Preparing to celebrate the Day of the Unborn {Preborn} Child - Videos of the Annunciation to Mary (celebrated on March 25, but for this year, March 26)

Tomorrow is the Day of the Unborn (or Preborn) Child. In the Catholic Church, we also traditionally celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation on the same day. This year, however, since March 25 falls on a Sunday, we'll be celebrating the Annunciation on March 26.

I already posted several resources one can use to celebrate this special day on my main mom blog, i.e. Truly Rich Mom. However, I wanted to post these videos here, too, so that I don't have to go searching for them on YouTube again tomorrow. :)

1. The Annunciation to Mary from iw on GodTube. (Click on the link to view the video on GodTube.)


2. These are short animated scenes (amateur, but cute nonetheless!)


3. This is TOO cute! :) It's actually a home video of kids acting out the Annunciation. :)


4. This is from Gloria.tv. (If it doesn't work here, you can view it here instead).


5. This is in Japanese but has English subtitles.


Besides watching these videos, we'll be reading Bible stories and books about the Annunciation, looking at pictures of Jesus in the womb of Mary and praying a decade of the Rosary (the first Joyful mystery).(The website http://unbornwordoftheday.com/ has some good images. Or, we could always go to Google.)

We'll also be praying for the babies in their mom's wombs and those who have died because of abortion. I have some plaster models of Baby Joshua, the pro-life "model" of how a 10-week old fetus/unborn baby looks like, and will take them out for the kids to see. :) We'll pretend it's Baby Jesus and pray over Him. We'll also be reading one or two books about how babies are conceived and born. :)

I'll also ask the kids to make a Happy FirstDay Jesus card or poster, as suggested on the Day of the Unborn Child website. If our budget permits, we'll get some cupcakes and ice them with blue and white icing, just like we did for Mama Mary's birthday last year.

Please pray that we'll be able to do all the things we plan to do! :) Thanks and God bless, everyone!

+ AMDG +

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan 25)

January 25 is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. Since we've "adopted" St. Paul as our family's patron saint for 2012, I thought I'd share with you some ideas (some of which, are not originally mine to claim) for celebrating today's feast. (I tried Googling for ideas, but there seems to be only a few posts about it.)

We won't be able to use these ideas today though, since Timothy joined his Papa Anthony on a "mission trip" to Baguio to prepare for the Couples for Christ Magnificat Weekend Retreat (their FIRST ever trip together as father-and-son. I'm a bit nervous about it, but totally ECSTATIC too!) I hope we could still do them though, even on a different day. I'm really grateful to God for reminding me about "what is essential" through St. Paul's conversion.

Here are some ideas:

1. From Catholic Cuisine: "Although the story from the Acts of the Apostles doesn't mention St. Paul falling to the ground off his horse, it seems that is how the scene is always artistically rendered. After all, falling to the ground from a standing position hurts, but it isn't as dramatic as a fall from a horse!" 

Image source here.

a. Make horseshoe cookies and include other "horse-themed" dishes in the family's meals.
b. For snack time, prepare something horses eat, like celery or carrot sticks with dip.
(Find more ideas from Catholic Cuisine by clicking here.)

2. Read Bible stories about St. Paul. Tim's current Bible is "My Favorite Bible Storybook for Early Readers." We got it from Booksale, and although it's not a Catholic children's Bible, it's really good - Tim loves "reading" it with us! I like that the stories are a bit more detailed than those in our other Bible storybooks.

Alternatively, we plan to read (for the nth time!) the comic book about St. Paul that we bought a while back at the St. Paul's bookstore at Ali Mall in Cubao. Maybe we'll do some role-playing while we're at it! ;-)

3. Do St. Paul-themed activities. Catholicmom.com has some good ideas from their 2008 archives on celebrating "The Year of St. Paul." You may find these resources helpful:


Resources for Children and Families:

Year of St. Paul Lesson Plan from CatholicMom.comOSV St. Paul "Giant of the Church" - interactive stories, quiz and more
OSV St. Paul Crossword Puzzle
OSV Take Out Kids Page for Year of St. Paul - filled with several great ideas and activities for families
OSV St. Paul Coloring Book for Kids
OSV "Year of St. Paul" poster
St. Peter and St. Paul Coloring Page

4. Watch videos about the Conversion of St. Paul. You can find these on YouTube. Here are two such videos:




Here's a music video about "Saul of Tarsus." (Note: Our internet connection is kinda spotty now, so I wasn't able to view the video - I hope you can do so without any problems though!)


Happy Feast Day everyone! To God be all the glory! ;-)

Remembering St. Cecilia in our own little way

Yesterday, November 22, was the Feast Day of St. Cecilia. It was a Tuesday, so I had to report to the office. (Although my dream to be a fulltime, stay-at-home mom is not financially feasible for us at this time, I am still blessed to have a work-at-home arrangement that requires me to go to the office at least 2x a week - thanks to my dear elders at Couples for Christ, who are so supportive).

