Yesterday, I shared my friend Emily's personal story of her mom's crisis pregnancy. See that post here: What’s to Gain by Saying No to Abortion: A Story of Teen Pregnancy, Grandparents’ Prayers, and . . . Me. I received the following comment over on Facebook. I...
Happy Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! In honor of the day, I'd like to share why I think Friday abstinence is a beautiful and effective form of penance and also, oh yeah, that Catholics are actually STILL required to do Friday penance EVERY WEEK. Unless it's a...
It's summertime . . . . and the livin' is liturgical. As I say in The Catholic All Year Compendium, "Maybe we’ve got some extra downtime, and some time with all the kids at home, and we were going to eat dinner anyway, right? I try to find saints’ days to attach to...
Prefer to watch or listen rather than read? This post is available in video format here. Hey all! Today we’re going to talk about belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist: how to understand it, how to teach it, and how to celebrate its feast day, Corpus...
Health update: The husband's treatments are progressing and we * finally * got the test results we were waiting for and it was good news for the spine! Thanks so much for your prayers. Happy feast day! Red for Pentecost! #dontcountus #someofusareoutsick I’ve had some...
Catholic All Year has been around for (almost) a decade. In that time, I've shared hundreds of liturgical living and feast celebration ideas, liturgical wall calendars, dozens of prayer booklets for you to print, over a year of physical boxes with feast materials, and...
Health update: Not much to report. Treatments are progressing. We are awaiting test results. We are all in good spirits. Your prayers are SO appreciated. God's will be done. In case you prefer watching/listening to reading . . . this post is also available as a video....
Hey all! Father's Day is coming up soon, and I wanted to share some Catholic Dad Gift Sets we've put together for you guys, along with some free printables and our family favorite movies for the day. You'll find those at the bottom of the post. Note: Since drafting...
In case you prefer watching/listening to reading . . . this post is also available as a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUXTwDas0vQ Hi, guys, Kendra here. Today we are getting down to basics. Today I’m hoping to answer some questions for you, that are really...
Mother's Day is coming and it seems like as good a time as any to open that evergreen can 'o worms, a topic of discussion in Catholic circles since, oh, 62 AD . . . the ever-controversial question inspired by Ephesians 5:21-33: Must Catholic wives submit to their...
Jesus walks into a restaurant and says to the maitre'd, "Table for twenty-six please." The maitre'd does a quick head count, and says, "I see there are only thirteen of you here. Please let me know when the rest of your party arrives, sir, and I’ll be happy to seat...
Also available as a YouTube video here! Well, you've done it. You AND your children have, somehow, against all odds, survived through to these last few days of Lent. Though for a while there, it looked like you might succumb to acute lack of coffee / Netflix /...
Happy Fat Tuesday, y'all! Scroll to the bottom for a Mardi Gras party printable freebie. Note: Illustrations are from vintage crime novel covers Lent, you guys. Here it comes again. Late this year, but coming nonetheless. I've written about how my general approach to...
The feast of the chair of Saint Peter is on February 22nd! This feast celebrates both an actual, physical, very old chair housed at the back of St. Peter’s Basilica . . . and the spiritual authority that the chair represents, passed down through apostolic succession...
Dear Kendra, First, thank you for your blog. I've been reading it for a while now and it's been a big help [to] me as a convert of a few years ago . . . . I wanted to ask how you guys handle sick kids, as we move into our umpteenth minor illness of the year so far. I...
Hey remember long rambling blog posts? Those were my JAM, y'all, back in the good old days of blogging. Let's go old school. But, because I know your attention span isn't what it used to be, here's what we're going to talk about. Feel free to scroll to what interests...
In our quest to give Advent and Christmas distinctly different characters, we have a strict family policy of not watching Christmas movies during Advent. Then, once Christmas comes, we watch a different family Christmas movie together for each of the “twelve days of...
Christmas Eve greetings, dear readers! Our Christmas cards shipped out on the 21st, which might be a personal best. So, if you get a card from us . . . you might already have it! But if not, and for all of you out there on the interwebs, here’s a virtual update on...
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are on a family vacation in a cabin at Lake Arrowhead, CA and it's been so fun. Also very cold and windy, but you can't beat a hot drink and a cozy fire after a chilly adventure! Note: Jack made it in time for...
I am a generally last minute person, but the one thing I try to get done ahead of time each year is Christmas shopping. Getting the shopping out of the way before Advent means I can concentrate on devotions and crafts and baking and family activities during Advent...
Advent is coming! What to do, what NOT to do . . . these are the questions. I think I can help. Here are my seven favorite Catholic Advent traditions with pros and cons of each to help you decide which ones will work for your family and personal circumstances this...
Hey guys! If you’ve been following me for any time at all, you know I like to go all out for All Saints’ Day. But just to prove that's not required, today we’ll be making twenty simple saint costumes . . . out of t-shirts! For many years, creating awesome costumes...
The month of November fast approaches, and that means liturgical living is about to crank into high gear. We've got All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day, and the Holy Souls all month long . . . then the SO MANY (too many?) beautiful devotional opportunities of Advent....
Hey guys! So much fun stuff is in the works around here. We are adding a whole new dimension to Catholic All Year memberships. Different levels include: a colorful daily medallion calendar featuring fun feast day symbols, saint and feast day summaries, five posters...
Hey all! It's September, the month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is coming up on September 15. And while "The Seven Sorrows" might not sound like a lot of fun . . . I'm here to try to convince you that it's a devotion worth...
