September 30th, St. Jerome

September 30th is the Feast of St. Jerome, who single-handedly translated the Bible into Latin.  There is also a wonderful legend that tells the story of St. Jerome's encounter with a lion that kids will love hearing.  In the past our family has enjoyed Margaret Hodges, St Jerome and the Lion.  This book is now out of print and quite expensive, but the Kern County library does have six available copies and it is worth the trip to check it out.

It would also be a fun idea to have your kids make bookmarks with their favorite bible verses or even a paper bag puppet of a lion.  You can click on the image for directions to make the puppet.

Whatever you choose, today is a wonderful time to take a few minutes to slow down and tell your children about the great St. Jerome.  Happy Feast!

September 29th, The Feast of the Archangels

September 29th is the traditional Feast of the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel.  This year the feast is not on the liturgical calendar because it falls on a Sunday, but there is no reason that we cannot still take the opportunity to teach our children about these great protectors.

Catholic Culture gives the following description of the Archangels:

Michael (Who is like God?) was the archangel who fought against Satan and all his evil angels, defending all the friends of God. He is the protector of all humanity from the snares of the devil. Gabriel (Strength of God) announced to Zachariah the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary, the birth of Jesus. His greeting to the Virgin, "Hail, full of grace," is one of the most familiar and frequent prayers of the Christian people. Raphael (Medicine of God) is the archangel who took care of Tobias on his journey.

In the past our family has observed this feast with making a simple devil's food cake.  We placed our statue of St. Michael, our defender against the devil, next to the cake and said the following prayer to St. Michael:

After the prayer, I give my three boys little plastic cocktail swords and let them stab the cake to symbolize St. Michael conquering the devil in battle.  It may seem like a silly thing but my boys love it!  I hope your kids do too!

September, 23rd the Feast of St. Padre Pio

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry! Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer. Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact, on certain occasions, you should speak to Him only with your heart.”--St. Pio

St. Padre Pio, is a modern saint, with so many exceptional powers, that he is almost like a super hero!  My boys love to learn about the Capuchin friar who performed amazing miracles.

"On June 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized in Rome Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, one of the greatest saints of all times. There are saints who have been known for healing; there are saints who could "read" souls; there are saints who were known for levitation; there were saints who bore the stigmata, or were seen in apparition, or who had the “odor of sanctity.” There are saints who could understand languages they didn't know. But Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who died on September 23, 1968, had all these charisms, and more. In fact, not since St. Francis of Assisi has there been such a miracle-worker.

And as a matter of fact, Padre Pio was the first priest to bear the stigmata — the holy wounds of Christ — just like St. Francis of Assisi. Saint Pio is a man who healed literally thousands — while he was still alive; who could read souls — knowing in case after case exactly what a person in Confession had done; who was seen in dozens of cases in bilocation (appearing far from where he actually was). There were accounts that defy the belief of even the most ardent believer: a sighting of him at the Vatican, even though he never left the San Giovanni monastery; the transfiguration of his face into that of Jesus' during the Consecration; a worker named Giovanni Savino who lost an eye that later materialized under the bandages after Pio visited him in bilocation." Michaeljournal.org.  

An easy option to celebrate St Pio's feast day is to  tell the stories of Padre Pio  to your family over a cup of mocha cappucino. Cappucino received it's name because of the resemblance it bears in color to the Capuchin Friars robes.  This is a great mix that you can easily pick up at Costco.

 

 If you have more time and are feeling like truly celebrating, this is a wonderful cappuccino mousse trifle you can make.

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Rich in Love is an excellent chapter book to share with your children if you wish to learn more about this great saint.  

You can find a link up of Padre Pio crafts at Catholic Icing, great ideas here that your little ones will enjoy!

September 21st, Feast of St. Matthew the Evangelist

St. Matthew was a tax collector, a deeply hated position among his fellow Jews.  He was a Jew working for the Roman Empire, by robbing his own people to benefit the enemy.  One day, while seated at a table with money he had collected, Jesus said to Matthew, "Follow me."  Matthew immediately rose up and followed Jesus, becoming one of his apostles and eventually writing the first gospel in the New Testament. Matthew's life reminds us that Jesus can use each and every one of us, right where we are to accomplish his work.  We don't have to wait until we think we are ready, Jesus is ready for us now, today, to bring about his kingdom on Earth.

 Here is a fun and easy idea for a Saturday morning feast, just make some silver dollar pancakes for breakfast!  Share with your children a little about St Matthew using the silver dollar pancakes to symbolize that he was a tax collector before being called by Jesus.  Enjoy your morning!

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14th

September 14th is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and there are many easy ways to incorporate this feast into your day!

Catholic Culture tells us that sweet basil grew over the hill where St. Helena found the Holy Cross, so in Greece the faithful are given sprigs of basil by the priest.  For tonight's dinner you could cook a basil pesto or a tomato basil salad (with the last of the summer tomatoes).

Since the feast falls on a Saturday this year, you may have time to make the following monkey bread recipe from Catholic Cuisine.   

 

 Enjoy this yummy cinnamon bread while reading the Tale of Three Trees to your child.  What a wonderful Saturday morning!!!  
 

September 5th, Mother Teresa

September 5th is the anniversary of the death of Blessed Mother Teresa.  Mother Teresa stands before us as one of the most compelling personalities of the modern age, and provides us with a striking example of obedience and devotion to God.  For many years Mother Teresa was unable to experience or feel God in her life, yet she carried on  loving, serving and inspiring His people.  She was greatly influenced by St. Therese of Liseux, "The Little Flower", who reminds us all to do small things with great love.  I find this especially important for mothers today.  It seems like we often feel that we are not doing enough, that we need to do great things for our children, families and communities. Yet the truth is that God calls us to love right where we are and to love first and foremost the people he puts right in front of us.   The love we put into our housework, helping our children with schoolwork, or preparing meals brings God great joy. That is what is so beautiful about Mother Teresa's command; it's simple and helps us to keep our priorities in order. All we have to do is start by loving our family well and great things will come!

To honor Mother Teresa today, consider reading a book to your children such as Demi's, Mother Teresa. Perhaps you can read the story while enjoying a bowl of pistachio ice cream to honor Mother Teresa's Albanian heritage.

http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Teresa-Demi/dp/1442421525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377090020&sr=1-1&keywords=mother+teresa+demi

First Day of School and Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary

This is a throwback to our family's celebration in 2008...

September 8th was our first day of school as well as the birthday of the Blessed Mother. We had a great first day of school and afterward we enjoyed a little birthday celebration for Mary.

Will was really glad we had cake!