St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians

So anyway, I left some activities for Tim and Rysse to do with their Ate* (yes, we have a helper now!). She has been a HUGE help and blessing, so yes, I'm not the "do-everything-by-myself-supermom" you may think I am! Still, I am AMAZED at the many homeschool moms out there who keep their homes, teach their kids and blog/work on the side WITHOUT any help whatsoever - hats off to you!

Back to the reason for this post. Hehe! I wanted Tim (and Rysse) to celebrate even in a simple way, St. Cecilia's special day. So what did we do before our regular storytime / booktime?

Play "Guess What Musical Instrument"!

How to keep the HALLOW in Halloween AND Ideas for All Saints' Day

This post is inspired by one of my favorite Catholic mom bloggers of all time (Lacy of Catholic Icing and Catholic ABC's preschool curriculum - just got our copy a few days ago, the same day we had our first official field trip to an exhibit on Blessed John Paul II!).

That's me holding our copy of Catholic ABC's! Yahoo! Praise GOD after 1 month plus of waiting!  ;-)

Halloween is just around the corner, and I hope to be celebrating it with our kids in a more meaningful way, compared to last year.

Last year we celebrated Halloween for the first time in the Philippines and the kids went trick or treat-ing at Valle Verde 1, where hubby's aunt lives. ;-) 

Tim was dressed as a knight (I kept telling him he was St. George, but  he didn't quite appreciate it. This year though, he is excited to be dressed up as the dragon-slaying saint, so we'll just be recycling his costume and adding a few more touches. Like a sword and shield maybe.
Rysse was dressed as an angel upon the request of her aunt, hubby's sister (she bought everything!). :-) Don't know if she'll be the same this year BUT if I have my way, I want to dress her up as one of those saints who were royalty. She is after all very fond of princesses now. If not, I would love to have her dressed up as her patron saint, St. Therese of Lisieux!

Borrowing from one of Lacy's posts about Halloween, let's check out what the word HALLOW really means:

Definition of Hallow: Hallow is a word usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate".[1]  The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.[2] In modern English usage, the noun hallow appears mostly in compounds in Halloween and Hallowmas. Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is a shortened form of All Hallow Even, meaning "All Hallow's Eve" or "All Saints' Eve".[3] Hallowmas, the day after Halloween, is shortened from Hallow's mass, and is also known as "All Hallow's Day" or "All Saints' Day".[4]

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of St. Teresa (Therese) of Avila

Today (Oct 15) is St. Teresa of Avila's Feast Day. She was a Carmelite nun, like St. Therese of Lisieux. However, based on her biographies like this one from Catholic.org, unlike St. Therese, she did not have a fervent desire to serve God at an early age:

"..she led a fairly ordinary life, though she was convinced that she was a horrible sinner. As a teenager, she cared only about boys and clothes and flirting and rebelling -- like other teenagers throughout the ages."

(I see she and I had A LOT in common when we were younger, haha!) Nevertheless, despite all her faults and struggles, God blessed her immensely, and truly shaped her to be holy and a saint (something we all hope to be one day, right?)

To celebrate her Feast Day today, here is a round-up of ideas from other fabulous, creative Catholic moms, mostly homeschoolers:

1. Make a St. Teresa of Avila Prayer Bookmark from Paper Dali

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Oct 7)

This year's Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary also falls on the First Friday of October - a double reason to celebrate! I am SO excited for our monthly ROCKERs meeting later at the Medela House! We will be treated to an interactive multi-arts and storytelling/ sing and dance along session c/o our friends at My Masterpiece Movement. Yipeee! Praise GOD ;-)

The kids and I will be going to New Manila by taking the FX to the LRT station, then we'll go by LRT (Light Rail Transit, or train in other countries, hehe) to Gilmore St. and walk to Medela House (the Medela Moms Beng and Maricel are Catholic homeschoolers! Awesome!). I'm sure we'll have lots of learning experiences along the way! ;-)

Since it's the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, we will also go to Mass at St. Pio Shrine (at least I am hoping we can!) and try to do one or two of the following activities (which you may want to do too, and don't forget to scroll down for some helpful videos):

- For TeacherMama: read and apply this article on "Exploring Mary and Motherhood"

- Do coloring of the Rosary / Mama Mary pages. The mom behind Family Feast and Feria has taken the time to scan coloring pages of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries here, and provides the link to the Luminous Mysteries too, which you can go to directly here. There is also a coloring page from Domestic Church here. You can also take a look at the one recommended by Catholic Mom here, Waltzing Matilda here. (Lightbulb moment! We can do this while praying the Rosary too! hehe).

