I’ve been Catholic for forty-one years, actually making an effort for seventeen, a liturgical living devotee for eleven, and blogging about it for five. And . . . I just found out about Ember Days. As I was researching feast days for the Catholic All Year Compendium (my upcoming book, not sure yet of the release date, it’s […]
Liturgical celebrations ground me as my faith deepens. Liturgical living is an invitation into not only reverence but also playfulness.
Many of us want to celebrate the Church year, but we can feel overwhelmed. The best advice for liturgical living for beginners? Start with food.
As a Catholic mom, I am always striving to live a holy life by keeping up with the liturgical calendar. I like to participate in different activities with my family …
Liturgical living helps your family enjoy the traditions of the Catholic Church in your home. Use these tips to celebrate the liturgical year at home.
It can be intimidating to think of beginning to live more liturgically. This is our method of choosing which saints and feasts to celebrate as a family
How to create a liturgical binder in your catholic home. Plus, I’m sharing my favorite resources for planning out a feast days and devotions
So you’re interested in living liturgically… Welcome, Friend!! grab yourself a cuppa and cozy up in your comfiest chair because this topic is one of my favorite t…
Brace yourself for the most comprehensive resource ever released by Catholic Icing! For almost a decade, you have been asking for Catholic Icing The Book, and y'all... this. is. it!!! I have been envisioning this
Catholic Liturgical Living: St. Josephine Bakhita Feast Day Celebration Ideas, Coloring Pages, Food, and Activities to Learn about the Faith with Your Family www.sweetlittleonesblog.com
[See also: Catholic vs. Orthodox vs. Protestant: How to Tell the Difference, in 10 Hilarious Memes] [See also: A Colorful Guide to the Liturgical Year, In One Infographic] Would you add anything to the list? Follow ChurchPOP: Telegram Channel Truth Social GETTR Gab Parler Signal Group WhatsApp Group 1 WhatsApp
This week on November 11th, our family will celebrate Martinmas, and as tradition we will mark the feast of St. Martin of Tours with friends around a roast duck…or maybe two. (But only because we haven’t been able to successfully find a local supplier of fattened geese.) In the past my husband has tried to...
It might be just the beginning of the new school year, but it won't be long before we are rolling into a new Liturgical Year. One of my favorite parts of being Catholic is living out the beautiful rhythm of the Liturgical Year. The fasts and feasts, the orderly-ness, the life of Christ lived out in the Church- every Catholic can benefit from making the Liturgical Year more a part of their prayer and daily life. I have a lot of ideas for living the Liturgical Year with kids (see all those posts here), but to be honest, I sometimes struggle with it as a single adult. Cute crafts, special themed desserts, and family prayer activities are most meaningful for those in a particular state of life. There many meaningful ways to live out the Liturgical Year while single or without young kids, but it looks different than the ideas typically shared across Catholic social media. (Hmmmm, that sounds like a great new blog series...) So with that background, I hope you understand why I am so excited about this resource for the new Liturgical Year. TelosArt has created a set of simple, but beautiful, Liturgical Calendars for the 2017-2018 year. This calendar would look lovely hung up in a home as well as in a school classroom, CCD room, RCIA meeting place, etc. It is usable and attractive both for kids and adults, and packs tons of info within the clean design. Liturgical seasons, dates, colors, feast days, and more is included on each calendar. *TelosArt provided me with a free 2017-2018 Liturgical Calendar in exchange for an honest review. I only recommend things that I have used and love, and these opinions are entirely my own. I love that this Liturical calendar isn't filled with cartoony illustrations or bright colors, making it difficult to decorate with anywhere but in an elementary classroom. Instead, this calendar fits anywhere you'd like to add a reminder of the Liturgical Year. Above you can see my temporary display (I'll find a permanent spot when the calendar actually starts with the first Sunday of Advent) including some art for the Saints of the month or the Season. Here I'm celebrating the September Saints of Mother Teresa (printable here) and Padre Pio (postcard from here). I think when I hang my new calendar in December, I'll continue to rotate out quotes and images to remind me of where we are in the Liturgical Year. For more photos and examples of all the calendars TelosArt offers, visit their website here. You can also find them on Etsy and Peter's Square. As a teacher and DRE, I was also interested in getting these into our classrooms and the homes of our parishioners. TelosArt was very gracious about working with us to make it affordable to buy multiple copies of the calendar for schools and parishes. You can view their bulk pricing here and contact them for more info. I'm excited thinking about this new addition to my personal Liturgical living, as well as for all the ways I plan to use this calendar in my classroom. Go visit TelosArt and see if their Liturgical Calendar could find a happy spot in your home or work!
