Happy Feast of the Annunciation

Mary's "Fiat" was really a gift to us all. 

Here is a little gift for those who asked…

I added the most popular embroidery designs back to my Scribd account. These are some of the original designs I made. The new ones are not in any kind of publishing shape yet.

Saints 'N Stitches : Bl. Mother Teresa and St. Therese the Little Flower

Saints 'N Stitches : St. Michael the Archangel and St. John Bosco

Saints 'N Stitches : St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Josephine Bakhita

If you'd like to print them off and use them for yourself and your family without having to purchase a kit from my Etsy shop, please feel free to. I'm not charging a download fee or anything. I like sharing. All I ask is that they are only used for personal use and are not sold or distributed for profit in anyway. You may not sell anything that you create using these designs either. Please do not use the images for anything else besides embroidery patterns (or simple coloring pages) without my specific prior approval. And please do not upload them anywhere else on the internet or on any other kind of electronic device. Sorry to be so limiting, but I've had problems with my designs being stolen in the past and used without my permission. Thank you for understanding.

St. Josephine Bakhita Coloring Page

St. Josephine Bakhita coloring page

~ click here ~

In the shop...

"It's like coloring with thread!" That's what my girls said when I first introduced them to basic embroidery. These kits would be great for an older child's Easter basket. Slip it in as it is and then watch them explore a new hobby. For younger children, there is plenty of time before Easter to make one up yourself. (Lent hasn't even started yet!)

Embroidery Kits are now available in the shop: St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Clare of Assisi, Blessed Mother Teresa, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Michael the Archangel, and St. John Bosco. Limited quantities.

Best Link-up EVAH!!!

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Well, now, it's been such a long time since I've done 7 Quick Takes. But considering it's the "Best Link-up EVAH" and it's hosted by the recently crowned "Coolest Blogger", I thought today might be a fun day to jump in.

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Happy Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita! Today is Sunshine's confirmation name day. We don't have any special plans. It's not fun to celebrate when you're on the couch with a red nose and a fever. The Professor was sick on his name day. I'm hoping this isn't a trend for this year.

-3-

So, I kind of took some heat on Facebook when I posted the following:

Am I the only parent who can't stand Goodnight Moon?

1) Yellow, red and green are not soothing colors. My eyes sigh in relief when we turn to a black and white page. Red lettering...also killer on the eyes. 
2) Why is the bowl of mush sitting on the nightstand all night long and not in the sink in the kitchen?
3) The quiet old lady whispering hush creeps me out. The way she appears and disappears. Weird. She disappears while the fire is still going and there's no screen in front... in a kid's room! Seriously? Not to mention the carpeted hearth just waiting to smolder into a blaze from the first spark that jumps out. Not smart, people.

Yeah, I might be a little crabby today.

According to the comments I got in response, this is a much beloved beautiful piece of prose with unique enough pictures to captivate attention and interest. So, I went back and read it again. And my eyes still hurt. Based on some of the comments, I'm thinking it might be this particular new fangled edition. I'm trying to get an older copy from the library to compare mine with.

Yeah... I might still be a little crabby.

-4-

Ok, my mood is improving slightly. It's piano practice time and my children are working on their recital pieces. I love this time of year! I love all of their choices too. They've each chosen a piece by David Nevue. His music is just lovely. They are far from playing perfection (their recital is still a few months away), but it's fun to hear them as they progress.

-5-

Sean took the big kids to Confession last Saturday. It's a parish that is a ways away but the Cistercians usually send one of their priests over to help and if you haven't been to confession with a Cistercian, by golly, get yourself to one! It's amazing. Sadly though, the amount of construction and traffic now between us is probably going to make that confession location an unrealistic choice. They arrived much later than they thought they would and only managed to get three in. Thankfully, we just discovered that there are regularly 4-5 priests hearing confession once a week at a local parish. Score! We got the rest of us in this week and we are all still on the same schedule! Whoo hoo! I hate it when some of us have gone and some of us have to wait. It's the little things.

