December 09A Catholic Magazine For Girls

Contents

A message from AnnaPage 3

Recipe & StoryPage 5

St. TheresePages 6-8

Holly’s StoryPage 9

Waiting for ChristmasPages 10-12

The Christmas GiftPages 14-16

WordsearchPage 16

PrayerPage 4

AbortionPages 12-13

Hi! Welcome to the December 09 issue of Faithful Magazine!

In this issue we have stories, a recipe, and a special feature on St. Therese of Lisieux plus more!

Thank you to everyone who has submitted articles, recipes and stories! Don’t forget, if you have a story or article

you would like to see in the magazine send it in to: faithfulmagazine@googlemail.com

Sorry for this magazine being slightly shorter than previous issues - I’ve been quite busy with school and homework et.c so I haven’t had much time to writer articles.

A message from Anna3

God our Father, we are getting ready for Christmas:

Buying presents,

Preparing for carol services,

Rehearsing nativity plays.

We thank you for all the preparations you made for

the first Christmas:

Through the prophets you told people to get ready

for Jesus:

You gave a baby, John, to Zechariah and Elizabeth;

You chose Mary to be Jesus’ mother, and Joseph to

provide a home for them;

You called wise men from far away.

As we prepare to enjoy Jesus’ birthday, make us

ready to listen carefully to the Christmas story and

to make room for Jesus in our hearts.

Amen

OATMEAL LACE COOKIES• 2 1/2 cups (275 grams / 20 ounces) quick oats• 2 teaspoons baking powder• 1 cup (230 grams / 8 ounces) brown sugar, packed• 1/2 cup (115 grams / 4 ounces) melted butter• 1 egg, beaten• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Blend dry ingredients2. Add butter, egg and vanilla. 3. Put on greased cookie sheet (allow plenty of room for

spreading). 4. Bake at 350°F / 180°C / Gas Mark 4 for approximately 10 min

Thanks to Josey for this recipe.

A young girl was walking to her weekly catechism class taught by the local priest. Along the way a couple of the other girls from her class caught up with her.

Jogging alongside her, they said, "We're going to the mall you can come along." The girl stopped abruptly

and said, "What about our class?"

The group of girls said in reply, "Our parents will never know. None of us will tell, and we'll be home at the right time."

The girl looked straight at them and said, "God is more important than shopping, I

can't lie to my mother as that would hurt God and disobeying my father would hurt Him to."

The girl continued walking forward and finished, "Besides, Jesus died for us. The least I can do is obey the commandments He gave us."

Saying ‘No’ By Abra. Age 12

St. Therese St. Therese was born Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin, in Alencon, France on January 2 1873 to Saint Louis Martin, and Saint Marie-Azelie Guerin (also known as Saint Zelie Martin). Both of Therese’s parents were Catholics and Louis tried to become a monk, but was refused because he didn’t know any Latin. Zelie tried to become a nun, but was refused because the superior thought that she had no vocation to the religious life. So in 1858, they got married. Then, they had nine children but only five children lived, all girls: Marie, Pauline, Leonie, Celine and Therese.

Therese’s mother, Zelie, died of breast cancer when Therese was only 5 years old. Therese’s second sister Pauline became Therese’s “Little Mother,” acting as her second mother in taking care of little Therese. But this made it harder for Therese when Pauline entered into the Carmelite Monastery in Lisieux when Therese was only 9 years old, 4 years after her mother died. Therese also wanted to enter the monastery, but she was too young at the age of 9. In 1886, Therese’s oldest sister, Marie entered the same monastery as Pauline. At the age of 14, Therese tried again to enter the Carmelite, but the superior would not allow her to enter so young. At the age of 15, Therese asked Pope Leo XIII if she might enter and the Pope answered “Well, my child, do what the superiors decide.” Soon after, the Bishop of Bayeux authorized the prioress to allow Therese, and on April 9th, 1888, Therese entered into the Carmelite nuns.

