Our Resurrection Cross - A New Easter Tradition

A few days ago I started showing you some of the changes that we have made in our home for the Easter season. Today I'd like to share one more with you.

This year my husband made a large wooden cross with the boys during the season of Lent.

On Good Friday he talked to them about how Jesus was nailed to the cross and about His immense love for us. He took out 3 nails, let the boys look at them and hold them, and gave them a little poke on each of their hands and feet (don't worry...it was just a small poke) so that they would understand that it HURT Jesus. Then, they nailed 3 nails into the cross.

On Holy Saturday, we placed a cloth on the cross.

And on Easter Sunday, we began to decorate the cross with beautiful signs of life (i.e. paper flowers, butterflies, ladybugs, bees, etc) to celebrate Jesus' Resurrection.

It is now our Resurrection Cross and we have placed it in a prominent place in our living room, to remind us of Christ's love for us, and His victory over sin and death.

It is such a joy to listen to the boys as they tell everyone who comes to visit about their "Easter/Resurrection cross". They'll say things like,"Jesus is not dead anymore","Jesus got on the cross because He loves us so, so much", and "Jesus is risen and His boo boos don't hurt Him anymore". Precious.

Here are a few pictures...

Good Friday Cross

Holy Saturday Cross

Easter Sunday!!! - Resurrection Cross

 

Note: I have to give partial credit to Kimberlee and Dana for the inspiration behind this project (...the rest was Divinely inspired). Thank you for your beautiful ideas!

Lift High The Cross

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Led on their way by this triumphant sign,
The hosts of God in conquering ranks combine.

Each newborn servant of the Crucified
Bears on the brow the seal of Him Who died.

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
As Thou hast promised, draw the world to Thee.

So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory.

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Words: George W. Kitch­in; mod­i­fied by Mi­chael R. New­bolt in 1916.

Music: Crucifer, Syd­ney H. Ni­chol­son, 1916

Celebrating the Feast of Divine Mercy

This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday!


Jesus said to St. Faustina "The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender Mercy at that time when My agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross....Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him."


Here are several ideas that I have gathered for celebrating the feast...

Listen to/Read Stories of St. Faustina and Divine Mercy

For the Littles:

Holy Heroes has a series of CDs on the lives of the saints called Glory Stories. They are perfect for listening to in the car, and have lessons for adults too! For this feast listen to the story of St. Faustina.

To purchase Holy Heros Glory Stories click here

  

I absolutely LOVE this children's book about St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy Image by David Previtali. Unfortunately, it is no longer in print so most copies are QUITE expensive. If you happen to find one for a reasonable price, don't hesitate, just buy it!

EWTN has a wonderful DVD series of saint stories called My Catholic Family. In this particular DVD the parents teach their children about Divine Mercy.

To preview this DVD visit EWTN Kids

EWTN also has this DVD in which St. Fautina teaches children about Divine Mercy and how to pray the chaplet.

Father Lovasik has written a fabulous book called The Works of Mercy. This would be a perfect book to read and teach children about God's Mercy and about BEING merciful. It is also quite IN-expensive

For adults

Read The Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul (my favorite section of this book is the one on Faustina's Eucharistic reflections. It is at the very end of the book)

Read about the life of St. Faustina and the History/Message of Divine Mercy

Color Pictures and Make Crafts

Here are a couple of links to my FAVORITE coloring pages pertaining to the Feast of Divine Mercy

I just LOVE this Divine Mercy Icon coloring page by Charlotte over at Waltzing Matilda. It is the perfect outline for making your own mosaic (just cut up several pieces of paper, in a variety of colors, and glue all the little pieces to the picture).


(I equally love this stained glass window coloring page of the Divine Mercy Image from the coloring book: Fenestrae Fidei: A Coloring Companion for Catholic Mosaic. However, it is not a free print out...but it is only $9.99 and worth every penny! It includes 48 stained glass style pictures of the saints and major Feasts of the Church)

This picture was found at Shower of Roses, my new favorite Catholic blog.

You can also find a coloring page for St. Faustina, the Mercy Image, and JPII, as well as a couple of word searches at Divine Mercy Kids.






I think that this is a perfect craft for little ones.

