Saint Bede was a church historian who recorded the history of Christianity in England up to his own time. He is widely regarded as the greatest of all the Anglo-Saxon scholars. his most famous writing was on theology and history and his best known work is The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. He was probably born around 673 in Northumbria, likelysomewhere in NE England near Jarrow or Monkton. When he was seven, Bede was sent to St. Benedict Biscop (January 12) at the monastery of St. Peter at Wearmouth to be educated and raised. Then he was sent to the new monastery of St. Paul founded at Jarrow in 682, where he remained until his death. There he was guided by the abbot St. Ceolfrith (September 25). There is an incident in the anonymous Life of Ceolfrith which may refer to the young Bede. A plague swept through Ceolfrith’s monastery in 686, taking most of the monks who sang in the choir for the church services. Only the abbot and a young boy raised and educated by him remained. This young boy “is now a priest of the same monastery and commends the abbot’s admirable deeds both verbally and in writing to all who desire to learn them.” St Bede was ordained as a deacon when he was 19, and to the holy priesthood at the age of 30 by St. John of Beverley (May 7), the holy Bishop of Hexham (687), and later (705) of York. Bede had a great love for the church services, and believed that since the angels were present with the monks during the services, that he should also be there. “What if they do not find me among the brethren when they assemble? Will they not say, ‘Where is Bede?’ Bede began as a pupil of St Benedict Biscop, who had been a monk of the famous monastery at Lerins (left), and had founded monasteries himself. St Benedict had brought many books with him to England from Lerins and from other European monasteries. This library enabled Bede to write his own books, which include biblical commentary, ecclesiastical history, and hagiography. Bede was not an objective historian. He is squarely on the Roman side in the debate with Celtic Christianity, for example. He was, however, fair and thorough. His books, derived from “ancient documents, from the traditions of our ancestors, and from my own personal knowledge” (Book V, 24) give us great insight into the religious and secular life of early Britain. To read St Bede is to enter a world shaped by spiritual traditions very similar to those cherished by Orthodox Christians. These saints engage in the same heroic asceticism shown by saints in the East, and their holiness fills us with love and admiration. Christians were expected to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and there was a 40 day Nativity Fast (Book IV, 30). St Bede became ill in 735. For about two weeks before Pascha, he was weak and had trouble breathing, but experienced little pain. He remained cheerful and gave daily lessons to his students, then spent the rest of the day singing Psalms and giving thanks to God. He would often quote the words of St Ambrose, “I have not lived in such a way that I am ashamed to live among you, and I do not fear to die, for God is gracious” (Paulinus, Life of Saint Ambrose, Ch. 45). After a sleepless night, St Bede continued his dictation on Wednesday morning. At the Third Hour, there was a procession with the relics of the saints in the monastery, and the brethren went to attend this service, leaving a monk named Wilbert with Bede. The monk reminded him that there remained one more chapter to be written in the book which he was dictating. Wilbert was reluctant to disturb the dying Bede, however. St Bede said, “It is no trouble. Take your pen and write quickly.” At the Ninth Hour, Bede paused and told Wilbert that he had some items in his chest, such as pepper, incense, and linen. He asked the monk to bring the priests of the monastery so that he could distribute these items to them. When they arrived, he spoke to each of them in turn, requesting them to pray for him and to remember him in the services. Then he said, “The time of my departure is at hand, and my soul longs to see Christ my King in His beauty.” After chanting, “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit” to its ending, St Bede fell asleep in the Lord Whom he had loved. Although St Bede reposed on May 25, the eve of the Ascension, he is commemorated on the 27th, since the Feast of St Augustine of Canterbury is appointed for the 26th. His body was first buried in the south porch of the monastery church, then later transferred to a place near the altar. Today his holy relics lie in Durham Cathedral, in the Galilee chapel. St Bede is the only Englishman mentioned by Dante in the DIVINE COMEDY (Paradiso). Bede's tomb in Durham Cathedral He is the patron saint of English (British) writers, and historians.

Ideas for teaching about the saints to kids. This is perfect for All Saints' Day and has lots of ideas for Catholic schools and homes.

