Today we celebrated the feast of St. Anthony! “St. Anthony of Padua is one of the most famous disciples of St. Francis of Assisi. He was a famous preacher and worker of miracles in his own day, and throughout the eight centuries since his death he has so generously come to the assistance of the faithful who invoke him, that he is known throughout the world.” (Read more over at EWTN...)
We spent some time this afternoon celebrating his feast with an inspiring story, beautiful stained glass coloring pages, an outdoor scavenger hunt, and some fun “multitude of fish” themed snacks recalling the story of St. Anthony’s sermon to the fish.
STORY TIME
Animals of God: Volume One by Susan Peek
Additional books about St. Anthony from our collection:
St. Anthony (Lives of the Saints: An Illustrated History for Children) by Bart Tesoriero
Saint Anthony of Padua (More Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
Saint Anthony of Padua: Proclaimer of the Good News
St. Anthony and the Christ Child by Helen Walker Homan
St. Anthony of Padua Coloring Book
A Rich Young Man: A Novel Based on the Life of Saint Anthony of Padua
Saint Anthony: The Wonder Worker of Padua
Our favorite audio stories about St. Anthony:
The Hungry Gray Mule from Regina Martyrum Productions
Seeker of the Lost: The Story of Saint Anthony (Glory Stories: Volume VI)
Windeatt Audio Bundle from TAN Books
COLORING PAGES
Saint Anthony Coloring Pages from St. Anne’s Helper
& Saint Anthony from Fenestrae Fidei
Dear St. Anthony, pray for me to the Little Jesus, whom thou didst hold so lovingly in thine arms. Obtain for me the grace to love Him with all my heart. Amen.
(Prayer to Saint Anthony from Jesus Make Me Worthy)
ST. ANTHONY’S OUTDOOR SCAVENGER HUNT
“Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around:
Something is lost and needs to be found!!”
You can find the link to my “St. Anthony’s Outdoor Scavenger Hunt” in the archives.
CATHOLIC CUISINE
St. Anthony’s Sermon to the Fishes Cupcakes
Remember that batch of cupcakes I made last week?
I decorated 8 more of them today for the feast of St. Anthony!
Due to one of our daughter’s allergies, I’ve been trying to find alternatives to food coloring when possible. Over the weekend I happened to notice the Scandinavian Swimmers at Trader Joe’s. I picked up a bag thinking they’d be a perfect (dye free) alternative for this year’s “A Multitude of Fish Cupcakes”. I used Fluffy White frosting and created little peaks on the top of each cupcake so the fish and other sea creatures could peak out of the whitewater to listen to St. Anthony’s Sermon!
Our local store didn’t have the Smores Goldfish this year so I opted for the Vanilla Cupcake and Fudge Brownie. I posted over on Instagram that I probably shouldn’t have doubled the recipe, but I forgot for a moment that I have teen boys living in my home… 😉 If somehow there ends up being extra we can save it for the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul later this month!
You can find the recipe over at Catholic Cuisine.
“A Multitude of Fish” Trail Mix
NOVENA TO ST. ANTHONY
Say once a day for nine days, especially beginning on June 4 and ending on June 12, the eve before the Feast of Saint Anthony June 13. Some pray a Novena to Saint Anthony on thirteen consecutive Tuesdays, according to Pope Leo XIII’s instructions, or on all Tuesdays.
O White lily of purity, sublime example of poverty, true mirror of humility, resplendent star of sanctity, O glorious Saint Anthony, who didst enjoy the sweet privilege of receiving into thy arms the Infant Jesus, I beseech thee to take me under thy powerful protection. Thou in whom the power of working miracles shines forth among the other gifts of God, have pity upon me and come to my aid in this my great need.
(Mention your intentions here).
Cleanse my heart from every disorderly affection; obtain for me a true contrition for my sins and a great love of God and of my neighbor that serving God faithfully in this life, I may come to praise, enjoy and bless Him eternally with thee in Paradise. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be. +
GIVEAWAY
Author Susan Peek has generously offered to send one of my visitors a copy of Animals of God Volume One and Animals of God Volume Two! The winner will be selected and announced in this post next Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Please visit Susan Peek’s website and sign up for her author newsletter!
Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:
Saint Anthony, Ora Pro Nobis!
JMJ
Always enjoy reading your posts about feast days. Where DO you get the energy?! 🙂
2016-06-14 06:47:43
What a great feast day celebration that you had!
I love it!
2016-06-14 11:19:58
Thanks for taking the time to share what you do to celebrate feast days. I have enjoyed your blog for years!
2016-06-14 12:04:32
You have so many fantastic ideas. Thank you for sharing.
2016-06-14 12:29:27
I love the way you celebrate feast days! Thank you for sharing all your resources with us!
2016-06-14 12:50:20
Even though it's summer break, I need to make some saint feast day celebrations. The kids would love it. Great ideas you shared. Thanks.
2016-06-14 13:05:27
Yes! Summer is a great time to add some saint feast day celebrations. When my older children were younger we would choose one saint a week for "Summer with the Saints" including some that we weren't able to get to during the school year. I'm hoping to focus on at least one saint a week this summer for my little ones, since we don't have any big vacation plans this year, and to make up for some of the crazy months we had during the older kids' golf and hockey seasons.
Love your blog!
2016-06-14 13:10:21
The Feast of St. Anthony also fell on the anniversary of my father's passing – 15 years ago. Hard to believe that much time has gone by when it seems like yesterday. Thank you for your inspiration in celebrating the Saints' feast days. They so deserve to be remembered always.
2016-06-14 13:17:34
I am so sorry for your loss, Laura! I will offer a prayer for your father's soul and for your family. God bless!
