Saints and Feast Days: A Resource and Activity Book - Softcover

Sisters Of Notre Dame Chardon Ohio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 082941505X ISBN 13: 9780829415056

Publisher: Loyola Press, 2006

Synopsis

Hundreds of patron saints come alive for children through this inspiring collection of biographies of church heroes. This updated edition of the popular Saints and Feast Days, written by the Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio, includes more than 200 saint biographies with an easy-to-use calendar format; this unique format provides an enjoyable way to read about patron saints and celebrate the feast days with children of all ages. Each saint biography includes suggested activities that kids are sure to enjoy!

About this title

From the Back Cover

Saints and Feast Days

A Resource and Activity Book

Hundreds of saints come alive for children through this inspiring collection of stories about men and women from every walk of life, every period of history, and every part of the world.
•    Each saint’s biographical sketch is followed
by suggested activities.
•    Reproducible masters are provided in the
back of the book.
•    The easy-to-use calendar format offers an enjoyable way to celebrate the saints and their feast days with children of all ages.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Looking at a statue cannot possibly give a true impression of the saints. A statue is cold and immobile, while saints are people of action. Use these stories to help the children glimpse the saints as mothers with children tugging at their skirts, fathers instructing their sons, monks praying late into the night, and preachers traveling the back roads of their countries on foot.
The calendar of saints represents men and women from every walk of life, every period of history, and every part of the world. They became saints because they loved. They remind us that it is possible for us to change and grow in the love of God and of others. Through the power of Jesus working in us all, we can become holy and can help the world come to know and love God. Praying to the saints encourages us to live up to our full potential so that we may join them in eternal life.
The Church also commemorates the lives of the apostles, martyrs, and other saints, for they have been glorified with Christ. They are heroic examples of Christian life and intercede for the faithful on earth.
(National Directory for Catechesis, #37, pp. 146-147)
All men and women are called to holiness. All of us are called to be close to God, to listen and to pray, to respond to Jesus’ teachings, whatever the cost, as did the saints. The saints are our companions; we thank God for the example of their lives that makes Christ more present to us, and we ask their intercession.
Our world is, in some ways, very different from the world of the saints, and, in some ways, very much the same. Some saints lived before the writing of biographies was common. Their stories were passed on by word of mouth, and some were naturally embellished. But the substance of the stories is to be considered true. Legends have grown about some of the saints. This does not mean that they are fictional. It literally means they were “to be read” in the Divine Office and are to be understood in the spirit in which they were written. When reading the lives of the saints, remember that their lives and their deaths give purpose and meaning to ours. When we see how God is glorified in them, we are encouraged to strive ever more eagerly to win the crown of everlasting life.
As you and your students read about the saints, you will see one thing over and over: goodness attracts goodness, love begets love. Just as Jesus did, the saints, even hermits and martyrs, attracted followers. Tertullian, an early Christian theologian, said that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Unlikely as it seems by worldly standards, you will find that it is true—from the first century through the 21st century, in Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Far East Asia.
People with a mission to teach or preach or cure the sick found they couldn’t do all the work alone. Just as Jesus did, they gathered a group of individuals who shared their ideals and charism and founded religious orders to carry on their good work. Some saints spread the Good News through action (missionaries and social workers), some through words (writers and preachers). Some saints even inspired other saints. A holy person can lead others to sanctity. Let these saints attract your students to goodness and holiness. Let them inspire, awe, console, guide, challenge, and teach the young people in your classroom.

