Messengers from God

Greetings Everyone!

Sunday was a really busy day so that is why we are a day late with this blog! We were at the cottage this weekend so that we could enjoy the beautiful fall weather. We sure hope all of you had a great weekend.

This is us taking a little dip after going to Mass. Speaking of Mass, Tallulah do you remember the Gospel?

Yes I do Cloë. It was about the poor guy, I think his name was Lazarus, who went to Heaven and the rich guy who went to Hell. In fact here is a video of the parable.

(youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh0231lmhzQ)

Do you remember what the priest said about this parable?

Yes I do Cloë, I was listening very closely. He said that it is not just about sharing money with others but also sharing our talents and our time with others. He said it was important to Jesus that we be aware of those around us and that we acknowledge them.

Very good Tallulah. We would love to hear some of your ideas about how you can share with others. Post your ideas in the comments section.

The other important thing about yesterday is that it was the feast day of St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, 3 of the archangels! All 3 are in the Bible but each has a different mission from God.

Hey Cloë that is just like people. God gives people different talents and jobs doesn't he?!

That's right Tallulah. In this case, Michael protects, Gabriel announces and Raphael guides.

Here is a fun picture to colour from Happy Saints. Click here to download it. Can you figure out why each Archangel is holding the particular objects that they are? Write you answers in the comment box.

To learn more about these three special angles visit the website of Holy Spirit Interactive Kids.

Well I guess that's it for today. Talk to you soon - woof!

Cloë and Tallulah.

A great day with Cat.Chat

Hi Everybody!

What a great day we had yesterday! The Cat.Chat Family was in town and we got to go to not one but two of their concerts!

(RayAnne, Denise Venessa, Moses, Luke, Jerome, Gerald (aka the Cat.Chat Man) & Dominic)

Cloë we did not really get to go to the concerts, we had to stay outside and listen to them.

Well Tallulah we did get to meet them all before the concert.

You are right and we got to finish the concert! It was so awesome seeing and meeting the hundreds of kids that were there.

Here are a few pictures and some concert footage.

 

 
This is Denise, the Cat.Chat mom. She was a little bit afraid of us. Maybe when I jumped up to give her a kiss she thought I was going to eat her, which I would never do!

 

It's not the best picture but here is Moses (Wow was he ever big!) and the littlest one Venessa (she came for a walk with us which was fun) big sister RayAnne (we forgot to ask her how she spells her name) and the drummer Dominic (he was pretty cool).

(Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROEeMnNqAdw)

 

We made the paper Cloë! Check out DIVINE ENTERTAINMENT: Lights, camera and the word of God in the Seaway News!

Did you notice Tallulah that the kids dropped donations off for the St. Vincent de Paul Society on their way into the concert? Well today just happens to be his feast day!

If you click here you can find out all kinds of neat things about the very generous St. Vincent de Paul. Things like:

1. Vincent became a priest in 1600. He was just 19 years old.
2.  He cared for those who were sick.
3. When he found poor children he would give them food, clothing, toys and his love.

And finally we want to congratulate our old friend Archbishop Paul-André who yesterday was elected as the new president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. This is him with Bishop Crosby (Diocese of Hamilton) who is the new vice-president.

Well that's lots for today! Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

The Canadian Martyrs

Thursday, September 26th is the feast day of the Canadian Martyrs.
 

 
What is a martyr Cloë?
 
A martyr is a person who is killed because someone did not like the fact that they believed in Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit. Remember Tallulah that a few days ago the Church celebrated the feast of Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions? They were also martyrs.
 

(Go to the Happy Saints Website to see more Saints.) 

Gee Cloë that is very mean of those people.
 
It certainly is Tallulah. We are lucky that in Canada we can go to church everyday with our master and no one will try and stop us. Unfortunately there are still many places in the world where that is not possible. In fact, this past Sunday in Pakistan there were many people killed as they left church.
 
Wow. We have to pray for these people and their families.
 

 
We do indeed Cloë and we also have to pray for the people who did this terrible thing so that they might one day know God and know that God is love and peace.
 

 
So back to the Canadian Martyrs. They were 8 Jesuit missionaries who had come to North America 400 years ago, before we were called Canada and the United States. They wanted to share their knowledge of God with the First Nations people. Many of them accepted what they had to say and many even became Catholics. But there were others who did not like this and those people eventually killed these 8 missionaries.

