Liturgical Living for Catholic Families

Feast Days from Monday 14th December to Sunday 20th

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The main feast days are this week:

14th December ~ St John of God

15th December ~ St Nino

17th December ~ St Lazarus of Bethany (Brother of Martha and Mary)

17th December ~ The beginning of the O Antiphons (from the 17th to the 23rd)

18th December ~ The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

14th of December ~ ST JOHN OF GOD

A biography of St John of God for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

15th of December ~ ST NINO

A biography of St Nino for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

17th of December ~ ST LAZARUS OF BETHANY

(Brother to Martha and Mary)

St Lazarus is the famous biblical saint whom Our Lord rose from the dead. He was the brother of Mary and Martha and after Our Lord's death, they were expelled from Jerusalem by the Jews, with other well known bible personalities ~ left to the sea in a boat with no oars. They drifted to France where Lazarus became the Bishop of Marseilles. He exiled himself to a crypt during the persecution of Nero but was eventually beheaded during the persecution under Domitian.

Here is my posting about Lazarus being expelled from Jerusalem, the reason I had blogged about it was due to the even lesser known fact that he took with him the revered body of St Anne ~ the mother of Our Lady. ~ St Anne's body arrives in France.

Colouring page of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. HT: Sermons 4 Kids

Another colouring page of Jesus raising Lazarus. HT: Bible Printables

Here is a lovely orthodox image of Jesus raising Lazarus for children to colour. HT: Orthodox Children's Books.

This image is a 1545 etching of Augustin Hirschvogel, if you click on the image and print, it should make a great coloring page with lovely detail for older children.

17th to 23rd of December ~ THE O ANTIPHONS

To see all the craft and ideas for the O Antiphons click over to my Advent Preparation posting for all the details.

18th of December ~ THE EXPECTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

This is a beautiful but lesser known feast day of Our Lady that had orginiated in older times when a more strict observance of Lent took place and feasts during that period were not celebrated, so the feast of the Annunciation (March 25th) that always fell in Lent was transferred to the 18th of December.

Here is two postings I recommend to you:

Fr Mark from Vultus Christi ~ Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Fr Marian Zalecki from The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa ~ Our Lady of Expectation, December 18.

I hope to come back with a colouring page for children for this feast.

Feast Days from Monday 7th December to Sunday 13th

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The main feast days this week are:

7th December ~ St Ambrose

8th December ~ The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

9th December ~ St Juan Diego

10th December ~ The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto

12th December ~ The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

13th December ~ St Lucy

7th December ~ ST AMBROSE

A biography of St Ambrose for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of the life St Ambrose of older children. HT: Magnificat

Here is an online page on the life of St Ambrose from Picture Book of Saints. HT: ainglkiss

For a craft idea, here are some Beeswax Ornaments from O Night Divine.

Here are some great food ideas from Catholic Cuisine:

Bumble Bee Cookies for St Ambrose

Christmas Honey Cookies for the Honey Tongued Saint

Sweet Beehive Cake for St Ambrose

8th December ~ THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

A biography on the beautiful title of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

An explanation of the title of the Immaculate Conception for older children. HT: Magnificat

If you have made the Christ Candle/Mary Candle for your Advent Wreath, read this article from Catholic Culture and it's connection to the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Some examples of the Christ Candle/Mary Candle is in the Advent Preparation posting. (scroll down to Advent Wreaths)

A colouring page for the Immaculate Conception: HT: Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda

Pop on over to Catholic Cuisine for a collection of food ideas for the feast day.

The miraculous medal is connected to the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Here is the week's posting that outlined the book reading & activities for the feast. Here is my tutorial on making a Miraculous Medal Prayer Petition Mobile.

9th December ~ ST JUAN DIEGO

A biography of St Juan Diego for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

Pop on over to Paper Dali for a free St Juan Diego Paper Doll for the children to colour and build.

Mexican food is the order of the day for St Juan's feast, so pop on over to Catholic Cuisine for their list of recipes for St Juan.

Don't forget to check and the books and activities further below for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as they are connected!

Illuminated Ink, have this wonderful Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut and Color. For ladies in Australia, you might want to contact Anna from Fountain Resources, and order a kit in for next year.

10th December ~ TRANSLATION OF THE HOLY HOUSE OF LORETO

Pop on over to Catholic Tradition, they have the MOST BEAUTIFUL webpage dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto and the Holy House, this is not to be missed!

A biography of the Translation of the Holy House of Loreto for older children. HT: Magnifcat

Here is a beautiful Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Loreto over at Margaret's Minnesota Mom.

I wrote about the feast last year, where I have listed the Litany of Loreto, this is a prayer that every family should recite for this feast, it is very beautiful, you may also want to make it a permanent trimmings to our daily rosary!

Advent is a season for making gingerbread houses, why not make a Holy House of Loreto as Alice has over at Cottage Blessings?

Lastly but definately not least ~ pop on over to Roman Catholic Sacramentals Foundation and order a bottle of the Holy Oil that has come from the shrine of Loreto. I order it in and I'm in Australia, so they post internationally. This is a very powerful sacramental, if you would like to read of such an example of it's efficacy then read about on the the Church's most incredible miracles and the use of holy oil.

12 December ~ THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

A biography of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

Here is a biography for older children. HT: Magnificat

A lovely colouring image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Here is a great craft for children, Our Lady of Guadalupe Tinwork Ornaments by MaryM over at O Night Divine.

Here is Margaret's (Minnesota Mum) Guadalupe Wreath being showcased over at Alice's Cottage Blessings.

Here is a beautiful high tea in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe as only Alice at Cottage Blessings can do it!

Mexican food is definately the order of the day for this beautiful feast, pop on over to Catholic Cuisine for a whole host of meals and sweets for the feast!

Here is a Marian Grotto Kit of Our Lady of Guadalupe from Illuminated Ink. For Australian ladies, contact Anna from Fountain Resources.

Or Illuminated Ink's Wooden Rosary Holder Kit of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I highly recommend Tomie de Paola's beautiful picture book, The Lady of Guadalupe. Incredibly illustrated and a very full story.

There is this colouring book called Our Lady of Guadalupe, the story in it is written by Mary Fabyan Windeatt, one of my favourite saint writers.

I particularly love the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, my blog Under Her Starry Mantle is dedicated to Our Lady under this title. I particularly love these precious words that Our Lady spoke to St Juan Diego and to all her children on earth:

"Am I not here? I who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and watch? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the fold of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?"

Here are some of my blog postings on Our Lady of Guadalupe:

Our Lady of Guadalupe and True Devotion

Under Her Miraculous Starry Mantle This posting is about how the night sky on the date of the apparition is perfectly marked out in place on her mantle, an incredible miracle!

My all time favourite book is the book below Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it. It also makes a fantastic read-aloud with your children 8 and above.

Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness by Warren H Carroll

A Handbook on Guadalupe.

This book is also wonderful reading, explaining many of the miracles attached to this most wonderous tilma and apparition.

13th December ~ ST LUCY

Celebrated on December 13th Santa Lucia is an important prequel to Christmas in many parts of the world.

Scandinavia Luciadagen Lucia Day, marks the beginning of Christmas in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Traditionally the eldest girl in the family wears a white dress with a red sash and a crown of lighted candles. At dawn she wakes the rest of the family with hot coffee and Lussekatter saffron buns. (see below for more links for this celebration)

Italy Santa Lucia is celebrated in many parts of Italy, especially in Sicily, Naples, Lombardy and the Veneto. In Verona there is a big Christmas market and presents are exchanged. In Sicily wheat food such as pasta and bread are not eaten but instead they eat cuccia made from boiled wheat berries, ricotta and sugar.

