• Kinect – One of this year’s most popular gifts is the Kinect Sensor with Kinect Adventures! for Xbox360, which has already sold 2.5 million units in less than a month.  If you have a gamer in your house, there are some great websites to help you familiarize yourself with products before and after purchasing them.  I recommend:
  • GetGameSmart.com – Learn to set parental controls
  • PluggedIn.com – Game reviews from Focus on the Family
  • TheOnlineMom.com – Weekly video game reviews written by a “wired” mom
• Tech firms work online programs to keep kids safe – USA Today on Internet Safety for Kids
• Jumo – A Social Networking site aimed at letting users discover and support charitable causes, now in Beta
• Connecting with Youth Via Facebook - A great article for parishes and youth ministers looking to really reach teens with social networking efforts that work and have meaning
• A Parent’s Pledge to Raise a Responsible Digital Citizen – Have you discussed this important part of your role as a parent?

Featured Product - This month, we welcome your support of CatholicMom.com by making any of your online purchases through either our Amazon or Catholic Company stores.  When you make your Advent and Christmas gift purchases online through these portals, you make a small donation to CatholicMom.com.  Thank you for your continued support!

December 5, 2010 – Second Sunday of Advent

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Advent Calendar 2010
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution –  Across:  2.  Prepare;  3.  locusts;  4.  Judea;  Down:  1.  baptized

Now through December 24th, CatholicQuiz.com is offering you a 2 for 1 Advent Special. All purchases between November 20th and December 24th are eligible for a second FREE membership of the same value. Purchase any Individual, Family or Teacher Membership and receive a second one to give as a gift (a $19.95, $39.95 or $49.95 value – FREE).  Visitors who complete a purchase at CatholicQuiz.com will receive an email with an e-Gift Card Membership purchase code. This code is redeemable at www.CatholicQuiz.com/redeem any time in the future. No expiration date. No limit. Ever. Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world! Click here for more information .

Extra Activities:

• Advent Resources
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

December 12, 2010 – Third Sunday of Advent

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Advent Calendar 2010
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across: 4.  messenger;  Down:  1. disciples;  2.  Baptist;  3.  sight

December 19, 2010 – Fourth Sunday of Advent

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Advent Calendar 2010
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14 Corrected
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across:  3.  God;  4.  Emmanuel;  Down:  1.  Joseph;  2.  Dream

December 26, 2010 – The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Advent Calendar 2010
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – There won’t be any Mass Worksheets for this week.  Merry Christmas!
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution (Please note that the title on the answer key is incorrect, but this is the correct solution for this week’s puzzle.)
• Crossword – There won’t be a crossword puzzle this week.  See you in 2011!

Featured Product - This month, we welcome your support of CatholicMom.com by making any of your online purchases through either our Amazon or Catholic Company stores.  When you make your Advent and Christmas gift purchases online through these portals, you make a small donation to CatholicMom.com.  Thank you for your continued support!

Editor’s Note: Today, I am thrilled to share the following original children’s story from renowned author Katherine Valentine. This precious story is Katherine’s gift to our CatholicMom.com family of readers.  We hope you enjoy sharing this story with the children in your life and that you will visit Katherine at www.KatherineValentine.com to enjoy more of her writing.  Lisa

It was almost Christmas Eve and all the Christmas trees on Mr. Stilton’s Tree Farm had been taken home. All except the four trees that stood on a small hill behind the barn—Blue Spruce, Basil Balsam, Southern Pine and Tiny Tree.

As night slowly descended, the trees found it hard not to grow discouraged. Each one wanted more than anything to be taken home and to wear a Christmas Star, but now it looked as though their dream would never come true.

“Mr. Stilton said that if we’re not sold this Christmas, he’s turning us into firewood,” said Blue Spruce fearfully.

“Now, Blue, there’s still plenty of time left before Christmas Day arrives,” Tiny Tree said, trying hard to keep everyone’s spirits up. “I’m sure someone will come along and take us all home.”

“No one will want me,” said Blue, his branches sagging as they did under the weight of a heavy snow. “Just look at the empty space along my back. Who wants a Christmas tree that’s missing so many limbs?”

Southern Pine leaned over in the wind and sighed. “I dare say, Mr. Spruce that you have a far better chance of being chosen than I do,” she said in a soft southern voice. “Just look at me. All these branches and not one pine needle.”

It was true. Southern Pine hadn’t a one.

“Why, I’m as naked as a Jay Bird,” she said sadly. “No one wants a Christmas tree without pine needles.”

“Now, let’s not give up hope,” encouraged Tiny Tree. He couldn’t bear to see everyone so sad. “Why, I bet there are plenty of folks still left who haven’t chosen their Christmas tree.”

Basil Balsam forced back a tear. “It’s hard to have hope when everything seems so…so…hopeless.”

Basil had been passed over several times this week.  Folks said that he had too much trunk and too few limbs.

“Blue Spruce is right. We’ll probably all end up as firewood.”

With everyone growing so sad, it was hard for Tiny Tree to keep up a brave face. He, too, had hoped to be chosen this Christmas to wear a Christmas Star. It was the highest honor a Christmas tree could hope for. But Tiny Tree was just 41½ inches tall. Too big to sit on a table, yet too small to be placed on the floor which was why everyone that had visited the farm in search of a perfect Christmas tree had passed him by.

Folks just shook their heads and said, “He’s just too tall.” Or “He’s just too small.” And then they would wind their way along the paths that lead to another tree that was just right.