Therese’s father suffered a stroke and then died on July 29th, 1894. When their father died their sister, Celine, who was caring for him entered into the Carmelite nuns, with her 3 other sisters. Therese’s other sister Leonie entered into the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary and became Sister Francoise-Therese. Therese always loved to do the little things for God extra well. She was named St. Therese the Little Flower. She is known for her “Little Way”. She did the little deeds for Jesus and on January 10, 1889 Therese received her habit and was given the name Therese of the Child Jesus. Therese then added “of the Holy Face” to her name at the ceremony of the veil. So after the ceremony of the veil, Therese was Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. Later to be known by the following names: St. Therese of the Child Jesus St. Therese of the Holy Face St. Therese The Little Flower St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face and more. Therese started to cough up blood due to pulmonary hemoptysis; her tuberculosis had declined to a very bad state. In July 1897 she was moved to the monastery infirmary. Therese died on September 30th 1897 at age 24. On her death-bed she said “I have reached the point of not being able to suffer any more, because all suffering is sweet to me.”

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Pray for us!

Written By Mary Beth Age 13

From the 16th September to the 16th October the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux visited England and Wales.

I was privileged enough to go and visit them along with my parents and my younger brother and sister. On Saturday 10th October, we drove down to Aylesford Priory and queued for a little while. We bought white roses and a candle with St. Therese’s picture on it. We finally entered the room where the relics were being held and saw the great casket which contains her relics (pictured on the right).

After we saw the relics we had Mass out in the open air. The sheer size of the congregation was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere and celebrated Mass with that number of people before.

It was an amazing experiance.

One night when I was a very little girl I was going somewhere with my mother, I don't remember where we were going because I was very young but it was dark out and I was in the back-seat in my car seat.

I was drawn to look out the window, there was a sort of field, and in it there were several Angels, dressed in long simple gowns in vibrant colors with flowing hair, they did not have wings, they were neither male nor female as Angels have no gender, they were all holding hands forming a long chain and they were skipping through the field, yet they never came to the edge of it but they were so close, there were no lights, but I could see them perfectly well, all around them it was dark, and there was a rainbow over them.

It could not have actually been a long time that I saw them because we were driving and must have passed quickly, but God slowed time for me and as we drove past, I turned round best I could and watched them as long as I could.

My Mother did not see them, and when we came home again there was no trace of them, I did not even see where the field was, but I have always remembered it, and I always will.

The only person I ever told for years was my Mother who never doubted me. Late last winter for the first time ever, I told my story to my Confirmation class. It was the perfect place to tell people for the first time, and they were the perfect people. After that I told more people but there are still many who have not heard, so tell you friends about my story.

Sometimes I ponder why God choose me out of all the millions of people in the world to give the gift of seeing his Angels. I feel so touched that God would choose me, I am hardly a Saint, but God loves us all.

You cannot imagine how it makes me think and feel, it moves me to tears. When I think of what I saw it gives me such a feeling of security, serenity, hope, and faith.

I will always remember and treasure this memory.

Holly B. Age 15.

Holly’s Story

“They’re coming!” beamed Mrs Marsh, after she read the few words scrawled across the blank side of the Christmas card. “Who’s coming? And why?” asked Fiona, the most curious member of the family. “Well, it says here that your cousin Katrina, who got married earlier on this month – you remember we sent her a gift? – will be coming to spend Christmas here, in order to meet the English side of her family!” “That is so exciting. Will she be staying at our house, then? I can give her my bedroom, and I will sleep with Sarah, and….” “It’s nice of you to offer, but remember, Katrina is married now, and so she is obviously traveling with her husband – in fact this will be their honeymoon! They will be staying in the Waldorf Hotel in London, and they’ve already bought their Oyster Cards. I will send them an e-mail to tell them that they are to make no plans for Christmas Dinner, because I will invite them here.” The Marsh Family had always celebrated Christmas enthusiastically, especially since it also happened to be Fiona’s birthday – and this year they had something else to which to look forward. Katrina’s widowed mother was Anna Marsh’s sister. Her arthritis made it difficult for her to get around, and so she lived with her other daughter Yvette. So Katrina was not worried about her mother, because she knew she would be well taken care of.