Croatia It is customary to sow the Christmas wheat on St Lucy's Day. Put the seeds in a small dish of soil in a warm room, keep watered. By Christmas Eve there should be fresh shoots about 8 inches tall.

Here is Catholic Culture's article on St Lucy and the Christmas Wheat.

A biography of St Lucy for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of the life of St Lucy for older children. HT: Magnificat

Here is an online page of the life of St Lucy from Picture Book of Saints. HT: ainglkiss

Here is a great site with many, many different images of St Lucy holy cards. HT: carasantalucia

Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda who so kindly shares her artistic colouring pages for children has done two for the feast of St Lucy:

The Martrydom of St Lucy colouring page.

St Lucy Star Boy and Candle Girl colouring page.

"Some of the lovliest St. Lucy Day traditions are Swedish! In Sweden, this special feast is called Luciadagen. Before dawn, the oldest daughter in the family will dress as St. Lucy, wearing a white gown to represent purity , a red sash to represent martyrdom, and a crown of greenery and lit candles. Her little brothers will join her dressed as "starboys" wearing white gowns, cone-shaped hats decorated with gold stars, and carrying star-tipped wants. She will then wake her family and serve them special St. Lucy Day treats such as Lussekatter (St. Lucy's Cats) and Saffron Buns shaped into various shapes."

Here is an article by Catholic Culture on the Swedish Lucia Feast.

Here is the St Lucia's Bread from Catholic Cuisine.

Here is some links to making St Lucia Crown's:

Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda's St Lucy Crown.

Jennifer from As Cozy as Spring's St Lucy Crown.

I particularly recommend this site for making paper St Lucy Crowns and Star Boy Hats.

If you want to buy a real brass St Lucy crown with lights, click here.

Another lovely St Lucy craft is making St Lucia dolls, here are some good places to visit:

Here is a post on St Lucy Dolls by Jenn GM over at O Night Divine.

St Lucy paper dolls.

Making St Lucia dolls HT: Posie gets cosy

Paper Dali has a particularly lovely paper doll and study unit set for St Lucy.

St Lucy puppet and song to colour. HT: Makinglearningfun.com

The name Lucy or Lucia, from the latin root "lux", means light. St Lucy's Day, used to be celebrated at the winter solstice which marked the reappearance of the sun in the very north. And so for this reason we started up our own modern celebration for St Lucy ~ that is to visit the beautiful christmas light displays in our city. Here is our postings on our St Lucy nights in the last two years:

LIGHTS! On the feast of St Lucy.

St Lucy's Lights Night!

Here is a highly recommended St Lucy's book called Lucia: Saint of Light. It is only newly released and so you may not get a copy for this year's feast but worth getting for next year.

Here is Jenn GM's review, it is really good reading!

Feast Days from Monday 30th November to Sunday 6th Dec

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* I am very sorry to have missed this week's saints, a month long of sickness and sleepless nights finally caught up with me combined with a hugh Advent posting. I will come back and fill in this week, in the weeks to come so that they will be completed for next year.

The main feast days are this week:

30th November - St Andrew, the Apostle

1st December - St Edmund Campion

3rd December - St Francis Xavier

4th December - St Barbara

6th December - St Nicholas

30th of November - ST ANDREW, THE APOSTLE

1st December - ST EDMUND CAMPION

3rd December - ST FRANCIS XAVIER

4th December - ST BARBARA

6th December - ST NICHOLAS

Advent Preparations

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This is a special posting with many advent preparation ideas.

One place you NEED to bookmark and put to desktop is Mary Ellen Barrett's O Night Divine. It is a blog where she kindly showcases many, many ladies advent ideas, it has been going now for a few years so the wonderful collection of ideas continues to grow.

Also alot of families are signing up for the free Advent Adventure activities over at Holy Heros.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA:

The christmas novena starts on the feast of St Andrew (30th of November) and goes through till the 24th of December. It consists of reciting a particular prayer 15 times a day. This is a particularly beautiful way to prepare for Christmas as you are constantly meditating on the moment Christ entered the world as a little baby. Here is the prayer

"Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment when the Son of God was bornof the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in a stable, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires,through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ,and of His Blessed Mother. Amen."

Pop on over to my blog to read my thoughts on this devotion and to show you an easy craft that the children can do in making beads for this devotion using the St Therese sacrifice beads craft. It is very simple, a St Andrew medal, a Holy Family medal, 15 beads and some strong thread (I mention wire in the posting but I don't recommend it, strong thread is best.)

LITURGICAL WHEEL CALENDER

The first sunday of advent marks the beginning of the Church's new year. I highly recommend the Liturgical Wheel Calender from LTP. If you an Australian lady, you can buy them here, I've just bought mine, so definately in stock at present.

Here are my postings on the Liturgical Wheel:

Liturgical Wheel Calender for little children!

Sharing my saints sheets for the Liturgical Wheel.

Below you can see a closeup of the calender with the little free saints images I made, if you are wanting a copy of these images, please email me.

~o0o~

STIR UP SUNDAY!

Stir Up Sunday is the first sunday of advent, the traditional day for cooking cakes and puddings for christmas. Here is Jenn GM's article over at Cathlic Culture explaining why.

Here is what one of our previous Stir Up Sunday's looked like.

~o0o~

JESSE TREE

What is a Jesse Tree?

"Advent is a time of waiting, a time of anticipation and preparation for the coming of Jesus. There are many ways to get ready for Christmas. One way is through a Jesse Tree.

A Jesse Tree is a tree branch decorated with symbols representing the stories of people in Jesus' family tree. In Isaiah 11:1 we read, "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Jesse was the father of David, Israel's greatest king. And it was from David's lineage that Jesus came. That's where the idea of using a Jesse Tree to celebrate Advent came from. Before a symbol is hung on the branch, a Bible passage or a story from a story Bible is read. " HT

Mary over at Hilltop Farm has kindly shared the scriptural quotes and readings for each of the Jesse Tree images.

There are two Jesse Tree Tea ideas on offer, this is a fantastic way to celebrate the Jesse Tree with the family or invite friends over to join with you! There is a food for each Jesse Tree symbol.

Here is Alice's Jesse Tree Tea from Cottage Garden.

Here is Jessica's Jesse Tree Tea from Catholic Cuisine. (The image above is from Jessica's Tea)

There are many beautiful ways to make a Jesse Tree, below are links to many different ideas:

Paper Dali, has a beautiful set of Jesse Tree images for children to colour in, just lovely!

This site, has two sets of Jesse Tree ornament images to download for free, one set a small size, the other, a large set.

King of Peace website also has a free downloadable set of Jesse tree ornaments.

Here are a particularly colourful and bright set of Jesse Tree ornaments for downloading.

Here is Catherine Fournier's Jesse Tree with downloadable ornaments, over at Domestic Church.

Below are some ladies creations, there is just so many different, creative ways to do this:

Star Cottage made Jesse Tree ornaments out of wood cuttings!

Jessica from Shower of Roses, shows how to make a felt set of Jesse Tree ornaments.

Over at O Night Divine, there is a wonderful wooden cube Jessse Tree.

Lori from The Mac & Cheese Chronicals showcases her fantastic '3D' ornaments.