Just as his branches were about to sag, an old woodsman came crashing out of the forest, dragging a large, empty sleigh. A pack of dogs nipped at his heals.

“Get back, you mongrels!” he shouted. “Smelly brutes.”

A large black and white Great Dane, the size of a small pony began to sniff at the edges of Southern Pine’s branches.

“Dear me!” she exclaimed, drawing them aside.

The woodsman ignored Southern Pine’s protests, walking right past her to pause in front of the Tiny Tree.

“Now what do we have here?” he asked, rubbing a chin full of whiskers as he looked Tiny Tree up and down.

Tiny Tree felt his branches quiver with excitement. Maybe he was going to get to wear a Christmas Star after all.

“I need a Christmas tree for my cabin,” the woodsman explained. “Something small that the dogs can’t knock over.”

He eyed the dogs darkly then stepped back and titled his head to one side.

“I bet if I strung a rope around your middle and hoisted you up over the rafters, these mongrels wouldn’t be able to knock you over.”

Tiny Tree had often imagined himself dressed in gold and silver balls that dangled from his limbs and small white lights peeking out from among his pine needles. But he’d always pictured himself standing straight and tall on a brightly polished floor. He had never thought about being hung from the ceiling.

“Stand back,” the woodsman told the dogs as he pulled the sleigh around, parking it right in front of Tiny Tree.

“Just jump aboard,” he instructed.

Tiny Tree gathered his branches and was about to take a giant leap, when he happened to glance at Blue whose branches drooped sadly towards the ground.

He and Blue had been friends since seedlings, and he hated to see him so sad, but what could he do?  The woodsman couldn’t use two trees.

Then suddenly he had a wonderful idea!

“Mr. Woodsman,” he began. “Have you taken a look  at Blue Spruce? I think he would make a much better choice.”

“You do?” asked the woodsman.

“I would?” echoed Blue Spruce in great surprise.

“Yes, you would.” Tiny Tree explained. “Blue Spruce hasn’t any back branches which means he would fit perfectly in the corner of your cabin, safely out of the way of your racing dogs. And besides, it’s awful hard to decorate a Christmas tree when it’s hanging from the rafters.”

“You do have a point there, Tiny Tree,” the woodsman walking over to Blue Spruce and examining him more closely.

“He would fit nicely in the corner next to the fireplace. And it’s true that my dogs couldn’t knock over a tree that was tucked neatly into a corner. By golly…I’ll take him!”

So, the woodsman did as Tiny Tree suggested and asked Blue Spruce to hop onto his sleigh. Then he threw thick, brown rope over his shoulder and started up the hill towards home, dragging the sleigh behind as the dogs once again nipped at his heels.

“Well, at least one of us will get to wear a Christmas Star,” Basil Balsam said with a sad wistful note, watching his friend disappear into the woods.

Southern Pine agreed, heaving a mournful sigh.

Several moments later, an elderly couple came tottering up the path.

“Watch you step, Ma,” the man told his wife, carefully leading her up the steep hill.

Tiny Tree straightened his trunk and shook out his branches to display them as their finest. The couple was headed their way.

“What do you think, Ma?” the old man asked, walking right past Southern Pine to study the Tiny Tree.

“It’s certainly a nice little tree,” the old woman said thoughtfully. “But we have so many ornaments. I don’t think they’ll all fit.”

Southern Pine sniffled, watching her chance at wearing a Christmas Star fade. The sound filled Tiny Tree with a deep sadness and he knew at that moment, he just couldn’t let himself be chosen over Southern Pine.

So, he asked the old couple. “How many ornaments do you have?”

“We have too many to count,” the old man confessed. “Some were given us by friends and others by our children and then our grandchildren. Why, we’ve been collecting them ever since we got married. That was fifty years ago.”

The old woman sadly shook her head. “But we only use a few because no tree can hold them all.”

“Southern Pine could!” exclaimed Tiny Tree. “Her branches have lots of room, especially since she doesn’t have any pine needles to get in the way.”

The couple turned to examine Southern Pine more closely.

“Tiny Tree does have a point, Ma,” the old man said, looking over Southern Pine’s bare limbs. He took a measuring tape out from his back pocket and began to measure her from top to bottom.

“Why, it just might work, Ma,” he said with a note of excitement in his voice. “Without pine needles, I bet we could fit them all.”

“Oh, Pa, the children and grandchildren would be so pleased to see all of their ornaments displayed,” the old woman said, clapping her hands with glee.

And so, the old man and the old woman took Southern Pine to their home at the edge of town. That year, the couple took down all the ornaments they had stored in their attic and found every one fit along Southern Pine’s bare branches.

Back on the farm, it was growing dark. There were no other trees to help stop the cold winter wind that blew over the fields. Basil Balsam and Tiny Tree shivered.

“Well, I guess it’s just you and me,” Basil Balsam said, feeling as hopeless as a Christmas tree without a Christmas Star could be.

Tiny Tree searched his brain for something cheerful to say, when a young boy and girl came bounding up the hill.

“Look, Basil!” he shouted, pointing a quivering branch in their direction. “There’s still hope that one of us might wear a Christmas Star.”

“They’re probably going to pick you, and I’ll be firewood by tomorrow,” Basil said, forlornly.

“Hurry up, Johnny,” the girl told her brother.

The sun had just slipped over the hills and the lights from the village hadn’t yet been turned on. Shadows hid the path.

“It’s almost Christmas Eve,” she said. “We need to find a tree before it gets too dark.”

