December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception

History

God chose the woman who would be the mother of Christ very carefully. In fact, at the moment of her conception, God filled Mary with Grace. She was saved from the stain of sin in order to be the pure vessel by whom Christ entered the world. God confirmed this rather miraculously when a poor girl in Lourdes, France, was visited by the Blessed Mother, who revealed herself as "The Immaculate Conception." The girl - St. Bernadette Soubirous - had no idea what these words meant, but when Church authorities heard these words, they knew God was confirming Mary's Immaculate Conception. Activity Since 1846, Mary the Immaculate Conception has been patroness of the United States, which means today is a Holy Day of Obligation for all U.S. Catholics. Go to Mass and enjoy a special dinner - anything that your family likes best. You may also want to include a special dessert, such as cupcakes decorated with blue frosting (blue is Mary's color). Saint Mary, Immaculate Conception, pray for us!  More reading for parents: Catholic Encyclopedia Catholic Culture Fisheaters

December 7: Saint Mary Joseph Rossello

History

When Saint Mary Joseph Rossello was a girl, parents carefully saved money as a dowry that was given to the daughter’s husband when she married, or to the religious order she joined as a nun or religious sister. Mary Joseph’s parents had many children and not much money, so it was very difficult for them to save any money at all. Mary Joseph wanted to enter a convent, but without a dowry, she couldn’t. She had to go to work. But her bishop knew she had a talent for teaching other girls religion, so he bought a house, turned two rooms into classrooms, and gave it to Mary Joseph and a few other women as a new order, the Institute of the Daughters of Mercy. For 40 years, Sister Mary Joseph led the order, and she always took in new sisters without requiring any dowry.

Activity

Dowries aren’t an issue for most women these days, but college debt can prevent a woman from joining a religious order, because all her debts must be paid before she enters. The Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations provides grants to women to cover their college debt so they can enter the community God has called them to. (They also help pay the debts of men called to become priests.) Today, please consider making a donation of any amount in honor of Saint Mary Joseph Rossello. 

Saint Mary Joseph Rossello, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Roman Catholic Saints

SQPN

Catholic Online

December 6: Saint Nicholas of Myra

St. Nicholas
Photo by Ralph Hammann

History

Saint Nicholas was not a perfect man. Once he lost his temper and punched another bishop right in the nose! However, he did many wonderful things. He inherited quite a bit of money from his parents, and he was very generous. Once, there was a man who had three daughters and couldn’t afford for them to get married. Late at night, Nicholas tossed a bag of coins through the window (or maybe down the chimney, as some legends say) and then the oldest girl was able to get married. He did it again for the second daughter and then the third. The last time, the father was watching and caught Saint Nicholas in the act so he could thank him.

Activity

Our 2013 shoes for neighbors
(We make them for  several days before the
6th because we have so many kid neighbors!)

In some of the legends about Saint Nicholas providing for the three sisters who wanted to get married, the little bags of gold coins land in their shoes or stockings. To this day in many countries, children put their shoes by their beds the night before Saint Nicholas’ feast day, and when they wake up, they find chocolate coins wrapped in golden foil. Today, use scrapbook paper and a pattern to create your own paper shoes, and fill them with chocolate coins. Here are the patterns I use, which hold five chocolate coins. Here's another that's a bit bigger (and likely easier to fill). My children like to make these for neighbors and sneak over to secretly deposit them on their front porches, so we make quite a few of them. 

Saint Nicholas, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Online

December 5: Saint Sabas

St. Sabas the Sanctified

History

When Saint Sabas was very small, his father had to go away with the army, so he left Sabas with an uncle. The uncle’s wife was not very kind, so Sabas ran away when he was only 8 years old. He went to live with another uncle, but when the two uncles started quarrelling over Sabas’ inheritance, he ran away again, this time to a monastery. After a while, his uncles reached an agreement – they wanted Sabas to get married! But he wanted to live alone with Christ, so he stayed with the monks. Later on, he organized a lavra, a kind of monastery were each monk lives in his own little one-room house or cave, and the brothers only get together on Sunday for Holy Communion. His lavra is now the oldest operating lavra still in existence in the world today, even though an earthquake destroyed a lot of it in the 1843.

