I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope … [Read more...]
Bury the Alleluia and Other Last Minute Lent Resources
It's here. Lent. Ash Wednesday. After a rip-roaring Mardi Gras, Baby Gwen made it her special task to mortify my flesh by getting up at 4:45am...Pretty typical wake time. But it hurt a little more after eating too many cookies and staying up too late. So here I am gulping coffee while she chomps on banana and we wait in the dark for the rest of the family to wake up so we can go to Mass. Lent … [Read more...]
Liturgical Living at a Glance: March
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope … [Read more...]
Trembling at Confession
As we approach Holy Week, I’ve been thinking about all my friends and readers who are going through RCIA this year to be confirmed this Easter. Are you afraid about making your first Confession? I was. I was terrified. I was so excited to be confirmed, but the anxiety of making that first Confession loomed over me. It felt like an excruciating torture I was going to have to endure before being … [Read more...]
Holy Time: Lent and Cleaning Up My Whiny Soul
(Please join us in the Little HolyDays Lenten Link-Up by sharing your posts about this liturgical season. Linky below!) “I CAN’T do it! It’s TOO HARD!” whined my then 3-year-old son as he sat in the middle of his messy room and cried at the idea of having to clean up the toys, books, and stuffed animals scattered everywhere. Maybe I’m asking too much, I thought. He’s clearly overwhelmed. … [Read more...]
Preparing for Lent
Lent is almost upon us! It’s very early this year beginning a week from today, Ash Wednesday. This season of the liturgical year is represented by the color purple: the color of the bruised heart. This is the uncomfortable time preceding Easter when we remove distractions, focus on spiritual formation, and take an honest look at ourselves in order that we might prepare our hearts. Here’s a few … [Read more...]
It’s Holy Week…
...hence the blogging silence. Until Easter, this will have to suffice, dear folk: Daniel and our friend Ted butchered a pig on Monday night. Moral of the story: we will be eating ham on Easter Sunday. My brother will be confirmed in the Catholic Church and receive his first communion on Saturday night. So excited for him! I found out I'm probably allergic to dairy. Blerg. Almond milk … [Read more...]
Mardi Gras and Lent
We had some of our new friends over on Fat Tuesday for a New Orleans Feast made by this guy: On the menu was Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Shrimp Dip and Homemade Bread, King Cake, and old timey New Orleans cocktails. I'll post the recipes on Feast! when Daniel has a minute to write them down. Then Ash Wednesday came and we transitioned into Lent. Last year I was battling some … [Read more...]
This Week’s Miscellany: Vol. 6
(Don't forget to enter my giveaway: A Beautiful Clothbound Penguin Edition of Pride and Prejudice!) Coming up in the Liturgical Year: Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent! I didn't realize that THIS WEDNESDAY will be Ash Wednesday until yesterday! We're having some friends over to celebrate Fat Tuesday (King Cake, and Cajun food!) and I need to decide what I'm giving up for Lent. In the past I've … [Read more...]
Lenten Sacrifices and a New Swing
This year during Lent, Daniel and I are reading Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots by Scott Hahn. It’s divided into 40 small chapters, (Baptism, the Mass, Marriage, Confession, Pilgrimage, etc) and so fits perfectly in the 40 days of Lent if we read one chapter a day. Hahn explains that in our Lenten sacrifice, be it food or otherwise, “We return it all to God for … [Read more...]
