Monthly Archives: April 2017
Catholic Women’s League 2017 Ontario Provincial Council Convention Monday, July 10, 2017 to Wednesday, July 12, 2017
I will be selling my products at the Catholic Women’s League 2017 Ontario Provincial Council Convention on Monday, July 10, 2017 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, 2017 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday, July 12, 2017 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre, 555 West Arthur Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Please come to see me.
Catholic Women’s League 97th Annual Hamilton Diocesan Convention, Friday, May 26, 2017 and Saturday, May 27, 2017
I will be selling my products at the Catholic Women’s League 97th Annual Hamilton Diocesan Convention on Friday, May 26, 2017 from 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 27, 2017 from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Viking Suite Crush Area at the Crowne Plaza Kitchener Waterloo, 105 King St. West, Kitchener, Ontario. Please come and see me.
Holy Rosary Workshop
For Grade 2 First Communion
The cost is $11 per kit.
The Rosary is a beautiful, prayerful exercise that encourages you to be still and mindful. It is a prayer that can be done privately or communally and offers the Catholic faithful something that we all share in common. It helps us all to better our relationship with Our Lord as well as Our Blessed Mother Mary. The way to Jesus is through His mother.
The Holy Rosary workshop is a great introduction to the rosary for a First Communion class or to those looking to familiarize themselves with this prayer. This is a fun and hands-on approach for Grade 2 students to get to know the rosary and Mary, Our Blessed Mother, as well as an understanding of how to pray the rosary.
Students make their own rosary using natural coloured wooden beads and a blue woolen cross. Students can personalize their rosary by choosing between two different shades of blue, both symbolizing Our Blessed Mother. The wooden beads represent the wood of the cross and the woolen cross represents the Wool of the Lamb. As we string the beads together, these young students practice sorting, counting and patterning while using fine motor skills and listening to instruction.
I often split the Holy Rosary workshop into two parts. As a class, it takes about one and a half hours to make the rosary due to the age of the students. There are a lot of beads to string for little fingers. I also recommend that the Grade 2 students be assisted by older students, such as Grades 7 or 8, or by parent volunteers. We take a break before learning to pray the rosary or, in some cases, I return another day to pray the rosary with the Grade 2 students.
At the end of the Holy Rosary workshop, students have a completed rosary and an understanding of how it is prayed. This workshop helps them practice popular Catholic prayers, such as Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. It is a great introduction to meditation, reflection and being still and invokes a relationship with God and His Mother Mary. Communal prayer also encourages children to share their Catholic faith with their peer community.
In this workshop, following my instructions, each participant will make their own Rosary, which consists of 5 sets of 10 Hail Mary beads (oval wooden beads), marked with 5 our father beads (round wooden beads), one centre bead (large oval wooden bead), ending with a woolen cross. Each chaplet kit comes with a prayer page and plastic storage bag. After the chaplet is strung together, we pray the chaplet as a group.
For more information or if you would like to host a Wool of the Lamb Prayer Bead workshop, visit my Kristin’s Workshops page or contact me.
Chaplet of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit Workshop
For Grade 7 Confirmation
The cost is $6 per chaplet kit.
Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, you are completing your commitment to Christ that began at your Baptism, making you adults in the Faith. You are given the Holy Spirit who visits you inwardly and touches you deep within your soul. Whatever challenges you face in your life, know that these special gifts given to you by the Holy Spirit are like no others. Time in prayer will help you develop these gifts and give you complete confidence in Christ.
Inspired by the Sacrament of Confirmation, with children, ages 12—14 in mind, I have re-created the Chaplet of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit by using more modern day vocabulary that would appeal to our young people. The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are the same: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Fortitude (Courage), Counsel (Right Judgement), Piety (Reverence) and Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe), but I have added meditations that will hopefully inspire our faithful young Catholics. The Holy Spirit did indeed guide me through this process.
This is a special year for Grade 7 students, and this workshop offers them a keepsake of their Confirmation. It is also a great way for each student to know and understand the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit in a prayerful way.
Each Gift is paired with an easy to understand insightful meditation. Mary also has a strong presence in this chaplet with each gift accompanied by a Hail Mary. Know that you can also call on Our Blessed Mother for help at any time. It is a short, easy to use chaplet that will hopefully inspire our intermediate students.
This is also a great workshop for those who wish to reconnect with the Holy Spirit and reaffirm the gifts that have been given us.
