Family Faith on the Go!
Today, most people celebrate St. Valentine’s day by exchanging tokens of love—cards, candy, flowers and the like. But the holiday began as a saint’s feast day, which means its original purpose was to celebrate Christian love and devotion to Christ—in the case of St. Valentine, love even in the face of death. Online you’ll find eight simple ways to remember, reflect and celebrate the feast of Saint Valentine.
Meet Josephine Bakhita, who was kidnapped in 1876 from her loving family in Sudan at age seven and sold into slavery! Can you imagine how scared she must have felt? This horrible experience made her completely forget her name. Her kidnappers renamed her Bakhita, which means “fortunate one.” Online you’ll find her complete story and an activity for your Catholic kids.
St. Blaise, whose feast is celebrated on February 3, is another saint who lived a LONG time ago–during the 4th century, when being a Christian was a crime. He was a bishop and a doctor for people and animals. To avoid being caught, he lived in a cave outside of the city. Legend has it that sick animals would come to him to be cured. But if St. Blaise was praying, the animals would patiently wait so as not to disturb his prayers. On his feast day, some people go to church to have their throats blessed. You’ll find a St. Blaise activity online.
A saintly Cinderella story?
God listened to St. Scholastica’s prayer more than the prayers of her brother St. Benedict!