Their mother was in the hospital and the children wanted to surprise her with a Christmas tree. They thought it would help to cheer her up.

The children stopped in front of Tiny Tree.

“This one will do nicely,” the girl said.

“I think so, too” agreed the boy. “It would fit perfectly in our mother’s hospital room.”

Basil Balsam’s deep, mournful sigh echoed across the farm.

“Passed over again,” he lamented.

Tiny Tree’s heart nearly broke. He couldn’t bear to see his friend so sad. So, although Tiny Tree knew that this was his last chance to wear a Christmas Star, he decided to give it away to his friend.

“Is your mother in a hospital bed?” Tiny Tree asked the children.

They nodded.

Tiny Tree shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid that she would never be able to see me if I were placed on the floor, and I’m much too big to sit on a table.”

“He’s right,” the boy said, turning to leave. “Come on. Let’s go. We’ll have to think of something else to cheer her up.”

“You can’t celebrate Christmas without a Christmas tree,” the girl sobbed.

“”You can still surprise your mother with a Christmas tree,” Tiny Tree said, waving a branch in Basil’s direction. “He would be the perfect tree. He has a long truck and high branches just right for viewing form a hospital bed.”

“Why, yes!” the boy exclaimed, taking a step back.

“”Why didn’t we see that before?” the girl asked, as she envisioned how beautiful Basil Balsam would look with his branches reaching up over he mother’s bed, decorated with stands of tiny white lights, gaily colored glass ornaments and a string of popcorn laced around his branches.

And so the boy and girl gently laid Basil Balsam on their red wagon and started down the hill.

Night was quickly falling. Shadows thickened across the snowy hills that encircled the village, and the night sky grew as dark as black ink.  Stars appeared and shown like a thousand polished diamonds.

Tiny Tree looked out over the empty tree farm, his pine needles chattering in the winter night’s breeze. He was the only tree left on Mr. Stilton’s Tree Farm. Everyone else had been taken home.

He thought about Blue Spruce tucked in a corner of the woodman’s cabin; his branches covered in tinsel and bright colored lights. And the sound of the dogs racing happily about as the woodsman smoked a pipe, the smoke curling up the chimney.

Then he pictured Southern Pine with her branches gaily colored with hundreds of cherished ornaments, displaying them proudly to all of Ma and Pa’s children and grandchildren.

As he pictured Basil Balsam, beside the hospital bed, decorated with paper chains and strings of popcorn, smiling at the way the mother’s eyes lit up with joy as she gathered her children close to her side.

But mostly, Tiny Tree pictured each of his friends with their top branch held high and a Christmas Star perched on their heads. And, although he was glad for his friends, he was a little sad, knowing that he would never get to wear a Christmas star.

….And tomorrow, Mr. Stilton would chop him up for firewood.

“I hope I make for a warm fire,” he said, gazing down at his trunk.

Just then the sound of church bells rang out in the distance. It was Christmas Eve. Christmas carolers joined the church bells and drifted up from the village down below.

Tiny Tree watched as colored lights twinkled gaily over doorways and lampposts, and when he leaned just a little to the left, he could see around the corner of the big red barn at the bottom of the hill to spy the twelve foot Christmas tree that stood on the town’s green, a giant red star poised on its head.

Slowly, his spirit began to lift as the wonder of Christmas, like fairy dust, softly fell across his heart. He closed his eyes and drank in its magic.

“Tiny Tree,” a voice echoed from the night’s sky.

He looked up and what he saw made him quiver all over. Why, an angel was slowly drifting down from among the stars. He was as tall as Mr. Stilton’s barn and was dressed in a robe that sparked with jewels.

“My name is Gabriel,” the angel told him and when he spoke, his voice sounded like the tinkling of hundreds of tiny bells. “God has sent me with a gift for you.”

“A gift? For me?” Tiny Tree stammered.

“God has seen how you gave away that which you treasured the most, the chance to wear a Christmas Star. By your compassion for others, you have shown that you possess the real spirit of Christmas.”

“I did?” Tiny Tree’s voice shook.

“You put the love of others before yourself and in doing so, you allowed God to share His love through you.”

“But I only did it because I didn’t want them to be sad. And I knew how much it meant for them to wear a Christmas Star,” Tiny Tree explained.

Gabriel smiled. “And wasn’t that your dream as well?”

“Yes, well….”

Gabriel’s smile broadened as he removed a golden trumpet from the folds of his robe. Putting it to his lips, he blew. At the sound of the trumpet, the heavens opened and the night sky flooded with a brilliant ray of golden light.

“Wow!” Tiny Tree shouted as hundreds of angels appeared.

“These are the angels who announced the birth of a Savior to the field full of shepherds,” Gabriel explained. Then he bent closer to Tiny Tree and whispered, “Look, they carry a star.”

It was unlike any Christmas Star that Tiny Tree had ever seen and filled the valley with a dazzling white light.

“This is the star that once pointed the way to a manger,” Gabriel said.

“It’s so bright!” Tiny Tree said, shading his eyes.

“That’s because it carries the light of God’s love,” Gabriel said. “The same love that you showed when you gave away what you treasured most. It is the love you displayed for your friends that has earned you the honor of wearing the brightest Christmas Star of all, the Bethlehem Star.”

Gabriel beckoned the angels to gather around and to place the star upon Tiny Tree’s highest branch. Tiny Tree could hardly contain his joy as golden rays of light blazed out from the star, illuminating the dark night.

The angels began to sing, their voice sweetly washing over the night skies….