• St. Jean de Brébeuf
• St. Noël Chabanel
• St. Antoine Daniel
• St. Charles Garnier
• St. René Goupil
• St. Isaac Jogues
• St. Jean de Lalande
• St. Gabriel Lalemant

Today, you can visit a giant shrine to the Martyrs in Midland, Ontario.

If you go to their website you can learn more about the story of the Canadian Martyrs, you can go on a virtual tour, and you can even see some of the documents that the Jesuits created 400 years ago!

(These are pages from Louis André's dictionary of the Algonquin language.)


So when you go to Mass this Sunday, say a prayer of thanks to the Canadian Martyrs that you are able to do this with no fear.
 
Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

 

 

  

From Black, to Purple, to Red, to White

Watch this cool video that we found on YouTube about the new pope. We bet you there are still a few things you did not know.

 

(youtube link: http://youtu.be/_rHL4P1_GFM)

Padre Pio

Today is the feast day of a very special saint. In fact, he could be the hero in a comic book since God gave him some very special gifts.
 

 
One day, Padre Pio was praying before the Crucifix when he realized he had the stigmata.
 
The stig what?
 
The stigmata is the word used to describe the wounds that Jesus had after he was crucified. See here is a photo of Padre Pio and you can see the sores on his hands.
 

 
That must hurt!
 
I don't know about that Tallulah, but people said that the blood smelled like flowers.
 
Another gift that God gave to Padre Pio was the gift of bilocation.  And before you ask, bilocation means that Padre Pio could be in two places at the same time.
 
Wow that is very cool.
 
Here is one story that we found on EWTN's website.
 
Among the most remarkable of the documented cases of bilocation was the Padre's appearance in the air over San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. While southern Italy remained in Nazi hands American bombers were given the job of attacking the city of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, when they appeared over the city and prepared to unload their munitions a brown-robed friar appeared before their aircraft. All attempts to release the bombs failed. In this way Padre Pio kept his promise to the citizens that their town would be spared. Later on, when an American airbase was established at Foggia a few miles away, one of the pilots of this incident visited the friary and found to his surprise the little friar he had seen in the air that day over San Giovanni.
 
But perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to bring people closer to God, especially when hearing their confessions.

He died in 1968 long before we and all you kids were born. But I bet your parents and certainly your grandparents were alive and might even remember him.

Did you know Cloë that more than 100,000 people went to his funeral.

Here is a picture of the church dedicated to him. If you click here you can see all kinds of neat photos. You can visit San Giovanni Rotondo virtually!

Why not make a Saint Folder on this special feast day.

Go to the My Little Flower Blog for instructions. Be sure to scroll down to September 23rd.

Let's finish with a prayer. Pope John Paul II recited this prayer on the occasion of the canonization of Padre Pio, June 16, 2002.

Teach us, we pray, humility of heart,
so that we may be counted among the little ones of the Gospel
to whom the Father promised to reveal
the mysteries of His Kingdom.
Help us to pray without ceasing,
certain that God knows what we need
even before we ask Him. Obtain for us the eyes of faith that will help us recognize
in the poor and suffering, the very face of Jesus. Sustain us in the hour of trouble and trial and, if we fall,
let us experience the joy of the sacrament of forgiveness.
Grant us your tender devotion to Mary,
mother of Jesus and our Mother.
Accompany us on our earthly pilgrimage
toward the blessed Homeland,
where we too, hope to arrive to contemplate forever
the Glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Saint Padre Pio, pray for us.

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Part 5 of the Mass: Finally Ready to Start

Greetings everyone!

Well it has been 4 weeks since we last talked about the Mass, so we thought we should get back to it. Here is a quick summary of what we have covered so far.

(youtube link: http://youtu.be/aQ52cg_e7Qg)

Remember that in Part 4 (August 30/13), we talked about how everyone stands to sing at the start of Mass. One of the reasons we all sing is to come together as a community, rather than as a bunch of individuals.

Gee Cloë, I thought everybody was singing so that the priest and altar servers had music to accompany them down the aisle on their way to the altar.

No Tallulah, the people are singing to and for God.

