Making the saints come alive for my children is something that's very important to me and I try to get creative about it without going too over-the-top. My children already know and love St. Francis, but after Wednesday, I think they'll remember his feast day and the lessons they learned too.
If your kids aren't familiar with St. Francis, Francis Woke Up Early by Josephine Nobisso is a favorite picture book of my children about this special saint. The book is a retelling of the classic St. Francis and the Wolf story told with wonderful pictures from the point of view of a child. You can find it here.
We started our celebration by talking about St. Francis and his mission. Then we all went outside to make bird feeders with pine cones, peanut butter, and stale bread. We discussed how providing food for the birds is one way we can show love for God's creatures by helping to care for them.
Since we have pets, we also spent some time praying for our dogs and giving them a little extra love too. We planned to give them both a good bath, but my husband couldn't be home in time and, as he lovingly pointed out, bathing two 90 pound dogs with two young children was a foolish endeavor at 33 weeks pregnant.
Animal Blessing Prayer to use if you're interested in praying over your pets too:
The animals of God's creation inhabit the skies, the earth, and the sea. They share in the ways of human beings. They have a part in our lives. Francis of Assisi recognized this when he called the animals, wild and tame, his brothers and sisters. Remembering Francis' love for these brothers and sisters of ours, we invoke God's blessing on these animals, and we thank God for letting us share the earth with all the creatures.
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