Happy Easter All Season Long! April 9 - May 28, 2023

Christ has Risen! He Has Truly Risen! Alleluia!

 Since my last post for Mardi Gras, I have been busy writing a companion book to Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children. The book focuses on observing Lent and celebrating Easter with children. My audience is moms, grandmoms, teachers, and catechists. The first chapter begins with reclaiming Mardi Gras. The chapter is dedicated to getting the right balance of wholesome fun while focusing on preparation for Lent. I am asking for your prayers as I work on this next book.

Along with writing this Lent, I have added some pictures of other events and activities I have been involved with. The first is two podcasts that I was interviewed for by Priscilla Smith McCaffrey, a friend from my graduate school days. Priscilla interviewed me on the topic of Senior Living and on my book, Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children. She and her husband, Roger, have been involved in Catholic book publishing and media communication for years. I am including the link to my interviews. I think you will find many of Priscilla's other podcasts of interest, too. To locate the interviews go to Senior Living & Home School  Scroll down in Senior Living to #10 podcast and in Catholic Homeschool Radio #106.

Of course. preparations for Easter would not be complete without some time spent with the grandchildren. Bob and I traveled to Indiana to see Patrick and Becca's family. We did a variety of fun activities with the grandkids during their school break at the end of March. Here is one of my favorites, decorating Easter cookies. 

Over the years we have baked and decorated lamb cakes and made small cupcake Easter baskets. This year we did simple sugar cookies with lamb, Easter egg, chick, and bunny cookie cutters. The children chose the colors and decorations and, of course, had a few nibbles! 

We were able to attend Palm Sunday Mass with their family which was a special part of our visit. They belong to a large, thriving family oriented parish with lots of little people filling the pews. The choir was excellent and the liturgy well-executed with many strong readers taking the parts in the Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion.

We arrived back home for Holy Week. Sharing is common in family life, so we found out anew as we both caught head colds from our smallest grandchild. We were down for the count for much of Holy Week but managed to rise for the great feast of Easter.

The Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday found me in Jacksonville giving a talk at the Catholic Writers Guild Jacksonville chapter. It was both an in-person and ZOOM talk on Celebrating the Feasts through the Seasons. I enjoyed doing the talk and focused on Lent and Easter especially Divine Mercy Sunday. I shared with them the pictures and description of the Divine Mercy celebration at home with families that my daughter and her friends from the Catholic Women of the Chapel did in Fort Lee, VA, and again in Vicenza, Italy. We don't have any pictures from this year's Divine Mercy Sunday/Chaplet and Sundaes, but the CWC had a retreat the day before for the moms and I included a photo below. You can go to the archives here to see earlier pictures: Divine Mercy Sunday/Sundaes

                  EASTER 

         by Edwin L. Sabin

The barrier stone has rolled away,

  And loud the angels sing;

The Christ comes forth this blessed                       day

  To reign, a deathless King.

For shall we not believe He lives

  Through such awakening?

Behold, how God each April gives

  The miracle of Spring.

Divine Mercy Retreat, April 15, 2023 
Catholic Women of the Chapel, Italy

 Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy Sundae Treat

Easter Blessings throughout the Season

to you and yours!

Divine Mercy Sunday with Sundaes, April 19, 2020

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Our Lord appeared to Sister Faustina, a Polish religious who lived from 1905 - 1938 with His message of merciful love for sinners. He asked Sister Faustina to propagate His merciful love  in these ways: by having an image of Him painted, the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, praying the Divine Mercy Novena from Good Friday to the Saturday in the Octave of Easter, a Divine Mercy Holy Hour, and requesting that the Sunday after Easter be designated Divine Mercy Sunday. All these requests of Our Lord have been fulfilled over a period of time. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II instituted the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Universal Calendar of the Catholic Church. This fulfilled the final request.


You will find on this blog what some creative Moms did with their children to teach them about Divine Mercy Sunday and to celebrate in a way that kids (and grown-ups, too) can appreciate - ending the afternoon with a Divine Mercy Sundae!

Our pictures show children coloring pages from a Divine Mercy Coloring Book. If you go to holyheroes.com and search Saint Faustina, you will find a great coloring book. Pinterest.com has a large selection of Divine Mercy coloring pages. You just type in Divine Mercy coloring pages in the search bar and viola!

While the younger children were coloring pages, the Moms and Dads with older siblings prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet. You can find the prayer here, thedivinemercychaplet.org/message/devotions/pray-the- chaplet. After praying the chaplet, the families got together and made Divine Mercy Sundaes! I can't think of a better way for family and friends to honor Our Lord's request by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then ending the afternoon by enjoying  sundaes.

Amazing Moms

Divine Mercy Novena and Sundae Party

The Divine Mercy Novena begins today, Good Friday, April 10. If you have not started it, you can begin tomorrow. Below is a link where you can find the prayers for the novena. A few years ago, I attended a Divine Mercy party held on Divine Mercy Sunday. It was a party for children who had been saying the novena with their parents. There were some very clever Moms who came up with the idea of having sundaes on Divine Mercy Sunday! The party was a big hit with the children and their parents who attended. Besides the delicious sundaes, the Moms had coloring pages about Sister Faustina, the religious sister, that Our Lord appeared to and asked her to propagate the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena. Perhaps you and your children or grandchildren would like to pray the novena and have a party to celebrate at the end. I will post some ideas and resources on this blog early next week.

Here is the link to the novena   https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena 
You will find a short explanation of the Divine Mercy Novena on this website and then to your right you will see in red the nine days listed. Click on day one for prayer number one. Each day you will click on the prayer intentions for that day. and pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Our Lord wishes us to pray this novena to honor His most merciful heart and obtain graces for ourselves and others.  Pray the novena and then have a Divine Mercy Sundae Party!

Divine Mercy Sunday - Divine Mercy Sundaes

Sunday, April 23, 2017, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Our Lord appeared to a Polish nun, Sister Faustina, in 1935 and instructed her in a prayer called the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The prayer is said on rosary beads and consists of an Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostles Creed and two other prayers directed to God. One offers the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in atonement for personal sins and for the whole world. The other for the sake of the Passion of Jesus asks for mercy on the one praying and on the whole world. This is a very powerful prayer given by Our Lord himself.

 Here is a link on how to say the chaplet,

 

http://www.thedivinemercy.org/…/devotions/praythechaplet.php 

For a fuller understanding of the Divine Mercy message, 

http://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/

The Catholic Women of the Chapel at Fort Lee, VA, have come up with a creative way to celebrate this day with their young families. Called Divine Mercy Sunday/Divine Mercy Sundaes they will pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm with their families and conclude the afternoon by making dessert sundaes. Perhaps some of you might like to try this with your young families? Sister Faustina was canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paull II. St. Faustina pray for us!