Once the music has finished, everyone makes the sign of the cross,
while the priest says: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
And everyone says loudly: Amen! This is called the Introductory Rite.

How come they don't also say awomen?!

No Tallulah - AMEN. It is a Hebrew word (more or less) that means what is being said is true. So when the people say AMEN they are saying we agree and believe what has been said.

Ok, I get it. So the people are saying that they believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Exactly!

Next, the priests officially greats everyone and says: The Lord be with you.

The people then say: And with your spirit.

You know Cloë, sometimes Mass gets kind of boring, especially once the singing is finished.

Mass is not boring Tallulah if you understand what is happening and even more importantly if you participate during Mass. Participating means, saying the prayers and responses, singing and listening.

Seems to me I've tried responding a few times, and all that seems to do is bring our master outside to tell me to be quiet.

I think our master prefers that we participate a bit more quietly, so as not to drown out the people inside the church.

Well that's it for part 5. Next time, we'll talk about the Penitential Act.

Hey Cloë don't forget to tell everyone about our newest business card. Show them, show them.

Ok Tallulah, calm down. Here it is.

 

That's it for today - woof!

Cloë and Tallulah Belle

St. Matthew

Today we remember the Apostle Matthew in a very special way.

When Jesus was alive, the Romans, not the Jewish people, ran Israel. The Romans did a lot of awful things, including making the Jewish people pay them money, which is called a tax. Even though Matthew was a Jew and not a Roman, he helped to collect that money from his fellow Jews. That did not make him very popular! Watch this video to see!

(youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZyMPI9kTfw)

I bet I know where this is going Cloë, we talked about this on Sunday with the story of the Lost Sheep. I bet Jesus was ready to be Matthew's friend.

You are partly right Tallulah. But not only did Jesus want to be Matthew's friend, He wanted him to help spread the Good News by becoming one of his Apostles.

He wrote one of the four Gospels that 2000 years later we are still reading and learning from, right Cloë!

Parents here is a link to Matthew's Gospel especially for kids. You will find stories and activities on this site.

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Spreading the News About God

Today is the feast day of Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions.

Almost 200 years ago, most of the people of Korea had no idea about God. But some did, including Andrew's father. Andrew was baptized when he was 15. Later on, he felt God calling him to be a priest. In fact, he became the first Korean born priest.

(That is the country of Korea.)

Unfortunately, the government did not like the Christians and they were very, very mean to them. The Christians had to hide what they were doing. But many were caught by the government and even killed, including Andrew, Paul and dozens of their friends.

Today, Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, are growing very fast in South Korea.

Something to Think About
In a letter written to fellow Christians, Andrew stated, “We have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and the honour of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?”

How can you show people that you are a Christian?

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

The Prayer Ring

Hi Everybody!

What a beautiful sunny warm day it is today. This morning we were out in the bush walking with our master and it was so great being able to run wherever we wanted.

Here we are. Can you find us?

Today our master got a neat idea by email from our friend Lacy over at Catholic Icing.

It's a prayer ring and it's a great way to learn how to pray as well as to learn certain prayers. Click here to find out how to make this prayer ring. And you might even want to consider bringing it to Mass on Sundays. It will give you ideas about what to talk to God about when you are visiting with him before Mass starts.

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Finding the True Cross

Hi Everybody!

Our master just got a very interesting email that she wanted us to share with you! It's all about a new book that tells the story of St. Helen looking for Jesus' cross. Remember we just talked about this on Saturday!?! The book is called The Queen and the Cross.

In this fabulous and instructive blend of tale and history, children ages 5-8 will be inspired by the lore and legend of the faith. Boys and girls alike will be captivated by Helen, a heroic empress on a mission, and will be encouraged to treasure the Holy Cross in their own lives!

As children accompany Helen on her quest to find the true cross upon which Jesus died, they will relive her adventures. They will experience Helen's excitement when she thinks she has discovered the 'X' that marks the spot-sweet-smelling basil-since basil is the herb of kings and Jesus is the King of Life. But just as it seems that the site of the Holy Cross has been identified, not one, but three crosses are found while digging…   How will the one true cross be determined? Discover the legend of the Holy Cross and learn all about Helen's thrilling life!
To learn more about this book and how to order it go to Pauline Books & Media. They'll even let you look at the book first!

