January

Posted on January 15, 2013 by edlewis4

The Church celebrates Epiphany when Christ is revealed to the world.  The star led the three kings to Jesus where they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and worshiped the new born King. Next we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord.  When Jesus was baptized, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit appeared like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Celebrating our Catholic traditions around your kitchen table.

As you gather for mealtime this week, each family member can tell what “stars” lead them to Jesus.  These can be persons (such as parents, teachers, priests, friends, etc.)  events (such as family gatherings, special meals, etc.) or places (such as being in church, quiet time in their room, camping, etc.)

As you plan to celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord, have the children call or write a note to their godparents.  Discuss each family member’s baptism – who was there, how the parents felt, what it means to each family member to be a part of God’s family.

 

After the Baptism of the Lord, we begin Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is called “ordinary” because the weeks are numbered.  The word stems from the Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series.  Ordinary Time is in fact the ordered life of the Church, the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) nor in penance (as in Advent and Lent), but in our watchfulness and expectation of the Second Coming of Christ.

How you, as a family, can celebrate who you are as Catholics.

During this Ordinary Time, we are asked to pray for peace on earth, Christian unity, the sick and their caregivers, students and teachers, and the unemployed.  Use these intentions as your prayers before dinner or your nightly prayers.  Discuss ways your family can work for peace, such as donating food to the Food Pantry, being conscious of water and praying for those who don’t have clean water for drinking, telling someone you may have hurt that you are sorry, and/or reading the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-16) and discussing them as a family.

 

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES  The feast day of St. Francis de Sales is January 24.  Francis was from a wealthy family and received a very good education.  After his studies were completed, his father wanted him to marry, but Francis had decided through prayer to become a priest and share his love of God with others. Francis learned how to multiply his efforts to bring people to God by writing essays explaining doctrines of faith and distributing them to as many people as possible.  He also was a powerful speaker who spoke in a simple and clear language.  His writing and preaching brought many people to the Catholic faith.

Celebrating the feast days of the saints at home.

St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of writers.  Choose a topic such as “Why we believe” or “What it means to be a Catholic”, or another topic and have everyone in the family add a sentence or two to your family essay. In Francis’ day (16th century), printed material was limited.  How have communication methods changed and what ways can be used now to tell people about God and the Church?

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December

Posted on January 15, 2013 by edlewis4

Advent begins our new liturgical year.  Advent is a time for joyous anticipation.  We prepare to celebrate Christ’s coming in history, Christ’s presence in our lives today, and Christ’s coming in the future.  On Dec. 6, we celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas, a bishop who devoted his life to helping others.  He gave in secret and especially loved to help children.  In some countries, children leave their shoes by the door on the eve of St. Nicholas (Dec. 5) and in the morning find treats in their shoes.  December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrating Mary being born without original sin.

Celebrating our Catholic traditions around your kitchen table.

Make special ornaments that you have to WAIT for to dry and harden.  Mix one part applesauce with four or five parts ground cinnamon.  Roll the mixture just like cookie dough.  Use cookie cutters (stars, trees, angels, bells) to make designs.  Make a hole for a ribbon at the top of each “cookie”.  Allow to dry and harden (takes about 3 days).  Put ribbon in each to hang in your kitchen for a special holiday aroma.  Or put a few in a little basket to give to someone in the spirit of St. Nicholas’ giving.

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT   This second week of Advent, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12).  In 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to an Aztec Indian, Juan Diego, and left him with a picture of herself impressed on his cloak.  She asked that a church be built in her honor, but the bishop refused to believe Juan Diego.  Mary appeared again and told Juan to return to the bishop and bring him flowers.  In the bishop’s room, Juan opened his cloak and out dropped Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, and the imprint of Mary.  Today, the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near Mexico City, is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimages in the world.

Passing along the traditions of the Church to your family.

This is a very special feast for the Mexican people.  On this day, the Mexican people have big celebrations and processions to honor Mary.  This is a good day to get out your Christmas Crib set.  Have a procession and carry the figures to the place where you will set up the crib scene.  Don’t put the Christ Child figure in the crib until Christmas Eve.  Don’t put the Three Kings out yet either – they didn’t arrive until after Christmas!

