Children's Books for the Upcoming Canonizations

Recently, the good folks at Ignatius Press sent me two of their newest titles to review in preparation for the upcoming canonizations of John Paul the II and John XXIII.

John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint, written by Guy Lehideux and Louis-Bernard Koch and illustrated by Dominique Bar, is a non-fiction graphic novel (sounds like an oxymoron, I know).

The graphic novel format means that it is comic-book style.  Some people love it, some people hate it.  The graphic novel format has gained respect in the literary world and is used to lure reluctant readers, especially boys.

John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint is different from a regular comic, not just in its content, but also it's size and binding.  This book is large, making it easy to read, and the hardcover binding guarantees that it will last a long time.

The story of John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint is compelling and thoughtfully told.  I found the Polish names hard to read and remember (who's who), but the pictures are a great aid in this.  Beginning before his birth, we follow Karol Wojtyla through his youth, the loss of his family members, his foray into the theater, his abrupt decision to enter the priesthood, his role in post-WWII Poland, and his papacy.

After John Paul II is elected pope, the storyline dwindles into a list of dates of prominent writings, journeys (World Youth Days are noted), and canonizations.  The book ends shortly after the canonization of St. Josemaria Escriva.

I felt that this left out an important part of the saintliness of John Paul II, namely his suffering and death.  His decline of health was a public witness to the power of suffering, which modernity would have us eschew.

Despite the omission of his end days, John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint is an excellent and attractive book for children of all ages.

Do not judge a book by its cover.

Do judge this book by it's entire title:  Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present.

This beautifully illustrated book by Don Caffery is NOT a biography of Pope Francis, as I had first thought, but rather a very good explanation of the papacy, how Christ began it all with St. Peter, how popes are elected, what they do, and where they live.

Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present is written in language geared to early readers and would make an excellent First Holy Communion gift. Especially considering that a few popes are given special focus including St. Clement, St. Leo, St. Pius X (who allowed young children to receive Holy Communion and encouraged receiving the Eucharist among all Catholics) and soon-to-be St. John Paul II.

You can order these books through Ignatius Press, or through my Amazon affiliate links.  I do get a small percentage of the proceeds from Amazon.  Ignatius did not pay me for my opinions, they only provided me with the books.  You still have time to get them for Easter if you use Amazon Prime free shipping!  You have even more time if you would like them for the canonizations on April 27th.

I'm thinking about sending these books to my godson for his first communion present.  I always struggle with boy gifts for occasions like these but these books are Catholic, geared for children, and somewhat masculine.

Celebrating the Other Birthday

All of you know the day on which you were born and you celebrate it as your birthday, don’t you? We all celebrate our birthday. I ask you a question, that I have already asked several times, but I’ll ask it again: who among you remembers the date of your Baptism? Raise your hands: they are few (and I am not asking the Bishops so as not to embarrass them...). Let’s do something: today, when you go home, find out what day you were baptized, look for it, because this is your second birthday. The first birthday is the day you came into life and the second birthday is the one on which you came into the Church. Will you do this? This is your homework: find out the day on which you were born to the Church, and give thanks to the Lord, because at Baptism he has opened the door of his Church to us.

-Pope Francis, General Audience, St. Peter's Square, November 13, 2013

Saturday was Edmund's second birthday.  No.  Not the second anniversary of his birth, but the eleventh anniversary of Baptism.  I remembered!  And we celebrated!

This is actually Jill's baptism.  I look terrible in Edmund's baptism picture.

We went to Patrick's brother's house and had dinner and skating (they have a rink too) and I made certain that my sister-in-law knew the occasion.  I offered to bring a cake, but she had all ready planned on one. She stunned all with a decadent flourless chocolate cake topped with whipped cream.  (I did bring an appetizer.  I'm not a total slacker.  I did not bring a camera, so I am a partial slacker.)

But I've been thinking about this Celebrate Your Baptism thing, and maybe there should be a little more to it than cake.

So I asked the internet.

First link that pops up is this suggestion for a Family Prayer Service.

Honestly, my kids would die of embarrassment if we tried it.

I could see my teens balking at the idea of making the sign of the Cross and their kid brother's head, and I can't see him keeping a straight face, or allowing it.

Thus I have come up with my own ideas for Celebrating a Baptism Anniversary, all of which abide by my KISS (keep it simple, stupid) rule of party planning and are probably completely obvious to all of you anyway.

1.  Know the dates.

I have all of my kids' sacrament dates in my Google Calendar set on "repeats annually."  But for Patrick and myself, I have to do some recon.

My mother set me up with the link to get a copy of my Baptismal certificate and I was able to do it all online, from sending a jpg of my driver's license to the $10 payment.

Hopefully, you have copies of all the baptismal certificates, or the parishes that have them aren't closed, so you will have a much easier time.

Hopefully, my mother-in-law has the pertinent information.

2.  About gifts...

Many of the other links I read suggested BUYING THINGS for a baptismal anniversary.  Small gifts or even religious items.  I don't think Pope Francis would think this is kosher.

It just seems fitting that a Spiritual Birthday would have Intangible gifts.

I personally love giving (and receiving) spiritual bouquets.

A spiritual bouquet is a gift of prayer and/or sacrifice done for the benefit of the recipient.  Novenas, holy hours, a Mass are all good things for a spiritual bouquet.  A homemade card or note letting someone know that you've been praying for them should suffice for presents.

A little gift of service is another intangible gift idea.  Like taking over a chore, making a bed, filling their car up with gas, something small but thoughtful.

3.  Decorations?

If you have the baptismal candle, you can always bust that out for a little table decor.

We didn't get a baptismal candle for Susan.  The parish had just had fancy-schmancy rust colored burlap pew coverings installed and the pastor didn't want anyone dripping wax on them.  I guess I could just order her a baptismal candle?

You can even light it...or not.  What am I saving that candle for if not to light on baptismal anniversaries?

4.  Activities

"Um, Jessica? That's a tattoo."  Yes, but it was the google image I liked best.

Say a family rosary, letting the "birthday" boy or girl lead, or even pick their favorite mysteries, or go to Mass (and then a bakery for donuts, because everyone knows donuts are spiritual goods, not material goods),  or read the story of the patron saint of the person you are celebrating.

At the very least, you can do what we do and add a "God Bless So-so!" to the end of your grace before dinner.

Pray for the godparents.  Remind your kids to pray for their godparents too.

As a godparent, I'm hoping that all of my godchildren or their parents see this one.

5.  Refreshments

Have cake.

Or a dessert.  Because in my mind, it's not a celebration unless there's some sort of celebratory food or drink involved.

Raise a glass and toast to the ongoing salvation of the birthday person!

My kids love "Kids' Wine."  Martinelli's Sparkling Cider is their vintage of choice.  Welch's makes lots of good sparkling kid-friendly wines as well:  red grape, white grape, blueberry, and cranberry.

Whelp.  There are my non-Pinterest-worthy ideas for incorporating Baptism Anniversaries in your family life.

I'm sure you probably have lots of better and more-inspiring tips to share, so use the combox to your advantage.