Pentecost: the Gift of the Holy Spirit and a Link up

When Pentecost arrives on May 27^th, we will celebrate the end of the Easter season by commemorating the gift of the Holy Spirit given to Mary and the Apostles.  This event marked the start of the Church, as the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the knowledge to consecrate bread and wine as priests and bishops, as well as the conviction to preach the gospel and teach converts.  It is important to remember that the Resurrection gives meaning to Pentecost; the Apostles were anointed so that they could teach Christianity to the world.

When Catholics receive the sacrament of Confirmation, we are anointed with the Holy Spirit by the bishop, affirming our role as God’s children.  Those who are raised Catholic typically study for and receive Confirmation as teenagers, and are thus educated and fortified to meet the challenges they will face as they discern their vocations and make their way in the world.  We are also given the task of teaching the faith through example, with the Holy Spirit working through us.

As a parent, I am tasked with teaching the faith directly to my children, in addition to serving as an example in behavior and action.  Last year, I taught my daughters about the Holy Spirit a couple of times, as we prepared to witness the Confirmation of their cousin, and again at Pentecost.  Part of my niece’s preparation for Confirmation included a weekend retreat, during which she read letters written by family members encouraging her in her religious study and her vocational search.  My husband and I each wrote letters, and my daughters made pictures using dove cutouts with the gifts of the Holy Spirit written on them.

I don’t have a picture of the “letters” my daughters created, but here is one my youngest made with some of the leftover doves.  FYI: the dove looks fuzzy because we reused paper and she glued it with the writing side up; I “erased” the writing so I could post the picture here.

I found the dove template through a link at Catholic Icing.  You can visit the template directly here.  I also found a list of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit through a link at Familia Católica.  Visit the link directly at Busy with Blessings.  Lori’s Busy with Blessings post also lists the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, which I will focus our lesson on this year.  We might make a chain of doves with the fruits written or drawn on them.

Whether you are preparing your children to witness a Confirmation, or teaching them about Pentecost, the dove craft is a fun way to teach children how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

You will find many great ideas for celebrating Pentecost at all three of the blogs linked above.  The Familia Católica post also includes links to coloring pages and more images of doves.  At Pentecost last year, we used a couple of the coloring pages, including this one.

You can find more links to coloring pages at this Familia Católica post, which also lead me to another blog with an idea I plan to try this year.  See how to finger paint the flames of the descending Holy Spirit and other ideas for Pentecost at Family at the Foot of the Cross.  

I will post about our dove chains and finger paints soon.

In the meantime, this post is attached to the Pentecost Link up hosted by Mento at Ahora quedamos en el blog, the most recent event in the Liturgical Calendar Link up Party organized by Xhonané at FamiliaCatólica.

I am also attaching this post to a link up hosted by Monica at Equipping Catholic Families titled Cele-Linky thru the Sacraments.  There you will find many wonderful ideas for teaching the sacraments to your children.

Did you see my last post about my award from the Catholic Bloggers Network?  With the hope that I may receive another Big Clicks Award this month for the most clicks on my link, I have also added this post to the Catholic Bloggers Round Up.  Go visit the other links there and vote with your mouse for this month’s award.

Cards for the Easter Season

We have made a couple of different types of cards for the Easter season.  Cards are a good way to share the joy of The Resurrection with others, or to display at home to remind us that the Easter season is ongoing.   

These cards are a great way to encourage creativity because children can design them however they wish.  You can make both types of cards blank on the inside, and after they dry, you can write or glue on your Easter message.

We started by designing egg shaped cards using crayon resist and watercolors.  We drew egg shapes on cardstock with a white crayon and filled in with decorations in crayon before painting with watercolors.  You can decorate the egg with secular designs or religious symbols and sayings.  (Read more about converting secular eggs to religious ones at this post.)

Make sure you draw the egg to one side of the cardstock page so you can fold it over before you cut.

After the paint dries, fold the page so that one edge of your painted egg is on the fold.

Then, cut your egg shape out, leaving enough fold to keep the card together.  You are ready to write your message inside.

