Today we feature a guest post by reader Janalin Hood. She is a stay-at-home-momma to three and one on the way! She homeschools her littles and loves learning about our faith with crafts and hands on play/activities.
On the feast of the Archangels, we celebrate St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. In our home, we have a special place in our hearts for St. Michael (he is who our homeschool is named for) and I wanted to do something special this year to celebrate the feast day with our family! I came up with an idea to involve the children in decorating for the event with some simple coloring and reading of prayers to hang above our dining room table from the chandelier. This is a simple craft that uses supplies that you likely have on hand and takes 20 minutes from start to finish!
YOU WILL NEED
- Printouts of the PDF (3 pages)
- Coloring supplies (I used colored pencils)
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Hole Punch
- Yarn
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Print out the coloring pages and prayers for each saint.
2. Color your saints with your children. As you are coloring it is a great time to talk about angels and archangels… here is a little background you may want to read aloud. Be sure and recite each angel’s prayer as well!
Angels are spirits and are messengers of God. St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael are Archangels which means they also have the most special and protective love for people on earth. And being called Saints they are the most holy of all the angels in heaven.
St. Michael (Who is like God?) appears in the Bible in Daniel, Jude, and in Revelation where he is depicted in the famous war in heaven against the devil. He is a warrior and we ask him to intercede on our behalf to keep our families strong in our love for Jesus and in the practice of our Catholic faith.
St. Gabriel (The power of God) is a messenger who is best known for announcing to Mary that she was the chosen mother of Christ. His Bible passages appear in Daniel and the gospel of Luke. We can ask St. Gabriel to help us communicate with others.
St. Raphael ( Medicine of God) appears in the book of Tobit and is the patron saint of the healing and protection of travelers. Ask St. Raphael for protection during travels or when illness strikes.
3. Cut out each oval for a front and a back to your archangel ornament.
4. Glue the front and the back together with a glue stick.
5. Trim any edges showing on both sides.
6. Punch a single hole at the top of your ornament while your helpers patiently wait. Tie approx 12-18” of yarn on for hanging.
7. Repeat for all three…
8. Hang your ornaments and now you are ready for your celebration!
Our archangel feast menu plan is as follows
Angel Hair Pasta
Deviled Eggs
Blackberries (Folklore in the British Isles says that this day is the last day that blackberries can be picked and symbolizes when St. Michael kicked Lucifer out of heaven. Lucifer is said to have landed in a prickly blackberry bush and cursed it so it would be unfit for eating….(possibly the reason for the seeds inside?)
and Devils Food Cake for dessert
We love great resources for building our home library and wanted to share these links of books we hope to add to our own library soon!
A board book for babies about angels
Elementary age reading about the angels that appear in the Bible
A book by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan telling stories about angels visiting people throughout time
(including many Saints!)
I hope you enjoy the Feast of the Archangels!
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle,
be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host,
by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan
and all evil spirits who wander through the world
for the ruin of souls. Amen.