Nicole from Tired Need Sleep shows her advent tree and ornaments. Here is the downloadable template for the ornaments.

Restoration Place has a beautiful set of Jesse Tree ornaments, that have come from an e-book. Really beautiful images for children to colour in and create.

~o0o~

ADVENT WREATH

Fr William Saunders has written beautifully on the History of the Advent Wreath.

Here is Fisheaters article on the Advent Wreath and Candles, in this article are copies of the Advent Wreath Prayers for each week.

Church Year also has an informative article on the wreath and candles, with Scripture readings and shorter Advent Wreath prayers for each week.

Here is Jenn GM's posting on the Salvation History figures and the Advent Wreath. (Isaiah ~ 1st week : St John the Baptist ~ 2nd week : St Joseph ~ 3rd week : Mary ~ 4th week.)

There are many beautiful Advent Wreaths, all different, all lovely, here are a few for inspiration:

Starting with our Advent Wreath, the making of it and our final showcase of it completed.

Here is our Advent Wreath this year with some minor changes. (2009) ~ We have taken on Jenn's idea with adding the Salvation History figures.

Charlotte's Suspended Advent Wreath is beautiful over at Waltzing Matilda.

Dawn from Sun and Candlelight made a beautiful Advent Wreath here.

Included with the Advent Wreath and candles is the Christ Candle or otherwise known as the Mary Candle. It is the larger, white candle that sits in the middle of the advent wreath.

Catholic Culture has a detailed article on the Christ Candle.

Here is our Christ Candle from last year and how we made it.

Jenn's Mary Candle from Family in Feast and Feria, it is spectacular!

Here is Elizabeth's Immaculate Conception Novena Candle over at In the Heart of My Home.

~o0o~

ADVENT ALTAR DISPLAYS

Advent altar displays is another lovely way to create an advent focal point in the home for children.

The two beautiful images you see above with the words "PATIENCE" is Charlotte's creation over at Waltzing Matilda. Here is her two postings on the altar. 1. Advent Plans and Decorations. and 2. Silouette How To (Charlotte shows how she made her Mary, Joseph and Donkey silouette)

Here is Jessica's beautiful advent altar over at Shower of Roses.

~o0o~

ADVENT PAPER CHAINS

This lovely advent craft is simple and effective, the children love it and there is beautiful symbolizm attached to it. There is a chain for each day, so at first the children are looking at this long chain (the chains of sin I tell the children that we want to be freed from) and each day a child opens up one of the chains and reads the scripture reading until finally there is no left at Christmas! (we are now freed from the chains of sin) Below is the templates for the scripture readings paper chains. I usually have the readings in guadete week in pink, while the rest are purple, I also choose 'joyful' scripture readings for the guadete week.

Here is another free printable Paper Chain idea from Catholicmom.

~o0o~

THE CHRISTMAS CRIB

Last year I visited a my dear friend Nicole's house during advent and I was completely captivated by her beautiful crib scene. They had a lovely white, porcelain nativity set but it was set within a beautiful homemade wooden crib, that was filled with straw and covered in starry lights ~ I could hardly stop gazing at it. If that was the effect it had on me, what would it have on children? So this year we decided to make our own crib and fill it with straw and lights, the children were delighted!

I wanted to start a new family tradition in introducing a new crib figurine each sunday with a special meal and tying it into the salvation figures in the advent wreath, pop on over to my blog to see what we did for the first week of advent.

Here is our Bethlehem Star that hangs over the crib, it can take a tea candle or electric tea light.

~o0o~

THE CHRISTMAS MANGER AND CHRIST CHILD

There is a beautiful advent tradition of children placing a straw into the manger all throughout advent for every good deed done, so that the bed for the Christ Child is soft and inviting with alot of straw. Jenn's article below explains this more fully.

Last year we set up with a beautiful Christ Child statue and homemade manger.

Here is our Christmas Eve last year with the Christ Child, a really special night.

Jenn over at Family and Feast and Feria has a lovely posting on Preparing the Manger.

~o0o~

CELEBRATING THE SAINTS THROUGHOUT ADVENT

I wanted to somehow allow my children to recognise each saints feastday throughout the advent period with something tangible that could be hung on the christmas tree, so I came up with our Advent Saints Christmas Tree Ornaments. It is a detailed tutorial for making them. Then there is a second posting where I show the final decoration added to each ornament.

Zeliemum over at St Gerard's Garden shows what she has done in remembering the saints feast days using little organza bags, pegs and string!

~o0o~

O ANTIPHONS

What are the O Antiphons? Fr William Saunders has given an excellent explanation.

But a brief description is that the O Antiphons are the final countdown to Christmas with each O Antiphon (there are 7 of them) highlight a title of the Messiah. Each verse in the hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, poetically describes each title.

Here are Jenn GM's ideas for food/meals for the 7 O Antiphons over at Catholic Cuisine.

Above you can see the O Antiphons I've made for hanging on our Christmas Tree, to make these, pop on over to my blog.

Last year my dear friend Kara, came up with this fantastic idea for showcasing the O Antiphons, an O Antiphon Pointsettia Wreath! It is SO easy to make and a beautiful visual display of the O Antiphons for children, they open up one pointsettia flower head each day to reveal the O Antiphon.

Here are Val's O Antiphon ornaments to be hung on a tree, over at St Francis Academy.

Helen has showcased a few different O Antiphon designs over at Castle of the Immaculate.

Charlotte has done a wonderful job with her O Antiphon's in tins over at Waltzing Matilda.

Liz made a fantastic book display for her O Antiphons over at Maverick Mamma.

And so here begin's the 'Parade of O Antiphon Houses':

Suzanne's O Antiphon House over at Gladdest Hours.

Ruth's O Antiphon House over at Just Another Day in Paradise.

Letizia's O Antiphon House over at Cause of Our Joy.

Mary's O Antiphon House over at St Athanasius Academy.

Mary's O Antiphon House over at Our Domestic Church.

Christine's O Antiphon House over at Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother.

Marisa's O Antiphon House over at And Now for Seven.

Elizabeth's O Antiphon House over at In the Heart of My Home.

Dawn's O Antiphon House over at By Sun and Candlelight.

Marjorie's O Antiphon House over at Lettres de mon Moulin.

KC's O Antiphon House over at The Cabbage Patch.

~o0o~

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Advent music is always an important part of preparing for the coming of Christ.

I HIGHLY recommend that you start with reading Jenn's article (over at Family in Feast and Feria) on Advent Music Plans, you will not be disappointed!

The Marian Antiphon Chant for the Advent season is the Alma Redemtoris Mater, here it is being sung on youtube showing the chant notation.

(You can click on the image to the left, to enlarge.)

I have two recommendations over at my blog, Advent/Christmas music to soothe the soul. They have been our annual favourites!

~o0o~

This beautiful basket of Advent reading books has come from Charlotte over at Waltzing Matilda.

ADVENT READING

Advent read alouds is probably one of the most enjoyable way to prepare for Christmas with children, it is a special time to bond together through wonderful stories and pictures that give the children some beautiful message of the coming of Christ.

Some ladies have come up with a fantastic idea of wrapping up each book for each day of advent. As you can see three quarters of the books are wrapped in purple to match the three weeks of advent that are purple and then the books to be read in guadete week are wrapped in pink. These books have come from Joann's Ten Kids and a Dog. It is so simple but SO effective for the hearts and minds of children!!

