Dear Family and Friends,

Season’s greetings, and—yes, you’re not wrong—things are looking a bit different this Christmas! For those of you who have yet to hear the good news, we are now Tierney + Norton around here. Kendra and John Norton were married this summer and are counting their blessings (and their kids). They were introduced by mutual friends at a Halloween party in 2023, started dating in February 2024, got engaged in April, and the wedding was in July (in a heat wave). Kendra baked the cake. John brought the swamp coolers. We are so grateful for God’s goodness in bringing our families together.

John’s four kids were already friendly with the older Tierney kids, as they all attended St. Monica Academy. Fun fact: In 2015, a few months after making the transition from homeschooler to “real-school” eighth-grader, Jack came home with a black eye. Kendra was able to extract from him that the shiner was the result of a projectile carrot at lunchtime but he was unwilling to turn stool pigeon on the carrot flinger. UNTIL NOW. Shortly before the wedding, the culprit was revealed to have been his now-stepsister Maeve. No one can remember why she threw it, but we all agree he very likely deserved it.

Jack (22) and Bobby (19) have been roommates at USC for a couple years, and will keep it up though Jack is, as of December, a graduate with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He plans to accept a full-time offer from Fenix Space and get to work shooting stuff into space. His newest obsession is Brazilian no gi jiu jitsu, or, as the rest of us call it: cuddle fighting. Bobby is working on game design and animation at the USC film school and reading obscure Tolkien and listening to obscure vinyl in his spare time. He went on a two-week pilgrimage to Poland over the summer and sent his mom one text: a photo of the lamb butter mold used by Pope JPII’s family when he was a child. So, he knows his audience.

Betty (20), Anita (15), and Mom embarked on a ten-day “hen do” and pilgrimage to England the week before the wedding, like ya do. The visits to Catholic holy sites happened to coincide with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop at Wembley, so that was number two of an eventual four Eras concerts for Betty (also Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and Toronto). She will continue her nursing studies at St. Xavier University while living with Jim’s parents in Chicago. She helps them around the house, they keep her on schedule, and Gramma is teaching her how to cook. Anita wowed as the lead in the school musical, South Pacific, and is playing volleyball and basketball. A sophomore this year, she’s searching for a university with a world domination major.

Gus (17) is a senior at St. Monica Academy. He bought a fixer-upper Mustang convertible last summer and has been working on getting it running ever since, both with the help of Grandad. He was in the chorus in South Pacific, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, plays volleyball and basketball and won the school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition. He was accepted to Benedictine College in Atchison, KS where Maeve (21) and Livia (20) are studying graphic design and nursing, respectively. Maeve spends her free time answering customer service emails for Catholic All Year. Gus is waiting to hear back from Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, and plans to follow in Grandad’s footsteps and become an airline pilot.

George (7) has taken over for Frankie (13) as the unofficial mascot of Boy Scout Troop 140, and Frankie is aiming for Patrol Leader. Frankie talked John into going along on the campouts, just like he used to do back when Jack and Liam (24) were scouts.

When not sidelined with a fractured wrist, Frankie was on the flag football and basketball teams and just might break the all-time St. Monica record for red slips. He is directing a series of action shorts in which George stars as the nefarious Gerb Granson, sweet potato and clownfish thief.

Lulu (11) spent two years running forced-labor lemonade stands and confiscating birthday money from her siblings to put into a backyard hot tub fund. When she announced to Grandad that she had saved up $283, he told her he was pretty sure that’s exactly what hot tubs cost and brought one home. She lets us use it.

Midge (9) is head girl of our homeschool again and working hard to keep fellow students George and Barbara (5) in line. She has found a penpal in her eldest stepsister Mairead (26)—rhymes with parade—who lives in Nashville and is a professional baker. Midge’s favorite homeschool event of the year was the St. Nicholas Advent Market, where she sold out of her selection of liturgical-themed crafts. Barbara’s appendectomy was the year’s (second) biggest surprise so far, and now, just like her Madeline doll, “on her stomach is a scar”. While hospitalized, she drew a picture of a unicorn on one side of a paper and of “the inside of the unicorn” on the other side, prompting her to announce that she had “a GREAT idea for when I’m a grownup.” New life plan: start a museum of the insides of animals.