Visit Make Music Praying Twice for FREE print outs and the full tutorial here

Eat!(after all it is a FEAST-DAY)

Serve foods that are red and blue to represent the rays of light (which in turn represent the blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of Christ).

I think these two ideas are so beautifully clever!

Mercy Pancakes!

Doesn't this cheesecake look just DIVINE?!


*For these and more amazing food ideas visit Catholic Cuisine


Pray!

Set up a sacred space with the Divine Mercy Image as your centerpiece.

 
Decorate with a vase filled with roses/flowers (half red and half white/blue).

Pray the Mercy Chaplet as a family (you may wish to pray this during the 3:00 Mercy hour...the hour that Jesus died on the Cross).

*To burn a free CD of the Mercy Chaplet (Chanted) click here.

Practice one or more of the spiritual or corporal works of mercy as a family ("The first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy...I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me." Diary, 742).

Works of Mercy, by the Master of Alkmaar

Have a lovely Feast day!!!



Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Liturgical Wheel for the Littles

Another change we made in our home this past Sunday, was turning our liturgical wheel from Lent/purple to Easter/white. You may remember this idea from my earlier post on Lenten ideas for the littles (you can find info on how to use the wheel, and the significance of the liturgical colors there). Well here is our version of the liturgical wheel for the littles.

Note: We didn't have any Catholic catalogs to cut pictures out of, so I just drew the pictures.

Note: We couldn't find brad(?) clips, so we used velcro on our wheel. And, as a finishing touch, my wonderful Mr laminated it for us.

Back Piece

Back Side of Front Piece

 

Our "2" and "3" have really enjoyed talking about the colors as the liturgical seasons change. They especially love to talk about the colors before going to mass and then seeing the same colors on the altar and the vestments of the priest (boy did Palm Sunday throw them for a loop!...I may make another wheel that includes even more colors. For now, this works just fine.).

Easter Story Cookie Recipe! (perfect for littles)

A dear friend of mine just sent this Easter Story Cookie recipe to me today and we are going to put it to use tomorrow with our littles. I think that the idea sounds wonderful and that it is a perfect end of Lent/Easter activity for little ones. It is also a beautiful way to emphasize the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ on the last day before Easter. I can definitely see this becoming an annual Holy Saturday tradition in our home.  Enjoy!

Easter Story Cookie Recipe

EASTER STORY COOKIES

To be made the evening before Easter.

You Will Need:

1c. whole pecans

1 tsp. vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch salt

1c. sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon
wax paper

tape

Bible

Preheat oven to 300 (this is important--don't wait until you're half done

with the recipe)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. 

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.

Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

 Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. 

Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1c. sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because

He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. 

Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 7-10 minutes or until stiff peaks are formed.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. 

Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.

Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. 

Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.

Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. 

The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matt. 28:1-9

Happy Easter!
He is Risen!!!

From the Mouths of Babes...

Yesterday, as we sat down to pray before lunch, I noticed that my ten month old folded her hands when the prayer began, and kept them folded until the prayer was done. I made a comment to my boys about how lovely it was that their little baby sister was praying with us. Without skipping a beat, my "nearly three" said "Oh yes. That  makes Mary so happy".

What an awesome privilege and blessing it is to be a mother!

Celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph - Prayer, Craft, and Song

Happy Solemnity of St. Joseph!

Today I am praying for my beautiful son on his feast-day, for my holy, humble, and heroic husband who strives to follow the example of this blessed Saint each and every day, for my wonderful father and father-in-law, and for all of the other holy men in my life. I am so thankful for each and every one of you, and am a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and woman because of your presence in my life.

 

This is my favorite prayer to this beautiful and blessed man:

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for me. 

Taken from the Pieta Prayer Book

*This prayer was found in the fifteenth year of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1505 it was sent from the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle. Whoever shall read this prayer or hear it or keep it about themselves, shall never die a sudden death, or be drowned, poison shall not take effect on them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy; or shall be burned in any fire, or shall be overpowered in battle.

Here are a couple of ideas that you can use with your littles to celebrate today's Solemnity (and if they're too late for today, remember that the whole month of March is dedicated to this beautiful Saint. Or you can re-visit this post on May 1 for the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker):

Craft Ideas: 

1. Sacred Space:

Today we are going to change up our sacred space by placing an icon of St. Joesph in the center and adding a bouquet/vase of lilies (see craft below)...adding a hammer, a piece of wood, and a square would be neat too. 

