Miracle of St. Therese
I am so excited!! I just realized that this wonderful old movie about St. Therese of Lisieux, made back in 1959, has been re-released! I borrowed it from a friend once, years ago, and have been looking for a copy ever since! Plus, it is now on DVD and has been dubbed in English–before it was just in French with subtitles–so it will be much more child friendly.It is called Miracle of St. Therese.
If you’d like, you can order it here
. Here is the description by Ignatius Press:
This is the acclaimed dramatic feature film made in France in 1959 that tells the story of the life of Therese of Lisieux from childhood through her death as a Carmelite nun at age 24. Film critics have called it “an excellent, reverent biopic” on St. Therese that accurately portrays the saint’s story and her unique spirituality in a very appealing performance by French actress France Descaut. The movie offers numerous glimpses into Therese’s “little way” of spiritual childhood, (her particular charism that helped make her a Doctor of the Church) including situations of conflict between Therese and her mother prioress regarding her conviction of striving for perfection with confidence and trust in the mercy and love of God. Beautifully filmed in black and white, with fine performances by the whole cast, this film is an unsung cinematic gem that captures the spirit and life of the beloved St. Therese.This DVD has the available language options:
English and Spanish. Movie is shown in B & W.
“Blending historical drama with elements of documentary, Miracle of Saint Thérèse effectively brings the saint’s story and spirituality to life… Beautifully shot in black and white, the film makes excellent use of convincing locations, sets and costumes, and is persuasively mounted throughout.” — Steven Greydanus, National Catholic Register
Anyways, I just thought I would take a second and share it with you. I can hardly wait to order a copy and add this gem to our family collection…but… I will have to, at least till next month. 🙂 Now… if they would just re-release Teresa of the Andes in the US!
Jesse Tree Readings and Coloring Pages
You can find an updated version of this post for 2010 here: Jesse Tree Readings and Coloring Pages for 2010
I compiled a list of coloring pages, activities and bible passages (used in addition to the stories in our Children’s Bible), to go along with our Jesse Tree. I am posting the links to the various coloring pages and activities to, hopefully, save some of you a bit of time if you are in need of them as well!
I am still trying to find pictures or activities for Raphael, Judith, and Jeremiah… If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!
December 1
Readings & Ornaments:
Creation: Gen .1:1-31; 2:1-4 Symbols: Earth
Adam & Eve: Gen. 2:7-9, 18-24 Symbol: Man & Woman
Coloring Activities:
Creation or God Created the World
Adam & Eve
December 2
Readings & Ornaments:
Fall of Man: Gen. 3:1-7 and 23-24 Symbol: Serpent
Noah: Gen. 6:5-8, 13-22; 7:17, 23, 24; 8:1, 6-22 Symbol: Ark
Adam & Eve Expelled from the Garden
Noah’s Ark (we will make a collage with these pictures)
and maybe one of these for the girls
December 3
Readings & Ornaments:
Abraham: Gen. 12:1-3 Symbol: Stars
Melchisidek: Gen. 14:17-20; Ps. 110:4; Heb.20 Symbol: Bread & Wine
Coloring Activities:
Abraham or Abraham with his son Isaac
High Priest for Melchisidek
December 4
Readings & Ornaments:
Isaac: Gen. 22:1-14 Symbols: Bundle of wood
Jacob: Gen. 25:1-34; 28:10-15 Symbols: Ladder
Coloring Activities:
Isaac
Jacob wrestling with Angel
Star of Jacob from Eucharistic Adoration Coloring Book.