Using This Book

The Church calendar gives special emphasis to the life and teachings of Jesus, from the celebration of his birth through the Paschal Mystery to his sending of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the year is divided into the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. Although the Church year begins with the First Sunday of Advent, for ease of use during the school year, this book begins with September feasts.
Traditionally the Church has celebrated the way certain men and women have lived the Paschal Mystery and has honored them as saints. These human beings responded to God through Jesus and overcame their weaknesses and sins through the power of grace. Their lives praise Christ, give hope to his followers, and offer an example for people to imitate.
Saints and Feast Days provides sketches of many saints and feast days celebrated each year by the Church.  The suggested activities can help young Catholics see that their own lives offer rich opportunities to become saints too.
Classroom Activities
•    Tell, read, or have a student read in class about the saint or feast you are celebrating.
•    Make copies of the saint’s story and have the children read it at home the night before in preparation for celebrating the feast.
•    In the case of summer saints, have children who are named after these saints present information on their birthdays, baptismal anniversaries, or at another suitable time during the year.
•    Make a time line as you learn about and celebrate the saints.
•    Use a world map to show where the saints lived. Flag the location using pushpins or small sticky notes.arish or School Activities
•    Have each class of children research the saints in the book and choose a patron saint for their class for the year. Based on the biography of the chosen saint, students can determine one way to imitate the virtue of that saint.
•    Individual students can check the book for the saint recognized on their birthday and baptismal date. Of the two, they may choose the saint that they feel they could follow. On a school family night involving parents, children could present the saint, their reasons for choosing the saint, and the ways they hope to carry on the saint’s mission. Costumes would add color and heighten interest.
•    If a parish has a meet-and-share type of activity after Sunday Masses, students could don their costumes from family night and be present to meet and share with parishioners and to answer questions about themselves based on their biography in the book.
•    Have students choose a saint from the biographies in the book. Have a partner trace the outline of their figure on a long sheet of butcher paper. They then color and decorate the outline as the saint would have dressed, write the saint’s name on the clothes, and cut out the figure. These saints could line the church gathering area or school walls on November 1 or during Lent.
•    Each month students could be chosen to write short biographies of one of the saints honored that month. “Publish” their synopses each week in the parish bulletin.
•    When new members of the parish are baptized, check the book for the child’s patron saint. Send a short biography, the saint’s feast day, and a card of congratulations to the newly baptized or the family.
•    Using the book as a resource, let children prepare a list of patron saints for various occupations. Publish the list in the parish bulletin close to the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (May 1).
•    For parent night or family night, have students create short plays based on the biographical material in the book. Especially interesting would be plays on pairs of saints, for example, Paul and Barnabas, Peter and Paul, Benedict and Scholastica, Francis and Clare, Vincent de Paul and

•    Keep a saint mural in progress. As each saint is studied, add to the mural. Students themselves might be included in the mural—at least approaching the land of the saints!
•    Have the students imagine that they are the saints presented. Ask how they would have felt and what they would have done.
•    Have the students write “eyewitness” accounts of an event in the life of a saint. Have each of them choose to be a particular person at the event.
•    Encourage students to do additional research on the saints, especially their patrons, and share their findings with the class. These could eventually be assembled into a class booklet.
•    On the feast days, use the opening prayer of the Mass for the class prayer.
•    Post a calendar that highlights the name days of students as well as their birthdays and baptismal anniversaries.
•    After presentations of the lives of the saints, relate their lives to the present day. Stress that living one’s faith gives a powerful witness to the world.
•    Have the students write their own prayers to the saints or compose a litany of saints. Begin with an intercession to God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Mary, Joseph, and then any saints whom they wish to include.
•    Activities suggested for the feast of one apostle or early martyr may be equally good for another apostle or early martyr. Use the extra space on the pages to make notes about other activities you would like to try.
•    Acquaint the students with the liturgical colors used for various kinds of feast days. For a helpful chart, reproduce the blackline master on page 434.
•    Lead the students in a prayer for modern missionaries on the feast of any missionary saint. Use the blackline master on page 435 to make student copies of the Prayer for Missionaries.
Louise de Marillac, Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal, Hilary and Martin of Tours.
•    Have students create a “Who Am I?” booklet or a series of quizzes based on the biographies. These could be published in the parish bulletin with the answers revealed on another page or in the next week’s bulletin.
•    Encourage families to celebrate the feast days of patron saints in some way:
    Prepare for the celebration by observing a vigil the night before, during which they should read about their patron, read from Scripture, pray the Rosary, or use their own form of prayer.
    Participate in the Eucharist on the feast day of their patron.
    Prepare a special dessert for the day.
    Light a baptismal candle or Christ candle in honor of the saint.

