October 4th, Saint Francis

The first week of October is full of the feast days of so many popular saints, but perhaps none as popular as Saint Francis.  Francis is especially favored by children for his love of nature and animals, in fact, he is my son's favorite saint and confirmation name.  There are many, many good books on St. Francis, but here are couple of my favorites:

Saint Francis of Assisi, by Joyce Denham is the perfect picture book to introduce your little ones to Saint Francis.  This book has beautiful, joyful illustrations.

The Good Man of Assisi has incredible illustrations and will engage your older child with wonderful tales of this great saint!

You can find so many more books on St. Francis with a quick internet search.  I hope you will take the time to find one that is right for sharing with your kiddos.

A fun idea to honor St. Francis is to share St. Francis' Canticle of the Sun with your family and then make birdseed cookies to feed the birds that St. Francis so loved.  Here is a recipe from While Wearing Heels:

If none of these ideas work for your family this year, don't worry, just take a moment  to stop and pray the Prayer of St. Francis.  His words are especially poignant for parents as we try to live a selfless love in service of our families. Surely a quiet moment with these words will bring peace to your heart and help you love your family a little better today!