Our school year is done here and I've been busy working on next year's lesson plans. We studied bible history this year as our history course for 2nd grade. In doing such I found that just reading the stories and answering the questions didn't go over so well with my students. As I tend to find out, at least with my children, hands on activities seem to help them learn better and so I usually make things to go with our books to accommodate their learning style.

Sometimes I find this out half way through the year then struggle to find things to do with our lessons. This year I'm hoping to get ahead or at least on track and make the hands on items BEFORE school starts. This project is one of those items. We are doing bible history again for our 3rd grade history course but this year we are switching to a different book, Bible Stories for Children. Such a beautiful old book that is now back in print. It has short 2-3 page stories for all the main parts of the Bible, Old and New Testament. Its written by a Catholic Teacher and worded just right for this age group. It also connects the old testament stories to parts of the Catholic faith making it ideal for the young Catholic learning the Bible.

Combined with the Bible Stories for Children book is the Anecdotes and Examples for the Catholic Catechism, one of my absolute favorite books! They are short simple stories that explain some part of the Catholic Catechism in an easy way to understand and the short story is easy for short attention spans or a quick read. Sometimes the stories are even funny which makes the learning fun. I also wanted my children to learn the vocabulary words in the Catechism lesson they are doing on Sunday with their father and so those are integrated into this unit study as well. With worksheets for helping them to understand how the word is spelled, used and what the object or word looks like.

While this is written for early elementary students many students would enjoy these books and the lesson plans can easily be adjusted and added to according to age/learning level.

Every lesson contains several hands on activities and many of them have worksheet and/or templates to go with them. Any crafts done contain simple household items or things that most of us have as well as coloring pages around the house. A few lessons even have snack and recipe ideas to help tie in the chapter of the book with something yummy!

There are 52 Chapters in this book and 52 Units to download. This is my summer project so as I get them done they will be loaded on the Bible Stories for Children Unit Study Page located on the Sanctus Simplicitus site under the download page> educational downloads. Directions for using this unit study may be found on that page as well with all the details to get one started. 

Many of you have asked for a Lenten study and about the Jesse Tree study. This lovely book will cover both those topics! The Old Testament happens to be 25 lessons, which will work for the Jesse Tree using each lesson for each day of December up to Christmas showing the genealogy of Christ. And then the New Testament starts with the birth of Our Lord and ends with His Resurrection, perfect for a Lenten study and both of these will take you all the way through the school year! I hope that this project will be enjoyed by many and hopefully save all the other busy mothers some time, as we all seem to enjoy help in that area. May you all have a blessed Pentecost Sunday!

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894
March 15.—ST. ZACHARY, Pope.
ST. ZACHARY succeeded Gregory III., in 741, and was a man of singular meekness and goodness. He loved the clergy and people of Rome to that degree that he hazarded his life for them on occasion of the troubles which Italy fell into by the rebellion of the Dukes of Spoleto and Benevento against King Luitprand. Out of respect to his sanctity and dignity, that king restored to the Church of Rome all the places which belonged to it, and sent back the captives without ransom. The Lombards were moved to tears at the devotion with which they heard him perform the divine service. The zeal and prudence of this holy Pope appeared in many wholesome regulations which he had made to reform or settle the discipline and peace of several churches. St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, wrote to him against a certain priest named Virgilius, that he labored to sow the seeds of discord between him and Odilo, Duke of Bavaria, and taught, besides, many errors. Zachary ordered that Virgilius should be sent to Rome, that his doctrine might be examined. It seems that he cleared himself; for we find this same Virgilius soon after made Bishop of Salzburg. Certain Venetian merchants having bought at Rome many slaves to sell to the Moors in Africa, St. Zachary forbade such an iniquitous traffic, and, paying the merchants their price, gave the slaves their liberty. He adorned Rome with sacred buildings, and with great foundations in favor of the poor and pilgrims, and gave every year a considerable sum to furnish oil for the lamps in St. Peter's Church. He died in 752, in the month of March.

