Skip to main content

Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen: Feast Day Dec. 26th 

Today we celebrate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. You can discuss with your children what the term “martyr” means, and, if they are old enough, why so many early Christians were martyred for their faith. Today is also a perfect opportunity to reflect upon the truths of the Gospels and staying true to God and your faith even in the midst of adversities. The times we live in are challenging and present different challenges than times past. Sometimes the secular culture can cloud the truth of divine love and make one feel ostracized for their faith and belief in God. Talk to your children about the importance of prayer in their lives and praying for the graces of fortitude and courage, so that they can stand strong in their faith, like Saint Stephen and the many other saints throughout history, whenever they are challenged. Since Saint Stephen was martyred by being stoned to death, you can make today’s activities revolve around a “rock theme.”

Celebrating Through Food:

Make homemade rock candy. The website, “The Spruce Eats,” has an easy recipe. We made ours red for “martyr” and peppermint flavored for Christmas. You can also by red rock candy if you don’t have time to make it. While you eat your rock candy, read about Saint Stephen’s martyrdom in Acts of the Apostles.


(Pictured above is store bought rock candy we used to celebrate St. Stephen in 2024)


Celebrating Through Science:

You can use today as an opportunity to discuss the various types of rocks found on the earth as well as the various layers of the earth’s crust. The website 
“Thought Co” has a free rock crossword puzzle, worksheets, and a coloring page. And the website, “Home Science Tools,” has a great free coloring worksheet with the different types of rocks on it. 
“Superstar Worksheets”  also has a variety of free coloring worksheets for the Earth’s crust.

Celebrating Through Prayer:

Below is a prayer that I wrote that you and your family can say. You can also give each family member a rock with the word “pray” written upon it, to remind them that prayer is “the rock” on which they can build their relationship with the Lord and a firm foundation to help them grow in their faith.

Dear Lord, please fill me with the courage to profess your name and love in every instant of my life, and  most especially during the direst of times. Flood me with the graces of faith and fortitude when I am challenged in my faith and love for you, and let me never be shaken, even at the hour of my death. Amen. 


Have a blessed day with your family celebrating the Feast of Saint Stephen!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saint Margaret Mary

Saint Margaret Mary: Feast Day October 16th  “Look upon yourself as a tree planted beside water, which bears its fruit in due season; the more it is shaken by the wind, the deeper it strikes its roots into the ground.” ~ Saint Margaret Mary ~ Faith is a gift—an undeserved and valuable grace granted by the Holy Spirit. Each of us has the capacity to seek The Way, The Truth, and The Life, for this longing has been inscribed within our hearts. Yet, in our free will, we have the choice and ability to ignore and turn from this divine call. Like the image of the tree Saint Margaret Mary describes above, if we seek Jesus and are rooted in our faith, nothing can shake us. Our water is the Church, and Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, is who makes our roots deep and strong enabling us to withstand the winds of the world and produce good fruit in His name.  Jesus offers us so many opportunities to find Him, and so many ways to live with Him in Heaven. In the 1600s, He appeared to Saint Mar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Baptism of the Lord

Baptism of the Lord: The Last Day of Christmas  “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Since Jesus is God and, therefore, sinless and perfect, he didn’t need to be baptized, but by being baptized, he gave us a sacrament for adoption into his family—a means to become children of God. What makes the Sacrament of Baptism important? (1) Baptism claims us as children of God, forgiving us of our sins, (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”), it is the first sacrament of initiation into the Church and Her mission, and through Baptism, God gifts us with grace. What exactly is grace? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as: “Grace is favor, the free undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saints Joachim and Anne

Saints Joachim and Anne: Feast Day July 26th Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus had grandparents? When God the Son took on human flesh, he also paced himself within the dynamics of the human family. Although there is no specific reference in the Bible to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents by name, the Church celebrates Jesus' maternal grandparents under the names Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. It took a special father and mother to raise, care for, and help prepare the Blessed Virgin Mary for her future vocation and extraordinary relationship with God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and her saintly husband, Saint Joseph; and those special parents were no doubt saints themselves. Speaking of Saint Joseph, his parents would also have been grandparents of the Lord. Celebrating Jesus' grandparents today, reminds us that grandparents are the keepers and transmitters of family history and tradition, and are the patriarchs and matriarchs of families, holding generatio...
Post a Comment
Read more