Thursday, August 26, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mother Teresa

Download a coloring page/paper doll of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Be sure to download her from Box.net, though. If you click on the image   here or just print from the preview, she won't be printed well!)




I also put together my favorite Mother Teresa quotes with some drawings for a printable Mother Teresa quotes sheet. You can color and cut them out as notes to your friends, reminders on windows, messages in lunchboxes, etc.  ♥




Be sure to make time to visit this beautiful site to learn more about Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Updated to add: This printable was featured at One Pretty Things' Kids Printables Roundup. Thanks, Rachel, for sharing! And a warm hello, hot chocolate and muffiny greetings to first-time visitors from the fabulously fun One Pretty Thing.


Ready to learn about Blessed Miguel Pro?

Miguel Pro disguised as a mechanic
To prepare you for a wonderful surprise heading your way, I'm reminding you  to check out my Blessed Miguel Pro page here at Paper Dali. Get to know this funny (and fun) modern saint, then print out a free paper doll of him.

Wait ... You say you want to learn more?

Well, then hold onto your caps, my friends ... I have a surprise coming up for you very, very soon.

And I can hardly wait to share it with you!



Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Learning About the Saints


Paper Dali got a little mention in Susan Brooks-Young's article at OCP about Saints Online. Give it a read and find other places online for learning about saints with your children. Then come back here for more coloring pages about saints. Just visit the tags in the right sidebar for the list of fun.

And for visitors from OCP, enjoy some milk and cookies as a welcoming treat. (Yes, regular visitors and friends can have some, too. ♥ )


Edited to add: I would have also included Patron Saints Index (the original and best online source for saints), Faith-filled Days, Family in Feast and Feria,  and the other sites mentioned in my Resources tab (right under the blog header). If you have recommendations, be sure to let me know by leaving a comment.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Saint Perpetua

Xhonane is having a link party at Familia Catolica for Saint Perpetua. Here's what I'm taking to the party: (Para la fiesta de San Perpetua en el sitio Familia Catolica, llevo este regalito:)



Download a coloring page/paper doll of Saint Perpetua. (Like all my stuff, if you just click the picture, it won't be as nice and clean as the PDF.)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Loving Note for Mary / Notita de Amor para la Virgen Maria

In honor of today being the Assumption of Mary, I am sharing this from the archives.

To help my little guy keep track of the rosary prayers, I put together this little envelope o' loving. The idea is for Sebastian to see how prayers are sent forth. The big red heart is for the Our Father, and the 10 little hearts are the Hail Mary prayers.

This craft is very simple to make.

Materials:
red felt
white felt
brown felt
black thread & needle
scraps of pretty fabric if you'd like

1. Cut out two squares of white felt.
2. Cut out 10 small red hearts.
3. Cut out five big hearts.
4. Cut out a tiny red heart.
5. Cut out a small brown square.
6. For the envelope: Stitch a giant V shape from end to end (see picture) to make it look envelope-y. Then stitch the brown square to the center of that. Then stitch the red heart to that. Put the two white squares together and sew up the sides except the top, so the child can place the hearts in the envelope.
7. For the red hearts, I made them doubled up, meaning two red hearts sewn together. I did this for durability. And also, I had that pretty scrap of fabric that seemed perfect for such a craft.

And that's it! As each prayer is said, the little one puts the small (or large) heart ♥ into the envelope. I hope our rosary-praying time will be a little quieter now or, at least, little hands will keep busy with this activity.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Saint Maximilian Kolbe / San Maximiliano Kolbe

from the archives
This post is dedicated to my little Maximilian Rafael in heaven.




Download a black and white PDF of Saint Maximilian Kolbe.

Special note: If you have small children, you may want to read a more child-friendly version of Saint Maximilian's life. The version in this post is grittier and deals with themes that might be too much for the younger set. 


St. Maximilian Kolbe
priest, editor, publisher, martyr
A prisoner was missing. Despite the high walls, the electrified fences and sentry towers, someone had attempted to escape Auschwitz, the most infamous death camp of Nazi-controlled Poland. The other prisoners of Bunker 14A stood at attention, motionless with fright, from dawn until noon as the prison guards and their vicious bloodhounds searched ruthlessly for the prisoner who had not answered at the dawn roll call.