Thoughts on the Passion For Each Day in the Week
Imprimatur 1887

Twenty-Seventh Day.
"Behold the Man." Yet scarcely recognizable as such. Behold the Man, the mirror in which the Eternal Father discovers to men the abyss of HIs mercy, the abyss of HIs justice, the abyss of their own malice. Behold the Man, and in Him the melancholy condition of a sinful soul; in Him how innocence is punished for the guilty. Behold the Man! the joy of the blessed in heaven, the man through whom alone we may hope for mercy.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894
March 8.—ST. JOHN OF GOD.
NOTHING in John's early life foreshadowed his future sanctity. He ran away as a boy from his home in Portugal, tended sheep and cattle in Spain, and served as a soldier against the French, and afterwards against the Turks. When about forty years of age, feeling remorse for his wild life, he resolved to devote himself to the ransom of the Christian slaves in Africa, and went thither with the family of an exiled noble, which he maintained by his labor. On his return to Spain he sought to do good by selling holy pictures and books at low prices. At length the hour of grace struck. At Granada a sermon by the celebrated John of Avila shook his soul to its depths, and his expressions of self-abhorrence were so extraordinary that he was taken to the asylum as one mad. There he employed himself in ministering to the sick. On leaving he began to collect homeless poor, and to support them by his work and by begging. One night St. John found in the streets a poor man who seemed near death, and, as was his wont, he carried him to the hospital, laid him on a bed, and went to fetch water to wash his feet. When he had washed them, he knelt to kiss them, and started with awe: the feet were pierced, and the print of the nails bright with an unearthly radiance. He raised his eyes to look, and heard the words, "John, to Me thou doest all that thou doest to the poor in My name: I reach forth My hand for the alms thou givest; Me dost thou clothe, Mine are the feet thou dost wash." And then the gracious vision disappeared, leaving St. John filled at once with confusion and consolation. The bishop became the Saint's patron, and gave him the name of John of God. When his hospital was on fire, John was seen rushing about uninjured amidst the flames until he had rescued all his poor. After ten years spent in the service of the suffering, the Saint's life was fitly closed. He plunged into the river Xenil to save a drowning boy, and died, 1550, of an illness brought on by the attempt, at the age of fifty-five.

Reflection.—God often rewards men for works that are pleasing in His sight by giving them grace and opportunity to do other works higher still. St. John of God used to attribute his conversion, and the graces which enabled him to do such great works, to his self-denying charity in Africa.

1.) Grilled Black Bean Avocado Wrap

2.) Pumpkin Alfredo 

3.) Cauliflower Buffalo "Wings"

4.) Lentil Pot Pies

5.) Thai Peanut Salmon Burgers

Last week we shared a short meditation for 1st Monday of Lent, we continue from the same book this week on the 2nd Monday of Lent. You may find the sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Lent over at Crusader's for Christ's Sanctifying Sunday post. May your second week of Lent be a fruitful one.

Short Instructions, or, meditations on the Gospels for Each Day of Lent
By:  Rev. P. Baker               Imprimatur 1904
MONDAY - IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT. Gospel—John viii. 21. -29.

 At that time; Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: I go and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sin. Whither I go, you cannot come.  The Jews therefore said: Will he kill himself, because he said : Whither I go, you cannot come? And he said to them :  You are from beneath, I am from above.  You are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. They said therefore to him: Who art thou? Jesus said to them: The beginning,  who also speak unto you. Many things I have to speak, and to judge of you. But he that sent me is true: and the things I have heard of him, the same I speak in the world. And they understood not that he called God his father. Jesus therefore said to them : When you shall have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you  know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father has taught me, these things I speak. And he that sent me is with me, and he had not left me alone : for I do always the things that please him.

INSTRUCTION.

The awful threat which the Saviour of the world here pronounces against the Jews, is not less terrible to many Christians. Not to seek after God, is a great misfortune ; but to seek after him, and not to find him, is infinitely greater. You shall seek me, says he, and you shall die in your sins. A plain indication of the lamentable condition of an obstinate sinner, who, at the hour of death, seeks God, but cannot find him. Let us examine  why a sinner does not find God, whom he then seeks.