I’m 35 years old today and feeling like some good old timey blogging. Not the shareable with viral potentional kind of blogging. Just the old fashioned here’s what’s going on in m…
By Heather Judd Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. Pride & Prejudice, Chapter 43 Mrs. Gardiner: How do you like the house, Lizzie? Elizabeth Bennet: Very well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a place so happily situated. Pride & Prejudice BBC miniseries, Episode 4 Until I visited Mount Vernon, I had never really thought about Elizabeth Bennet’s comment that Pemberly, Mr. Darcy’s great house, is “so happily situated.” Standing on the porch of George Washington’s home, gazing across the lawn to the steep banks where the Potomac embraces the estate, I immediately comprehended what Lizzie felt. The house and outbuildings and gardens and all the manmade elements were magnificent in themselves, but what made them utterly enthralling was how perfectly they fit with the land. I don’t think I’d ever seen a place so happily situated. Ever since, I have been alert to the ways in which buildings suit their places, or, more often, to the ways in which they do not. It is ironic, in a country with as much land as the United States, that so many structures are erected with complete disregard for the grounds on which they stand. In the past, necessity or poverty may have driven such decisions, but today it seems most people have simply lost the aesthetic sense of what we might term natural propriety. That is, we have numbed our sense of what is proper according to nature. Constrained by neither poverty nor circumstance, we choose to build sizeable houses with all the amenities Martha Stewart would recommend on tiny plots sardined against their neighbors. Few of us would give up these middle-class mansions for smaller homes carefully situated in concert with their natural surroundings. The loss of natural propriety is more than just an architectural phenomenon, though. It runs deeply through our culture in other ways. We go to the grocery store and expect to have access to every food we might possibly desire, regardless of the time of year or our geographical location (“Why shouldn’t I have strawberries in Wyoming during December?”). We regulate our days by clock hours, regardless of the daylight (“Why shouldn’t I set an alarm for 5:30am during the week and sleep till noon on Saturday?”). We arrange our activities by convenience, regardless of the conditions of environment or temperature (“Why shouldn’t I crank up the AC and bake ten dozen cookies when it’s 100 degrees out?”). The result is an artificial sense of contentment, manufactured by transforming luxuries into necessities, or at least into expectations. But the pleasures of these conveniences are illusory and their detriment real. We are only now beginning to realize the ill effects attendant with ignoring natural rhythms, such as the increased health risks associated with artificial nighttime lighting. However, the physical repercussions are only a small part of the problem. Greater is the spiritual degeneration. The separation from nature, from natural propriety, does not so much fill the earth and subdue it, as drown out the rhythms of evening and morning, of times and seasons established by our Creator. The song we belt out is entitled What I Want, and its lyrics urge us to “do what your heart tells you” and “indulge your passions” because “you deserve it.” Such an anything-anytime-anywhere mentality bulldozes the limits of propriety. Then, because there are no bounds to what is good and suitable, we end up craving more and more in an effort to satiate the boundless appetites of consumerism and covetousness. This insatiable consumption thrives in symbiotic relationship with the rejection of religious ritual. Religion (from Latin religare, to tie fast) binds the worshiper through ritual to the natural proprieties of life in this world. Every religion from paganism to Christianity is steeped in ritual that reflects a natural order. Religion delineates proper times, places, and behaviors. A society that extols its own desires as the ultimate guide cannot tolerate this kind of binding. When religion tries to coexist with a desire-driven society instead of decrying its lack of propriety, religion, too, ends up resigning its rituals. The “experiential” worship favored in so many American churches exemplifies this fact. Rather than following an established rhythm to which the worshiper must regulate himself, this type of worship tries to feed the worshiper’s desires and excite his emotion into a moment of ecstatic experience. Repetition is considered the vehicle of boring, except when it