On December 10, the Marshes trooped down to Gatwick to meet Katrina and her husband James. Since Check in time for their hotel was 3.00 p.m., and it was still 10:00 am when they landed, they piled the cases into the Marshes’ 4-wheel drive and went to have a meal at a nearby restaurant in order to catch up on all the news. Fiona was a bit shy to begin with, since she had never met Katrina or James… but as soon as she gained enough confidence, she was asking questions nineteen to the dozen. James said that he had “a box with some things she might like” - but he would not be drawn out into saying what they were. Fiona and her siblings would have to wait! And, just to pique their curiosity even further, Katrina handed a carefully-folded piece of paper to her aunt, and told her that these were necessary for the ‘project’ to be done fittingly!

Waiting for Christmas

Of course, Fiona volunteered to do the shopping – and Katrina winked at Mrs Marsh to tell her that it would be all right for her to do that! Imagine how Katrina’s face fell when she discovered that on the list was a dull collection of things from the stationery – Elmer’s glue; brown paper; green and brown poster colours… why, those were ordinary things they used at school on Craft Wednesdays when she was at Primary School… she’d had enough of them already! But she went and bought them anyhow, because she had a feeling that this would be something different and special. On Sunday, when Fiona knew that Katrina and James were coming over, she woke up bright and early, and cleared her desk, so that it would be ready for use, and laid out the arts and craft supplies on one of her bookshelves, squeezing the books horizontally over the others in her library. James had bought a piece of chip-board, and he took that into the room and laid it on the desk. Then, he asked Fiona to crease the brown paper by crumpling it up and then stepping on it. He opened it up gently, and ‘painted’ it with glue to which he had added brown poster colour…. Then, he made a half-sphere and fitted the edges almost to the side-edges of the chip-board. He asked Fiona to paint the board green, and dabbed some brown onto it. “It looks like a cave!” exclaimed Fiona, “So, what‘s it for?”“I’ll tell you later! Come on, it’s time for lunch, I smell chicken soup and roast beef…” replied James After the plates had been washed, rinsed, and put away, everyone clattered upstairs, with Katrina holding a mysterious box that somehow smelled of hay. The paint on the chipboard had dried, but the glue on the brown paper was still a bit tacky. “It doesn’t matter!” said James, “Just make sure you don’t touch it!” And then… they opened the box. A lot of exquisite, tiny, painted figurines nestled in hay. Katrina said that they had been in the family for generations, and now it was time for Fiona, the Christmas child, to have them! Gently, Katrina extracted each one of them and gave them to James. He positioned them in and around the grotto… there were shepherds, sheep, men and women people going about their business – carrying ewers or fruit and vegetables….. or playing musical instruments. There were angels, a cow, and a donkey, too.

Finally, from the very bottom of the box, Katrina drew out the statuettes of Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus lying in a manger.

These, James placed at the very centre of the scene, so that it appeared that all the characters on the board were walking towards them. “We call this a presepju in Maltese,” he said. “Wonderful!” “Beautiful! “Fantastic!” “Great!” everyone kept exclaiming. But that was not all. Katrina had another surprise. She delved one final time inside the box and drew out a cotton drawstring bag. Inside it were figurines of the Magi, some extra camels, and a couple of servants. These, James put at the very edge of the board, in a procession. He said that the idea was to move them a tiny bit every day, so that by Christmas Day, they would be at the entrance of the grotto. Today, Fiona is a grandmother – but she still has the box with the figurines, and she still creates a new crib every year!

Abortion is morally wrong and a crisis we face in the world. In fact, it is quite common. Most people don’t know or don’t want to believe that the baby is a human from the point of conception. Most people believe that it isn’t a human until birth so therefore abortion is “not murder”.

