October is Respect Life Month. For the October Junior Saints, students were invited to draw a picture and write about respecting God’s gift of life.
St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“To me, respecting God’s gift of life is worshipping him, doing good, making Earth a good place, and being nice to my brothers and sisters. God is the best character in everyone’s life story.” – Artwork and writing by Quincy Taylor, sixth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“All human lives are a gift from God, including my own. That means respecting myself along with others. That encompasses being nice to myself, not talking down to myself, and remembering that I and all those around me are made in God’s image.” – Artwork and writing by Julie Contreras, eighth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“We should respect and take care of God’s gift of life. We can show respect by being kind to others, helping people, and taking care of ourselves. Every person is special, because they are created by God. We should treat everyone with love and respect. Life is a gift from God, and we should be thankful for it.” – Artwork and writing by Karla Osorio, eighth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“Life is a special gift from God. We all need to take care of our lives, because it’s a special thing the Lord gave us and gives us the ability to form good relationships and care for one another. Each and every life is precious and must be cherished, so we need to always make sure that we respect every life, love it and take care of it.” – Artwork and writing by Lorris Pangilinan, eighth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
Artwork by Mary Agnes Espinosa Estorninos, eighth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“God gave us many gifts and many blessings. He gave us light to save us from darkness. He opened our hearts to be able to love. He gave us company so we don’t feel along. God loves us and blesses us each day. God does a lot for us, so it’s important that we love and respect Him.” – Juliana Wills, eighth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“To me, respecting God’s gift of life means taking care of living things, like watering a plant or saving someone from a burning building…” – Artwork and writing by Owen Pilgrim, sixth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“To me, respecting God’s gift of life means helping others, being kind to everyone, respecting your elders, being aware of nature around you, helping others to grow in faith, being thankful and not greedy, thanking and praying to God every day for what He has done, not being mad at others, always forgiving, respecting everything around you, bringing peace to others and the world, and always trying to live your life in full happiness, knowing that God will always be with you. And always loving God.” – Artwork and writing by Novella Passaro, sixth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“Respecting God’s gift of life means being thankful for the life He has given us. We can show respect by taking care of ourselves, helping others, and caring for the world around us.” – Artwork and writing by Loreal Perry, sixth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“I wrote happy birthday and did a drawing of a baby. I did this because God’s gift of life means every person’s existence is a precious creation from God, and a baby represents the start of that life and a new creation. Happy birthday means celebrating another year of that life and giving thanks for being alive. I chose to draw this specific picture for a reason. You should be thankful to be alive another year, because everyone’s life is a precious creation from God.” – Artwork and writing by Cali Delaney, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“A simple way to respect God’s gift of life is to give a compliment to someone. When you praise someone, you acknowledge God’s work, as everyone is made in His image. This mirrors His unconditional love too, especially if you do not expect anything in return.” – Charli David, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland.
“We should love God, be thankful for God, and we should show our respect for His gift of life by loving and caring or one another.” – Ngozi Goins, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“God gave every person the gift of life, so we should treat everyone with respect and kindness. Every life is valuable, because each person is created in God’s image. We can show respect for life by helping and standing up for people who aren’t being treated fairly, and taking care of God’s creations. When we are compassionate and kind, we honor the gift of life God has giving us and we honor him.” – Artwork and writing by Bella Stanton, eighth grade, St. Columba Catholic School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
“God has giving us so many gifts. He has given us our life, family, friends and this whole world. I’m so thankful for all of these gifts. Spreading kindness and love to others is how we thank Him.” – Lauren Thweatt, eighth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington
Artwork by Kaira Mbah, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
Artwork by Zion Abiy, sixth grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“I respect God’s gift of life by trying to thank him for every single necessity, even if it’s the little things, because you don’t realize you need those things until you lose them.” – Artwork and writing by Segen Tewelde, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
Artwork by Zora Scott, third grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“The drawing I drew to respect God’s gift of life is knowing that yours and others’ lives are priceless, and that people should appreciate life more.” – Artwork and writing by Julia Awol, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington
Artwork by Haset Yonas, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
Artwork by Isadora Filostin, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
Artwork by Yeamanuel Ashenafi, third grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“God’s gift of life is all around us. Life is a precious gift, and we can respect it by caring for each other, protecting nature, and loving our families. Every person, animal and plant is a part of God’s beautiful creation. We should always cherish and protect life.” – Adona Debrework, sixth grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“I want to respect God’s gift of life by thanking Him every day when I wake up, because I wouldn’t be able to do so without Him.” – Artwork and writing by Lydia Williams, sixth grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“I am grateful for Jesus because I felt Him believing in me when I felt nobody could. I am grateful for all the times Jesus has blessed me, whether it was for letting me live for this long, keeping my family and me safe, or keeping me healthy. Jesus was the only person who has helped me be the person I am today. He was also the only person I talked to when times were rough.” – Artwork and writing by Batel Reday, eighth grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“Ways I respect God’s gift of life – I go to church and try to be the best person I can be. I can be kind to others and start chasing my dreams.” – Leykun Endalkachew, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“I can respect God’s gift by cleaning the environment.” – Artwork and writing by Dawit Denbu, fifth grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“Helping the world be a better place is showing God how we respect Him.” – Hiyab Abraha, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“The sun provides light for us.” – Yosabet Yonas, third grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“I respect God’s gift of life by respecting nature and not trashing the environment, and by making it look healthy and green as God intended.” – Aaron Mulu, seventh grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“One time when I was walking, this girl dropped her stuff, and I picked it up for her.” – Artwork and writing by Sebastian Anderson, third grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
“I will respect God by cleaning the ocean so it can be safe for animals.” – Markon Derege, fifth grade, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
Artwork by Rakeb Adebe, St. Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
The next Junior Saints
In November, we celebrate All Saints Day on Nov. 1. For the November Junior Saints, draw a picture of one of your favorite saints, and write about you admire about that saint. The drawings and writings should be emailed to ZimmermannM@adw.org by Monday Oct. 26, 2026 to Mark Zimmermann, the Catholic Standard’s editor, and they should include the name, grade and school or parish of the student printed clearly.
Due to time constraints involved with reviewing the volume of submitted work, it is requested that schools or parish religious education programs limit their entries to 10 drawings and 10 writings from their students. The best formats to send are jpegs for artwork and word documents or pdfs for writing, if possible. Thank you!