In our family this year we wanted to make our advent reading especially enjoyable so we have put aside part of our evening for this. I make sure we have some little treat in the home for us all to enjoy as we snuggle together on our lounge. Usually tiny mince pies have been the order of the day, or a hot cup of hot chocolate.

We have started our main read aloud with the reading of the timeless classic, A Christmas Carol. We are reading the unabridged version as we feel our children are up to that, but there are many abridged versions out there, in picture book form for younger families. The message in Charles Dicken's christmas story is one to be read over and over again, and so we will continue our advent tradition of reading this every advent.

This year we made it a little more fun with children taking on different roles, my 15year old ds reads Scrooge's dialogue and my 12year old dd has taken on some of the other characters, I am the narrator. What has been delightful is to see the children mimicing the voices of their characters, the little children listening have been delighted!

We were able to do this effortlessly with the help of an iPhone an iPod both of which have the unabridged version on them and then I read from the book you see here, I recommend this lovely hardback, it is unabridged and has beautiful illustrations all the way through as well as another of Dicken's christmas stories, The Christmas Tree.

A Christmas Carol.

Here is the one I recommend for younger families, it is a hugh hardback book! Wonderful illustrations and abridged.

A Christmas Carol: Young Reader's Edition of the Classic Holiday Tale.

Here are some of our advent/christmas reading for this year:

St Francis and the Christmas Donkey.

Fantastic illustrations, beautiful, big hardback book.

The Christmas Candle.

A lovely christmas story that really speaks to the heart.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

You can get this with a CD as well ~ a christmas classic!

The First Christmas Stocking.

This is a particuarly moving story, illustrations are beautiful, I really recommend this book.

Mortimer's Christmas Manger.

Delightful!! Little children will love this beautiful little tale!

An Orange for Frankie.

Beautifully illustrated, a true story that will melt everyone's heart at the end.

The Clown of God.

One of my all time favourites. This is a special Catholic legend that Tomie de Paola has brought to life, the end is a tear jerker!

The Legend of the Pointsettia.

Another Tomie de Paola book I particularly recommend, very moving.

The Little Boy's Christmas Gift.

John Spier's illustrations are stunning, the story, delightful.

O Holy Night.

"This book gathers poetry from 28 centuries, 10 languages, 64 authors and is a uniquely diverse and yet wondrously harmonious collection of voices united in praise for the newborn Savior."

A Christmas Story.

Brian Wildsmith's books are always beautiful and this one is no exception.

Saint Francis Celebrates Christmas.

Lovely book.

Bethlehem.

Fiona French's book is very bright and visual, a simple story for little children. The pictures do most of the talking!

The Crippled Lamb.

This is a beautiful christmas tale.

The Night of Las Posadas.

Another of Tomie de Paola's books, recounting a beautiful Spanish tradition.

The Very First Christmas.

Beautiful illustrations.

Feast Days from Monday 23rd November to Sunday 29th

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The main feast days are this week:

23rd - St Columban

23rd - Bl Miguel Austin Pro

25th - St Catherine of Alexandria

26th - St John Berchmans

27th - Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

28th - St Catherine Laboure

23rd of November - ST COLUMBAN

A biography of St Columban for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

Here is a lovely image of St Columban and the Loch Ness Monster that can be used as a colouring page for children follow the link above and you can read the story as well. HT: Tugatnature

Another lovely line drawing that could be used by older children to colour in, it has come from Fr Mark's blog, Vultus Christi.

I highly recommend this lovely picture book, Across a Dark and Wild Sea on the life of St Columban, one of my favourites!

Here is an image of the Catharch of St Columban, a page from the very book that St Columban and St Finnian fought over. This story is well told for children in the book Across a Dark and Wild Sea (see above.)

A close up of a decorated initial Q from the Cathach of St. Columba

23rd of November - BL MIGUEL AUSTIN PRO

The life of Bl Miguel Austin Pro HT: Catholic Culture

Blessed Miguel Pro Paper Doll HT: Paper Dali

A play for children on the life of Bl Miguel, called "Charity, Laughter, Suffering and Sacrifice" click here for the script. HT: Puffin.Creighton.edu

To see how this play has been acted by children, click here for some lovely photos!

A mexican meal would be the order of the day for celebrating this Mexican blessed.

25th of November - ST CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA

A biography of the life of St Catherine of Alexandria for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of St Catherine for older children. HT: Magnificat

Why not try these great pasta wheels in a pasta dish for her feast day? HT: Catholic Cuisine

I hope to be back later with some St Catherine Wheel cookies!

26th of November - ST JOHN BERCHMANS

A biography on the life of St John Berchmans for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of St John Berchmans for older children. HT: Magnificat

27th of November - OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

A biography for children about the story of the Miraculous Medal. HT: Magnificat

Here is a unit study for children on the Miraculous Medal. HT: Velocity.net

Here is my all time favourite craft that we have done with our family AND the most practical. Click over to my blog to see how this can be done very easily! It is called, The Miraculous Medal Prayer Petition Mobile.

Here is a fantastic colouring page for the back and front of the Miraculous Medal, the artwork is really beautiful! HT: Jenn GM at Family in Feast and Feria

Here is a colouring book on the Miraculous Medal, the story is written by Mary Fabyan Windeatt ~ Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

This is one of my favourite children's reading novel about the Miraculous Medal, by Mary Fabyan Windeatt ~ The Miraculous Medal.

Another great reading novel by Vision books ~ St Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal.

28th of November - ST CATHERINE LABOURE

St Catherine Laboure is the visionary who was given the miraculous medal by Our Lady, her feast follows straight after the Miraculous Medal feast day, so it's another day to continue on any miraculous medal crafts and reading!

A biography of the life of St Catherine Laboure for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of St Catherine Laboure for older children. HT: Magnificat

Here is a very colourful and beautiful webpage dedicated to St Catherine Laboure, full of photos, pictures, prayers and a detailed biography. HT: Mary Pages

Here is an online copy of the book written by Father Joseph Dirvin called, St Catherine Laboure of the Miraculous Medal. HT: EWTN

Feast Days from Monday 16th November to Sunday 22nd

2009-11-15T05:50:00.028+10:00

The main feast days are this week:

16th - St Margaret of Scotland

17th - St Elizabeth of Hungary

19th - Our Lady of Divine Providence

21st - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

22nd - St Cecilia

16th of November - ST MARGARET OF SCOTLAND

A biography of St Margaret of Scotland for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

Here is the link to the online story of St Margaret of Scotland from the beautiful Catholic children's book, Book of Saints and Heros. It has a beautiful black & white image of St Margaret that could be printed up and coloured in. HT: The Baldwin Project

A colouring page of St Margaret of Scotland HT: Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda

This next link is to a picture slide show of the life of St Margaret of Scotland, not to be missed with the family, just beautiful!! HT: St Margaret's in the UK

A St Margaret of Scotland Paper Doll HT: Paper Dali

Here is a lovely crown cake over at Catholic Cuisine that could be used for this day. I made that cake earlier this year and it was enjoyed by the whole family. Also, the crown cake mentioned below for St Elizabth of Hungary is also suitable.