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (Updated with NEW CARTOON VIDEOS!)

When I was younger, especially when I was still a single missionary for Youth for Christ, one of my "idol" saints was St. Francis of Assisi. Perhaps because I could relate to his "troubled" and sinful life as a youth, and later on, as a missionary who gave his all to God, not caring about the material things in life. (Much like one of my other "idols,"  Filipino lay preacher Bo Sanchez!)

However, I have realized since then that what matters most to God is my poverty in spirit and detachment from the material world, and that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be rich, if it is for the right reasons, and to glorify God by helping others. This is especially true if one has a family - there's nothing wrong with wanting to provide for one's kids right?

Anyway, St. Francis celebrates his Feast Day today so here is a round-up of ideas on how to celebrate:

1. Watch videos about his life - Watchknowlearn.org has a good list of videos here. Below is one of the videos, hopefully Tim won't be TOO bored with it as it's meant for 8 year olds and up. hehe! ;-)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk70JUT-QAU]

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux (delayed I know! haha) and the Feast of the Guardian Angels

I was supposed to post these ideas for St. Therese's feast day yesterday but didn't get to as my mom and I went to visit my cousin who just gave birth, and give some breastfeeding support to her. After that, we went grocery shopping with the kids. It was a very rainy Saturday in Manila yesterday, and I hope everyone's coping with the typhoon well. Let's keep praying for those badly affected though, and still in flooded areas!

Anyway, here are some ideas for St. Therese's Feast Day, as re-posted from other wonderful Catholic moms' blogs and Catholic websites! (It's never too late to celebrate and teach our kids about St. Therese, who is one of my personal favorites, as we sought her intercession when I was pregnant with our 2 kids on mission! That's why we named our first daughter, Alyssa Therese :-) hehe.)

P.S. Please also keep reading to the end for ideas on celebrating the Feast of the Guardian Angels (Oct 2)! :-)

Happy Feast Day St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael!

I started off this day with a reflection about St. Joseph and Mama Mary, which was inspired by some videos I watched with the kids. What a fitting way to start the day!

The Three Archangels with Tobias by Francesco Botticini from

friendsofart.net

Today, on Michaelmas, besides celebrating the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, along with Saints Gabriel and Raphael, the other archangels, in various ways, let's pray for our families, and all families everywhere. Let us especially pray for protection from the evil one and for stronger families built on the ROCK of Christ.

Here are some prayers to get us started from a website about St. Michael:

Celebrating the Feast Day of St. Lorenzo Ruiz

It is St. Lorenzo Ruiz's Feast Day today (Sept 28). Since it is still flooded outside due to Typhoon Pedring (which seems to have "calmed down" a bit, thank you for joining us in prayer!) I thought I'd try to come up with a post on how to celebrate his Feast Day. (Since I can't find one on Google! haha!)

But first, here is some information about the St. Lorenzo, or San Lorenzo Ruiz, as he is fondly called by Filipinos everywhere:

Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint. He is also the first Filipino martyred for the Christian Faith. Lorenzo Ruiz was a layman, married, and had two sons and a daughter. Born in Binondo, Manila, about 1600's, he was educated in the school of the Dominicans there. He served as an altar boy and later was a helper and clerk-sacristan in the church of Binondo. He was a member of the Confraternity of the Rosary. 

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast Day of St. Padre Pio (Sept 23)

St. Padre Pio has a special place in our family's heart now because we believe that it was through his intercession that my sister got pregnant, after waiting for almost ELEVEN years! (I wrote about that on Philstar.com here.)

Today (Sept 23) is his feast day, and here are some great ideas for celebrating it from Catholic Icing. (Forgive me, but I'll just copy and paste Lacy's post below, hehe). Thank you St. Pio for praying for us! Happy Feast Day!

Pray, hope and don't worry. - St. Pio of Petrelcina


Note: The Philippine Center for St. Pio has an official website here. It is a wonderful, solemn place to visit and celebrate the Eucharist. The chapel is located at E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave (C5). You can view the directions/map going there here.
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St. Padre Pio has a feast day coming up on September 23. If I were to rank St. Padre Pio on a popularity scale from 1-10, I would give him a 10! He sure seems to be a 'crowd pleaser', and there's no question as to why if you read about St. Padre Pio. The most famous thing about him is his stigmata. Well, that and his fist fights with demons and levitating and all kinds of crazy cool stuff :-) Anyway, here are some feast day ideas for celebrating with your kids:

Ok, call me crazy, but I love these Stigmata Rice Krispie Treats

from Family at the Foot of the Cross! 

My Little Flower made a St. Padre Pio Lapbook.

Get a special Fun Fact Sheet on St. Padre Pio for Kids

over on Catholic Online.

Waltzing Matilda has 2 St. Padre Pio Coloring Sheets!