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT  On the third week of Advent, we light the pink candle on our Advent wreath to symbolize joy as our light grows and we get closer to our celebration of Christmas.  Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.”

Celebrating the Church’s season of Advent at home.

Go outside one night and notice how dark it is.  Try to imagine how much darker it would be if all street lights and car lights were turned off!  Thank God for sending His Son, Jesus, to bring LIGHT into a dark world.  When you put up your Christmas tree, you may want to use this prayer to bless the tree:

This tree is a blessing to our home.  It reminds us of all that is beautiful, all that is filled with the gentleness and promise of God.  It is our tree of light, which reminds us to be a light to one another.  Bless all who gather around this tree.  May its light be a sign of the joy that fills our hearts.  Amen

FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT  On the fourth Sunday of Advent we light the fourth candle.  The season of Advent will end at sunset on Christmas Eve and Christmastime will begin.  On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, put the Christ Child in the manger.  Now Feast!! Enjoy all the treats you have been baking and making.

  Passing along the traditions of the Church to your family.

 The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on the day after Christmas and end on the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6).  This Christmas carol began as a hymn with each number a symbol for a truth of the Faith.  It was used often as a teaching tool.  The symbolism goes like this:

Partridge in a pear tree = the one true God

Two turtle doves = the two testaments, old and new

Three French hens = three Persons of the Trinity

Four calling birds = four evangelists

Five golden rings = the five books of the Pentateuch

Six geese a laying = six jars of water at Cana (the first miracle)

Seven swans a-swimming = seven sacraments

Eight maids a-milking = eight beatitudes

Nine drummers drumming = nine choirs of angels

Ten pipers piping = Ten Commandments

Eleven ladies dancing = eleven faithful disciples

Twelve lords a-leaping = twelve tribes of Israel (or twelve apostles)

 

CHRISTMAS TIME  The Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family.  A family is a gift from God to us.  We need family.  We need to accept the support and love given by family members and we need to share our support and love with them.  On this feast we celebrate the family life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, three people who lived for God and loved and supported each other.

Bringing Catholic beliefs & customs to your family gatherings.

This is an opportunity to celebrate your own “holy family”.  Take advantage of this feast day by planning a special family activity whether that’s a game day/night, going to the movies, a special meal and/or a family service project. Make it a fun tradition, one the children will anticipate each year.

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November

Posted on November 19, 2012 by janet

The Church celebrates All Saints’ Day on November 1.  God’s saints come in every size, shape, color, and age.  Some saints are remembered by name, but many are unknown to us.  Known or unknown, honored or forgotten, they have one great thing in common – during their lives, all helped to announce the kingdom of God – all have shown joy, love, compassion and service to others.

We celebrate All Souls’ Day on November 2 and throughout the whole month of November.  This is a time we set aside to pray for all the dead who have gone before us.  We pray:

Eternal rest grant them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen

Passing along the traditions of the Church to the next generation.

Saints are people who try to see Christ in every person and in every situation.  Among your friends, who are those special people who show love of God and love of others in all they do?  Have your family choose a “patron saint” for the family and research how that person lived their life and how you can follow their example.

For the month of November, cut out a paper cross and list all family and friends on it who have died.  Put it in a prominent place and pray for them throughout the month.

ST. FRANCES CABRINI  The feast day of St. Frances Cabrini is celebrated on November 13.  Frances Cabrini was born in Italy in 1850 and founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.  She established many schools, hospitals and orphanages.  She set out in 1889 for the United States where she also  established schools, hospitals, and orphanages.  She then went to South America and founded schools in Argentina, Brazil, and Nicaragua.  Mother Cabrini died in Chicago and became the first United States citizen to be canonized.  She is the patroness of immigrants.

Celebrating the feast days of the saints at home.

