, appropriate for young children, written by Mary Fabyan Windeatt. I also decided to focus on forgiveness, teaching the children about how St. Maria forgave the young man that killed her, and later appeared to him in prison, which led to his conversion. I also shared that St. Maria died in 1902, and her mother was present at her canonization in 1950, the first time a parent was present for a child’s canonization! Originally I planned on reading the story out of the St. Maria Goretti Coloring Book
, I haven’t asked the company for permission to copy any of the pages so I went on a search to see what I could find elsewhere. I was also able to find this illustration (though not technically a coloring page) at The Catholic Illustrator’s Guild, as well as an option on my Faith Keepers Holy Card Maker Collection from Catholic Artworks. 
- Pencil
- White Card Stock
- Scissors
- Green Card Stock
- Hole Punch
- Green Plastic Straw
- Tape
- Yellow Pipe Cleaner
Directions:
Have the children trace their hand onto a piece of white card stock and cut out the shape. Cut two double leaves from green card stock and punch holes in the centers where the leaves meet.
Curl the paper fingers and leaves by wrapping them around a pencil.
Wrap the hand around the top of a green plastic straw and secure it with tape. Slide the leaves onto the straw and tape them in place. For the flower’s stamen, fold half of a yellow pipe cleaner in half and curl down the ends. Insert the folded end in the straw.
.: Forgiveness Tag :.
I had a hard time deciding on a game for this saint. I ended up modifying the traditional game of “Freeze Tag” – with the person that freezes you symbolizing sin, which freezes/cripples us and the person that un-freezes you symbolizing the priest in confession, forgiving us and giving us the grace to fight sin.
When we were done they all begged to play Blind Man’s Bluff again from last week, they enjoyed it that much! 🙂 I also wanted to make up a Crossword Puzzle, but just didn’t have the time. Perhaps next year!
As I was trying to come up with a snack for the children I decided to focus on tying in the lily, the symbol for St. Maria, and the vision Alessandro had of Maria, leading to his conversion:
“While in prison for his crime, Alessandro had a vision of Maria. He saw a garden where a young girl, dressed in white, gathered lilies. She smiled, came near him, and encouraged him to accept an armful of the lilies. As he took them, each lily transformed into a still white flame. Maria then disappeared. This vision of Maria led to Alessandro’s conversion, and he later testified at her cause for beatification.” ~ SQPN
Wow, Jessica! What a fun time! I absolutely love your craft. They turned out so pretty. I already told you this in a comment over at Catholic Cuisine, but I'll say it again. Those white flame/lily cupcakes are so fantastic!
You make everything look so effortless all of the time and i am sure that is not the case but one thing always comes through. The joy on the children's faces! It is delightful …….God Bless
Everyone had such a good time! Thank you so much Jessica! And yes, everyone slept great! lol
Beautiful!! We did the lilies as well after I saw them in your blog. Thanks!! Blessings!!
OH how I wish that there weren't soooo many miles between us, now. We would love to join all the fun with you all!