2. Paper Roll Doll Craft:

We are going to make St. Joesph, Mary, and Jesus (the boy) dolls using paper and toilet paper rolls. Learn how here.

3. Hand-print Lily Craft: 

Last but not least we're making this awesome lily craft. The lily is a sign of virginity in the Church and St. Joseph is often depicted holding one. Get step by step instructions (with pictures) on how to make a St. Joseph lily here.

Song Idea:

This song was taught to me and my siblings when we were young, by my beautiful mother, who in turn learned it from  the sisters at her grade-school. Today I am thrilled to pass it along to my littles. I guess you could call it a family tradition!

St. Joseph the Carpenter

St Joseph was a carpenter, a carpenter, a carpenter,

and Jesus used to watch him hammer, hammer all day long

And Jesus learned to hammer too, to hammer too, to hammer too,

And he could make a table or a little chair for you

It really was not hard at all, not hard at all, not hard at all,

For God who made the lovely world to make a chair or two

 (author unknown)

I'll have to post a video with the melody...to find the time...if only.


PAX,

b

P.S.

If you'd like to read a beautiful little commentary on St. Joesph and the men in our lives hop over to Sarah's blog and read her post.

Lenten Ideas for Littles

When I was in college, studying to be a teacher, I remember almost every one of my professors saying, at one time or another, that "Great teachers are excellent thieves".

What does this have to do with Lent?

Well, what was meant by that phrase is that as a teacher, in most circumstances, one does not have to come up with brand new ideas...the majority of the time, one has only to look at what another has already thought up and tweak it to ones liking. I decided to take my professors' word for it and become a "thief" of ideas.

That being said, I have "stolen" a fair number of these ideas for lent from others. The ideas listed below are not a conclusive list of every great idea I have come across, but merely the things that my Mr and I will incorporate into our home this Lenten season to use with our littles (specifically our 2 and 3 year old).

#1. Liturgical color wheel Craft (Sun/Mon before Lent)
Idea: Talk to your littles about the liturgical seasons and the significance of the liturgical colors. Explain that we are currently  in "ordinary time" but in the next couple of days we will be beginning the season of lent. Make a separate wheel for each child and let them turn the wheel to the appropriate season (this is something you can re-visit each day/week before going to mass - explain that the priest will be wearing purple, the altar will be decorated in purple, etc and them point out the colors and talk about their meaning when you get there)

(What exactly DO the liturgical colors symbolize/mean? Find out here.)

  

     This wheel is quite simple...perfect for little ones (bottom piece)

     

(top piece)

(click to enlarge)

                                                                      

This wheel is a little more elaborate and more appropriate for older children. (click to enlarge)

* This idea was originally taken from Catholic Icing, but I can't find the post to link it to. If you find it, let me know!

#2. Salt Dough Crown of Thorns (Tuesday before Lent)
Idea: This is a wonderful visual for littles when explaining the suffering of Christ. Each time your littles perform a good deed (share without being told to, help their siblings or friends, etc...) they get to take out a "thorn" (toothpick) from the crown. When all the thorns have been removed, the crown can be painted gold or decorated as you like, and used as an Easter decoration. Get direction on how to make this craft here.
                             
*This idea was taken from Catholics United For the Faith Website

#3. Merciful Cross (Tuesday before Lent)
Idea: This activity is quite similar to the crown of thorns activity in that it gives a visual reminder to little ones that their actions are directly united to the cross. Instead of pulling a thorn from the crown, your little gets to stick a flower to the cross each time they perform a good deed. I'm planning on making LARGE flowers and a small(ish) cross to make sure it is completely covered by Easter.

*See the original post by Kimberlee over at Pondered in My Heart here.

#4. Lenten Sacrifice Boxes (Ash Wednesday - Fasting)
Idea: Talk about the meaning of sacrifice with your littles. Also talk to them about Jesus' Sacrifice of Love. Have your littles choose a few items/toys to "give up/sacrifice" for Lent and put them in a box. Put the box of   out of their sight until  Easter.

"Good-bye for Lent...see you at Easter!"

