St. Ambrose

On Monday, we Enjoyed reading about St. Ambrose and his rising to the post of Bishop of Milan by popular acclamation.  He wasn't even a Christian, let alone a priest!  He was baptized on December 7 and ordained bishop the same day, and he set about to learn all he could about the Christian faith.  He made a great bishop and had an Enormous Influence on St. Augustine, one of the greatest saints ever.

Since Ambrose is the Patron Saint of Candlemakers (because he was attacked by bees as a child?  Anyone know the answer?), we made a new Christ candle to go in the center of our Advent wreath.

We melted down old candles to make it, and added lavendar essential oil to it for a sweet scent.

I was surprised at how beautifully it turned out since---

a.  I had never made a candle before;

b.  I poured wax all over the place; (you didn't know that, did you, honey?)

c.  It took all day to do because it develops a well and you have to poke holes in it every hour and pour more melted wax in.  And you must do so Very Carefully, so as not to overfill the well and make the candle impossible to get out of the mold.

I was frankly Surprised that it came out of the mold without being ruined.  Thank you, St. Ambrose!


It's beautiful, and I can't wait to light it on Christmas day!  But we made a little one with extra wax to enjoy now.

Is that cheating?