Color the icon of the Holy Theotokos.

Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Mark 10:4
Sunday, February 17, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 2

A Brave Woman: St. Philothea of Athens

What is the bravest thing you ever did? Rock-climbed up a 50foot climbing wall? Stood up for a friend when your classmates were making fun of her? Held a poisonous snake in your own hands? On Tuesday, we celebrate the feastday of one of the bravest women you will ever find. St. Philothea of Athens lived more than 1500 years ago in Athens, Greece. Her family was very rich, and her parents left St. Philothea all of their money when they died. Of course, there were lots of things she could have spent her money on: fancy clothes, exciting shows, or interesting trips. But St. Philothea decided to spend all her money on something more important. She built hospitals, helped orphans, and fed and clothed poor people. She even built a convent for young Christian women. All those things were very brave things to do. But St. Philothea didnt stop there. In St. Philotheas time, the Ottomans were making things hard for Christians. Young Christian girls sometimes were even stolen from their families and sold as slaves! This made St. Philothea very sad, and even more sad when she knew that many of the Christian girls had to give up their Christian faith and become Moslem. So St. Philothea hid lots of these
St. Philothea teaching the young Christian girls in Athens See the end of the story on page 3.

WORD FIND
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Athens Brave

A Brave Woman: St. Philothea of Athens

G P R A Y W R K B T S I Z P E D H N E N E O Y M U V U S L O Y T U R V I S N E H T A M A I B G Y A D N U S G L H E N B D S A U Y D B L S H H A B S T V O N P B C N C T A V V J S N A H P R O O O N E V A R B F J K L P N L A X J E S U S V Q C P V I C Q W S A I N T N V Z E H Y N D I S C I P L E S N P G A G Z X W O N Z S C T U

Christian girls in her convent where they were safe. She did this for many years, but sooner or later, the officials found out about her secret. One night, a group of these men came to St. Philotheas convent, tied her to a pillar, and beat her. She died not long after that. St. Philothea is a great saint of our Church. She is a great example to young women and men, showing us how important it is to be brave in our faith. If you go to the big cathedral in Athens, you can pray in front of her relics (her body).

Canaanite E Convent R Disciples H Jesus C Orphans V Philothea N Prayer T Saint D Sunday

Todays Gospel:

Another Brave Womanthe Canaanite Woman

In todays Gospel, well hear the story of another brave and faithful woman. A woman from Canaan asked Jesus to heal her sick daughter. At first, Jesus did not help her, and His disciples asked Jesus to send her away. But the woman kept asking Jesus to help her! Finally, Jesus answered her: O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was made well again. What does this story teach us? Sometimes we have to keep praying for something, even if we don't get an answer the first time.

Where is it?
Look at the icons in your church. How many angels can you count?

Have faith, and know that God is listening to our prayers!