Miss no single opportunity of making some small piece of sacrifice, here by smiling, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Welcome Little Flowers!
This area of the Registered Clubs website is made especially for you and there’s a lot to explore! There are pages about the saints and virtues you learn about in your Little Flowers club with quizzes, quotes, and facts about each flower. There’s a treasury of prayers where you can learn some new prayers or just get ideas of different ways to pray. There’s a page all about St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Little Way and how you can imitate the patron of Little Flowers Girls’ Club. We hope you have fun and maybe learn a few new things about the Church and her Saints here.
God Bless you!
Below are some supplemental resources we recommend for your personal use or for use in your club. Click the images to be redirected.
When we asked you what your favorite games were, we got some great responses. These responses prompted me to create a sample of “Little Flowers Taboo” for you all. It’s really easy to create and play, so let us know if you try it out!
To Make:
You’ll need paper, scissors, and a Marker. Cut the paper into card-sized pieces until you have enough for all the girls in your group. At the top of each card, write something that you want the girls to guess. Underneath the word, write down four or five words that they would normally use to describe the thing, but won’t be able to use in this game. Once you have enough cards, you’re ready to play!
To Play:
Divide the girls into two teams of even players. Have one player from Team 1 come to the front and pick a card. They then have 30 seconds to describe the word at the top of the card without using any of the words listed below it, and without acting or spelling anything out. Their team has to guess what the word is before the time is up. If they do, they get a point. If they don’t, they get no points for the round. Then the other team chooses someone and you repeat the rounds until everyone has gone or you run out of cards. The team with the most points wins!
Feel free to use the image above as a starting point for your cards. You can also adapt this for Blue Knights or any other club. Make your own cards and let us know what you come up with!
Here is a link to the original blog post with pics and links: https://www.beholdpublications.com/BeholdChristBlog/2014/04/22/little-flowers-taboo/
In The Story of Soul, the autobiography of our beloved Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, there is a charming reference to Thérèse owning a small string of beads that were given to her by her older sister Marie. Thérèse’s mother mentions these beads in a letter in 1896:
Even Thérèse is anxious to make sacrifices. Marie has given her little sisters a string of beads on purpose to count their acts of self-denial. . . . But it is more amusing still to see Thérèse put her hand in her pocket, time after time, to pull a bead along the string, whenever she makes a little sacrifice.
The point of such a string of beads is not to encourage children to “keep count” of their acts of self-denial and good deeds; rather, it is a tangible reminder that we should be constantly doing little acts of love. As the beads are pulled along the string towards the cross, it is a simple reminder of how these little acts of love bring us closer to Jesus.
Making a set of sacrifice beads is a great activity to help children in their Lenten journey. It is perfect for girls and boys alike. We made a more dainty set of beads using light blue beads and blue string and a more rugged-looking set using hemp and wooden beads. They are durable, fit nicely in a small pocket, and can double as one-decade rosary for on-the-go!
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own set of sacrifice beads.
1Supplies needed
– 10 beads (Make sure that the holes aren’t too small – the cord needs to be able to easily pass though them twice. We used plastic pony beads for one and wooden beads for the other.
– 24-inch length of cord (We used hemp for one and crochet cotton for the other. The crochet cotton was a bit thin – something a bit thicker would work best. You need it to be thick enough to easily string beads on it but also easy to knot.)
– 1 religious medal
– 1 crucifix or cross (If you can’t find small crucifixes, craft stores will often have small packages of crosses among the charms in the jewelry making section.)
To get started, we first removed the rings from the medals because we wanted to be sure that they didn’t fall off. It isn’t necessary, but it will make the set of beads more durable.
2 Remove Rings
Next, thread the medal on the 24-inch length of cord and tie a knot so that it stays exactly in the middle.
3 Tie Medal in middle
Next, thread one bead on to one of the ends of the string and slide it down to the medal. Take the other end of the string and thread it through the same bead in the opposite direction.
4 first bead
It should look like this when you get it tightened and evened out.
5 first bead done
Add the next bead in the same fashion.
6 add the next bead
And pull the other string through, just like you did on the first bead.
7 pull string through
Keep adding beads.
8 halfway done
When you have all ten beads added, tie a knot at least an inch above the top bead. It is important to leave this extra space so that the beads can be moved! Be sure to use a knot such as the square knot so that it doesn’t slip after the project is finished.
9 tie knot
Add the cross and knot it well.
10 add cross
All done and ready to follow in Saint Thérèse’s footsteps!
11 all done 2
Time: 10-15 minutes
Cost: varies depending on the quality of the items that you purchase
Ages: 5+ (Younger children may need help with the knots.)
The lovely sacrifice beads that we made have already become treasured possessions. I myself can identify with Saint Thérèse’s mother – there is nothing sweeter than seeing your children pulling a bead as they are doing some kind act that brings them closer to Jesus!
Pics and Links at original blog post here: https://www.beholdpublications.com/BeholdChristBlog/2014/04/07/sacrifice-beads/
During our last Freebie Friday, we asked what your favorite games to play at Catholic Clubs were and we got some great responses! Geri said her group’s favorite was “Playing ‘Pictionary’ with virtues, saints’names, and Biblical characters as the possible topics.” So I decided to do a quickie post on this game and possible ways to play!
All you’ll need is some paper and pens. If you have a whiteboard, you can use that too.
Before the meeting, write down different names of saints and virtues on strips of paper, and keep them in a hat or basket. Make sure these are things that your group has studied so that they know what to draw.
At the meeting, separate the children into two teams. Make sure they’re evenly matched in age and skill level, otherwise it won’t be a fair game. Flip a coin or decide which team will go first. That team will choose one person to pick a saint from the basket. That person then has only 2 minutes to draw something that will allow the team to guess the saint. The other team cannot guess while this team is drawing. If the team guesses correctly, they get a point. If they do not, the saint name is discarded and the other team has their turn. Whichever team has the most points in the end wins!
Original blog post here: https://www.beholdpublications.com/BeholdChristBlog/2014/03/31/catholic-pictionary/