drives emotion far and fast enough to leave reason in the dust. Crooning “I could sing of your love forever” in chorus sixteen times almost necessarily moves the worshiper to miss the crucial point: Why bother saying you could do it? God has declared you will do it (Revelation 15)! But that kind of unchanging rational certainty finds little place in experiential worship. It is a worship focused on my desires rather than God’s delineations, on now rather than on eternity. Contrast this with religion that maintains its liturgical rituals. Liturgy echoes the natural propriety implanted into creation. Sunrise and sunset vary with the seasons, yet day follows night again and again. The seasons change, yet the pattern of autumn, winter, spring, and summer is measured out each year. So, too, the liturgy is perpetually changing, perpetually the same. The propers vary, constantly moving us through the Word, yet week after week we pray the same Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei. The liturgical seasons—Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Trinity— change one after the other, yet these seasons and no others return year after year. Fasting and feasting each has its place. Celebration and penance each has its season. The days regulate the seasons, which regulate the years, which regulate the life. This liturgical rhythm shapes the worshiper’s emotions, embracing both the changeable now of this world and the unchanging forever of eternity. For eternity does not demolish the boundaries of natural propriety. It sets them. From the perspective of the eternal presence of Christ, God speaks out into His temporal creation. To this world where nothing can be always and everywhere, He grants the heavenly bodies for days and for seasons and for years. He declares that there is a time for everything. He comes to specific places with forgiveness, first in the sacrificial slaughters at the tabernacle and the temple, then “when the time was fully come” in the flesh of His Son, and now in that same crucified flesh through bread and wine. In eternity, all that is good is perpetually proper, but in time each good has its own proper place. This we confess: “It is meet and right so to do.” It is fitting for this time and place. It is proper, given the nature of who and where we are. We, creatures of time, submit ourselves to what is suitable now because it directs our minds outward to eternity. In the tens of thousands of days we may live and the hundreds of thousands of miles we may travel, it is easy to lose that which is good. Thus God gives us the proper times and the proper places. He gives them not for our confinement but for our comfort. This is what we feel when we see a house “so happily situated,” and this, exponentially greater, is what we know when we come to the time and place of the Eucharistic feast and hear the words of ultimate propriety: “Take, eat. This is My body, given for you. Take, drink. This is My blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” *** Heather Judd is currently a sister, daughter, and teacher in a classical, Lutheran school in Wyoming. The last of these vocations demonstrates the divine sense of irony since she (a) was homeschooled for her entire K-12 education, (b) only became a classical education enthusiast after earning her B.A. in education, (c) attended just about every denomination except Lutheran growing up, and (d) had never been to Wyoming before moving there for the teaching call. When she is not spending time in the eccentric world of middle school students, she enjoys reading, writing, acting, baking, playing organ, and pondering the mysteries of theology, physics, and literature. Title Image: "Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden" by John Constable, c. 1825
If you’re like me, perhaps you appreciate an overview of what is coming up for the next several weeks in order to mentally prepare for it! It is easy to feel “behind” as various feast days rolls around, not realizing what’s ahead. Before I was putting together feast day guides, I was feeling the sa
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary is the first Saint I remember learning about as a kid. She appeared in a picture book I owned, and I can still remember the illustration: a beautiful princess with loaves of bread under one arm and red and white roses under the other. I expect she was, and still is,
"Purple and Green, Red and White....." With the Liturgical Calendar the children see the importance of preparing for the 3 big feasts of...
An explanation of the similarities and differences in liturgical colours for vestments in the Byzantine Tradition and in the Roman Catholic Tradition.
