Snack with Saint Jerome

Years ago, my kiddoes came to know and love St. Jerome through a story and story basket. More recnetly, we've lived the litrugical year by doing picture studies and more related to St. Jerome.

Last year, we paused our day for a simple snack with the saints.

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I placed a green cloth on the table for Ordinary Time....

...and put together a lion face snack with food we had on hand (BFree gluten-free tortillas, Daiya cheddar style shreds, red bell pepper and garden snap peas and ground cherries.)

A candle and a couple books from our shelves finished the setting, and, then, the kiddoes came with smiles to snack, pray, and chat.

The kids recalled the longer tales of St. Jerome and the Lion that we have previously read when they looked at the much briefer version of this story in Amazing Saints &their Awesome Animals.

We also read from In His Likeness.

Our celebration was short, simple, and smile-inducing.

Remembering it now as I look forward to celerbating St. Jerome again next month, I am reminded that living the liturgical year need not be stressful. Snacking with the saints - a simple snack, a chat, a prayer, can bring blessings.

I pray that however you and yours choose to honor different saint days brings you blessings, too.

St. Jerome, pray for us.

Celebrate St. Luke with a Simple Snack or Meal and More!

Whether you like snacking with the saints or celebrating with simple eats at meal time, I've got some ideas for celebrating the feast of St. Luke.

Since St. Luke is one of the Gospel writers, to snack with Saint Luke, simply get some gluten-free Nature's Bakery Fig Bars - or anything like them, cut off the edges on one side and etch crosses into them to make "Bibles".

Then, since St. Luke is often depicted as an ox with wings, pick all the cows out of some Annie's Bernie's Farm Fruit Snacks as "oxen" or use animal crackers or any other cookie or treat with an ox-type shape and put them on a plate.

Set these out with a St. Luke peg doll, image of Saint Luke, or similar, and you are good to go for snacking with Saint Luke!

Or, if you would like a meal instead of a snack, prepare some simple eats!

Last, year, my son made his own Name Day meal:

• scrambled burger, because St. Luke is patron to butchers (and my son loves red meat of any kind)

• "quill pasta", because St. Luke is patron to writers and artists.

Plus, whatever vegetable you like, which in my son's case was broccoli.

Whether going with a simple snack or an easy eats meal, it would be appropriate to read about St. Luke, read portions of the Gospel or retell  what you know about St. Luke would be appropriate.

You might also glean some ideas from the Celebrate St. Luke's Feast Day with Art, Music, and Poetry plans that I shared last year or from other past St. Luke posts.

Some of the things we did as activities during our celebrations last year were:

a picture study...

writing and sharing Letter Poems, and adding symbols of St. Luke into artwork.

Can you find a symbol in each of our drawings? They might include a winged ox, a winged calf, an ox, a picture of the Virgin, a palette and brushes, vials of medicine, physician's robes, an easel, a book and pen, hatchet, a wooden horse, books of his Gospel and of the Acts, a bishop, or someone painting an icon of our Lady.

Plans for all of our St. Luke art, music, and poetry activities are described in full detail here.

However you celebrate St. Luke's feast day, I pray that you have a faith-filled, fun, and meaningful time making memories as you live the liturgical year.

St. Luke, pray for us!

Snack with St. Mark on April 25

The Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist, is coming up on April 25 and makes for a great occasion for snacking with the saints.

In our home, we'll likely be making a hummus and veggies winged lion to snack on as we did in years passed...

Or, I'll set out ingredients and ask the children to get creative making their own winged lions. 

You could do similarly with whatever ingredients you seem to have on hand.

Source: Wikipedia

Truly, there so many fun ways to make food lions, that I bet you can rustle up a St. Mark feast day with no trouble at all. Some inspiration might be:

• lion pancakes like the ones shown at Blessed Beyond Crazy
• a full lion like at Rosy & Ruby Love
• a lion pizza like at Hip Hop Homeschool Moms
• a lion bento box like at Parenting.com
• a fruit and cereal lion like at Kix
• an all whole food lion like at BuzzFeed or HGTV
• a Nutella lion like at Sara Waldman.

A Prayer and Chat along with the Snack

After grace and before eating, the Collect Prayer would be appropriate to pray.

Source: Wikipedia

O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist, and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel, grant, we pray, that we may so profit from his teaching as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

You might also read the biography and reflection at Franciscan Media which ends with:

Mark fulfilled in his life what every Christian is called to do: proclaim to all people the Good News that is the source of salvation. In particular, Mark’s way was by writing. Others may proclaim the Good News by music, drama, poetry, or by teaching children around a family table.

Then, ask how each person in the family has been and could go forth proclaiming the Good News.

Alternately, you might read the Loyola Press biography, keying into how St. Mark "speaks to Christians about Jesus, who understands their difficulties and sufferings and will one day bring them to share with him eternal joy and glory."