It will be a salutary inquiry, as it may excite us to adopt the proper means to prevent our being involved in the same terrible calamity. The obstinate sinner has all his lifetime resisted the repeated invitations and inspirations of the Almighty: he has been deaf to the frequent solicitations of his ministers, and refused to repent; but when his last sickness tells him he is near his end, with what horror and confusion does he not then look back upon his past sinful life, when the sight of the  many and enormous crimes of which he has been guilty, brings him almost into despair: for he has so long abused the grace of God, that he finds little reason to hope in his mercy : he is now sensible of the disorders of his sinful career, and makes just reflections on things, but alas ! they come too late. What grief and vexation does he not then feel for not doing what he might have easily done before :  how much does he regret and condemn his procrastinating folly : in this his extreme distress all that he ever heard concerning death, judgment, heaven, and hell, come fresh into his mind, to afflict and torment him in this deplorable state. A priest is sent for to console him: but, alas! what comfort can the sight of a priest be to one,  who has all his life slighted the sacred order, condemned their pious admonitions, nay, made a jest of the serious truths of religion? Can the sight of a crucifix, or the passion of Christ, afford consolation to one  who never lived like a disciple of the crucified Jesus? Ah! it were well, if the dying sinner could make a right use of the few moments he has left; but, alas! his anguish of mind and body, together with the regret that he has to quit this world and its enjoyments,
prevent him from making a proper use of them. At length, the sinner quits this life in a manner ruly unhappy, because by death he enters upon a miserable eternity ; for although he seeks God, yet he does not find him, and thus he dies in his sins.

This terrible calamity is entirely owing to the sinner himself; because he would not seek God, when he might be found, nor hearken to him when called to repentance, and amendment of life.  God has frequently invited him by the ministers of his word; often assisted him by the secret inspirations of his grace; and afforded him time and opportunity: but, alas ! he would neither embrace the one, nor hearken to the other : he wilfully persisted in the ways of sin, and would not deny himself unlawful pleasures; he gave himself up to the world, and its criminal customs; he paid no regard to the self-denying principles of the gospel ; and thus having, under the  name of a Christian, lived like a heathen, he is deprived of all comfort in death; for, though he then seemingly seeks after God,  how can it be expected he should find him, since  God himself has declared that he will not be mocked? Those, then, who refuse to hearken to his voice, when he calls upon them, will cry out in vain, when they knock and say: Lord, Lord, open to us : for to such he will answer, I know yon not, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. O, sad conclusion of a worldly and sinful life ! To avoid so dreadful a catastrophe, let us now, whilst  we enjoy health and life,—now, whilst we have time and opportunity, serve God, keep his commandments, and  make his gospel the rule of our conduct. This will comfort us upon our
death bed, and help us to depart out of this world with joy and satisfaction: then shall  we find  God ; when we call upon him, he will hear us, then will he answer: Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.

PRAYER.
O, MY  God ! is there anything in this world for the purchase of which I can be content to suffer so  much horror and confusion at my last hour? No, certainly not. Can I then be so mad as not to seek thee now, whilst thou mayest be found ? Shall I defer my search after thee, till my last moments, and thus run the hazard of not finding thee, and of dying in my sins ? O, dearest Lord ! suffer me not to indulge
delusions so dangerous, nor to fall into so sad a calamity: let me not die the death of a sinner, but receive me into thy protection at my last hour. Imprint, O, my  God! this serious truth deep upon my heart, that to die happily, I must love and serve thee faithfully. O,  may my soul die the death of the just and may my last end be like unto theirs.

Whenever. O, Lord, it shall please thee to take me from hence, may thy grace enable me to die the death of the just : may it be my daily endeavor to prepare myself to meet thee at my last hour, that I  may breathe out my soul in peace, and quietly resign it into thy hands : to attain this, I am resolved to prepare myself whilst thou affordest me time and opportunity. I will endeavor to live the life of the just, that I may hope my last end may be like unto theirs. O, comforting thought, which takes away all fear of death, blunts its sting, and removes all its terrors. What can we have to fear, O, my soul ! at the end of a well-spent life? What may I not hope for from thy goodness, O, my  God? All that thou thyself canst give, with whom I shall then be eternally happy.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894
February 22.—ST. PETER'S CHAIR AT ANTIOCH.
THAT St. Peter, before he went to Rome, founded the see of Antioch is attested by many Saints. It was just that the Prince of the Apostles should take this city under his particular care and inspection, which was then the capital of the East, and in which the faith took so early and so deep root as to give birth in it to the name of Christians. St. Chrysostom says that St. Peter made' there a long stay; St. Gregory the Great, that he was seven years Bishop of Antioch; not that he resided there all that time, but only that he had a particular care over that Church. If he sat twenty-five years at Rome, the date of his establishing his chair at Antioch must be within three years after Our Saviour's Ascension; for in that supposition he must have gone to Rome in the second year of Claudius. In the first ages it was customary, especially in the East, for every Christian to keep the anniversary of his Baptism, on which he renewed his baptismal vows and gave thanks to God for his heavenly adoption: this they called their spiritual birthday. The bishops in like manner kept the anniversary of their own consecration, as appears from four sermons of St. Leo on the anniversary of his accession or assumption to the pontifical dignity; and this was frequently continued after their decease by the people, out of respect for their memory. St. Leo says we ought to celebrate the chair of St. Peter with no less joy than the day of his martyrdom; for as in this he was exalted to a throne of glory in heaven, so by the former he was installed head of the Church on earth.