O Holy Night…a star was brightly shining…

Tiny Tree stood straight and tall, as the Bethlehem Star shown out over the world. And at that moment, he knew that Christmas wasn’t about wearing a star or the gaily wrapped packages tucked beneath branches.

The true spirit of Christmas was knowing that we are loved by God.

The End

Copyright 2010 Katherine Valentine

Q: Please briefly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your family.

My name is Teresa Smith. I’m a singer, vocal instructor and homeschooling mother of eight. I’m married to my wonderful husband David who is a music producer for many Catholic recording artists. Also, I happen to sing the theme song, “Blooming”, for the Catholic Moments podcast.

Q: Please give us an overview of the “Gregorian Chant for Kids” project? How did it get started?

Gregorian Chant for Kids is a CD recording designed to introduce children (and families unfamiliar with Chant) to Gregorian Chant. It is unique in that it is performed exclusively by children rather than by adults. Along with the CD, we also offer download-able .pdf files of simplified notation and phonetic pronunciation of the Latin to make it easier to learn.

The idea came about when David was working with a Catholic recording artist at the studio, helping with production on her Gregorian Chant CD in 2008. David and I were both struck with the beauty and the sacred and reverent “other-worldliness” of the chants while working on that CD. After those recording sessions were completed, David and I were driving this artist back to the airport and we were having a conversation about our kids and how they love to sing. During the conversation, this artist briefly said something like “you ought to consider making a chant CD with your kids”, or something to that effect. David and I thought it was an interesting idea but nothing really registered. However, after a few weeks, and like most decisions in our life, during our time in adoration, David and I noticed the idea kept coming back to us. Soon we began to feel urgency about following through with the idea. We knew the idea would fit in well with our homeschooling activities whether anyone else would be interested in the CD or not, helping to meet our music requirements in their education. We also noticed that there was nothing else being made available by any other home school curriculum that taught children how to sing chants. We noticed most recordings were sung by adults or poorly recorded too. We felt that children would learn best by hearing voices most like their own.

Q: Who are the kids involved in the CD and how did they learn to sing Gregorian Chant?

The children involved are our own children: Nate, Patrick, Brian and Regina. We have two older teens whose voices just don’t sound like children’s anymore! And we have two younger boys too young to sing. We taught them chant simply by taking time everyday to sit down, as you would in a music class, going over the pronunciation and practicing the melodies in sections. Once we had a whole chant completed, we’d take them to our recording studio (which is attached to our home) and record that chant. Then we’d start the process over for the next chant. Finally, David adds the organ parts and mixes everything. It took about 3 months to get everything recorded but the kids loved it. Plus, we just consider it a part of the home schooling curriculum and they kids love being able to sing the chants at the Latin Mass.

Q: What is your goal for the project?

First, we feel that God’s calling for us in this project and future chant projects is to provide an accessible musical resource that families use to introduce their children to this beautiful musical treasury of the Church so that it does not become lost. We want families to know that is possible for their children to learn chant – and that children truly enjoy it!

Second, we love being able to provide a recording that is so unique with the children’s voices. Listeners have said over and over that it is so beautiful and angelic to hear the chants being sung by children’s voices. Very soothing and prayerful.

Q: What type of reaction have you received to the CD?

The reactions to the CD range from strong to ecstatic. As I mentioned above, many people tell us they don’t use the CD to teach children; they just love it for listening pleasure. The comment we hear most often is that they imagine angels singing sounds like.

Q: What do the kids think about having their own CD?

They are genuinely excited and very proud of it because they weren’t sure they could do it when we first began. Also, we can tell they feel a real sense of accomplishment when they see David packaging and shipping out a large order of the CD’s to distributors like Catholic Heritage Curricula, who have made the CD a part of their curriculum. They often talk about all of the hard work they put into it.

Q: Do you have plans for future “Chant for Kids” CDs?

Yes, we are currently working on Volume 2. Plus, we will be making teaching DVD’s for Volumes 1 and 2 that include little music lessons for each chant to provide even more help for families to teach their children Gregorian chant. We will keep producing volumes until we run out of chants or until all our children reach puberty and their voices change! Also, we are working on a CD/DVD for teaching children how to sing the older, pre-Vatican II, English language hymns of the Church.

Q: How can readers order the CD and find more information about Chant for Kids?

People can get more information on our website: www.ChantforKids.com

Q: Are there any closing thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

I would just like to encourage families to introduce themselves to Gregorian chant. It is well worth the effort because they’ll be learning a singularly Catholic, beautiful and reverent musical treasure of our Church. At the same time I would encourage anyone who simply would love to be soothed and their faith inspired to buy Gregorian Chant for Kids!

I hope you enjoy the following video of the Smith family singing Gregorian Chant for Kids and that you’ll check out www.ChantforKids.com and consider sharing Gregorian Chant with the special children in your life!

Video Link

First Sunday of Advent

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Advent Calendar 2010
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across: 3.  Advent;  4.  Awake;  Down:  1.  Man;  2.  Matthew
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

Now through December 24th, CatholicQuiz.com is offering you a 2 for 1 Advent Special. All purchases between November 20th and December 24th are eligible for a second FREE membership of the same value. Purchase any Individual, Family or Teacher Membership and receive a second one to give as a gift (a $19.95, $39.95 or $49.95 value – FREE).  Visitors who complete a purchase at CatholicQuiz.com will receive an email with an e-Gift Card Membership purchase code. This code is redeemable at www.CatholicQuiz.com/redeem any time in the future. No expiration date. No limit. Ever. Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world! Click here to purchase.

