On the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima
Saint George and the Dragon
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| Saint George & the Dragon • Saint George and the Dragon • Saints & Heroes • The Saint Who Fought the Dragon |
This year, in addition to making our Saint George and the Dragon Veggie Platter, the girls also tried making A Dragon Scone for Good St. George for dessert! We actually haven’t grocery shopped in over three weeks now, but I managed to grab some fresh produce when I ran into Pilgrim’s for our birthday burgers on Monday. All the fresh fruit and veggies were such a treat and both dragons were quickly devoured along with the pot of stew I had made for dinner!
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| Saint George & the Dragon by Jim Forest • Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges |
Pictures of St. George usually show him killing a dragon to rescue a beautiful lady. The dragon stands for wickedness. The lady stands for God’s holy truth. St. George was a brave martyr who was victorious over the devil.
He was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and he was one of the Emperor’s favorite solders. Now Diocletian was a pagan and a bitter enemy of the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find. George was a brave Christian, a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for being so cruel. Then he gave up his position in the Roman army. For this he was tortured in many terrible ways and finally beheaded.
So boldly daring and so cheerful was St. George in declaring his Faith and in dying for it that Christians felt courage when they heard about it. Many songs and poems were written about this martyr. Soldiers, especially, have always been devoted to him.
We all have some “dragon” we have to conquer. It might be pride or anger or laziness or greediness or something else. Let us make sure we fight against these “dragons,” with God’s help. Then we can call ourselves real soldiers of Christ.
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| St. George from Naturally Catholic was discovered in one of this year’s Easter Baskets |
A Happy 15th Birthday
Idaho currently allows hiking as long as we “recreate responsibly” and maintain social distancing from those who are not immediate family/household members. I ran in to a store to pick up lunch (Arugula Balsamic Grass-Fed Burgers from Pilgrims!!!) and then we headed to Tubbs Hill to hike.
Next we headed over to walk the boardwalk. At 3,300 feet (nearly 3/4 mile) long and 12 ft wide, the Coeur d’Alene Resort Floating Boardwalk is the longest floating boardwalk in the world and encircles the marina on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
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| Look at them!!! |
On the way home I ran into Cold Stone and thankfully had just enough charge left on my cellphone to order cake(s). They didn’t have a huge selection and I wasn’t able to get the large Cookies & Creamery Cake we were hoping for. The large cakes were all chocolate glazed, which wouldn’t exactly work with my homemade decoration… sooo, I got two! A large Peanut Butter Playground with “Happy 15th Birthday” written on top and a small Cookies & Creamery that I was able to scrape the decorations off and decorate myself.
Painting an Easter Calendar
Good Friday Lenten Dinner for Children
Every year our children look forward to our Lenten Dinners which were originally inspired Alice’s Lenten Teas. Here is the link to this year’s Holy Thursday Lenten Dinner.
For a number of years, when we are all able to go to Stations and the Veneration of the Cross, I would move this particular dinner to either Passion Sunday or Holy Saturday and just serve soup and Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. Last year we had it on Holy Saturday (which also happened to be our daughter’s birthday, before heading to the beautiful, and very long, Easter Vigil Mass as a whole family for the first time!) This year, due to the pandemic and stay-home order I had the time to pull this simple and symbolic dinner together once again on Good Friday as our one family meal for the day.
Even though there are a number of menu items, it basically just includes the ingredients to assemble your own burrito along with a hard boiled egg, a fruit leather and a Hot Cross Bun. While the Hot Cross Buns were rising, we spent the afternoon praying along with our parish’s live stream of Stations of the Cross and Good Friday Service.
. I really love how easy it is to prepare our eggs with our countertop egg cooker. They are so much easier to peel too! 
You can find the pictures from our 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2015 Good Friday dinners in the archives for Good Friday. You can also download and print our small card stock signs here.
Holy Thursday Lenten Dinner
Back in 2009 we had our first Lenten Tea on Holy Thursday which eventually evolved into an annual Lenten Dinner on either Holy Thursday or Palm Sunday, depending on the year. We have a second on wither Good Friday or Passion Sunday as well. These have definitely become a favorite Lenten tradition in our home. I wasn’t expecting to have everyone home this Holy Week and Easter, so that is definitely an unexpected blessing that has come out of this whole quarantine and stay-home orders. I’m treasuring this extra time with our whole family all together.
