Habemus Papam!

Habemus Papam!

The children were just about to begin our history lesson for the day. Needless to we have stopped and begun to watch history as it unfolds!

You can watch here live and await the announcement!

And don’t forget to print out your copy of Habemus Papam copywork sheet to fill in with our new Pontiff’s name!

Pope Watch 2013 (FREE Copywork Printable)

The Conclave begins tomorrow! Hopefully the Holy See will no longer be “Sede vacante” and the triple tiara will return to the Vatican’s Coat of Arms soon.

Since Rome is a good 6 hours ahead of our time zone, our little ones will not be viewing the start of the Conclave, but my husband and I are all set to have our own little Conclave Party around 1 AM!

Needless to say, our family is quite excited about this once in a lifetime event! Both my husband and I grew up under Blessed Pope John Paul II’s regin, experiencing our first Papal Conclave as still-somewhat-newlyweds when our oldest daughter was just shy of one year old. Now, with our oldest just shy of nine years old, with younger brother and sister close behind, we are thrilled to be sharing this amazing time within the church with our children.

Of course, the children are all concerned with keeping a close eye on the Sistine Chapel chimney throughout the coming days.  It is tradition that white smoke will emit from the Sistine Chapel chimney when the new Pope is elected, with the Dean of the College of Cardinals then declaring that “Habemus Papam! We have a Pope!” from the balcony.

In anticipation of this announcement, and to seize my children’s enthusiasm, I have created a little copywork sheet to keep at the ready.

You can snag a copy to have handy.
Just click the image above to print without the copyright watermark.

Two sheets, one in Latin and one in English, will be printed off and waiting for the coming historic culmination within the Church.

In addition to waiting to fill in our copywork sheet, we will be eagerly awaiting a text/email from PopeAlarm and continue to pray for our  adopted Cardinal, while we begin praying a Novena for the Conclave!

…:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::…

PRAYER FOR THE CONCLAVE TO ELECT THE POPE

Heavenly Father, we pray in union with the whole Church for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Cardinals. May the Princes of the Church listen attentively to Your Spirit during the conclave.

Almighty God, we pray that the conclave brings us a Pope who pleases You by guiding Your Church to grow in faithfulness to You. We pray together with the intercession of our Mother Mary and all the Saints. Please Lord, protect and guide your Church during this time of transition.

Amen.

Ash Wednesday :: Copywork (FREE Printable)

Today is the beginning of the Lenten season. While Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, many Catholics the world over attend Mass to receive the imposition of ashes.

Before Mass today, the priest will burn the blessed palm branches from last year’s Palm Sunday.  He will then bless them with an antiphon and a verse of a psalm begging God’s grace and mercy.

He will then sprinkle the ashes with holy water and incenses them, place them on his own forehead, and then imposes the ashes on the heads of the congregation, the head being the seat of pride. He puts them on our foreheads in the shape of a Cross to remind us of our hope, and as he does so, he says the words of Genesis 3:

“Meménto, homo, quia pulvis es, et in púlverem revertéris

Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”

 As we trot off to Mass this morning to receive the imposition of ashes, I thought I would share with all of you what will be awaiting my children upon our return home.

A simple copywork sheet with the words of the priest from Genesis 3 to help them remember just what the importance of that cross is that graces their foreheads for all the world to see this day.

(You can print a copy for yourself–just click the picture to print without the copyright watermark.)

…:::::::::…

Check out these other ways to celebrate the Lenten season in your own Domestic Church!

I Kidnapped Momma

I didn’t mean to.

See, it’s just that I really like to be held.

Like, a lot.

And I am a bit of a night owl. Even though momma tries, I really would rather sleep all day. So, I’ve kind of been holding her hostage, you could say.

She doesn’t seem to mind that much. So, for my five-weeks-old birthday, I decided I would give her a bit of a scare. It turned out to be a bigger scare than I had planned.

See, I scared her so much that she ended up taking me to the hospital for the weekend. They gave me cute little stickers to wear and lots of good air.

I didn’t really like my stay there too much. The last time was way better. But I’m okay now.

Anyway….

You know what is really neat?

I have have all of these silly people who keep me company and love to play with me, and hold me, and sing to me.

And I have this big brother who doesn’t seem to mind that he isn’t the baby anymore.

At least I think that’s true because he really likes to kiss my cheeks.

Like, a lot.

Merry Christmas!

From Our Family To Yours