Ideas to celebrate the Liturgical Year of the Roman Catholic Church as a family and build your Domestic Church.
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Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint Teresa of Avila: Feast Day Oct. 15th
Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church, is a beautiful inspiration for not only how to pray, but also how to love the Blessed Virgin Mary as a spiritual mother. One thing that I personally love about Saint Teresa of Avila is that she always reflected upon Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist. Back in January of this year, I began to reflect upon how I approach Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, if I truly believe—which I do—that Jesus makes himself present to us through the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, then how could I remind myself of this wonderful gift and humble myself before him? For me, I decided that I would genuflect/kneel before receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and mentally recite: “My Lord and my God.” I believe by doing this small act of reverence I am able to remind myself that I am truly in the presence of the King of Kings. How wonderful is that to know that we are in the presence of such an amazing King, a King who is waiting for us, as we approach Him in the communion line? It’s a mystery that is unfathomable, yet by the grace of faith, we know it is true!
After receiving Jesus veiled in the Holy Eucharist, I then recite the following prayer: “Please nourish my heart, my mind, my body and my soul to do your will.” Saying this short prayer has helped remind me to not take Jesus in the Eucharist for granted. As you and your family celebrate Saint Teresa of Avila today, pray for her intercession to help you always love and believe in Jesus’ true presence in the Holy Eucharist. Here is a beautiful Prayer written by Saint Teresa that you and your family can also pray. I hope you and your family have a blessed day celebrating Saint Teresa of Avila and growing in faith together!
Celebrating Saint Teresa Through Food:
Today as my family celebrated Saint Teresa of Avila, we made Spanish torrijas since she was from Spain. This tasty treat is the Spanish version of French Toast and makes a delicious treat for breakfast or lunch and is a meal kids of any age can help prepare.
Crafts:
A traditional Spanish craft is paper rosettes. These colorful folded paper flowers are used as decorations for parties. Here are paper rosette/medallion templates you can use, or you can tape two pieces of scrapbook paper together like I did below. You can also tape two pieces of construction paper together if you don’t have scrapbook paper.
Below is a helpful video, from Paper Source, that shows how to fold/make a paper rosette.
Additional Resources:
Here is an article for further reading about St. Teresa of Avila that you and your family can read and discuss together.
You and your family can also watch the My Catholic Family cartoon below, from EWTN, about Saint Teresa of Avila.
Invite Your Parish Priest Over for Dinner: Four months after moving into our new house, my husband and I decided to invite our parish priest over for dinner and to bless our new home. We still had piles of unpacked boxes, our toddlers were bouncing off the walls with excitement, and my husband and I were a little nervous. Was our home clean enough? Would we be able to engage in good conversations with our guest? When the doorbell rang, our children raced to the door, and began bouncing around, welcoming Father inside. During dinner, we found that the conversations flowed easily. We shared stories about where we grew up, our families, and various other details as we got to know one another outside of church. We laughed as our daughter spilled the beans that my husband and I were expecting our third child, and when we shared our due date, our priest began enthusiastically sharing all sorts of common, as well as some crazy sounding, saint names for days on and near our due date. Afte...
Saint Hildegard von Bingen: Feast Day Sept. 17th Not only is Saint Hildegard a Doctor of the Church, but during her life she was a writer, scientist, and conveyor of the "spiritual importance of femininity" (Catholic News Agency). During her life, she was not only a confident leader, but she also served as a beautiful witness of humility, allowing others to observe that confidence, leadership, and humility can all exist and work together. This article , from the Catholic News Agency, contains not only biographical information on Saint Hildegard, but also a wonderful discussion of how modern women can relate and connect with this smart and accomplished female saint who supported the truths of the Church. Since Saint Hildegard is from Germany, and the majority of my family's ancestry derives from Germany, we decided to make "Nussecken" —dessert mini-nut bars—to celebrate today. The modifications that we changed to this recipe, were using raspberry jam instead of...
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: Feast Day July 14th “I am not my own: I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love.” Saint Kateri Tekakwitha When I was a child, my siblings and our neighborhood friends would often dress up like Native Americans and play outside. We would explore the cedar tree- filled vacant lot, with its babbling creek, next door to our house, and would roam our two acre yard, building bed-sheet tents hanging from our front trees, and basking in the wonders of summertime. When I reflect back on these fond and treasured childhood memories, I think about how often I feel connected to God when I’m outside experiencing the beauty of His creation. When I gaze at the beauty that fills the sky with the rising and setting sun, feel a breeze upon my skin, or watch a thunderstorm roll in as I sit on my front porch, I feel a sense of delight, wonder, and peace. Nature has a special way of connecting the soul with its creator. Today, as we celebrate Saint Kateri Teka...
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