The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Aug. 15th

In honor of our spiritual mother in Heaven, my family and I made an assumption centerpiece for our dinner table. We modified ours, and used a tall glass, cotton balls for clouds, angel ornaments, blue construction paper, and a statue of Mary. We also made cinnamon sugar cookies which our family has fondly dubbed "Mary Cookies."   We typically make these cookies on Marian feast days/celebrations. You can decorate them with vanilla frosting and blue sprinkles or leave them plain. For the Assumption, we decided to decorate them with stars for Mary's title: "Stella Maris" (Star of the Sea). We used a small star-shaped cookie cutter to make an indention on the top before baking, and after pulling them out of the oven, we outlined them with an edible blue dessert marker.  We also made penne pasta for dinner tossed in a no-cook diced-plum tomato, olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil sauce, since traditionally herbs are blessed on the Solemnity of the Assumption. We also tossed the pasta with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. These activities provide great opportunities to talk as a family about Mary's important role in the church. 

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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...

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