Catholic Activities

Free printable Advent Jesse Tree crafts, activities, coloring pages for Catholic Christmas countdown

Advent is the Catholic Christmas liturgical season leading up to Christmas. For four weeks, we pray, fast, read Bible passages on the gospel Christmas story and give alms to the poor. The theme of Advent is to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. One way is to pray an Advent calendar. Another, related to the Advent calendar is to follow a Jesse Tree.

The Jesse Tree is an ancient visual aid the shows the lineage of Jesus. The basis comes from the Old Testament Bible passage "a root shall spring up from the stump of Jesse's lineage." This Bible foretells the birth of the Messiah and that He will come through Jesse, 's father. . During Advent, symbols are hung on the Jesse Tree to represent Bible characters and people in Jesus's family tree.

Here are free printable Jesse Tree devotional activities. Each night, have children color one symbol place it on the Jesse Tree. Do this as you light candles on the Advent wreath and candles and read and pray from the Advent calendar. The Jesse Tree ends by adding images from the , another ancient Advent to Christmas series of prayers.

has a set of free printable Jesse Tree ornaments with Biblical symbols.

ERIERCD has several pages of Jesse Tree coloring pages to print free. Print in black and white and have kids color. Jesse Tree ornaments include apple tree (Adam and Eve). Ark and rainbow (Noah), tent (Abraham), cradle (Sarah), coat (Joseph), stone tablets (Moses), Harp (David), ladder (Jacob), tambourine (Miriam), crown (Solomon), anchor (Ruth) lion and lamb (Isaiah), mallet (Deborah), trumpet (Joshua), lion (Daniel), well (Rebecca), house (Elizabeth), lily (Mary) hammer (St. Joseph) Chi Ro (Jesus). The has more free printable Jesse Tree symbols to color. has more printable Advent Jesse tree crafts.

1+1+1=1 has a free printable Jesse Tree booklet with devotions, prayers and crafts to make. The Jesse Tree can be made in many ways. In times past, it was a Christmas tree. Some families use a tree made of paper or a cloth banner with detachable ornaments. In our family I use a small table top tree with child-made ornaments and symbols. We add one each day.

Free printable Catholic All Saints Day activities for kids to enjoy instead of Halloween

Most people know that October 31 is Halloween, or All Hallows Eve. Fewer know that there's only a Halloween because of the days that follow. November 1 marks the Catholic holy day of obligation, All Saints' Day and November 2 is (celebrated as Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead in Mexico). Halloween was a pagan blowout that anticipated the fasting of the proceeding holy day. Use these free printable Catholic saints coloring pages, crafts and lesson plans to learn more about All Saint's Day and Halloween.
* Catholic Mom's All Saint's Day activities page has printable crafts and coloring pages specific to that holy day, plus tips for celebrating a Christian Halloween. Visit the Catholic Kids home page for free printable liturgical lesson plans for CCD and religious education lesson plan. Each week's gospel is discussed and age-appropriate activities linked: free printable puzzles, word searches, study sheets, crafts, Bible verses, games and activities.
* has a free printable Catholic alphabet coloring book with images of saints, Bible stories and sacraments.
* features handmade free printable Catholic saints coloring pages. The blog moderator has drawn images for sacraments and liturgical use also.
* is another mom blog with homemade free printable saints coloring pages. Some are free and some must be purchased.free her . Scroll around for the freebies. All are very attractive and well worth the nominal fee.
* offers handmade All Saints' Day printables and crafts. Read through the blog posts and sidebar menu for crafts, games and printables.

* has free printable Bible and Catholic saints coloring pages. * EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) Kids offers free mass readings, prayer activities, crafts and coloring pages for children. Users must create a free account with user name and password.

Free printable St. Francis of Assisi feast day coloring pages for Catholic Christian kids

On October 4 the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Among other things under his patronage, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. On his feast day, some Catholic churches and schools observe a charming little rite known as the blessing of pets. Visit Real Life at Home for free printable St. Francis lesson plans in a packet. Print games, coloring pages, activities and worksheets of saints. Learn connections to Pope Francis, who is a Franciscan and has taken his name from Francis of Assisi. Print a liturgical calendar of Catholic saints, including Saint Francis, free from Catholic playground. For free printable animal coloring pages, visit Coloring Book Fun. National Geographic Kids has realistic animal coloring pages from A-Z to print. This link opens on the animals A-I page but click the link at the bottom for coloring pages of animals from J-Z.

Free printable Catholic Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary coloring pages, activities, worksheets

August 15 is the Catholic Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Catholic honor Mary the Mother of God when she was assumed into heaven. This day is one of the Church's six holy days of obligation. Here are free printable Catholic Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary coloring pages and activities. Print crafts, coloring pages, lessons, games, puzzles, prayers and devotions. Orthodox Christians honor the Virgin Mary too and might use these printables.

Catholic Mom is devoted to helping Catholic parents learn more about their faith and teach children about theirs. Here are free printable Feast of the Assumption lesson plans. There are Sunday mass readings, coloring pages, worksheets, craft projects, lessons and more.

Family Holiday has dozens of free printable Assumption of Mary coloring pages plus coloring pages from the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. There are coloring pages in different designs, showing her in different apparitions and images. Some look like stained glass. Have children color these as the holiday draws near. This will help them understand who the Virgin Mary is and how she intercedes for us.

Catholic Playground has free printable Catholic lesson plans and activities pages. There are puzzles, worksheets, lessons, games, prayers, Bible readings and other activities for children to enjoy.