Readings & Ornaments:
Joseph: Gen. 37:23-28; 45:3-15 Symbol: Multi-Colored Coat
Moses: Ex. 2:1-10 Symbol: Stone Tablets/Ten Commandments
Coloring Activities:
Joseph
Moses receiving Ten Commandments
Readings & Ornaments:
Joshua: Joshua 6:2-5; Jos. 1,3,6-11) Symbol: Sword & Trumpet
Ruth: Ruth 2:15-17 Symbol: Sheaths of Grain
Coloring Activities:
Joshua
Ruth gathering wheat
Readings & Ornaments:
Samuel: 1 Sam. 3:1-18 Symbols: Oil lamp
Jesse: 1 Sam. 16:1-13 Symbols: Shepherd’s staff
Coloring Activities:
Hannah prays for a Son and Samuel
For Jesse we will color this Shepherd with Staff
Readings & Ornaments:
David: 1 Sam. 17:12-51 Symbol: Harp
Solomon: 1 Kings 3:5-14, 16-28 Symbol: Scales of justice
Coloring Activities:
David & the King
David & Goliath
King Solomon
Readings & Ornaments:
Elijah: 2 Kings 17:2-4, 6; 2 Kings 17-18:21-39 Symbol: Raven
Hezekiah: 2 Kings 20:1-6; 2 Kings 18-20 Symbol: Teardrops
Coloring Activities:
Elijah Praying
Readings & Ornaments:
Nehemiah: Neh. 2:17; Neh. 1-7 Symbol” Walls of Jerusalem
Raphael: Tobit 11:7-8 Symbol: Fish
Coloring Activities:
Here is a fun maze for the wall of Nehemiah.
Readings & Ornaments:
Judith: Judith 13:7-10 Symbol: Sword
Esther: Esther 2:17 Symbol: Queens Crown
Coloring Activities:
Esther or this one of Esther meeting the King
Readings & Ornaments:
Isaiah: Isaiah 7:14 or Ecclesiastes 48:25 Symbol: Scroll
Jeremiah: Jeremiah 30:21-22 Symbol: Stone
Coloring Activities:
Bible & Scroll
Readings & Ornaments:
Daniel: Daniel 6:12-23 Symbol: Lions
Jonah: Jonah 2:1-2, 11 Symbol: Whale
Coloring Activities:
Daniel in the Lions Den
A Couple other options for Daniel can be found here and here.
here and here.
Jonah & the Whale
Readings & Ornaments:
Zachary and Elizabeth: Luke 1:11-13 Symbol: Angel
Joseph: Matt. 1:18-25 Symbols: Carpenter’s Saw
Coloring Activities:
I couldn’t find a color page of Zachary & Elizabeth, so we will color a picture of The Visitation.
Here is one of St. Joseph
Readings & Ornaments:
Mary: Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38 Symbols: Lily
Gabriel: Luke 1:26-38 Symbol: Angel with lily
Coloring Activities:
Picture of Mary out of our Mother of God Coloring Book.
As an option, here is a coloring page with a lily.
Angel Gabriel appears to Mary
Reading & Ornament:
John the Baptist: Mark 1:1-8 Symbols: Shell with water
Coloring Activities:
St. John Baptizing
I plan on doing an extra activity or gift instead of a coloring page each day this week based on the selections in Celebrating the Faith in the Home Series. I have quoted the ideas under each date.
Reading & Ornament:
O Wisdom (Jesus is Wisdom): Sirach 24:2; Symbol: Open book
“Since the symbol for wisdom is a book, one could give a special book, perhaps a family catechism. Or each individual could receive a small, inexpensive prayer book.”
Reading & Ornament:
O Lord (Jesus is Lord): Ex. 3:2; 20:1 Symbol: Burning bush
Tonight, a fire could be started in the fireplace. The family could gather together and roast marshmallows and drink hot chocolate. Or maybe a flaming dessert could be served.”
Reading & Ornament:
O Flower (Jesus is Flower of Jesse): Isaiah 11:1-3 Symbol: Flower
“An obvious choice for this evening is a floral gift. Maybe the family could receive their first poinsettia for the holiday season. Since some translations read, “O root of Jesse,” a special fruit or vegetable could be served–a carrot cake, for example.”
Reading & Ornament:
O Key (Jesus is Key of David): Isaiah 22:22 Symbol: Key
“In the monasteries the monk in charge of the wine cellar would bring forth a special bottle of wine to serve that night. Similarly, you could allow some special treat or priviledge that is normally off limits.”
O Radiant Dawn (Jesus is the Radiant Dawn): Isaiah 41:25-26 Symbol: Sun rising
“Tonight you could have a candlelit dinner… You might also consider taking time this evening fo a walk or a ride to view the Christmas light displays in your community. If your unable to wait until Christmas eve to decorate and light your home, you could do it this night.”
Reading & Ornament:
O King (Jesus is King of the Gentiles): Psalm 2:7-8; Ephesians 2:14-20 Symbol: Crown
“Most little ones love crowns and would be delighted to wear a crown made out of gold or silver for this meal.”
