A Third of July Mixed Bag

Today's post is a combination of things as we head into the 4th of July weekend. First, a friend of mine emailed me some info for anyone in the Chicagoland area who might be discerning a vocation and would be interested in attending a one day camp hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago. The camp will be held at the beautiful Mundelein Seminary in Libertyville and will be July 28th for Middle and High School girls and Middle School boys and July 29th for High School boys. Check out their website for more information.

Earlier this week another friend of ours brought to our attention a beautiful pamphlet put out by Caritas entitled the Patriotic Rosary for the Consecration of Our Nation. It is a lovely way to pray for our country as we approach the celebration of our independence. If you do not have a copy, a simplified way to pray the patriotic rosary is to pray each Hail Mary for a different state (if you're like me, you'll have to write out all the states on a piece of paper so you don't forget one - better yet, write them out in alphabetical order!) and for each Glory Be pray for the conversion of our country. You can make up your own intentions for each of the Our Fathers. The kids have really enjoyed this change of pace for our evening rosary this week.

I also thought I would share with you my traditional 4th of July dessert. We refer to this recipe as the Statue of Liberty dessert. My sister-in-law gave me this easy recipe and told me that one day when she brought it to work it was raining and she had to run through the parking lot holding on to this dessert, which she had in a nice glass pedestal bowl. Her co-workers thought she looked like the Statue of Liberty running with her torch, thus the name!! Hope you enjoy it.

1 box brownie mix or favorite brownie recipe prepared according to directions
sliced bananas
sliced strawberries
cool whip - 16oz.
chocolate sauce (if desired)

Cut the cooled brownies into 1" squares. In a large bowl (see-through is nice), place a layer of brownies, a layer of bananas, a layer of strawberries and a layer of cool whip. You could mix the chocolate sauce in with the cool whip, drizzle some over the cool whip or leave it off altogether.
Repeat all of the layers one more time. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about six hours so the brownies start to soften. Enjoy.

Have a Blessed Fourth of July! God Bless America!