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St. Robert Bellarmine was born 3rd of 10 children. In 1560 he entered the Society of Jesus and after his ordination he began to teach at Louvain (1570-1576) where he became famous for his Latin sermons. In 1576, he was appointed to the chair of controversial theology at the Roman College, becoming Rector in 1592; he went on to become Provincial of Naples in 1594 and Cardinal in 1598. Continue reading about him HERE . It’s a very interesting read! His Feast day is Sept. 17th in the new calendar and May 13th in the traditional calendar. Because St. Robert is often pictured wearing his Cardinal’s hat (AKA: biretta) we made a mini red biretta. I have to tell you we had a hard time coming up with an easy ornament for St. Robert! This ornament may be a bit difficult for some of you. If so, consider creating a mini solar system – He was part of the Galileo case. (Read more in the above link) To create this ornament you will need red felt and hot glue. If you want to add the book you will also need maroon and white felt. We started creating the biretta by making the above shape from red felt. It was a 1 inch by 4 inch piece of felt. It was sectioned into 4 parts. Each of the 4 parts had two bumps. The end bumps were more of a triangle shape. Then we glued the ends together, so it was in a circle shape – like above. Now we glued the bumps together in pairs. The bump on the one section was paired with a bump on the section beside it. DON’T glue the two triangle bumps together yet!  So you should now have three paired bumps. The two triangle-shaped bumps should now be folded down to make that top portion flat. A biretta’s top only has 3 bumps and one flat part.  Now we added glue to the inside of the hat, to secure the bumped parts and the folded triangle shaped parts. We also added glue to the corners and pinched them together to make it more of a square shape. If you want to add a book for the biretta to sit on, create one by gluing three smaller rectangles into a larger folded rectangle. Then glue the hat to the book.  Add a threaded loop to the center of the hat to hang it on the liturgical tree.  Note: If you are having trouble understanding my instructions for the biretta, please watch the video below. His pattern in the video is a little different than mine, but it may help you make the above ornament. By the look of the video, I have a feeling paper birettas are easier to make than felt! The video shows how to make a human-sized biretta. You might like this for an All Saints day costume! There are many priest and bishop saints who wore a biretta. You might also like to make full-sized birettas for your kids to wear as you celebrate St. Robert’s feast day! Enjoy! Have a blessed day as you celebrate St. Robert of Bellarmine! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Jerome was a priest, Doctor of the Church, and translator of the The Latin Bible which was translated from the Hebrew and Aramaic)  His feast day is Sept. 30th (new and traditional calendars) Read about him HERE and HERE . We created a lion ornament for St. Jerome because he is often depicted with a lion. There is an old story told about him that tells how St. Jerome tamed a lion who’s paw was injured. After the lion was healed he became more of a pet for the saint. — Is the story true? I’m not sure, but it’s a fun story to help kids differentiate him from other saints. The lion was an easy ornament. We made the lion using only medium brown felt and yellow felt. We used black and brown permanent markers to add detail to the parts.  St. Jerome. pray for us! May God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, priest, religious, and stigmatist, is remembered on Sept. 23. He is an amazing saint and there are many great books out there about him. You can also read more about him HERE and HERE .  Because St. Pio was a priest and a stigmatist, we made an ornament that depicts his holy hands holding the Blessed Sacrament.  If you want, you can make the bandage brown which is St. Pio\’s traditional bandage, but I chose off-white so you could see the blood marks… it\’s more \”real\” to the kids.  To create this ornament we used tan, white (for the host), off-white (for the bandages), and a mixed gray felt. We used red and brown permanent markers for adding detail to the host and the bandages.  St. Pio, pray for us! May God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