Jesus Christ's True Cross was discovered in 326 by St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor St. Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Sts. Helena and Constantine. The church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the cross placed inside it. Other legends explain that in 614, a portion of the cross was carried away from the church by the Persians, and remained missing until it was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628. Initially taken to Constantinople, the cross was returned to the church the following year. September 14 is always a fast day and the eating of meat, dairy products and fish is prohibited. The Feast of the Exaltation has a one-day Forefeast and an eight-day Afterfeast. On the eve of the feast before small vespers the priest, having prepared a tray with the cross placed on a bed of fresh basil leaves or flowers, covered with an aër (liturgical veil), places it on the table of prothesis; after that service, the priest carries the tray on his head preceded by lighted candles and the deacon censing the cross, processing to the holy table. The bringing out of the cross and the exaltation ceremony occur at matins. The normal antiphons are replaced by special verses from the psalms 22, 74, and 99, which have direct reference to Christ's crucifixion on the Cross. A special hymn replaces the Trisagion hymn, as it is sung, the faithful prostrate. The epistle reading is from I Corinthians 1:18-24, and says that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." The gospel reading is taken from John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, and 30-35 together. This long reading is the passion account. Troparion (Tone 1) O Lord, save Thy people, And bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory to the Emperor [or "Thy people" or "the Orthodox Christians"] Over the barbarians, [or "their enemies"] And by the power of Thy Cross Preserve Thy commonwealth. [or "estate" or "habitation"] Since basil (which was found at the site where the True Cross was buried) is used to decorate a silver plate with a cross, along with flowers, after the service the basil would be taken house and used to bless the house. It is then kept at the icon corner and a little bit burnt each time in the censer. One idea to help children celebrate is lighting a candle under a Cross to commemorate this holy day. Burn some of the basil received from Divine Liturgy as a "burnt offering" to Christ our God! You could also cook a meal using basil in the food to remember the place where the True Cross was found by St. Helena. Wine and Olive Oil are allowed, so perhaps a simple Italian dish with lots of basil! This Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta look like a perfect dish to celebrate the Elevation Feast Day! Little ones can color this coloring page:

Continuing my series on crafts related to the Creed... (for the rest, check out the "I Believe" activities under the Sharing the Faith tab above) Highlighting the Four Marks of the Church found at the end of the Nicene Creed, I made this craft as a vehicle for dicussing how the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Here are some topics I would teach as I made this with kids: -One= Christ founded one Church. It was never his plan for us to break into smaller groups with differing beliefs. When He comes again, we will all be united as one. -Holy= The Church is the spotless Bride of Christ, good and holy, even though it is made up of broken and fallen people. When He comes again, the Church will enter Heaven as His Holy Bride. -Catholic= The Church is universal. Our faith is for all people of all cultures of all times. When He comes again, we will see how all encompassing the Church really is. -Apostolic= The Church is founded on the teachings of the Apostles, and continues to follow their authority today through their successors the Bishops. We are blessed to have leadership in our time by those given authority from Christ. -The Church is not a building, but is the people. We are the Church, and we make up the Body of Christ. -We believe all of these things as we say the Nicene Creed- "I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church." So, for the craft, you will need a copy of the printable (link at the bottom of the post) and one piece of black construction paper for each kid, as well as various colored scraps of paper, glue, scissors, and a circle punch if you have one. First mission: color the pieces on the printable. I chose to leave the church and "Our Church Is..." white to represent it being the spotless Bride of Christ. Then cut them out. Second mission: cut open the doors on the solid lines and fold on the dotted lines. A little trick for kids having trouble-fold the church in half length ways and clip on the line. Then open it back up and cut the rest. Here is what it looks like after that step- Third mission: lay the church in the center of the black paper and trace the opening with a white crayon. (I love finding a purpose for the neglected white crayon in my Crayola box :) ) Fourth mission: Cut or punch out circle of various colors. This is step you could do ahead of time to speed things up if you are crafting with a large group. Glue the circles inside the white rectangle. Glue the church on over the circles without gluing down the doors. Then glue on the rest of the words like this: Fifth mission: glue the "We are the Church!" and the Ephesians verse on the inside of the doors. This is to remind the kids that we, all of the people of God, are the Church, and we are one body. Sixth mission: Go share it with somebody! Here is the link to the printable:

I know I’m not the only parent who gets asked a few dozen times, “When is Feast of Peace?” or…

