June 1-7 Supply List

Here is the supply list for the suggested activities for next week, June 2 - 8. Feel free to improvise or to adjust activities to fit your family's preferences, skills and time allotment.

Monday: Computer printer with black cartridge, paper, coloring supplies (crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.)

Tuesday: Clean, empty milk/juice cartons (quart or half-gallon work best, cardboard cartons, not plastic jugs - 1 per child), new taper candle (any color, 1 per child), paraffin, crayon stubs for coloring the wax (all in the same category, such as all greens, all reds, etc.), large tin can or an old pot from a thrift store that you won't mind throwing away later, larger pot that the can/old pot fits into with room for boiling water around it, wooden spoon, waxed paper, tin foil, rimmed baking sheet(s), ice cubes.

Wednesday: Ingredients for a Naples-style supper 

(or plan on pizza for an even easier meal)

(quantities below are for four average eaters; adjust as necessary for the size and appetite of your family)

      12 oz. ziti (or another pasta shape that you like) 

      1-1.5 lb. sweet or mild Italian sausage links

      Extra-virgin olive oil 

      1 28-oz can of Italian-style peeled tomatoes

      Hot pepper flakes (optional)

      Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

      Broccoli, spinach or another green vegetable that your family enjoys

      Italian-style bread (optional)

May 31: Saint Petronilla

St. Petronilla

History

We don’t know much about Saint Petronilla, and the few statements about her in Christian history sometimes conflict with each other. Some people thought she was the daughter of Saint Peter – maybe a biological daughter, but more likely a “spiritual” daughter, whom he taught and healed from palsy (a condition that affects muscles and balance). Other people think she lived about 200 years after Peter, a beautiful young woman who took a vow of chastity for Christ and later paid for that with her life.

Activity

If you’re lucky enough to live in the US and other countries that protect religious freedom, it might be hard to imagine what it would be like to be sentenced to death for being a Christian. Right this minute, there is a Christian woman named Meriam Yehya Ibrahim in the Sudan who has been condemned to die because she is a Christian. She is married to a Christian man and just gave birth to their second baby (while wearing chains), but the government says her marriage isn’t legal and does not recognize her faith in Christ. Today, pray for Meriam, that God will send somebody to rescue her so she can continue to live out her faith. Don’t forget to ask Saint Petronilla to pray for her, too.

Saint Petronilla, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

Saint Petronilla Parish, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Catholic Online

May 30: Saint Joan of Arc

"Joan of Arc at the Coronation
of Charles VII"
by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

History

When Joan was born in France around 1412, her country was a mess. For about 100 years, the English had been trying to take control over the country. Even thought Joan was just a farmer’s daughter, she received visions telling her to take France to victory. She managed to get an audience with the King, and he gave her permission to go with an army. Joan turned the conflict into a religious war. She took part in the siege of Orléans, and whether she carried a sword or a standard (banner), the French army won. Even though she was just a teenage girl, Joan convinced the king and dukes to follow several of her military ideas and France was successful. Then Joan was captured and put on trial. The trial was not fair, and she was executed. However, only 25 years later, good people looked into Joan’s case and corrected the record. Now everybody knows she is a saint. 

Activity

During her trial, some of the people tried to trick Joan so they could declare her a heretic. They asked her if she knew she was in God’s grace. If she had said yes, that would have meant she is a heretic because none of us can know if we are or aren’t. If she had said no, she would have been condemned for saying she had seen heavenly visions. Joan said, "If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.” Today, before you go to bed, make Joan’s words your nighttime prayer: “If I am not in Your grace, Lord, put me there. And if I am, may You so keep me.”

Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

American Catholic

Catholic Online

May 29: Saint Julia Maria Ledóchowska

Mother Ursula (Saint Julia
Maria Ledóchowska) in 1907

History

She was born in Austria, but her dad was Polish and her mom was Swiss, and they moved to Poland when she was young. Julia was fortunate to grow up in a family devoted to Christ. Shortly before he died, her father gave Julia his blessing to join the Ursuline sisters, where she became a teacher. She was sent to Russia to open a boarding school and became Mother Ursula. But at the beginning of World War I, she was expelled from Russia and went to Sweden After the war, Mother Ursula and her sisters brought dozens of orphans back to Poland. She started her own branch of the Ursulines called the Ursuline Sisters of the Heart of Jesus in Agony.

Activity

For people who had lost homes, family members and jobs because of the war, Mother Ursula and her sisters were almost like angels, providing practical help as well as spiritual support. Today, make these Polish “Angel Wing” cookies – they are very simple and light, and they cook on top of the stove.

Saint Julia Maria Ledóchowska, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Polish Ursuline Community

365 Rosaries

Catholic Online

SPECIAL NOTE: Today is a Holy Day of Obligation in most dioceses, the Feast of the Ascension! So make sure you go to Mass and make sure you feast, even if the celebration was moved to Sunday where you live (then you can celebrate twice).

May 28: Blessed Margaret Pole

Drawing of Bl. Margaret Pole
Photo by lisby1

History

Margaret was a lady of noble birth – her uncles were King Edward IV and Richard III of England, and she was Countess of Salisbury. She and her husband, Reginald Pole, raised five sons. Sometime after Reginald died, Margaret found herself in a public disagreement with King Henry VIII. He had started out as a faithful Catholic believer, but when the Church said he could not divorce his wife, he started his own church. When he married another woman, Margaret took a stand against him, and so did two of her grown sons. After being imprisoned in the Tower of London for two years, they were executed. 

Activity

Bl. Margaret Pole's
family Coat of Arms

Bl. Margaret Pole and her husband taught their children to be faithful to Christ and the Church. Her family Coat of Arms is full of symbols of courage and faith. Today, make a Coat of Arms for your family. Here is a website that makes it easy, with an explanation of the colors and symbols that lets you choose what represents what your family stands for, and here’s another with a bigger choice of symbols (and the opportunity to have your Coat of Arms printed on t-shirts and other merchandise). Or you can simply use this blank shield and draw your own ideas. 

Blessed Margaret Pole, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

EWTN
Holy Spirit Interactive
Catholic Online

May 27: St. Augustine of Canterbury

"Baptism of King Ethelbert
by St. Augustine of Canterbury"
Window at St. Martin Church
Canterbury, England

History

In the year 596, Pope Saint Gregory the Great sent Saint Augustine of Canterbury and around 40 other monks to tell the people of England about Jesus. The men set out from Rome, but on the way, they kept hearing about how mean the English were to Christians. So, they turned back. But the pope had heard that the English King Ethelbert, who was a pagan, had married a Christian lady, so the missionaries were sent to England again. King Ethelbert was very nice to them. He became a Christian the following year, and after that, many other English people became Christians too. To help them adapt, Augustine followed Paul’s example in Acts17:22-34 and converted pagan temples into Christian churches and replaced pagan rites with Christian Holy Days. The “good fruit” of this work was that England became a Christian country rather quickly.

Activity

Celebrate the “good fruit” of St. Augustine of Canterbury’s missionary work with a fruit dessert. This traditional Canterbury Tart is made with baking apples (such as Bramley apples), dessert apples (such as Gala or Braeburn), and demerara sugar, also called turbinado sugar. This recipe is from Great Britain, so they use slightly different names for things. Icing sugar is what we call confectioner’s sugar, and caster sugar is what we call baking sugar or extra-find granulated sugar (regular white sugar will work, too).

Saint Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

American Catholic

Catholic Online