John and Kendra did a twenty-one mile walk to the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in WI to celebrate their engagement, and spent their honeymoon in Santa Barbara. We got thirteen of the fourteen kids on a Disneyland trip, and seven of them on an RV trip to the Grand Canyon, then picked up two more plus grandparents at a campsite for Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you keeping track of our annual Thanksgiving murder mysteries, this year Nana did it. We’re looking forward to our biggest ever family Christmas dinner! Keep us in your prayers; you’ll be in ours.

May your Christmas be joyful and your 2025 be filled with wonder.

With love, from the Tierneys & Nortons

The post Merry Christmas from the Tierneys & Nortons appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Dear Family and Friends,

Here we go on Christmas letters again. Let’s see if we’ve still got it! We were all working on getting our bearings again in 2023, and settling back into the comfortable normalcy of being just bonkers busy all the time. 

Lulu, Midge, and George joined Gus, Anita, and Frankie at Saint Monica Academy, so, basically, we are taking that place over. There’s a Tierney in every odd grade from 1st to 11th. The kids love it and are getting an excellent education, but Mom suspects it’s exactly as much school work for her as when they were homeschooled, except now she does it while trying to make dinner. And there’s more driving. And, like, ninety more birthday parties. So, we’ll see what next year brings on the schooling front. For now, we are focused on how grateful we are for the SMA community, and all the help with rides and the last-minute texting of spelling lists, without which we would have drowned long ago.

We visited Chicago over the summer to celebrate Gramma & Papa’s fiftieth anniversary, and will head down to San Diego later this month to celebrate the same for Nana & Grandad. What a blessing to our family to have such beautiful examples of the sacrament of marriage!

We took a road trip to visit Catholic sites and National Parks in Arizona and New Mexico . . . in July. The local meteorologist was hanging out at our hotel pool in Tucson wielding his infrared thermometer and reporting a record high temperature of 112 degrees F. But, you know, it was a dry heat. That was followed by an eerie pinky-orange thunder-sandstorm that chased everyone inside. The trip was really amazing. Two thumbs up for the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Montezuma Castle National Monument, all the historic churches in Santa Fe (and the miraculous staircase!), the Benedictine Monastery of Christ in the Desert, and Mission San Xavier del Bac.

Our “camping” Thanksgiving this year was at an Airbnb in Temecula, CA. We had all ten Tierney kids, plus Dosé extended family. We ate turkey, swam in the pool, dressed up for a western saloon-themed murder mystery party, had these photos taken by the very sweet and talented Cher of Cher Marie Photography, and managed to keep Barbara from “kid”-napping the baby goats (you get it). 

Kendra is happy and sad and grateful and heartsick and swamped and lackadaisical all at the same time, always. 2023 has been trying to find her footing, failing, and going again. She is acutely conscious of how lucky she is to be surrounded by her truly and deeply wonderful children, her generous and self-sacrificing parents and in-laws, her amazing community of friends at CTK, SMA, and CAY, and the worldwide network of people who loved Jim. Professionally, this year was mostly speaking engagements and video projects. She gave a talk at the Napa Conference, appeared on the Lila Rose podcast, and the whole family filmed four more episodes of Catholic All Year at Home for FORMED. She’s got four episodes of Ascension Presents that will air in the spring. She hopes to get back to any number of unfinished book manuscripts . . . someday.

Jack (21) is a senior at USC in aerospace engineering, but is going to go ahead and hang out for one more semester. As Teen Talk Barbie prophesied in 1992, “Math class is tough.” Since last summer, he has also been gainfully employed part time at Fenix Space, working on RF systems, satellites, and, um, something about parabolas? His hobbies include poker, chess, and Smash Bros, and he comes home on weekends to do laundry, teach little kids how to ride bikes, and tell his mother that dishwasher repair is, unfortunately, not part of the engineering school curriculum, but he will take a look. He’s a good young man. 

Betty (19) is a sophomore studying nursing at UMary in Bismarck, North Dakota. So far she gives it a thumbs up for roommates, classes, professors, and administrators, and a thumbs down for the ND record low temperature of 13 below on March 29. She’s a member of the intramural Musical Theater Troupe and has performed in three shows. In a move she expects to be the crowning achievement of her life, she secured tickets for the L.A. Taylor Swift concert, attended with Anita, and then got to watch the same concert again as a movie. 