Last month, when I found Amanda’s link up for A Meaningful Easter, I found linked there a post by Jessica at Our Family for His Glory illustrating cross pictures she made with her children using masking tape and dot paints.  When we made ours, we started by folding cardstock in half lengthwise.  Then, we used blue painter’s tape (what we had) and brush paints to create our cards.  

The cards looked good with the tape still on, but we may have waited too long to take off the tape, so the pictures tore a bit where the tape was attached.  Maybe we should have followed the directions!  We will try again and hopefully remember to take off the tape as soon as they dry.

Jessica’s post also explains how to make crosses that look like stained glass.  We are going to have to try those too!

I am attaching this post to the Easter Link up hosted by Lázaro at Aprendiendo a Vivir en Cristiano.  Please go visit to see what other bloggers are sharing, or to attach your own post.  This link up is part of the Liturgical Calendar Link up Party organized by Xhonané at Familia Católica.

I have also added this post to the Catholic Bloggers Round Up at the new CatholicBloggers Network.  

Amanda at Impress Your Kids is hosting a Meaningful Easter Link up, where I have attached my post.  There, you can read her post and many others about how to focus on the Lamb and not the bunny this Easter season.

Martianne at Training Happy Hearts hosts a weekly Faith Formation in Young Children Link up, so I have connected there also.

One more: Monica at Equipping Catholic Families also hosts a Cele-linky Through the Catholic Seasons with a few link ups and lists of Link up Parties hosted by others for each season.  I’m linked up under Easter there.

Thinking About Divine Mercy

I have somehow managed to remain ignorant of the intentions of this Sunday’s celebration, so I have been doing some research.  Maybe you also need more information?   

I started with an examination the gospel reading for this year, John 20: 19-31.  In addition to the story of “Doubting Thomas,” who wished to see the wounds of the risen Jesus with his own eyes before believing in the Resurrection, this gospel relates how Jesus gave the Apostles the sacrament of reconciliation in lines 21-23.  This opportunity to confess our sins, which arises from the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, is the heart of the Divine Mercy.

The salvation of our souls from the darkness of sin is the reason we celebrate the Resurrection.  In return for repentance, our Lord grants us eternal life.  Jesus accepts the penance of death on our behalf.  How appropriate that we honor the Divine Mercy on the second Sunday of the Easter season.  While our joy at the Resurrection is fresh in our hearts, we recall that God is merciful, that He washes away our sin.  We place our trust in God that he will reveal His plan for us if we live faithfully.  Alleluia! 

Indeed, the revelation of the Divine Mercy to Saint Faustina calls even the most hardened and habitual sinners to know the depth and abundance of God’s forgiveness.  The Apostles of the Divine Mercy suggest on their website (sitio en español) that Divine Mercy Sunday should be an evangelization tool to welcome “fallen away” Catholics to return to the church and begin a new faith-filled life after repenting from sin.  We all know Catholics who have left the church for a more secular life; there is a great need to promote the opportunity for Divine Mercy in our time among all Catholics.

In order to receive the Divine Mercy, one must repent his or her sins, attend confession, receive communion on Divine Mercy Sunday, and pray for the pope’s intentions.  Veneration of the image of the Divine Mercy and merciful acts toward others are also important.  We cannot be like Thomas and doubt the Resurrection.  Unlike Thomas, we know what the Resurrection means for all who choose to embrace it; we must walk the path to holiness with faith and open hearts.

Like last year, I have discussed the importance of repentance with my children, and the gift of God’s infinite mercy.  We have looked at images of the Divine Mercy (see some at the Oblates home page linked below), and discussed the symbolism of the red and blue rays emanating from Jesus (the blood of sacrifice and the waters of baptism).  On Sunday, we’ll color this image of the Divine Mercy, courtesy of The Oblates of Divine Mercy.  At that time, we’ll have another discussion about confession and repentance, as well as how we can show mercy to others.

In 2013 I am linking with: New Evangelists Monthly 

In 2012 I linked with:  Divine Mercy, Catholic Bloggers Round Up, Meaningful Easter, First Friday.

