A saintly celebration

Followers of "Our Two Cents" may have read in one of my previous posts that I love St. Francis of Assisi’s peace prayer. It is beautiful in its simplicity and powerful in its message.

So I was excited to see that my sons’ faith formation lesson this week on the parable of the rich man and the beggar also discussed St. Francis’ conversion from a life of selfishness to one of noticing and caring for everyone and everything around him. I think his peace prayer embodied his transformation into a man who put the needs of others before his own — a good thing to emulate in such a me-centered world.

I did a quick search online for some simple crafts and activities to do with my kids to help them learn more about St. Francis and his Oct. 4 feast day. There are lots of great ideas out there — why not try a few of them with your family?

* Make natural bird feeders or St. Francis of Assisi spoons.

* Whip up some homemade pet treats.

* Bless your pet at home.

* Learn St. Francis’ peace prayer using this fill-in-the-blank activity.

* Listen to the hymn "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace."

* Read stories about St. Francis and the animals.

* Teach the five-finger prayer method attributed to Pope Francis, and point out that the pontiff named himself after the saint so he would not forget about helping the poor.