Bobby (18) graduated from Saint Monica Academy after closing out his high school theater career with memorable roles as Caleb in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Richard III in Richard III (see the whole performance here). As a graduation gift, he and Jack got to see their dad’s favorite band, U2, at the Sphere in Las Vegas. No one was more surprised than Bob when he was accepted into the prestigious USC film school. So, Jack’s got a new old roommate and Bobby is making cool board games and very cute faux claymation animations. He gave the two most celebrated gifts of 2023: an old timey record player for mom (that the whole family loves) and a dead monarch butterfly cherished by Barbara.

Gus (16) keeps himself busy at SMA, appearing in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Richard III, and Much Ado About Nothing, altar serving, and participating on the varsity swim and basketball teams. He won 2nd place in the schoolwide Poetry Out Loud competition with his recitations of “Surprised by Joy” by Wordsworth and “The Hyenas” by Kipling. Over the summer he attended the Napa Institute Conference as his mom’s assistant, having read How to Win Friends and Influence People . . . twice. To be more specific, he listened to it as an audiobook on triple speed, which is how he listens to everything. This makes his mother want to interrupt him to ask listening comprehension questions (which he can answer). In related news, he bought himself some air pods.

Anita (14) continues to be an MVP at home: keeping track of schedules, packing lunches, and organizing day-after-Thanksgiving murder mystery parties, and at school: captain and setter on the JV volleyball team, voted to be 8th grade graduation speaker by her teachers and classmates, as well as voted to be Mary in the living stations and freshman representative to student council. She earned First Honors and a music award, and was in two school plays. She has expanded her wardrobe quite a bit this year by learning to sew and discovering that she now fits in mom’s clothes.  

Frankie (12) has taken over the role of “guy with a broken arm” from George, and is on his second cast of the year. When not on the DL, he plays flag football and basketball. He is an altar server at SMA and Saint  Andrew, and—when accompanying mom on a “work trip” cruise down the Rhine River—also in Switzerland, Holland, France, and Germany. His favorite parts of the trip were climbing the tower of Strasbourg Cathedral and then having nutella crepes for lunch, and being pressed into service by the maitre’d, who put him to work all over the ship. In Boy Scouts, he is working diligently on his second class rank and his pine cone-throwing skills. Over Thanksgiving, he was determined to have murdered Mitch Maverick (Bobby) in an act of vigilante justice.

Lulu (10) sang “Maybe” from Annie in the CTK homeschool group musical showcase and was an evil unicorn in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She attended her first sleepover camp over the summer, with Anita there as a junior counselor. On our family road trip she convinced the group to swim/hike up the Chama River against the current to a tiny island which she claimed for her own. In her first year at “real” school, she played volleyball, earned First Honors and the Citizenship Award, and claims to be doing a LOT of “gold slip” worthy good deeds that have, so far, gone unnoticed by the powers that be.

Midge (8) also sang “Maybe” from Annie in the CTK homeschool group musical showcase and was a fellow evil unicorn in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She and Lulu also do pretty much everything else together: biking and scootering, sewing and bracelet-making, baking and leaving the kitchen a mess to go out scootering again. She was Joan of Arc in the SMA All Saints’ Day pageant, likes recess and school field trips, and has a cowlick and dimples that just won’t quit.

George (6) chose a beaver plush as a road trip souvenir after a stop at Beaver Creek in AZ, and named it Justin Beaver. On his first week in the 1st grade, he proudly announced that everyone in his class had cried except him and one girl. He turned six this year, and so got his official family trip to Disneyland, where he liked Space Mountain and was definitely not afraid of the Haunted Mansion.

Barbara (4) experienced every ride at Disneyland as a challenge to be accepted and overcome. Not against her own fears, but rather against the characters in the ride. She thoroughly enjoyed her day personally vanquishing pirates, ghosts, and Mr. Toad / hell. Being the only kid at home and entertaining herself while mom works at home does NOT particularly suit her tastes, so she’s talked herself into a regular playdate rotation with local friends. On days that she is home with mom, she likes to hang out and offer running commentary and suggestions for how mom could improve her work habits and home management. 

