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:

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

St. Patrick Email Exchanges

From: Patrick [pat@heaven.org]
To: God [ourfather@heaven.org]
Cc: [allsaints@heaven.org]
Subject: March 17

Dear God,

My day, March 17th, is upon us once again, and
once again I have only one question: how did my
banishing all snakes from Ireland and, among
other things, enduring six years in captivity as
well as hearing the word of the Almighty, turn
into one night of binge drinking by people with
last names such as Lapano and Kowalski who
finish the evening projectile-vomiting green-
coloured lager? As I recall, when the day was
first discussed, we talked about a literary theme
(Ireland produces a lot of writers) or maybe an
environmental motif. What did I do to deserve
this?

P.
From: God [ourfather@heaven.org]
To: Patrick [pat@heaven.org]
Cc: [allsaints@heaven.org]
Subject: Re: March 17

Dear Patrick,

I hear you, but what can I say? It’s called “Free
Will.” If I made everyone do everything I wanted,
they would never learn how to do it themselves.
Re our initial discussions: I remind you that
when you chose March 17 (the date of your
departure from the mortal world), I said it
would be a hard one to pull off. The weather is
too unpredictable, for starters. Also, it comes a
little quick after Val’s day. Speaking of which, a bit
of innovation can go a long way. Val tapped into
that whole mass-production-of-paper thing, and
it worked out very well for him. As for Nick, he
goes out the entire night and gives presents to
every kid in the world. If I recall last March 17,
you were home watching the Lakers.

Best
G-Man

From: Paul [paul@heaven.org]
To: Patrick [pat@heaven.org]
Cc: God [ourfather@heaven.org] ; [allsaints@heaven.org]
Subject: Re: Re: March 17

Dear Pat,

If you are so unhappy, you are more than welcome to
join those of us who DO NOT have our own holidays,
on November 1, All Saints’ Day. Here’s what you have
to look forward to: rain, no kids happy about
us, no treats, no presents, a bunch of broken
pumpkins everywhere. Come by any time.

Best regards
Paul : (

From: Patrick [pat@heaven.org]
To: Paul [paul@heaven.org]; [allsaints@heaven.org]
Cc: God [ourfather@heaven.org]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: March 17

Paul and Company,

It’s not about who gets what. It’s about a religious
holiday that is now a drunken orgy. There’s a difference.
But what gets to me is I never really drank!!!

P.

From: Paul [paul@heaven.org]
To: Patrick [pat@heaven.org]
Cc: God [ourfather@heaven.org] ; [allsaints@heaven.org]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: March 17

Dear Pat,

Whatever.

Paul

From: God [ourfather@heaven.org]
To: Patrick [pat@heaven.org]; Paul [paul@heaven.org]
Cc: [allsaints@heaven.org]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: March 17
All right guys, this is getting out of hand . . .
Patrick, let me remind you that in Ireland some folks
still go to church and take the day pretty seriously, at
least as seriously as the Irish can take things. Also, show
me a person with a hangover and I will show you a person
who is penitent, and show me a penitent and I’ll show you
a person on his or her way to church. So, while numbers
on the actual day may be down, bums-in-pews-wise,
Thomas More in marketing tells me they are way up on
the 18th.

As for All Saints’ — as I have said before, this is a
marathon, not a sprint. You’ll each get your days.
Remember the Feast of St. Peter in Chains? I didn’t
think so but it was huge in the eighth century.
On a more jovial note, Bernie is having his usual St.
Pat’s shindig tomorrow. If you can make it, RSVP to
[shaw@purgatory.com].