Hours passed. No food, no water was given. With fear in their hearts, the 600 Bunker 14A prisoners waited. And waited. The Nazis would punish 10 of them in place for the one who had escaped. All had seen it happen before, to other bunkers. And while the day continued in agonizing slowness, the prisoners' fear was palpable. Men fell from exhaustion, fright, weakness. The guards kicked and dragged them away.


Finally, Commander Fritsch screamed at them. The prisoner had not been found. He randomly began choosing men to be tossed into Block 13 without food or water until they died. After he ordered the fourth prisoner to step forward, a sob broke through the silence. "Please, not me!" cried
Francis Gajowniczek.

From the testimony of Francis Gajowniczek: "I knew Fr. Kolbe personally only during the summer of 1941, the day that he offered his life for me ... The Lagerfuhrer, Fritsch, commandant of the camp, surrounded by guards, approached and from the rows began to choose ten prisoners to send to death. The Fuhrer also pointed with his finger at me. I stepped out of the row and cried that I desired to see my children again. After an instant, a prisoner stepped out of the line, offering himself in my place ..."

From the testimony of another eyewitness, Dr. Nicetas Francis Wlodarski: "After the choice of the ten prisoners, Fr. Maximilian stepped out of line and, taking off his cap, he stood at attention before the Commandant. Surprised, and directing himself to Fr. Maximilian, he said, 'What does this Polish pig want?' Pointing his finger toward Francis Gajowniczek, already chosen for death, Fr. Maximilian replied, 'I am a Polish Catholic priest. I am old. I want to take his place because he has a wife and children.' It seemed incredible that Commandant Fritsch had taken Gajowniczek from the group of the condemned and had accepted the offer of Fr. Kolbe, instead of condemning both of them to the starvation bunker. With such a monster, that would have been possible."

The starvation bunk became a place for prayer and singing. Despite their inevitable death, the prisoners were consoled by Papa Kolbe, who urged them to sing hymns to God. An eyewitness to this said the bunker became like a church, for it resonated with songs and praise.

After two weeks, the Nazis could wait no longer for death. Papa Kolbe was killed with an injection of carbolic acid.


Witness to Love
The example of Father Kolbe's life and his sacrifice has touched millions of people. Any online search will bring a wealth of information. Because this is a blog, however, I will share my own story.

Papa Kolbe was canonized the year that I received the sacrament of Confirmation. The bishop, Cardinal John O'Connor, spoke about the life of a Polish priest, Maximilian Kolbe. In his homily, the cardinal wove the beautiful story of the troublesome little boy who was forever irritating his mother who grew up to be a wordsmithing holy friar. He loved words and wrote and published periodicals and newspapers to strengthen people in their faith. His life was filled with tiny sacrifices of love, moments of grace, and suffering through which joy prevailed. Even in the death camp, Papa Kolbe smuggled the crumbs from his meal to celebrate Mass in a bunker. Despite death all around him, he spoke of life and love and forgiveness to his fellow prisoners. No one heard him ever complain.

At 12, I listened to the story, transfixed. Papa Kolbe was unlike any other saints to me at the time. There were photographs of him. People who knew him were still alive. And, like me, he loved words and writing! I named myself after him then --- the Maria from his own middle name. His example of uncomplaining service and untiring love encouraged me, as a preteen, to try and be a good student, an obedient child and faithful servant of God.

Though I eventually strayed from the path for a few years, I later found my way back home. And St. Maximilian Kolbe regained his position as my hero. 


Now, as an editor, I often ask for him to pray for me, so that I may do a good job, that I will do my work with love, that I will not complain.

Whenever I read about his life, I become encourage to live out my vocation with sweetness and joy. Who am I to complain about laundry? How can I grow irritated by messes? How can I get lose my temper over a dropped quart of milk? I need to hold everything up to the light of eternity and keep life and its suffering and sorrows in perspective.

My hero was in a death camp and grew in faith and holiness. With God's grace, I pray I can grow in faith and holiness in suburbia.

Celebrating the Day
For those who would like to learn more, check out the Maximilian Kolbe entry at Wikipedia. Catholic Cuisine also features a pretty Kolbe rosary and a delicious Polish dinner and dessert.
Creative Commons License ... and please do NOT offer my works as downloads from your site.