Our project list seems to grow rather than shrink around these parts. Thanks to our children they are always inspiring new ideas and showing us new needs that they have. This project is another of those created for our dear children who love to learn about our Holy Catholic Faith and especially by following the Liturgical Calendar. They have been wanting a Liturgical Calendar of their own and what better way to give that to them than to have them take part in the making of it!

This free download was created with our lovely friends over at Crusader's for Christ, they were so gracious as to create the coloring pages for this fun little project and we gladly put the calendar part together to go with it. This is a 26 page black and white download that can be printed 2-sided. The top portion will have a coloring page that fits the Liturgical Season for each month. The following page has a blank calendar in which the child will fill out the month, whom the Church dedicates the month to and the year of Our Lord. Children may also choose to write in the saint of the day, holy days of obligation and fast days, a free 2013 Liturgical Calendar may be found over at Crusader's for Christ. There are blank squares below to fill in the number for the month, so this printable may be used for any year and started at any time of the year! Simply bind the top, or have it bound at a print shop and punch a whole in the bottom middle of each page to hang. We pray that you enjoy this little project as much as we have already on just our first month! 
God bless, 
From us here at Sanctus Simplicitus

Ps. We are considering offering this as a printed item to purchase, would you be so kind as to take our survey below and let us know if you are interested? Thank you!

A continuation of the book Public School Education is being shared over on our Catholic education blog, come and join us in a wonderful book!

You may find the February title pieces and prayers over at the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board Page

The February Crusaders for Christ & Maidens for Mary planner pages are up, March and April should be up sometime this week.

February Butler's Lives of the Saints Notebooking pages are also up and ready to print!

May you all have a blessed Septuegesima Sunday, don't forget to visit our Lenten page to start your Lent preparations. 

Also some of you have asked if we will be having a study guide similar to the short run of Jesse Tree guides that we put out last November and December. At this time we won't be printing any study guides or other items. We will soon be putting up a page featuring two books from the main book used in the Jesse Tree Study Guide. One focuses on the Life of our Savior and the other on The Life of the Soul. We will have free worksheets/ coloring pages etc. available but the books themselves are no longer printed. They may be found through bookfinder.com and prayerfully they will be reprinted so they are more easily available to all. God bless!

Our Keeping it Catholic Monday themes continue along the line of apologetics and questions asked by our dear readers. This Monday we are sharing some excerpts on the Priests vestments at Holy Mass.

Could you Explain Catholic Practices?
Rev. Charles J. Mullaly, S.J.
Imprimatur 1937

VESTMENTS OF HOLY MASS
How many of our readers could explain to an inquirer the names and the meaning of the vestments used by the priest in celebrating Holy Mass? We have frequently met devout Catholics who attend the Holy Sacrifice every day and yet would not be able to tell their non-Catholic friends or their own children that there are six vestments: Amice, Alb, Cincture, Maniple, Stole, and Chasuble.

The Amice is the first garment the priest puts on in preparing for Holy Mass. It is a rectangular piece of white linen with strings attached and covers his shoulders. It was originally employed as a covering for the head and is even now worn as such by priests of some Religious Orders in passing to and from the altar. It is said to be symbolical of the helmet of salvation. Some liturgical writers say it represents the cloth with which Christ was blindfolded when He was struck and buffeted.

The Alb is the white linen vestment reaching to the ground and denoting by its color purity, or freedom from sin. Some writers see in it the white garment of the fool which Herod put upon Christ when he sent Him back to Pilate.

The Cincture, or girdle, is used to fit the Alb closely to the body, and also suggests purity of soul. It reminds us of the rope tied around our Saviour's waist when He was led to Calvary.

The Maniple, the Stole, and the Chasuble change their colors according to the feast. The Maniple is the small band of cloth worn on the left arm. In the early days of the Church, it was a strip of linen and was probably used as a handkerchief or napkin, but with the passing of the years it lost its original purpose and was made of the same material as the sacrificial vestments. It may be said to represent the cords with which Christ was bound at His passion.

