Thank you all so much for the prayers. Brian came home a few days ago. I so so appreciate all the prayers you are offering and I have been praying for your intentions as well.
Rather than the devil's food cake we've traditionally had to celebrate Michaelmas (and our Michael's name day) I decided to switch things up this year and do an apple cake. The apple is often used as a symbol of sin and the fall in Eden and who was the creep behind all that? The devil, of course. The one who gets it handed to him by Michael. Besides, end of September? Apples. So after seeing Julia's beautiful Upside Down Pear Gingerbread Cake pop up in my feed in the morning, I knew it would be the perfect feast day treat. I substituted apples and upped the spices a bit because that's how I do and my first attempt at an upside down cake was a relative success!
St. Michael is totally taking charge of this cake. The statue to cake ratio does seem a bit unbalanced but it certainly makes St. Michael look more powerful. We don't always do feast day gifts but once in a while we pick out something special.
And I didn't want to forget the other archangels because they rock and St. Raphael and I are tight so get ready for a catechetical culinary stretch. We topped the cake with homemade vanilla ice cream to represent Gabriel being sent to Mary (who was most pure) and salted caramel sauce to represent Raphael being the patron of Marriage and the sweetness (and saltiness :) of married life. I know. Total stretch but you guys, a stretch never tasted So. Good.
Food photographer I am not. But oh my goodness, it tasted like fall was having a party in my mouth.
Earlier in the day we took a quick hike after Mass at a nearby trail and then had a bonfire. It sort of goes with St. Michael and the casting into hell thing, right? Michael picked out hamburgers and corn and really wanted to eat them outside by the fire and so that's what we did.
And if you're picturing some grand picturesque outdoor tablescape, this is what it actually looked like:
Michael was having too much fun with the fire to notice our lack of aesthetics and was just over the moon excited all day that it was his day. We had to go inside for the cake which we enjoyed after washing off the permeating reek of smoke emanating from our children.
Seeing his cake
Realizing the statue is for him
We didn't use a sword this year but Michael still got to be the one who cut the cake.
(Ha, St. Michel photobomb!)
We ended the night with our normal prayers but it turned into an impromptu and incredibly grace-filled moment where we all laid hands on Michael and took turns thanking God for him and praying for him individually. It was so beautiful and definitely something I want to repeat for other name days and birthdays.
Ss. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, please pray for us!
You are so good to remember to celebrate all these feast days. What a happy little boy!!
ReplyDeleteIncredibly beautiful! And that apple cake-oh my-it looks sooo yummy!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a amazing tie in of all the feast days! Love what you do to celebrate...plus your kidsa re just so darn cute ...so happy you share so many shots!
ReplyDeleteTerrific ideas and commentary...thanks for sharing the fun. Happy your hubby is back
Love your post! And the St. Michael photobomb! Found your article while looking up the significance of apple themed foods and the Feast of the Archangels. We had an apple pie today to celebrate. Thank you for such a great post! God bless you and your family.
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