Extra Activities:

• Advent Resources
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:

Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family - Here’s a treasure trove of exciting ideas that will enable your family to focus anew on preparing for the holy time of Advent and Christmas! With a fresh, lively set of suggestions that will attract young and old alike, Joy to the World will help lay the foundation for long-lasting family memories. View sample pages. Joy to the World takes a three-pronged approach to the season:

The Advent calendar, where daily activities are organized into four categories of Service, Spiritual Growth, “Homebody,” and Pure Fun

The Evening Ritual, incorporating the Advent wreath and the Jesse tree, and featuring simplified Scriptures that young children can readily understand

The “Good Deeds Manger,” which puts the family’s focus on preparing their hearts for the coming of Christ

• Facebook Messaging - This week, social networking giant Facebook announced a new messaging platform that will incorporate email, texting, and Facebook messages as they currently exist on the site.  The ramification for parents:  this will allow your child to receive contacts and communications from anyone that they have “friended” on Facebook, and may also let them receive contacts from “friends of friends” and others, depending upon how they configure their privacy settings.  Some teens also have their Facebook linked with mobile devices and could begin receiving even more texts than usual.  We’ll watch this story as it unfolds over the next few months, but — as always — parents need to be very vigilant about their teens’ use of social networking sites and privacy settings.
• Bishops Urged to Embrace Social Media - At this week’s Fall Assembly of the USCCB, Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana, a member of the USCCB Communications Committee delivered an important address urging his brother bishops to embrace the potential of social media.  This doesn’t necessarily mean more “Facebooking” bishops, but hopefully it means that their staffs will receive the funding and policy permissions necessary to effectively utilize social media in ministering to Catholic families.  As parents, we need support and guidance from our spiritual shepherds in forming our children’s consciences around the use of these tools.
• Parents Television Council Report – From the PTC website, news on this newly released look at the prevelance of television programming online: “In a new report, the Parents Television Council™ found that four of the most popular online distributors of commercially-generated video are failing to protect kids from explicit content. PTC’s report, “Untangling the Web of Internet Video” is the most comprehensive on the matter to date and includes Hulu (NBC/Universal, Fox and Disney/ABC), Fancast (Comcast), /Slashcontrol (AOL) and AT&T. Each provider was graded on the effectiveness of its content ratings, homepage content decency, advertiser accountability and parental controls.”  Read the report here.
• Cell Phones and Cancer Risks - The New York Times reported again this week on cell phone manufacturers advising consumers to hold mobile devices at a distance from their head and ears.  Pregnant women are also advised to keep phones away from the abdomen.  Children’s use of these devices should also be limited to avoid radiation exposure.

Check back next Wednesday for our next Tech Notes update and be sure to join me Thursday at 8:50 am ET/5:50 am PT on the Son Rise Morning Show with Brian Patrick.

The Solemnity of Christ the King

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across: 2.  jeered;  3.  king;  4.  Jews;  Down:  1.  Paradise
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

Now through December 24th, CatholicQuiz.com is offering you a 2 for 1 Advent Special. All purchases between November 20th and December 24th are eligible for a second FREE membership of the same value. Purchase any Individual, Family or Teacher Membership and receive a second one to give as a gift (a $19.95, $39.95 or $49.95 value – FREE).  Visitors who complete a purchase at CatholicQuiz.com will receive an email with an e-Gift Card Membership purchase code. This code is redeemable at www.CatholicQuiz.com/redeem any time in the future. No expiration date. No limit. Ever. Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world! Click here to purchase.

Extra Activities:

• Advent Resources
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:

Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Celebrate the Season! Twelve Short Stories for Advent & Christmas – Catholic Quick Reads—short stories that bring faith to life for readers ages 8–12.  Especially appropriate for Advent and Christmas, these short stories remind children that Jesus “comes” to us every day—and in many ways—when we open our hearts to him. Ideal for middle-grade readers, ages 8–11. Celebrate the Season! includes discussion questions after each story, making it perfect for classroom and homeschool use.

Story titles and authors for this collection:

• Katie’s Advent Countdown—By Teresa Levandoski
• Christmas All Year Round—By Natacha Sanz-Caballero
• Love Forever—By Diana R. Jenkins
• Christmas Baby—By Diana R. Jenkins
• Happy Wigilia!—By Barbara Kent Belroy
• A Giving Heart—By Diana R. Jenkins
• An Unexpected Gift—By Clare Mishica
• O Holy Night—By Carol A. Grund
• Secret Friends—By Diana R. Jenkins
• Lighting Up the Darkness—By Eugene M. Gagliano
• Thanks a Million!—By Diana R. Jenkins
• The Day of the Three Kings—By Kathleen M. Muldoon

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across:  2.  Earthquakes;  3.  lives;  Down:  1.  deceived;  4.  sky
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Advent Resources
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

