I am a little pencil in God’s hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more.
~ The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living by Mother Teresa
Our school year began last week (Sept. 6th), immediately following the canonization (Sept. 4th) and feast (Sept. 5th) of Mother Teresa. I decided to modify my Patron of Students Back-to-School Treat this year, incorporating the quote above which ties in so nicely to the candy pencil.
I modified the original tags, first changing the text to include part of the quote above and then changing the border to three blue stripes to symbolize Mother Teresa’s sari.
From the beautiful and brand new picture book Mother Teresa: The Smile of Calcutta:
The Lord said to Mother Teresa, “You will dress in simple Indian garments or, rather, dress like my mother – in simplicity and poverty. . . . Your sari will become holy because it will be my symbol.” The sisters wear a white sari with a blue border. The white represents purity. The three blue borders represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Blue is also the color of the Virgin Mary. The sisters’ sari is a witness to mankind: it is the sign of God’s love.
Here is another quote from Mother Teresa which I shared with our kids:
I don’t claim anything of the work. It’s His work. I’m like a little pencil in His hand. That’s all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used. In human terms, the success of our work should not have happened, no? That is a sign that it’s His work, and that He is using others as instruments – all our Sisters. None of us could produce this. Yet see what He has done.
These treats are perfect for celebrating the new school year at anytime, or even to use as prizes/favors at upcoming All Saints’ parties this year!
St. Teresa of Calcutta Back-to-School Treat
Supplies:
- ROLO®
- Hershey’s Kisses
- Printable Pencil Wrapper (or create your own with these directions)
- Scissors
- Pinking Shears
- Adhesive
- Mother Teresa Quote/Tag
- Small Circle Hand Punch
- Curling Ribbon
Download and Print My Free Documents: Pencil Wrapper and Mother Teresa Quote/Tag
Directions:
Cut out wrapper and trim the short yellow end with pinking sheers (zigzag edge scissors). Wrap around ROLO and adhere.
Cut out and cover the end with the pink circle to finish the “eraser” end of the pencil.
Adhere one Hershey’s Kisses to the other end.
Cut out, punch a small hole, and attach the Mother Teresa quote with some ribbon.
Note: I attached them to the top of this year’s Back-to-School Schultütes {Simplified}.
St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!
These are so cute! Thank you for sharing!
2016-09-15 18:49:54
My kids would have loved these, but I have three in braces now, so no caramels or hard candies right now! I hope your school year is off to a great start!
2016-09-15 21:05:26
You are brilliant. Period. Thanks so much for this marvelous idea that is sure to make good memories as they learn. God bless you!
2016-09-15 23:24:35
Love the quote. Your creativity inspires!
2016-09-15 22:13:48
Love it! Great idea all around.
2016-09-16 05:10:09