Reflection.—On this festival we are especially bound to adore and thank the Divine Goodness for the establishment and propagation of His Church, and earnestly to pray that in His mercy He preserve the same, and dilate its pale, that His name may be glorified by all nations, and by all hearts, to the boundaries of the earth, for His divine honor and the salvation of souls, framed to His divine image, and the price of His adorable blood.

Download free coloring pages!

Jesus Gives Peter the Keys to the Church
Pope; Bishop of Rome
St. Peter's Basilica Rome

Find a notebooking page for today's feast in our February Notebooking Butler's Lives of the Saints download!

1.) Porcini Mushroom Lasagna

2.) Roasted Vege Sandwhich

3.) Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust

4.) Skillet Eggplant Parmigiana

5.) Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Shells

For 100's more meatless recipes visit our previous Feria Friday posts!

Yesterday's gospel was about Jesus being tempted in the desert, today's Lenten meditation from St. Thomas Aquainus is a continuation of that sermon. Yesterday's sermon and an explanation may be found over at Crusader's for Christ. A blessed first week of Lent to you all!

Meditations for Lent
By: St. Thomas Aquainus
Imprimatur (MCMXXXVII) 1937

First Monday - CHRIST HAD TO BE TEMPTED IN  THE DESERT

He was in the desert forty days and forty nights : and was tempted by Satan. Mark i. 13.i. It was by Christ's own will that He was exposed to the temptation by the devil, as it was also by His own will that He was exposed to be slain by the limbs of the devil. Had He not so willed, the devil  would never have dared to approach him. The devil is always  more disposed to attack those who are alone, because, as is said in Sacred Scripture, If a  man shall prevail against one, two shall with stand him easily (Eccles. iv. 12). That is why Christ went out into the desert, as one going out to a battle-ground, that there he might be tempted by the devil. Whereupon St. Ambrose says that Christ went into the desert for the express purpose of provoking the devil. For unless the devil had fought, Christ  would never have overcome  him for me. St. Ambrose gives other reasons too. He says that Christ chose the desert as the place to be tempted for a hidden reason, namely that he might free from his exile Adam  who, from Paradise, was driven into the desert ; and again that he did it for a reason in which there is no mystery, namely to show us that the devil envies those who are tending towards a better life. 2. We say with St. Chrysostom that Christ exposed himself to the temptation because the devil most of all tempts those whom he sees alone. So in the very beginning of things he tempted the woman, when he found her  away from her husband. It does not  however follow from this that a man ought to throw himself into any occasion of temptation that presents itself.

Occasions of temptation are of  two kinds. One kind arises from man's own action, when, for example, man himself goes near to sin, not avoiding the occasion of sin. That such occasions are to be avoided we  know, and  Holy Scripture reminds us of it. Stay not in any part of the country round about Sodom (Gen. xix. 17). The second kind of occasion arises from the devil's constant envy of those who are tending to better things, as St. Ambrose says, and this occasion of temptation is not one we must avoid. So, according to St. John Chrysostom, not only Christ was led into the desert by the  Holy Ghost, but all the children of God who possess the Holy Ghost are led in like manner. For God's children are never content to sit down with idle hands, but the  Holy Ghost ever urges  them to undertake for God  some great work. And this, as far as the devil is concerned, is to go into the desert, for in the desert there is none of that wickedness which is the devil's delight.

Every  good work is as it were a desert to the eye of the world and of our flesh, for  good works are contrary to the desire of the world and of our flesh. To give the devil such an opportunity of temptation as this is not dangerous, for it is much  more the inspiration of the  Holy Ghost, who is the promoter of every perfect work, that prompts us than the working of the devil who hates  them all. (3 41 2.)

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894

February 15.—STS. FAUSTINUS and JOVITA, Martyrs.FAUSTINUS and Jovita were brothers, nobly born, and zealous professors of the Christian religion, which they preached without fear in their city of Brescia, while, the bishop of that place lay concealed during the persecution. Their remarkable zeal excited the fury of the heathens against them, and procured them a glorious death for their faith at Brescia in Lombardy, under the Emperor Adrian. Julian, a heathen lord, apprehended them: and the emperor himself, passing through Brescia, when neither threats nor torments could shake their constancy, commanded them to be beheaded. They seem to have suffered about the year 121. The city of Brescia honors them as its chief patrons, possesses their relics, and a very ancient church in that city bears their names.