                                                      
*See the original post by Lacey over at Catholic Icing here

#5. Stations of the Cross for Littles (to be prayed on the Fridays during Lent)
This is the BEST idea I've seen so far when it comes to praying the stations of the cross with little ones. It even has MANIPULATIVES! (If you haven't noticed...I'm a pretty big fan of manipulatives). You'll have to visit Kimberlee's blog to appreciate just how amazing this really is.
I am not quite sure if my littles are ready for this yet but we're gonna jump right in and give it a try...if it doesn't work this Lent, than it'll be something to look forward to next year.

Stations to color...

...and manipulatives to go with each station! Genius!

*See the original post by Kimberlee over at Pondered in My Heart here.

(I have to say that I just love this woman's blog. She is beautiful, intelligent, a first rate "thief", and oh so CREATIVE!)


#6 The ABC's of Lent
Idea: Make a new Lenten poster/picture each day to go with the "letter of the day". Write the "letter of the day" at the top of the picture, have the littles color the picture, talk about the picture, review the letter sound, and have the littles try to "draw" the letter several times.

Our two little boys are both learning their letter sounds and are VERY excited about letters right now so my Mr and I came up with these earlier this week.

A - Ashes, Alms giving
B - Bread, Blood
C - Cross
D - Divine Mercy
E - Eucharist
F - Fish, Fast
G - Give, Good Shepherd
H - Holy, Hope, Heart
I - I.H.S.
J - Jesus
K - King
L - Love (Jn. 3:16), Last Supper
M - Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene
N - Nails
O - Offering
P - Penance, Prayer
Q - Quiet
R - Repent
S - Sacrifice
T - Twelve Apostles, Tomb (ideas for "t" and "u" were contributed by Caroline, one of my readers)
U - Ubi Caritas (hymn traditionally sung on Holy Thursday)
V - Vinegar
W - Water
X -
Y -
Z -

#7 - Read!
Idea: Read as many age appropriate, Lent/Easter books to your littles as possible! I have listed two that our littles love below. (Please let me know if you have a favorite lent/Easter book...I'm always looking for great books that revolve around the liturgical seasons)

This historically accurate book is an adaptation of the award winning The Very First Easter and fills in the gaps left by other Easter books. It presents a fresh insight into Holy Week and Easter from both the Scriptural and secular contexts. Recommended for ages 4 and under.

Featuring the wonderful illustrations of Tim Jonke, this best-selling children's book tells the Easter story from a new and unusual point of view. Three trees on a mountain dream of what they wanted to become when they grew up. One wants to be a treasure chest, another an ocean-going boat, and the third a signpost to God. Their wishes come true in a way they never expected. Children will be deeply touched as they understand, perhaps for the first time, the significance of Christ's life and his atoning sacrifice on the cross. Recommended for ages 4 and up.

*descriptions taken from christianbooks.com

#8 - Sing
Idea: Sing as many of your favorite Lent/Easter songs with your littles as possible! We have 1/2 hr set aside each day for music time, so we'll just focus this time on songs for the season.


#9 - Pray
Idea: Pray a short morning offering with your littles each morning. We are also going to pray a decade of the rosary with them when they wake and one decade before bed using the rose counters and cards mentioned in this post.

This is the morning offering that we put together and will use with our littles:

Jesus, In my heart I believe in your tender love for me. I love you and give you all my thoughts, words, and actions today.
Amen. 

 


#10 - Plant Seeds/Bulbs
Idea: Flowers/plants are a sign of new life. Plant flower bulbs in a bowl of soil, covering halfway. Leave bowl in a dark closet for two months, keeping soil moist (a process known as forcing bulbs). When shoots appear, let them bask in the sun. Leave one bulb out as a reminder of how they began.
NOTE: If you plant your seeds/bulbs very soon then you will have some beautiful flowers for the Easter season.

#11 - Almsgiving
Make a little box with your littles and cut a slot in the top. Have them collect spare change throughout the week and empty the contents into the collection basket each week, or donate the money to a specific charity of your choice. Explain that they are helping to provide for those less fortunate/those in need.

find these and other ideas here

This sums up the main ideas that we'll be using at our house this lent. I hope that you'll be able to use some of them with your littles too!