The Stole is the long narrow vestment of the same material as the Maniple and Chasuble. It is worn by the priest around his neck and it reaches almost to the knees. It is used not only at Holy Mass but for Confessions, sick-calls, and the administration of the Sacraments. It symbolizes the grace of the priestly state and, according to some writers, represents the rope tied around Christ's neck when He was led to His death.

The Chasuble is the principal vestment. In its present form it is open at the sides and rests on the priest's shoulders. It reaches almost to the knees in front and is a few inches longer in back. It represents the purple garment put on Christ when He was mocked as a king by the Roman soldiers.

THE COLOR OF THE VESTMENTS
Non-Catholics attending the Holy Sacrifice in our churches notice that the color of the vestments is not the same at every Mass. On certain days it is red; on other occasions, white, green, black, or purple. Could you explain when and why the various colors are used?

In the early days of the Church the vestments were of one color, namely, white, though black was sometimes used as a sign of mourning. White vestments are now worn on the festivals of our Lord, except those of His Passion. They are prescribed also for the feasts of the Blessed Mother, and for those of Virgin's and Confessors. White is emblematic of purity and also expresses joy.

Red is the color of fire and of blood. It is used at Pentecost, to remind us of the descent of the Holy Ghost in the form of tongues of fire, and is also marked in the Ordo for the Apostles and for Martyrs.

Green is worn on Sundays outside of Lent and Advent upon which a festival does not fall. It is a symbol of hope.

Violet, or purple, is the penitential color of the Church. The Ordo, or annual calendar containing directions for the Mass and Office to be said every day, assigns violet for the Masses proper to Advent and Lent, and usually for Vigils, Rogation, and Ember Days.

Black is worn as a mourning color at Masses for the Dead and on Good Friday. The liturgy of the Church does not allow a Requiem Mass on great festivals, for our private sorrows must not take precedence of the general joy of all Christendom on these days.

Many Catholics ask why the Ordo places violet as the color of the vestments to be worn on December 28, the feast of the Holy Innocents. As these babes were martyrs, red would appear to be in order. As an expression of sympathy for the mothers of Bethlehem and vicinity, whose boys under two years of age were killed by Herod in his effort to destroy the Infant Saviour, the Church uses violet on that day.

At the funerals of children who die before the use of reason, there is no sign of mourning. White vestments are used to express the joy that Catholic parents should have at knowing that the innocent little one is enjoying the Beatific Vision of God. The bells of the church are not tolled and, if it is a day on which a votive Mass is permitted, the beautiful Mass of the Angels is said or sung. This does not mean that children become Angels after death, but that they take their place among these celestial beings. Angels are pure spirits without bodies, and the Church teaches us that the bodies of innocent children will rise on the Day of Resurrection, be united to their souls, and participate in their glory.

I need to make a correction to the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board saints for January as well as the Holy Simplicity planner. The Feast of the Holy Family is a moveable feast and so we will provide an undated piece for the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board (date will be written in with dry erase marker) and a substitute piece for the current Jan. 8th piece.

The date is also incorrect in the Holy Simplicity Planner, it is noted there as on the 12th of this month when it should be on the 13th. My apologies for this error and we will put up another post when the new pieces are available. A blessed Octave of the Epiphany to you all!

"The Feast of the Holy Family is a greater-double and celebrated on the Sunday within the octave of the Epiphany.  If this Sunday falls on the Octave Day, the feast is kept on the Saturday before, Jan 12, with the same commemoration of the Sunday and of the Octave." 

Thought I'd share a portion of our Sunday reading about a tradition for the Feast of the Epiphany. We didn't have time to make a cake today but I'm headed to make some sugar cookies to decorate as stars and crowns :) A blessed Feast day to you all!



Liturgical Year - Christmas Vol. 1
By: Dom Gueranger Imprimatur 1927


There was another custom which originated in the Ages of Faith, which is still observed in many countries. In honour of the Three Kings, who came from the East to adore the Babe of Bethlehem, each family chose one of its members to be King. The choice was thus made. The family kept a feast, which was an allusion to the third of the Epiphany Mysteries - the Feast of Ana in Galilee - a cake was served up, and he who took the piece which had a certain secret mark was proclaimed the King of the day. Two portions of the cake were reserved for the poor, in whom honour was thus paid to the Infant Jesus and his Blessed other; for on this Day of the triumph of him who, though King, was humble and poor, it was fitting that the poor should have a share in the general joy. The happiness of home was here, as in many other instances, blended with the sacredness of Religion. This custom of King's Feast brought relations and friends together, and encouraged feelings of kindness and charity. Human weakness would sometimes, perhaps, show itself during these hours of holiday-making; but the idea and sentiment and spirit of the whole feast was profoundly Catholic, and that was sufficient guarantee to innocence.

