August 2: Saint Eusebius

History

A very long time ago, some people, called Arians, decided that Jesus wasn’t God after all. This is what’s called a heresy, a false teaching. The Arians convinced other Christians to agree with them, so it was a big problem. Saint Eusebius to a council where both sides were supposed to discuss the problem, but the Arians did not want to listen. Saint Eusebius stood up to them and slapped a copy of the Nicene Creed down on the table, because it had already been accepted by the Church as true and correct…and because it directly contradicted what the Arians claimed. For this, Eusebius was driven out of the country, tortured, starved for four days, and thrown in prison several times, but he worked hard for the rest of his life to defend the truth.

Activity

Every Sunday at Mass, we stand together and recite the Nicene Creed. It’s the perfect statement of what our faith is all about. When you are at Mass today, pay close attention to the words of the Creed as you pray them. 

Saint Eusebius, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Online

Nicene Creed at USCCB.org

Prep for tomorrow's activity:

If you have young children, many children, or if you work outside the home, you might want to prep for tomorrow's activity after the children go to bed. Draw a line 1/2" from the edge of two opposite sides of a square of cardboard for each child. Mark off 1/4" increments between the line and the edge for at least two inches (about the width of a bookmark). Using scissors, cut the slits 1/4" apart at the top. For preschoolers, you may want to take the additional step of stringing the loom, following these instructions.