Rose Bread for St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Today, November 17, we celebrate the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. As a queen she felt that she should care for all her people as if they were her children. She was known for her generosity to the poor. Legend says that on one occasion in the middle of winter she left her castle with her apron filled with bread for the poor. On the way she met her husband. He opened her cape to see what she carried and found her apron full of roses, not bread. When he bent to kiss Elizabeth he found her face transfigured with the radiance of heaven. 

Both roses and bread are her symbols, so as we celebrate her today and recall her charity to the poor, what better way than with a rose shaped bread. Braided bread is associated with many Eastern European countries such as Hungary and while this particular style is referred to as Russian Rose Bread, it seems particularly fitting for St. Elizabeth since it is bread shaped in a rose. It can be filled with either a sweet or savory filling.  
This morning we made a cinnamon rose bread for breakfast. It can be made using a generic bread recipe. In this case I made a sweet bread dough. The recipe and ingredients for this one are similar to those shared a few years ago by Charlotte - Hungarian Cinnamon Bread. The main difference is the shaping technique used to end up with a rose shaped bread here. 

Sweet Roll Dough
1 pkg. dry yeast
½ c. warm water
1/2 c. lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 c. butter, margarine or shortening
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 ½ to 4 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 ½ hours.

Cinnamon Filling
2-3 tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon 

Roll dough into large rectangle. Spread butter over dough, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. 

Roll up dough tightly along lengthier side. Pinch edge of dough to seal well. Cut the roll in half lengthwise. 

Starting at the top, cross over the strands in an X, repeat crossover to twist the two lengths together into long braid. 

Wind braided strand into a circle keeping cinnamon slits facing upward. Fan open as needed to create rose/flower petal look. 

Place on bottom of greased springform pan. Add springform pan sides. Let rise until double (30-40 minutes). Bake in 375 degree oven 20-25 minutes. 

Additional idea: Make two, one to keep and one to share, in the spirit of Christian charity of St. Elizabeth. 

St. Elizabeth, pray for us.

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Cathedral Cake on the Feast of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran Basilica in Rome

Today we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica which is our Holy Father's church and also the “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.”

We will be having a potluck after Mass this afternoon and I'm bringing cake! When I realized that the potluck was going to fall on this great feast I knew I had to bake at least one cake in my Cathedral Cake Bundt Pan.  It looks like Jenn and I were thinking along the same lines! (You can read her great article for today's feast over at Catholic Culture.)  I kept it simple and just baked Yellow and Triple Chocolate Fudge cakes with a couple Betty Crocker mixes, along with a Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Cake. 

The Cathedral Cake Bundt Pan is so much fun and can easily be adapted for many different occasions. I've used it for birthdays, various feast days including the feasts of St. Joseph and St. Thomas Becket, and it also makes a beautiful cake for Christmas! 

I hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

O God, Who year by year dost renew the day of the consecration of this Thy holy temple, and dost ever bring us again in safety to the holy mysteries, hear the prayers of Thy people, and grant that whosoever entereth this temple to seek blessings may rejoice to obtain all that he seeketh.

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Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. As a reminder of our duty to pray for the suffering faithful in Purgatory, the Church has dedicated the month of November to the Holy Souls. The Holy Souls are those who have died in the state of grace but who are not yet free from all punishment due to their unforgiven venial sins and all other sins already forgiven for which satisfaction is still to be made. They are certain of entering Heaven, but first they must suffer in Purgatory. The Holy Souls cannot help themselves because for them the night has come, when no man can work (John 9:4). It is our great privilege of brotherhood that we can shorten their time of separation from God by our prayers, good works, and, especially, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. (source)

Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes make a sweet and prayerful activity for the Holy Souls in the month of November, the month dedicated to the Church Suffering.  This idea was shared by one of my blog visitors (Thank you, Kim!) and I created the printable box or bag labels, calendar, and directions to share. If you have any trouble downloading the printable documents just send me an email and I will do my best to forward them to you directly. I ended up creating boxes to send home with all the children who attended our annual All Hallows' Eve party last night and my own children are so excited to begin today!

Supplies:

+ 30 pieces of candy per box (leftover All Saints candy is great for this!)

+ black treat boxes or bags

+ white foam sticker crosses or “Ora Pro Nobis” box/bag labels

+ color pencils, crayons, or another media of their choice

+ calendar (create your own or use free printable)

+ list of departed family, friends, religious

+ particular prayer(s) to be offered

Directions:

Place a cross or label on the front of each box (or bag)

Fill each box or bag with 30 pieces of candy. 

Have the children prepare and decorate their calendars. Write the name of a departed soul on the calendar for each day of the month. Perhaps even include a day for the “Most Forgotten Soul.” 

Each day of the month, after the child has offered a prayer for the departed soul listed, they may take one (1) piece of candy, or they may leave it in the box as an additional sacrifice for the departed soul!