~ Palm on the Road ~
I picked up a can of Hearts of Palm from Trader Joe’s to slice and serve…
along with some avocado slices to garnish the soup.
“And many spread their garments on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.” Mk. 11:8
~ Costly Oil ~
Balsamic vinegar and some “costly oil” dipping sauce for the bread.
“And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” Mk. 14:9
~ Thirty Pieces of Silver ~
We rounded up thirty pieces of “silver” to donate.
“Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.” Mt. 25: 14-15
~ Unleavened Bread ~
Technically Naan is a leavened bread… but I had picked up a couple packages on my last shopping trip and package it’s perfect to serve along with the Chicken Curry Soup.
“And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to Him, ‘Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?'” Mk. 14:12
~ The Mount of Olives ~
This year’s Mount of Olives was a couple cans of Black Olives.
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Mk. 14:26
~ The Cock Crows Twice ~
I had homemade chicken broth in the fridge and used it along with chicken thighs to make Chicken Curry soup. I hadn’t made this particular recipe since 2014 and everyone loved it.
~ Gethsemane Figs ~
A box of Fig Newton’s that I had purchased for St. Joseph’s Day, but never did use, was an easy addition for the Gethsemane Figs.
“And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I pray.'” Mk. 14:32
~ Judas’ Kiss ~
One Hershey Kiss each to represent Judas’ Kiss.
“And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, ‘Master!’ And he kissed him.” Mk. 14:45
~ The Clouds of Heaven ~
I didn’t have any Greek yogurt to serve on top of the soup, so I opted for sour cream.
“And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'” Mk. 14:62
~ Peter’s Tears ~
… salted almonds.
“And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.” Mk. 14:72
**Our college boys haven’t had their hair cut since Christmas break…
It needs to happen one way or another before Easter!
(You can download my document for our card stock signs with Bible verses over at Dropbox.)
You can scroll through all our past Holy Thursday Lenten Dinners here.
After dinner we prayed along with our parish’s live steam of the Pre-1955 Mass of the Last Supper.
For more past Lent and Easter posts:
Holy Thursday 2019
I never did get around to sharing these pictures last year… As I was working on this year’s post I decided to dig them up and add them to the blog too. Every year it ends up being a little different depending on the groceries I have on hand and how busy we are outside the home as well… This (2019) was our first Lenten Dinner in our new home before heading to the Pre-1955 Mass of the Last Supper at our parish… Our three high schoolers were at golf practice and met us at the church, our toddler was sleeping when I took pictures, and baby wasn’t born yet!
Olive Oil and Salad
“Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.” Mt. 25: 14-15
“And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, ‘Master!’ And he kissed him.” Mk. 14:45
The Lenten Season In Our Catholic Home
Easter – Pentecost :: From the Archives
Pictures from Palm Sunday
St. Conrad and the Wildfire
Author Maura Roan McKeegan delivers another inspiring and superbly illustrated true story of faith and redemption for children. Keeping true to her storytelling ability, the author delivers a captivating account of the nobleman saint, St. Conrad of Piacenza. Young readers will be drawn immediately into the fascinating aristocratic life of a nobleman as they are swept into what will become the young Saint’s life altering test in life.
As the story unfolds the readers are treated to the colorful illustrations of the Italian countryside. The medieval calligraphy and illuminated lettering in the text offers a relevant touch for the time period of our story.
One poor decision made by our young saint’s poor judgment suddenly alters the course of his future. Conrad is then faced with another decision in a collision of conscience that could seal his eternal fate. In the end, we learn the lesson of honesty and accountability.
*Thank you to my husband for writing the review for me!
(Be sure to enter the Easter Giveaway for a chance to win a copy of this beautiful new children’s book!)
The Gardener Rosary from West Coast Catholic
I’ve been getting the best mail lately! Have you seen the beautiful rosaries from West Coast Catholic yet? The Gardener Rosary was launched today and it is so lovely. I thought I’d be tucking it into one of my daughters’ Easter Baskets, but I might just keep this one for myself. It comes in a great little box and would also be perfect for sending directly to those special to us (relatives, best friends) who we will sadly not be able to spend Easter with this year due to the current quarantine restrictions… We should all be praying the rosary every day, especially during these crazy trials.
Each rosary comes with a free motivational print that you can personalize with your own goals, and a packet of Basil seeds that you can plant and grow along with this season. #sproutnewlife
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