Autumn is such a fun season ~ feast after feast and all the blessings of nature!
Today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. Originally we planned to attend The Fair this afternoon, but when dear husband's knee went out of joint this morning, we settled for a quieter afternoon celebrating our special protectors in a few small but meaningful ways ...
1. We looked up angels in the Bible.
For one:
"Behold I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and harken to his voice ..." (Exodus 23:20-21)
For two:
"For God commands the angels to guard you in all your ways. With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone." (Psalms 91: 11-12)
2. We read angel stories. First a "Wupsy" story in the Catholic Children's Treasure Box series and then a sweet little book by Tomie de Paola called Angels, Angels Everywhere. I requested Tomie's Pascual and the Kitchen Angels from the library, and its on its way, while A Book of Angels: Stories of Angels in the Bible by Marigold Hunt is also in queue. I've seen this book at the local Carmelite shop and it looks splendid. Our library does have a copy, but this title may go on my Christmas list just the same! :)
3. We talked about the angels we discovered at Mass yesterday - in the stained glass, in the liturgy itself and in a lovely hymn. We remembered what we learned about the archangels last Friday and discovered there are actually nine kinds and three tiers of angels. Of course Bookworm immediately thought chart.
4. We talked about what kinds of things our guardian angels might do for us every day ("Help me run." "Help me not get hurt worse when I fall." "Help me eat these carrots.") and said the Guardian Angel prayer together. I told the boys how this is Damee's most special prayer and that not only does she say it every day, but that she says it every day for every one of us, too.
5. And then of course there was a craft and some goodies! But first the goodies (and please don't notice how aged my cookie sheet looks) ...
These are Angel Kisses (from one of our favorite faith and craft books)!
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whip the egg whites until frothy. Continue to beat while gradually adding the sugar and vanilla. When it forms stiff peaks, drop a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Place them into the oven and immediately turn off oven. Don't open the oven for at least 2 hours.
A very simple and quick preparation though the 2 hour baking time needs to be figured into the plans! It's good to start these early and then move on to a craft or some stories while you wait ...
This is the craft I originally had planned for Michaelmas but it worked just as well today. Here are the crafting supplies:
- three glass votive candleholders
- a package of tea lights
- a package of small gold doilies
- a package of small golden ribbons (which I ended up not using and will return)
- three rolls of sheer colored ribbon
- golden stickers in scroll and leafy shapes
To be completely honest, the boys weren't all that interested in this craft - until I brought out the glue gun, that is. ;)
"Will it smoke and shoot out fire, Mama?" Crackerjack asked.
Here are the finished candles in today's little angel corner ...
... and here they are close up. The blue is for Gabriel, the gray is for Raphael and the orange for Michael. These were really very simple and inexpensive to do. I am thinking an Advent variation would be fun. Hmmm ... I will have to experiment a bit! This might be a nice craft for my friend Mary Ellen's new Christmas blog, O Night Divine! (Don't you just love that name?)
Speaking of Christmas, I'd like to continue our angels theme as they figure so prominently in the nativity story as well as so many of our beautiful carols ("Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Angels We Have Heard on High"). Wouldn't a children's lapbook on angels be lovely for Christmastime? Hmmm ... another Christmas craft to consider, perhaps?
Oh! And we just took the Angel Kisses out of the oven at long last. Instead of tea today, milk goes quite nicely (in taste as well as color)!
Before we go, here is an interesting quote from Bookworm's favorite saint:
"Angels transcend every religion, every philosophy, every creed. In fact, angels have no religion as we know it ... their existence precedes every religious system that has ever existed on earth." ~ St. Thomas Aquinas