Thank you again to all of you who have kept us in your prayers for all these months. Please keep it up! And come by to visit.

May your Christmas be merry and bright and your 2024 be filled with joy and hope for the future.

With love from the Tierneys,

Kendra, Jack, Betty, Bobby, Gus, Anita, Frankie, Lulu, Midge, George, and Barbara

P.S. In case you haven’t heard, I’m leading a pilgrimage to England, and I’d really love to have you join me! All ages are welcome, I’ll be bringing a couple kids with me, and my parents would be coming if they hadn’t offered to stay home with the rest of the kids!

Get more details here. It would make a great Christmas gift. #justsayin

The post Merry Christmas from the Tierneys appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for all your prayers, Masses, cards, gifts, kind words, rides for the kids, and other support since Jim passed away in July. I am so grateful. Even if you didn’t receive a personal thank you note from me, please know it was appreciated.

We really are doing quite well, all things considered. Jack (20) is a junior at USC, studying aerospace engineering. Betty (18) is a freshman at UMary in Bismarck, ND where she plans to study nursing. We loaded the big van with all her worldly possessions and all but one of her siblings and drove up there to drop her off. It was an adventure! Bobby (17) is a senior at St. Monica Academy and has applied to a wide range of colleges. He’ll be Richard III in Richard III this spring before he graduates. Gus (15), Anita (13), and Frankie (11) are doing well at SMA, and continuing to participate in sports, theater, and choir.

Lulu (9), Midge (7), and George (5) are the homeschool crew this year. In the past three months, George has fallen three different times in three different places and broken an arm. He’s currently sporting red and green full-arm casts, and is—as always—in excellent spirits. Barbara (3) is the sweetest little thing. We all shot a couple episodes of a TV show called Catholic All Year at Home for FORMED, a Catholic streaming platform. I think they turned out cute. 

On Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day, I received about a dozen emails from Jim that he had scheduled over the first few months of the year, to remind me of things that had happened that I might want to include in this card. Instead, I’m going to keep it short, but leave you all with that. Still thoughtful, still looking out for us, even now. 

Memento Mori and Merry Christmas.

Love, Kendra, Jack, Betty, Bobby, Gus, Anita, Frankie, Lulu, Midge, George, & Barbara

p.s. If you usually get a card in the mail from us, and haven’t yet, please email or text me your address. We don’t have access to Jim’s address book with the Christmas card list.

The post Merry Christmas from the Tierneys appeared first on Catholic All Year.

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 Tierney family goings on.

Life has felt rather back to normal for us in 2021, despite the times. We are blessed with amazing school, parish, and homeschool communities that are still going strong. So, once again, we find ourselves with toddlers to teenagers and days that are just packed!

Over the summer, we sent kids two by two on long trips to visit our Midwest relations in Chicago, Iowa, and Detroit, where they hunted and fished and drove an ATV and went to amusement parks and helped wrangle little Tierney cousins. Even George got in on the fun, with Betty as his chaperone. Also over the summer, the big kids organized and ran a very successful backyard Catholic day camp for local friends, plus their trusty lemonade stand. Nana and Grandad helped Jack and Betty get in touch with their Deutsch side on a trip to Germany. They saw the sights and drank some beers. Betty’s favorite part of the trip was the castles. Jack liked the schnitzel.

We have a family tradition of visiting Disneyland for 6th birthdays. Lulu’s trip was delayed so long — first by George’s hospitalization, then by COVID — that it turned into a joint trip for Lulu’s 8th and Midgee’s 6th birthdays. Fortunately the new Star Wars Land was 100% worth the wait.

Our annual Camping Thanksgiving trip was again not so much “camping” as “renting an enormous cabin in a scenic location.” But that might just be where we are as a family these days. We spent the week at Lake Arrowhead hiking, throwing a costumed murder mystery dinner party (Lulu did it), and ziplining, throwing axes, and meeting the Big Guy at a Santa’s Village / Adventure Park (yes, you read that right). 

Jim has a new title at his old company, Exer Urgent Care, as the Chief Innovation Officer. We were disappointed to learn that there was no Carousel of Progress associated with the position. But he seems to be doing a good job innovating, and recently helped launch the 25th Exer location. Also going well are the cancer treatments. Brain tumors are not great bedfellows, but Jim and his team of doctors are trying to keep their noise to a minimum.