I spent two years making this calendar. In terms of dates and observances, it is styled to be as pre-1960's as possible. It lists all the saint days, and within the wheel of the year has saints, major and minor holidays, the periods of the year (lent, advent, etc.), and more. This would make an excellent gift - not only for someone who is Catholic - I've already received positive feedback from Anglicans and Lutherans who have purchased it. I'm very proud of this unique item. I pulled details from real cathedrals, and did all the design work from scratch. I even made the font(s) used here. Around the outside of the wheel, each red rose window marks one sunday, so there are 52 of them, each with one week between them (there are even seven grapes between each window, making 365 around the wheel). It's very large - two feet by three feet (24x36 inches), and comes framed or unframed (unframed costs less to ship, obviously). I run a small theological art studio and this was my major project for a long time. It's the best thing I've made so far. I hope you enjoy it. This version is UNFRAMED. For framed version, see here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1364314721/framed-traditional-catholic-liturgical?click_key=bbe40438e6677f2fbc03cc7d02ee97cc39d5d957%3A1364314721&click_sum=869c0e08&ref=shop_home_active_2&crt=1 • Paper thickness: 10.3 mil • Paper weight: 189 g/m² • Opacity: 94% • ISO brightness: 104% • Paper is sourced from Japan This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
The Blessed is She Catholic Liturgical Academic Year Planner runs July 2022 - July 2023 and is the perfect organizational planner for you.
The author of “The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life,” Kendra Tierney literally wrote the book on how to celebrate the Church’s feasts and fasts in the home.
Lord keep us desperate.
[See also: Catholic vs. Orthodox vs. Protestant: How to Tell the Difference, in 10 Hilarious Memes] [See also: A Colorful Guide to the Liturgical Year, In One Infographic] Would you add anything to the list? Follow ChurchPOP: Telegram Channel Truth Social GETTR Gab Parler Signal Group WhatsApp Group 1 WhatsApp
It might be just the beginning of the new school year, but it won't be long before we are rolling into a new Liturgical Year. One of my favorite parts of being Catholic is living out the beautiful rhythm of the Liturgical Year. The fasts and feasts, the orderly-ness, the life of Christ lived out in the Church- every Catholic can benefit from making the Liturgical Year more a part of their prayer and daily life. I have a lot of ideas for living the Liturgical Year with kids (see all those posts here), but to be honest, I sometimes struggle with it as a single adult. Cute crafts, special themed desserts, and family prayer activities are most meaningful for those in a particular state of life. There many meaningful ways to live out the Liturgical Year while single or without young kids, but it looks different than the ideas typically shared across Catholic social media. (Hmmmm, that sounds like a great new blog series...) So with that background, I hope you understand why I am so excited about this resource for the new Liturgical Year. TelosArt has created a set of simple, but beautiful, Liturgical Calendars for the 2017-2018 year. This calendar would look lovely hung up in a home as well as in a school classroom, CCD room, RCIA meeting place, etc. It is usable and attractive both for kids and adults, and packs tons of info within the clean design. Liturgical seasons, dates, colors, feast days, and more is included on each calendar. *TelosArt provided me with a free 2017-2018 Liturgical Calendar in exchange for an honest review. I only recommend things that I have used and love, and these opinions are entirely my own. I love that this Liturical calendar isn't filled with cartoony illustrations or bright colors, making it difficult to decorate with anywhere but in an elementary classroom. Instead, this calendar fits anywhere you'd like to add a reminder of the Liturgical Year. Above you can see my temporary display (I'll find a permanent spot when the calendar actually starts with the first Sunday of Advent) including some art for the Saints of the month or the Season. Here I'm celebrating the September Saints of Mother Teresa (printable here) and Padre Pio (postcard from here). I think when I hang my new calendar in December, I'll continue to rotate out quotes and images to remind me of where we are in the Liturgical Year. For more photos and examples of all the calendars TelosArt offers, visit their website here. You can also find them on Etsy and Peter's Square. As a teacher and DRE, I was also interested in getting these into our classrooms and the homes of our parishioners. TelosArt was very gracious about working with us to make it affordable to buy multiple copies of the calendar for schools and parishes. You can view their bulk pricing here and contact them for more info. I'm excited thinking about this new addition to my personal Liturgical living, as well as for all the ways I plan to use this calendar in my classroom. Go visit TelosArt and see if their Liturgical Calendar could find a happy spot in your home or work!