Activity

Saint Sabas knew how important it was to take time apart from other people to pray. During Advent, it’s really, really easy to get so busy, we forget to pray. Today, take a little bit of time where each member of the family can be alone to pray (parents may need to tag-team if there are very young children in the household). When you pray, remember to ask Saint Sabas to pray that you will have time every day to pray, especially on the busy days.

Saint Sabas, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

American Catholic

Catholic Online

SPECIAL NOTE: Tomorrow is St. Nicholas Day. In our family, we always hang our stockings on the night of December 5, and the children awake to find notes in their stocking that identify the gifts they have received from God (honesty, empathy, creativity, courage, etc.) and how they have used those gifts in the past year, plus a word of advice on how to grow in the coming year. What traditions are right for your family on this special day?

December 4: Saint John Damascene

Russian icon of St. John Damascene

History 

When Saint John Damascene was a little boy, all he cared about was soldiers, war and pirates. His dad didn’t think this was a very good idea, though and made John study things like music, math, and theology. John grew up to be one of the greatest writers and poets in the Eastern Catholic Church. Once, an emperor who was angry with John had a letter written that said terrible things, and signed John’s name to it. John was arrested and the penalty for this crime to have his hand cut off. That night, John knelt and asked the Blessed Mother to pray that Jesus would give him back his hand.  He fell asleep, and when he woke up, his hand was normal again, and he went on to write many more wonderful things. He also painted a beautiful image of the Blessed Mother holding the Christ Child out of gratitude for the favor granted to him.

Activity

St. John Damascene's icon
of the Blessed Mother
with the Infant Jesus

Here is a photo of the icon of the Blessed Mother with the Infant Jesus attributed to St. John Damascene. Our Lady prays for us all the time - more than we realize - and we owe her our gratitude. Today, draw your own picture of the Blessed Mother with her Son (or color a coloring page like  this one, this one, or that one) and add a frame of construction paper and glitter so it can be part of your family Christmas decorations this year. 

Saint John Damascene, pray for us! 

More reading for parents:

Mystogagy

EWTN

Catholic Online

December 3: St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier by Lorenzo de Caro
National Museum of Fine Arts, Valetta

History

Born in Spain and educated in France, St. Francis Xavier met Saint Ignatius Loyola when he was 22 years old. The two of them, along with five other men, founded the Society of Jesus. They all planned to be missionaries, and they were sent to the Far East on behalf of the pope. Francis ended up in Goa, India, with two other priests. Through his example and love for Jesus, he was very influential in spreading the Catholic faith in India.

Activity

St. Francis Xavier did his best to befriend the people of India, but he was never very good at learning different languages, so he simply lived in their communities and adopted their customs as he lived a truly Christian life. Today, try a meal that is similar to what St. Francis Xavier ate in India. Here's an easy recipe for Chicken Curry.

St. Francis Xavier, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Online

December 2: St. Bibiana

St. Bibiana by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Image by WikiPaintings

History

We don’t know much about St. Bibiana because she lived so long ago and for such a short time. Her dad was a Roman knight, but he and her mom were both killed during Emperor Flavian’s attack on Christians. Bibiana and her sister, Demetria, not only lost their parents – everything the family owned was taken away from them, leaving the two young women very, very poor. They stayed in their house with nothing to eat, but because they were full of faith in God, they turned their hunger into fasting and prayer.

Activity

Bibiana and her sister knew that Jesus loved them, and they loved Him so much that even when things were awful, they wanted to fast and pray. Fasting isn’t a good idea for children, but you can do a mini-fast by giving up your afternoon snack. You might get really, really hungry before supper, but that will be a good reminder to pray for somebody you care about.

Saint Bibiana, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Online