Look up on a map some of the places St. Frances Cabrini helped the poor.  Where else do God’s poor need help?  Remember missionaries in your prayers and also immigrants and refugees.  Make Thanksgiving cards to send to a nursing home or hospital (for example: a nursing home, Children’s Hospital, Veterans’ Hospital in your area)

The Church celebrates the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Nov. 21.  Tradition says that Mary was taken to the temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old and dedicated to God.  What we spiritually celebrate on this day is the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way.  We, too, become temples of the Holy Spirit at Baptism.  We are invited to be open to God as Mary was.  This week we also celebrate Thanksgiving.  We reflect on the fact that we came into this world with nothing, so everything is a gift.

Thanking God for our many gifts.

This week, choose some special way to honor Mary and ask her to help you care about others as she did.  As you gather for Thanksgiving dinner, have each person say what they are thankful for.  Or make a Thanksgiving tree – put twigs in a bottle, cut leaves from construction paper and have everyone write what they are thankful for on a leaf and tape it to the tree.  Say a prayer of thanks to God.

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING  Next weekend, the Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King, Crowns and wreaths are common symbols of kingship.  This is the last Sunday of the Church year.  All around us, everything is building toward Christmas, but our season of Advent comes first.  Advent is a time to wait for Christmas and to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Celebrating our Catholic traditions around your kitchen table.

Now is a good time to prepare an Advent wreath for the coming Advent season.  As you construct it, talk about the significance of each part.  The 4 candles represent the 4,000 years prior to Christ’s coming and the 4 weeks of Advent.  The unlighted candles represent the dark ages before Christ’s coming.  The lighted candles represent Christ, the Light of the World.  The candles are traditionally 3 purple and one pink. (The pink is the 3rd Sunday).  The circular form of the wreath symbolizes that God has no beginning and no end.  The green of the boughs indicates hope and evergreens never die just as God’s love is forever.  Set your Advent wreath in a prominent spot and light the candles each Sunday as you gather for a meal, adding one lighted candle each week.

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October

Posted on November 19, 2012 by janet

October is the month of the Rosary.  The Rosary is a summary of Christian faith.  Pope Paul VI said, “The recitation of the Rosary helps the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord.”   The Rosary is a combination of vocal prayer (the Our Fathers & Hail Marys) and mental  prayer (reflection on important events in the life of Jesus and His Mother.

                              Passing along the traditions of the Church to the next generation.

Plan to pray the Rosary as a family regularly during this month.  Discuss each mystery of the Rosary.

ST. THERESE  St. Therese, the Little Flower (Oct. 1) became a Carmelite nun at the age of 17.  She lived a life of prayer and performed all her routine duties with love and faithfulness.  Her love for God transformed everything she did, however small, into a pleasing gift for God.   St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4) was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant and enjoyed all the benefits of a rich life.  But Francis experienced a great change in himself and began visiting the sick and supporting the poor.  Francis left his old life to follow Christ as a poor man.  He was a lover of people and nature and attracted others to share his love of Christ and the Gospel.

Celebrating the feast days of the saints at home.

To celebrate St. Therese’s feastday, discuss ways each family member can perform small acts of kindness.  How can your family do something to show kindness to a neighbor or friend?  To celebrate the feast of St. Francis, gather with your family and pet and pray a blessing thanking God for your pet.  St. Francis saw the beauty and value of all of creation.  Discuss ways to be good stewards of creation – how to care for the earth, the animals, and all people.

 

ST. LUKE  The feast of St. Luke is celebrated October 18.  Luke compiled the third Gospel.  He describes at length the infancy of Jesus and writes sensitively of Jesus’ regard for women, the underprivileged and the outcasts of society.  Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles in which he relates the beginnings of the infant Church as it develops under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  When our new liturgical year begins this Advent (Dec. 2), the Gospel of Luke will be read most of the year.

Celebrating the feast days of the saints at home.

Luke is the patron saint of doctors.  Write your doctors and dentists notes of thanks for their good and important work.  Using a child’s Bible, read some of the parables in Luke’s Gospel.  Discuss how your family can treat others fairly and justly.