Kendra is getting booked for out of town speaking engagements again, and always gets to take a travel buddy. Jim came along for a 20th wedding anniversary getaway to Park City, UT where we celebrated two decades of wedded bliss with a ride down the track in an Olympic bobsled. Bob and Mom enjoyed some queso and a Marvel movie in the theater in Houston, TX, and she and Anita saw the Blue Angels and learned about the Florida Martyrs on a trip to Pensacola, FL. Catholic All Year had an unexpectedly booming year in 2021 with a popular new liturgical living box subscription offering. Kendra has brought on multiple team members to help with the workload and now has to worry about things like taxes and insurance alongside her important work of coming up with new saint-themed food puns. 

Jack (19) finally got to leave for college in 2021! He is a sophomore at USC majoring in aerospace engineering and doing Marine Corps ROTC. He has a very cool apartment in a vintage building near USC with a high school buddy. It is furnished with hand-me-downs, sidewalk finds, and IKEA. He has a collection of ironic thrift store drinking glasses and some great Catholic art on the walls. Over the summer, he taught a trebuchet-making class at the Catholic boys’ camp three of his brothers were attending. Everyone survived. He joined us in Lake Arrowhead after classes got out on Tuesday, cooked the turkey on Thursday, and was back at school in time for the football game on Saturday. 

Betty (17) is a senior at St. Monica Academy and has been accepted to her first choice college, University of Mary in Bismarck, ND! She also has applications in at some colleges a little closer to home that also have good nursing programs. Her paper on nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale won the first place writing award at SMA. She has been making the best of her last year in high school theater, playing Audrey in As You Like It, singing in the ensemble in Les Mis, and student-directing The Merchant of Venice (while also performing in Portia’s choir). She was a camp counselor at the Tierney day camp and also at an outreach camp in Long Beach. She stunned her brothers by besting all of them at Santa’s Village axe throwing.  

Bobby (16) is a junior this year, and has the acting bug as well, playing Touchstone the Jester in As You Like It. (He and Betty performed in different casts and so did not have to pretend marry each other.) He impressed with “Drink With Me” as Grantaire in Les Mis, and wore a 50 lbs+ costume as the Duke of Venice in The Merchant of Venice. He earned 3rd place in the schoolwide Poetry Out Loud competition, reciting “Lepanto” by G.K. Chesterton (in which the Catholics are the good guys) and “The Revenge” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (in which they are not), a combined 262 lines. He also played basketball, and, at summer camp, directed and edited a 10-minute film version of Gladiator featuring Frankie as Commodus.

Gus (14) was the driving force behind the Tierney day camp over the summer, then joined his siblings in high school. He ran cross country and is playing JV basketball. He had lines in Les Mis as an 8th grader and Merchant of Venice as a freshmen, and earned the Guardians of Memory award at SMA for exhibiting diligence in his history reading. He thinks “Todd” is “a solid name,” letting his opinion on the subject be known when he heard it called at a restaurant while on a hunting trip with Dad and Bobby and Uncle Brian. 

Anita (12) wasn’t sure she wanted to give up being homeschooled (and Mom was certain she didn’t want to give up having Anita at home) but she decided to give St. Monica Academy a try this year as a 7th grader. So far, she seems to be set to take over Jack’s mantle as unofficial mayor of SMA, earning First Honors, the Citizenship Award, and playing on the league championship team in volleyball. Her little sisters made a large sign to cheer her on at the game. It read: “Let’s go SMAnita!” 

Frankie (10) has been angling to go to St. Monica Academy since Jack started there when Frankie was 3, and Mom, considering a Tierney Family School with Frankie as Head Boy, decided that he could go with Anita this year, as a 5th grader. He loves it. His team was second in the league in flag football. He brought home a “gold slip” for good behavior that indicated that “Franas Tierney” had closed the classroom cabinets without being asked. We can only conclude that our Francis knocked over this Franas kid and took his gold slip, so we’re going to have a talk with him about that.