King's Feast is still a Christmas joy in thousands of families; and happy those where it is kept in the Christian spirit which first originated it! For the last three hundred years, a puritanical zeal has decried these simple customs, wherein the seriousness of religion and the home enjoyments of certain Festivals were blended together. The traditions of Christian family rejoicing have been blamed under pretexts of abuse; as though a recreation, in which religion had no share and no influence, were less open to intemperance and sin! Others have pretended (though with little or no foundation) that the Twelfth Cake and the custom of choosing a King are mere imitations of the ancient pagan Saturnalia. Granting this to be correct (which it is not), we would answer that many of the old pagan customs have undergone a Christian transformation, and no one thinks of refusing to accept them thus purified. All this mistaken zeal has produced the  sad effect of divorcing the Church from family life and customs, or excluding every religious manifestation from our traditions, and of bringing about what is so pompously called (through the word is expressive enough) the  secularization of society.

We decided this year to make the Liturgical Wheel for the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board a reusable piece. The Liturgical Calendar changes based on when Easter falls and so the wheel would change ever year. By simplifying the Liturgical wheel we have made it so with a simple turn of part of the wheel it is reusable every year. Simply download the Re-Usable Liturgical Wheel file and follow the directions for putting it together.

Also you will find the January Notebooking pages for those of you following the Butler's Lives of the saints with us over at the Butler's Lives of the Saints Notebooking page!

Praying you have a blessed, safe, happy and holy New Year!

In honour of our Lord's Divine Birth we will be giving something away each of the 12 days of Christmas! Check back every day to see what we are giving and enter the drawing.

The first item is a copy of Dom Gueranger's first Christmas volume from the Liturgical Year set! Over 200 pages for Christmas Eve and Day with a whole host of Saints for the 12 days of Christmas! A volume packed with wonderful Catholic information!

Read more about this set over at Refuge of Sinner's Publishing.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894
p. 387

December 26.—ST. STEPHEN, First Martyr.
THERE is good reason to believe that St. Stephen was one of the seventy-two disciples of our blessed Lord. After the Ascension he was chosen one of the seven deacons. The ministry of the seven was very fruitful; but Stephen especially, "full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people." Many adversaries rose up to dispute with him, but "they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit that spoke." At length he was brought before the Sanhedrim, charged, like his divine Master, with blasphemy against Moses and against God. He boldly upbraided the chief priests with their hard-hearted resistance to the Holy Ghost and with the murder of the "Just One." They were stung with anger, and gnashed their teeth against him. But when, "filled with the Holy Ghost and looking up to heaven, he cried out, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God,' they rushed upon him, and dragging him forth without the city, they stoned him to death"

Reflection.—If ever you are tempted to resentment, pray from your heart for him who has offended you.

The Liturgical Year - Advent Volume
By: Dom Gueranger Imprimatur 1927


O Emmanuel! King of peace! Thou enterest today the city of Thy predilection, the city in which Thou hast placed Thy temple - Jerusalem. A few years hence the same city will give Thee Thy cross and Thy sepulcher : nay, the day will come on which Thou wilt set up Thy judgement-seat within sight of her walls. But to-day Thou enterest the city of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown. It lies on Thy road to Bethlehem. Thy blessed Mother and Joseph her spouse would not lose the opportunity of visiting the temple, there to offer to the Lord their prayers and adoration. They enter; and then, for the first time, is accomplished the prophecy of Aggeus, that great shall be the glory of this last house more than of the first; (Agg. ii.10) for this second temple has now standing within it an ark of the Covenant more precious than was that which Moses built; and within this ark, which is Mary, is contained the God whose presence makes her the holiest of sanctuaries. The Lawgiver Himself is in this blessed ark, and not merely, as in that of old, the tablet of stone on which the Law as graven. The visit paid, our living ark descends the steps of the temple, and sets out once more for Bethlehem, where other prophecies are to be fulfilled. We adore Thee, O Emmanuel!   in this Thy journey, and we reverence the fidelity wherewith Thou fulfillest all that the prophets have written of Thee; for Thou wouldst give to Thy people the certainty of Thy being the Messias, by showing them that all the marks, whereby He was to be known, are to be found in Thee. And now, the hour is near; all is ready for Thy birth; come, then save us; come, that THou mayest not only be called our Emmanuel, but our Jesus, that is, He that saves us.


