How does the Holy Spirit kindle the fire in our hearts?

Every year, during the Feast of the Pentecost, the Church invites us to turn around, with a willing heart, to come closer to the Holy Fire, and to kindle our cold hearts again. What does kindle mean? Watch Little Evangelists from Seattle explain how the holy Spirit kindles the fire in our hearts.

Pentecost Sunday

"O come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful 

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your spirit and they shall be created 

and you shall renew the face of the earth."

Mother Mary and the Apostles
in the Upper Room 
on the day of Pentecost 

How is it that we can prepare our little hearts to receive the Holy Spirit this Pentecost? One of the ways in which we can do so is by digging into our Bibles. Hmm… Now where should we start? The Acts of the Apostles would be a wonderful start! In the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2 is where we read about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Now the same Holy Spirit from thousands of years ago still desires to come to you! In fact, did you know? Every single day of our lives as children of God can actually be a mini Pentecost if we ask the Holy Spirit to come to us every single morning!

The Holy Spirit is what was promised to us by God the Father in Acts chapter 1 and verse 4. This Holy Spirit will strengthen us and give us power to become holy! Do you want to be holy? Tell the Holy Spirit and you will be guided. As His precious children, let us all take the time to prepare our little hearts to receive the Holy Spirit this Pentecost. Holy Spirit come!

Click to download: Pentecost Activity Sheet 

A CROWN FOR MOTHER MARY

Crowning of Mother Mary at Bethany Chapel
 in the Archdiocese of Boston. Photo credit: George Martell

The month of May is dedicated to Mother Mary. The Catholic church has a tradition of crowning Mother Mary in the month of May acknowledging her as the Queen of Heaven. Every year, catholic churches around the world have a celebration honoring Mother Mary by placing a crown on her statue. This year, since churches are closed to public, we cannot go to the crowning. But staying home, we can still celebrate the May crowning!

Do you have a statue or a picture of Mother Mary at home? We can make a paper crown and give the work of our hands to her and dedicate the month to her. Follow the steps given below to make a crown for Mother Mary.

Use any size of paper - 3in. x 3in. to make a small crown or 6in. x  6in. to make a bigger one. We used plain 8in. x 11in. construction paper in our example since it is easily available. You can use any colored or patterned paper. We also made 12 crown pieces to make a big crown to present to our Mother! You can make a smaller crown by reducing the number of crown pieces.

How to make a crown for Mother Mary

Supplies Needed

• 12 sheets of Origami paper or any plain or patterned paper cut to squares of equal length
• Scissors
• Adhesive Gems or other embellishments
• Glue

Steps

• Follow steps 1-7 in the pictures below to make a crown piece. We made 12 crown pieces for our crown. 

• Now that you have the crown pieces ready, follow these steps to assemble them.

• You are almost there! It's time to decorate the crown. 

Your crown is now ready. Dedicate it to Mother Mary by placing it on her statue or in front of her picture. Don't forget to say the "Hail Mary" prayer. Mother Mary will now wear this crown all month!

Mother's Day Flowers for Mama Mary

Want to learn how to make flowers for Mama Mary and your mom for Mothers's day? Check out this new Young Disciples Youtube video. In honor of Mother's Day this year, we will be dedicating these little flowers for our Mother in Heaven! The Rosary can be translated to "Garland of Roses," meaning that every Hail Mary we pray will help create this beautiful garland! This Mother's Day, along with the flowers we will be making, let us make our Blessed Mother a beautiful garland through our prayers!

For more such videos, subscribe to the Young Disciples Youtube channel!

The Whole Armor of God

Did you know that in the Bible, there is an Armor of protection that all of us can wear? If you wear this Armor, you will be always protected from all of Satan’s evil plots.

In St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 6:10-17, you will find the Armor of God.

Can we challenge you to memorize these verses? 

Is it too difficult to memorize? How about we draw it first? Follow the steps given below and draw your own Armor of Protection. Mark each part of the Armor according to the verses in the Scripture. Once you draw and label, it will be very easy for you learn this Word of God by heart.

 

 

 

Why is it important to memorize these verses? Once you have it memorized, it will be easy for you to suit up with this Word of God so that you will be ready for Spiritual battle. You are now all set to face any trials, tribulations and attacks of Satan that may come your way.