Week 2 from CCM is all about the Seven Sacraments. So for 2 weeks, the kids and I talked about the Seven Sacraments. We did a brief over view of all 7 sacraments. Worksheet from Catholic Mom Coloring Page For note taking practice, I had the kids write down the seven sacraments into their religion notebooks. The first sacrament we talked about was Baptism, since this is the first sacraments we receive as Catholics. I found a wonderful lesson on Baptism from Our Lady of the Rosary Library. Father William J. Cogan offers this lessons on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Baptism Craft from Jennifer over at Catholic Inspired! Worksheet on Baptism from Catholic Mom. Baptism Craft worksheet from Sadlier Religion. Here a few more resources I found while searching the internet. Lesson on the Baptism of Jesus Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Coloring Page We discussed the symbols of Baptism. Worksheet Baptism Lesson for Younger Children Fun Activity Worksheet Baptism Coloring Page Baptism Lesson for Older Children Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Ash Wednesday Coloring Pages can help kids learn more about Easter and the time that comes before it. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the 40 days of lent in the Christian religion. It marks a holy day to start the tradition of repentance, prayer and fasting. Christians show their love and sacrifice for the […]

I made a little one page zine to help kids learn the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed. Grab the pdf above, and print to fill a page. Instructions for folding and cutting below.

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Free Seven Sacraments sorting game is perfect for kids to play in the classroom

Welcome to Catholic Icing- a place where you can find fun resources for Catholic kids year round! If you would like to get an update when I post new resources, sign up below as a

I put together this lesson on the Eucharist with a little zine for our kids at church. I tried to make the book appropriate for a broad a...

Need for Orthodox coloring pages, for both kids and adults, has grown. People look for these pages during religious holidays or when teaching children about their faith.

Kids will have fun reviewing the names of Jesus' disciples with this fun, FREE 12 Disciples Memory Game. Perfect for Sunday school lessons.

Let each of your kids color and wear this forgiveness crown and be reminded of the power of a king to forgive—and especially of God’s power to forgive.

Use the Touching Jesus Coloring Page as a fun activity for your next children's sermon.

Previous Next It had been revealed to Simeon that he would meet the Saviour before his death – and what a joyous occasion that was! Click to read more… Simeon took baby Jesus into his arms and rejoiced! This craft has moving arms so your children can act out Simeon rejoicing. Story found in Luke ... Read more

Apostles' Creed Memory Coloring Collection Perfect for Sunday School age children, this collection is useful for memorization and depicts the entire Apostles' Creed. In this collection, you will receive 9 pages in two pdf files. The first page contains the complete Apostles' Creed, while the remaining 6 pages break it down into sections for memory work or individual Sunday School lessons. An additional file includes each of the six sections sized as a 3X5 take-along reminder. The large watermark across the listing will not appear on your downloaded files. There will be a small, unobtrusive copyright notification. **Please note--This is a digital item for instant download. You will not receive a physical item. Once the pdf is downloaded, you may physically print as many paper copies as you wish for personal, ministry and non-commercial use as coloring pages. You may not re-post or share these digital images for others to download, even for free. All images are protected by copyright. No additional rights are transferred to the buyer. You may not resell these images for any reason, or use them on any other products.**©Krista Hamrick Illustration

This post is probably one of my most-pinned of all time. I guess we are a people searching for ways to show Christ to our kids. But, because people were asking for more Lent cards, with more options (and yes, I’ve included blank ones in there, too!) I’ve decided to whip up a new batch.…