Lulu (8) has proudly taken up the mantle of Head Girl from Anita. They had a little changing of the guard ceremony and everything. In the car, driving around Lake Arrowhead, she led her siblings in an impromptu concert of classic Thanksgiving songs like “This Little Turkey of Mine,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Turkey,” “You’re a Grand Old Turkey,” and “How Much is That Turkey in the Window.” Since the Christmas Card photos were taken she has lost both of her two front teeth, but the family vetoed Mom’s suggestion that we drive back to Lake Arrowhead for reshoots.

Midge (6) has finally put an end to the chicken massacres we’ve faced since moving to the coyote-wilds of Altadena. Midge has taken over chicken duties, and she remembers to lock them in their coop every night, which turns out to have been the main problem. She has leveled up in her telephone habits since last year. Then, she would chat up incoming callers. Now, she’s discovered that there is such a thing as outgoing calls and can often be found standing at our vintage rotary-dial phone in the living room, deciding whom she might like to call next.

George (4) is such a little firecracker. The residual slight unsteadiness from his meningitis manifests rather adorably in his losing his balance and compensating with a superhero landing pose. A consequence of his older siblings practicing for Les Mis at home is that he now enthusiastically sings lines like, “Look down, look down, you’re standing in your grA-AVE!” Most nights at dinner, he tells us original jokes like, “What did the eyeball say to the whipped cream?” Don’t know the answer? Neither does he. But he listens to suggestions from the table until he hears one he likes.

Barbara (2) met Jack at the door on a laundry visit home and said, “Hi Jack, change my diaper.” So he did. George’s godparents gifted him a 3-foot-tall hard plastic Spider-man doll that Barbara took a liking to and began to carry/drag with her around the house. Lulu and Midge decided to make things official with a little playroom ceremony and Barbara now refers to him as “Pider-man husband.” She has a habit of adding “y”s to phrases, so volleyball is “volly bolly” and oatmeal “oaty mealie.” Like most Tierney two-year-olds she likes to “do it aself,” which is usually great but sometimes results in three stitches in the forehead. Fortunately, her dad works at an Urgent Care. 

We pray that the end of 2021 finds you well in body and soul, and for a happy, healthy, faithful, and prosperous 2022 for all.

Love and Christmas wishes to all of you from the Tierneys,

Jim, Kendra, Jack, Betty, Bobby, Gus, Anita, Frankie, Lulu, Midge, George, and Barbara

P.S. Thanks so much for being part of the Catholic All Year Community. Memberships and subscriptions and the reach of this blog have all grown beyond what I ever could have imagined. I’m grateful to be able to be a resource for you and your domestic church. And I look forward to keeping it up in the new year! Please keep my family and all the CAY team members (Grace, Emily, Sophia, Micaela, Ashley, Elissa, Damien, Renee, Nik, Nate, Nathan, Jack, and Bobby) in your prayers.

P.P.S. If you’re looking for a fun and meaningful family tradition for tonight, tomorrow, or anytime during the Christmas season, I highly recommend an At-Home Nativity Play! Grab the script here, and see for yourself how amusingly imperfect it can be here.

You might also enjoy the Hymns and Carols for Advent and Christmas Printable Booklet and this Spotify Gramblewood Christmas playlist, including all those song and more.

The post Merry Christmas from the Tierneys, 2021 appeared first on Catholic All Year.

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 update on Tierney family goings on in 2020.

Photos by Noemy O’Hara.

Dear Family and Friends,

Our last card was all about what an unusual and challenging year it was for us. That was 2019, of course. We are glad to report that things have been more familiar in 2020: homeschooling, working from home, hanging out with family, liturgical living and building up the domestic church, RV vacations, backyard homesteading, complicated crafting projects, baking from scratch . . . so glad things have gotten back to normal around here. <wink>

In March, just before COVID-19 shutdowns began, we went to Memphis, TN to celebrate Kendra’s grandmother’s 100th birthday. Nini’s three children and their spouses, five grandchildren and their spouses, and sixteen great-grandchildren were all in attendance, along with other beloved friends and family members. It was a wonderful weekend, with food and fun, and Nini regaling us with stories about the produce man with cart and horse who delivered their vegetables, and the time her headlights went out in the middle of nowhere in a terrible fog and a guy in a beat up old truck mysteriously appeared, and he was definitely a car mechanic and possibly also an angel.