17th of November - ST ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY

A biography on St Elizabeth of Hungary for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography on St Elizabeth of Hungary for older children. HT: Magnificat

Here is the link to the online story of St Elizabeth of Hungary from the beautiful Catholic children's book, Book of Saints and Heros. It has a beautiful black & white image of St Elizabeth that could be printed up and coloured in. HT: The Baldwin Project

A colouring page of St Elizabeth of Hungary. HT: Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda

Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda created a Saints n' Stiches series which included one for St Elizabeth of Hungary, a lovely embroidery craft.

The photo credit is Jessica's over at Shower of Roses, where she did a beautiful job embroidering, using Charlotte's pattern for the Highlights of 'E' Week.

St Elizabeth's Crown Cake HT: Catholic Cuisine

The Vision series book of Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns for older children.

19th of November - OUR LADY OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE

Information about the origins of this feast. HT: Catholic Media

Father John Hardon writes on this lesser known feast and title, a beautiful read. HT: True Presence

A beautiful webpage dedicated to this title with prayers as well. HT: Pray the Rosary Apostolate

Here is a colouring picture of the tender image of Our Lady of Divine Providence...when I look at the image I see the Child Jesus' posture showing that He is completely reliant on His Blessed Mother for everything...and so too, should we. This is my drawing, so feel free to use, click to enlarge and print.

21st of November - PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

A biography on the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary for older children. HT: Magnificat

22nd of November - ST CECILIA

A biography of St Cecilia for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of St Cecilia for older children. HT: Magnificat

The Golden Legend story of St Cecilia. HT: Catholic Forum

Click open this image to print up for the children to colour in. HT: UAB

This was a fantastic craft worth checking out over at Dei Gratias, By the Grace of God (Michelle).

Michelle's children made these Paper Mache books inspired originally by Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda.

Feast Days from Monday 9th November to Sunday 15th

2009-11-04T23:10:00.032+10:00

The main feast days are this week:

10th November - St Leo the Great

11th November - St Martin of Tours (Martinmas Day)

13th November - St Frances Xavier Cabrini

13th November - St Stanislaus Kostka

15th November - St Albert the Great

10th of November - ST LEO THE GREAT

A biography of St Leo the Great for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A link to the letters written by St Leo the Great. HT: Crossroads Initiative

Here is a lovely youtube video on the life of St Leo the Great.

When we think of the name 'Leo' we think of lion! So here is some lovely lion cupcakes at Catholic Cuisine that would be fun for the children.

11th of November - ST MARTIN OF TOURS

A biography of St Martin of Tours for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography of St Martin of Tours for older children HT: Magnificat

Jenn GM from Family in Feast and Feria has linked a few lovely online read-alouds on the life of St Martin.

Here is my blog posting about how these two things are connected to St Martin's cloak ~ chaplains and a capella singing. Also I relate many interesting facts about St Martin and the raising of three people back to life.

St Martin's friend Sulpicius Severus, a Roman nobleman in his Bialogues, wrote about a famous biography of St Martin's life, you can read it here online.

The feast day of St Martin of Tours is a big feast day known as Martinmas Day. Evelyn Birge Vitz in her book, A Continual Feast has this to say:

"His feast, called Martinmas, became a major one in Europe, largely no doubt because it took on the character of an in-gathering festival: a thanksgiving celebration. On this day it has been traditonal to eat young goose and to taste the new wine of the season."

Our family plans for celebrating this feast will be a lovely roast chicken dinner (don't have a goose unfortunately) and making a cake with St Martin's cloak being cut with a sword. We hope to set up a fire in our brazier in our back yard and eating our meal around that. After our meal we will light our St Martin lanterns and circle our yard, singing a St Martin lantern song.

In Australia it is also Rememberance Day. It is one of our traditions from our British heritage. But there is obviously a connection between this day when we remember our fallen heros who went to war and St Martin was himself, a solider. We remember our fallen heros, on the 11th of November at 11am for a minute with our heads bowed. Wikipedia has this to say:

"For Anglican and Roman Catholics, there is a coincidental but appropriate overlap of Remembrance Day with the feast of St Martin of Tours, a saint famous for putting aside his life as a soldier and turning to the peace-filled life of a monk. Statues or images associated with St. Martin are for this reason sometimes used as symbols of Remembrance Day in religious contexts (e.g. the Anglican Cathedral of Montreal)."

For some great plans/links for St Martin's Day pop over to Pinewood Castle for some ideas.

Here is a colouring picture of St Martin of Tours. HT: Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda

A great stained glass image of St Martin cutting his cloak for the children to colour in. HT: Kinderschule

An image of St Martin cutting his cloak for the children to colour in. HT: Johnson Ancestory

Another nice image to print up and allow the children to colour in. HT: Wilson's Almanac

Geese are often associated with St Martin due to this lovely legend mentioned at Wikipedia:

"According to legend, Martin was reluctant to become bishop, which is why he hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by the geese betrayed his location to the people who were looking for him."

Here is some great, free colouring pages of geese. HT: 123Coloring.com

There are lots of lovely recipes for St Martin's day, here are some from Catholic Cuisine:

Goose with Apple stuffing for Martinmas

Martinshornchecn for St Martin's Day

Horseshoe Cookies for Martinmas

Also a recipe for St Martin Crossiants. HT: About.com

Here is another cake at Catholic Cuisine, our Cloak of St Martin Cake! Pop on over to see how we made it.

A wonderful European tradition (particularly France and Germany) on Martinmas Day is the parading of lanterns and singing through the streets by children. Such a lovely idea that we hope to keep alive in our family!

To see how to make our St Martin lanterns, pop over to my blog to read how, also in that posting there is the lyrics to a lovely St Martin lantern song as well as youtube rendition of it being sung in English. (I also have the youtube song imbedding further below)

Here is another St Martin lantern we made, out of paper mache, to see how go over for details.

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Left lantern making to the last moment? Don't panic, for the quickest lanterns you'll ever make, pop over to Charlotte's Waltzing Matilda for her beautiful lanterns. We still have a couple of lanterns left to make ourselves, so we will be making the last couple using Charlotte's great ideas.

Dawn over at By Sun and Candlelight has some great St Martin Lanterns using old jars and coloured tissue paper.

Here is another lady's Martinmas Laterns. HT: In These Hills

Here is a sweet little video of German children doing their St Martin lantern walk and singing. HT: YouTube

We are now working on learning one of the traditional St Martin lantern songs, I found this music sheet here with the lyrics. HT: Pinewood Castle

If you would like to have the St Martin song background music without the singing, click here. HT: YouTube

If you would like to hear the St Martin song with music and singing, click here. HT: YouTube

13th of November - ST FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI

A biography of St Frances Xavier Cabrini for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A colouring page of St Frances Cabrini HT: Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda

St Frances Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, so some of these Sacred Heart recipes would be an appropriate for her feast. HT: Catholic Cuisine

St Frances was Italian, an Italian meal would be in order for the day as well!

Reciting The Little Rosary of St Frances Xavier Cabrini would also be a suitable family devotional today.

One of the lovely Vision books for older children, Mother Cabrini: Missionary to the World.

13th of November - ST STANISLAUS KOSTKA

A biography of St Stanislaus Kostka for older children. HT: Magnificat

A biography for St Albert the Great for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography for St Albert the Great for older children. HT: Magnificat

Feast Days from Monday 2nd November to Sunday 8th

2009-10-25T23:53:00.045+10:00

The main feast days are this week:

2nd November - All Souls Day

3rd November - St Martin de Porres

4th November - St Charles Borromeo

2nd of November - ALL SOULS DAY

All Souls Day is remembered on the 2nd of November but also the whole month of November is dedicated to praying particularly for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It is a time to visit our loved ones at the cemetery, pray for them, bless their graves with holy water or light a blessed candle, for which an indulgence can be gained. We can also add a special prayer for the Holy Souls every day during November. It can be as simple as,

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen."

