Divine Mercy Montessori Activities

My friend Rachele has been posting YouTube videos over at The Catholic Montessori Way featuring Montessori activities that you can do with your toddlers and preschoolers in your Catholic home! You can also find her over at Instagram as well. Her latest video includes our Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls! 

We've made these with both homemade and store bought cinnamon rolls in the past! 

Scroll through our past Divine Mercy posts here: Divine Mercy Sunday

"Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. 

Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God."

- St. Faustina

Catholic T-Shirt Club {An Early Confirmation Gift}

Our older boys love Catholic T-Shirts and they each have a few personal favorites that they received over the last couple years in their Easter Baskets. They are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation this year and one of their gifts is a subscription to the Catholic T-Shirt Club!  They recently received their first box and this month's T-Shirt focused on St. John Paul II and Divine Mercy. Jesus, I Trust in You.

Rather than having duplicate T-Shirts (there is an option for double of everything, but they prefer having their own styles/shirts) they are getting the "Bishop Box" which comes with an exclusive Catholic T-Shirt each month, as well as sacramentals and holy cards that tie into the monthly theme. This month Ranger kept the T-shirt and Captain kept the rosary and they spilt up the rest.

This miracle of mercy has radically changed humanity's destiny.

- St. John Paul II 

I just finished putting together a gift for one of our Godsons' First Holy Communions next weekend... (you can see more First Holy Communion Gift Ideas here)
...but I'm still looking for a couple more Confirmation gifts for our boys.

I'd love to hear about any of your favorite Confirmation gifts to give and/or receive! 

Brunch on Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls with maple frosting, whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries, scrambled eggs, roasted golden potatoes and onions, applewood smoked bacon, coffee and hot cocoa, and some AIP sweet potato hash, fruit and roasted dandelion root tea for me!

This year, instead of using store bought cinnamon rolls, I used the leftover half of Pioneer Woman's "Cinnamon Roll Dough" to make our Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls!

"Mom! Are you making a cinnamon roll scroll?!?!" - Bud (5)

It sure looked like it from his viewpoint over at the counter. 

It worked out wonderfully! After rolling out the dough (30"x10") and covering it in softened butter (I think it's a little easier to work with softened instead of melted as she suggests) along with sugar and cinnamon, I rolled both sides until they met in the middle, sliced and then pinched the bottom to create the point of the heart. 

Meanwhile the girls washed the berries and made scrambled eggs and bacon.  They all liked the Orange Marmalade Rolls we made for the recent Narnia birthday party, but apparently nothing compares to the original Maple Frosting covered version! 

Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls

I love shaping cinnamon rolls into all sorts of shapes for our children including Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day and Turkeys for Thanksgiving! Last year I ended up shaping our cinnamon rolls into hearts and serving them with whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries for Divine Mercy Sunday.

I happen to have some leftover "Cinnamon Roll Dough" from the Orange Marmalade Rolls I made for our daughter's Narnia themed birthday a couple days ago so I'm planning to use it to make Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls again this year!  You can find the directions over at Catholic Cuisine.

O Blood and Water, 

which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus 

as a fount of mercy for us, 

I trust in You.

Scroll through all past posts for Divine Mercy Sunday here. 

Jesus, I Trust in You

"Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God." ~ St. Faustina

In 1931 St. Faustina, received an apparition of Our Lord with rays radiating from His heart. He instructed her to paint an image of His tender mercy toward all humanity with the signature “Jesus, I Trust in You.” The Lord explained the meaning of the rays in the image:

The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (299). By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works (742).

This morning Chiquita dressed up one of her dolls (Ruthie) as Saint Faustina! I haven't given the girls any little black habits yet, but she was able to use one of her little sister's black shirts along with parts of the Dominican Habit and Carmelite Habit, a Little Silver Crucifix, Ruthie's Black Shoes, and a Holy Card she received at church on Good Friday! 