-6-

I haven't seen any news yet about the snowstorm hitting the Northeast, but I have been thinking about those I know in that area. I'm so sorry. I know we complain about the heat down here, but I'll gladly take heat over snow any day. Especially so much snow that you can't leave your house. And yes, Melanie, my children do actually agree! :)

-7-

Time to go wake the baby up. It's usually a rule of the house to never wake a sleeping baby, but if she naps too much longer, she will be up until midnight and that will not make for a happy mama. So, crabby baby or crabbier mama... you decide!

 

Hope for the Future

Sr. Lisa, a Canossian sister, has posted on her blog a letter from Sr. Giovanna Tosi, the Provincial Leader of North-Eastern Africa, requesting prayers for the people of Sudan particularly the newly recognized Republic of South Sudan. Please take a moment to read the entire letter... it's incredibly moving and informative as to the real needs of the people who are most directly affected right now.

Geographically we are in the North Sudan, predominantly Muslim, while the Republic of South Sudan is Christian. Our 12 Sisters there are safe, though stressed by the tension of the uncertainty of this moment. Our ministries, however, are affected; our institutions had some Christian staff and co-workers from the South. The North Sudan Government has issued a rule that obliged all employers to terminate the work contract with employees from the South, giving them their due and forcing them to return to South Sudan. Because of this we lost many teachers and collaborators, but even with shortage of personnel, sisters continue with the mission of education and serve the students in our schools regardless of who and which religion.

It remains with us now, as Sr. Margaret Peter mentioned in her recent prayer appeal for Sudan, the search for God’s will and the continuity of our presence in the North Sudan. Dearest Sisters, do not get tired to pray with us and for us, for the discernment we are called to do and the choices and decisions we have to make.

 God bless these sisters in their work! Please add their intentions to your prayers!

Prayer in Honor of St. Josephine Bakhita

To obtain favor from St. Josephine Bakhita please say this prayer, an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be and kindly remember to pray for our suffering Christian brothers and sisters in Sudan, her native land, who at this very moment are being persecuted, sold into slavery, and converted against their will to the Muslim religion:

Loving God, rewarder of the humble, you blessed St. Josephine Bakhita with charity and patience. May her prayers help us, and her example inspire us to carry our cross and to love you always. Pour upon us the spirit of wisdom and love with which you filled St. Josephine Bakhita.

By serving you as she did, may we please you by our faith and our actions. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

"Be good,...

... love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God."

~ St. Josephine Bakhita

We are celebrating Sunshine's confirmation saint today and making a traditional Sudanese dessert in a very non-traditional way. In the meantime, go read the Word On Fire blog post in honor of St. Josephine.

...amongst the Canossian Sisters in Venice, St. Josephine’s mission was carried out in the services of “cooking, sewing, embroidery and attending the door.”

That is all.

No literary works are attributed to Josephine Bakhita, few quips of theological genius carry her citation, no major religious orders or movements memorialize her earthly existence. In the same vein as the beloved St. Therese of Lisieux, Josephine was a saint of the “little way,” even littler still. She is a saint of almost-unnoticed holiness. Almost. Cooking, sewing, embroidering, and attending the door, she carried out joyfully the call of Christ in the small tasks of a menial, yet eternally important life: every child who entered in through that door to be educated by the Canossian Sisters received the warm welcome of St. Josephine, a hearty hug and a kiss on the top of the head, her love overflowing and her spirit carrying Christ to all who crossed that threshold.

Do go read the rest! And don't forget the coloring page.

St. Josephine Bakhita, African Flower, Mother Moretta, patron of Sudan, pray for us!

Coloring Pages for February

Coming up:

Feb. 1 St. Brigid of Ireland :: don't forget the soda bread

Feb. 3 St. Blaise :: we are planning to enjoy more candle cookies

Feb. 8 St. Josephine Bakhita :: Creme Caramel is easy when it's instant!

Feb. 10 Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck in Malta

Feb. 11 Our Lady of Lourdes (Immaculate Conception)

Feb. 14 St. Valentine :: lots of ideas here.

