Why do we say that God is Father?
What does the expression ‘Mother of God’ mean in reference to the Virgin Mary?

The spotlight on a few selected saints in Part III also serves as a starting point for candidates to pick their confirmation names, inspired by the holiness of the saints’ lives.

Almost every page includes a colorful illustration, which brings to life the points of the text. One of the best examples of this is when the text discusses the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. We see a galley ship with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit written on the sails and seven virtues of the Holy Spirit written on the oars. Underneath the picture we read,

The virtues are like oars which propel the boat forward with great effort; the gifts of the Spirit are like sails which push the boat forward without any effort on the part of the rowers.

While the illustrations are not outstanding, they are quaint and colorful.

The logical presentation of the facts written in easy to understand language makes this book accessible for any age Confirmation candidate. The questions go beyond rote memorization by helping the candidate to reflect on the truths of the faith.

This book could be used in either a classroom or homeschool setting. When the time comes, I plan to use this with my children who are preparing for Confirmation.

The Sally Books by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Away Goes Sally (pgs 117), Five Bushel Farm (pgs 142), The Fair American (pgs 134), The White Horse (pgs 168), The Wonderful Day (pgs 139)

In our house, we always have at least two read-alouds going: one that I read to the kids during the day and the other in the evening that Dad reads to the kids before bed. We do this year-round, so even in the summer-time we’re doing our read-alouds. My kids particularly like a series of books read to them – either books by the same author, books about the same characters or books about the same theme.

Just as we finished our “regular” school year this year, we received the Sally series by Elizabeth Coatsworth. We liked this series so much, we have talked Dad into reading them again at night later this summer!

Sally, an indomitable orphan growing up in the state of Maine during the 1790s with aunts and uncles, is a wonderfully drawn character whose “Pollyanna” attitude toward life never seems fake, but rather that of a girl who has a warm heart, living in a loving family. These books span just a few years but include bits of information about the French Revolution and the Barbary pirates marauding the Mediterranean. We learned so much not only about rural life “back then” but these books also set us off on rabbit trails to learn about the French Revolution, the French-Indian Wars, and the African pirates and the despotism of the sultans of the era.

The first book, Away Goes Sally, sets the stage for the other books. It’s 1790 and 10-year-old Sally lives with her aunts: Nannie (the eldest and thus, in charge and very domineering), Esther (the youngest), Deborah (the quiet, shy, amenable aunt). Two uncles are also in the house: Joseph (head of the household) and Eben (lazy but lovable). The five adults, all siblings, work hard to give Sally a life full of love and faith in Massachusetts. A cousin invites the family to immigrate to the “wilds of Maine” where land is abundant and fertile. Exactly how Uncle Joseph gets Aunt Nannie to move is the plot – and did we wish we were Sally along for the ride!

Five Bushel Farm starts out in Maine with Sally’s relatives, the Hallets. Cousin Ephraim has found an orphan who needs love and brings him into his house, which is anything but loving. Once Sally and her aunts and uncles get settled in Maine, they bring the orphan to their loving home as one of the aunts goes off to marry. Friendly Native Americans and building a farm are described in great detail; finding the perfect spot for their farm, and the reason behind the name of the book, create a picture of putting down roots in more ways than one.

The French Revolution comes into play in the third book, The Fair American. Pierre, the son of a courtier, must flee his family estate just before villagers, fired by revolutionary fever, set it ablaze. Escape from France means boarding a ship where we finally re-meet Sally and Andrew. I loved the way Coatsworth linked the French Revolution to peace-filled America.

A year after the adventures aboard the Fair American, Sally and Andrew convince Aunt Nannie to allow Sally to set sail again, this time for Italy. The White Horse opens with Sally and Andrew sailing into the Mediterranean on a seemingly easy voyage. An easy voyage until the ship is attacked by pirates, the captives taken to Morocco, and imprisoned in a sultan’s palace. How the characters co-exist with the Muslims in a sultan’s palace is the point of the novel. Sally’s love of life helps all around in these trying times and the conclusion is exciting in this, the longest book of the series.

The series ends with The Wonderful Day. Sally is about 16 or so and finding it hard to be the “lady” Aunt Nannie would like her to be. Still full of love and life, Sally starts the day with great optimism which quickly turns to dismay when Sally discovers that her Uncle Joseph is in financial trouble. “Saving the day” is Sally’s job as the day and troubles compound. This book brings up an interesting idea of trust, honesty and how easy it could be to dupe those who believe everyone is as honest as they are.

This series is suitable for independent readers about age 8 and up. It proved a great read-aloud series for my 6 and 10 year old boys and my 9 year old daughter. We all loved the books and they fit well with our study of American history this year, reinforcing what we learned.

Christopher Plummer and Gregory Peck play arch-enemies in this story of a remarkable Irish Monsignor living in the Vatican who runs a network of safehouses for Jews, escaped POWs and others seeking refuge in Nazi-occupied Rome. Monsignor O'Flaherty (Gregory Peck) boldly collects funds for his work at high-profile parties and events and narrowly escapes capture at every turn. As Nazi Commandant Hoffer (Christopher Plummer) realizes the scope of O'Flaherty's threat to Nazi purposes, the good Monsignor's danger increases. Virtually a prisoner in the Vatican, he invents daring disguises in order to keep his network running and often remove refugees to safety just moments before the Nazis show up for an arrest attempt. This is a great movie - true story, compelling plot, great cast, etc. My only uncertainty is whether Sir John Gielgud's portrayal of Pope Pius XII is fair (he comes across as rather wimpy), but this is a rather minor part of the movie.

After thoroughly enjoying the BBC/A&E production of Pride and Prejudice, I was thrilled to see that they also had done the Scarlet Pimpernel, which is one of my favorite stories. Unfortunately, my expectations were completely shattered by this production which is really more of a television series loosely based on the books. It seems intended for those who enjoy rather steamy romance novels. While some of the original elements of the story and the truths regarding the evils of the French Revolution remain intact (and there are a few funny and creative scenes), there is little else to recommend this production - and many reasons not to bother. I haven't read all of the Pimpernel books, but there was very little reminiscent of the main book from which it takes its name (none of the principal characters even wore disguises!) and there is a lot of raunchy material that I found extremely difficult to tolerate (and I'm a relatively tolerant person when it comes to annoying parts in movies). The writers seem intent on creating heinous female villains and turning Marguerite St. Just into a more politically correct character. Chauvelin, to whom they attempt to give some "sex appeal", makes me nauseous. I found the scenes in Paris indicative of the disintegrating culture absolutely revolting, and these were not even treated as revolting by the production. Instead, for example, Sir Percy Blakeney makes a flippant joke about losing one's virginity when one of his companions is sensually undressed by a group of women at a party. Please, please, please, don't waste your money on this one like I did!