Globe Trotting with the Saints
When celebrating the saints, do your children ever wonder when, or where that saint's story took place? In our family, when talking or reading about the saints, we usually get all sorts of questions from the children. Their curiosity offers the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at the culture, history, traditions and geography surrounding the saint we're celebrating.
Here are a few ways we incorporate cross curricular studies into our saintly celebrations:
Read the story:
There are so many feast days to choose from each month! Choose however many work for your family, by having the children draw a saint's name from a basket, or picking a saint yourself, based on a particular saintly virtue you'd like your kids (or yourself!) to practice. Then look for books and stories about the feast day or saint.
One of the feasts we'll be reading about this month is for Our Lady of Altagracia. (St. John Bosco) would be another great January choice for kids.) Our Lady of Altagracia is the patron Saint of the Dominican Republic. Legend says that the prayerful daughter of a rich merchant asked him to bring her a portrait of Our Lady of Altagracia from his travels, but no one there had heard of that title. The merchant, staying overnight at a friend's house, described his problem as they sat outdoors after dinner. An old man, who just happened to be passing by, pulled a rolled up painting from his cart, gave it to the merchant, and said, "This is what you are looking for." It was a painting of the Virgin of Altagracia! They gave the old man a place to stay for the night, but by dawn he was gone, not to be seen again. The merchant placed the image on their mantle, but it repeatedly disappeared only to be found outside in an orange grove in Higuey, where later, a chapel was built in Our Lady of Altagracia's honor.
Get the Globe out!
Place a fun colored sticker on the globe to show where you live, be it a star, an arrow or dot. Next, help your children locate the place where the story of the saint took place. For kids already familiar with the globe, you can make a game of it by asking "Who can show me where the Dominican Republic is?" For children just learning the globe, you can help them narrow it down by asking them to first find the continent, and then give them hints from there. Once the area has been located, put a sticker there to show how far it is from where you live. In our home, it's almost a given that one of the kids will pull out the globe now, when we read about the saints. Even my kindergartner enjoys searching the globe and likes to talk about how he would get to different places. This in turn leads us to talk about whether we could travel to the spot by plane, boar, train or car. Seeing these places on a globe or even a map, helps to reinforce the concept that the Catholic Church is universal, and the children really like having that "real world" connection.
Open an Atlas or hit the Internet!
After you've located the country or town where your saint's story takes place, bring out the atlas - or do a web search - to find out more about the local culture, foods & traditions of the people there today. Many atlases mention the percentage of Catholics in any given region. Use this statistic to discuss possible scenarios the saint may have faced at that time and in that place. What would it have been like if the saint was a missionarry? In the case of Our Lady of Altagracia, it was the Spanish missionaries who introduced her image to the Dominican people and now, Our Lady's feast day of January 21st is celebrated as a national holiday!
Get Cooking!
See if you can find any special ethnic food that you can make to help celebrate the Saint of the Day. For example, many North Amercians have the custom of eating corned beef & cabbge on Saint Patrick's Day. For our feast of Our Lady of Altagracia, we'll be preparing a traditional Domincan dish, Arroz con habicheuleas, which means we'll be chopping cilantro, tomatoes, onions & bellpeppers to make a sauce for black beans and white rice. For dessert we'll have oranges to tie in the story of our Lady (remember her picture in the orange grove?) and my 9 year-old wants to make orange rolls! We're using the recipe for orange rolls from over at CatholicCuisine.com. She's got a yummy orange smoothie recipe for the occasion, too, plus fantastic feast day cooking and baking ideas! Another inspiring source is Lacy at CatholicIcing.com. She does fun, simple treats & the most creative crafts! Here's a directory of saints she's done projects for and posted.
Enjoy globe trotting with the saints!
Contributed by Susana L. Susana is a homeschooling mother of 6, who enjoys writing, design, and celebrating the Liturgical Year with her children. She has written for St. Mary's Messenger and you can read the archives of her homeschooling adventures at montessoricandy.blogspot.com.
Mass and The Eucharist for Children
"I love so much a soul's desire to receive Me, that I hasten to it each time
it summons Me by its yearnings." Jesus, to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
The Joy of The Real Presence
"God is everywhere, in the very air I breathe, yes everywhere, but in His Sacrament of the Altar He is as present actually and really as my soul within my body..." St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
There is "something different" about being in a Catholic church. We Catholics know what the "something" is! The presence of Christ in the Eucharist! How do we share the miracle and joy of the True Presence in a way that our children can understand? How do we ensure that our youngsters are prepared for their First Holy Communion, hearts joyful with the truth of what they are soon to receive? A life altering truth that will keep them coming back for His miraculous and loving gift, again and again.