Today, being the feast of St. John Bosco, a favorite of ours, we are making our traditional Bachelor Buttons and enjoying some nice hot cocoa we were gifted yesterday! A Winter Weather Advisory just popped up on our weather radio, so after a quick trip to the store, we will be hunkered down for the next few days!

Happy Feast of St. John Bosco!






P.S. If you ever get an "archive" message when trying to print from Scribd, even if it's only a temporary one, let me know! Thanks!

Parade of Saints 2010

 All you holy men and women, pray for us!

St. Josephine Bakhita

St. Zita, the Little Cook and patron of lost keys

(Shortcake put her costume together completely by herself including the keys in her pocket and even dressed her favorite doll as one of the kitchen angels who made bread for St. Zita while she was at Mass.)

St. Martin of Tours 

(with a cloak that really can be torn in two!)

Saint-O-Lanterns

Sunshine chose St. Josephine Bakhita, sometimes referred to as "the African flower", who is the patron of Sudan, Africa. She chose an African flower, the hibiscus, to carve onto her pumpkin. Hibiscus tea is very popular in Sudan. Wedding celebrations are typically toasted with a glass of hibiscus tea sometimes flavored with mint or ginger.

A hibiscus for St. Josephine

Shortcake chose to dress as St. Zita this year.

St. Zita is the patron of lost keys.

The Professor wanted his shirt design transferred to his pumpkin.

The Mighty Archangels' symbols

I always give my kids the option to choose a silly face instead of a religious image to remind us of the joyfulness of the saints in Heaven. BigBoy chose to draw his own design which I transferred and cut out for him.

Click here to see them all!

 

A Costume for St. Josephine

It's that time of year when my kiddos try to stump the Mommy by choosing a saint for All Saints Day that stretches my creativity and my sewing skills. This year, Sunshine asked if she could dress as her Confirmation patron, St. Josephine Bakhita. Have you SEEN a Canossian sister's habit from the early 1900's? Whoa!

Obviously, the most notable aspect of her habit is her veil. OK, so here is the best I could come up with...

I took a scrap piece of black cotton (about a 1/2 a yard) to make the head covering. Using wide width ribbon and tape, I created the look of St. Josephine's veil and then tacked it in place with a needle and thread.Yup. I left the tape there and hand sewed right over it for extra stability.

Then I crossed the ends in the back, and then tied and tucked on top. You could also secure them with a safety pin. Now, St. Josephine's veil wasn't a head wrap and actually fits more like a bonnet, but we are just going for an impression, not reality. If I had more time, I might try to make a bonnet, but not this year. I do have some more ribbon loops to go on the crown of her head which we will attach on the day.

For the necklace you see in her picture, I had some help from a friendly Canossian sister, Sr. Lisa, who answered my question with this interesting information:

The medal she wore around her neck was double-sided, with our Lady of Sorrows on the front side, and the back side depicts the instruments of Jesus' suffering, as drawn by our foundress, St Magdalene of Canossa. These pictures were encased in gold and/or brass frame with glass - and later - plastic window panes. Each Canossian Sister wore this medal (and they would put between the two pictures their private messages to Jesus - so neat!), hung from a black, silk woven cord. 

She even sent me copies of the images to print out for Sunshine! Thank you, Sr. Lisa!

For the rest of her costume, Sunshine is wearing an old black skirt and using a black capelet from our dress-up box. I'll try to post pictures of everyone in full costume later. We don't want to spoil the surprise for the cousins.

List of Coloring Pages by Date

I am posting this page so that it can be added to the Catholic Coloring Page tab at the top of my blog which is where you will be able to find all of my coloring pages listed alphabetically. My hope is to list the saints here by their feast days to make it easier to find them in advance.

For those of you who are new, most are saints from the new calendar, some are from the old calendar and some are of feast days special to my family. You may use them for your families and friends provided they are used freely and not for profit. Thank you!