We're one week away from the most special-est and beautiful-est and wonderful-est Mass of the year... The Easter Vigil. All of the waiting of Lent and the suffering of Holy Week and the quiet of the Triduum is exalted in the joy and wonder of celebrating Christ's Resurrection. To help prepare my students to soak up the signs at symbols as they attend Mass and services with their families in the coming week, we are going to be creating lots of projects during our last few days together before the Triduum and Spring Break. Some I already have posted about up under the Liturgical Year tab, but we'll be creating a few new ones too! Yesterday, my students designed their own Paschal Candles like the new candles that will be blessed at each Easter Vigil. A few basics I wanted my students to know: -The candle represents Christ being the light of the world, and is the first light that enters the dark church on Easter Vigil -The candle is lit from the blessed Easter fire -It is then often used to light the candles of the participants at the Vigil during the time the rest of the candles in the Sanctuary are lit, lights turned on, music sung, etc. -The candle is made from 100% beeswax, representing the purity of Christ -A new Paschal Candle is used by each church each year, helping the parish enter into the Easter Mystery each new year -The candle is burned at liturgical services throughout all 50 days of Easter. Following that season, it is lit at Baptisms and Funerals, connecting our lives to the death and Resurrection of Christ You can read more about the Paschal Candle here and here. We also discussed all of the symbols that the candles are decorated with: -The Chi Rho (PX symbol), the first two letters of Christ in Greek -The Alpha & Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing that Christ is the beginning and the end -The current year, often with 20 and 18 spread out vertically -Five wax nails that hold five grains of incense, representing the five wounds of Christ and the burial spices used to embalm His Body We switched up this project a bit by letting the students use the Chi Rho stamp I offer in my Etsy Shop, stamping the center of their Paschal Candles and then using a pen cap to stamp small circles for the five nails. They loved getting to stamp the design and it was good to let them try another medium. (The base of the candle is 3" x 12" heavy white cardstock, but you could make them larger to match the candles in the church or smaller for a more manageable project). I think we might use the same stamp this week to make cards for our parish's RCIA candidates! (I don't always keep stamps stocked in my Etsy shop- if you'd like to still have the Chi Rho for your candles, here it is as a pdf printable.) After the above decorations, the kids added symbols of their choice, including: -lamb -chalice and host -grapes and wheat -water -flames -cross -Good Shepherd -Sacred Heart -etc. When they were happy with all of their symbols, we "lit" the candles with some cool holographic orange paper (suddenly becoming the coolest part of the project, of course). The kids seemed super happy with how they turned out, and I hope they pay close attention to the new Paschal Candle next weekend! We hung them in the hallway with our Sunset & Shadow Stations of the Cross for just a few more days- and then we'll take everything down and send it home for them to use with their own families' celebrations! This would also make a great project when learning about the Sacrament of Baptism or to celebrate a Baptismal Anniversary! We might just add it to our Baptismal Unit next year and then review in time for Holy Week. Have you ever done a Paschal Candle craft like this with kids? Or do you paint your own candles for your home or classroom?

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When I shared an image on Instagram of the icon my eight-year-old made at our homeschooling co-op, I got TONS of requests for a tutorial. So my friend Ren…

Бесплатный печатный урок Библии для детей. В Иоанна 9: 1-42 Он необычным образом исцеляет слепорожденного. Рассказ, руководство по урокам, раскраски, поделки и многое другое включены. Идеально подходит для дошкольников дома или в церкви.

Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord.

I have wanted to try making a St. Brigid's cross for years, but never got around to it until now. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and we had a lot

It is my particular pleasure to introduce the Orthodox Illustration Project – an initiative under the aegis of the Orthodox Arts Journal. In brief, the purpose of the project is to make available o…

Coloring pages with St Aristobulus, St Patrick, Annunciation, St Tikhon, St Hilarion, & Triumph of Orthodoxy begins our Pascha Preparations

Learning about the saints is a wonderful thing for Catholic children to work on. This post has a free saints coloring book for January, featuring six saints whose feast days are in January: Saint Basil, Saint Genevieve, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Sebastian, Saint Agnes of Rome, and Saint Thomas Aquinas.

A selection of crafts and resources for teaching young children about holy icons.

I first saw this idea on Oriental Trading Company where they sell it as a craft for children to make. I've prepared this as a Godly Play prop for telling the story of Jesus' ascension. This is so quick and basic to make: Print and cut out one of the many free colouring pictures of Jesus ascending to heaven. (I reduced the size of mine to fit the opening of the paper cup, and glued it onto a piece of card to make it a little sturdier) Glue some cotton wool to a blue paper cup (you can also cut out white clouds from craft foam). Make a little hole just above Jesus' head and thread a piece of embroidery floss through it, then through a small slit in the bottom of the paper cup, and sandwich it between two white cardboard clouds. Write an appropriate Scripture on the cloud - I used Matthew 28:20: I will set this up as follows: Make a 'mountain' by turning a mixing bowl / shoe box / laundry basket upside down and covering it with a green cloth / sheet /towel. Place peg doll disciples in a semi-circle on the mountain. Position Jesus among them and as you tell the story of how Jesus was taken up in the cloud, pull the cloud so Jesus disappears into the paper cup 'sky'. (This is not a great photo, but it was a little tricky holding onto the cup and trying to take a photo!!) We will end this with singing two songs my children know about Jesus returning for us one day (For my local readers: Hy kom weer op die wolke - Oom Karolus en Lente; As Jesus kom op die wolke - Jan de Wet en die Loflaaities.) I also have the full-size colouring page ready which I used for our Jesus figure. You can get it here.

I am going to have a post once a week this month for The Beatitudes. This week will begin the series with the lesson, visuals and more!...