With Advent and Christmas this month, you have countless opportunities to spread the pro-life message and connect as a family by doing fun and inspirational things together! We have highlighted some pro-life feast days, and we offer you ways to not only have a meaningful Advent, but to spread pro-life joy all month long.
Prepare young children for the birth of Christ with our lesson about the brightest Christmas star. Not only is this lesson incredibly fun, but it’s full of pro-life themes that teach how Jesus calls us to love one another as He loves us. After all, Christmas is the most pro-life day of the year!
December 3
The Feast of St. Francis Xavier. Francis devoted his life to helping the poorest of the poor and ministering to the sick, including lepers whom no one else would touch. He helped spread the culture of life by teaching that every single person has dignity and value, and together with Ignatius of Loyola, they founded the Jesuit order. Spend some time today reading about his life and talking with your children about how they can emulate the love he showed to others.
December 6
The Feast of St. Nicholas. Many people celebrate this feast day by putting a small gift item in their children’s shoes. This is a fun way to begin the conversation about the story of St. Nicholas. For younger children, you can use our lesson entitled Christ, the True Gift of Christmas to help them see that Christmas is about more than just material gifts. This is a great day to help children see how they can let thier pro-life light shine by helping those in need this Christmas.
December 8
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Go to Mass! Say a decade of the Rosary as a family. Explain that Immaculate Conception means that Mary was conceived without Original Sin. Let that lead to a discussion of Original Sin and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us.
December 12
Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with our lesson about the beautiful miracle on Tepeyac Hill. Surprise a special woman in your life with roses.
Family Fun
Do you want to give your child a tangible idea about the size of a first trimester preborn baby? Our fetal models not only teach about the humanity of the preborn baby, but they make great stocking stuffers as well.
Go shopping with your children and buy toys to donate to Toys for Tots. Help brighten up the Christmas season for children with your generosity. Explain to your children that many parents do not have extra money to buy presents for their kids, so you are going to spread the joy of the season by acting like St. Nicholas. Let them pick out the toys and then take them to the donation bins.
Do you want to alleviate any Scrooge-like behavior in your house as the hectic Christmas season gets closer? A Christmas Carol is a seasonal favorite. Have your children read this Dickens’ classic alone or read it with them. Then use our lesson Giving with a Happy Heart: Teaching the Culture of Life in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ to help supplement the text.
Make some popcorn, turn off the lights, grab a blanket, and watch It’s a Wonderful Life as a family. Afterward, use our free movie discussion guide to talk about why all human beings make a difference to the people in their lives.
Make and give Christmas gifts to families at a homeless shelter.
Adopt a family from the giving tree at church.
December 14
The Feast of St. John of the Cross. St. John spent many years imprisoned for his faith, but he suffered joyfully because he loved God so much. Talk to your children about suffering and teach them to offer up their own suffering for someone else or for a poor soul in Purgatory. Explain that our suffering has redemptive value. For teens, begin our lesson on euthanasia, which discusses Catholic teaching about suffering, entitled Without Mercy: An Introduction to Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, and Other Threats to the Medically Vulnerable.
Take some friends and go to a local nursing home to sing some Christmas carols.
Bake Christmas cookies as a family, then distribute them throughout your neighborhood. Some people may be a little skeptical, but assure them you just want to spread Christmas cheer. You never know how this random act of kindness will brighten someone’s day.
As you get ready for the March for Life in January, learn about Nellie Gray, the woman who began it all.
Do you love classical music? On December 16, celebrate Beethoven’s birthday with our free lesson. Learn about his life, and then put away all electronic devices and listen to some of his music. It can’t get much better than that!
December 25
Christmas Day! The most pro-life day of the entire year! A day to wonder at God’s gift of life to us all. Imagine what our world would be like had Mary not had the courage to say YES to God. As you talk to your children about the gift God gave to our world in His Son, remember to remind them that we must all find the courage to say YES to God. If children can master their yes to God in little things while they are young, then they will be better prepared to be a light in the darkness.
December 28
The Feast of the Holy Innocents. Discuss the story of how King Herod had all little boys under the age of two killed and explain that we must do all we can to protect babies. Have your children come up with ways that they can help protect babies.
December 30
The Feast of the Holy Family. Talk to your children about the importance of the family in today’s society and how every member of a family has a special role to play.
Celebrate New Year’s Eve with your family by reflecting upon the blessings of the past year—not only the blessings bestowed on you, but the blessings you bestowed on others. Make a resolution to continue helping build a culture of life.
Wow! There’s so much to do this month! Spreading a culture of life is not only easy and fun, but it’s what God calls us to do. How will you answer the call?