Reflection.—The spirit of Christ is a spirit of martyrdom—at least of mortification and penance. It is always the spirit of the cross. The more we share in the suffering life of Christ, the greater share we inherit in His spirit, and in the fruit of His death. To souls mortified to their senses and disengaged from earthly things, God gives frequent foretastes of the sweetness of eternal life, and the most ardent desires of possessing Him in His glory. This is the spirit of martyrdom, which entitles a Christian to a happy resurrection and to the bliss of the life to come.

1.) Easiest Indian Stew

2.) Hearty Vegetable Lasanga

3.) Potato Pie with Leeks and Feta Cheese

4.) Mile High Meatless Lasagna Pie

5.) Veggie Confetti Couscous

It's Coming! The 2013-2014 Holy Simplicity Planner is due to be out May 2013. Plan your home, school & Liturgical year all in one place with double spread monthly planning sheets, double spread weekly planning sheets and Liturgical season and feast planning sheets. For a preview and more details please visit the Holy Simplicity Planner page.

Manual of the Holy Catholic Church
Imprimatur 1904

Ash Wednesday
Of all the stories of the Old Testament, that of Jonas  and the conversion of Niuive is the most wonderful. The great, prosperous heathen city of Assyria stood out  amongst the cities of the earth as one  whose wickedness  came up hefore God. Its destruction  was at hand; yet one more warning  was to be given to it. Jonas  was to preach a divine threat in its thoroughfares. "Yet forty days and Ninive shall be destroyed." And for three days the prophet proclaimed the terrible truth. "And the men of Ninive believed in  God; and they ordered a fast,  and put on sackcloth  from the greatest to the least. And the word  came to the king of Ninive ; and he rose  up out of his throne, and cast away his robe from him, and was clothed in sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and
 published in Ihe city  from the  mouth of the king and the princes, saying: 'Let neither man nor beast, oxen nor sheep, taste anything; let them not feed, nor taste water. And let men and beasts be covered
 with sackcloth, and cry to the  Lord with all their strength ; and let them turn from their evil ways, and  from the iniquity that is on their hands. Who can tell whether God will turn away from His fierce anger, and we shall not perish?'  "

This  was no exterior conversation, no outward semblance of penance and humiliation. "God is not  mocked." He sees the heart. And the heart of the Ninivites  must have been truly contrite, truly
 humbled.  For "God  saw their works, that they were turned from their evil  ways ; and God  had mercy regarding the evil which He had said He  would do to them, and He did it not."

 Such was the effect of a call to penance  upon a pagan, sensual people; such  was its  power with God that it stayed His avenging hand. The three Sundays— Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima--
 bring us  by easy steps within sight of Lent, the Church's time for penance, fasting, and special prayer. "Yet forty days," is the cry. How are we going to listen to the  warning voice? "But we are not pagans," we may say;  "our wickedness does not go up before the  Lord like that of the Assyrians. What  was good for the wicked is not approved good for us."  The answer is, penance is good for the holy as well as for the sinful. It preserves as well as atones. Saints have felt the need of it in all ages  and at all times, at the beginning of their conversion  and at the end of their lives. In whichever category, therefore, we may think well to place ourselves —saint or sinner— penance is necessary for us. And we know it well.

We are not true to our best nature when we  deny the need of mortification. For we feel the struggle within us, the conflict between the good  and the bad. We know the good should conquer,  and that it
cannot conquer without pain, and that this pain is mortification in one form or another. Why do we dread penance? Because it opposes our lower nature; in simple terms, because it hurts. Nature shrinks  from what hurts.

Yet it is astonishing how soon penance becomes easy when it is undertaken with courage. Courage counts as two-thirds of the necessary outfit for  any undertaking, natural or supernatural. What we have then, is to brace ourselves  up to look forward bravely, and suffer magnanimously all the little mortifications proposed  by the  Church as to fasting, abstinence,  and prayer. They are few enough as it is.  Far be it  from us to wish  them fewer or less binding. Above all, let us  remember that whatever exemptions we may justly ask, we cannot justly  exempt ourselves  from the spirit of penance during Lent. We  must feel its pressure,  come under its discipline.

