Something that has become more and more apparent as my kids one-by-one enter adulthood, is that while my vocation as Mom never ends, it does change! I remember those days of mothering with littles running around the house. They needed me for the physical things; food, drink, shelter, safety, comfort, and clothing, and they were learning so much in terms of basic skills and interests, subjects at school, and picking up prayers, Bible stories and beliefs of our Catholic Faith.
October: BEST Month for SAINTS!
September 30, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Welcome to our monthly summary of crafts and family traditions for October Saints, the Monthly Devotion of the Rosary, and organized and prayerful Ordinary Time!
October is my favorite month for Saints with my favorites St. Therese and St. John Paul II. See the time we stood up the Pope
And as October is the Month of the Rosary...you know we have a whole bunch of Rosary Crafts
Leave a comment about what special crafts and family traditions you’ll feature at your house!
Our NEW Illustrated Saints Calendar is NOW available in TWO formats:
- Vertical Wall Calendar with Saint Backing
- Horizontal Wall Calendar
Is it any wonder that this is a FAVORITE MONTH for SAINTS?
October Saints Days
St Therese (October 1)
Guardian Angels (October 2)
St Francis (October 4)
St Faustina
7 Days ’til LENT and a plan for Valentine’s Eve!
February 6, 2024 by 1 Comment
Just a week away from Lent, and you’ve probably heard the dilemma…
Ash Wednesday falls on the SAME day as Saint Valentine’s Day.
Ash Wednesday falls on the SAME day as Saint Valentine’s Day.
Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday is always the last day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. There is a tradition of going to confession on this day, in preparation for Lent. This particular Tuesday is tied with the celebration of Mardi Gras, representing the last day of feasting and fun before Lent. Practically, it was a good time to finish up all the food that would be forbidden during Lent.
If you usually give up chocolate or snacks or alcohol or fancy food for Lent, Shrove Tuesday would provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day!
We’re thinking we might celebrate the Eve of St. Valentine’s Day with heart-shaped pancakes, a Shrove Tuesday/ St Valentine’s Day Feast and plenty of chocolate treats!
Looking for some SAINT Valentine’s cards, table toppers or home decor?
Check out our Love Like a Saint Love Quote Cards PDF craft kit!
What are YOU doing for Lent?
As for upcoming Lent, what do you plan on giving up or adding?
We tend to give up chocolate or dessert, salty snacks, Coke Zero, liquor, cookies. Some brave people give up coffee or bread or meat. We have found that if our sacrifice is super challenging through the week, we might be tempted to overindulge on Sundays (because we don’t count Sundays in the 40 days of fasting as they are mini-Easters! I know, controversial, but we did the math)
We can ADD extra prayers, like a stronger commitment to the family Rosary every day, or adding the Divine Mercy Chaplet or a special Novena for our favorite Saint’s intercession.
We can also do a combination of sacrifices and added devotions either for the whole season of Lent (minus Sundays, if you please) or sprinkle them or change them up every week.
Prompts to Pray
Lent is also a good time to add Prompts to Pray! Choosing something we see or do or experience everyday as a reminder or Prompt to Pray! We can pray in our own words or choose to make a Dart Prayer like “Jesus, I trust in You” or “Come, Holy Spirit” a consistent habit throughout our days. We may even choose to keep the habit well beyond Lent or Easter, like a new habit for life!
In fact, that’s what the Prompt Me to Pray booklets for Lent and Easter are all about! Liturgical-season-relevant prompts to pray to get us praying more OFTEN, more consistently, and more FROM the HEART!
Prompt Me to Pray through Lent Booklet
Prompt Me to Pray through Easter Booklet
September Saints Days: Feast Day Fun!
September 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
We’ve put together a quick summary of Catholic Crafts for September Saints and the Monthly Devotion of The Seven Sorrows of Mary…along with various Catholic Crafts and Saint Calendar kits to ease our way Back to School!
Up here in Canada, we are just getting Back to School…so we’re launching a Back to School Special (code: catchacraftkit2023 ) in the Arma Dei Shoppe to cheer that up!
Get $5 OFF your next Cathletics Craft Kit PDF!
*Special SALE applies to the purchase of PDF craft kits only. Sale ends September 15th.
Books, cards, journal stamps not included within the $25 minimum purchase.
Keep track of SAINTS DAYS and Monthly Devotions for EASY Liturgical Living with the NEW
16 Month Illustrated Saints Wall Calendar
Renovations
May 26, 2023 by Leave a Comment
We recently renovated our online Arma Dei Catholic Shop with new formatting, and helpful buttons offering shortcuts to carefully-curated products according to Season of the Liturgical Calendar, Sacraments, Saints, Catechism, Prayer, and Prayer Journal Stamps!
We are beginning an exciting campaign to get the word out about our practical, yet kinda profound book Prompt Me to Pray.
We are specifically looking for Catholic Prayer Group leaders who might be interested in reviewing the book as a potential book study or prayer retreat and we are eager to share the resources we have curated that have worked so well at our own local parishes and groups. Contact Monica if you lead a prayer group and are interested in reviewing this book!
And Prompt Me to Pray is one of only three books we offer through Arma Dei. We also have three decks of quizzing cards including our most popular Super Saints!
These make excellent Godchild gifts, Altar Server gifts and prizes, and Sacrament gifts, while they are also great stocking stuffers and surprise gifts that might gently lead loved ones back to the Church.