Misc.
Baptism
Divine Mercy


Our Lord, Our Lady, Saints and Beati by Feast Day
January
Jan. 1 Mary, Mother of God
Jan. 2 Holy Name of Jesus (simple or window)
Jan. 21 St. Agnes
Jan. 25  The Conversion of St. Paul

February
Feb. 1 St. Brigid of Ireland
Feb. 3 St. Blaise
Feb. 8 St. Josephine Bakhita
Feb. 10 Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck in Malta
Feb. 11 Our Lady of Lourdes (Immaculate Conception)
Feb. 14 St. Valentine

March
Mar. 19 St. Joseph

April
Apr. 24 St. Mark
Apr. 28 St. Gianna Molla
Apr. 29 St Catherine of Siena

May
May 1 St. Joseph the Worker
May 10 St. Damien of Molokai
May 26 St. Philip Neri

June
June 29 Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

July
July 26 St. Anne (with and without date)

August
Aug. 1 St. Sophia
Aug. 4 St. John Vianney
Aug. 14 St. Maximilian Kolbe
Aug. 18 St. Jane Frances de Chantal and St. Helena
Aug. 21 Pope St. Pius X
Aug. 22 Queenship of Mary
Aug. 27 St. Monica
Aug. 28 St. Augustine

September
Sept. 3 Pope St. Gregory the Great
Sept. 5 Blessed Teresa of Calcutta portrait and landscape
Sept. 12 Holy Name of Mary and Marian Names
Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows and the Sorrowful Mother
Sept. 17 St. Robert Bellarmine
Sept. 20 St. Paul Chong Hasang
Sept. 23 St. Padre Pio alone and at Mass
Sept. 29 Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

October
Oct. 1 St. Therese as a child and in habit
Oct. 2 Guardian Angel
Oct. 4 St. Francis of Assisi
Oct. 6 St. Bruno
Oct. 7 Our Lady of the Rosary
Oct. 13 St. Edward the Confessor
Oct. 15 St. Teresa of Avila
Oct. 16 St. Margaret Mary
Oct. 18 St. Luke
Oct. 23 St. John of Capistrano

November
Nov. 11 St. Martin of Tours
Nov. 13 St. Francis Xavier Cabrini
Nov. 16 St. Margaret of Scotland
Nov. 17 St. Elizabeth of Hungary

December
Dec. 8 Immaculate Conception
Dec. 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dec. 13 St. Lucy or Syracuse, Santa Lucia with star boy


TERMS OF USE: All of my coloring pages are my own artwork and are free for any fair, not-for-profit use by individuals, families, home schooling groups, or other educational cooperatives and schools.  

Copies may not be sold or reproduced for profit. Thank you!

St. Josephine Bakhita

“Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”

As she grew older she experienced long, painful years of sickness. Mother Bakhita continued to witness to faith, goodness and Christian hope. To those who visited her and asked how she was, she would respond with a smile: “As the Master desires.” ~from the Vatican

My sweet Sunshine is celebrating her Confirmation saint's feast day today. Unfortunately, I am battling a little food poisoning (I suspect). Fortunately, Husband picked up some Jell-O Flan aka Creme Caramela, a traditional Sudanese dessert. We will have to put our plans for a Sudanese style meal on hold. Plain pasta sounds tolerable right now, so maybe we will honor the time she spent in Italy, instead.

You can also read my post over at Catholic Cuisine.

And there is a coloring page for St. Josephine in the side bar over there if you feel like printing it out.

Coloring Page Reminder Post

Tomorrow is the feast of the conversion of St. Paul so this St. Paul coloring page might come in handy as you discuss that moment in St. Paul's life with your little ones or... save it for February 16th to remember the feast of St. Paul Shipwrecked. Any kind of ship themed crafts would be fun to do as well. Especially these Victory Vessels found over at Catholic Cuisine. If you are looking for a dessert idea, BigBoy's pirate ship birthday cake (which was almost a wrecked ship disaster) jumps to mind! You don't have to embellish it as much as I did, just a simple sail would be fine.

Also coming up for February:

Feb. 3: St. Blaise  (our plans from last year which will probably be the same this year... it's called tradition!)