If you would have known Joseph of Cupertino as a boy, you never would have thought he would become a flying saint! He was neglected and unwanted by his mother, so he became very slow,  hot-tempered, and absent minded. As a young man he failed at all the jobs he was given. He was not accepted by the Franciscans, he was turned out by the Capuchins, and so he returned home. His mother was not happy to see him. She managed to get him into the Franciscan monastery as a servant.  During this time Joseph began to change. He began to learn humility, penance, and he worked hard. He was then accepted into the Franciscan order. He struggled with learning but eventually became a priest.  After his priesthood, he began to perform miracles. He was seen over 70 times rising from the floor while he prayed or said Mass. Sometimes he flew very high. On one occasion he carried a huge cross through the air to a Calvary group, The cross was thirty-six feet high, but he carried it with ease! Talk about super hero power! 🙂  After word of his miracles spread, St. Joseph was often kept hidden. But people flocked to talk to him in confession. He converted many people before he died on Sept. 18 1663, at the age of 60. His feast day is Sept. 18 in the Traditional Calendar. Read more about him HERE . Our ornament depicts St. Joseph flying through the air!!  We used medium brown, peach/tan, yellow and white felt. We cut out the parts as pictured above. We used black permanent marker to make shadows on his robe – to look like he’s flying. Then we used brown and black permanent markers to make a face on the circle we cut out for his head. We also added orange to the yellow halo.  St. Joseph is proof that there is hope for every human being! We can all change and become true saints! St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us! God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

The feast day of the Exaltation of the Cross reminds us that Jesus was victories over evil! The cross is a sign of Jesus’ victory! That doesn’t mean we automatically will get to heaven; it means that Jesus has unlocked heaven’s door. It’s up to us to open the door. The only way we can do that is by showing God that we love Him. We need to give God our mind, soul, heart, and body. We need to do our every deed and action for Him! Each time we look at a cross or a crucifix we should remember that we need to give our lives to God because He gave His life for us so we would have the ability to enter heaven. This ornament depicts a cross towering over the world! It was created with tan, dark brown, and light blue felt. We used a green and blue permanent sharpie marker to draw the world on the light blue circle. We added silver glitter glue to the cross and around the cross and earth. We also added gold glitter glue around the tan felt area.  We added a threaded loop of gold thread and hung it on our liturgical tree! We will be posting Our Lady of Sorrows tomorrow! Hope you have a blessed day! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

Normally when I post these liturgical ornaments I do a short quick biography… I’m never sure if I need to, but it always seemed like I should. Being that today I’m posting about St. Therese, The Little Flower, I feel odd trying to do her life justice in just a few sentences and because she is so popular I decided I’m not even going to try!  🙂  If you want to know more about her ”Google it" and you’ll find a wondrous wealth of resources. If you are looking for a good book about St. Therese my kids love these books: The Story of St. Therese of the Child Jesus (Saints Lives) St. Therese of the Child Jesus (St. Joseph Picture Books) God’s Little Flower : The Story of St. Therese of Lisieux Saint Therese and the Roses (Vision Books Series) And this Movie: Therese St. Therese’s feast day is Oct. 1 in the new calendar and Oct. 3 in the traditional calendar. To make this ornament craft you will need: medium blue felt black felt medium brown felt pink felt red felt white felt peach or tan felt scissors  good quality, thick tacky glue or hot glue (I use hot glue)Tacky glue like this: HERE and Here  You may also like to try Felt Glue thread and needle to make a hanging loop Step 1: Cut out shapes like these pictured above – using correct colors. (We did add a red long wavy stand which is not pictured.) Be sure the blue felt is bigger than all the other pieces so you have plenty of room to glue Saint Therese onto it.  Also, the black veil and the ”U” shaped black veil should be the same size. But the ”U” shaped veil has the center cut out. Step 2: Glue down the black veil, then add the head and white habit. Don’t add the ”U” shaped veil, yet and try not to add glue to the bottom of her chin yet.  Step 3: Once you have added the head and habit, add the ”U” shaped black veil to cover the outer edges of the head and habit.  Step 4: Add the brown half oval shaped body. It will be located below her head with a small space between her chin and the brown body. Step 5: Now add the white collar. Be sure the top edge is just under her chin. Now glue the collar and her chin down.  Step 6: Add some leaves to the lower body area.  Step 7: Roll the long strips into a rose – Cut off any extra which would make the rose too big. Make and glue one at a time. When gluing them make a pool of glue about the size of the rose and then lay the rolled rose into the glue – wavy side up and flat side into the glue. Press the rose into the glue. Do the same with the next two roses.  Step 8: Cut off the extra blue felt from around the St. Therese figure and roses.  Step 9: Add a thread loop to hang the ornament. Sew a piece of thread (we used gold) through the top and knot it.   Step 10: Hang the ornament wherever you like and enjoy! This would be a great project for a Little Flowers Girls Club, too! St. Therese, pray for us! May God Bless you all with Joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth  (Elizabeth, my sweet helper, has loved St. Therese since she was a toddler!)