In this workshop, following my instructions, each participant will make their own Chaplet of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which begins with a white, woolen cross (which symbolizes the Holy Spirit), continues with 7 round glass beads (one for each gift alternating white and brightly coloured) and finishes with an end bead. Each chaplet kit comes with a prayer page and plastic storage bag. After the chaplet is strung together, we pray the chaplet as a group.
For more information or if you would like to host a Wool of the Lamb Prayer Bead workshop, visit my Kristin’s Workshops page or contact me.
Chaplet of the Ten Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary Workshop
For Teenagers and Adults
The cost is $8 per chaplet kit.
“Holy Virgin, from now on I will show you my loving devotion by imitating your virtues. There is no greater homage, no greater proof of love, that I can give.” (“Imitation of Mary” by Alexander De Rouville. 1985-1977 Catholic Publishing Corp., N.Y., pg. 17)
The church urges us as Catholic faithful to look to Jesus’ Mother, Mary, as a role model during our earthly lives and to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin as best we can. The Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary are: Pure, Prudent, Humble, Faithful, Devout, Obedient, Poor, Patient, Merciful, Sorrowful/Compassionate.
Give Mary your solitude by being alone with her while praying this chaplet. By giving Her your time and attention, you will realize something within you that calms your sorrows and alleviates your fears. Before you know it, you will begin to hear God speak to you because you know His mother. It is in this solitude where you can learn to trust God and honour His Blessed Mother. Bring all your dangers, doubts and anxieties to Mary. Believe she can help you and have faith.
The Chaplet of the Ten Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary is ideal for those who want to deepen their relationship with Our Blessed Mother. It is great for high school students who have stepped away from their faith and are searching for something a little different. It is also great for retreats for teachers, educators and groups who desire faith development. This chaplet can help you get to know Mary better and thus bring you closer to Her Son, Jesus.
“The Blessed Virgin’s life contains lessons for everyone. If we study it, we learn how to live in prosperity and adversity, prayer and work, honors and humiliations.” (Imitation of Mary by Alexander De Rouville. 1985-1977 Catholic Publishing Corp., N.Y., pg. 15)
The Chaplet of the Ten Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a straightforward prayer strand and features the most popular Catholic prayers; Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. I came across this prayer bead strand in my research, but felt that something was needed to reflect upon while praying it, so I paired each virtue with a meditation from St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to Mary”, a church classic.
In this workshop, following my instructions, each participant will make their own Chaplet of the Ten Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which begins with a felted woolen cross or ten pointed star, continues with 10 colourful glass beads (each representing a specific virtue) and finishes with a glass end bead. Each chaplet kit comes with a prayer page and plastic storage bag. After the chaplet is strung together, we pray the chaplet as a group.
For more information or if you would like to host a Wool of the Lamb Prayer Bead workshop, visit my Kristin’s Workshops page or contact me.
Hail Mary Decade Chaplet Workshop
For Children and Adults
The cost is $8 per kit.
As the Hail Mary Decade Chaplet is just one decade of the Rosary, it is significantly smaller than a full Rosary, but is nonetheless just as beautiful. It remains a prayerful exercise that encourages you to be still and mindful and can be done privately or communally by offering the Catholic faithful a shared commonality. It helps us all to better our relationship with Our Blessed Mother Mary as well as Her Son. The way to Jesus is through His mother.
Some find the Rosary overwhelming with its mysteries, prayers and meditations and regrettably avoid the Rosary altogether. Or some may feel that the prayers take too long. This Hail Mary Decade Chaplet may appeal to you and to those who are interested in praying the Rosary but are looking for a simpler option. A decade chaplet is great way to either begin praying the rosary or to bring it back into your life. You can focus and meditate on just one mystery while reciting one Our Father and 10 Hail Mary prayers. Before you know it you will be praying the whole rosary on just one decade strand.
The Hail Mary Decade Chaplet is a wonderful way to begin a relationship with Our Blessed Mother Mary. She watches over those who honour her and answers those who ask for her intercession.
In this workshop, following my instructions, each participant will make their own Hail Mary Decade Chaplet, which begins with a woolen cross, continues with 10 “Hail Mary” beads and finishes with a coordinating glass end bead. Each chaplet kit comes with a prayer page and plastic storage bag. After the chaplet is strung together, we pray the chaplet as a group.
For more information or if you would like to host a Wool of the Lamb Prayer Bead workshop, visit my Kristin’s Workshops page or contact me.