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.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across:  3.  Sadducees;  4.  Rise;  Down:  1.  angels;  2.  Luke
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Jotham’s Journey: A Storybook for Advent – In this widely popular, exciting story for the advent season, readers follow ten-year-old Jotham across Israel as he searches for his family. Though he faces thieves, robbers, and kidnappers, Jotham also encounters the wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers until at last he finds his way to the Savior born in Bethlehem.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution –  Across:   4. sycamore;  Down:  1. Zacchaeus; 2. Possessions;  3. Salvation
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Loyola Kids Book of Saints by Amy Welborn - Who are the saints, why are they important, and what can today’s children learn from them? In Loyola Kids Book of Saints, the first book in the Loyola Kids series, author Amy Welborn answers these questions with exciting and inspiring stories, real-life applications, and important information about these heroes of the church. This delightful collection of saints’ lives, written in a storybook style for children eight to twelve, explains how saints becomes saints, why we honor them, and how they help us even today.  Divided thematically, the book features more than sixty saints from all over the world and from all across time, including our newest saints, such as St. Katharine Drexel; popular saints, such as St. Anthony of Padua; and Blesseds, such as Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. Each story tells about a saint and encourages readers to consider how they might apply what they learn from the story to their everyday lives.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across:  3.Necessity;  Down:  1. Bothering;  2. Adversary;  4.Chosen
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul – uthor Lisa Hendey is the creator of CatholicMom.com–an online community that welcomed over 400,000 unique visitors in the past year and reaches women in over one hundred countries.  Drawing from the deep tradition of the Catholic faith, Lisa Hendey coaches Catholic moms how to care for themselves–heart, mind, body, and soul–so that they can better love and care for their families, their neighbors, and their Church.  With warmth and wisdom, Hendey creates an environment where Catholic moms can reflect peacefully upon often-competitive topics like parenting style, types of schooling, and working outside the home. By sharing her own story, Hendey inspires readers to better balance their own needs with the demands of family life and faith commitment.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across:  4.Glorifying;  Down:  1.Village;  2.Cleansed;  3.Foreigner
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Olivia and the Little Way – Fifth grader Olivia Thomas has moved to a new school in a new state, and is eager to make friends! Her best friend quickly becomes someone she has never seen: St. Therese of Lisieux. Follow Olivia’s trials as she tries to fit in at St. Michael’s School. With the help of her grandmother, she learns about the Little Way of serving God and how it can change everything!

Editor’s Note: Olivia and the Little Way by Nancy Carabio Belanger is one of my favorite new books for a few reasons. First off, it is a wonderful, engaging story! Secondly, without being dogmatic the author is able to lovingly teach the reader about many of the important precepts of St Therese of Lisieux, one of the most important saints and a Doctor of the Catholic Church. The life lessons shared in this book are wonderful for a middle school aged audience, but the story will capture the hearts of a much more broad audience (including the moms of the those middle schoolers!)

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
• Solution – Across:  4.Unprofitable;  Down:  1.Uprooted; 2.increase; 3.commanded
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Catholic Word Games – Here is a fun-filled book packed with loads of Catholic-themed word games, crosswords, word searches, and quizzes. The various games cover topics from Church history, the Bible, the Catechism, and sacred Tradition. Challenging and enjoyable for teens and adults. Religion teachers will also love these puzzles for use in class or as homework assignment.
Catechist Corner, Catechists, Catholic Lesson Plans, Catholic Mom Lesson Plans, Children’s Activities, education, Gospel Activity, Homeschooling, Lesson Plans, Religious Education Resources, Sunday’s Gospel

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

This week, Dione Grillo has another great giveaway.  Check her latest column and leave a comment to enter to win!

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan and Related Activities
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
  Solution – Across: 4.  garments;  Down:  1.  Lazarus;  2.  Comforted;  3.  persuaded
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

The Catechist’s Toolbox: How to Thrive As a Religion Education Teacher – Each year, roughly one-third of the more than five hundred thousand volunteer catechists in Catholic parishes are new to the job; they come with little formal training for their work and are essentially students themselves, quickly needing to learn how to prepare a lesson, lead a discussion, supervise children, apply discipline, and help kids grow in their faith. The Catechist’s Toolbox by Joe Paprocki is an invaluable collection of techniques, tips, methodologies, and advice for all catechists who must learn on the job. Paprocki shares the wisdom he has gleaned in two decades as a catechist, high school teacher, and religious educator. Employing the metaphor of a homeowner’s toolbox, Paprocki explains how a catechist is like a do-it-yourself builder who needs the right collection of tools to do the job; throughout the book, Paprocki explains what the tools are, what they can do, and how to use them skillfully and effectively. The Catechist’s Toolbox will help first-time catechists feel at home in their new role and will empower catechists at all levels of experience to thrive as educators of the faith.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

This week, Dione Grillo has another great giveaway.  Check her latest column and leave a comment to enter to win!

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan and Related Activities
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
  Solution – Across:  3.  ashamed;  4.  Prudently;  Down:  1.  Masters;  2.  Squandering
• Catholic Quiz of the Week Questions and Solutions

CatholicQuiz.com launches CatholicQuiz of the Week at CatholicMom. This brand new FREE resource will help parents, catechists and teachers prepare families and students for the Sunday liturgy and reflect on the Mass readings for the week. CatholicQuiz of the Week is a 7-question quiz and a reflection on a theme drawn from the readings and includes great discussion questions, an answer key and reference information.  Check out  CatholicQuiz.com, a great new resource for families, parishes and classrooms!  Help your children, students and parishioners learn more about our faith with a trusted, enjoyable resource!  Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Extra Activities:

• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• Pre K Lesson Plans – Updated Regularly
• Religious Education Articles by Laura Grace
• Homeschooling Resources
• Puppet/skit scripts at CatholicMom.com
• Teaching Catholic Kids - Great Resources from Our Sunday Visitor
• To Teach – Great Resources from USCCB

Featured Product:
Thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com!  A small portion of your purchase price goes to CatholicMom.com and enables us to continue providing these resources free of charge for families and parishes around the world.

Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul – Drawing from the deep tradition of the Catholic faith, Lisa Hendey coaches Catholic moms how to care for themselves―heart, mind, body, and soul―so that they can better love and care for their families, their neighbors, and their Church.  With warmth and wisdom, Hendey creates an environment where Catholic moms can reflect peacefully upon often-competitive topics like parenting style, types of schooling, and working outside the home. By sharing her own story, Hendey inspires readers to better balance their own needs with the demands of family life and faith commitment.

You can obtain information on the book and order a copy for yourself or a friend through The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More, or Barnes & Noble.

Reviews of The Handbook for Catholic Moms

Catholic Bookstores selling The Handbook for Catholic Moms

Q:  Thanks so much Lori for joining us for this Spotlight interview!  Please tell us a bit about yourself and your family.

To start, I would like to credit my husband of 25 years, Randy, for making it possible for me to be a stay at home mother- which will always be my greatest achievement.  We have three wonderful, hardworking children, ages 23, 19 &11, without them all,  I would not have had the experiences, time or support needed to write the story.

Q:  What motivated you to write this book?

My children have been in Catholic Schools for 19 consecutive years now and the lack of a fun, Catholic centered, chapter book for them to read is what inspired me to write, Angel or Not? Angel for Sure.  I wanted our daughter to have a book that was centered on her school and her faith. At the same time, I wanted her to have a book that she could connect with and relate to as a young girl in Catholic school.

Q:  How did you enjoy the writing process?

Although I am a dental hygienist by profession and most of my education was geared toward the sciences, I’ve always enjoyed writing.  I started by putting the words down and the story seemed to develop before me.  It has been a wonderful experience.

Q:  For those who have not yet read Angel or Not? Angel for Sure could you please give us a brief overview of the book’s plot?

The story is about a young girl named Angel, who is entering the 4^th grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School.  It is the end of summer and she has been excitedly awaiting school to start; but from the moment the bell rings she finds that nothing goes as she had expected.  To start with, there is a new teacher in the school named Sister Rita that ends up being Angel’s teacher.  Then, Angel is confronted with a bully from second grade and has to make the decision to be an Angel or Not? The choice to- do the right thing or not, keeps Angel on her toes.   Like every child, at times, she doesn’t choose wisely and must pay the consequences for her choices.  The story has a strong family presence as Angel often turns to her Mother, Father and siblings for advice and support.  It is a fiction story but the characters are depicted in real life circumstances making it easy for the reader to connect with Angel or any of the characters.

I have incorporated saints, sisters and priests in a variety of ways throughout the story to support our Catholic faith, morals and teachings.  There are bolded words within the story that are defined in a “word bank” in the back of the book for teachers to encourage their students to use in order to increase their vocabulary skills.

Q:  I fell in love with Angel, the main character in this book.  Does she resemble anyone special in your life?

Oh yes.   Angel was patterned after my daughter, Alexis.   But the experiences that Angel has are more of a combination of events from my own childhood and from those of all my children.  How does her faith help her through the challenges she encounters? I believe our faith helps us in every aspect of our life, just as it does for Angel.  It gives us the strength to do the right thing, even when it might be difficult. Angel makes the decision, of right or wrong, often in her daily life – just like all children and adults.  Life is full of choices and your faith undoubtedly is an influence.   At times, we make poor decisions and Angel is no exception.  Her choices are not always the best choice, but she learns that with every decision or choice she makes, there is a consequence.  Our faith guides us, just as it does Angel, during our moral decisions and it is important in building firm values.

Q:  I’ve read on your website that you intend to give a large portion of your proceeds to The Heart Gallery.

Please tell us about this non-profit organization and what has motivated you to assist them with your writing. The Heart Gallery is a photographic gallery of children in the foster care system that are available for adoption.  The gallery is displayed in churches, malls and public venues and is instrumental in increasing the placement of children into loving, permanent families.

Although I was never in foster care, I was an adopted child.   I was very fortunate and always felt extremely blessed to have two, amazing people that chose to be my parents.  I was loved and cared for, and most importantly, I was a member of a family.  One year, during Lent when we were trying to fill our rice bowls with money, I told my parents ‘If I get a dime from everyone I meet I will be able to feed all the hungry children.”  It was a big vision, but since it began, I have hoped to one day make a profound difference in the lives of children.

Once the book was written, I knew that it was the opportunity that would allow my childhood dream to come true.  I have decided to donate 75% of the profits from the sales of the book to the Children of the Heart Gallery, of Tampa.  With the monies generated, I will be helping the children in foster care to have a better childhood, while they await adoption.

Q:  You’ve written a book that is overtly Catholic in its perspective.  Was this a conscious decision and how has the book been received by the Catholic schools in your area?

It was definitely a conscious decision.  I intentionally wrote the book in a Catholic school setting so that all Catholic children can associate with the characters.   When they read the book I want them to find a level of comfort and familiarity that they don’t find when reading a secular story. Catholic children need to know that there are other children all across the world that pray in school, read about saints, go to mass or say the rosary during school time.

The book was published in April and available in May 2010.  I took it to my daughter’s school to have the children, teachers and principal review and critique the story.    To say I was very worried, was an understatement, I was extremely nervous about how it would be received.  Then, after the first week I started having children come up to me around the school just to tell me how much they liked the book and how they couldn’t wait until the next one comes out.  I do not think I can convey in words how touched I was then, and still am, every time a child tells me they love the story.  The principal and teachers at St. Lawrence Catholic School have all been very complimentary. They are as excited as I am to have a book for our students to read, that relates to their daily lives.