Reading & Ornament:
O Emmanuel (Jesus is Emmanuel): Isaiah 7:14; 33:22 Symbol: Holy Eucharist.
“Emmanuel means “God is with us.” Since Christ is present to us in the Blessed Sacrament, the gift tonight could have the Holy Eucharist as its theme. For example, each member of the family could receive a Holy card with a picture of the Holy Eucharist or a prayer book with prayers to the Blessed Sacrament.”
Reading & Ornament:
Jesus is Light of the World: John 1:1-14 Symbol:Infant Messiah
Attend Midnight Mass in honor of the Birth of Christ!
Video of our All Saints Party
The following is a tribute to the little saints in training. The “All Saints Party” is an alternative to Halloween. It’s fun for the kids and teaches them the faith.
This video was just posted on Love to Be Catholic by a friend of ours who filmed our All Saints Party last year (2006) and put together a DVD of the evening. This video was the introduction for that DVD. The DVD turned out wonderful, and my kids all LOVE watching it!
All the kids looked wonderful, but I have to admit, Chiquita looked especially darling dressed as Our Lady of Guadalupe!
You can check out my past posts on our All Saints Parties here.
On the Calendar
There are just so many wonderful feast days coming up for us to celebrate during Advent. It is going to be such a fun month as we joyfully prepare for, and then celebrate, the birth of Christ!
In addition to our Jesse Tree, Advent Wreath, Advent Calendar and other Christmas preparations, I have been working on our plans for a few of the various feast days leading up to Christmas.
Looking at the list, I’m not sure we will get to all of them, but it will sure help having them all planned out!
December 2 – First Sunday of Advent
December 3 – Feast of St. Francis Xavier
We have a number of books about St. Nicholas that we will be reading the whole week prior to the feast of St. Nicholas. Our favorites is The Legend of St. Nicholas by Demi. We also really like The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan.
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Today after Mass, we will drape a Blue Cloth, or tie a blue ribbon, around the Christ Candle we decorated yesterday, in honor of the Blessed Mother. On Christmas Eve the cloth comes off and reveals Christ. This candle then takes the place of the Advent Candles for the Christmas Season.
We will also read about and discuss the Immaculate Conception.
I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatical balm; I yielded a sweet odor like the best myrrh; and I perfumed my dwelling as store, and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odor is as the purest balm.
December 10th – Feast of Our Lady of Loreto
I plan to pray the Litany of Loreto with the children. Oh! And here is an online crossword of the Marian Titles from the Litany of Loreto!
December 12th – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
I hope this list will help you with your own plans, and that you all have a very blessed Advent!
The Advent Wreath
I love the tradition of the Advent wreath. It so totally packed with symbolism! It is such a great way to teach the children even more about God, Christ and the Christmas season.
The round shape stands for God’s eternity. Like God, it has no beginning and no end.
The greens used to make the wreath are EVERgreen, and therefore unchanging, just like God.
The four candles symbolize the four centuries that man waited for the coming of our Savior.
Three of the candles are purple since Advent is a time of penance. It was because of our sinfulness that we needed a Savior, and so we must prepare ourselves through sacrifice and penance during Advent for Christ’s coming at Christmas. However, we know that Christ HAS and IS coming again, and so our penance is a joyful one! We are joyfully anticipating and preparing ourselves for the celebration of Christmas, as well as Christ’s second coming. Therefore, one candle is pink to represent our joy.
On the first Sunday of Advent we light one purple candle. On the second Sunday of Advent, two purple candles are lit. On the third Sunday of Advent, which is called “Gaudete Sunday”, we light the pink candle since “Gaudete” means “let us rejoice!” And then, on the fourth (and final) Sunday of Advent, all four candles are lit. The gradual lighting of the candles is a visible sign for us. We can see the light growing brighter the closer we get to birth of Christ, who IS the light of the world!
We usually make our own Advent wreath by gathering greens from our yard. I then have four silver candle stands on which I place the candles. I use to purchase taper candles, but since we light them every night, we burn through them so fast… So, I switched to pillar candles which will last all of Advent, and have been working great!
After dinner, on the first Sunday of Advent, my husband leads us in prayer as he blesses our wreath before we light the first candle. We use the blessing found in a great little book called Handbook of Prayers. (I just LOVE this little prayerbook!) You can also find the blessing here.