Convert Cascarones From Secular to Religious and Two Link Ups

As a child, one of my favorite Easter traditions was to make cascarones (decorated egg shells stuffed with confetti) for our large family Easter celebration.  For those of you unfamiliar with this tradition, on Easter Sunday, the adults would hide the cascarones we had made and then my brothers, my many cousins, and I would go search for them.  Next came the egg cracking free-for-all, where we would break our cascarones on each other’s heads, spilling confetti into our hair, onto our clothes, and over the ground.  Even the adults would get in on the action, sometimes saving cascarones on the side rather than hiding them so they would have some to break.

What does all this have to do with the Resurrection?  Aside from a suggestion that an unhatched egg symbolizes the new life that Jesus offers us through his death, the entire tradition is secular.  However, because we participated in the eggshell saving, painting, and stuffing as children, we knew that the eggs did not come from the Easter Bunny, as the story usually goes.

As a mother, I continue this tradition of making cascarones with my children because it is one of the many ways we practice our Tejano Mexicano (Tex Mex) culture with our family.  I wish that my children could have as many cousins as I did to share this experience with, but they enjoy it just as much regardless.

I do make sure that we decorate some of our cascarones with religious stickers and drawings, and I’m planning to include more drawings of resurrection symbols and to write resurrection messages this year.  This helps my children recall that Easter is a celebration because Jesus sacrificed himself for us.

The cascarones in the picture below were made commercially; my mother brought some over this past weekend.  When we decorate the ones we have been saving to paint, we’ll add some stickers to these.

Cascarones are easy to make, and there are several great tutorials already on the web.  Basically, you crack only a small hole in the top of eggs you plan to cook (the egg scrambles itself on the way out, so be patient).  

After washing the shells and letting them dry, they are ready to decorate with crayon resist.  Use a white crayon to draw symbols or designs, or write messages.  This is the step I refer to above, and you can also do this with boiled eggs that you plan to paint (after they have cooled off, of course).  We also like to write the names of family members on some of the shells, so we know whose head to break them on.

Use an egg painting kit to color the cascarones.  Get creative by dipping eggs half way into one color and then dipping the other side into another color.   Try this horizontally and vertically.  When they are dry, add stickers to some if you wish.  Fill with confetti (as much or little as you like), place glue around the edges of the hole and cover with tissue paper.  

I could not find good pictures of our cascarones from previous years, but will try to post some after we decorate this year.  You still have time to make your own cascarones, if you can manage to eat eggs several times in the next few days.  

It is time to announce two new link ups for the Liturgical Calendar Link up Party organized by Xhonané at Familia Cátolica.  The Easter Link up is hosted by Lázaro at Aprendiendoa Vivir en Cristiano.  The Liturgical Easter season lasts 50 days, so you will find many great ideas about celebrating at this link up in the weeks to come.  I will post later about some of the cards we have made to send our Easter greetings.

The Divine Mercy Sunday Link up is hosted by Maria at En la Vía Singular de la Vida.  Divine Mercy is the second Sunday of Easter, and I am thinking about a post based on this year’s gospel reading.  Check back!

Since we always paint our cascarones during Holy Week, I have attached this post to the Holy Week Link up hosted by Monica at Equipping Catholic Families.  I’m also attaching this to the Easter Link up hosted by Lázaro at Aprendiendoa Vivir en Cristiano (see the button above).  Please go visit to see what other bloggers are sharing, or to attach your own post. 

These link ups are part of the Liturgical CalendarLink up Party organized by Xhonané at Familia Católica.

I have also added this post to the Catholic Bloggers Round Up at the new CatholicBloggers Network.  

Amanda at Impress Your Kids is hosting a Meaningful Easter Link up, where I have also attached my post.  There, you can read her post and many others about how to focus on the Lamb and not the bunny.

And, I am connecting with the First Friday Link upfor April hosted by Lacy at Catholic Icing.  You will find lots of ideas for celebrating the Easter season at this link up.

One more: Martianne at TrainingHappy Hearts hosts a weekly Faith Formation in Young Children Link up, so I have connected there also.