Page 12 - Our Catholic Family

OUR CATHOLIC FAMILY
Activities, Conversations, and Prayer for Sharing Faith at Home
Each bedroom: Lord Jesus, bless this room where (name) sleeps. In rest, may he (she) find healing and peace in body and soul. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
(All respond.)
Conversation Starter
Jesus’ Cross is a sign. A sign tells you something. What does the Cross tell you? Jesus died because some people did not like his message. What was his message?
Today’s Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for giving us the Cross as a sign of your victory. Help us to remem- ber that you are with us always, especially in the Eucharist.
Amen.
(Make the Sign of the Cross together.)
October
During the month of October, autumn comes into its own. All around us, the world prepares for winter. In many parts of our country, squirrels are busy hiding nuts. Snow shovels and snow blowers appear in hardware stores. We are urged to winterize our automobiles before it is too late and we are caught with a dead battery or worse.
But in the Church year, October brings special feasts and celebrations: Our Lady of the Rosary, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the great Saint Francis of Assisi, and the feast days of two beloved popes, Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II. And how could we forget All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween)?
The flower for the month of October is the marigold (thought to be named for Our Lady, “Mary’s Gold”). In “flower-language” it symbolizes sorrow or sympathy, but its cheerful and sturdy blossoms also remind us of the compatibility of strength and beauty in our lives. How much do we need that balance!
Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (October 1)
Introduction
As a fifteen-year-old, Saint Thérèse was allowed to enter the Carmelite monas- tery of Lisieux, France, and was thought to be living a simple but obscure life. It was only after her death that her “little way of spiritual childhood”—doing lit- tle things out of great love—became known and accessible to the world. Not all of us have great things to do, but all of us can be faithful in the little things.
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