Feast of the Archangels

Feast of the Archangels: Sept. 29th

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels! Archangel Raphael holds a special place in my family, because my husband prayed a 54 day Novena asking for Saint Raphael's intercession to meet his future wife. Shortly after he finished his Novena, my husband and I met and started dating, and then, two-and-a-half years later at our wedding, one of the readings we selected to be read was from the book of Tobit where the Archangel Raphael appears.

Celebrating with Food:

As you and your family celebrate the Feast of the Archangels—Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael—today, make your day "Angel Themed!" For dinner, you and your family can make angel-hair pasta with Alfredo sauce, and serve angel-food cake for dessert. My husband’s grandmother was known for making angel food cake, and every year on the feast of the archangels, I get to bust out her angel food baking pan we inherited. I keep it pretty simple and just use a box angel food cake mix, which is the secret my husband’s grandmother passed on to his mother, and my mother-in-law then passed on to me. With your angel hair pasta, you can add ingredients and sides that incorporate the first letter of each archangel’s name. You can add sautéed garlic to your pasta sauce and serve garlic bread for Saint Gabriel (letter G), sprinkle Romano parmesan and Roma tomatoes on salads and in your pasta for Saint Raphael (letter R), and then top your angel food cake with mandarine oranges and maraschino cherries for Saint Michael.

Celebrating with Crafts:

For a simple and fun craft, you and your family can trace your hands to look like angel wings and write: "Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, pray for us." You can then hang your angel-wing-hands above your table or place them on your table for decorations. You can also draw the outline of three angels and then draw a sword on one for Saint Michael, praying hands for Saint Gabriel, and a walking staff or crook for Saint Raphael.

Celebrate with Printable Letter Resources and Archangel coloring pages:

Here are great Alphabet letter worksheets ,from the website “K-5 Learning,” that you can print and work on with your children as a letter and writing activity. If you’re looking for coloring worksheets, the website “The Catholic Kid” has free printable coloring pages for Saint Gabriel and Saint Michael and Saint Michael’s Prayer ; and the website, “Catholic Playground,” has a good coloring page of Saint Raphael. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating the Feast of the Archangels.

Comments

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Feast Day: Nov. 17th Saint Elizabeth of Hungary has always held a special place in my heart since she is my confirmation saint. If I'm being honest, when I was reading about saints back in the eighth grade, trying to choose which saint I wanted to take as my patron, my requirements were as follows: (1) She couldn't die a horrible death, (2) She was married with kids, (3) and her life was pretty good allowing her to serve God and others through the blessings she'd been given. In hindsight, my list of "requirements" was probably a little superficial, but now as an adult I focus more on the virtues and saintly qualities of Saint Elizabeth, and find inspiration in how she lived. She was humble, a kind and loving wife and mother, and very generous to the poor. She also made plenty of time to pray and grow in her relationship with the Lord. On her wedding day, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, who was a princess, did not wear a crown. Instead she s...

Saint John Neumann

Saint John Neumann: Feast Day Jan. 5th Saint John Neumann, the first American Bishop to be canonized and Patron Saint of Catholic Education, has a special place in my heart. My late grandfather’s name was John Neumann, and when my brother was confirmed, he selected our grandfather to be his sponsor and chose Saint John Neumann as his patron. I like to reflect on the reality that as our grandfather, John Neumann, stood beside him as his sponsor, Saint John Neumann prayed in Heaven for my brother at his Confirmation. Aside from this neat family name connection with a Saint, as a former teacher I also find Saint John Neumann to be inspiring, since he helped increase the number of Catholic schools while he was Bishop of Philadelphia and brought numerous religious sisters into the schools to teach. Faith instruction of children and young people was definitely important to Saint John Neumann. If you are interested in reading more about Saint John Neumann, check out this article from Francis...

Make a Rosary Garden—Planting Flowers and the Seeds of Prayer

Make a Rosary Garden—Planting Flowers and the Seeds of Prayer: On the lawn outside of my family's parish, there is a stepping-stone Marian-Rosary garden. Often, after attending daily Mass, on warm or non rainy days, my children love to run around the rosary stones, encircling the statue of Mary, and sit upon the garden's benches. The days when they would run around, only able to exclaim the words, "Hail, Mary! Hail, Mary! Hail Mary!" for each stone, are precious treasured memories I hold within my heart. When we entered the pandemic shutdown, in the spring of 2020, I didn't realize just how much I missed the rosary garden tradition my children and I had after Mass. When my husband and I scheduled confession with our pastor, twelve days into the shutdown, we took turns waiting with our children and letting them play and pray in the rosary garden, while we participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I'd always desired to make a Mary/Rosary garden in our ba...

Just a Catholic Mom

Search This Blog