Indulgences! So much opportunity, so much confusion and misinformation. And that's just among Catholics. It's really difficult to even find any information at all online about the most recent version of the Manual of Indulgences, a 1999 revision that replaced the 1968...
Stuff I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: including calendar explanations and errata, crazy plans, and other fun announcements
First off, I have to say how excited I am that anyone other than me wanted this calendar. I just can't believe how many of you have purchased it and are looking forward to starting off the new Catholic year on December 3rd and observing the feasts and the fasts. And...
All Saints' Day Costume Backlash: only neat and tidy saints need apply?
Hey guys. 👋 I'm still not back. The book is coming along, but there's still a ways to go. But. I got this mailbag question via email and answered it via email, and wanted to share it here, just in case any of you are facing the same criticisms. I really hope...
Where Do Pets Go When They Die?
Mailbag time! The Question: Hello, my name is Mollie and I am a big fan of your blog. I lost my pet of 17 years this weekend and I am struggling with the thought of breaking the news to my seven year old son this afternoon. We have been preparing him for her passing...
The Pope Francis Conversation . . . or, Go Talk to Your Father, it’s His Feast Day
Hey Guys. Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. In light of current events, it seems especially important to remember what we celebrate today. According to Pope Benedict: This is a very ancient tradition, proven to have existed in Rome since the fourth...
The Year of Mercy Family Challenge
It's the Year of Mercy! But hopefully you already knew that, as I've been meaning to write this post since, um, November. We've been making an effort to be mindful of the Year of Mercy in our home, and we came up with a Year of Mercy Family Challenge to go with it....
Pro-Life is Complicated, and How You Can Help
Last month we had the unfortunate anniversary of Roe v Wade. Many cities, including my own Los Angeles, hosted Walks for Life, but our family wasn't there. We weren't there because we were at a funeral, for a baby named Emily Rose Marie. We are fortunate enough to...
The Blessed Virgin and the Blasting Out of the Baby Jesus
When I was expecting my second baby, lo those many years ago, my oldest would happily tell anyone in earshot that the new baby was going to "blast out" of mommy sometime soon. He also thought that maybe it was going to be a baby elephant, "like Dumbo." He was wrong ....
Liturgical Living for Beginners: An Our Lady of Guadalupe Play Date, with help from me and CCC
This is a sponsored post. See my disclosure policy. I had such fun last spring putting together a St. Patrick's Day play date that I decided to do another one . . . this time for the upcoming feasts of St. Juan Diego on December 9th and Our Lady of Guadalupe on...
Why My Daughters Are Not Altar Servers
Mailbag time! A few weeks ago, I argued that learning traditional homemaking skills in an all-girl environment was beneficial for my girls. I'm back today to support something for just the boys . . . the question: I had a question about your kids and altar serving. I...
How to Advent, in three steps
Advent is less than two weeks away . . . are you ready, TO WAIT? Advent is a beautiful time of year. But for those of us attempting to live the liturgical year in our homes (at least a bit) it can be a tricky season to get right. Sometimes it feels like whatever we...
Over 150 MORE All Saints Day Costumes for Kids: and all the winners of Catholic Costume 2015
Another excellent year of Catholic Costumes y'all. I just love the variety. Here's a look at how the Tierney kids' costumes turned out this year . . . I had all but given up on a costume for Mary Jane and I. Then, the morning of our homeschool group All Saints...
Praying for the Dead With Children
November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. If you aren't in the habit of hanging out in cemeteries and praying for the dead with your kids . . . well, you're really missing out. And so are your kids. AND so are the dead. As Christians, we believe that the...
The Second Annual Catholic All Year Catholic Costume Contest {now with even MORE prizes}
Last year's costume contest was really cool. I loved seeing all the great Catholic costumes you good folks and your kids can up with. So . . . even though I'm not sure the world needs any more of my All Saints Day costume posts, I decided to do it again. And, as it...
On Being a Missionary to Your Extended Family
Mailbag time! Here's one about how we maintain our family's religious practices on vacations with friends or family members who aren't living their faith the same was we do. -question- Hi, Kendra! My question for you has to do with traveling. We currently travel a...
What If I Can’t Afford to Send Them to College?