The very weakness or labor that keeps us from fasting may itself be our penance, if suffered in tlie right spirit. Now, is this determination to spend the forty days of Lent in the spirit of the Church going to make us sad or long-faced? God forbid! We might as well be Pharisees at once. If mortification does
 not bring with it cheerfulness  and holy joy, there is something wrong with it,  and we  had better find out  what it is as soon as possible. No. The  most mortified are the most cheerful. Those shiver most who bathe at the edge of the sea and get wet  by driblets. Those who plunge in deep are in a glow before they feel the shock. Those who do penance grudgingly do not taste its joy. Dare I be amongst the cheerful givers, the generous sufferers ? Yes, because "the love of Jesus urgeth  me."

Manual of the Holy Catholic Church
Imprimatur 1906 
St. Valentine - February 14.
Of St. Valentine few particulars are known. He was a holy priest of  Rome, put to death about the year 270. One of the great Roman gates  was built in his honor and called after him. It is now known as "del Popolo." But the name of St. Valentine has  come down to us associated with the  remnant of a  pagan custom, that of choosing for a year  some person to whom honor should be paid. The casting of lots  was held on the 15th of February, and with it began the Roman festival of Lupercalia, in honor of the god Pan  and the goddess Jimo. To put down so dangerous a feast-making, the Church, according to  Alban Butler, instituted the custom of drawing saints to be venerated for a year on the feast of St. Valentine, the day preceding that of the pagan lot-drawing, thus substituting heavenly for earthly love.
 
This old, old custom of choosing  some one to love, to be looked up to, sets one thinking.  So widespread a custom, lasting, too, for so long a time through the  pagan . "Through tlie Middle Ages, even to our own day, seems to point to  some natural cause. And it does. We are social beings in the natural and supernatural order, conscious of weakness  and insufficiency when standing alone. In the garden of Paradise the foundation of society was laid when Adam said, "a man shall leave father and  mother and cleave to his wife," showing that at no period of his life need he stand alone. The supernatural order is based  upon the two great laws, '' Thou shalt love the  Lord thy God with thy whole heart,  and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

And there is such a stretching out of hands towards our fellow-creatures, such an expansion of heart at the sight of suffering or sorrow or need, that we have to be on our guard, lest it work in us merely from a natural goodness without the sacred  stamp of grace. This custom then of  drawing saints to be our patrons for the year is a happy thought, bearing  upon the inward yearning towards others; it is  an expression of the loneliness of the human heart, its  want of  sympathy ; it is also the  bond between Heaven  and earth. We are not made like the beasts with our eyes level with the ground, tending downwards. "We have a right to invade the unseen world, to choose helpers there, to count  upon assistance  and comfort  and cheering, where there is so much consolation, help,  and joy.

A certain number of patrons  were chosen for us by our parents without our having a say in the matter. Otliers we ourselves chose at coniinnation, but Avithout  any very distinct idea of  what we  were doing, perhaps. But our patron on Valentine's day can be one of mature deliberation, based  upon a natural attraction  and admiration, one whose example in the battle-field of life will be a help to us in our hour of trial. The  more communion we can have with Heaven the better for us. The more our interests lie above, the less will the chains of earth rivet us to things below. And the chains of earth do bind. They bind in childhood and in youth; in middle manhood  and old age.  So the spirit that soars upward is the brave spirit, the safest, the happiest, and the strongest. There have been those who, in extreme old age, could  show a long list of patrons whom they  had honored for a year each with particular devotion,  and when the allotted time was over added  them to the long list of their predecessors,  and invoked  them still with the new Valentine of the New Year. What an array there
would be of choice spirits to  meet such as these when they  came to their Heavenly reward.

To  some of us who do not love multiplicity our own  namesake may be our perpetual Valentine—the patron given to us at our baptism, or chosen at our confirmation, or at  any other solemn occasion.
Let these then  become realities to us, living friends  and helpers, substantial guardians. The  Heavenly patron will never be wanting to His earthy client— of that we may be sure. Let us not be wanting to
 him. St. Valentine,  pray for us!

The almond is a symbol for Christ and is often used on this Feast Day which reminds us of the love of Christ. Below are two wonderful tidbits about this symbolism with more resources to follow.