Or maybe one of the following prayers. can be adopted by the family throughout this month.

Here is an explanation for children about the feast of All Souls. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

An explanation for older children. HT: Magnificat

Praying for the Dead and gaining Indulgences for the Holy Souls on All Souls Day and in the whole month of November, written by Jenn G Miller

I particularly love this month-long display to set up in the home for the family, reminding us of the Church Triumphant (All Saints) Church Suffering (All Souls) and the Church Militant (The faithful on earth) and how they relate to each other. HT: Jennifer at Wildflowers and Marbles

Another great craft for the children in the month of November, an All Souls Rememberance Tree HT: Mozart and MudPies

Here is a lovely mantle display set up to remember our loved ones through the month of November. Here is Charlotte's All Souls display for this year, with lovely, closeup photos. HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Here is my craft so as to have a visual reminder of those we are praying for in November.

Here is our poster to remind us of the Holy Souls we are specifically praying for in November. Click here, to see how it is made.

Here is our November craft, inspired by Jen's craft idea above (from Wildflowers and Marbles) This is a visual reminder to the children of the Mystical Body of Christ and how the Holy Souls are helpless and need our prayers and sacrifices. It may look complicated but it is an easy craft and I have all the images uploaded for others to use at my blog.

The following four All Souls recipes are from Catholic Cuisine:

Soul Cakes

Gluten Free Pineapple Soul 'Cup' Cakes

Pan de Muertos "Bread of the Dead"

Bones of Eliseus

Reading books about the souls in purgatory is really important in order to understand just how effectively we assist the Holy Souls and then how they come to our aid as powerfully as any canonized saint in return. Their graitude towards our prayerful alms is never forgotten. Children really enjoy these stories and will grow in love and understanding for this beautiful devotion of assisting the Holy Souls.

I highly recommend this children's picture book for the month of Holy Souls. It is called, Father Phillip Tells a Ghost Story. In this book the children will understand what a Holy Soul is, and the importance of praying for them. It shares many stories about the Holy Souls that the children will enjoy very much.

Mary Fabyan Windeatt's novel on the life of Saint John Masias is a lovely story for older children. St John was a great champion for the Holy Souls. On the back cover it has this to say:

"This lovely saints book tell how John Masias came from Spain to the New World, how he was fired from a job because of his poor education, how he went on miraculous travels, how he fought the Devil, and how he freed over a million souls from Purgatory."

Here are some good books on Purgatory for adults, but I have used these as read-alouds for my children in the past, the one I particularly recommend for that is Purgatory by Fr Schouppe.

Charity for the Suffering Souls

This is a small booklet called, How to Avoid Purgatory

Purgatory by Father Faber

Purgatory by Father Schouppe

Stories about Purgatory

3rd of November - ST MARTIN DE PORRES

A biography on the life of St Martin de Porres for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography for older children HT: Magnificat

A colouring page of St Martin de Porres HT: Good Shepherd Online

A colouring page/paper doll HT: Paper Dali

How about making some yummy St Martin's Mice? HT: Catholic Cuisine

Or some cute St Martin and Mice Cupcakes? HT: Catholic Cuisine

A lovely little book written by Father Lovasik on the life of Saint Martin de Porres.

This is a delightful picture book and I highly recommend it. It is called The Pied Piper for Peru.

A great novel for older children on the life of Saint Martin de Porres as only Mary Fabyan Windeatt can write it!

Saint Martin de Porres and the Mice is a lovely hardback book put out by Neumann Press and it comes from their "Saints and Friendly Beasts" Series.

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4th of November - ST CHARLES BORROMEO

A biography of St Charles Borromeo for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography for older children HT: Magnificat

St Charles had a speech defect when he was young and had a tendency to speak fast because of it. He worked hard at overcoming it. He was a great orator and spoke the truths of God so well, that he was greatly acclaimed. He is a great patron for children who struggle with similar speech difficulties.

St Charles enjoyed the game of chess, for children who enjoy the game as well, it's a good day to play and remember this saint.

Feast Days from Monday October 26th to Sunday 1st November

2009-10-25T22:41:00.011+10:00

The main feast days are this week:

28th October - Sts Simon and Jude

1st November - All Saints Day

28th of October - STS SIMON AND JUDE

A biography of Sts Simon and Jude for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

St Jude is always traditionally depicted holding an image of Our Lord's head and this is due to the tradition that St Thomas asked that St Jude take the holy relic away from Jerusalem where there was persecution and a risk that the shroud would be desecrated. St Jude travelled with the shroud to Edessa. It is believed that the shroud was folded in such a way that only the head of the Divine Lord on the shroud could be seen. This image of Edessa was known as the Mandylion.

Here is some good reading on this facinating connection between the two images, it would make good reading for older children. HT: Shroud Forum

A good craft for the feast would be to make the medalion that St Jude holds. You need a plastic or paper plate and this colouring page I made. (just click on the image to enlarge and save/print)

The children can colour the image in and glue it to the paper plate.

1st of November - ALL SAINTS DAY

I am very sorry I didn't get back to add the links, I hosted an enormous All Saints party this year and it took up all my time in preparation. I will add the links in the months to come so that it will be completed for next year's feast day.

Feast Days from Monday October 19th to Sunday 25th

2009-10-17T03:17:00.021+10:00

The main feast days are this week:

19th October - St Isaac Jogues and companions

20th October - St Paul of the Cross

23rd October - St John Capistrano

24th October - St Anthony Claret

19th of October - ST ISAAC JOGUES AND COMPANIONS

Biography of St Isaac Jogues and companions for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A lovely read-aloud story for children about St Isaac and temptation.

Friends in the Lord website supplied the images and mini biography for the martyrs below.

St. Jean de Brebeuf

Jean de Brébeuf was ordained at thirty-three. He was the first Jesuit Missionary in Huronia (1626), a master of the Indian language. He worked throughout all the district, founded Mission outposts, and converted thousands to the faith. He inspired many Jesuits to volunteer for the Missions of New France. Massive in body, strong yet gentle in character, his visions of the cross and of his future martyrdom were fulfilled when he was captured March 16, 1649. He was tortured for hours and was martyred at St. Ignace, six miles from Ste. Marie. Brebeuf is said to have the heart of a giant. He was known as the apostle of the Hurons.

St. Gabriel Lalemant

Gabriel Lalemant, a Jesuit at nineteen, was ordained at twenty-seven and became a scholar, professor, and college administrator. He was delicate in body and had a strong desire for the Mission of Huronia. After two years in Canada, he left for Huronia. Seven months later, he was able to speak the native tongue. For one month, he was assistant to Brebeuf and then his companion in Martyrdom. He died March 17, 1649, at St. Ignace. He summed up his faith in God, "My strength is the strength of God. In Him, I can do all things."

St. Anthony Daniel

Anthony Daniel was ordained a priest at twenty-nine, was a missionary near Bras-d'or Lakes (1632), founded the first boys' College in North America (Quebec 1635), and laboured in Huronia for twelve years. In 1648, he made his retreat at Ste. Marie and returned to his mission twelve miles away. On July 4, he had just finished Mass when the Mission was attacked. In Mass vestments, he faced the enemy, encouraging the Christian converts to live their faith and thus giving time for some to escape. His martyred body was thrown into the flames of the burning Church. This was at St. Louis. He was forty-eight.