Mailbag time! It's the million dollar question for big Catholic families: How can we keep having them, if we don't know whether we can afford them? - question - Hi Kendra, I feel a little silly emailing someone I have never met such a personal question, but I've been...
Four Reasons I’m NOT Boycotting the Forty Companies on that List
Planned Parenthood is yucky. I hate that they exist. I hate that they use lies and doublespeak to prey upon the most vulnerable among us (the women AND their babies). I was not one tiny bit surprised by the latest Planned Parenthood scandal. Sad, yes. But not...
Maybe We CAN’T Talk About NFP Without Giving Offense
It's NFP awareness week. A quick glance at my header will tell you where the husband and I fall on the ol' sliding scale of fertility/NFP competency (but just in case it's: high/low). This is a mommy blog. This is a Catholic blog. This is the PERFECT place to be able...
Living the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in the Home. . . with Frankie
It's easy to sometimes feel like motherhood isn't compatible with true Christian works of mercy. After all, not many of us are able to manage the kind of charitable activities that our sisters called to single life or religious vocations might be able to do. I have...
Exactly How to be a Good Catholic
Knowing just what is required of faithful Catholics can be confusing. Especially in this time of blogs and social media. Blogs can be a really great way to learn about our faith, but it's easy for bloggers (even yours truly) to make it seem like particular practices...
What I Did on My Christmas Vacation
Well, I was away from the blog for a couple weeks. And many things happened. This happened, more than would have been my personal preference, but I'm not in charge. But that wasn't the ONLY thing that happened. And I felt LESS horrible in the mornings, and didn't get...
Living Our Faith in Our Home With Older Kids
I get plenty of questions about how to introduce our Catholic faith to preschoolers and little kids, but so far, none about how to help guide older children as, hopefully, their faith matures and becomes something that they take some initiative for themselves. So...
Seven Quick Reasons I Don't Have a Problem With "Happy Holidays"
Every year, I see rabble rousing Christian websites trying to get folks to boycott businesses that use Happy Holidays in their advertising. Obviously, I support people's right to do as they please with their own money. But as for me, I'm not a boycotter to begin with,...
Catholics, Celiac, and the Dread Pirate Roberts
I'm turning the blog over today to reader Sarah Kaye, who has had an Advent to remember this year as she and her family learn to cope with a diagnosis of celiac disease and what that means for their Catholic faith, particularly reception of the Eucharist. With 0.5 -...
What Everyone Should Do for the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, with a printable
Is that too strong? Well, it's what WE are going to do anyway: CLEAN OUT THE COAT CLOSET! It's something we can ALL do, no matter our financial circumstances. We can take a look in our coat closets and see if we have anything to spare. Maybe we do, maybe we don't. But...
Over 150 All-Saints Day Costumes for Kids
I was so amazed at the awesomeness of your entries in the Catholic Costume Contest, that I decided to post, not just the winner, not just a handful of favorites, but almost 200 awesome Catholic costumes, made by real parents and kids just like you and yours. It seems...
At the End, Charlotte Dies: a Reflection on Death for All Souls Day
Tomorrow, Sunday November 2nd, is All Souls Day. In our home we commemorate the day by going to a cemetery and praying a family rosary for people who have died. We pray particularly, but not exclusively, for our family's deceased friends and relatives. In honor of the...
Last Minute Twofer Costumes for Halloween AND All Saints Day: and a Catholic Costume Contest!
So, you're all set for Hallowtide, right? Your kids have got a Halloween costume and an All Saints Day costume all set and ready to go? No? Not to worry. These costumes can be thrown together in a couple of days, and if you have Amazon Prime, you might not even need...
The Virtue of Blind Obedience (yes. that’s actually a virtue.) Part of a Series on the Ten Virtues of Mary.
Blind obedience is a tough sell these days. If you're anything like me, it's going to take a lot to even convince you that it's not utterly WRONG, let alone a virtue to be cultivated. In our culture, the concept of obedience has fallen out of favor. We are hesitant to...
Cranky Frankie Went to the Fair
We spent this afternoon and evening at our parish's annual festival. A good time was had by all. Even Frankie. But you wouldn't have known it to look at him. Kid has a bad case of grumpy resting face. There were just too, too many to Instagram them all, so I decided...