A Hand-Painted Holy Card

I received this beautiful holy card in the mail a few weeks ago.  It's from France and has been all hand-painted.  The inscription on the bottom reads "Souvenez-vous do moi dans la receuillement a la prière." which translates as "Remember me in contemplation before prayer."  On the back is written "Souvenir d'affecteuese reconnaissance ~ Sr. Adelphe" meaning "A souvenir of affectionate remembrance ~ Sister Adelph".  So I'm assuming that Sister Adelph painted this holy card for a dear friend, or possibly a student (if she was a teaching nun).

The cross in the center looks like it's made out of celluloid - it's shiny and almost iridescent - and it's outlined by a chain of little pink roses with a purple and yellow pansy or violet in the center.

During the 19th century people were very aware of the meanings of different flowers.  Red roses stand for love of course.  (As anyone who watches the bachelor would know! :)  I looked up "pansy" and saw that it stands for remembrance.  Even more interesting, in French the word "pansy" is "pensée" which means "thought", so the pansy meant "thinking of you".  The pansy is also a symbol of the holy trinity with it's three colors, purple, yellow, and white, symbolizing the father, son and holy spirit.  The specific colors also were symbolic:  Purple = loving memories, yellow = kind thoughts, and white = souvenirs.  And then to pile symbolism on top of symbolism, a woman who retired from the world and became a religious was thought to be the pattern of humility and was associated with the violet, the most humble of flowers.

I have to believe that Sister Adelph was familiar with the language of flowers because she couldn't have chosen a more perfect on to be the center of her lovely holy card.

Have a Blessed Easter!

I found this beautiful old holy card in a local antique shop on Saturday.  It was the only thing I could afford in there, so I think it was just meant to be!
I hope that my readers have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Jesus in the Eucharist Holy Card and Craft

This is one of my favorite holy cards of all time.  And "Why?", you might ask?  Well, lets take a look at it.  It has beautiful engraving and it's in perfect condition - not a rip or even a crease in the delicate paper lace around the edges.

I also love the fact that the original owner wrote her name and the occasion she received it on the back.  "Souvenir of my reception into the Children of Mary, the 21st of Aug. 1902.  M.C. Dupont"

It shows a girl leaning against the altar before the tabernacle.  In front of her is a shining chalice, and over her head is .... maybe the biggest host ever!  I saw several of this style of holy card before I realized that it has a secret. 

When you hold it up to the light, there is Jesus in the Eucharist watching over her!  What a wonderful way to convey the fact to a child that Jesus himself is hidden under the auspice of the host in Holy Communion!

The symbolism is also wonderful.  You only see Jesus when you hold the card up to the light.  Just as we only see Jesus in the light of faith.  How many times a day do we encounter him without seeing him?  How many more times would we find him if we only took a moment to let the light of faith shine through our day?

The title engraved on the card echoes this sentiment.  The top reads "The Secret of the Altar".  Under the picture it says, "See that I am with you always, even to the end the age" (Mat 28:20)

Here's a craft idea that you can do to convey this message to your children:

1. You need one picture of Jesus.  It can be a sticker, an image printed off the internet, or your child could draw their own, and 3 sheets of construction paper: one yellow, one white, and one for the background paper, which can be any color you like.2.  Print out the template for the 1/2 of a chalice and host that is shown above.  Make sure your picture of Jesus will fit inside the host! (If you just cut and past the template onto a blank sheet in Microsoft Word you can enlarge or reduce it as you like before printing it.)
2. Fold the yellow paper in half and put the chalice template on the folded edge.  Outline and cut it out.  When you open it, you will have a complete chalice.  Glue it onto your background paper and let your child decorate it with crayons, markers and plastic jewels or sequins.  You can also stick tin foil on it to make it shiny!
3. Fold the white paper in half and put the flat side of the host template on the folded edge of the paper. Outline and cut it out.  You will now have an almost circular piece of white paper that opens like a door.
4. Glue the above the chalice, making sure the "door" opens the right way. Now open the host and glue your picture of Jesus inside.  You child can draw a cross on the outside of the host if you would like so it looks more special.  It's also fun to decorate the chalice with glitter or stick-on gems.
5. And there you have it!  Your picture should show the host above a beautiful chalice.  When it's shut, your child can't see Jesus, but open it and, surprise!  There is Jesus in the Eucharist just as he is in the real host during mass!

A Patron Saint for Budweiser

No, I'm not kidding. When you hear that there's a saint for everything - well, there really is! This is a great old holy card from France. It was printed by the Aiguebelle Chocolate Company, and is one of a series that was handed out in their chocolate bars. That's right ~ a series of collector's cards of the saints for kids that was handed out with chocolate!

Who came up with this idea? Well, it probably had something to do with the fact that Aiguebelle Choclate was run by a group of monks who hit upon the idea of selling chocolate as a money-maker after the French Revolution. They gave out all kinds of collectors cards: dinosaurs, seashells, "The World of Mammals", crustaceans, famous composers, and on and on. No beanie babies or Hannah Montana toys with your happy meals when the monks are in charge!

But think about it... remember Willy Wonka? He gave out 5 golden tickets in his chocolate bars that allowed the luck winners to tour his amazing candy factory. Getting a saint card in your bar of chocolate and then being inspired to emulate his or her life would be like winning a REAL golden ticket that could help you get into the most wonderful place ever ~ heaven!

But I digress from St. Arnold. Why is St. Arnold the patron saint of brewers? Well, St Arnold lived in the 7th century. A time when people literally drank beer like water! This was because water at that time was really unsafe to drink. If there were people around, you could be pretty sure that they were using the water supply as their privy, washing area, and livestock cooler. Yuck. St Arnold encouraged people to drink beer instead of water because it was healthier. One story claims that he dipped his cross into a vat of beer, blessing it and making it safe to drink, ending an outbreak of illness in the town. Actually, since beer is brewed over heat, the increased temperature killed much of the bacteria that was present in the drink. He brewed beer at his monastery in Metz, France and is suppose to have said "From man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world."

St Arnold is not shown carrying a crozier (bishop's staff) or cross ~ instead he holds a mashing rake, one of the instruments used in the making of beer. Next time you go to the grocery store to buy a six-pack, why not celebrate this great saint by checking to see if they carry beer from the St Arnold Brewing Company! Then lift a glass (in moderation, of course) and drink to the memory of this great saint.