G-Man
- Published March 2007

Andrew Clark is the author of Stand and Deliver: Inside Canadian Comedy

What It Means To Be Irish

1) You will never play professional basketball.
2) You swear very well.
3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds public office. And you have at least one aunt who is a nun, or uncle who’s a priest.
4) You think you sing very well.
5) You have no idea how to make a long story short!
6) There isn’t a big difference between you losing your temper or killing someone….
7) Much of your childhood meals were boiled.. Instant potatoes were a mortal sin!
You have never hit your head on a ceiling.
9) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer (Catholic guilt forever!).
10) You’re strangely poetic after a few beers.
11) You are, therefore, poetic a lot..
12) You will be punched for no good reason….a lot.
13) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.
14) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine or Eileen and there is at least one member of your family with the full name of Mary Catherine Eileen.
15) Someone in your family is very generous. It is more than likely you.
16) You may not know the words, but that doesn’t stop you from singing.
17) You can’t wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking .
18) You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency
19) There wasn’t a huge difference between your last Wake and our last keg party.
20) You are, or know someone, named Murph.
21) If you don’t know Murph then you know Mac… If you don’t know Murph or Mac then you know Sully. Then you probably know Sully McMurphy.
22) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.
23) You have Irish Alzheimer’s… You forget everything but the grudges!
24) ‘Irish Stew’ is a euphemism for ‘boiled leftovers.’
25) All of your losses are alcohol-related (loss of virginity, loss of driver’s license, loss of money, loss of job, loss of significant other, loss of teeth from punch…) but it never stops you from drinking.
26) Your skin’s ability to tan…. Not so much.
27) At this very moment, you have at least two relatives who are not speaking to each other (not fighting, mind you, just not speaking to each other).
28) Childhood remedies for the common cold often included whiskey.
29) There’s no leaving a family party without saying goodbye for at least 45 minutes.
30) You met your husband/wife/significant other/accountant/lawyer/landscaper/etc. In a bar.
31) Recognition of one’s own limitations is the highest form of intellect!

Video Link

One of Eric’s friends had planned a party, but when that fell through Greg and I were thrilled to open our house up to the kids and to let them get together here under our supervision.

A few things we would recommend:

1. Do agree to be the party house – Kids want to get together, and in my opinion I’d rather have them in my home than anywhere else! If there here, I know they are supervised, not drinking, safe and having fun.
2. Don’t let your kid invite the entire grade – Unless you are prepared for a major blowout, keep the guest list to a reasonable count.  You can decide for your family what the definition of “reasonable” is.  For us, we felt we could safely supervise 25 friends.
3. Do have a start and end time – Most of the kids showed up either early, or right on time.  We told them they needed to be picked up or leave by 1:00 AM and all but a few had parents pick them up by that time.
4. Do maintain a watchful presence – Give the kids some space, but let them know you’re in the vicinity.  I spent two hours in the kitchen baking cookies and brownies for them.  While they knew I was nearby, since I was busy it didn’t look like I was just hanging around for no reason.
5. Do keep the menu simple – Finger foods, clear liquids (obviously non-alcoholic) and lots of sweets seemed to be the most popular items.  A few weeks ago, we ordered pizzas for this same crowd and half of them went uneaten.  The big winner last night was the Artichoke Dip.
6. Do have activity options – We have ping pong, air hockey and pool tables at the ready for teen visitors.  But last night, they spent two hours playing Cranium Family Edition – a fun game that’s a mix of charades, pictionary, and some other classics.  They also enjoyed lighting off a few safe fireworks and hanging out around a bonfire, but there require definite adult supervision.

I can’t think of a better way to have celebrated the New Year than to gather with our kids and their buddies last night – sure, we have some clean up to do today, but hopefully the memories the kids made last night will last longer than the brownie stains on the carpet!

We’re serving sparkling cider, finger foods, a variety of chocolate and the following hot artichoke dip:

Warm Artichoke Dip

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (6.5 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 clove garlic, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, Parmesan and garlic. Scoop the mixture into a medium baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven 15 minutes, or until lightly brown on top.

Recipe Source

How do you plan to ring in the New Year?  Many of you may have already started (or even ended) your celebrations while we in California are just getting warmed up!  For an extra treat, listen to Father Roderick’s special New Year’s episode of the Daily Breakfast featuring some special interviews and a big announcement about the location of the next Catholic New Media Celebration.  I’m already working on packing my bags to attend!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful, memorable start to the New Year and a blessed holy day tomorrow as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

Merry Christmas 2008 with love and prayers from the Hendey Family!
Greg, Lisa, Eric and Adam

We wish you a happy and peace filled Christmas
and a wonderful 2009!
May God richly bless you and your family
Happy Birthday Jesus!