 

Saint Gregory
the Great    September 3
(c. 540–604)

Gregory lived in Rome during a period of wars, invasions by hostile tribes, famine, and destruction. He was the son of Gordianus, a wealthy Roman senator. Like most of the upper class of his time, he was well educated. But unlike many, he was generous and concerned about the poor.
When he was in his early 30s, Gregory was made the chief prefect, or governor, of Rome. He had long been attracted to the religious life, however, and so left his position before very long. He converted the family estate in Rome into the Abbey of St. Andrew, became a monk there, and founded six Benedictine monasteries on his estates in Sicily. His life of quiet and prayer did not last long; for around 578 he was ordained one of the seven deacons of Rome and sent as the papal ambassador to Constantinople, where he served until 585. When he arrived back in Rome, he was made the abbot of St. Andrew’s.
Five years later the pope died, and Gregory was acclaimed pope by the clergy and the people of Rome. Unwillingly Gregory accepted the role. He was the first pope to call himself the “servant of the servants of God.” But Gregory was such a good leader that he became known as Gregory the Great.
Because of his political skill, learning, talents, and deep devotion to God, Gregory was able to make peace with the invading Lombards, save the city from famine by reorganizing the property and granaries of the Church, and restore order within the Church itself. Even though there were tremendous problems in Rome, Gregory was able to look beyond his land to the needs of people in foreign lands. He sent a group of monks to England to teach the faith to the people who lived there. So great was Gregory’s interest in them that he has come to be called the Apostle of England, even though he himself was unable to travel there to preach.
What really made Pope Gregory great? His achievements were many and had a widespread effect, but Gregory became a saint because of his love for God, which was reflected in all that he did.

Activities    Saint Gregory the Great / September 3

BRAINSTORM QUALITIES OF HOLINESS
Discuss how Gregory responded to the needs of his time. Ask the students to brainstorm the qualities a person would need today to be considered a great saint.
LISTEN TO GREGORIAN CHANT
Although Gregory’s full influence on the music of his day is debatable, he is sometimes credited with the Church’s liturgical chant form, the Gregorian chant. Play some samples of Gregorian chant for the students and get their reactions and opinions.
SING A LITURGICAL SONG
Grades K–3: Simply sing one of the children’s favorite songs from your parish liturgy.
PRESENT AWARDS
Gregory is known as a patron of teachers, scholars, and singers. Discuss with the students why these areas are especially related to Gregory. Have them make “     the Great” medals or certificates for outstanding teachers, students, and singers.
RESEARCH FATHERS OF THE CHURCH
Along with Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, Gregory the Great is considered one of the four Fathers of the Western church. All are included in this book. Have the students discover what is necessary in order to be called a Father of the Church.
VIEW A VIDEO ON MISSION WORK
Gregory supported mission work. During his life he sent groups of monks to evangelize Britain. The practice of sending monks as missionaries was not usual. Show a video on the work being done in the missions today. Many excellent programs are available from the active missionary congregations in the Church.
WRITE TO YOUR BISHOP
In his book Pastoral Care, Gregory wrote a powerful description of the qualities and duties of a bishop. Invite the students to find out more about their local bishop. Bring in recent issues of the Catholic newspaper in the diocese and read about some of the activities of the bishop. Encourage the youngsters to respond by writing supportive letters to their bishop.How would you like to be called “the Great?” Try it out: (Your Name), the Great. Today’s saint is Gregory the Great. Read his story to find out why he is called “the great.”

Birth of Mary    September 8

We know that everyone has a birthday. The Bible doesn’t say anything about Mary’s birth, but we know that she was born. Like all parents, Mary’s parents—we call them Joachim and Ann—probably took one look at their newborn daughter and knew that she was special.
Joachim and Ann loved God very much, and they were filled with gratitude to God for the gift of a child. They raised Mary as a child of God, teaching her to love and serve God. When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she had been chosen to be the Mother of Jesus, she already had great faith in God. Her strong faith and trust allowed her to say yes to God’s plan for her.
We cannot be certain what the future holds for any newborn infant, but we do know that the life of each person has meaning and purpose. When Mary was born, the world did not know who she was. Sometimes others—and maybe even you—don’t see how special you are. Maybe you forget that God is calling you, too, right now, to do what Mary did—to bring Jesus into the world.
When we celebrate his mother’s birth, we honor Jesus too. Today thank God for the gift of life, and give honor to both Mary and Jesus by showing respect and concern for one another—remembering that God has created each person with love and with a call to something very special in life.