The Miracle of the Eucharist
"While all sacraments confer grace, the Eucharist contains the author of grace, Jesus Christ Himself." Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
It was while attending a class for parents of First Communicants that this truth rocked my heart, mind and soul. The teacher presented a video about the Eucharist which included a startling (to me) look at the Miracle of Lanciano, in which a host miraculously changed into physical flesh and the wine into physical blood when a doubting priest pronounced the words of the consecration. I nearly fell out of the little student desk I was perched in! Why hadn't I heard this before, I wondered, and why weren't we teaching our children about these miracles?
Skeptical by nature, I began a thorough reading of everything I could find about this and other Eucharistic Miracles. This led me to study anew the theology of the Eucharist, beginning with scripture, especially John Chapter 6, and the writings of the early Church Fathers. Consequently, not un-like doubting Thomas, I was brought to my knees before the tabernacle, whispering with joy, "My Lord and My God." My life had changed forever! I finally understood with unshakable certainty the incomparable gift we, as Catholics, have been given.
For Children
"...when we reach out to receive His Body, Jesus reaches out from Heaven's door [like] a handshake from Heaven."
from A Handshake from Heaven by Carol Bannon
The greatest gift that we can give our children is this certainty - this TRUTH - this JOY! If you think that sharing some awe inspiring stories of Eucharistic Miracles would be an effective way to give this gift to your child, take a look at
Jesus With Us: The Gift of The Eucharist and Little Catechism on The Eucharist. Both of these illustrated books include sections about Miracles of the Eucharist in language young children can understand.
Teens Need Miracles
"From the Eucharist comes strength to live the Christian life and zeal to share that life with others." Pope JPII
If they haven't encountered it already (count your blessings!) your teens and young adults will soon be facing a world that doubts the True Presence. A closer look at the very real and awesome Eucharistic Miracles might be what's needed to brace our young people against the nay sayers and to ignite their zeal in defense of the Truth. Adoring Jesus with the Holy Father shares a rich resource of papal prayers and perspectives on the real presence whilte Matt Pinto's teen book, Do I Have to Go? delivers a masterful presentation of Eucharistic Miracles. It will open teenage eyes to this awesome gift - a gift they have the choice to receive... or turn their backs on. For teens (and adults!) who need help focusing on the miracle of Jesus' presence in the Eucharist, The Mass: Four Encounters with Jesus That Will Change Your Life can't be beat.
Keeping the Joy Burning
"Every act of reverence, every genuflection that you make before the Blessed Sacrament is important because it is an act of faith in Christ, and act of love for Christ. And every sign of the cross and gesture of respect made each time you pass a church is also an act of faith." Pope JPII
Keeping the joy of their First Communion alive and burning in our youngsters' hearts obliges us to keep the joy alight in our own. Like the warm, red glow of the tabernacle lamp proclaiming the presence of Our Lord, we too can honor God in our midst. It can be as simple as a humble genuflection or bow as we pass by, or a reverent whispering heavenward of "My Lord and My God" at each elevation of the Host. Let them see you doing it, and little ones will soon be whispering those four words of love right along with you.
On the home front, remember to make it easy for your kids to get their eyes and hands on a variety of materials that reinforce these teachings! Fill your family library with books, DVD and audio stories about the Mass, the Eucharist and, always, the lives of the Saints.
More favorite children's books & audio stories about the Mass & the Eucharist:
The Weight of a Mass
The Mass Book For Children
Today I Made My First Communion
Cat. Chat CD Vol. 4 - The Mass Comes Alive
For hands-on fun: Visit our favorite crafty Catholic at this link to find a fun-to-make sparkly monstrance.
Many thanks to contributing writer Leanne Rose for this post.
Eucharist Adoration - "Be Still and Know that I am God
"To be alone with with Jesus in adoration and intimate union with Him is the Greatest Gift of Love - the tender love of Our Father in Heaven." Mother Teresa
"Did you ever consider well, dear Christian soul, that, when the Sacred Host is publicly exposed, Jesus is not on His Eucharistic throne to receive the adorations of the angels and to enjoy the company of the blessed? These He finds in heaven. But He is on His Eucharistic throne to receive your adorations, to listen to your confidences, and to console and alleviate your sorrows and trials. from the The Holy Eucharist, by Jose Guadalupe Trevino.