Imagine you, walking up and killing an innocent baby; that is what abortion does, kills a human being. Imagine if I told you that I was going to choose that you would die, you couldn’t say anything or do anything about it you would just die, abortion is doing just this. Yes, the baby is not able to talk yet or know what abortion is, but it has rights too, just as the mother does.

AbortionBy Josey. Age 12

Doctors say that abortion is one of the safest medical procedures provided in the United States. This is not true. Two people go in and one comes out. That fetus is killed. But wait, they say, it isn’t human yet, not until it is born. Actually, no: fetus comes from a Latin word meaning young child. Is it not human? The babies’ heart starts beating eighteen days after conception. The fetus starts breathing at the latest twelve weeks after conception. Is it not human? At ten to eleven weeks all the major life functions are in place and functioning at some degree. Is it not human? Abortions are performed from conception right up until birth in many countries.

That baby, that is being killed is breathing, heart is pumping, and body functions are forming or are already formed. Is it not human? Twenty weeks is the earliest premature baby that has survived. The mother could of chose abortion, but no that baby was human, alive, and ready to live.

On January 22nd, 2009 we “celebrated” the 36th year of legal abortion. 115,000 babies die per day from that day. We are not celebrating. It is saying that we are “celebrating” the death of about 1,511,100,000 babies, from abortion, since 1973. One in three women will have had an abortion by age of forty five. Over one million abortions took place in the United States in 1997. And last year forty-two million abortions took place world wide. It needs to be stopped.

When you walk into an abortion clinic you choose death. You choose for that baby, that it is going to die. You take away the baby’s rights. Not only is the mother choosing for her baby to die but is harming herself. There are negative after affects. Here are just a few examples of the physical after affects; 17% more women have complications in future pregnancies and may not be able to have babies at all. Women who have had an abortion performed are also more likely to have breast cancer. Some emotional affects are; the women are five times more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol. They also are not happy with the decisions they are making and are more likely to have mood disorders.

As you can plainly see abortion is murder and violence toward the baby and the mother. Think about it. Choose life and remember these words from Horton Hears a Who, the elephant that risks his life to save that tiny little spec, “Although you can’t see them or hear them at all, a person is a person no matter how small.”

Jennifer was looking forward to Christmas; it was her favourite time of the year for many reasons.

The summer heat made her come out in hives, and since she got motion sickness she never really could enjoy trips to the beach to the fullest. However much she enjoyed swimming and diving, at the back of her mind there was always the thought that she would have to go through more distress on the journey home.

But Christmas was different! The feeling of togetherness and comfort, the preparations in church and at home, the singing of carols, the hearty food and the nice, old-fashioned films on television. The visits to both grandmas, who lived in the same village. All these combined to make Christmas the most wonderful time of the year for Jennifer.

This year was extra-special. There would be a new guest at Jennifer’s table this Christmas.

The new Head of School had come up with a brilliant idea for the students who were going to begin High School the following year.

The adopt-a-granny scheme was meant to encourage children to become responsible for the well-being of someone outside their immediate family. The parents of the children in Saint Benedict School had co-operated, and the residents of Saint Claire Home for The Elderly had embraced the idea gladly too.

Every Saturday, the children would go to the Home to spend some time with their friends. Some of them talked, some read, and some played board games such as chess or snakes and ladders.

Someone came up with the idea that the grannies and grandpas ought to be invited to their supporter’s house for Christmas dinner, and everyone agreed to this.

So, Granny Lucinda was coming over to Jennifer’s place, to meet the family: Mom and Dad, brothers Robert and David and sister Juliet, as well as assorted cats, dogs, and goldfish.

The family went to Midnight Mass. Mom and Dad thought that the children would be too excited to sleep – but they dropped off as soon as their heads touched the pillows.

Their parents made a cup of hot chocolate for themselves, and sipped it slowly before they went to bed.

