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I wish all of you a blessed, wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving! We all face trials and tribulations but we also have so much to be thankful for. I know that I am thankful for many things and one of those things are you! Thank you for reading and connecting with me here at Simple Catholic Living. You are all such a blessing!
Image by johnhain (2015) via Pixabay, CCO Public Domain
Since next week is the solemnity of Christ the King and Thanksgiving, and I won’t be doing much (if any) blogging, I thought I would get a jump start and send out the saints and feasts for December a little early.
Don’t you just love December! I know there is a lot of work and stress that goes into the holidays but we have to make time to remember what the holidays are about: Jesus! Besides Christmas (of course), there are some lovely and wonderful solemnities, feasts and memorials that I hope you won’t be too busy to overlook.
In addition, to make December even more special, December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, begins the Holy Year of Mercy! No doubt this will be a year of great grace!
Without further ado, here are the most notable dates for December:
December 3: St. Francis Xavier, priest (obligatory memorial)
December 4: St. John Damascene, priest (optional memorial)
December 4: First Friday Devotions (optional)
December 5: First Saturday Devotions (optional)
December 7: St. Ambrose, bishop & doctor of the church (obligatory memorial)
December 8: The Immaculate Conception (solemnity, holy day of obligation)
December 9: St. Juan Diego (optional memorial)
December 11: St. Damasus I, pope (optional memorial)
December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe (feast)
December 14: St. John of the Cross, priest & doctor of the church (obligatory memorial)
December 21: St. Canisius, priest & doctor of the church (optional memorial)
December 23: St. John of Kanty, priest (optional memorial)
December 25: Nativity of Our Lord, Merry Christmas! (solemnity, holy day of obligation)
December 26: St. Stephen, the first martyr (feast)
December 27: The Holy Family (feast)
December 28: The Holy Innocents, martyrs (feasts)
December 29: St. Thomas Becket, bishop & martyr (optional memorial)
December 31: St. Sylvester I, pope (optional memorial)
Every Saturday is traditionally dedicated to devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
December is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
December 7: Pearl Harbor Day, 1941 (USA)
December 21: Winter Begins
December 26: Boxing Day (Canada)
I pray you will have a blessed and holy Advent leading up to Christmas, filled with joy and family.
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Tweetable: Saints & Feasts in December 2015
Image by artemtation (2013) via Pixabay, CCO Public Domain
From my family to yours: We wish you all a truly blessed and truly HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
We all go through struggles and hardships but we still have so much to be thankful for! God bless.
Have you seen the “All About That Baste” Video yet? No? Well, watch it now because it is SO FUNNY! (Hat tip to Mashable.com where I came across the video.)
(Image in public domain)
Like last year, I am taking a week-long Thanksgiving blogging break. I pray you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. See you next Monday (November 28th)!
This is Andrew’s version of this idea. We are going to put the box in a prominent place. Each day everyone one in the family can write what they are thankful for on a piece of paper and put it in the box and then I’ll have Andrew read each one aloud on Thanksgiving Day.
(I know our box isn’t nearly as nice as the one I linked to, but our version of the box was Andrew’s idea and craftsmanship. He’s happy with it and that’s what matters! 🙂 )
(Linked to Wordless Wednesday and Wordful Wednesday.)
Thanksgiving is only a couple short weeks away, and I’ve been looking for some simple (and fun) craft ideas. I’ve mentioned this before, but my new favorite place to look for ideas is Pinterest; and, I’ve found some cute ideas there for Thanksgiving. Here’s just a few:
1. Be Thankful.
Pinned by Tilisa Howell
Pinned by Chelsea Ewert
3. Placemats.
Pinned by Rebecca Phalen
4. Story of Thanksgiving Crafts.
Pinned by Cindy Schival
5. Turkey Craft.
Pinned by Ashly Dower
6. Paper Crafts.
Pinned by Christy Kramer
Pinned by Jacqueline Mills
8. Thanksgiving games and crafts.
Pinned by Brenda Kirk
9. Thanksgiving card and craft.
Pinned by Marri
10. Thankful Box.
Pinned by Ann Hathaway
Aren’t these great ideas? I particularly love the thankful box! Do you have any favorite craft ideas to share? Leave the idea or link in the comments. Thanks!
(Linked to Top Ten Tuesday and Works for me Wednesday.)
I am truly grateful for many things; and, one of the things I’m grateful for is for all my wonderful readers! So, let me just say a quick thank you to all my readers; especially to those who take the time to interact (through the various blog memes I participate in) and for those who take the time to leave comments!
God bless each and every one of you!
(P.S: Isn’t he cute!):
Not surprisingly, like I’m sure many bloggers will be, I’ll be on a blogging sabbatical for several days. My husband is off of work for a week; plus my mom, cousin and brother will all be visiting, so except for some pre-scheduled posts, it will be pretty quiet around here.
I’ll be back into the blogging swing of things on Tuesday. 🙂
With Thanksgiving next week (for those of us in America), it is fitting that we remember all the graces and blessings we receive from our loving God. Even in the midst of our trials, we are truly blessed and have much to be grateful for. 🙂
In that vein, lets let us join in prayer:
A Little Thanksgiving Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude in this season of giving thanks.
We thank You for all the graces and blessings You have bestowed upon us: spiritual and temporal. We thank You for the gift of our faith; our food and shelter; our health; our family and friends; and for the gift of love we have for one another. In Your infinite mercy and generosity, Father, please grant us Your continued graces and blessings.
We ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
For other Fearless Friday entries and to add you own, go to Free Spirit Haven.
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been offering a different recipe each week. Today’s recipe is one of my favorites. It is a fruit tart recipe that my aunt has been making for as long as I can remember. Traditionally she always made them for Thanksgiving and Christmas; but, now that I’m an adult and have the recipe, I don’t have to wait as long to get them. 
Enjoy!
(P.S. I haven’t made this in a while, so I don’t have a picture. Sorry!)
Other recipes you might like:
Quick and Easy Chocolate Cookies
(Linked to Recipe Roundtable. Go link up your recipe, too!)