Only good way to start 2019 is to recap the books I read in the second half of 2018. I got a little behind with recommendations, so this is a longer post, but I hope that you are able to find some new titles for your family! The first half of the post has books for grownups and the second half for kids of various ages. -This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. That means that if you click through and purchase something, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. -Some of the books were sent to me for consideration by the publisher or author, as denoted below. I only recommend things I use and love and want to share with you. All opinions are my own. :) The Miracle of Father Kapaun: Priest, Soldier, and Korean War Hero, by Roy Wenzl and Travis Heying I picked up this book while visiting the Fr. Kapaun museum at his hometown parish in Kansas. With one brother-in-law serving in the Army and another brother-in-law who chose Fr. Kapaun as his Confirmation Saint, I was excited to get to know him a little better and ask for his patronage over my family. It was powerful to walk where he walked, and pray in the church where he grew up and then served as a priest. This book was an inspiring look into Servant of God Kapaun's life, but also the influence he had on his fellow soldiers and the miraculous stories attributed to his intercession in recent years. American, farm kid, priest, soldier, prisoner of war, Medal of Honor recipient, and Servant of God- there is much to be learned from Fr. Kapaun's love for the Lord and his fellow man. Wisdom from Pope Paul VI, by Mary Leonora Wilson FSP *Pauline Books & Media provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. With his recent Canonization, Pope St. Paul VI is getting a little more attention, and rightly so. His teachings on family and sexuality during his papacy 40 years ago are proving prophetic and are needed more than ever. This book was a perfect introduction to get to know him better, and I thoroughly enjoyed and learned from it. The book includes a brief biography at the beginning and then breaks into themed chapters where excerpts of his writing on various topics have been assembled in readable lengths. The selections are from various homilies, addresses, and writings and cover topics like Mary, suffering, and the Eucharist. I think that it would be a great book to pick up for inspiration from a wise and influential leader, and would be easy to use as a springboard for prayer. Give Peace to My Soul: Discover Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity's Secret of Prayer, but Jean Lafrance *Pauline Books & Media provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. When this book arrived, I knew next to nothing about St. Elizabeth of the Trinity besides the fact she was canonized just a few years ago. This little book is just over 100 pages long and gives not only a biography of her life, but more so a glimpse into the importance of her life of contemplative prayer. The author weaves into his own commentary excerpts from her own writing, that of great Carmelites like St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, as well as other contemporary writers on the topic of prayer. I was inspired by St. Elizabeth's insights into this deep and profound prayer, and walked away with a desire to dive more into the interior quiet and rest she so recommended through the gift of contemplation. I'd like to read more of her own writing and will have to add her autobiography to my book list. Lay Siege to Heaven: A Novel about St. Catherine of Siena, by Louis deWohl I'll be honest right now and say that I haven't actually finished this book yet- but it is quite long! After my sister gave me The Spear to read (which I'm saving for Lent) I became intrigued by the author and decided to order this novel on St. Catherine of Siena, my Confirmation Saint. deWohl writes in a fictionalized biography style, drawing on facts but adding characters, dialogue, etc. to carry the story. I used to be a little reluctant of reading this format, but now just take it as the unique genre that it is. I am enjoying this retelling quite a bit, and while it includes tons of other characters and references (hence the lack of speed in my reading) I certainly am learning a lot about the time, politics, and state of the Church during Catherine's lifetime, as well as details of her remarkable influence. I look forward to finishing it and reading more of Louis deWohl's work. Into His Likeness:Be Transformed as a Disciple of Christ, by Edward Sri What is discipleship? We are all called to it, to follow Christ radically, but how do we live as a disciple. I really liked this new book from Dr. Sri and found it both easy to read but also a thought provoking look at being a Christian. With a look back to Biblical times, it helps give a format to modern discipleship with practical tips. I think this would be a great book for group study, especially during a time of challenge and growth, like the new year or during Lent. The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life, by Kendra Tierney Kendra's blog Catholic All Year is the go-to for all