Our original book A Treasure Chest of Traditions for Catholic Families, which was actually sifted through by St. John Paul II is a 304 page book offering ideas for activities, crafts and recipes to help families celebrate the various Seasons and Feast Days of the year.
Hand in Hand with Jesus
Rosary Crafts, Kits, Tools and Tips!
October 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Rosary Crafts, Kits, Tools, and Tips to make the Daily Family Rosary a lasting habit!
Rosary Tools
First of all, here are my favorite prayer counters for praying the Rosary, with kids or alone, in the car, on a walk, or in bed!
I try to pray my Rosary throughout each day and I find the one decade Good Deed Bead Bracelet or Rosary poppers the best for praying one decade at a time. The Rosary Abacus is great with kids, and we have a bunch of different options with illustrations of the Mysteries and center prayer board to record prayer intentions.
Rosary Abacus
Good Deed Bead Bracelet
Consecration to Mary Prayer Card
Fidget Rosary Popper
{Movie Review} Bridge of Roses: Our OWN Miraculous Marian Shrine and Pilgrimage Site in CANADA!
October 25, 2021 by Leave a Comment
I’m so excited to share news of this brand NEW documentary of our own Miraculous, Marian Shrine and Pilgrimage Site in Canada!
The video is so nicely created with a reenactment of The Story of Our Lady of the Cape (starring my favorite Bishop, Bishop Scott McCaig and Fr. Ben St. Croix) and featuring inspiring interviews from two of my favorite Companions of the Cross, Fr. Roger Vandenakker and Fr. Mark Goring, as well as Fr. Donald Calloway of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception.
We are so blessed to have Our Lady of the Cape; our own National Shrine in Quebec, Canada!
“Bridge of Roses: The Story of Our Lady of the Cape is a faith-affirming documentary that recounts the remarkable story of Cap-de-la-Madeleine near Trois Rivieres, Quebec – its missionaries, miracles and 400 year relationship with the Mother of God.”
from our National Shrine Notre Dame du Cap
I purchased the digital download of the movie for just $11 and watched it on Vimeo.
Check out this awesome movie here: Bridge of Roses
I was also SO excited to hear about the giant Marian Congress held in our nation’s Capital in 1947!
and… I eagerly enrolled in the Rosary Confraternity at rosarybridge.com joining a minimum of three rosaries each week with thousands praying around the world!
Rosary Crafts to help your family pray the Rosary regularly!
Equipping Catholic Families with Rosary Crafts
October 18, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Make a Rosary Abacus with the printable packed with the Mysteries of the Rosary and instructions for the pony bead abacus.
This Cathletic Craft Kit offers full sets of Mysteries of the Rosary thumbnails and clipart of the Blessed Virgin Mary to customize a Rosary Abacus made from a square framed canvas from the Dollarstore.
The Mysteries of the Rosary Craft Kit includes 34 pages of templates including:
- full color Revolving Rosary for each of the 4 Mysteries of the Rosary
- extra Prayer Wheel to keep track of prayers as they are said, with full text of the prayers for easy reference
- BW Revolving Rosary for each of the 4 Mysteries of the Rosary (to color)
- full color Mysteries of the Rosary Booklets (one for each of the 4 Mysteries)
- BW Mysteries of the Rosary Booklets (one for each of the 4 Mysteries) …to color
- full color Living Rosary Cake Topper templates
The Spiritual Bouquet of Prayer Petal Flowers
The Spiritual Bouquet of Prayer Petal Flowers includes all 20 Mysteries of the Rosary as well as the prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. There are templates to make a pretty construction paper flower, plus clipart to make a meaningful gift card for both the Rosary and the Divine Mercy. All of the individual flower pieces have the actual Rosary or Divine Mercy prayers printed on them for easy reference.
The kit also includes a giant wall garland of the Rosary. Imagine all 20 Rosary decade flowers winding around the walls of a room!
Check out the Mini Rosary Abacus Tutorial! You can make your own with a dollar store frame, 10 pony beads, a pipe cleaner, two thumb tacks, and any picture you love of our Blessed Mother Mary!
Rosary Prayer Stamps
Rosary Prayer Stamps can help us pray!
We’ve got a number of different types of Rosary stamps and you can check them out here at the
Prayer Impressions Journal Stamp Shoppe!
No Rosary? No Problem!
5 Finger Rosary Hack
October Saints Days
September 27, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Welcome to our monthly summary of crafts and family traditions for October Saints, the Monthly Devotion of the Rosary and organized and prayerful Ordinary Time!
I think October is my favorite month for Saints with my favorites St. Therese and St. John Paul II. See the time we stood up the Pope
And as October is the Month of the Rosary...you know we have a whole bunch of Rosary Crafts
Leave a comment as to what special crafts and family traditions you’ll have happening at your house for your chance to win your choice of Cathletics Craft Kit PDF from Arma Dei, stuffed with Catechism, Prayer Prompts, Saints or Sacraments!
October Saints Days
St Therese (October 1)
Guardian Angels (October 2)
St Francis (October 4)
St Faustina (October 5)
Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7) Also see Rosary Crafts
The Divine Maternity of Our Lady (October 11)
St Teresa of Avila (October 15) St Teresa in Saint Scripts Three
St Gerard Majella (October 16)
St Luke (October 18)
St John Paul II (October 22)
Canonization of St John Paul II