2016-06-14 16:34:02
Your blog is always has so many great ideas for me to do with my children. Thank you for all your book recommendations, they are so helpful!
2016-06-14 13:19:30
Thank-you!!!!!!!! Always so lovely.
2016-06-14 13:47:37
Thanks for sharing!
2016-06-14 14:11:35
We rely on St. Anthony a lot! By the way, I was curious about the pens your oldest daughter is using– is that a set, or just a collection you put together? Thanks.
2016-06-14 14:58:41
Yes, it is a set she received last year for her birthday. I picked it up at Costco for around $20 if I remember correctly. It's a 100-count Gel Pen set in a "stadium stand" similar to this one over at Amazon. It looks like they also have an 84-count set in the same brand that I bought and this 100-count set in a rotating stand that I've been considering for our second daughter.
2016-06-14 16:45:19
We didn't have such a great day in our home for the Feast of Saint Anthony. And by the time I remembered what day it was, it was bedtime, so they read books on his feast day about him. 😔
2016-06-14 15:00:50
I'm sorry you had a difficult day, Sonja. Reading about the saint is perfect and plenty! God bless you and your family!
2016-06-14 16:49:02
Thanks for sharing your great ideas to celebrate Saint's feast days… you are always so organized and prepared!! Thanks also for the chance to win the give-away. You are really an inspiration to me as I try to incorporate the liturgical year and celebration of feast days into our daily life though I just cannot seem to get it done as well as you!!
God bless you. Dawn
2016-06-14 15:18:25
Those cupcakes look yummy! What a fun way to celebrate St. Anthony's feast day!
2016-06-14 15:41:49
I love Susan Peek's books! Thank you for introducing her in the past. Winning one of these books would be great for our collection!
2016-06-14 15:46:48
Thank you for sharing Jessica. We love Saint Anthony!
Also, I'd like to win one of the Animals books to see what they are like.
2016-06-14 16:05:29
Such a beautiful way for your family to remember and honor your precious little one who now shares in the Joy of Our Dear Lord in heaven. Such sweet snack ideas for the Feast of Saint Anthony…
2016-06-14 16:50:34
Thank you for your great ideas and this giveaway would be perfect for some of my littles!
2016-06-14 17:55:11
Thank you for all these wonderful ideas. Unfortunately, when I tried to access your St. Anthony Scavenger Hunt document from the archives, it appears the link has been removed. Is there somewhere else I can access it? My littles would love doing this!
2016-06-14 18:20:09
Sorry you had trouble downloading the document from Scribd. You aren't the only one! I added it to Dropbox the other day too. You should see the update in the old post just below the Scibd links, but here they are:
St. Anthony's Outdoor Scavenger Hunt https://www.dropbox.com/s/lpeponjyws8lm82/Outdoor…
and the create your own version https://www.dropbox.com/s/2z2mrriyaxu5y6x/Scaveng…
2016-06-14 19:25:28
Thank you so much. Your blog is so inspirational!
2016-06-17 12:48:19
Happy (late) feast of St. Anthony! Those cupcakes are so cute. St. Anthony is one of my favorite Saints and literally helps me find everything! =) I printed out one of those coloring pages. I can't wait to color it!
God bless!
2016-06-14 19:57:58
Great Web site, looking forward to exploring it.
2016-06-14 21:17:27
What awesome books, those sound like great stories to share with my kids!
2016-06-14 22:55:48
Thank you for hosting this giveaway!
2016-06-15 12:44:54
Shower of Roses – brilliant name for a blog belonging to a lover of St Therese. And your lovely posts – what a find! Love it…
gramswisewords.blogspot.com
2016-06-15 13:48:16
Thanks for the giveaway and all the great ideas!
2016-06-15 14:21:19
Happy feast day and hugs!!
2016-06-16 05:26:33
Thank you, Jessica, and continued prayers for your family!
2016-06-17 03:35:35
Thanks for another giveaway, Jessica!
2016-06-17 04:01:37
It's a joy to follow your postings and to see your creative ideas that make teaching the faith fun and memorable for everyone of all ages. God bless you!
2016-06-19 02:23:52
Thanks for the great ideas on how to celebrate the saints. We did the m&m fish cupcakes to celebrate.
2016-06-19 04:30:00
Thank you for sharing! What fun! I was thinking just yesterday about doing a late Saint Anthony Day since we couldn't on his actual feast!
2016-06-20 20:27:06
Love your blog! Thanks for the giveaway!
2016-06-21 01:35:01
I've never heard of these books and I love the cute cupcakes! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
2016-06-21 01:41:17
Please enter me!
2016-06-21 01:49:19
These look like neat books. Thanks for always sharing these wonderful products and ideas!
2016-06-21 02:26:07
As always, another great post with so many great ideas. I do think your blog is my favorite! You are so talented, and you are very charitable to share those talents with the rest of us. 😊 I'm headed over to Amazon to add more books that you have suggested to my wish list (as soon as I finish doing the stuff for the giveaway).
2016-06-21 02:52:57
Great ideas! Love the books and cupcakes! I can't wait until my littles are older to try the scavenger hunt and coloring pages.
2016-06-21 03:06:03
Love the scavenger hunt idea! I'll have to try and remember that for when our Chaps are a bit older. 🙂
2016-06-21 03:17:41
Thank you for this wonderful blog. I am always buying books from your book lists! So useful! Animals of God looks amazing!
2016-06-21 03:48:09
Animals of God looks absolutely perfect for my boys. I can see lots of rainy day snuggles and reading together on the sofa.
2016-06-21 04:05:09