things Liturgical Living. Her new book is an essential handbook for bringing the rhythm of the Church year into your home or classroom. Walking through the Seasons, it includes ideas for prayer, song, food, decor, and activities to magnify the beauty and tradition of being Catholic. I love that it is written with the characteristic intelligent humor that you get from Kendra on her blog and other social media, making it both informative and entertaining to read. I think any Catholic (or interested non-Catholic) could pick this up and find a wealth of ideas to add into the cadence of everyday life to enhance their prayer and practice of the faith. Around the Year with the von Trapp Family, by Maria Augusta von Trapp This book- I've been waiting to find a copy for years! The original has been out of print and used copies are quite pricey. I have a sister who grew up loving The Sound of Music (and I do too!) and there are lots of family jokes about wanting to be Maria von Trapp. Now that sister is a wife and mom, so getting her a copy of Maria's own book on Liturgical Living seemed like the perfect gift. Sophia Press released a new edition of the book, and I got her a copy for Christmas... and one for myself ;) This printing is a lovely heavy hardback book with glossy pages and little original illustrations. Maria narrates how her family lived out the liturgical year, keeping traditions that reflected their Catholic faith, as well as Austrian customs and family celebrations. She shares ideas for decorating, teaching, and prayer for all the holidays and holy days. Each section also has recipes and music. And my favorite section, called "Our Life- A Feast," details how the family celebrated the unique and "ordinary" events of life- birthdays, Sacraments, graduations, etc. It gives a lovely little glimpse into their lives and is inspires me to build and hold traditions and the collective memory of a family. Just like Kendra's book, no matter your age or family situation there is something to be learned from and enjoyed in this book. So much of the faith can be woven into our daily life, from the way we decorate to the food we eat, those actions tell the story of what we believe and pass it on to a new generation. Praying with a Pen: The Girlfriends' Guide to Stress-Free Prayer Journaling, by Mary Beth Weisenburger I've always kept a prayer journal, but its purpose has changed tons over the years. In high school and college, they looked more like letters to God, peppered with favorite Bible verses. Now they are much more of study journals, filled with notes from talks or podcasts and details from Bible Study. There is no wrong way to prayer journal, whether it is in a notebook, in a journaling Bible, our on post its in your planner, but if you are looking for some practical tips about how to use journaling to grow your prayer life, this book it great. It packs in lots of ideas for getting started or looking at journaling in different ways. It was a quick read and I enjoyed the readable, friendly style. Just a Minute: Meditations to Grow in Self Esteem, by Marie Curley Just a Minute: Meditations for Deep Trust, by Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP Just a Minute: Meditations for Inner Peace, by Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP *Pauline Books & Media provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. These cute little pocket sized books are perfect for weaving short little moments of prayer throughout the day. Each book features 50 themed meditations, all centered around a Scripture passage, and include a reflection and a short prayer. The simple design could be flipped through and used in any order. I think they would be perfect to tuck in a purse or desk to pull out when you need a little inspiration. They also would make a great gift to pass onto to someone going through a hard time, giving them a tool to have at their fingertips to encourage prayer. Books for Kids and Families: Side by Side: A Catholic Mother-Daughter Journal, by Lori and Ava Ubowski *Ave Maria Press provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Journals and devotionals for made for Catholic kids can be a great tool to help them internalize their faith and apply it to real life. Finding just the right interactive journal to be the best fit for age and interest can be tough, but worth it. I love this new option created by a mother-daughter author pair just for moms and girls to use together. It is colorful, illustrated, and has relevant topics to write about that are both fun and lighthearted as well as more serious and deep. The side by side format is set up that mom and daughter could each use the journal together, or write in it separately and then talk about it. Or it even lends itself to encourage just writing back and forth to one another- which might be a great communication outlet during the beautiful but challenging pre-teen/teen years. I think this journal would best fit middle school girls, but certainly could start being used a little younger. The relationship building and open communication this journal means to encourage is exactly what young ladies need during the growing up