A month after her birthday party, on the feast of Divine Mercy, Nini got dressed in a smart pantsuit, watched Mass on TV, said the Rosary, lay down for a nap, and passed away peacefully in her sleep in the home of her son. Praise God for a happy death. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Anita Falls Pharr, and for all the faithful departed.

We did a family RV trip in July that covered two weeks, over 2,500 miles, a half dozen National and State Parks in the Pacific Northwest including Crater Lake, Mt. Rainier, Olympic, beaches in Washington and Oregon, Redwoods, Golden Gate, and Pinnacles, and two ER visits—for a broken elbow when mom fell out the door of the (parked) RV and a cut finger sustained by Frankie while scrambling over some rocks. The ERs were fine, the trip was great, the scenery was extraordinary, and so was the company.

We followed that up with a Thanksgiving getaway to Joshua Tree National Park, where we hiked, rock climbed, relaxed, enjoyed family meals and board games, and put up with taking family photos.

Jim has been working twelve hour COO days since last spring as Exer Urgent Care navigated an initial slowdown followed by an explosion of months of record-setting business and new clinic openings. It’s been taxing, but he’s grateful to have a good job with a good company doing its best to serve during these crazy times. His treatments are going well, with manageable side-effects and a run of “no change” scans which isn’t as good “miraculously cured” but we’ll take it. 

Kendra is living out her dystopian YA novel fantasy of being the “Chosen One” who had been unknowingly preparing for fifteen years to be ready for this crisis. We’ve never been more grateful for the Catholic liturgical living in the home traditions that have given our days and seasons order and meaning and so much joy. She’s been tapped to share about them at one million online conferences and Zoom presentations, as well as on radio shows and in newspapers, so you’ve probably already heard. Having studied enough saints’ lives to know that plagues and pandemics are the rule not the exception, she never uses the word “unprecedented.” Her newest book, O Come Emmanuel: Advent Reflections on the Jesse Tree for Families was just released to excellent reviews. She had surgery on her broken elbow, and bought a giant home laser-cutter against the better judgement of everyone in the house, including herself.

Jack (18) has not had the 2020 he imagined. After an all-virtual end to his senior year, he graduated from St. Monica Academy and was able to have a modified in-person Mass and diploma ceremony. This year he is a freshman at the elite Viterbi School of Engineering at USC (mom’s Alma Mater), although “at” is a bit misleading, as he attends from his/dad’s office upstairs and has been to the campus exactly once ever. He’s also doing Marine ROTC, which means he puts on little shorts and does pullups in our yard while on Facetime. He’s always been a “run towards danger” kind of guy, so as soon as in person classes were cancelled in the spring, he got a job bagging groceries (the sign out front said they were heroes) and has since leveled up to overseer of the COVID testing wait line at Exer (he gets to wear scrubs and everything, also very heroic). He’s disappointed to have missed out on in-person classes and friendships, but—if pressed—will admit that having a pigtailed baby sister to peek in your door with a drooly grin during your classes is pretty great. 

Betty (16) is a licensed driver! When the DMVs finally reopened, we got the first available behind the wheel test, which was in tiny Delano, CA . . . over two hours away in the central valley. But she passed with flying colors and does the drive to St. Monica Academy’s twice-a-week day camp four times a week, twice for her and Bob, and twice for Gus. She’s gotten her accidents out of the way quickly, running over a side-of-the-road ladder and into our front gate (but, to be fair, mom did that too this year). She’s a great baker, an expert doer of little sisters’ hair, and practices to become a nurse by patching up cuts on siblings.

Bobby (15) is just barely shorter than dad, but he’s going to keep trying. He successfully harvested over a gallon of honey from his beehive this summer. On a hunting trip to Iowa, he and Uncle Bryan bagged a deer within two hours of his arrival in the state. He also got a couple pheasants. Along with Betty, Gus, and Anita, he was confirmed by Bishop Barron. He is writing, directing, and starring in a top secret science-fiction film that he can’t tell us any more about. 

Gus (13) also got some pheasants this year, but, alas, no deer. He is working on a science fair project that involves making homemade rocket fuel, was elected 8th grade class president, and won the taste division of the Tierney Family Bake Off this year with a homemade strawberry cake. He’s been rejoicing in having finally become a (as we like to say) “stinkin’ teenager” and so be allowed to drink caffeine, watch PG-13 movies, and have a Kindle. 