The Christmas Gift

Granny Lucinda turned up at 9.00am, because one of the nurses was going home on leave and Jennifer’s house was along the way.

Mom was still half asleep when she opened the door. The old lady introduced herself, and Mom invited her in. “I know I’m a mite early,” said Granny, “but I thought it’d save you the trouble of calling for me yourselves.”

“Yes, sure, why not?” replied Mom, thinking that this made perfect sense.

Granny’s long white hair was coiled in a neat bun, and she had worn her long flowered dress and squeaky brown shoes, in fact she looked like a picture of a schoolmarm from Colonial Days. She smelled of talcum powder and lavender, and in her hands she held a bulky package wrapped in brown paper and tied with red ribbon.

She put it down ion the cupboard, and offered to help with peeling the vegetables. Mom told her she’d get dirty, but Granny merely asked to borrow an apron, and made fast work of peeling potatoes and carrots and onions, and shelling peas.

One by one, the children began appearing in the kitchen for a late breakfast. Jennifer was thrilled to see Granny there already; and of course Granny hugged her favourite child tight and wiped her hands on the pinny so she could fetch the present and give it to her.

“I knitted it myself!” Granny said, proudly, as Jennifer untied the knots and scratched away the adhesive tape to get at the gift.

It was a sweater. But what a sweater! It was obviously made out of the remnants of balls of wool that were not of the same thickness, in a cacophony of clashing colours. The sleeves were too long – and everyone seemed to notice this except Granny!

But Jennifer was a gracious chid. She hugged Granny and kissed her, saying that se had always wanted a sweater that looked like Joseph’s Coat of Many Colours. She frowned at young Juliet, who had obviously been about to voice her own opinion, and Juliet, for the first time in her young life, was tactful enough to bite her tongue.

The rest of the day was everything one would expect from a family Christmas with kind, loving people like Jennifer’s family.

Nobody felt like eating supper, of course, after a late Christmas lunch, so before Jennifer’s father drove Granny back to the home, they just had one scoop of double-chock-chip mint ice-cream to round off the perfect day.

Jennifer knew that Granny would expect her to be wearing the sweater the next Saturday the group went to the home – so she made a Plan and shared it with her mother. Mom had doubts about how well it would work, but it was worth a try!

So, Mom ran the washing machine on hot and washed the sweater; and it shrank to Jennifer’s size. The sleeves, for some reason, remained long.

Despite the fact that she had a lot to do, Mom expertly unpicked some rows from the cuffs, and elasticised the wrists so they would not be too wide.

Jennifer added some lengths from her own stash of wool to the unpicked lot, and stayed up late to knit two rectangles, which she then sewed into matching leg-warmers.

When Saturday came around, Jennifer wore her sweater and legwarmers with her blue denim skirt.

The beautiful smile on Granny’s face when she saw the girl was a wonderful sight!

Christmas Is Coming!B K S S S S S E R C M A C N EE S L N D G L E E I N A O X ST D N R O C N L L N B I S F EH E A O A W E I O D S B E S IL C Y R I B F U T S N S O G NE E I A R T N L E E T A B N OH M C A D C A C A I E E C I ME B T E E I O R V K L R Q K EM E J M D R L A O L E I G C RY R E Q P A L O S C J S S O EU N S S E N R E H T E G O T CT P O I N S E T T I A D Y S SA N G E L S A M T S I R H C ZA D V E N T R A D I T I O N DG O L L L I W D O O G I F T S

ADVENTANGELSANNOUNCEMENTBELLSBETHLEHEMCANDLESCARDSCEDARCELEBRATECEREMONIES

CHRISTMASDECEMBERDECORATIONSFESTIVALGIFTSGOODWILLGREETINGSHOLIDAYLISTSLOG

MASSMIRACLEPOINSETTIAPROCESSIONRIBBONSNOWFLAKESSTARSTOCKINGSTOGETHERNESSTRADITION