These were colored by Keeper of the Keys. 

Find a St. Padre Pio Spoon Craft over on 

Cottage Blessings. He's standing with St. Francis here.

Ideas for celebrating "Michaelmas" - Feast Day of St. Michael and all the Archangels (Sept 29)

The Feast Day of all the Archangels - St. Michael, also known as "Michaelmas," falls on September 29. Two other archangels, Gabriel and Raphael, are also honored on this day. (To know more about "Michaelmas" please go to the articles on these sites: Women for Faith and Family, Catholic Culture, Catholic.org)

For ideas on activities, crafts and the like, check out my favorite Catholic crafty homeschool mom Lacy's suggestions, which I am re-posting below:
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Michaelmas comes every year on September 29. It is the feast day of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and well- basically the Archangels :-) When getting ready to celebrate Michaelmas with your kids, think "tough angels". Because that's what archangels are. Save your "fluffy angel" ideas for the feast of Guardian Angels in October.

I love this Angel Mobile Craft from Bountiful Blessings.

If you're not crafts enough to cut the pieces out like she did,

Charlotte has a Printable Page of these Kitchen Angels.

Suggested Activities for the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross (Sept 14) and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept 15)

Check out these great activities for two of the GREAT* Feast Days in September posted on the ROCKERs page:
http://rockersph.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/ideas-for-the-triumph-of-the-holy-cross-sept-14-and-our-lady-of-sorrows-sept-15/

*Why are they GREAT in my book?! Well, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross reminds us all about the POWER of JESUS' SAVING WORK on the Cross, while the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows invites us to unite ourselves with Mama Mary in prayer and compassion for the world. :-) Hope you and your families enjoy celebrating these days!

Activities for other special Catholic events in September, especially Mama Mary's birthday

Besides the Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa, there are a couple of other memorable events coming up this September, namely Mama Mary's birthday (or Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) on September 8, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14 and The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. Exciting huh?! ;-) 


Let's take a look at what two of my favorite Catholic mommy bloggers have posted with regard to ideas and activities for celebrating these feast days:


First of all, may I just say that Lacy is really one of my favorite Catholic mommy bloggers?!! She is so blessed with creativity and resourcefulness, and I always refer to her blog for crafts and activities that highlight the beauty of the Catholic faith. Here is her compilation of ideas (from other amazing Catholic moms!) for celebrating Mama Mary's birthday:

So the most obvious idea for celebrating this feast day is to make a birthday cake for Mary. Anything blue is a great idea since that's Mary's traditional color.

Ideas for September 5: Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa

I have JUST decided to include some activities for Blessed Mother Teresa's Feast day for our first day of homeschooling. Did a search on Google and here's what I plan to use: (wish us luck! haha! Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for us!)

Activities from Paper Dali (like this cute coloring sheet below!)

Coloring Pages from 4Real (scroll down to September 5)

Watch videos:
Mother Teresa of Calcutta cartoon for children


For me (hehe!): Mother Teresa on God's mercy and forgiveness

Ways to celebrate the Assumption of Mary (from Catholic Icing)!

As usual, Lacy over at Catholic Icing has some wonderful ideas on how to make the Feast of the Assumption of Mary meaningful and fun for our kids. (I didn't have time to prepare for any of these - grrr! - but I will try to at least print out some coloring sheets for the kids to commemorate this wonderful feast day. *But I don't have a printer pala! hahaha.* Maybe I'll go over to my parents' place! hehe. Happy Feast of the Assumption everyone! ;-) Mama Mary, we love you! Pray for us!

Anyway, here is Lacy's post:

Assumption of Mary- Are You Ready to Celebrate?

on Friday, August 13, 2010

The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is on August 15. FYI- Jesus Ascended into heaven. Mary was Assumed into heaven. Hence the "Ascension of Jesus" and the "Assumption of Mary". Guess Jesus could do it on his own, and Mary was abducted alien style. Ok, only kidding about the 'alien abduction' part. :-)

Here are some ways to have fun in celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary! (Man, what a mouth full!) 

Who loves free Catholic coloring pages? I do! And these ones 

from St. John's Catholic Church are some of my favorites!

This coloring page of Mary's Assumption is just beautiful.

Over at Catholic and Loving It, they made this great

Marian Cake for celebrating the Assumption of Mary.

If you're looking for food ideas, you could try

Cloud Cocoa, Cloud Meringue Cookies,

Cloud Souffle, or Cloud Cookies! 

Also, here are some ideas from my Ascension of Jesus post. I love this
jello dish because not only is it clouds for the assumption, but
it's blue to symbolize Mary, too! :-)

I wish I would have had the time to pull off a craft for this one- maybe next year. Anyway, enjoy the coloring page and say good bye to your diet for this one!

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