Then, if appropriate, segue into conversation about the challenges that seem so prevalent in today's world, and, perhaps, even in our own homes and families. From there, move toward the idea that while it can be tempting to focus too long on such negatives, the better thing is to persevere with faith - turning our eyes towards Jesus, who loves us so. 

Maybe even chat about how, as it is put in a piece by Relevant Radio, "We can look to St. Mark’s story of redemption and faith as an example that no matter how difficult things get, we shouldn’t give up spreading the Good News."

Learn More with St. Mark

If you'd like to extend your snack time to learning time, I have previously shared how we let St. Mark inspire eclectic learning in our home. You might also like to:

• watch a short biography about St. Mark on Youtube.

• Learn more about the Gospel of Mark with Bishop Barron.

• Or just get a short synopsis about the Gospel of Mark.
  
  

• enjoy some art by coloring or painting coloring sheets with water colors. Both Schola Rosa and Waltzing Matilda have lovely ones.

• find out 8 Things to Know and Share about St. Mark with the New Catholic Register.
• read about What the Story of St. Mark Teaches Us about Reconciliation from Community in Mission.

• Read a full biography about St. Mark from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
  
  

  

  Source: Wikipedia

May snacking with St. Mark bless you and yours and encourage you to come closer to Christ.

I would love to hear about your favorite traditions, resources, and ideas related to St. Mark as well as any other Snacking with the Saint inspirations you might offer.

Saint Mark, Evangelist, pray for us.

Snacking with the Saints: St. Dorothy

{Disclosure: Some links which follow are affiliate ones.}

I just love when whole food snacks and saints go together!

That's just the case on February 6, when apples make a perfect snack for celebrating Saint Dorothy. Just set a basket with three apples and three real or faux roses on your table, and you'll be all set for an easy saint day snack.

Or, if you want to get fancy and have time for more elaborate snack preparation, you could make vegan / paleo / glute-free / grain-free apple roses as directed at Nest & Glow, Apple-Honey Roses as found on Feed Them Wisely, or any of the more conventional apple rose recipes that can be found through a quick online search.

Inspiration for a Simple St. Dorothy Feast Day Snack

Source: Wikipedia

When Saint Dorothy, who was martyred, was on her way to be killed, a young lawyer named Theophilus mocked her belief that when she was dead she would be transported to a heavenly garden filled with flowers and fruit.

"Send me fruit and flowers, then, when you are dead," he taunted.

Source: Wikipedia

Later, a boy - thought to be an angel- carried three apples and three roses to Theophilus who then converted to Christianity.

A Prayer Before Snacking

Between Grace and snacking, pray this prayer found on Prayers to Our Saints.

Prayer to Saint Dorothy

By the radiance

Of thy holy life

Thou did'st draw

The two sisters united

In spirit into the Eternal Light;

And did'st send roses

And apples from Paradise

To Theophilus.

O Dorothy, as fellow-contestants

You were counted worthy

Of divine glory.

Ask that we who praise

You may receive

The forgiveness of our sins.

Amen.

You might also read the child-friendly biography of St. Dorothy at Crusaders of Christ, which reminds us:

Today let us pray especially for someone who is far away from God, so that he will return to our Heavenly Father.

Additional Ideas for Celebrating St. Dorothy's Feast Day

Source:Wikipedia

Along with your snack, you might also enjoy:

• Coloring the image of St. Dorothy available as a free pdf download at Crusaders for Christ while reading about Saint Dorothy in Once Upon a Time Saints, Saints Lives and Illuminations, The Book of Saints and Heroes,  Story Library of Saints Volume 1, or online at CatholicSaints.info or  Crusaders of Christ.

• Making playdough roses as described at Nina Beth Creates.

• Praying for Christians throughout the world who are still persecuted.
  
  

  

  Source: Wikipedia

• Doing a picture study of images of Saint Dorothy, who was a particularly favored subject of German and Italian artist.

• Preparing for spring gardening or doing some indoor gardening, since St. Dorothy is patron to gardeners among others.
  
  

  

  Source: Wikimedia

• Learning more about St. Dorothy and what was happening around the world during the time in which she lived. (A quick snapshot for this can be found by viewing page 7 of the St. Dorothy presentation at prezic.com. You can also read more about St. Dorothy at Sensus Fidelium.)

May learning more about St. Dorothy bless you and yours and encourage you to come closer to Christ.

I would love to hear about your favorite traditions, resources, and ideas related to St. Dorothy as well as any other Snacking with the Saint inspirations you might offer.

Saint Dorothy, pray for us.

Celebrating The Saints with Kids: Saint Charles Borromeo {Free Printable Idea Page}

Would you like ideas for celebrating the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo on November 4?

Then, let my losses be your gain!

Last year, I lost many computer files to hard drive failures. More recently, I lost boxes of paper files to a water/mold issue. Thus, I am slowly recreating both my e-copies of notes for celebrating saint days and my physical liturgical year binders. As I do this, I have decided to share free printable pages for some of the saint days with you in case you, too, might find them helpful.