An Excerpt of A prose by  Adam of Saint Victor
The Liturgical Year - Christmas Vol. 1    By: Dom Gueranger Imprimatur 1927

Aaron's sapless branch yields leaf and flower and almond: so does the chaste Virgin her Child, the Son of God. Gedeon's fleece bears the dew from heaven; the creature bears the creature's ransome - the Creator. The leaf and flower, the almond and the dew, are mystic emblems of our Saviour's love. Jesus is the leaf that shades us; the sweet flower that regales us; the almond-nut that feeds us; the dew that waters us with heavenly grace. Why is it that the Virgin's delivery should be a stumbling-block to the Jews' Have they forgotten the dry branch of Aaron, how it bore the almonds? Let us once more contemplate the almond-nut; for, viewed in its true light, it is the mystic emblem of him that is the Light. It unites in iteself three things, and all three it gives to man: unction, light and food. Jesus is the almond-nut. The rind is the cross and passion he endured in the Flesh: the shell is his Body - his Flesh and Bones. The Divinity and the sweetness of Jesus, which are sheathed within the Flesh, are figured by the kernel. Jesus is Light to the blind and unction to the sick, and soothing to holy souls.

The Marriage of the Blessed Virgin - another writing on the symbolism of Almonds/Almond Branch

Visit our Almond Pinterest board for some great recipes! My favorite is the almond covered pretzel- the prezel being a symbol for praying hands and almonds a symbol for Christ. Perfect for St. Valentine's Day especially this year as it falls during Lent!

Multiplying Divine Love with St. Valentine- File Folder Game 9x tables

Adding Divine Love with St. Valentine - File Folder Game 9 addition tables

Saint Valentine Bookmarks and Holy Cards to Download and Print

St. Valentine brings the Holy Eucharist Coloring Page

Saint Valentine Word Search

Saint Valentine Maze Printable

Check out our BLOG entries for the Feast of Saint Valentine!

Visit our St. Valentine Page for MORE printable (coloring pages, cards, etc.)

Catholic Life; or Feasts, Fasts and Devotions
Stations of the Cross
Printed by Washbourne
Imprimatur 1908

This is a devotion instituted as a means to foster the remembrance of our dear Lord's sufferings, with a view to increase our love for Him, hatred for sin, and the practice of virtue. In all ages devout pilgrims went from all parts to visit Jerusalem and the other holy places sanctified by His Presence or sufferings. Many and great indulgences were granted to encourage them. But though great the number of pilgrims, greater still was the number who wished to make the pilgrimage, but whose circumstances did not allow them. To satisfy their earnest desires, the Church sanctioned the erection of the Stations of the Cross, and attached to the pious exercise the same privileges as are granted those who actually visit the holy places.

This devotion is most profitable to our souls. What can bring before our minds in a more vivid manner God's love for us and for the frightfulness of sin? Who can hate his neighbour when he sees Jesus pray for His enemies? Who can indulge in forbidden pleasures when he sees his Saviour's body mangled from head to foot? Who can murmur in sufferings and trials when Jesus walks before, laden with His Cross? In order to gain the great indulgences, it is necessary to go round to each station, and think piously for a short time on our Lord's sufferings. If the crowd be too large, then all that is necessary is for the priest and the acolytes to proceed from station to station, while the congregation turn towards the priest. It is customary to say a few prayers at each station.

Those found in prayer books are very suitable. Those who by illness, traveling, or other causes, are unable to make the "Way of the Cross" in a church, may get a crucifix indulgenced by a Franciscan Father, and thus gain all the privileges by saying, while holding the crucifix in the hand, fourteen Paters and Aves, followed by five Paters and Aves, in honour of the five wounds of our Lord and one Pater and Ave for the Pope's intentions.

The stations may also be made with spiritual profit by means of the folding booklet of fourteen pictures, which may be purchased for a trifle, but in this case the indulgences cannot be gained.

Example - St. Francis De Sales

When this Saint was in his last illness he gave a noble example of calmness and resignation. Practicing what he had taught to others, he suffered the most acute pain with such patience and sweetness that he was never heard to utter the least complaint, nor to express a single desire which was not conformable to the holy will of God. There was ever written in his face the perfect serenity of a soul triumphant over suffering. He took without any apparent repugnance the most disagreeable medicines, submitted himself entirely to his medical advisers, and was constantly saying that his friends did too much for him. Thus, in sickness as in health, St. Francis followed in the steps of his Divine Master, obeying the command which He gave to His Apostles and to all Christians: "I have given you an example, that as I have done so do you also" (John xiii 15).