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workshop on “Liturgical Year Activities for the Classroom”

Posted on September 12, 2012 by janet

I am getting ready to present a workshop on “Liturgical Year Activities for the Classroom” to a group of teachers and religious education catechist.  I am a “theme” person – I like to choose a theme for almost everything I plan such as Advent, Lent, story time (I have story time in our parish library once a month), etc.  One of my favorite themes for Lent is “A Journey with Jonah”.  I created a paper mache whale to hold the promises of each student – what they will try to do during the Lenten season.  Then each week, before class, I roll up a letter from Jonah and put it in a bottle (end sticking out of course) and read it to the students during religion time.  Jonah’s story is great for Lent – disobeying God, repenting, angry at God, finally understanding.  I copy each story on a parchment type of paper just for effect.  My daughter teaches second grade in a Catholic school and uses this for Lent in her classroom.  She also puts a whale on her bulletin board and adds the letter each week after she has read it to the class.  You can find the letters here.

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September

Posted on September 11, 2012 by janet

SEPTEMBER

The Feast of Mary’s birth is celebrated on September 8.  Mary, a simple human being just like us has shown us how to have strong faith in God.  She also teaches us how to obey God’s will.  By honoring the birth and life of Mary, and trying to be like her, we can come closer to God the Father and to Jesus, the Son of God and son of Mary.

Celebrating the feast days of the saints at home.

Celebrate Mary’s birthday by having a special cake for dessert with a candle for each member of the family, pray a Hail Mary and ask Mary to pray for your family this year.

Also, foster the habit of making schoolwork a source of prayer (beyond “Oh God, let me pass this test!”)  One way is to get each student in your home to write and to memorize his or her own short personal homework prayer.  Share the prayers and encourage their frequent use.

 

The Feast of the Triumph of the Cross is celebrated on September 14.  According to tradition, Empress Helena discovered the Lord’s Cross in Jerusalem on September 14, 320.  Later a great Church was built to shelter the holy relic.  One symbol most often identified with Jesus and His Church is the cross.  The cross is a sign of suffering, but by Christ’s love, it has become a sign of triumph and victory, the sign of God Who is love itself.

Bringing Catholic beliefs & customs to your family gatherings.

This is a good time to think about why and how we make the Sign of the Cross.  How many crosses can the children find in your house? on a car ride? in church?

 

The feast of St. Matthew is celebrated on September 21.  Matthew, a tax collector, was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.  Tax collectors were agents of the hated Roman government and members of a profession known for unfairness and greed.  No good Jew would have anything to do with them.  By calling Matthew, Jesus showed that God wants all, no matter who they are, to share His life.

Celebrating the feast days of the saints at home.

Share gold foil coin candies for dessert and discuss how being unfair and greedy hurts others and how being fair and sharing is how we follow Jesus.  Matthew decided that money wasn’t as important as what Jesus had to do.  Talk about the things and people you think are important.

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Around the kitchen table

Posted on September 11, 2012 by janet

So much was accomplished around our kitchen table – math facts and spelling words were learned, prayers were said, hurt feeling were soothed, angers were tempered, memories were recalled, and dreams were shared.  The kitchen table is where my family grew up and where we all got to know who we were as individuals and as a family.  It is where many of our religious traditions began and grew.  Now our children are grown and building lives and families of their own, but the kitchen table is still where we congregate to catch up with each other and share our adult lives.

Drawing on my personal experience, I began sharing ideas with the parents in my parish.  And I would like to share them with all of my readers.  Wherever your family shares time and space, these are just suggestions of ways to share your faith.  Maybe some will seem meaningful to you, or help you recall a similar tradition that you celebrated growing up.  For each month, I will highlight the holy days and some of the saints’ feast days.  I will just give snippets of the saint’s life and simple ways to celebrate it at home (or possibly in school.)  If you have older children, especially ones preparing for Confirmation, they may want to research some of the saints as they choose their Confirmation name.

Using a Catholic calendar to get the dates of the holy day or the saints’ feast days, I choose one each week.  I will add on to the list as time goes on.  There are many great children’s books on saints to give you a more detailed look at their lives.

