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...
Yesterday I wrote about what we do for Holy Thursday. (I had intended to write about what we do for the whole Triduum, but, as usual, it got a little long, so here's the second installment.)Good Friday is meant to be a solemn and somber day. But little...
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...
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 an acute lack of coffee / Netflix /...
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...
September is traditionally a more somber month, liturgical calendar-wise. The month is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. On September 14 and 15 we observe the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The fall Ember Days are...
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...
--- 1 --- The effects of Felix Felicis, as described by Harry Potter Wiki, are thus: Felix Felicis possibly works by providing the drinker with the bestpossible scenario. This usually registers in the drinker's mind in theform of an unusual urge to take a certain...
As the end of Lent comes in to sight, I like to focus on one of my favorite things about this time of year: saying the word Triduum. Seriously, how great is that word? It's right up there with trousers, gubernatorial, and ladle. ...
Easter is approaching! And we didn't want you to be caught unawares. We know that there's almost nothing worse than Holy Saturday coming and not having anything to stuff Easter Baskets with. Don't ask us how we know ;)But in all seriousness, as we prepare for the...
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...
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...
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...
Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation! 👼📣 For what we'll be doing to celebrate, see this post. tl:dr 🧇🙏 This Easter bunny seems to capture the general zeitgeist, no? Strange times these are, my friends! It's been a very Lenty Lent don't...
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...
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...
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...
Between nearly twenty weeks of all-day morning sickness and my failed going to bed early for Lent experiment, I ended up with quite a backlog of mailbag questions. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing them . . . I received this one after linking to my...
It's still Easter today! Happy Easter! Let's jump in the ol' T.A.R.D.I.S. and take a look back at the Triduum, just for posterity's sake, shall we? And let's, um, go backwards. 'Cause, why not? In case you missed it in all the hubbub yesterday, here are all the Easter...
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...
Happy Easter everyone! He is Risen. . . Are you guys getting tired of that yet? Sorry. I just found out about it this year. It's possible I'm getting carried away. Also, I've eaten a LOT of candy. They're always saying how easy it is to take candy from a baby. But...
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...
Before you rush out the door to the dollar store to put together an Easter Basket, here are a few ideas for lovely and edifying Easter gifts that you can make happen in a hurry. And sometimes for nearly free! Printables Shining Light Saint Printables! Just a word of...
UPDATE: I'm now back on board with my original post, thanks to some advice from Scott P. Richert of the About.com Catholic page and your comments. Whew. But I'm leaving this up because it happened, and because the photoshopping is pretty profound. Dear...
My Catholic faith journey has been all about baby steps. God never knocked me off my bicycle, blinded me, and gave me a talking to. It's been slow and steady the whole way. And making the feasts and fasts part of our family's day-to-day life has been no different.For...
Alleluia and Happy Easter! We had a triumphantly adorable Easter, so I thought I'd try one of these what I wore link-ups to share. And hey, today there are THREE! Thanks to Camp Patton, The Practicing Catholic, and Fine Linen and Purple for hosting. First, the what...
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...