The Month of the Holy Rosary is coming up in October. I've written before here on the blog about saying the rosary (and made a video about it), so today I figure you're already convinced about saying it, and maybe you'd like to make one yourself! Below you'll find...
Hey all! Catholic indulgences, St. Francis of Assisi, and the surprising history of the founding of Los Angeles: It’s a new installment of the Catholic All Year Liturgical Living Show! Come with us to visit the San Fernando Mission, Old Town L.A.’s Olvera St., and...
Oh, hi. Sorry, you caught me just reading this book in a completely regular, natural manner. 😉 It's my book launch day! The Catholic All Year Prayer Companion is officially available wherever books are sold, but, to be specific, you can get it from me here in...
More from the Catholic All Year mailbag today . . . Question: Dear Kendra, I have followed you for over a year now and it has been wonderful adding more liturgical traditions to our year! I'm pregnant and it's a big shock. We have always been generally open to life,...
Hey, it's been a while since we took a peek in the mailbag around here . . . let's see what we've got. QUESTION Hi Kendra, Thank you for all that you do. I enjoy reading your blog. The articles are thoughtfully written and also very helpful. If you are able, I would...
My whole thing is liturgical living in the HOME, right? Right. But as much as I prefer to be home, daily time in the car is pretty unavoidable. As my family grew, we spent more time in the car on errands and drop-offs and pick-ups. As we spent more time in the car, I...
The story of Mary Magdalene’s miraculously dyed eggs, and how to dye eggs naturally at home using flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
Welcome to the Easter 2021 Catholic All Year Gift Guide! Below you’ll find items by Catholic artists and shops perfect for Easter giving and for any time. These are items and businesses that my family actually use and love. I reached out to them and they generously...
It's a solemnity and a Meat Friday, I hope you're celebrating today! I posted last week with some celebration ideas and free printables for the feast of St. Joseph. But I had to pop back in today to share one of my ALL-TIME favorite poems. We read it for St. Joseph's...
A few Liturgical Living Box Subscriptions are now available, as well as limited edition Tenebrae Hearse Candelabras in two styles, new Easter/Paschal Candles, and other items from the Lent and Triduum Boxes. More info at the bottom! The Feast of St Joseph is coming up...
Get this as free printable here!Download Well, here we are on Monday of the first week of Lent. Happy feast of the Chair of St. Peter! (See how our family celebrates the day here.) If Ash Wednesday crept up on you this year, not to worry . . . it's never too late to...
Thanks for putting up with this week of me trying to sell you stuff.* But hopefully you think it's good stuff and . . . it will mostly be over after this last push today. So, here's what I've got to tell you about . . . The Catholic All Year Liturgical Living Weekly...
I’ve received many reader questions on this topic over the years, and just discussed them again this week in a Q&A session after an online talk I gave to a parent group, so I figured it would be a good time to go ahead and get it in a post. Updates on The...
Hey guys! I’ve been working for months on a bunch of new products and ideas and they all sort of came together at once, and (no surprise) many are liturgically seasonal, plus . . . I really like the creating of the things and I don’t at all like the marketing of the...
Christmas Eve greetings, dear readers! Our Christmas cards are currently chilling with all their pals in a USPS sorting facility. So, if you get a card from us . . . it's coming! But in the meantime, and for all of you out there on the interwebs, here's a virtual...
Hey, you ever announce you're going to start blogging again and then behind the scenes stuff goes sideways and then your dad has a stroke and you spend the beginning of Advent dealing with hospitals for the second year in a row, but this time it's 2020 so you can't...
It's been a while you guys, since I last typey typed up a blog post. But I've had a lot in the works for you guys. First things first . . . A new book! You will probably not be surprised that I wrote another book. (There are more in the pipeline too!) But you MIGHT be...
Every few months, I will get a message or two like one I received today, from someone who says she has followed me for many years but can no longer do so because I haven’t publicly supported a particular issue in the way that she thinks would be appropriate. I’ve...
As of February 2021, I'm switching CAY subscriptions from Patreon to this website! Click here to learn more about the membership options, and here to read why I'm making the switch. First, some good news! They won’t be open for Pentecost, but Los Angeles churches have...
I was hoping to get a conversation started with my previous post. That definitely happened. I Like to Think That I Would Die for Jesus I was impressed with the general tone of the dialog. I did have to delete some comments for breaking my long-standing rules against...
For some clarifications and considerations, see this follow up post, Abortion Jargon, Obedience, and Whether I Just Want to Kill All Priests: The Catholic + Coronavirus Can of Worms I suppose one never knows for sure until one is faced with the opportunity, but I like...
The thing about Easter is that it came anyway. Alleluia! Our In-Progress At Home Painted Chapel, aka how I spent my summer vacation I can't tell you how much joy it has given me to share liturgical living traditions with you guys during this time. Virtual community is...
The triduum is upon us! Let's talk Holy Thursday. No, wait, for a Holy Thursday overview, see this post The “You Can Still Do This” Guide to All Things Holy Week Here, let's talk about the Seven Churches Visitation. Under normal circumstances, following the Holy...
Happy Spy Wednesday! Today we'll be hiding thirty quarters. Here's why: https://youtu.be/2alx0jkg1Jw See the April Booklet for the collects and readings for Spy Wednesday and each day of the Triduum. We've done the quarters thing for many years now, and love it. New...
Easter candles, you guys. EASTER CANDLES. We must have them. And really, my family can't imagine missing out completely on the stirringly beautiful beginning of the Easter Vigil Mass, with the fire and the candles and the Exsultet. The whole Easter Vigil is great of...