St. Charles Garnier

Charles Garnier was a Jesuit Missionary in Huronia at age thirty-one. For thirteen years, he was pastor and missionary to the Hurons and Petuns. Gentle, innocent, fearless, and a man of faith, he drew converts to the Church. Even when the Mission of Etharita was attacked and he was wounded, he continued to baptize neophytes and to assist the wounded. In these acts, he died at the age of forty-four about thirty miles from Ste. Marie.

St. Noel Chabanel

Noel Chabanel, a Jesuit priest at twenty-eight and a successful professor and humanist in France, had a strong desire to come to the Canadian Missions. Here he was unable to learn the native language and felt useless in his ministry. He took a vow to remain in the missions, on the cross of seeming failure, always in the shadow of martyrdom. Even his martyrdom came secretly at the hands of an apostate on December 8, 1649, on the Nottawasaga, twenty-five miles from Ste. Marie.

St. Isaac Jogues

Isaac Jogues came to Huronia in 1636, worked at mission outposts for three years, helped to build Ste. Marie (1639), and explored as far west as Sault Ste. Marie. Captured by the Iroquois when returning to Ste. Marie from Quebec (1642), he was tortured, he lost his fingers, and he was made a slave. He escaped to France, but he returned the same year to be an emissary and missionary to the Iroquois. He was martyred at Auriesville, N.Y. at the age of thirty-nine.

St. Rene Goupil

Rene Goupil studied medicine and offered his services to the Jesuit missions in Canada. Originally, he had to leave the Jesuit novitiate because of ill health. On his way to Ste. Marie, he and Isaac Jogues were captured and tortured. He was martyred while making the Sign of the Cross on a child. It took place at Auriesville, N.Y. He was thirty-five. He was the first of the eight Martyrs to receive the crown of Martyrdom.

St. Jean de Lalande (see picture above)

At nineteen, Jean de Lalande offered his services as a layman to the Jesuits in New France. He accompanied Jogues to the Mohawk Mission (1646), was captured with him, and was tortured. He saw Jogues martyred. On the following day (October 19, 1646), he himself was killed, a martyr, at Auriesville, N.Y.

Saint Isaac and the Indians is one of the Vision books for children aged 8 to late teens.

Saint Isaac Jogues: With Burning Heart is a similar reading novel

20th of October - ST PAUL OF THE CROSS

Biography of St Paul of the Cross for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

23rd of October - ST JOHN CAPISTRANO

A biography of St John Capistrano for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

St John Capistrano colouring page HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

24th of October - ST ANTHONY CLARET

A biography of St Anthony Claret for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

Feast Days from Monday Oct 12th to Sunday 18th

2009-10-10T06:21:00.017+10:00

The main feast days this week are:

12th October - Our Lady of the Pilar

13th October - Fatima Day - The Miracle of the Sun

13th October - St Edward the Confessor

15th October - St Teresa of Avila

16th October - St Margaret Mary

18th October - St Luke

12th of October - OUR LADY OF THE PILAR

This is a very special feast day as it is Our Lady's first known apparition. What makes this apparition so special is that Our Lady was still living on earth when it took place. She bilocated to Spain where St James the Greater had gone to bring the faith of Christ. St James had not been succesful and was very dejected at this point, camped by the bank of the Ebro River in Saragossa and preparing to return to Jerusalem. St James was deep in prayer when Our Lady appeared to him and gave him a wooden statue of herself holding the Child Jesus upon a jasper pillar saying:

"It will stand from this moment until the end of time in order that God may work miracles and wonders through my intercession for all those who place themselves under my patronage."

She instructed St James to build a church that would stand till the end of time. Tradition tells us that Our Lady had promised St James that when he needed it most in his difficult mission of converting the pagans in Spain, she would come to encourage him.

I am very pleased to share with you two glossy Catholic magazine articles written about one of the Chruch's most incredible and most well documented Marian miracles that took place through the intercession of Our Lady of the Pilar and the Holy Oil that comes from her shrine. It is about a young man who had his amputed leg miraculous restored to him 2 years after losing his limb.

Our Lady of the Pilar - "A Sign for Non Believers" When you follow this link you can click open the 6 pages and either read them online, or print them up and use them as an edifying read-aloud with the family. My children really enjoyed this story.

Our Lady of the Pilar - "A Sign for Non-Believers continued" This historical event is further supported by a modern day doctor who specializes in limb attachment. He states that the testimonies shared by those who witnessed the miracle in the 1600's spoke of things they saw, that describe accurately the science of limb attachment. Descriptions that could not have been fabricated since re-attaching limbs is only been made possible in the last 50 years or so. This another read-aloud for the family and the two together are probably worth reading over a couple of days.

Both of these magazine articles, strengthen our faith and show us the glory of miracles in Catholic Church, as we remember these words of scripture:

Here is Kathyrn's posting on the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar. HT: UK Bookworm

Here is our daily altar today, we did a craft in re-creating Our Lady of the Pillar.

Here is our cake for the feast, this is as simple as buying a swiss roll cake and piping on some cream or icing (I used icing) and then placing a little plastic statue or printing up a little image on cardboard of Our Lady to sit on top.

To make the craft and cake, click here for all my details.

13th of October - OUR LADY OF FATIMA - THE DAY OF THE MIRACLE

Here is our Miracle of the Sun craft for today, click here to see how we made it and how we used it.

Here is our Miracle of the Sun cake which is over at Catholic Cuisine.

Our Lady of Fatima colouring page. HT: www.sjtbre.org

The Children of Fatima by Mary Fayban Windeatt is good for young/older teenagers.

he Day the Sun Danced A lovely 30min cartoon about the apparitions of Fatima.

The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima movie. This is a great hollywood classic that is very moving, a good movie to watch together as a family in the evening.
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13th of October - ST EDWARD THE CONFESSOR

St Edward the Confessor colouring page. HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Biography of St Edward for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

15th of October - ST TERESA OF AVILA

"Let nothing affright thee,

Nothing dismay thee.

All is passing,

God ever remains.

Patience obtains all.

Whoever possesses God

Cannot lack anything

God alone suffices."

~St. Teresa of Avila

This famous quote of St Therese would make a lovely piece of copywork for children to write out and decorate and place on the family altar or wall.

St Teresa of Avila Colouring Book

Biography of St Teresa of Avila for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministeries

St Teresa of Avila colouring page. HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Free St Teresa Coloured Paper Dolls. These were a lovely find! Definately fun for the little girls in the family.

Here are a few recipes in honour of St Teresa from Catholic Cuisine:

Sopa de Ajo Castellana (Castillian Garlic Soup)

Pan de Santa Teresa (St Teresas Bread)

Seafood Paella

Teresa De Jesus is a 3 dvd mini series on her life.