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was visited by Jesus and He communicated to her his desire for the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through her, He told us of His desired for us to go to First Friday Mass.  Her feast day is Oct. 16 on the new calendar and Oct. 17  on the traditional calendar. Read more about her on THIS page. This ornament depicts Jesus showing his Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary.  To make this ornament you will need: light brown or peach felt red felt yellow felt white felt (optional) brown sharpie permanent marker purple sharpie permanent marker orange sharpie permanent marker black sharpie permanent marker scissors ( these kind  work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) needle and thread to create the looped hanger Cut out the pieces as they are pictured above. Use a black marker to make the crown of thorns on the heart. Use a purple maker to make the shaded edge on the heart. Use an orange marker to add the extra color to the flames. Finally, add a light edge to the hand with a brown marker. Lay out your parts onto your background so know where they will need to go. Then glue down your flames. Add the heart over top the flames. Then, fold the three fingers back on the hand so it looks like it’s pointing. Glue them back. Glue down the hand so it looks like it’s pointing to the heart. Then cut off the extra outer edge of the tan back ground.  ~*You can stop there if you like*~ OR you can add an extra piece of white material so it look like Jesus is pulling back his shirt. Cut out a piece of white felt like the one pictured above. Add glue along one side of the ornament. Place the edge of the white felt onto the glue.  Now add glue to the back of the white felt. and fold it back – in a messy kind of way – so it looks like a shirt/robe. Now flip it back over and trim the top so the shirt and chest are both even. Now add a threaded-loop to the top and hang it up. Be sure you find the center of weight, one side will be a little heavier then the other. If you are trying to fulfill your First Friday devotion you may like THIS post: St. Margaret Mary, pray for us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

October 7th is dedicated to Our Lady for the Rosary.  The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The Battle of Lepanto was a great sea battle and the Christians were outnumbered by the Turks – 7 to 1! Pope St. Pius V asked that all Christians pray the Rosary. Then, God gave the Christians an incredible victory!   Read more about the battle HERE . Elizabeth and I created a new ornament for the occasion.  (This will be the last ornament till next week.) To create this ornament you will need: •medium blue felt •light blue felt •white felt •pink felt •peach felt •medium brown felt •yellow felt •purple felt (or any other color you would like to use to make the Rosary) •orange Sharpie marker •yellow Sharpie marker •blue Sharpie marker  •brown Sharpie marker •purple Sharpie marker (or other color to match your Rosary color) •scissors •glue (hot glue, felt glue   or tacky glue – like this  or this ) •needle and thread for looped hanger Cut out the parts like those shown above. We used a hole-puncher to make the little purple beads. If your hole-punch is not 100% sharp you may have to use scissors to finish cutting a few edges.  Also, the blue rectangle should have been the brown color (like her hair) – making it blue was a little mistake which we realized after we finished creating Mary. First, glue down the light blue body onto the pink background. Then glue down the blue rectangle (which should have been brown). Cut the rectangle so it fits over top the light blue body.  Add the halo which was out-lined with an orange Sharpie marker. Add the head – be sure the head\’s chin touches and slightly covers the light blue body. Now, add the hair, which has been detailed with a brown maker.  Next add the veil. This can also be detailed/shaded with a light blue sharpie marker. Now you need to make a few lilies (we made 3). A step-by-step picture is above. Add the lilies to the ornament -like above. Next arrange the beads, heart-shaped Rosary center, and cross around the lilies. When you feel that you know how you want to arrange them, glue them down. We added a purple out-line to the Rosary. We also added a yellow outline around Mary to make her \”glow\” . Now cut out around everything and remove any extra pink background. Add the threaded loop and hang her up!  Now, I’d like to ask a personal favor. My oldest brother is a fallen away Catholic, who’s birthday falls on Oct. 7th. Please, pray for him! He’s a great guy who would make an awesome soldier for Christ! Thank you for any prayers! 🙂 God Bless you all with joy and peace! ~Jennifer and my helper, Elizabeth

