September 13: Saint John Chrysostom
History
This Saint John is called “Chrysostom,” or “golden mouth”, because he was such a great Christian teacher. He was trained to be a great speaker, and then he became a priest and later bishop of Constantinople. Even so, some important people didn’t like him, including the empress. She had him exiled so she wouldn’t have to listen to his teaching any more about how she should share her riches with the poor. Even though he was forced to live in a lonely place, John felt happy and peaceful because he had God’s friendship.
Activity
One of the things that Saint John Chrysostom taught people was the importance of knowing and memorizing Scripture. Memorizing Bible verses can help you all your life, because the verses you know by heart come back to you when you need them most. Even a preschooler can start learning how to memorize verses – just like they can memorize their favorite books or quotes from movies. Start with Psalm 1. The older people in your family can memorize the whole thing, but the younger kids might need to stick to just the first half of the first verse. Just do what you can – every little bit is a big help!
Saint John Chrysostom, pray for us!
More reading for parents:
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