Happy Friday, friends! 💞

All Saints Day is just nine days away, and if your house has started to look like a costume factory exploded (a cardboard halo here, a construction-paper bishop's mitre there), you're in good company.

This week the Church gives us a lovely warm-up: two of Jesus's friends who are remembered together. St. Simon and St. Jude weren't the famous apostles. There's no big dramatic Gospel scene with their names on it. They simply stayed close to Jesus, and tradition tells us they went out together to share the Good News. That's a pretty good picture of friendship, and a pretty good picture of family life too.

He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." - Matthew 22:37

Friday, October 23: St. John of Capistrano (optional memorial) A Franciscan friar who walked from town to town across Europe preaching about Jesus, sometimes to crowds so big he had to speak outdoors.

Saturday, October 24: St. Anthony Mary Claret (optional memorial) Before he became a priest, Anthony worked as a weaver in Spain. Later he became a missionary, an archbishop in Cuba, and the founder of a religious order. Fun fact for kids: he's a patron of weavers!

Sunday, October 25: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time In the Gospel of Matthew 22:34–40, someone asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest. His answer is short enough for a three-year-old to remember: love God, and love your neighbor.

Wednesday, October 28: Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles Two of the Twelve Apostles, celebrated on the same day. St. Jude is the saint many Catholics turn to when things feel really hard, which is why he's called the patron of hopeless causes. In pictures you'll often spot him with a small flame above his head (the Holy Spirit at Pentecost) and a medallion of Jesus's face. In some old paintings he even holds a little boat.

What to tell your preschooler: "Jesus had twelve special friends called apostles. Two of them, Simon and Jude, were friends with each other too, and they went on adventures together telling people about Jesus. When something feels really hard, we can ask St. Jude to pray for us."

Virtue to Notice: Friendship ✨

Simon and Jude remind us that holiness is often a team effort. This week, watch for small acts of friendship at home: a sibling sharing the good crayon, a child inviting someone new to play, a quick "are you okay?" after a tumble. When you see it, name it: "That was a true friend thing to do. That's what Simon and Jude did for each other."

A simple faith practice for preschoolers: The "Two Hands" prayer at dinner.

Sunday's Gospel gives us two great commandments, and little ones can hold one in each hand:

• Raise one hand up ✋ and name one way you loved God today (said a prayer, sang at Mass, said thank you for dinner).
• Hold the other hand out 🤚 and name one way you loved someone else today.

Then pray together:

"Jesus, help us love you and love each other. Sts. Simon and Jude, pray for us."

Let the kids go first. "I didn't hit my brother" absolutely counts.