September
October
November

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VISIT WITH SAINT NICHOLAS

Posted on September 9, 2012 by janet

One of my favorite Advent activities is our “Visit with Saint Nicholas”.   On a Saturday morning closest to the feast day of St. Nicholas (Dec. 6), families come together to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.  I don’t have anything against Santa Claus, but he is everywhere for a long time.  I wanted the children in our parish to see the other side of Christmas.  So we set up long tables in our cafeteria with simple projects for the families to do (usually 7-8 projects).  And the parents have to work with their children on the crafts.  We make cards, place mats, jewelry, treat bags, and any other simple crafts I can come up with.  There is no order, they go where they want.  The secret is – it is all for children and elderly in hospitals.  The first year I wondered if the children would want to take their projects home and would be very disappointed to leave them.  I worried for nothing.  I have been doing this for over 20 years and I have never had a child upset (I tell them up front that we are making gifts for others).  As they complete their projects, they take them to a central table and it is so beautiful as those gifts multiply.

We have cookies and juice available before and during the craft portion.  They can come to the refreshment table whenever they want.  Then about halfway through the event (we schedule 10:00 to noon), I call them to sit in a special area and talk to them about what they have been doing.  They love to tell what they have made.  Then I tell them that we have a very special visitor and have them call out for St. Nicholas.  Over the years, I have had several St. Nicholas’ and each has been excellent.  A parishioner made a beautiful costume – white gown, red velvet type cape with gold trim, Bishop’s miter, long staff, large wooden cross necklace, and a white beard and hair so the children will not recognize him (sometimes it has been the dad of one of the children!).  The children are awed.  “St. Nicholas” tells them his story – brief, but about giving the gold to the daughters for their dowry and how he loves to give in secret.  Each St. Nicholas has told it a bit differently but always interesting.  Then the children tell him what they have just done and why.  We sing some preschool type Christmas songs, then go back to finish the craft projects and St. Nicholas walks around seeing what they are doing and giving each child a gold coin, a candy cane, and a coloring book that I made with clip art (St. Nicholas coloring book).

Craft Projects for Visit with Saint Nicholas

Christmas cards – red, green and gold construction paper folded in half, cut outs from old Christmas cards, crayons and glue sticks.  (I used to use glitter, but that is just too messy and I don’t think the hospitals appreciated it!)

Christmas place mats – long construction paper, cut outs from old cards, stickers, stencils, crayons, glue sticks.

Treat bags – we have done these many ways – use toiletry items in small Christmas bags, use candy in toilet paper tubes then roll Christmas paper around the roll and tie off the ends, fill small baskets with either toiletries or candies and wrap with colored plastic wrap.

Jewelry and ornament kits from Oriental Trading.  Most kits are easy enough for children to do and remember the parents are doing it with them, so they usually come out very nice.

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Letters from Jonah

Posted on September 5, 2012 by janet
jonah and the whale

Jonah

Dear friends,

Let me tell you about an incredible journey. It all began when God told me what He wanted me to do. God wanted me to go to the city of Nineveh and speak to the people there. They were bad. They didn’t live the way God wanted them to. So God wanted ME to get them to change their ways and to live good lives.

Well, this is when my problems began. You see, I don’t like the people of Nineveh – in fact, I don’t like them at all. So I really didn’t care if God destroyed the whole city. But God told me to go and get them to repent.

But, being the smart guy that I am, I decided to do things my way instead. So I went down to the port and paid to get on a ship that was going to another city – far away from Nineveh! God wouldn’t find me going in the opposite direction. God would probably forget about me and about what He told me to do.

Wrong!! After sailing for awhile, a terrible storm came up and was tossing the ship all around. The other crew members were really scared. They were sure someone had made God mad. When they remembered that I was running away from God, they were very mad at me.

You won’t believe what they did next! But I will save that for my next letter. Just remember – you can’t hide from God.

Your friend, Jonah

Click here for more jonah-letters

 

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