Category: August
We made these easy light up lanterns in time for the Feast of the Assumption, but they would be a great craft for any Marian feast day. To create the lanterns, we used: * a large plastic cup (choose a sturdy cup- the first plastic cup we tried, cracked easily when push pinning) * pushRead more
St. Mary MacKillop is one of the Church’s newer saints, having been canonized quite recently in 2010. Not only was she canonized a saint of the Catholic Church, but she also became Australia’s first saint. Mary had two great passions in her life: the poor and the religious order she formed with the help ofRead more
The apparition of Our Lady in Knock, Ireland, is one of the few that are approved by the Church. In 1879, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared outside of a little church in Knock, Ireland. Behind them were angels adoring at an altar with a cross and a lamb. Unlike her apparitionRead more
Helena was the wife of a Roman general and the mother of Constantine the Great. Shortly after she became empress, Helena converted to Christianity. She devoted her life to charitable acts, and helped build churches across Rome and the Holy Land. During one trip to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. Legend tellsRead more
Pope Saint Pius X was born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto in a little Italian town. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly Our Lady of Confidence. He once declared, “Let the storm rage and the sky darken — not for that shall we be dismayed. If we trust as we should inRead more
Born in Spain, Raymond was delivered by Caesarean section because his mother died during childbirth. His name “Nonnatus” is Latin, meaning “not born.” When he was old enough, he joined the Mercedarians, an order dedicated to ransoming Christian slaves in Northern Africa. He is credited with ransoming hundreds of slaves. On a trip to Tunis, his moneyRead more
St. Monica gives the Church an incredible example of patience and perseverance. For years, she patiently bore the tempers and insults of both her pagan husband and mother-in-law and prayed fervently for their conversions to the Catholic faith. Eventually they both converted- her husband died only a year after his conversion. Monica also had three children;Read more
At birth, Saint Rose was given the same Isabel. However, Isabel was such a beautiful child that she was called “Rose” and the name stuck. Her beauty grew with each year that passed. Her mother loved to show off Rose’s beauty, even placing a wreath of flowers on her head to draw attention to her. Rose shunnedRead more
The feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine are on separate days- August 27th and 28th respectively- but their lives and paths to sainthood are inseparable. Monica is credited with bringing not only her husband and mother-in-law to the Catholic faith, but also her son Augustine as well. She prayed fervently for the conversion of her pagan husbandRead more
We recently made these Sacred Heart/Immaculate Heart cookies for a bake sale at church. They were fun and relatively easy to assemble— and we received lots of great comments on them! You’ll want to frame these cookies when you’re done, not eat them! This is our “go-to” recipe for roll out cookies because they taste great and theRead more
Blessed Virgin Mary – Queen of Heaven and Earth Though ecclesial references to the royal dignity of Mary can be traced back as far as the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary was not established until 1954. Prior to this, in 1925, Pope Pius XI established the liturgical feastRead more
Here is a great floating lantern craft depicting Mary, Mother of God, being assumed into heaven: We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” WithRead more
August 15th commemorates Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. At the end of her earthly life, Mary was taken to Heaven, body and soul. Though she was human, she was born without original sin. This meant she would not undergo the punishment of being separated from her body at the end of her life. St. Francis deRead more
After World War II, stories about heroes in the concentration camps emerged, though one of the most powerful tells of a Polish priest who offered his life in place of a young husband and father who had been one of ten men randomly condemned to death. The priest went bravely to his death, enduring twoRead more
The Feast of the Transfiguration commemorates Jesus’ transfiguration in the New Testament. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell the story of the Transfiguration. Jesus, Peter, John, and James were on a mountain when Jesus became illuminated with rays of light. His face shone and his garments turned as white as snow. The prophetsRead more
Click an image below to print a coloring page.Read more