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We've talked a lot on this blog about prayers, pious practices, and foods associated with particular days and seasons of the liturgical calendar. The deep and wide deposit of Catholic tradition ALSO includes beautiful music associated with these feast days. You might...
Join my family as we prepare to celebrate Holy Thursday! WATCH NOW Holy Thursday is a day of contradictions. On the evening of Holy Thursday, Jesus' Passion began. But before that, he gathered with his friends to celebrate the Last Supper and at this meal, he...
Introducing the newest episode of Catholic All Year at Home! This episode is all about celebrating Fat Tuesday before we buckle down with our Lenten Disciplines for the next 40 days. As you watch you'll discover creative, family-friendly ideas for your own Fat Tuesday...
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 an 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...
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...
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 start voluntary Lenten disciplines! I...
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...
Palm Sunday is tomorrow you guys! I'm inadvertently VERY prepared for an at home Holy Week and Easter, but definitely mourning the prospect. The images of Palm Sunday from old picture Bibles are kinda punching me in the gut right now. The sea of humanity, the crowd,...
We are a week into Lent. Probably we've all had some moments to be proud of, and some fails, right? That's to be expected. The spring Ember Days begin today, Wednesday, and continue on Friday and Saturday. Ember Days are seasonal days of fasting and repentance that...
Liturgical Living heads up! Lent is quickly approaching. Ash Wednesday is February 26th this year, so we've only got a couple weeks to get our acts together here and figure out what we're going to do. I've written SO MUCH about Lent over the years, and I'll link to...
YOU ASKED FOR IT! This is probably my most requested not-yet-posted post ever. So here it is: Every single read aloud we use on saints' days all year long! (This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through those links, I receive a small commission,...
Spy Wednesday "Spy" Wednesday 🕵️♂️ is the name traditionally given to the Wednesday of Holy Week. This is the day Judas betrayed Jesus, telling the high priest when Jesus would be in a place where he could be more conveniently arrested, in exchange for thirty pieces...
There's an all new Catholic All Year Liturgical Living Video up, all about the Stations of the Cross! Scroll on down to check it out. And because I love you guys . . . you get a bonus video this time. I die. every. time. It's the cutest. If it looks like Mary Jane is...
Mailbag Question! Q: I've heard people talk about Advent and Lent both being seasons of penance during the liturgical year. Can you help me understand how to explain the differences in the seasons to my family, and how to observe them in the home? A: Ooh, good...
The Catholic All March booklets (physical booklets are available here), plus a bunch of new printables for Lent, are available now in the shop. More details below. 👇 Ash Wednesday is coming up in less than two weeks! (It's super late this year.) The actual...
Mailbag time! The Question: Hi, Kendra! Thanks so much for your blog. I was hoping you could offer some advice on a question regarding living out the liturgical year with young kids. Our parish Easter egg hunt is scheduled for Holy Saturday morning and I don't know...
Every year, during the first three days of Holy Week, we do a big declutter and donate. This is how I get motivated . . . We Can Do It! Here's why it works for us . . . 1. Since it's tied to a big event - Easter - I can't "forget" about it, or put it off forever....
Movies can be a great way to bring families together, and a great way to help kids understand complicated concepts. Holy Week is an excellent time to do both of those things. So, even though we give up our family screen time during Lent, our family Holy Week...
Today is the fifth Sunday of Lent, traditionally known as Passion Sunday. This is the day on which images and statues are often veiled in churches. We like to do this in our home as well. (I used think we were supposed to do this for all of Lent, but have recently...
Happy Laetare Sunday all! Here's what we wore. Obviously. Me: ModCloth dress (I really love their stuff. I have an affiliate link, over on the right sidebar next to the comments, if you want to check them out.) Old Steve Madden shoes. Lulu: Hand me down smocked dress,...
Blogger was having some technical difficulties last night and this morning, so most people (including me) got a "server down" error message when they tried to access Catholic All Year and many other blogs. But it seems to have been resolved. So if you missed today's...
I shared a bunch of these photos on Instagram and a couple on Facebook, but not all of them. So I figured I'd throw them up here as quick as I can, in case you didn't see them there. AND I want to announce the winners of the Lent giveaway in time for the winners to...
Lent is nigh, you guys. It is NIGH. Hope you're ready. If you're not, I might be able to help . . . with some recommendations, and some free printables, and a contest. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Because before Ash Wednesday, comes Fat Tuesday (aka...
I'm once again striding boldly into the dangerous, churning waters of Lenten "breaks." This time to answer a mailbag question . . . Question: Hi Kendra! My youngest is celebrating his first birthday next month and I'm wondering how to celebrate a birthday in Lent. I...
Okay, folks. Now that Candlemas is over and all things Christmas are officially behind us, it's time to quit being in denial that Lent is coming. Fast. It is for me, anyway. Two weeks from today is Fat Tuesday. Then, it's on. A pretty significant percentage of my...
How much of Jesus' suffering and death to share with little ones is a question many parents struggle with. It can be overwhelming to feel like you have to introduce so many facts and concepts and characters all at once, especially if your kids are perhaps more...
It's Laetare Sunday! If you just said, "Huh?" You're not alone. But here's a hint: You know how almost never, but it seems like maybe a couple times a year the priest wear pink vestments? That's today. From Scott P. Richert at the very excellent About.com Catholicism...
Sundays in Lent seem to be a genuine source of confusion among Catholics. Both the "I don't cheat on Sundays" people and the "Sundays don't count" people believe that Church teaching is on their side. Or perhaps they just think there isn't a formal Church teaching on...
Don't look now, but Lent is nearly upon us. Here are a few ways to make sure we get to the end of these 40 days a bit holier than we were when we started. 1. Choose Lent Disciplines that Challenge You It took me a while to understand that tendency folks seem to have...