16th of October - ST MARGARET MARY

Our Lord appearing to St Margaret Mary colouring page. HT: www.sjtbre.org

St Margaret Mary holding the Sacred Heart colouring page HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Biography of St Margaret Mary for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

There are many crafts for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but naturally they are very appropriate on the feast of St Margaret Mary, who revealed this devotion in it's fullness to the world. Below are some lovely Sacred Heart crafts, you may want to think of incorporating The twelve promises of Our Lord to St Margaret Mary into some of the ideas below:

Sacred Heart Craft for the family altar HT: Jennifer at Wildflowers and Marbles

Sacred Heart Craft HT: Kimberlee at Pondered in my heart

Sacred Heart Craft HT: Homeschooling Down Under

There are also some lovely Sacred Heart feast ideas from Catholic Cuisine below:

Sacred Heart Cheesecake

Sacred Heart Cookies

Appetizer for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

Lastly another sweet cake idea for the feast of the Sacred Heart HT: Faith and Family Live

Saint Margaret Mary: And the Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Mary Fayban Windeatt

18th of October - ST LUKE

Biography of St Luke for children HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

St Luke colouring page. HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Feast Days from Monday Oct 5th to Sunday 11th

2009-10-05T05:16:00.001+10:00

The main feast days in this week are:

5th October - St Faustina Kowalska

7th October - Our Lady of the Rosary (This feast was established in thanksgiving for the victory of the Battle of Lepanto)

5th of OCTOBER - ST FAUSTINA KOWALSKA

Colouring page of Jesus ~ Divine Mercy

Colouring page of St Faustina

How to make a wooden spoon figurine of St Faustina (this is a fun activity where they can build up a collection of saints in a year) HT: Alice from Cottage Blessings

Divine Mercy Cupcakes would also be appropriate for St Faustina's feast as well. HT: Catholic Cuisine

There is also a craft activity in the book Saints and Feast Days, and that is to make a Mercy Wheel:

"The message Jesus wanted Faustina to spread was about God's mercy, but also about the mercy we must show to every human being. He told Faustina that mercy toward others is unquestionable proof of love for him. Jesus gave Faustina three ways of showing mercy toward neighbors: by deed, by word, and by prayer. Discuss these ways of reflection Jesus' mercy. Draw a mercy wheel that is divided into three segments: Deed, Word, Prayer. Have the students suggest specific ways that they can bring mercy to others."

For family viewing there is a DVD called Faustina.

Of course, any simple Polish dish would be lovely for a main meal at night. Here is a great site with many Polish recipes.

Today is a good day to sing the Divine Mercy Chaplet as a family, I have linked two different versions that have come from EWTN. Our family sings both versions especially when we are travelling in the car, I love both, but the choice is there!

Traditional Sung Version Part One

Traditional Sung Version Part Two

Modern Sung Version Part One

Modern Sung Version Part Two

Modern Sung Version Part Three

St Faustina Kowalska: Messenger of Mercy is a lovely reading novel for children.

The Young Life of St Maria Faustina is a book that has been a wonderful read-aloud with pictures for our children.

Here is our very simple display using crepe paper and our Divine Mercy image, I nice reminder to the children during the day.

I made a very simple vanilla loaf cake and cut it in the shape of rays, iced it in red and white and used icing pens to write the words of Our Lord, "Jesus, I trust in You!"

7th of OCTOBER - FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY

A colouring page of Our Lady of the Rosary. HT: Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda

Colour and Pray the Holy Rosary colouring sheet.

A wonderful site that has a colouring page for each mystery of the rosary ~ beautiful images!

A webpage with activities/puzzles/colouring pages. HT: Domestic Church

Rosary Box Craft, a lovely way to make saying the rosary 'tangible' for children. HT: UK Bookworm

Here are free downloadable colour images of the 20 mysteries of the rosary, that could be used in a craft or for the children when praying the rosary. HT. UK Bookworm

Three fun online games on the rosary ~ Rosary hangman game, Rosary slide puzzle, Rosary matching cards game. HT: Memorare.com

Praying the Rosary with Little Ones ~ this is a delightful craft, making roses for each Hail Mary. HT: Kimberlee from Pondering In My Heart

Here is an online video tutorial that steps you through making the crocheted roses Kimberlee showcases in her posting above.

Victory Vessels are a fabulous savoury meal commerating the Victory of the Battle of Lepanto. HT: Catholic Cuisine For some medieval looking, marian banners to use for the sails on the potato vessels, click here ~ they're wonderful, beautiful titles of Our Lady with medieval images.

Rosary Cupcakes are a lovely sweet treat for the feast. HT: Catholic Cuisine (This link will also take you to many other ladies 'edible rosary beads' ~ all different, one is made completely from biscuits, so this can be a very quick and easy feast idea)

Here is our version of the cupcake rosary, only we used marshmallows for Ave beads and cupcakes for Pater beads, I blogged about making it here.

Don Bosco, Snakes and the Rosary is a read aloud of one of St John Bosco's dreams, in this you will see some fantastic photos of a snake that is just like the hideous monster in the Don's dream - kids will love this!

Earlier this year May Feelings II was released, it is a short, quirky, uplifting 1 min video encouraging teenagers and young adults to pray the rosary, we loved it!

Here is another short 1 minute video called Pray the Rosary Today! featuring Eduardo Veragusti (from Bella), Immaculee Ilibagiza and other young adults encouraging young people to pray the rosary, here Eduardo sing Salve Regina throughout, lovely!

Here is a website explaining how to pray the rosary and the fifteen promises attached to it.

How did this feastday come about? The short version is:

"Pope Pius V formed a Holy League to fight the Turks. The allies included Spain, Venice, Genoa, the Knights of Malta and the Papal States. As the Christian war fleet sailed east, Pius V called on all Christians to pray the Rosary for victory. The Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary filled the streets of Rome and other cities with processions of fervent believers, calling on Our Lady of the Rosary to save Christendom from the infidel.

Their prayers were heard. On October 7, 1571, the Holy League vanquished the Turkish fleet in the bloody Battle of Lepanto, fought near the Greek port of Nafpaktos (or Naupactus), in the narrow strait connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Ionian Sea.

In gratitude, Pope Pius V gave a new title to the Virgin Mary; Our Lady of Victories. He set aside October 7 as her feast day, to commemorate the victory at Lepanto, naming the new holiday festem BMV de victoria; Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Victory. His successor Pope Gregory XIII changed the name of the holiday to Feast of the Holy Rosary, to honor the decisive role of the Rosary in bringing victory at Lepanto. By order of Pope John XXIII, we have called this holiday the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary since 1960."

To read more go to this site.

Lepanto by G K Chesterton is a good book for teenagers and young adults.

St Dominic and the Rosary is a good saints novel for young teenagers.

Here is an sung audio version of Lepanto, very enjoyable. HT: Maria Lectrix

We discovered a documentory in 5 parts on YouTube that talks of the history of the Battle of Lepanto and how they discovered the wreak site, great for older children.

Battle of Lepanto Part One

Battle of Lepanto Part Two

Battle of Lepanto Part Three

Battle of Lepanto Part Four

Battle of Lepanto Part Five

All up this is just under an hour viewing, we downloaded the lot and will be able to watch it on our TV for easier watching.

Here is our little altar for today's feast, we use the top of our sorting center (a long, rectangular set of drawers) I had some lovely rosary fabric and I was able to drap it from the picture that hangs above the sorting center and have it cascade down to the top of the sorting center. A statue, flowers, rosary and it is good reminder to us all of today's feast.

O Queen of the Holy Rosary hymn is the PERFECT hymn for today, here is the sheet music, lyrics and a midi file to hear the tune.

Of course spring is a lovely time to start a Mary Garden, especially in October, the month of the Holy Rosary. Here is our new garden for inspiration. Look in the left hand sidebar for more information about creating a Mary Garden.