Source

When I was growing up, my mom always took such great care to lovingly decorate our home.  Some years, I feel the urge to decorate a bit more and other years less.  This year was a great year for decorating, as Adam was a big helper and we hosted Greg’s work party, which always inspires me to take some extra steps.

Here are a few photos of our home – I’d love to see yours too, so if you post a home tour on your blog, please drop a comment below with a link so I can come visiting.  I promise to bring a tray of cookies!

Part of our outside lighting.  If it stands still, Greg will hang a strand of Christmas lights on it!
We light up the whole neighborhood.

My favorite of our Nativity Scenes.

Our guest bathroom – I try to keep the boys out of here in December!

Our “Christmas Village” – We had fun setting out all of the pieces this year!

The stockings hung by our chimney, with care, and some of my collection of angels playing the violin

A few of our favorite Santas – can you tell musicians live in my house?

Our Christmas tree and an ever present guitar in the background!

Our Advent wreath – which is also a Nativity.  This is not a very good photo of it, but I love it!

The boys’ collection of Nutcrackers standing guard over the bookshelf!

My favorite part of our Christmas decorations – our outdoor Nativity.  You will note that I have FIVE Wise Men (including twins!) and no shepherds – this is fodder for an upcoming post, but if you see any shepherds, sheep, cows, camels or other related outdoor nativity personnel for sale in your neighborhood, please purchase them for me!!  I’ll send you a check!!  I’m not really in the market for any more wise men though…

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!!

Dear Santa,

I’ve been a good mom all year. I’ve fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor’s office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out — over several Christmases.

Since I had to write this letter with my son’s red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I’ll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now – -

*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

* I’d like a pair of legs that don’t ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don’t hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

* I’d also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

* If you’re hauling big-ticket items this year, I’d like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn’t broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

* On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, ‘Yes,Mommy’ to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don’t fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

* I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, “Don’t eat in the living room!” and “Take your hands off your brother!” because my voice seems to be just out of my children’s hearing range and can
only be heard by the dog.

* If it’s too late to find any of these products, I’d settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

* If you don’t mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season.

* Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

* It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back.

Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don’t catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don’t eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours always with love and appreciation,

A Mom

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!

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

A Thanksgiving Moment from Catholic Media House on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Family Favorite Recipes from the tables of our Catholic Moms

A Child’s Grace for Thanksgiving
source:  FIRST GRACES illustrated by Tasha Tudor

May God give us grateful hearts
And keep us mindful
of the needs of others.
For food and all the gifts of love,
We give thee thanks and praise.
Look down, O Father, from above,
and bless us all our days.
Amen

Thanksgiving Resources:

• Thanksgiving Faith Cartoons
• Giving Thanks during Hard Times
• Holidays Made Simple
• Thanksgiving Drinks for Little Pilgrims
• Create Traditions, Create Memories
• Cultivating Thankfulness in our families
• Coloring Images for Thanksgiving
• Fun Thanksgiving Craft and Activity Ideas for the whole family
• Thanksgiving on a Budget
• Thanksgiving Becomes a National Holiday
• Thanksgiving Giving Ideas
• Thanksgiving – The Harvest Feast
• Thanksgiving – Walk With Thanks
• How to Be A Good Guest at Thanksgiving
• Thanksgiving “Ifs” Activity from USCCB
• Thanksgiving Family Gathering Placemat Activity from USCCB

Additional Resources:

Catholic Encyclopedia article on Thanksgiving
from New Advent

Thanksgiving Proclamation by George Washington
from EWTN

The Importance of Saying Thanks
from St. Anthony Messenger Faith Filled Family

Send a Catholic Thanksgiving E-greeting
to Your Loved Ones

Thanksgiving projects and games for the kids
from Kidsdomain.com

E-mail your favorite holiday recipe, tradition or idea to
info@catholicmom.com