Activities    Birth of Mary / September 8

PRAY AND SING
With the children, pray the Memorare; Hail, Holy Queen; or Hail Mary. These prayers may be found on the blackline master on page 436.
Close the class with a hymn honoring Mary.
CELEBRATE MARY’S BIRTHDAY
Grades K–3: Bring in cupcakes or another birthday treat for the children. Light a candle and invite them to sing “Happy Birthday” to Mary.
Grades 3–6: Have the students design a Marian candle, using symbols of Mary such as a lily or an M. Use this candle on the prayer table during the year or for feasts of Mary.
Grades 6–8: The date of the feast of the Birth of Mary, September 8, was used to fix the date of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8. This situation also occurs for the conception and birth of Jesus: the Annunciation on March 25 and the Nativity on December 25. Point this out to the students to reinforce the Church’s teaching that life begins at conception.
SHOW ICONS OF MARY
Traditionally this feast is believed to have originated in Jerusalem and was celebrated in the Eastern church before it came to be observed in the Western (sometime around the eighth century). Use this opportunity to share with the students several icons of Mary from the Eastern tradition.
CELEBRATE FEASTS OF MARY
Divide the class into groups, and assign one group to each of the feasts of Mary you plan to celebrate during the school year. Have the students research and present ethnic or national customs honoring Mary. Such presentations may include icons or religious images, samples of music and food characteristic of these celebrations, processions, and so on. Ask the students to be ready to present their plan to you several days before the actual feast.

Saint Hildegard
of Bingen    September 17
(1098–1179)

Is music an important part of your life? Saint Hildegard was a musician, among other things. Music was the way Hildegard found to express her vision of the glory of God.
Hildegard lived near the Rhine River in Germany. When she was eight years old, her parents took her to a wise woman named Jutta, who lived in a room attached to the church. Jutta taught Hildegard, and some other girls, how to read the Psalms in Latin and how to do needlework. Hildegard never learned to write.
When Hildegard grew up, she became a nun and the head of the convent. Hildegard composed songs about the love of God for the nuns to sing. She said that she wanted them to sound like angels singing. Her songs were about God’s beauty and power in all of creation, about Mary and the saints, and about heaven.
Hildegard was able to express these things so beautifully because God showed her these things. As a child she sometimes told others about her visions, but when she realized that no one else saw the same thing, she kept it to herself. When she was 42 years old, God told her to reveal to the world what she saw and heard. Still Hildegard hesitated. This amazing woman was not so sure of herself. She had never doubted that the visions came from God, but she worried about what people would think or say.
Again the inner voice told her to speak out. So she did. When the bishop read the first book, Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord), he said that it came from God, and he told her to continue. For the rest of her life she wrote; that is, she dictated to a monk or to several nuns who wrote for her.
In a time when few women wrote at all, Hildegard authored and illustrated major works of theology and contemporary texts on science and religion and on natural healing with plants, trees, and stones. As more and more people heard about Hildegard’s wisdom and holiness, they came from all over Germany and France to seek advice and help with ailments of body and soul. She became so famous that bishops, kings, and even the pope consulted her.
Hildegard never took credit herself; everything came from God, who had given her an understanding of the world.

Activities    Saint Hildegard of Bingen / September 17

DISCOVER GIFTS TO USE FOR OTHERS
Hildegard used her gift of music to help other people understand God’s love. Help the children to think about the gifts God has given each of them. Be ready to suggest something for each student. You may also have the students form small discovery groups. Have the members of each group brainstorm gifts and talents that they see in each member. Then ask each child to write down plans for using his or her gifts to bring others closer to God this week.
COMPOSE SONGS
Have students work together to compose songs that express their belief on a topic about which they are currently learning in religion class.
HAVE AN ARTS FAIR
Have an arts fair entitled “My Vision of Heaven and Earth.” Invite the students to express their ideas by painting, sculpting, song, dance, or poetry. Invite families, another class, or the whole school to your exhibition.
LISTEN TO HILDEGARD’S MUSIC
Hildegard composed music back in the 12th century. Her musical compositions were rediscovered in the late 20th century and have been very popular again. Play a selected recording for the students. Be sure to play enough so that they get a good feel for the (probably) unfamiliar sound. Poll the class on whether they think it sounds like angels singing.

 

Edition details

• Publisher: Loyola Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 082941505X
• ISBN 13: 9780829415056
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 496