Create a homeschool unit on the Blessed Virgin Mary for Catholic education. Or use in parochial schools or CCD. These lessons will work for other Marian feast days like the Feast of the Immaculate Conception or Solemnity of Mary.

Catholic Guilt, Overactive Conscience and Scruples

I have struggled all my life with a hyperactive conscience. I feel vague to intense guilt constantly. As a Catholic convert, I hear cradle Catholics talk about Catholic guilt. Like the Church invented it. Well, they're not alone. I grew up Protestant and we spoke fluent "guilt." Some guilt is healthy, but chronic isn't. That's what the catechism calls "scruples." And in psychological terms, shame. It's crucial, for mental and spiritual health, to know the difference.

What is guilt complex/scruples/shame and how does it differ from healthy guilt? Let me illustrate. Do you remember the T-A--Transactional Analysis--school of psychology? It says the self has three personas--parent, child and adult--similar to Freud's Id, ego and superego. Freud described the id (child) as immature, undisciplined and totally self-serving. The superego or parent in TA is ultra-controlled and highly critical. The ego or adult is whole and balanced. In all of us, the Parent (superego) and child (Id) struggle for control. Neither are healthy, alone. It's only when the healthier adult persona takes control and parent and child take back seat that the person is healthy.

We with guilt complexes and overactive consciences are stuck in superego- parent mode. We don't have more to feel guilty about than anyone else. Less, often. We've done our time, paid our penances, said our Mea Culpaes, received absolution. But we struggle to shake the nagging feeling that we've left something undone.

Our apologies and restitution never satisfy us. No confession is ever good enough, no penance too severe.
We don't have prickings of conscience, we have brutal stabbings. Others aren't necessarily accusing us. We accuse ourselves, sometimes to the point of dreaming up sins. I have a recurrent dream in which I have done something unspeakable, willful murder, violent assault, terrible injury. I have another where everyone is mad at me and I can't figure out what I've done wrong. When I wake, I feel sick and terrified, and it takes conscious effort for me to convince myself that it was just a dream (how's that for Freudian?)

Overactive conscience always second guesses its decisions and actions. Guilt complex causes us to be pathologically self-critical. And like so many other emotional issues, they're fear-driven and deeply subconscious (ergo the dreams). Fear of offending, upsetting others, of our own emotions, of consequences. We will sometimes lie or cheat to defend against irrational or imagined wrongs and prevent imagined consequences.

If you suffer from or love someone with guilt complex and overactive conscience, check my blog www.emotionalhealthhelp.blogspot.com.

Heart Burn, the Agony and Ecstasy (poem)

This poem is for our stillborn baby daughters who died in utero, each at around 6 months, in 2001 and 2004. Requiescat in pace, Mary Therese and Isobella Raine. Keep each other company till mama and daddy can join you.

I called this painful poem "ecstasy" not as in bliss. In fact, ecstasy is nothing like blissful calm. It's intense, searing spiritual awakening. It hurts like fire. The mystics St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila (who elected herself my patroness) experienced this. Our Lady felt the seven Dolores (Sorrows) piercing her heart. Any parent, especially a mother, who has lost a child knows heart burn. The Heavenly Father Heart Burn, the Agony and Ecstasy

how dare the sun have shone

on this somber, funereal grey-grime day

what were the birds thinking, chirping

when we planted my little ladies in the ground?

They grandly call it internment

like the squirrel buries a nut

but dead things do not regrow

they just lie there, alone

I felt guilty putting my babies in that box.

What kind of mother does that?

A graveyard is cold and dark.

No place for a child to be

Not at night. Not alone.

They might wake frightened and need mama.

For many nights, months, years, decades after, I waked

Confused, anxious sure I heard them calling

Not knowing where they were

I am always there when my children need me

But I couldn't find these littlest ones

The ones who needed me most

Me, who couldn't let her children ride the bus

has abandoned her most vulnerable

like orphans wandering, crying for mother's arms

oh God, let death not be thus

we are told of a morning after

when the dead shall rise

I cling to that, desperately

the way my cat grabs my leg if he feels himself falling

Perhaps I'm short sighted.

I'm human, I cannot see with the eyes of the divine

and Father, the burn of heart

is pain like torture

Free Printable First Communion, Baptism, Confirmation Quinceanera, Invitations, Cards

Do you know a child who is making her first holy Eucharist (holy communion) this year? Perhaps your family is Catholic and your child is celebrating his first communion? If you're hosting a reception, here are free printable first holy Eucharist party invitations. If you're attending a first communion mass and reception, here are free printable first communion cards for the new communicant.

Hoover Web Design has several free printable first holy Eucharist invitations that could be used as free printable first communion cards. To print, the invitations, click and save to your computer. Then open the saved clipart, copy and paste in a new Paint image. Adjust so the image fits (cropped to 4.25 x 5.5 inches) and place in bottom right corner. Print and fold top half down and in half again so card opens to right. Fill in party details or for greeting cards, write your own verse and sign. You can also get other free printable religious party invitations and cards for Jewish bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah plus Catholic and Orthodox Christian baptism and confirmation.

365 Greetings has free printable first communion cards with modern and lovely vintage Catholic images. The old classic images come from holy cards and feature the Sacred Heart of Jesus offering the child holy Eucharist (holy communion). Greetings Island has attractive contemporary free printable first communion cards and holy communion invitations. Real Life at Home has several free printable first communion cards, invitations and announcements. Here's another site with more free printable holy Eucharist cards and invitations. American Greetings and Blue Mountain both havefree printable first communion cards and first holy Eucharist invitations, Some are alike and others are different. .