Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Explaining the Immaculate Conception to Kids (and Adults): 2010

 
Colored by my daughter, Cupcake #1

Thank you Lacy at Catholic Icing for another great free resource about the Catholic faith!  Here is an explanation by Lacy about her beautiful drawing on the Immaculate Conception:   

Symbolism in this picture includes Mary in the womb of St. Anne (wearing her signature veil). St. Anne and Mary both have their backs turned towards the apple tree to visually state that Mary was conceived without original sin. There are 3 beams of light coming down from the sun that stand for the trinity. Also, the snake (Satan) is unhappy about what has happened here.

On  Dec. 8, Catholics around the world celebrate another beautiful feast day, the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.  What does this mean?  Many Catholics and non-Catholics mistakenly think that this day celebrates when Mary miraculously conceived Jesus, however this feast day refers to Mary being conceived without original sin. 
There are so many great articles and resources to explain this doctrine.  One article I found, "Advent- The Immaculate Conception", does a beautiful job on how to explain such a teaching to young children.  I include the link to the article for myself to refer back to for my children, but if you have time to read it, I hope you too will be blessed by it in some way.

We went to the Vigil Mass at our church this evening to celebrate tomorrow's Immaculate Conception Feast Day.  Tomorrow I plan to let my children watch another great CCC movie titled, Bernadette-The Princess of Lourdes .   See below for an explanation from the CCC website about the graces this beautiful young girl received from God and our Blessed Mother in 1858...



BERNADETTE - THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES
It’s February 11, 1858. Three girls from Lourdes, France, gather firewood in front of a grotto. Suddenly one of them, Bernadette Soubirous, 14, drops to her knees, gazes ecstatically at something beautiful only she can see, and starts to pray. Soon the town buzzes: Has Bernadette, poor, sickly, and always behind in school, really seen a Lady from Heaven? The police chief is angry, the pastor busy, and the crowd amused, but Bernadette is calm and brave. Then a spring bubbles up from nowhere and withered arms and sightless eyes are cured. At last, the Lady tells Bernadette her name: “I am The Immaculate Conception.”
BERNADETTE, THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES, is the exciting true story of a visit by the Queen of Heaven that left all the world a source of health for body and soul.

Then on Thursday, Dec. 9, we will celebrate Saint Juan Diego's feast day by watching the CCC video, Juan Diego-Messenger of Guadalupe.   See below for a summary from CCC about this video and Juan Diego's true story.

JUAN DIEGO - MESSENGER OF GUADALUPE
In 1591 Juan Diego found himself between two worlds…that of the Spanish conquerors and that of his own Aztec heritage. Because of his love for his people and his strong faith, Juan Diego turned to Jesus and His Mother, Mary for help in uniting his people. The answer to Juan Diego’s prayers has become one of the greatest events in the history of the Americas.
JUAN DIEGO, MESSENGER OF GUADALUPE is the true story of how the Blessed Mother chose a hero for a key role in a beautiful miracle that would united diverse peoples and change the course of history.
In the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City the miracle of the tilma of Juan Diego may still be seen, just as it was seen by the bishop in 1531.

Lacy at Catholic Icing  has a great post on the feast day of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe here.  I love all the resources she has for this feast day!  (can you tell I am a BIG fan of  Lacy's site and CCC with all my links to them? )

I can't say enough good things about CCC and their saints and heroes 11 DVD collection and all their other resources!  My children watch these DVDs over and over again no matter what feast day it is!  If you hurry, you can receive FREE shipping on your order with CCC until Dec. 10 using this Coupon Code: CCC120810
Thanks again Lacy for the coupon code...I've already put my order in to complete my saints and heroes DVD collection!

 
I'll be posting about other beautiful feast days coming up soon and I'm thinking a link back to Lacy's site and CCC will be included :)
There are so many fun ways to celebrate our Catholic faith with my family and I give Joy to the World when I embrace my faith and share it with my family and friends!

I also give Joy to the World when I tell others about this great giveaway from Stories for the Homeschool Heart!
I posted about the book, Stories for the Homeschool Heart, on this blog post and I love this beautiful book! I'm actually rereading it now because each time I read it I gain new insight and encouragement!  Now just in time for Christmas, there is a contest going on by Stories for the Homeschool Heart through December 16, 2010! They will be adding as many prizes as they can find!  Click HERE for details about this great giveaway!




13 comments:

Another great post:) I am going to see if my library have those videos they sound great. I had no idea how little the Lutheran church teaches about the saints. I am going to have to ask someone about that. The Book we are reading about St. Nicholas is called "The Real Santa Claus" by Marianna Mayer. I am learning tons;)
Voted for you

Hi Anna-Marie!
Thanks for the book title on St. Nicholas that I asked about. I don't know if I've seen this one yet or not. I'll have to look into it. I try to read about a Saint's life each day to my children and I have learned so much from these wonderful people of faith along with my children! These people have sacrificed so much for our faith and I am forever grateful for them. I did a blog post back in Nov. about a 2 volume saint book I highly recommend. If you are interested here is the post address: http://asliceofsmithlife.blogspot.com/2010/11/recommendation-for-great-saint-books.html

Angela said...

Wow, I don't know how I haven't seen your blog yet! Stumbled across you after I noticed a comment on FB directed toward Lacy @ Catholic Icing and then noticed your location; we used to live where you do! (But now just outside of Raleigh). AND I'm currently reading Stories for the Homeschool Heart and LOVE it...it's really encouraging! Anyway just wanted to say HI and I look forward to following another fellow Catholic homeschooling mom! :)

HI Angela!
Thanks for your visit and comment! Nice to "meet" you in Blog world! It sounds like we have lots in common and that is so neat you used to live "here" :) My hubby and I graduated from NC State so we know Raleigh too :) Stories for a HH is a treasure isn't it? I left a comment on your current Shutterfly post and I am looking forward to following you :) Your faith and family are amazing! You are in our prayers with your current pregnancy and congrats!
God bless!

Unknown said...

Great post about your faith. I look forward to seeing what you and your cupcakes will be doing next. I voted for you. (yesterday too.)

Thanks always Lynda :) I hope you had a great day!

You are so amazing. You answer questions I never thought to have Thanks

Hi "Adamant Academy",
I didn't see a first name on your profile or on your blog when I left a comment there so I addressed you by your great blog title.
Thanks for your comment and thanks again for linking up to the blog hop and grabbing my blog button :)

I don't have a button :( How do you make one? Is their a website I can read about or a book maybe? Oh and my name is Dacia Nice to "meet" you

Hi Dacia!
I just sent you an email and gave you this link from my blog post back in the summer about how to create a blog button for your blog:
http://www.asliceofsmithlife.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-create-blog-button-for-your-blog.html

Hope it helps :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Tracy! I just wanted to let you know that you were chosen as the spotlighted blog for Hop Along Friday! You will linked up at the top spots! :) Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Kim

Thanks Kim! That's exciting to be a spotlighted blog and just in time to feature my 200th follower soon! :) Thanks for letting me know and I look forward to the hop :)

I love this idea and I love these DVDS! I had never heard of them and will definitely look into getting them for my little ones :) Thanks for sharing!!!!

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