years. I Pray the Mass, by Patricia Jablonski and Mary Tebo I Pray Every Day, by Patricia Edward Jablonski, FSP *Pauline Books & Media provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. These sweet books are perfect companions for preschoolers and early elementary aged kids who are really learning more about prayer and the Mass. Each book has cute illustrations, kid friendly explanations, and prayers. The illustrations are colorful and feature kids in various environments as they pray. The kiddos represent many different ethnicities as well as kids of varied physical abilities, which I think is a good way for the readers to both see themselves as well as the universality of the Church. The book is broken up to have a child friendly explanation on the left page and then a short companion prayer on the right. This format would make it easy to read any amount of the book in any particular order as you are looking to highlight a particular kind of prayer or part of the Mass. Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Graphic Novel, by Natalie Muglie and Sam Estrada I reviewed the first book in this series, Our Lady of Fatima, in this post and loved it so much I also backed their second book on Kickstarter. Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Graphic Novel, is a vibrant retelling of the powerful apparition of Mary in Mexico in 1531. Its bright pictures, captions, and speech bubbles use the popular graphic novel format that kids of all ages love. Graphic novels are a hot commodity in my classroom, and are a great way to get even reluctant readers to pick up a book they might not normally gravitate towards. Like the first book, the narrator of the story adds an interesting twist. At the opening of the plot, we find ourselves in 20th Century Mexico with a young boy and his mom talking about St. Juan Diego and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the boy is actually St. Jose Sanchez del Rio, teaching the reader about yet another Mexican Saint and layer of North American history. There also is a solid pro-life theme woven throughout the entire book, which is a great takeaway message for any reader. The book closed with extra informational pages about Saint Jose, amazing facts about the miraculous tilma, and more. Those pages add to the educational value as they transfer the narrative story into a more non fiction format. Pope Francis: Builder of Bridges, by Emma Otheguy and Illustrated by Oliver Dominguez *Bloomsbury provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Who Was Junipero Serra?, by Christian Clifford (part of #saintbooktrek, a group of Catholic teacher and librarians sending books to Catholic schools, sharing with our students, and then sending on to a new school) This Pope Francis book has creative and colorful illustrations that make it a unique biography to share with kids. The vibrant pictures add depth to the story, tracking Jorge Bergolio from his childhood through being named Pope. Best for lower elementary age kids, I think that this book would be well used in sharing how the leaders of our church, while called in a special way by God to be priests, bishops, and pope, also grew up like regular kids, went through hard things, and had to make continuous decisions to keep growing in their faith. In the midst of a difficult time in the Church, it is important to help kids find the true and the good. I think that this book would be useful to read with kids as a reminder of the humanity of the Pope, the need to pray for the Pope, and the respect for the seat of the Pope. The book does emphasize the "builder of bridges" theme, and could be used with older kids to discuss the importance of outreach and love for those that are different from us, but also the solid truth that is unchanging in the Catholic Church. Intuitive kids will pick up on that ambiguity and might connect with the opinions of secular media about Pope Francis. At a time such as this, it is so important to pray for the leadership of the Church, and I hope that this book facilitates that response. Who Was Junipero Serra tells the story of the recently canonized Saint who was a great missionary to the Southwest. This book would be best for older elementary or middle schoolers. Written by a Californian author, I think kids will enjoy learning about this American priest and advocate. I liked the simple black and white line drawing illustrations, which remind me of some of the student Saint biography sets published in the 40's and 50's which are so timeless. Book of Catholic Signs & Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Their History and Meaning, by Amy Welborn *Loyola Press provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I gave a thorough review of this on Instagram quite a while ago, but realized that I never posted about it on the blog- and that needed remedied, because this is a great resource! The Loyola Kids Book of Catholic Signs and Symbols has great illustrations and detailed explanations great for intermediate and middle school aged kids (And honestly, interesting and relevant for adults wanting to learn more too!). With almost 200 pages of information on