Clement of Rome (November 23)

In love the Master took us unto Himself; for the love which He had toward us, Jesus Christ our Lord hath given His blood for us by the will of God, and His flesh for our flesh and His life for our lives.  1 Clem. 49:6

Clement (ca. A.D. 35–100) is remembered for having established the pattern of apostolic authority that governed the Christian Church during the first and second centuries. He also insisted on keeping Christ at the center of the Church's worship and outreach. In a letter to the Christians at Corinth, he emphasized the centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection: “Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ, realizing how precious it is to His Father, since it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to the whole world” (1 Clement 6:31). Prior to suffering a martyr's death by drowning, he displayed a steadfast, Christ-like love for God's redeemed people, serving as an inspiration to future generations to continue to build the Church on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with Christ as the one and only cornerstone." (From The Treasury of Daily Prayer)

I found the passage above from I Clement (a letter to the Corinthians) while trying to learn more about the man.  (I also found some dismayed blog posts: "Early Church Fathers Taught Substitutional Atonement?!" Yup.)  "His Flesh for our flesh and his Life for our lives."  

Activities
"St. Clem's Day" was very popular in England, and was a festival for blacksmiths.  I could not find many customs relating to the man himself.  I also could not find any coloring pages.

• Since St. Clement drowned, we are going to focus on the passages on Baptism in the Small Catechism.  He both died and rose again at his Baptism and died into Life Eternal at his death!
• Older children could read some of Clement's letters and find doctrine parallel to Peter's and Paul's epistles.  See Early Christian Writings for translations and history.  
• Older children could also study the history of Penal Substitution, or find passages in the Bible that clearly support that doctrine.
• We are beginning a tradition this year to have our first clementines of the season on St. Clement's Day :)  (It's 9am and I think we've gone through ten...see The O'Connor Home for how to use all those peelings.  I also like to clean and freshen my garbage disposal with ice cubes and orange peel.)