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Saturday, September 30, 2023

October Radiant Round Up

Month of the Most Holy Rosary
Happy Month of the Most Holy Rosary! There are SO MANY wonderful things to celebrate this month, and I've packed tons ideas into this edition of the Radiant Round Up. 
 
To start off, here are lots and lots of ideas for learning and praying with the Rosary:
Rosary Resources in Spanish*


St. Thérèse of Lisieux: October 1st

Guardian Angels: October 2nd
Guardian Angel and St. Michael Prayer Cards (K & up)


St. Francis of Assisi: October 4th
St. Francis of Assisi Coloring Page*(all ages)

St. Faustina Kowalska: October 5th
Divine Mercy Watercolor Art* (printable coloring page-2nd-6th)
Divine Mercy Melty Bead Craft* (printable pattern and examples-2nd-8th)
Pop Out Divine Mercy Chaplet* (2nd-6th)

Our Lady of the Rosary: October 7th

Pope St. John XXIII: October 11th
Two Popes, Two Saints* Trivia about St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII (4th & up)
Play Scripts/ Readers' Theater* about the miracles of St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII (4th & up)

Bl. Carlo Acutis: October 12th
Eucharistic Miracle Investigation* (version for younger & older kids) Also in Spanish

Pope St. John Paul II: October 22nd
Two Popes, Two Saints* Trivia about St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII (4th & up)
Play Scripts/ Readers' Theater* about the miracles of St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII (4th & up)

Sts. Simon and Jude: October 28th

All Hallows Eve/All Saints Day/All Souls: October 31st-November 2nd 
Since these feasts are so interwoven, you'll find ideas for Halloween along with All Saints & All Souls. I'll include these and more in the November Radiant Round Up!
Mass Offering Cards* (2nd & up) also in Spanish
Memento Mori Printables* (2nd & up)

October Catholic Book List
Click here for a list of books for Catholic kids that fit well with devotions and feast days this month! 


A Quick Grown Up Book Recommendation: The Every Sacred Sunday Mass Journal
Hands down, the best prayer resource I've ever invested in for myself is the Every Sacred Sunday Mass Journal. I've used it consistently for going on seven years! I've shared about it a few times on the blog (here and here and here) and just love its full Mass Readings, space to journal, original art, and heirloom quality. Preorders for the 2024 journals open on October 4th. You can use code KATIE10 for a discount with your order! 


Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

You can find the links to the monthly Radiant Roundups here:

October Books for Catholic Kids

October Catholic Kids Book List

Below are a few favorite titles that fit well with devotions and feast days this month! This list contains Amazon Affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. I'd also love to encourage you to shop directly with the publisher or with your local bookshop, or try to request these at your local library! I'm sure I've missed some books that would be great for this month, so feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments! You can find my giant list of Catholic Kid Books by topic here.


All Month- Respect Life Month
Saints & Feast Days

10/2- Guardian Angels

10/4- St. Francis of Assisi
10/5- St. Faustina

10/7- Our Lady of the Rosary

10/9- Our Lady of Champion
The Woman in the Trees- Bell, Theoni

10/9- St. John Henry Newman

10/12- Bl. Carlo Acutis

10/15- St. Teresa of Avila

10/16- St. Gerard Majella

10/17- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

10/18- St. Luke

10/19- St. Isaac Jogues

10/22- St. John Paul II

10/31-11/1- All Hallows Eve & All Saints Day

Any great October books I missed? Please add your suggestions in the comments!

Book Lists By Month:
Click on the images below for book lists organized by feast days and devotions for each month:

Monday, September 25, 2023

Our Lady of Fatima Block Print- Feast Day 5/13

In a field outside of Fatima, Portugal, three young children cared for their families' sheep. As brother and sister Francisco and Jacinta Marto along with their cousin Lucia dos Santos were in the fields watching their flocks, they saw a lady appear in front of a nearby oak tree. The Lady was surrounded with rays of light brighter than the sun and was dressed in a white dress with gold trim. She held a rosary in her hands and told the children not to be afraid.

Mary appeared at the site on the thirteenth of the month for six months spanning from May to October of 1917. She shared many messages with the children, but the main theme was asking for prayer, especially the Rosary, for the conversion of sinners and to bring peace in the world. Mary also asked them to share her Immaculate Heart, both as a devotion for individuals and as a consecration for the whole world.

The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is on May 13, but the anniversary of the last apparition and the Miracle of the Sun on October 13 is also widely celebrated.

When I was working on my Names of Mary block carving collection a few years ago, I created an image of Our Lady of Fatima. I'd like to share a 5x7 printable from that project with you! This image was originally hand drawn by me, transferred to a rubber block, carved out, and then printed like a stamp. This is a true scan of that print that you are welcome to hang as art in your home or classroom or use as a feast day decoration!

Click here for the print:




And you can also find it included on these Names of Mary Bookmarks:

And if you are interested in more info on Our Lady of Fatima, the devotion has a whole chapter in my book Through the Year with Mary! Complete with a kid friendly explanation, full color artwork with discussion prompts, reflection questions, a prayer, and a connection to Jesus, the goal of the book is to help you have good conversations with your kids!

Click here to find in from my publisher the St. Paul Center or here to find it on Amazon!

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Beatification of the Ulma Family

Have you heard about the remarkable Beatification happening this Sunday? The Ulma Family, Josef and Wiktoria and their seven children, will all be beatified together- marking the first time an entire family has risen through this part of the Canonization process. This is also the first time that an unborn child has been Beatified. The Ulma family lived in Poland and made the brave decision to hide a Jewish family of eight from the terrible reign of the Nazis. They remained together in the Ulmas small home for over a year. But when they were discovered on March 24, 1944 by Nazi soldiers, the soldiers killed the Jewish family, Josef and Wiktoria, and even their children.

The holy life and heroic death of the Ulmas is devastating to read. But we share the stories of the martyrs to spread the truth of the Gospel- a truth that is worth both living and dying for. While not easy, the story of the Ulmas is one that should be shared- a family growing in holiness together, willing to make sacrifices for what is right, placing their hope and trust in Jesus above all else.

If you'd like to share the story of the Ulmas with your older students during this time of their Beatification, or as part of a study on the atrocities of WWII, I pulled together this quick activity. These slides contain links to two short videos, a Vatican News article, and a few questions for the students to complete.

Click here to open the slides:

(Note- if you'd like to make changes to these Google Slides, you'll have to either download a copy and edit in Powerpoint or make a copy in Google Drive and then edit the version that you own. You won't be able to edit this master copy. Similarly, if you'd like your students to use this for an assignment, you will need to make a copy before sharing with them or assigning in Google Classroom, etc. Most school internet filters block tools from outside accounts, so students won't be able to access my file. Let me know if you need any help!)