Please find one for St. Charles Borromeo here:

{Some links which follow may be affiliate ones.}

As you can see, the planning page includes ideas and links for reading, chatting, praying, snacking, and more with Saint Charles Borromeo in mind, including:

Books, Audios, and Videos

• Picture Book of Saints
• Story Library of Saints
• Stories of Saints for Children - Saint Charles Borromeo
• Catholic Online Video Clip
• Catholic Culture: Saint Charles Borromeo

Food, Fun, Family Traditions, Etc.

• Snacking with the Saints: Eat bread, herbs, apples, and water as St. Borromeo allowed himself to do on Sundays and holidays. Or, since St. Charles Borromeo is patron of apple orchards among other things, enjoy an apple-related snack such as Apple Crisp, Apple Muffins or Spiced Apple Cider.

• Feed the Hungry: St. Charles Borromeo was known for feeding the hungry and caring for the sick. Donate to a pantry, visit someone who is sick, or make a meal for someone in need. 

• Offer Prayers: St. Charles Borromeo is patron to bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders among others. Offer special prayers that priests, religious, and teachers of the faith will be salt and light in the world.

• Quotes:  Use the wise words of St. Charles Borromeo for copywork, meditation, etc.

• Coloring Page from Catholic Playground

I pray you find the handy free printable helpful and that you are inspired by the life of Saint Charles Borromeo!

I also would love to hear about your favorite St. Charles Borromeo stories, prayers, activities, traditions, and resources. Please do share your ideas in a comment here or on the Training Happy Hearts Faebook page. Thanks!

Preserve in the midst of your people, we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo, that your Church may be constantly renewed and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ, may show his face to the world. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 

~Prayer for the Collect 

Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us.

Make Blueberry Mint Nice Cream for the Assumption {Snacking with the Saints}

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated annually on August 15 and is a Holy Day of Obligation.

Typically, besides participating in Mass, our family enjoys Assumption waffles...

3 Ways to Celebrate the Assumption of Mary

... and faith through food, fun, and fellowship.

Our Annual Celebration

This year, however, some other commitments will keep us from gathering at our friend's house. So, I have been trying to think of another fun and meaningful way to celebrate the feast day.

Today,when I stepped inside after a hot afternoon in order to make a cooling snack, an idea hit me: Nice Cream could be a perfect, refreshing, healthy, and meaningful treat on the Solemnity of the Assumption!

Why Blueberry Mint Nice Cream?

Blessing Fruits and Herbs is traditional on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so why not bless our gardens (as we have sometimes done with our friends in the past) and, then, make nice cream with blue and white fruit and fresh mint from our garden?

Blessing the Fruits and Herbs in Years Past

The blue and white fruits will remind us of Mary since they are her traditional colors. The mint will reminds us of the traditional Blessing of the Fruits and Herbs. And, the healthy no-sugar, plant-based, whole-foods recipe supports an idea which was well put on Teaching Catholic Kids, "the Assumption ...affirms the dignity of our earthly bodies. ...meant to be used for good, not abused..."

Blueberry Mint Nice Cream in Simple to Make

As soon as the idea of making Blueberry Mint Nice Cream on the Assumption hit me, I whipped up a test batch and decided my simple recipe is a keeper.

Marian Blueberry Mint Nice Cream has plenty of symbolism and is sugar-free and made with whole foods, which is wonderful for our bodies and for our remembrance of Mama Mary.

If you'd like to enjoy the recipe on the Solemnity of the Assumption, all you need are three ingredients and a food processor.

Marian Blueberry Mint Nice Cream

1 cup of sliced, frozen bananas

1 cup of frozen blueberries
a few leaves of fresh mint, plus extra mint from garnish

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy, pausing to scrape down sides of food processor as needed.

2. Scoop into serving dishes or cones and garnish with fresh mint if you like a soft serve consistency. If you like your nice cream a bit firmer, pop into the freezer for a bit before serving.

Or, if you have a child who dislikes bananas (like one of my children), you may prefer to try a second recipe I tested, which replaces the bananas with mango pieces (gold for Mary's crown in Heaven). The Crowned Mary Blueberry Mint Nice Cream was tasty and refreshing, too.

Crowned Mary Blueberry Mint Nice Cream

1 cup of sliced, frozen mango pieces

1 cup of frozen blueberries
a few leaves of fresh mint, plus extra mint from garnish

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy, pausing to scrape down sides of food processor as needed.

2. Scoop into serving dishes or cones and garnish with fresh mint if you like a soft serve consistency. If you like your nice cream a bit firmer, pop into the freezer for a bit before serving.

 
I look forward to this Snacking with the Saints treat on the Assumption and hope that however you celebrate the Solemnity, you have a beautiful and blessed feast day.

Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us.