Humility Petal Meeting & Clean Stream

We had one last petal to earn from Wreath I. We paired our first petal meeting of the year with a service activity for Operation Clean Stream. We welcomed a new Little Flower to our troop! 

We learned about the virtue of Humility and picked up trash along the Meramec River. Doing a difficult or unpleasant task with a cheerful attitude is a great way to practice humility. Humility is the opposite of pride. It gives us courage to allow others to shine. Our verse was, "Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life". -Proverbs 22:4. 

The saint for humility is St. Catherine Laboure. She was a Daughter of Charity that lived from 1806-1876 in France. She was a friend of St. Vincent de Paul. Mary appeared to her and asked that the Miraculous Medal be struck with her image to remind everyone to pray for grace. When she was a child she said to her Mary statue, “"Now, dear Lady, you are to be my mother,” after her mother died. Even though Mary appeared to her, she lived a quiet unknown life doing humble tasks, serving others, and enduring illness. Her feast day is November 28. She is the patron saint of The Miraculous Medal. 

On one side of the medal, Mary is standing upon a globe as Queen of Heaven and earth, crushing the head of a serpent beneath her foot. It reads, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The other side has 12 stars, a cross with an M below, as Mary stands below the crucifixion scene. Two hearts represent the love of Jesus and Mary for us. The girls were given blessed Miraculous Medals as a reminder to ask Mary for the graces needed each day.

We hope to be able to visit the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville one day.

The flower for humility is the violet. "The humble soul is like the violet, which grows low, hangs the head downward, and hides itself with its own leaves." -Fredrika Bremer 

We were given violet t-shirts and earned a Clean Stream patch. We have opted to phase out the vests which are quite small. Let me know if you'd like to trade it out for a sash. I know it is a pain to transfer the patches, so perhaps you could begin fresh with a new year. Also be sure to turn in the registration form and $25 fee per family per year. 

The most interesting trash finds this year were a tire that was rolled about a half a mile by the "Tireneers," an orange cone, and lots of police caution tape. It was good to spend some time taking care of creation and being together made it easy to have a cheerful attitude.

May God Bless us and help us grow in the virtue of Humility.

St. Catherine Laboure, Pray for us!

Obedience Petal Meeting & Archery Adventure 4/25/21

The Little Flowers spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon honing their archery skills while learning about the virtue of obedience, and St. Joan of Arc. 

Verse: If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15

St. Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was a french peasant known to have visions of saints that gave her messages to enter into battles and speak to kings. She obeyed, though she’d prefer to stay home spinning wool beside her mother. She bravely entered battles carrying her banner with the Fleur de leis which is a symbol of the Trinity and Mary and was adopted by our city of St. Louis. Joan kept her hair short and often wore armor or military uniforms for practicality. She was once struck with an arrow, but recovered. She was martyred by being burned at the stake for her mysticisim and was later found innocent. Her feast day is May 30. St. Joan of Arc is the patron of soldiers and France.

We learned that our patron, St. Therese dressed up as Joan of Arc in play, and eventually joined her as co-patroness of France!

Quote:”I do not fear. I was born for this.” Her last words were, “Jesus, Jesus." 

We learned about the virtue of Obedience and discussed the boundaries of obedience regarding authority and conscience. It means quickly and cheerfully carrying out the wise direction of those responsible for me. The fourth commandment teaches us to obey.

We practiced archery, shooting straight arrows that obey our instruction. We made banners like St. Joan's that we used for targets for our arrows. We played, Mother Mary May I to better understand following God’s will instead of our own.

We were able to buy our own supply of bows and arrows, so be sure to borrow the equipment if a Little Flower would like to practice archery again (with adult supervision). 

We talked about how the Church, as directed by Christ, gave us the sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can find our ways back to Jesus if we disobey his commandments. We practiced the Act of Contrition: My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend with your help to do penance, to sin no more, to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our savior, Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.

The flower for Obedience is the white carnation because it reminds us of the Incarnation which came about through Mary’s obedience. White is the color of purity. The carnation is hearty and strong and gives off a sweet fragrance. 

We earned the Obedience petal. May God bless us and help us to obey. 

Everyone who persevered with their Lenten promises should have received their Holy Lent patch.

Next, we will earn Rosary patches by praying a daily rosary, or at least one decade of the rosary each day from May 1-May 30, Mary's month. A decade includes 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be. Pick a regular time like on the way to school, or at bedtime to help you remember this holy habit Mary asks us to practice. The calendar will be e-mailed in case it wasn't picked up at the petal meeting. 

The Daffodils and Narcissus we planted in the fall to remember Industry and Truthfulness, were so beautiful in March and our Irises are blooming now. Did your Little Flower daffodils and Irises survive the winter? 

St Joan of Arc, Pray for Us!

 

Hope Petal Meeting & Hiking Adventure 3/21/21

We've made it through our first winter as Little Flowers despite never meeting indoors! Strong work! Thank you for your faithful prayers for the challenge patches. We have now received our Jesse Tree and Holy Lent patches so I also ordered Rosary patches that we can earn in May. They arrived too! Thank you God, for answering our little prayer! 

We gathered at Emmeneger Park for a petal meeting and hiking adventure. 

We worked to memorize Isaiah 40:31 They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. 

St. Monica (331-387) is an excellent saint to teach us about unwavering hope. She was married to a pagan man and had three children in Africa. Her husband and in-laws would not allow her children to be baptized or raised in the faith. 

She prayed and wept for many years for their conversion and for her husband’s temper. Eventually her prayers were answered and one of her son’s, Augustine became a great Saint and doctor of the Church. A quote of St. Monica’s is,“Nothing is far from God.” Her feast day is August 27. St. Monica is the patron saint of difficult marriages, disappointing children, and the conversion of relatives.

We learned about the virtue of Hope. As Christians we are comforted by the hope of heaven and know God is always with us. We have unshakable trust that God will keep His promises. 

We learned about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) and went for a hike and nature walk. Frassati was an Italian who loved to hike and rock climb and taught that anyone can become a saint. We hope to see him named a Saint of the church soon! 

We had a snack of pretzels, a traditional treat that represents our arms crossed in prayer. Don't forget to keep marking your Lenten calendars. We made hope votives that we can safely light when we say our prayers. 

Act of Hope: O, my God, because you are all powerful, merciful, and faithful to your promises, I hope to be happy with you in heaven.

The flower for Hope is Ivy because it clings to walls and just keeps growing over obstacles. It needs something strong to support its growth, like we rely on God for our strength and growth. Our Hope votives are encircled with ivy to help us remember to grow in our faith, always reaching for heaven. We thought about how poison ivy is like sin and to avoid it! 

We earned the Hope petal and hiking badge. We prayed a decade of the rosary and repeated our verse to keep up our strength along the hike. May God bless us and help us to never give up Hope.

Holy Week is upon us! Our hope rests in the resurrection of Easter! 

Join us on Holy Saturday at 1 pm to chalk the plaza of church with joyful art.

Saints Monica and Augustine, Pray for us!

Blessed Frassati, Pray for us!