All Saints Day

All last week we were learning about the Saints in preparation for All Saints Day (this past Monday). Josiah can tell you all about St. Anne (Mary's mother, Jesus' grandmother) and St.Francis of Assisi, St. Nicholas, St.Therese, St.Bernadette and St.John Bosco. He recently learned about St.Martin de Porres as well (since today- Wednesday is his feast day!)

Basically what we and his curriculum have been teaching him is that Catholic Saints were human just like us. They lived extraordinary lives and now live in heaven with God. We look up to them and aspire to serve God wholeheartedly as they did. Each of us are called to serve God in different ways, but we're all called to be holy and to be Saints. All humans are made in the image of God.

We celebrated the Saints all day on Monday,... me and my three little Saints!

 The kids wore their Saints crowns that we made for most of the day.

                                                                     St. Josiah

                                                     St. Benjamin! :)

                                                                 St. Lydia

We played "canonize the Saint" (AKA- Ring Toss!) and used Halloween candy as prizes. We duck taped a small statue of St.Gerarde to the foyer floor (a gift from my friend back when I was pregnant with Lydia, he is the patron saint of expectant mothers!) and the kids used one of my headbands as the ring. (Last minute, didn't know what else to use!) But it worked well and they had lots of fun with it.

After that, Josiah got a hold of my camera, and I while I was returning a phone call, he went a little crazy taking pictures. He had a very willing subject....

Pretty impressive pictures actually! very cute.

Then Benjamin tried to attack St. Gerarde. All things on the floor = teethers.

      Then Josiah and Lydia colored a picture of St.Francis and we read his very famous peace prayer. (You may have also heard it sung before, it is also a hymn.) We said the prayer together before we had lunch.

       The peace prayer of St.Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,


Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Lydia's coloring page

                                                             Josiah's coloring page
                                                      (He wrote "I love Francis" haha)

For lunch we ate "Halo" peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and had bowls of yogurt with oreo crosses. Kids loved it!

Sometime after that, Benjamin discovered he could crawl into the play house. cute! little trouble maker. ;o)

During the late afternoon we made a cake to celebrate (but decided to wait until after dinner when Daddy was home to eat it!) We used funfetti cake and chocolate icing. I told Josiah the funfetti pieces in the cake were like all the Saints up in heaven, all different but all serving and loving God. (Totally made that one up on the spot, love it!) Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture until we had already dug in...

  

 

As you can see, it was delicious!

Happy All Saints Day!