The intention is to encourage prayers and sacrifices for the Church Suffering in a sweet and tangible way!

Printable Directions

Printable Ora Pro Nobis Box/Bag Labels

Printable Calendar for the Month of November

May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace!

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12 More Saint Themed Guessing Jars

I originally shared this post over at Shower of Roses, but thought I would add it here as well for anyone who is looking for All Saints' party game ideas!

The All Saints Guessing Jars were such a hit at our annual All Saints Party last year that we will be including them again this year with 12 MORE Saint Themed Guessing Jars!

I always have so much fun looking through the aisles at the grocery store and trying to connect some of the goodies to saints and their symbols!



"Bit-O-Honey" candies for St. Ambrose (the "Honey-Tongued Doctor") and Polish Candy for St. John Paul II are a couple of my favorite additions for this year. Once again I used my Wide Mouth Mason Jars with White Storage Lids for each jar.

Here are some pictures of this year's All Saints Guessing Jars all filled and ready for the party:    

 

St. Ambrose ::  St. Ambrose is also known as the "Honey Tongued Doctor." Any type of honey candy would work for this saint. I picked up three 4.2 oz bags of Bit-O-Honey at a local store to fill the jar. You can also purchase 16 oz. over at Amazon.



St. Bernadette of Lourdes :: Pretzel Sticks are perfect for St. Bernadette, since she was out collecting firewood when Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to her at the Grotto. Twix candy bars would also work!

St. Gertrude the Great :: Saint Gertrude the Great had a deep empathy for the Church suffering, the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Our Lord shared a special prayer with St. Gertrude the Great and told her that the prayer would release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is prayed.  The GhostMallows in the jar represent the "Holy Souls."  I used one 8 oz bag to fill the jar and had a few left over.



St. John Paul II :: I had to find a way to incorporate the newly canonized St. John Paul II! Polish candy works, right? :)  Ours came directly from a Polish friend, but it can also be found on Amazon if you aren't able to find any locally.

 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha :: This saint, who belonged to a Native American Indian Tribe, is also known as the "Lily of the Mohawks." We have made Indian Corn Cookies in honor of St. Kateri in the past, but for the jar I just filled it with one 21 oz bag of Candy Corn. (Though it probably could have used just a little bit more.) Lily candies would also work. If you have a mold you can make your own!



St. Marianne Cope :: HI-Chews are actually a Japanese Candy, but since my family was first introduced to them when my sister brought us some from Hawaii (along with the fact that they have "HI" in the name, the abbreviation for Hawaii) I thought we could get away with using them for St. Marianne Cope, who cared for the sick in Hawaii for 35 years.  I bought a big bag at Costco when they were on special for less than $5.00 and only used about 2/3's of the bag. You can also find them on Amazon.

 

St. Matthew :: My husband thought it might be a little offensive to St. Matthew to fill his jar with "Payday" candy bars, but after I told him that St. Matthew is the patron of accountants he agreed that it was okay. :) I probably should have purchased "fun size" candy bars, but I ended up using about 2/3's of a 20.3 oz bag of the "snack size."

 

St. Nicholas of Myra :: It's a little difficult to find candy canes quite yet, but JoAnn's just put out their Christmas supplies this week so I picked up a box of miniature candy canes. Be super careful not to drop them when you take them out of the box… They don't just break, they shatter! ;) 

  

St. Patrick of Ireland :: Pious legend credits St. Patrick with banishing snakes from the island of Ireland, chasing them into the sea. Regardless of whether or not this legend is true, St. Patrick is the patron saint against snakes, fear of snakes, and snake bites. Gummy Worms look like snakes.

St. Peter :: Butter Snaps Pretzels make yummy little Fisherman's Nets for St. Peter, the patron saint of Fisherman.  Fish also would have worked, but I saved those for the next saint on the list. 

 

St. Raphael ::  There are so many saints that are symbolized in some way with a fish. This year I decided to focus on St. Raphael, the healer, who is recorded as having helped Tobias make balms and ointments from fish to cure Tobit's (Tobias's father) blindness.

St. Thomas Aquinas :: Even though St. Thomas Aquinas' classmates called him "The Dumb Ox" he became a great Doctor of the Church and Patron of Academics. I filled a jar with a 12 oz. bag of Smarties in his honor!  (After I made my jars for this year I clicked back over to Catholic Inspired, since I couldn't remember what she included in her jars last year, and she used Smarties for all the Doctors of the Church and "Dum-Dums" for St. Thomas. They would have worked too.) 

To keep each person's guesses secret I also created little sheets of paper for each contestant to write their name and guess, before folding it in half and dropping it into an empty jar or bag with a matching label.

It's all ready to go and I can check this off the to-do list…
Now to start working on the rest of the party plans!

Printable Guessing Jar Labels
Printable Guess Slips

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