Eucharist Adoration
As I arrived at my parish for Adoration, how heartbroken I was to find my Lord all alone in that big, dark, empty
church. When I knelt before Him in still and silent prayer, the profound peace that can only be found in His
Presence swept over me and I ached to find the words to share this remarkable treasure of our Catholic faith. My eyes filled with tears as I called to mind those words Jesus spoke to his disciples the night before his agony so very long ago, “My soul is sorrowful
even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me” and upon finding them asleep, “So you could not watch with me for one hour?” (Matthew 26:38,41) Tears fell for all the times I’ve been too busy to “keep watch with Him” in Adoration and for all the times He’s been alone and waiting. I prayed that someday the church would be full of parish families come to adore their God.
• Who
Holy Hour is not just for adults! Young and
old are all invited to sit and be still in the presence of our Lord at Eucharistic Adoration.
• What
Eucharistic Adoration is first of all
acknowledging that God is our Creator and furthermore, that God is indeed present in the Eucharist. Jesus in
His Eucharistic presence is exposed, usually in the sacred vessel called a Monstrance, and adored as His heart is revealed to us. He only asks that you
keep watch with Him, opening your heart, mind and soul in quiet and reverent adoration and prayer. You may find the DVD Children’s Adoration in the Third Millennium helpful in preparing your children for Adoration. It uses actual footage of children of all ages, and their families, at Adoration.
• When and Where
If you don’t yet make regular visits to your church for Adoration, find out if they offer First Friday Adoration. It’s a
wonderful way to begin (and the consistent dates are easy to remember). You may be surprised by how much you begin to look forward to these tranquil,
revitalizing “dates” with Jesus. If your church doesn’t practice First Fridays, choose a day and make it work for you by marking it on your calendar for the next few months. (Spontaneity works great for some, but others of us operate best with brightly highlighted reminders on the calendar!) It won’t take long before you begin to experience a yearning that will remind you of the upcoming day.
• Why
Even a few moments spent in prayer and adoration can bring a deeper peace into your personal life, thus, into your family's life! After many years of leading Holy Hours, Fr. Antoine Thomas, of the Community of St. John, has formed a children's Eucharistic Adoration program known as Children of Hope which is being implemented in parishes around the world. (To learn more from Children of Hope click here.) He has found the benefits of Adoration for both children and their families to be:
- Children who previously had only the weekly experience of Mass, discover that the Host is actually the person of Jesus, mysteriously hidden.
They develop a greater interest in the mysteries of our Faith and the liturgy of the Mass.
- They understand more than other children of their age who have not experienced Eucharistic Adoration the relationship
between the gift of the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross out of love
for mankind.
- They become much more aware of the various degrees of sin and seem very eager to receive the sacrament of Confession often. They become friends with Jesus by spending time with Him and become living signs of faith in Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist for
those who doubt, and therefore also become wonderful signs of hope for those who despair in finding God on earth.
- How
As one who is never without a book to read
or something to do, a Martha by nature, it was difficult for me at first to be a Mary; to simply sit at the feet of Jesus, gaze upon him, and be still.
(Luke 10:38-42) But with time and through prayer, I’ve learned to open my heart and just be in His presence. The same can be true with children and teens. “My child will never sit still for Adoration!” you exclaim. Yes, children are fidgety
and God knows that! It's okay to start small; even five minutes after Mass to quietly visit Our Lord present in the tabernacle would be a start. Your teens especially need quiet time before Our Lord. Their lives are stressful and jam-packed with activities. This time of prayer in Adoration may give them the much needed opportunity to share with their Creator burdens of their hearts that they will not share with you.
A Happy Conclusion
Before I left our Lord that day when I had lamented finding Him so alone, a young mother came in to church, pushing her toddler in a stroller. I couldn’t help but smile thinking how happy that must make Him who proclaimed, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder
them; for to such belong the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 19:14) What greater gift can we give our children than to bring
them before the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and teach them to be still and know that He Is God! (Psalms 46:10)
A big "Thank You" to Leanne Rose for this contribution. After spending many years in the arid central valley of California, home-schooling her two sons, Leanne now resides in a sleepy coastal town where she delights in picnic dinners on the beach with her husband, walking her dog rain or shine, reading all things Catholic, and visits from her young adult sons.
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