Each evening of Advent, before we relight the candles of our wreath, we say one of the following prayers, depending on which week of Advent it is:
The First Week
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray Thee and come; That, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue from approaching dangers brought on by our sins, and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
The Second Week
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thine only-begotten Son, that through His coming we may be worthy to serve Thee with purified minds. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
The Third Week
Incline Thine ear to our prayers, O Lord, we beseech Thee; and make bright the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
The Fourth Week
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we beseech Thee, and come; and with great power come to our aid, that, by the help of Thy grace, that sins may be hastened by Thy merciful forgiveness. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
The School Room ~ An Update!
I finally have our “School Room” put back together! It is amazing what last minute company can help you accomplish! Here are a few photos for you to see what I have been up to this week…
I took snapshots of different views of our room. In this picture you can see our Saint Calendar, the closet, and a couple bookshelf’s in which I keep most of our Pre-School books, coloring books, beginning readers and Cd’s..jpg)
Here is a picture of the left side of the closet.
I added a couple more Rubbermaid drawers and moved that small nightstand into the closet to make room for our new bookshelf.
The closet holds various craft items, games and other miscellaneous things. The other side of the closet has a large dresser for more storage with my copy machine on top. It seems to be a good spot to keep it.
Overall it made much better use of our closet space.. I am wishing I would have taken a before picture. Oh well.
Here is the next snapshot. You can see that I placed the table under the window coming out into the room. This seemed to work the best… I can’t begin to tell you HOW many TIMES I moved all the furniture around trying to make it fit without feeling crowded! I will be bringing in 2 more matching chairs from the garage as well, and, hopefully, painting both of the boys desks at some point.
And here you can see the other corner, which is filled the computer and more books! I haven’t moved my maps and the boys history time line around yet since I wanted to make sure everything is staying put first! 🙂
You can see this picture sitting on top puzzle that sits on the small bookcase by the door. I still need to decide where to hang it up.
I just LOVE it! Our home school is dedicated to and called Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We received this print from a monastery at which my brother-in-law spent a few months before returning to the Fraternity of St. Peter.
You can order it here and support the monks at the same time! 🙂
OK, I couldn’t help adding a picture of my favorite bookshelf! My “Catholic Mosaic” shelf is a very close second.
Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions on ways for me to make it look better with my limited resources!
The School Room ~ Revisited
I posted last summer about organizing and setting up our school room.
That arrangement was working alright for awhile… However, once we added a table to the middle of the room, it made it feel so cramped and cluttered. And who wants to spend much time in a cramped and cluttered room?
So, I decided, since we spend so much time in here, this is where I would start with my house organizing… Now, 2 days later, I am wishing I would have chosen a quicker project. 🙂
I started with a trip to the store. The objective being to purchase a few more Rubbermaid drawers for the closet, some magazine holders, spray paint, and an inexpensive bookshelf.
One of the challenges with home schooling is finding room for ALL of our books! We have very few bookshelves, and plus, my biggest one has open ends so everything slides out the sides if you take a book off of it… It is very frustrating. Hubby says, “You just need to stop buying books.” I say, “We just need another bookshelf!” I love books…
So… back to the store. We, the kids and I, found the things we were looking for including a bookshelf that was only $28.99! So we headed up to the checkout with a full cart. At the check out I realize that I had left my wallet in the car… AArrgghh! So, I go to take the car seat off the cart, knock over the Rubbermaid container on top, which falls on top of Rascal, as everyone turns to stare at the crazy lady shopping with 5 little ones! I must have been quite a sight!
Nevertheless, we made it home. I then proceeded to put together the bookshelf. Which turned out to be not quite as easy as it sounded… And my thumb is still trying to recover from all the times it happened to be in the hammers way. Once that was done, I pulled out the spray paint.
The open ended bookshelf I mentioned is, or rather was, primary colors of blue, red, yellow & white. It has always bugged me. I guess I like more natural (earthy) colors. So I picked up a can of primer and a can of hunter green paint. It said it would cover 25 square feet… that should be enough right? Well, 25 sq feet equals practically nothing when it comes to spray paint. I now have a red, blue, yellow, white, blotching primer with a green corner bookshelf. It looks lovely! I have added another 10 cans of spray paint to my next shopping list!
