Catholic Super Heroes

So it's summer and in our house the means it's time for Vacation Bible School or VBS as my kids refer to it. Summer also usually means blockbuster hits like X-Men 15 and Superman Returns Again or For the Last Time...Maybe... As you can see, I know little about these movies, as they're not my genre of choice; however, my husband's a fan.

My kids attended a VBS Superhero camp this summer and of course loved it. They came home however talking about Superman and his buddies. I was a little confused as to why they were learning about Superman but apparently their craft was Jesus-related, as they were wearing backpacks they had the J logos instead of the Superman S, and that said Jesus is my Hero. So I got to thinking - what's the big hype about Superman, I mean the guy cowers at a rock, right? Wait, a rock?? Sounds like a story I've heard before! David was a young boy, who faced a giant and all he had was a rock! He didn't need a Batmobile.

This got me thinking, we have a variety of Catholic Super Heroes, female, male, young, old, a group that would beat the X-Men any day. St. Joan of Arc led the French army to Victory. St. Padre Pio was known for bilocating. I heard that when he would get ready to leave the monastery he would say "Hand me my weapon" and he would reach for his Rosary. St. Catherine of Siena encouraged the Pope to return the Papacy to Rome. The body of St. Francis Xavier has been incorruptible for more than 150 years. These are the stories our kids should know. St. Michael the Archangel is shown standing over the enemy with is sword drawn, ready for battle.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not promoting fighting; I'm promoting the power of our faith. I want my kids to have a tangible faith and know which Saints to rely on in different situations. My son was struggling with being scared, so I pulled down my St. Michael statue and we talked about how St. Michael always wants to help protect him and keep him safe. My son asked to take the statue with him, which gave my a good opportunity to explain that we don't worship statues; the statue wasn't going to protect him, but rather give him an image of St. Michael so he could call on him for help.

So who are your Catholic Super Heroes? What resources are you using to teach your children about our All-Star Saints? Let's start a list, so our kids know who to call upon when they need help. Let's show them the power of prayer and intercession. Let's teach them how to use our Catholic Bat Signal!