Q:  I know that the artwork in the book was created by a very talented illustrator.  Please share this artists’ background with us.

The illustrator is our middle son, Michael “Mickey” Diez.  Although he doesn’t feel that he is very talented we believe otherwise.  He sketched the pictures for my book over his Christmas holiday and in between his college semesters.  Mickey went to Jesuit High School in Tampa where he was honored as the first junior to receive the schools “Best of Show” for his art work, a title usually given to more experienced senior students.  He still draws and sketches for fun and relaxation.  Like all of our children, he continues to make us proud.

Q:  You’ve left the door open for a sequel – what are your plans for Angel in the future?  Oh yes, in the back of the book you will find a “teaser” for the next book.

The second book is presently titled, Angel or Not?  Ohhh so Not! I have completed one third of the story and hope to have it out in the spring of 2011.  As with the first book I believe the moral lessons Angel learns will benefit all children.  I have been asked how many books I am planning to write.  I do leave that door open but would like to have four books with Angel being in fourth grade.

Q:  You’re currently hosting a writing contest to encourage young readers.  Could you tell our readers about how they might get their children involved in this contest?

I really do believe that if we are going to read we should learn more than just a story, we should learn a lesson.

The “Story Contest” is about anti-bulling and is an educational tool for teachers (or parents) to help open discussion about bulling and to get their students involved in putting an end to this national epidemic.  Writing a story about how to handle or stop a bully from being a bully, just as Angel did, will hopefully increase awareness among the children that -bulling is not an option.  Our children know right from wrong and the more open we are that bulling exists the better chance we have of helping our children stop it.

So, the contest is for any child interested in writing their own Anti-Bulling story. Their teacher or parent can submit their story to me at: ContactUs@AngelforSure.com .  They can visit the website: www.AngelforSure.com, for more contest rules, timeline and prize information.  The winning stories will be published on the website.

Q:  Lori, thank you for your time and for Angel or Not? Angel for Sure Are there any closing thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

When my children were young, I would remind them to “do the right thing” and “Be the best you can be” – The choice must be theirs to make, just as the consequences will be theirs to live with.

At the end of my story I have written what I believe any child would benefit from reading, and just in case you are reading this interview, but choose not to read the book,  I would like to include it here:

Life is full of lessons.  Just like Angel, you can help yourself by taking responsibility for your actions.  Ask yourself if you are doing the right thing… and listen to the angel inside you, before you act.   Thank you for having me it has been a true pleasure.

Order Angel or Not? Angel for Sure and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase.

While at a recent conference, I met Marlena Shell, the producer of the three part DVD series Little Steps through the Eyes of a Child. Marlena was kind enough to share the following information about the series:

Have you ever dreamed of taking them to the Holy Land?  As the primary teacher in your children’s faith formation a trip to Israel would allow you to show your children the holy sites that they read about in the Bible. You could show them the actual places where Jesus Christ traveled, performed miracles, was crucified and even the tomb from which He arose.

We are all curious about our heritage.  Where did out grandparents, great-grandparents and other early family members live? How did they live? What was life like for them? What places are important to our family’s history??

As Christians, we are inquisitive about our faith heritage. What was life like 2000 years ago?  Where was Christ born and where did he grow as a child??  What would it be like to view the Holy Sites described in the Bible where Jesus traveled, performed His miracles and lived out His ministry??

“Little Steps…Walk With Jesus” takes you on this journey without having to leave your home. This three disc DVD series was filmed entirely on location and at some sites not accessible to the general public.

Accompany Rachel and Rebecca as they visit the Holy Sites that are most significant to our Christian faith. In the first DVD, you will walk with these precious children on the path that Joseph and Mary took on their way to Bethlehem, leading to the Church of the Nativity see where Christ was born. You will also visit a period village to explore what life was like 2000 years ago during Christ’s childhood.

The second DVD takes you to the Wedding Church at Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle, then on to Holy Sites where He fed the 5000 and delivered His Sermon on the Mount.  Next you are on to Galilee where He lived with His disciples and taught us through His ministry.

In part three, you will accompany Rachel and Rebecca to the Garden where Christ was betrayed, travel with them to Jerusalem where Christ was condemned and tortured. You will witness Christ’s Passion, where He was crucified, the tomb in which He was laid and from which He rose to meet His disciples on the road to Emmaus.
You will visit the Church of the Primacy of Peter where Christ Instructed Peter to” throw His net on the other side of the boat” after His resurrection.  You will see the place where the disciples witnessed the ascension of Jesus into Heaven.

“Little Steps…Walk With Jesus” is appropriate for children and can be yours to share with your family for only $29.95 (plus S&H). These three beautiful 30 minute DVD’s will show your children that the stories and places they read about in the Bible are real and exist still today in the Holy Sites of Israel. What better way to help strengthen their faith and help them understand the Love that Christ has for each of us?

For more information or to purchase the Little Steps DVDs, visit www.LittleStepsCollection.com.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click on the links below to download each item

This week, we are giving away several copies of a great Catechist planning guide.  Click here and leave a comment for your chance to win!

• Sunday’s Gospel
• Coloring Page
• Lesson Plan and Related Activities
• Mass Worksheets – 7-10, 11-14
• Word Search – Puzzle, Solution
• Crossword – Puzzle
  Solution – Across:  4.  Belongings; Down:  1.  Celebrate;  2.  Rejoice;  3.  Righteous
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