Catholic images ranging from Sacramentals to Marian titles, items used in Mass to Liturgical Season, this book will surely help Catholic kids recognize the beautiful and meaningful symbols that surround us in our Churches. Art has always been a tool for evangelization and catechesis, and the illustrations and explanations in this text provide a great resource for making the most of the Catholic signs and symbols we see in stained glass windows, statues, and paintings. This is a solid and well done resource for any home or classroom. Little Prayers for Little Ones, by Patricia Edward Jablonski, FSP *Pauline Books & Media provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This super cute board book is a fun new edition to the Pauline Kids selection. Board books are so nice for babies all the way through preschoolers and make a great addition to Mass bags or nursery book baskets. Little Prayers for Little Ones features five different styles of prayer (like praise, petition, etc.) with five different "characters" sharing the circumstances for the prayer. The illustrations are really cute, and feature kids of various ethnicities, abilities, and with different family members (moms, dads, grandparents, friends, etc.) As I mentioned above, I think that it is a great opportunity for kids to see themselves reflected in the pages as they learn to pray. Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times, by Megan Bausch This sweet picture book has been on my wish list for months, but I finally picked it up at my local Catholic bookstore. It certainly did not disappoint with it's decoupage style illustrations, cute but informative rhyming poems, and modern Saint selection. I love the unique style of storytelling the lives of the Saints, and think that it could hold the attention of early elementary age kiddos, but also be a fun read aloud for older kids. While I already wanted to add this book to my classroom library, but also had several people recommend it to me because Fulton Sheen makes an appearance! See an example of his page below: I also think that this book would be a great inspiration for a poetry writing unit. Use the book as a mentor text, have the students choose a Saint, and then write their own poem and/or create their own paper cut artwork. Hopefully there are more to come like this! Wouldn't a series be great!? The Sword and the Cape: A Tale of Saint Martin of Tours, by Pamela Love *Pauline Books & Media provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. A vibrantly illustrated short story book about St. Martin of Tours tells the legend of this noble and generous soldier. Best for early elementary kids, the tale shares the famous story of St. Martin sharing half his cloak with a beggar who is actually Jesus in disguise. The book also includes a historical section and a prayer to St. Martin. It would be a great story to read to remind kids about the importance of kindness and considering the needs of others, especially through the Corporal Works of Mercy. So, what's on your to-read list for 2019?
Joyce Donahue shares ideas for living Lent in the home. Like any journey, Lent benefits from having a well-planned itinerary.
To fight the good fight.
He makes all things New.
The great gift and mystery.
Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given.
Hospitality In Suffering.
Transformation & Second Chances.
Witnesses of Mystery.
The center of it all.
He saves.
Who will you serve?
I love a good list.
The life of St. Joseph teaches us about having a holy family and building a domestic church. Here's how you can build yours, too.
I’m 35 years old today and feeling like some good old timey blogging. Not the shareable with viral potentional kind of blogging. Just the old fashioned here’s what’s going on in m…
Catholic liturgical art, vestments, sacred architecture, sacred art, sacred music, liturgical books
There are many great resources specifically for creating festivities around the beautiful catholic faith and celebrating the liturgical year.
This week on November 11th, our family will celebrate Martinmas, and as tradition we will mark the feast of St. Martin of Tours with friends around a roast duck…or maybe two. (But only because we haven’t been able to successfully find a local supplier of fattened geese.) In the past my husband has tried to...
I’ve been Catholic for forty-one years, actually making an effort for seventeen, a liturgical living devotee for eleven, and blogging about it for five. And . . . I just found out about Ember Days. As I was researching feast days for the Catholic All Year Compendium (my upcoming book, not sure yet of the release date, it’s […]
How to create a liturgical binder in your catholic home. Plus, I’m sharing my favorite resources for planning out a feast days and devotions
So you’re interested in living liturgically… Welcome, Friend!! grab yourself a cuppa and cozy up in your comfiest chair because this topic is one of my favorite t…
Brace yourself for the most comprehensive resource ever released by Catholic Icing! For almost a decade, you have been asking for Catholic Icing The Book, and y'all... this. is. it!!! I have been envisioning this