In addition to praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we are also going to listen to Jesus, I Trust in You! The Story of Saint Faustina during our drive to Mass, and reading Helen's Special Gift: A Children's Story about Saint Maria Faustina. 

We also read a beautiful sermon from Fr. Eric Andersen which can be found here. 

"O Blood and water, which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in Thee"

You can find additional American Girl Doll Saints in the archives: 

The Dolls' Saints Costumes {with links to our children's past Saint Costumes!}

Celebrating the Saints :: St. Brigid of Ireland

In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. . . {Doll Baptisms!}

The Big Girls' Bedroom {and How We Organize Their American Girl Dolls and Clothes}

Commemorating the Canonization of Two Popes

Today is a historic day in the Catholic Church as two popes are canonized. Here are seven ways to commemorate this day with children:

1 - Picture Books

There are many excellent picture books available about the Papacy and Pope John Paul II.  Our three oldest children, who were born during Pope John Paul II's life each received a new book about this new saint in their Easter baskets this year. Many of these books are available from Sacred Heart Books and Gifts, Catholic Child, and through my affiliate links below. Here is the list of the books in our book basket:

Our Holy Father the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present - An excellent book for teaching children about the Papacy.  Includes two pages on Pope John Paul II

Lolek – The Boy Who Became Pope John Paul II - My husband's parents gave our children this book for Christmas one year.  It is an excellent book for children on the life of this new saint!

Karol from Poland: The Life of Pope John Paul II for Children

Blessed John Paul II: Be Not Afraid - Short Chapter Book for children ages 8 and up from the Encounter the Saints series.

A Boy Who Became Pope: The Story of Saint John Paul II - This is a new favorite.  I especially love the illustrations!

Pope John Paul II Comic Book - Not one of my favorites, but the children all have enjoyed the comic book format of this book.

I'm still waiting for our new copies of the following two books to arrive:

John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint

Karol: The Boy Who Became Pope: A Story of Saint John Paul II - This book will be released soon from Neumann Press and can also be pre-ordered directly from TAN/Neumann Press.

2 – Coloring Pages

I printed out copies of this John Paul II coloring page from St. John the Baptist Religious Education.

Herald Entertainment is currently offering a Free Download of this Pope John Paul II Coloring Page.

Holy Heroes has a Downloadable Coloring Book available here.

Catholic Playground has a 40 page Pope John Paul II Coloring and Activity Book available for $12.

3 - Lap Books

If you never downloaded the Papal Lap Book and Unit Study I created during the Election of Pope Francis, now is another great time for a Unit Study on the Papacy.

Holy Learning, formerly Faith Folders for Catholics, also has a brand new download available: The Canonization of Two Popes Double Faith Folder!


4 – Audio

Pope Saint John Paul II “Be Not Afraid” Glory Stories is available from Holy Heroes
Tells the dramatic story of Pope Saint John Paul II, from his childhood life in a free Poland to his dramatic and even miraculous experiences under Nazi occupation in WWII and during Soviet Communist oppression thereafter. You and your children will learn things about his life growing up that developed into his simple spiritual practices that even busy families can imitate. You'll appreciate better how to cooperate with Divine Providence and how to explain it to your children. Funny, exciting, and fast-moving, this story will reveal memorably some of the secrets of one of the greatest and most beloved Popes of all time.

5- Catholic Cuisine

You can find a few ideas over at Catholic Cuisine including Papal Polenta, Kremówka Papieska (Papal Cream Cake), and John Paul II Sugar Cookies.

I'm planning on serving Polenta with dinner and made Keys of Heaven Candies for my children using this Key Mold and Yellow Candy Melts.

6 - Gift Ideas

Prayer Pillowcases has recently come out with a new Pope John Paul II Pillowcase

St. John Paul II hand-painted wooden doll from St. Luke’s Brush

John Paul II Saints n’ Stitches Pillow Doll from Waltzing Matilda Makes

Saint John XXIII of Rome Felt Saint Softie from Saintly Silver

Catholic Child also has a great selection of gifts commemorating St. John Paul II including Prayer Pillowcases, Books, DVDs and more.

