Fr Pine...a gentle reminder to children

There are many gentle and small ways for a mother to foster the possibility of a vocation in the home, if it is God's will. Prayer, example and atmosphere. Fr Pine falls under the category of 'atmosphere.'

My little boys already are asking questions about 'Fr Pine' and his vestments. They are eager to help put them on, they are protective of Fr Pine..we have just celebrated the feast of The Queenship of Mary and had this wooden image clothed in the Marian vestments on the table with a statue of Our Lady, a crown and a crown cake! Fr Pine was being zealously guarded from possible accidents!

So what is Fr Pine all about?

My friend Jennifer over at Wildflowers and Marbles kindly shared her Father Oak to place on her Feast Day Table. If you pop on over you can get the templates for Father Oak and the vestments, all the instructions for making it are there.

Fr Oak is a beautiful way to remember in the domestic church what is taking place inside the Church for Mass each day. The children will very quickly become aquainted with the liturgical seasons and feast days of the year and it is a wonderful opportunity to teach the children what each of the liturgical colours represent.

I've taken the explaination of those colours from this site here.

Jennifer had beautifully sewn her chasubles but since I don't sew I used craft glue and braids/laces to glue along the edges to stop them from fraying. Most of the material I bought was a curtain material with a backing that prevented easy fraying.

My Father is Father Pine, from the wood it was made from. I hope to stain it in the days to come.

Here is the blue chasuble.

I have put a symbol from the Miraculous Medal on the front of the chasuble.

Blue is not an approved liturgical colour except for certain Marian Shrines on marian feastdays. I have made this for the home though to highlight to the children very special Marian feastdays.

The Gold chasuble.

"Gold – Can at times replace red, green and white for added solemnity. Gold denotes majesty and splendor."

The Green chasuble.

"Green – The color of nature, denoting the hope of eternal life. Worn from the 14th of January to Septuagesima Sunday and following the first Sunday after Pentecost to the Saturday preceding Advent."

The Violet chasuble.

The material used with the Violet chasuble is very different from the rest, I wanted something that represented simplicity and austerity connected to preparedness, sacrifice and prayer.

"Violet – Symbolizes sorrow and penance. Violet is worn during Lent and Advent, certain Passion Masses, the blessing of ashes, ember days and other penitential occasions."

The Red chasuble.

"Red – Red is symbolic of blood and fire and is worn during feasts of His precious blood. It is also representative of the Holy Spirit hence it is worn during the week of Pentecost. Red is also worn for feasts of Martyrs, Evangelists and Apostles."

The Rose chasuble.

"Rose – Rose indicates joy and is sometimes worn to symbolize respite or to augment the austerity during penitential seasons on the 3rd Sunday of Advent and the 4th Sunday of Lent."

The White chasuble

"White – Sometimes replaced by gold, white symbolizes purity, innocence, rejoicing and light. White is employed during certain periods throughout Christmas and Easter seasons. Also worn on feasts of our Lord, feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, non-Martyred saints, conversion of Paul, Saints John the Apostle and Saint John the Baptist among others. Worn during certain ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms and the burial of children. Also worn during the consecration of churches, altars and bishops."

Below are the chasubles and stoles placed upon Father Pine.

*note, the stole is worn under the chasuble. Having the stole over the top in these photos is for the ladies to see the stole and how it hangs. Each day we would place the stole under the chasuble for the children in the home.

Thank you Jennifer for such a wonderful craft that can be used everyday in the years to come!