“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.” –St. Clare of Assisi

St. Clare is one of my namesakes and her feast day falls on one of our family members’ birthdays. So this is a big day in our house!

Story and Scripture

While in New York we took a day trip over to Stockbridge, MA to the National Shrine of Divine Mercy. If you’re ever in the area you should absolutely go. It’s worth the hour and a half drive from Boston or hour from the Albany region. The grounds are magnificent. The outdoor Stations of the Cross are a great Lenten pilgrimage option. The shrine dedicated to the Holy Innocents evokes tears every. single. time. Tears for the babes lost through miscarriage. Tears for the souls lost in abortion. It is incredibly moving. And the Shrine itself a testament to Divine Mercy and all the great Polish influences on our Catholic Faith (can you say relic of JPII?). The center also boasts a nice Catholic book and gift shop. Something that I’m finding more and more difficult to come by. But I like to hold a book in my hand before I buy it. I’m old fashioned, I guess.

The point of this diversion is that, while at the Shrine, I picked up a little compilation of Saints stories to add to our collection. It is book 3 in a series called Miniature Stories of the Saints by Fr. Daniel A. Lord, S.J. I picked it up because it contains a story of St. Clare and couldn’t remember if I had one at home. The stories contained are simple, one page accounts of some of the major events in the saints’ lives.

Good news, folks, it sells for $1.50 at Adoremus books!

It’s a good idea, from my meager experience, to have at least a few books of Saints Stories appropriate for various ages in your home library. These are hard to come by at public libraries, so it’s good to start a collection. I especially love the Saints for Boys  and Saints for Girls books from Neumann Press (TAN books). The stories are told so…so…storylike. Not just a listing of facts. These are good as read alouds for the pre-K on up. There’s the classic Picture Book of Saints from St. Joseph’s. A little dry, but thorough. And there’s Catholic Saints for Children. As the children in your family grow there are more and more options from many publishers. [the deWohl series, for High Schoolers, for instance]. But since my set are still on the younger side that is what I’m focusing on now.

There are many, many amazing picture books on individual saints…but we’ll save those for another post!

The long and short of it is…read aloud the story of St. Clare either from a picture book or from the Loyola Kids page. Ask your children what they remember from what you read. If they stare at you blankly, and depending on their age, either read it again (it’s short!) or prompt them.

Where did St. Clare live? What did she want to be? What did her parents think? What did she become? Who was her friend? How did she save the city?

Do this while coloring, perhaps.

Coloring Page

The coloring page I chose for today is from Catholicmom.com. Please click through to download it from their site. I’m not getting any kickbacks for any of these links. But credit should go where credit is due! There’s also a short podcast story of St. Clare through the link!

Prayer

Taken, as usual from the Liturgy of the Hours.

O God, who in your mercy led Saint Clare to a love of poverty,
grant, through her intercession,
that, following Christ in poverty of spirit,
we may merit to contemplate you
one day in the heavenly Kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

–or–

St. Clare, patron saint of television, pray for us!

Craft

St. Clare is usually depicted in artwork holding a monstrance. So today’s craft is a monstrance themed craft from Catholic Icing.

This handprint craft involves things you may already have lying around…yellow paint, yellow crayon, large paper or poster board. Click on over to the sight for instructions!

 

Treat

For this Italian Bride of Christ’s feast day let’s enjoy some Italian Wedding Cookies! They’re simple to make and super tasty. Enjoy them for snack time, tea time or dessert.

Or, for a store bought option, find an Italian cookie in the grocery bakery, Italian deli, or Italian bakery.  There’s always gelato in the freezer aisle if the cookies don’t pan out.

If you’re feeling even more ambitious, and want to keep it a traditional Umbrian dish, check out these recipes from Catholic Cuisine!

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As always, I’d love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate! What are your favorite children’s books on saints? Comment here, on Facebook or at Instagram. When we celebrate I’ll post with #hdahstclare.