Portraits of Saints has some beautiful Holy Cards of St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II


7- Watch the Canonization

You can find live coverage on EWTN: From Blessed to Saint! Join Pope Francis as he prepares to celebrate Holy Mass in honor of his predecessors, John XXIII and John Paul II, before canonizing them as official Saints of the Catholic Church. EWTN’s LIVE coverage of this event begins at 10 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 26 on #EWTN, with encores at 7 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 27 & at 11 p.m. ET, Monday, April 28. Visit www.ewtn.com/canonization/2popes/index.asp for a complete schedule of events and programming.

You can also watch the whole canonization on YouTube:

St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II, Ora Pro Nobis!

On Divine Mercy Sunday

Let our judgment of souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them is extraordinary. ~ St. Faustina

This afternoon, following the completion of our Divine Mercy Novena, the children had so much fun decorating "Divine Mercy Cookies."  They were so simple, and yet very much enjoyed.   

I hope you all have had a very blessed Divine Mercy Sunday! 

How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy. 

~ St. Therese of Lisieux

Little Flowers Girls' Club ~ Mercy

This past Thursday we had our very first Little Flowers Girls' Club meeting for the new year!! This year the girls will be working on Wreath II and all of the meetings will be in the afternoon and hosted at my home. It's going to be a little cramped in my small home, with 12 girls, but that won't matter too much, right!?! Plus there is plenty of room for them to run around outside, after the meeting, unlike at the bookstore...

As the girls arrived I had various coloring pages for them to color:

Saint Faustina, the Divine Mercy page from Fenestrae Fidei,

and Charlotte's beautiful icon of the Divine Mercy

Just like last year, we began our meeting with the prayer to St. Therese and the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love. We then reviewed a little bit about our dear St. Therese.

Next we had the lesson. I introduced the virtue we will be working on, Mercy, and read a short biography of the saint for this month, St. Faustina. We then talked about the various The Works of Mercy (using Father Lovasik's book as a guide - Amazon is still offering a 10 pack of this great book for only $1.50!!) and then I read the Helen's Special Picture. (It is such a sweet book! Amazon charges a small fortune for it, but I was able to purchase a copy from the Divine Mercy Gift Shop.)

Another great resource for this meeting (or for further review at home!) is Glory Stories Jesus I Trust in You! : The Story of Saint Faustina Kowalska.

Following the lesson the girls began making their notebook pages. I included the memory verse for Mercy, The Divine Mercy Chaplet Prayers, a quote from the bible, and the prayer to St. Faustina from the Little Flowers CD.

Here are the links to the St. Joseph's Lily and the image of St. Faustina that I choose, and my sample page:  (You can download my document here.)

The girls did a lovely job putting together their notebook pages. Here are their completed pages:

This year I decided to have the girls do an additional craft at each meeting. For this virtue we made Guardian Angel Bracelets, since Angel's are often messengers of God's Mercy.

And yes, I thought I was all prepared, ordering craft kits ahead of time... However, one of the other moms and I had lots of fun trying to use our fingers to make a loop out of the pin used to make the angel, since i didn't have a pair of needle nose pliers handy... Next time I will read the directions for our craft before the meeting! ;)

Update: For another idea, don't miss Lena's Handprint Lily Pen. They are SO cute!

Snack time was next. Just like last year I assigned the moms to help with the snacks. I took the first month, in order to have it done before the baby arrives... We had Divine Mercy Strawberry Shortcakes with Lemonade! (Lily Sandwiches would be another great option for this meeting!)

I realized a little too late that I missed getting a group photo of the girls... Perhaps in two weeks at our next meeting!

Saint Faustina, teach us of God's Divine Mercy.
Jesus I trust in You!

Saint Therese, the Little Flower, pray for us!