Last year my two 4th graders were learning about the Making of the Thirteen Colonies. We were reading Book 2 of ““. The book included a simple timeline. So I created this timeline page for my kids to use so they could create their own timeline notebook. Each of the pages includes a section for them to write the topic of the timeline. It also has writing blocks so the kids can write the date and a little about the historical event. The kids also “finished” drawing the line from the writing blocks to the timeline line which is in the middle of the page. We placed our timelines in a 3 ring binder and added a cover page to the front of the binder. Then the kids could add a page as they work their way through history! There are two versions of this timeline. One runs side to side on a vertical page and the other runs side to side on a horizontal page. Each as a cover to match the direction of the pages you choose. I first made the horizontal timeline page, but the vertical pages seemed to be easier for my kids to understand, as they flip from one page to the next. Choose whichever you like best: Download the Timeline Sheets Here: These are great pages to use if you are creating mini biographies of famous people like the saints, and they work well when learning about any topic of history – Church history, US history or world history. These were great to have last year and I plan to use them again this year as we work through book 3 and 4 in the “A History of US” set. Hope you are having a great school year! God Bless. ~JenMarie

Saint Gregory the Great is the patron saint of teachers. He is one of the four great doctors of the Latin Church and his feast day is Sept. 3 on the new calendar (March 12 on the Traditional calendar). He built 7 monasteries and is know for his contributions to the Liturgy of the Mass and Office. He was also pope from the 3rd of September in 590 to his death on March 12th 604. Read more about him HERE . The ornament for Gregory the Great consists of a book with a quill pen, a Papal Tiara with the three crowns, and the Holy Spirit.  We made it with maroon, yellow, light brown, white and off-white felt. Plus, we used brown and black permanent markers on the book pages, as well as, the quill pen.  We used gold glitter glue on the yellow crowns (on the Papal Tiara) and we added a few drops of red glitter glue to add ”gem”. Later we decided to add a Holy Spirit. (Ya, we make this all up as we go along! Just bear with me!) We glued all the parts onto the light brown felt and we added silver glitter glue around the Holy Spirit.  St. Gregory the Great, pray for us – especially us mother who homeschool or those who are teachers! We have a big job and always need help! God Bless, ~JenMarie

St. Matthew, Apostle, evangelist, and martyr, is the patron saint of bankers and accountants. His feast day is Sept. 21 in the new and traditional calendars.  Because he wrote the Gospel of Matthew, we added a book to his ornament. We added the money bag because he is the patron saint for those who deal with money.    To create this ornament we used charcoal, tan, maroon, white and gray felt. We used a hole punch to make the coins. If your hole punch is not 100% sharp you will need to cut out the uncut sections, and that easy to do. We used brown and black permanent markers to add details to the white ”paper” and the money bag.  St. Matthew, pray for us! God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie sand Elizabeth

St. John was given the surname Chrysostomos,  meaning ”golden-mouthed” because he was said to speak with eloquence. He is often considered the most prominent doctor of the Greek Church and known for his beautiful homilies. He was exiled after being falsely accused and later died in exile. Read more HERE and HERE .  St. John Chrysostom wrote: ”The bee is more honored than other animals, not because it labors, but because it labors for others”. Bees, work unceasingly for the common good of the hive and obey without question their superiors, and above all their queen…. Finish reading on this idea HERE His feast day is Sept. 13th in the new calendar and Jan. 27th in the traditional calendar.  St. John was often pictured with a bee hive, because of his quote about the bees. So for his ornament, Elizabeth and I created a bee hive.  We used light blue, green, light brown/tan yellow, and white felt. We also used a little purple to add a few tiny flowers. The bee was created with the yellow felt, and we added black stripes and a black head with a black permanent marker. We also used a brown permanent marker to outline the hive. We used a pink permanent marker to create the center of the flowers. We glued the green ”grass” to the light blue felt. We also added a few blades of grass before we added the hive. Then we added the bees and then the bee wings. Next we added a few flowers, just to make it look more cute!  And now you have a cute little bee hive to add to your collection of saint ornaments! St. John Chrysostom, pray for us. May we find peace in our hearts even when others treat us bad, like you did in your life. God bless. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth