Deacon Tom reminisces over a visit with old friends in Colorado and about Colorado author and youth ministry expert Jim Beckman. The theme of this Deacon Moment is submission to the Christ Child.

Sarah Reinhard asks us to look at our Advent wreath and think of Mary, inspired by a recent Mary Vitamin.

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This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Live WTL
• Jim Beckman
• God, Help Me: How to Grow in Prayer by Jim Beckman
• Catholic Foodie You Tube Book Review
• SQPN Giving Campaign
• Yoursphere
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Catholic Company
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, SQPN Connect Page, Plurk, Twitter
• Catholic Mom Logo Store

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Here’s a brief synopsis of the book shared with me by one of the authors:

It’s a read-aloud book with 24 chapters for each day of December leading up to Christmas. The story follows two boys traveling in ancient Palestine who discover they are in the midst of their messiah’s birth.  The story is researched from a Catholic perspective (especially in references to Mary) It includes family interactions, mishaps and adventures, and poignant encounters with the main characters of the Nativity. Research was based on Jeff Cavin’s bible study, Steve Ray, Pope Benedict’s writings, and several visions recorded from Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.  The book actually came out late last year and despite limited marketing was a fast seller in the Twin Cities of MN, and  with homeschool booksellers in the mid-west and on the east coast.

Having taken a few days to read and enjoy Destination: Bethlehem I want to strongly recommend it to families looking for some reading to enjoy together during the Advent season.  For more information, head over to the Destination: Bethlehem website.  Enjoy!

The First Sunday of Advent

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
  
• Advent at CatholicMom.com – see below in “Extra Activities”
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
  Solution: Across – 1.  First, 3.  Drowsy;  Down – 2.  Strength, 4.  Signs
  
• Lesson Plan

Extra activities:

• Advent at CatholicMom.com
• 2009 Advent Wreath Coloring Page
  
• 2009 Printable Advent Chain
• 2009 Advent Calendar
• Advent Bingo
• Advent Crossword Puzzle
• Christmas Catechism Puppet Show (includes related craft project)
• Advent Wreath File Folder Game
  • Advent Wreath Game Board
  • Advent Wreath Cards Younger
  • Advent Wreath Coloring Sheet
  • Advent Wreath Directions
  • Advent Wreath Directions Younger
  • Advent Wreath Question Cards
• Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB – Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate)

Pre-K Lesson Plans:

We will be providing weekly Pre-K lesson plans this year. These do not coincide with the Sunday Liturgy of the Word, but are specifically created for Catholic Pre-K learners.

• Advent
• Thank You God! (Terrific for Thanksgiving!)
• Joshua and Jericho
• Moses
• Joseph and His Wonderful Coat
• Prayer – I Can Talk to God
• Noah’s Ark
• Adam and Eve
• God Made Me and I’m Special
• Creation Day Seven – On the Seventh Day God Rested
• Creation Day Six – Animals on Land and Man
• Creation Day Five – Creatures in the Seas and Sky
• Creation Day Four – Sun, Moon and Stars
• Creation Day Three – Seas, Lands and Plants
• Creation Day Two – God Created the Sky
• Creation Day One – God Created Light

Religious Education Resource Articles:

• Timelines
• Story Sequencing Activities
• Assessing Student Progress
• Using Technology in Your Classroom
• How to Keep Disruptive Behavior Down to a Minimum
• Organize Your Materials
• Introductory Letter to Parents
• Lesson Planning
• Discipline in the Classroom
• Helping Hands Chart
• Special Needs Students – Information to Gather from Parents
• Preparing Your Religious Education Classroom

Featured Products:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com

My Catholic Advent And Christmas Book – Jennifer Galvin’s activity books for children have been enormously popular because, unlike other activity books, these are designed specifically to teach children about their Catholic faith. And her latest one does just that. She has put together entertaining word finds, crossword puzzles, color-by-number puzzles, and crack-the-code puzzles that will teach children about Advent and Christmas, all the while emphasizing the real meaning of the holiday. An added advantage is that the activities are tied to the lectionary for all three cycles. The activities are clever and challenging and are illustrated with charming, inviting art work. The sheets themselves are reproducible and are aimed at children from kindergarten through third grade.  Highlights:  an attractive, reasonably priced book;  reproducible pages;  perfect for home, school, or church use;  tied to all three cycles of the lectionary

The Solemnity of Christ the King

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
  
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
  Solution: Across – 1.  King;  3.  voice;  Down – 1.  kingdom;  2.  Jews
  
• Lesson Plan

Extra activities:

• Advent at CatholicMom.com
• 2009 Printable Advent Chain
• Advent Wreath File Folder Game
  • Advent Wreath Game Board
  • Advent Wreath Cards Younger
  • Advent Wreath Coloring Sheet
  • Advent Wreath Directions
  • Advent Wreath Directions Younger
  • Advent Wreath Question Cards
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB – Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate)

Pre-K Lesson Plans:

We will be providing weekly Pre-K lesson plans this year. These do not coincide with the Sunday Liturgy of the Word, but are specifically created for Catholic Pre-K learners.

• Advent
• Thank You God! (Terrific for Thanksgiving!)
• Joshua and Jericho
• Moses
• Joseph and His Wonderful Coat
• Prayer – I Can Talk to God
• Noah’s Ark
• Adam and Eve
• God Made Me and I’m Special
• Creation Day Seven – On the Seventh Day God Rested
• Creation Day Six – Animals on Land and Man
• Creation Day Five – Creatures in the Seas and Sky
• Creation Day Four – Sun, Moon and Stars
• Creation Day Three – Seas, Lands and Plants
• Creation Day Two – God Created the Sky
• Creation Day One – God Created Light

Religious Education Resource Articles:

• Timelines
• Story Sequencing Activities
• Assessing Student Progress
• Using Technology in Your Classroom
• How to Keep Disruptive Behavior Down to a Minimum
• Organize Your Materials
• Introductory Letter to Parents
• Lesson Planning
• Discipline in the Classroom
• Helping Hands Chart
• Special Needs Students – Information to Gather from Parents
• Preparing Your Religious Education Classroom

Featured Products:

Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com

Advent, Christmas Epiphany in the Domestic Church – Great activities to celebrate these important liturgical seasons with our families, students, and parishes.

This photo is a Catholic Mom’s desperate attempt to catch her eighth grade son in all his line-dancing glory!  Unfortunately, Adam’s moves were too smooth for me to capture with a camera, but the blur you see in the center of this photo was the evening’s best line dancer (not that I’m biased at all!)

Read more about our wonderful tradition of Christmas pageants over at Faith and Family Live! in my post today.  I would love to hear about the way your school or homeschooling group celebrates the Christmas season in song and celebration!

Many thanks to Deacon Tom Fox for sharing this lovely icon of Our Lady of the New Advent.  Listen to Deacon Tom’s message on Catholic Moments #83 to contemplate Mary’s role in our lives during this season of Advent.

Click here for additional details on “Merry Christmas, New York City”

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s Catholic Mom video.  Each week on Sunday, I hope to share with you news and information about happenings at CatholicMom.com via this brief video format.

If you have news or information to share, drop a comment below or email me anytime.  I’d love to make this yet another way to celebrate the wonderful work so many of you are doing to share our faith and uplift families.

The following links and books were discussed in this week’s video:

• Catholic New Media Advent Calendar
• My Advent Calendar
• Still Going It Alone: Mothering With Faith and Finesse When the Children Have Grown by Michele Howe
• The Domestic Church: Room by Room A Mother’s Study Guide by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle
• Grace Cafe Serving Up Recipes for Faithful Mothering by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle
• Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2009 (Sacred Space)

The feast will need to take place midday, since Eric has an orchestra concert tomorrow night. I’m contemplating a variety of “purple” food to compliment this lovely penitential produce.  One potential menu item is Fr. Leo’s Purple Sauce.  Does anyone have a great cauliflower recipe to share?

Here’s the one I’m considering:

Ingredients:

* 1 head cauliflower
* 1 bunch broccoli
* 2 small onion, sliced and separated
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup vinegar
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preparation:
Wash and trim broccoli and cauliflower. Break cauliflower and broccoli into florets. Combine remaining ingredients except bacon. Toss gently and chill several hours or overnight Garnish with bacon.

Recipe Source

What are your plans for celebrating the First Sunday of Advent?

Feel free to check out the conversation and share your own thoughts and resolutions as well!

This seems like a terrific way to incorporate fun, new Advent activities into your family’s traditional celebration or a way to get started easily if you’ve never “done” Advent together as a family in the past.

To learn more, visit the Advent Adventures section of the Holy Heroes website or view this fun video.

For every day of Advent, click on the links to discover great little “gifts” from your favorite Catholic New Media “celebrities”.  You might even find a little something from a Catholic Mom!

Thanks to Sean, the Ductape Guy, from the Catholic New Media Roundup, for coordinating this awesome new way to celebrate Advent.  I’m looking forward to visiting the Calendar every day to see what’s in store!

…please watch this video and consider making a few changes in your holiday celebrations!

YouTube – Advent Conspiracy Promo Video.

nunblog: How to get a holy card from the Pope.