Today went much better than yesterday, other than the fact that I woke up completely sore. (Moving furniture is quite the workout!) The bookshelves have been filled–I will deal with the paint another day–and the furniture has all been rearranged. Hopefully, by tomorrow, I will be able to snap a few pictures of our school room. The kids are liking it better already. When the girls were done playing dress up they pulled out a number of puzzles and sat around on our open school room floor putting them together, while the boys colored. It is quite cozy.
Well, I’m off to get some sleep… Goodnight!
Dressing Up
This afternoon, while I was creating a bigger mess organizing our school room, the girls decided to play dress up. Daddy says they look like a couple of gypsies… They were sure having fun!
Preparing to Prepare
The latest Loveliness fair is up… The loveliness of Preparing to Prepare!
You can read it here.
Like all of the loveliness fairs, it is just lovely! I wanted to participate, but honestly, I have just been too preoccupied with life lately… It seems that there is always so much to do and so very little time. It feels like lately I am just not getting much accomplished.
Part of this is due to my lack of sleep. Peanut is not sleeping well at night and this makes for very challenging days. The rest is due to my lack of organization. Getting organized is my goal this week as we “Prepare to Prepare”. I want to be able to give my children a peaceful and enjoyable Advent as we prepare for Christmas. But, in order for this to happen, I need to be organized. At least, it would be a HUGE plus!
So… This is the kickoff of my major housecleaning and organizing project, which is long overdue, and hopefully will be finished by this next weekend, the beginning of Advent. And, hopefully, it will also be a thorough purging of all the clutter that seems to take over my mind home! If all goes well, we should have a whole load of stuff, that we can take down to St. Vincents, to “bless someone else” with.
As Flylady says, “You cannot organize clutter – you can only organize the things you love!”
Stay tune for my progress, and say a prayer me if you can! I’m sure this is not the most interesting topic, but I need some motivation! 🙂
A Saint Day Celebration!
Today, November 25th, is the feast of Christ the King.
It is ALSO the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria… And, since she is one of Twinkle Toes’ patron Saints, it is an extra special day at our home.
I love the story of St. Catherine. She is known as the patron saint of young girls. You can read more about her here.
One of our favorite books about her, which we read today, is called A Story of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was originally published in 1965, and had been out of print. However, it has been reprinted by Newman Press. I just love how all these wonderful old books are now being made available once again! I highly recommend it.
The book is described as follows:
This is a magnificent story of another of God’s great saints, an example to young girls and Catholics of all ages and times. Catherine was born a pagan princess of Egypt, the land of the Sphinx and Pyramids. In her thirst for knowledge and wisdom she soon grew into a wise and very lovely young woman. This is an account of Catherine’s conversion to Christianity, her ascension to the throne as Queen of Alexandria, the persecution of her Christian subjects by the Romans and her own suffering at the hands of the Emperor for her love of Christ. Beautifully illustrated.
This past summer, Daddy missed Twinkle Toes birthday, since he was out fighting forest fires… So, I decided we would have cake for her “Saints Day” this year as well.
There is an old custom that originated in France, that on St. Catherine’s Day, heart-shaped cakes are given to young women who have reached the age of twenty-five and are still single. This is to encourage them in their search for love.
Now, as you know… my girls are no where NEAR the age of 25 and I’m not going to “encourage them in their search for love” 🙂 I just thought it would be fun to make, just the same. It must be my Inner French coming out!
Any ways, I found these directions on how to make a Heart Cake which were quite easy. And, even though it looked a little out of balance, Twinkle Toes LOVED it!
(My hands are now indefinitely blotched with red from the food coloring that I used to make the frosting pink… I’m still not sure how it got all over my hands!)
As a gift, she received The Little Match Girl. This is another great title featured in our Catholic Mosaic book study. It is so nice to have these extra excuses feast days to add books to our collection!
Well, It has been a very busy week… I am off to finish preparing for this coming week… Getting back into the “school” routine after a holiday is always a challenge for me! I will leave you with a beautiful prayer to St. Catherine. Goodnight and God Bless!
Glorious Saint Catherine, virgin and martyr,
Help me to imitate your love of purity.
Give me strength and courage
In fighting off the temptations of the world and evil desires.
Help me to love God with my whole heart
And serve Him faithfully.
O Saint Catherine,
Through your glorious martyrdom for the love of Christ,
Help me to be loyal to my faith and my God
As long as I live.
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