The team here at Wee Believers is thrilled that our Ecclesial Advisor, the Most Reverend Raymond Leo Burke, will be elevated to the status of Cardinal in Rome on November 20^th! Most Reverend Excellency will be one of the youngest Cardinals of the Catholic Church and will share his new status with only ONE other American. We feel so blessed to call such a holy and honorable man our Advisor! Reverend Excellency, we offer prayers and support as you assume your new responsibilities in the Church. DID YOU KNOW? During two separate services taking place in Rome this month, Archbishop Burke will be given a special red hat called a BIRETTA and a special ring called the CARDINALATIAL RING when he is elevated to Cardinal. For more information and news about the upcoming consistory, read here.

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It’s only fitting as we find ourselves embarking on a season of thanks that we take a moment to say THANK YOU to our customers! We’re so excited, in fact, that Mary Poppins is going to have some competition in the kicking up the heels department. Hearing from you reminds us of the lives we have the ability to touch, the community we share, and the common goals we seek. So while we celebrate with a little more jumping and joy, please read what Kathryn was so kind to share with us:

"I received the [Sr. Mary Clara] doll today and I LOVE her!!! And the book is GREAT! My children have all been taught by the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist at their school, so they were all excited to see you included them in the book! I know my goddaughter will love her Christmas gift!" God bless you in this great endeavor! I hope your company is very successful!” —Kathryn, Mother

God bless you also, Kathryn.  Please continue to send comments our way! Now, if we are going to follow through on Kathryn’s hope for our company’s success, we had better get back to work! Have a blessed week, friends.

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Early last week as I was standing in line at Old Navy, arms full of glittering tulle skirts, a witch hat, ladybug wings with matching tights and two plastic pumpkin treat buckets, my 3-year-old asked, “Why do I say twick-a-tweat on Halloween?” This got me thinking, until my concentration was broken by my 2-year-old toddling fearlessly into a gigantic spider web display. Once we finally made it home with our loot and de-webbed ourselves, I called for a round-table discussion at the Wee Believers Think Tank (i.e. company conference line) to hear the answer. And here it is—thought you might like to hear how the Catholic faith plays an important part in this favorite hair-raising holiday!

The word Halloween is a short form of "All Hallows Eve," the day before All Saints' Day. Hallow is the word that we find in the Lord’s Prayer meaning "holy", and e’en is a contraction of "evening." Check out our All Hallows Eve activity In the year 835, the date to celebrate All Saints' Day was changed to November 1 to Christianize the existing pagan time for remembering the dead—to bring light to the darkness, and hope to the most basic of human fears.  The following day, November 2, is All Souls' Day of course. What a “treat” that Halloween became one vigil for two feasts celebrated by the whole Church! In the Catholic culture of the Middle Ages, there was a superstition that those who had died the previous year without being reconciled to you might rise to haunt you, appearing as will-o’-the-wisps or ghosts. Once they had your teeth chattering, you could release them by prayer and forgiveness or try to appease them with "soul cakes"—cookies, fried cakes, "treats"—so they wouldn’t do you any mischief with their "tricks." Soon those who were living began to use the occasion for reconciliation, to wipe the slate clean for the coming year. Hence why we hand out treats to Trick-or-Treaters! This season is a perfect time to take a hint from the falling leaves and consider our own mortality with all its spiritual and practical consequences. The Church gives us two feasts and the whole month of November to do this. Here is a simple invocation for the dead, called the “Eternal Rest” prayer:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the faithful departed, Through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

If you want to test your skills at finding some words in disguise, try this All Hallows Eve activity. Remember to check back for updates and new printables! Have a blessed week, friends.

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It is with great joy that we learned today that our Holy Father has named our advisor, Archbishop Raymond Burke, as a Prince of the Church. Well deserved, (soon-to-be) Cardinal Burke!

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I received the [Sr. Mary Clara] doll today and I LOVE her!!! And the book is GREAT! My children have all been taught by the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist at their school, so they were all excited to see you included them in the book! I know my goddaughter will love her Christmas gift! God bless you in this great endeavor! I hope your company is very successful!” —Kathryn, Mother

Thank you, Kathryn!

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We've been assigned our booth at Toy Fair 2011 in New York City! Toy Fair is a gigantic wholesale show held in the Jacob J. Javits Center in Manhattan. Come see  us, our booth is #6420!

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Sorry for the long absence from the blog...Please check back in the coming days for some new and interesting updates.  Thank you for your support!

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Thanks to Vineyard Books and Gifts for posting their YouTube video of My Mass Kit! YouTube - Wee Believers My Mass Kit Soft Set

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Well, we are going live with some new technology in the website.  Most importantly, our shopping cart is new-and-improved. Our apologies to you if it means you cannot sign-in with your old password. You will have to update to shop with us again. However, we know that you will find the new interface much more intuitive, fast and efficient.  Return visits will be even better!  Thank you for visiting!

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Since we first began Wee Believers® and released My Mass Kit, the feedback from Catholics across the United States has been tremendously humbling. We are so happy that our prayerful consideration to start a company which offers playful, innovative and high-quality products which are authentically Catholic has come to benefit so many thus far. We wanted to share a sampling of the feedback so you could understand with us the importance of listening to God’s call in our lives. We have learned this more than ever as we develop tools to enrich our children and perhaps assist them in discerning their vocation from a younger age. Msgr. Stuart W. Swetland, Vice President for Catholic Identity and Mission, at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD said:

“Many of the seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s today began to discern a call to the priesthood while “playing mass” as young boys. My Mass Kit would be an outstanding gift for any family with young boys and would help to foster vocations to the priesthood in years to come.”

We’ve been very fortunate to appear on so many media outlets as we continue to grow Wee Believers®. Gus Lloyd, host of Seize the Day, the morning show on The Catholic Channel on SIRIUS Satellite XM Radio told me during an interview:

“You’ve [Steve] taken a step out in faith; you feel as though God is calling you to do this and you’re doing it. You’re doing what you know is God’s will in your life and I really commend you for that. I think that’s a great thing.”

Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, Vicar General and Pastor of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis, illustrates exactly why we wanted to start Wee Believers®

“We have all kinds of toys to prepare children to take on various jobs or vocations in life: dolls for girls to imitate motherhood; weapons for boys to imitate soldiers; little doctor or nurse kits, cars and trucks, train sets. ‘My Mass Kit’ is a great thing for boys to ‘play Mass’ and perhaps begin thinking about becoming a priest.”

Lisa Hendey, Founder and Editor of CatholicMom.com, loved the products for her family! We were so pleased that she shared this with us:

“[My Mass Kit] is high quality teaching tool you will purchase to aid you in the religious formation of your family. I also hope that parishes will consider purchasing the Kit for use in their religious education departments.” She added: “I look forward to sharing a My Mass Kit with my nephews and godsons and opening their hearts even more to the beauty of the Mass… I was so impressed by the product that I ordered one for my nephews Evan and Tyler … When I was vacationing in Chicago, I had the joy of watching my nephews play with their Wee Believers My Mass Kit.”

Testimonies and stories just like these have shown us that we are indeed answering a need. We are blessed to see that the Holy Spirit is working on our hearts daily. We thank you for your prayers and your support of our mission! In Christ, Steve & Joni

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