Feb. 8: St. Josephine Bakhita (original post here)

Feb. 11: Our Lady of Lourdes (Immaculate Conception coloring page, but it works)

Feb. 14: St. Valentine (for the reason behind the pic, click here)

St. Josephine Bakhita Coloring Page

I must beg your forgiveness for one thing. This was actually one of the first pictures I made after St. Maximillian. You can see on the Scribd page that it was added 5 months ago. Sunshine was considering St. Josephine as a confirmation saint along with some obviously girlie choices like St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Jane. I always thought I would get a chance to go back and make a better rendition; but I never did. Sunshine was confirmed with the name of St. Josephine Bakhita which just goes to show you that sometimes the saint chooses you. My Sunshine has been a princess her whole life and a lover of all things princess-ish. The fact that she chose St. Josephine, a former slave, proved to me her spiritual maturity and ability to open her heart to God's whisperings.

So I am offering this coloring page even though I wish it were a little nicer but that is the perfectionist in me and I will go put the muzzle on her for now.

St. Josephine Bakhita Coloring Page

I think our Coffee, Tea and Thee celebrating St. Josephine Bakhita was one of the most memorable for the children; they have mentioned it more than any other. We talked about St. Josephine's story and the amazing story of Lopez Lomong back when the Olympics began. So,on Sunday, we will be doing the same and enjoying a new tradition.

Coloring Pages for you

March 27, 2010: I am updating this page so that it can be added to the Catholic Coloring Page tab at the top of my blog. My hope is to list the saints here by their feast days.
For those of you who are new, most are saints from the new calendar, some are from the old calendar and some are of feast days special to my family. You may use them for your families and friends provided they are used freely and not for profit. Thank you!

Blessed Mother Teresa (portrait layout)

Blessed Mother Teresa (landscape layout)

Divine Mercy Icon

Guardian Angel

Holy Name of Mary

IHS 1

IHS 2

Immaculate Conception

Marian Names

Mary, Mother of God

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of the Rosary

Queenship of Mary

Saint Anne

Saint Augustine

Saint Blaise

Saint Bruno

Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Damien of Molokai

Saint Edward the Confessor

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Saint Frances Cabrini

Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Gabriel

Saint Gianna

Saint Gregory the Great

Saint Helena

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

Saint John of Capistrano

Saint John Mary Vianney

Saint Joseph

Saint Josephine Bakhita

Santa Lucia with star boy

Saint Lucy of Syracuse

Saint Luke

Saint Mark

Saint Martin of Tours

Saint Maximillian Kolbe

Saint Michael

Saint Monica

Saint Paul

Saint Pio at Mass

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Saint Pius X

Saint Raphael

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Saint Teresa of Avila

Saint Therese as a child

Saint Therese in habit

Saint Valentine

Sorrowful Mother

Coffee, Tea and Thee

If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today…

St. Josephine Bakhita

For Coffee, Tea and Thee we are celebrating St. Josephine Bakhita's feast day. What an amazing saint! She was stolen away from her home in the Sudan by slave traders and ended up in Italy. She was baptized at age 21 and became a Canossian sister. She endured terrible abuses at the hands of her captors and yet, she not only forgave them, but thanked them for helping her find the path to Christianity and the religious life. I took this opportunity to talk to the children about The Lost Boys of the Sudan. They were amazed that stories like St. Josephine's happen even today.This website had some interesting information about having an authentic Sudanese meal with recipes and instructions on how to serve your guests. We put a tablecloth on our coffee table and placed pillows all around. The flowers on the table are hibiscus flowers that the girls made. One species of the Hibiscus called the Roselle is used to make Karkade, a special tea in Egypt and Sudan. The Professor made the flag of Sudan to add to our table decorations.We opted for cinnamon tea to accompany our Creme Caramela (a traditional Sudanese dessert). Alright, it's really flan and I used an instant Jell-o mix to make it. Call me chicken, but any recipe that calls for baking something in a pan of water scares me. The cinnamon tea was delicious, but not a favorite. They were more interested in trying to catch the stick than drinking the tea. Shortcake has decided she is not a big flan fan, but loves caramel! Oh well, it was worth it just to get them to try something new!Sunshine had saved her Magnifikid that had a feature on St. Josephine and we read the story while we enjoyed our third installment of Coffee, Tea and Thee.