See ya soon! Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

The Lost Sheep

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the Lost Sheep.

What's a parable again Cloë?

A parable is a type of story that Jesus would tell his followers to teach them a lesson, especially about how great God's love is.

Oh like the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Exactly. Today's parable is about a shepherd who goes looking for a stray sheep.

I would be very good at looking for lost sheep. Did you know Cloë that the Belgian Malinois, which is what I am, is often used for search and rescue. See I think I hear a lost squirrel (hee!hee!)

Tallulah are you sure you would not just chase the poor sheep if you saw it?!

O.K. maybe you are right, but then I'd go find him again.

Getting back to our parable, here is a very good video that tells the whole story of how the sheep was lost and then found.

(youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=094upaf4BME)

So Tallulah, what is the lesson today?

Well Cloë I think it is that Jesus loves each person so much that He will not stop hoping that everyone will accept Him as their friend. And that even if someone has made a mistake, Jesus just wants them to be sorry and to come and be His friend again.

Very good Tallulah, obviously you were listening at Mass today.

Thank you Cloë, that is why God gave me such big ears!! Notice how big they are!

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

P.S. All the great clipart comes from Phillip Martin. Be sure to check out his website.

Jesus' Cross

Today we celebrate what is called the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
 
That sounds pretty complicated Cloë!
 
It's really not Tallulah, although we do remember quite a few things today.
 
#1: Saint Helena finding the Cross that Jesus died on. This is a painting of St. Helena finding the Cross.
 

 
 

 
This is believed to be a piece of Jesus' cross. If you ever go to Vienna in Austria you can go to see it at the Imperial Treasury Museum.
 
That is amazing Cloë that this is really a piece of THAT cross.
 
It certainly is Tallulah.

#2  The second thing this feast remembers is the dedication of churches built by Constantine, St. Helena's son, on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary in Israel.
 
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is believed to be built over the birthplace of Jesus. Click here to visit the church.
 

 
 
If you really want to know a lot more about these very special places, click here.
 
You know Cloë, I think the most important thing we celebrate today is that by Jesus dying on the cross, He saved us!
 
You are right Tallulah. God took something terrible, His son being nailed to a cross as if he was a criminal and made it beautiful because it is how we are all saved so that someday we will meet God in Heaven.
 
Here is an idea from Sandra Chakeres to celebrate this feast.
 
Decorate a cross. You could get a plain wooden cross and decorate it with ribbon, flowers, beads, and herbs such as basil. Prominently display your cross at your home, school, or parish church.

Hey Cloë I found pictures of the crosses I think we should decorate!!

You and your stomach!! It's amazing that you don't way 300 pounds.

Click here to see some of her other neat ideas.

Or why not send a card to someone special. Go to Catholic Greetings to find all kinds of nice ecards.

Well that's it for today! Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah
 

Happy Birthday Mary!

Hey Everybody!

Are you glad to be back at school? We are certainly happy to see all the kids out walking to school in the morning, we love saying hi to everyone.

Well today is a most special of days! Any ideas Tallulah?

I sure do Cloë, it's Mary's birthday!

Here we are with Mary.

She sure is small Cloë, we look like giants beside her.

Don't be silly Tallulah, this is just a statue of Mary. The real Mary is in Heaven.

Why not make a birthday cake as a way to mark this important day. (Lacy at Catholic Icing has all kinds of good ideas.) Or if you don't have time, buy a cake at the store.

Yummy! I definitely like this idea Cloë.

You and your stomach! Don't forget to sing Mary Happy Birthday.

So how old is she Cloë? If she is Jesus' mom and he was born almost 2,000 years ago - that will take one big cake to hold all those candles.

Well Tallulah, Mary is in Heaven, where age really doesn't mean anything anymore since you are with God forever and ever. Hopefully everybody will some day be able to join her in Heaven.

Click here to download the story of Mary's Life. You can learn about the important events while colouring the pictures.

Finally, here is a video of a beautiful song about Mary. And you should know some of the words!

The last thing we want to talk about today is our friend Alex. We heard at Mass this morning that he is feeling kind of lonely since he is stuck up in Ottawa! If you are in Ottawa, maybe you could drop by Ronald McDonald House and say hi to him.

Well that's if for today - Woof! Woof! Mary!

Cloë and Tallulah