THE GREAT ANTIPHON TO JERUSALEM
O Jerusalem! city of the great God: lift up thine eyes round about, and see thy Lord, for he is coming to loose thee from thy chains.

O JESUS, Son of David! heir to his throne and his power! Thou art now passing over, in Thy way to Bethlehem, the land that once was the kingdom of Thy ancestor, but now is tributary to the Gentiles. Scarce an inch of this ground which has not witnessed the miracles of the justice and mercy of Jehovah, Thy Father, to the people of the old Covenant, which is so soon to end.  Before long, when Thou hast come from beneath the virginal cloud which now hides Thee, Thou wilt pass along this same road doing good, (Acts x. 38.) healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, (St. Matt. iv. 23.) and yet having not where to lay Thy head. (St. Luke ix. 58) Now, at least, Thy Mother's womb affords Thee the sweetest adoration and the tenderest love. But, dear Jesus, it is Thine own blessed will that Thou leave this loved abode. Thou hast, O eternal Light, to shine in the midst of this world's darkness, this prison where the captive, whom Thou hast come to deliver, sits in the shadow of death. Open his prison-gates by Thy all-powerful key. And who is the captive, but the human race, the slave of error and vice? Who is the captive , but the heart of man, which is thrall to the very passions it blushes to obey? Oh! come and set at liberty the world Thou hast enriched by Thy grace, and the creatures whom Thou hast made to be Thine own brethren.

ANTIPHON TO THE ANGEL GABRIEL
O Gabriel! the messenger of heaven, who camest unto me through the closed doors, and didst announce the Word unto me: Thou shalt conceive and bear a Son, and he shall be called Emmanuel.

The Liturgical Year - Advent Volume
By: Dom Gueranger Imprimatur 1927

At length, O Son of Jesse! Thou art approaching the city of Thy ancestors. The Ark of the Lord has risen, and journeys, with the God that is in her, to the place of her rest. 'How beautiful are thy steps, O daughter of the Prince,' (Cant. vii. 1.) now that thou art bringing to the cities of Juda their salvation! The angels escort thee, thy faithful Joseph lavishes his love upon thee, heaven delights in thee, and our earth thrills with joy to bear thus upon itself its Creator and its Queen. Go forward, O Mother of God and Mother of men! Speed thee, thou propitiatory that holdest within thee the divine Manna which gives us life! Our hearts are with thee, thou propitiatory that holdest within thee the divine Manna which gives us life! Our hearts are with thee, and count thy steps. Like thy royal ancestor David, 'we will not enter into the dwelling of our house, nor go up into the bed whereon we lie, nor give sleep to our eyes, nor rest to our temples, until we have found a place in our hearts for the Lord whom thou bearest, a tabernacle for this God of Jacob.' (Ps. cxxxi. 3-5.) Come, then, O Root of Jesse! thus hidden in this Ark of purity; Thou wilt soon appear before Thy people as the standard round which all that would conquer must rally. Then their enemies, the kings of the world, will be silenced, and the nations will offer Thee their prayers. Hasten Thy coming, dear Jesus! come and conquer all our enemies, and deliver us.


A RESPONSORY OF ADVENT
(Ambrosian breviary, sixth Sunday of Advent)


R. Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the invisible God: there did he deign to dwell, whom seven thrones cannot hold: * And she bore him as a light weight in her womb. V. The Lord hath given him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end: * And she bore him as a light weight in her womb.