Anita (11) got to trick-or-treat on Halloween with cousins and visit the graves of all four Chicago great-grandparents on the feast of All Souls, when she and Barbara accompanied mom on a work trip. She’s also helping mom develop recipes (and actually write them down for once) for an upcoming cookbook. She requested the role of Herod in the homeschool group Nativity Play, so as to be able to employ her evil laugh. 

Frankie (9) is very . . . Frankie. His favorite pastimes are science, drawing, doting on his baby sister, and tormenting his other sisters. But also, he unhesitatingly jumped into the water to rescue George, who had lost his balance and fallen in while trying to help get the pool net off. So . . . he ended the year in the plus column.

Lulu (7) prayed very hard that Jack would not go away to college. Sorry about the global pandemic, everyone, but . . . mission accomplished. She received her First Holy Communion in a private Mass in our home chapel. She and Midge are pretty much joined at the hip, and their favorite thing is a long-running joke with dad wherein they call him a “doodlebongos” and try to trick him into responding, thus proving that he is a doodlebongos, and he does the same to them. They were in a years-long stalemate until Lulu fell for the old “doodlebongos says what?” trick, and she might never live it down.

Midge (5) is in charge of answering the home phone, since it’s almost always a robot or a sales call and she’s great at hanging up on robots, and telephone sales people seem to think they shouldn’t sell stuff to five-year-olds. When it is a real person, she’ll have a little chat with the caller before passing the phone on, whether it’s gramma or the dentist’s office or one of her teenaged brothers’ friends. She owns thirty-seven chapsticks and is NOT a doodlebongos.

George (3) is once again allowed to go in the big trampoline, as he passed the one year mark since his discharge from the hospital, a milestone for which he waited impatiently. He’s still a bit unsteady on his feet after his bout with meningitis but he has made great progress in his physical and occupational therapy sessions. He likes to make up songs about what he happens to be doing in the moment. Our favorite so far is “Walkin’ on the trail, walkin’ on the trail. 1, 2, 3, 4! Walkin’ on the trail!”

Barbara (1) is a darling baby, unless you are George. To the rest of the family, she gives sloppy kisses and beaming smiles. George, she likes to shove out of chairs and take his lunch money. Fortunately, he’s very forgiving. She walks all over the place and chatters all the time, and has names for all the kids. When we tried to convince her that she couldn’t call both dad AND Jack “dada” she compromised by calling Jack “jah-da” instead. She calls Frankie “gang-KEE!” as she has somehow gotten the impression that his name must be shouted.

We pray that the end of 2020 finds you well in body and soul, and for a happy, healthy, faithful, and prosperous 2021 for all.

Love and Christmas wishes to all of you from the Tierneys,

Jim, Kendra, Jack, Betty, Bobby, Gus, Anita, Frankie, Lulu, Midge, George, and Barbara

P.S. If you’re looking for a fun and meaningful family tradition for tonight, tomorrow, or anytime during the Christmas season, I highly recommend an At-Home Nativity Play! Grab the script here, and see for yourself how amusingly imperfect it can be here.

You might also enjoy the Hymns and Carols for Advent and Christmas Printable Booklet and this Spotify Gramblewood Christmas playlist, including all those song and more.

The post Merry Christmas from the Tierneys, 2020 appeared first on Catholic All Year.

On the current liturgical calendar, Christmas itself is an octave that runs from Evening Prayers on Christmas Eve through the eve of the solemnity of Epiphany, and the Christmas liturgical season runs through the Baptism of the Lord (usually the next Sunday). Then it becomes Ordinary Time. But on the pre-1969 calendar, rather than a period of ordinary time between Christmas and Lent, there was Christmas, then “time after Epiphany,” then “pre-Lent,” then Lent. This time after Epiphany, while technically ordinary time with green vestments, was considered to be part of the Christmas “cycle” before the Lent cycle began. Candlemas on February 2nd marked the transition between the two, and meant that it was the really, no kidding, last day to take down your Christmas decorations and start your pre-game for Lent. Today, some folks leave out just their nativity sets, as a nod to the Christmas cycle of old, until Candlemas. That’s what we like to do.

So, with that rather meager justification, I will go ahead and share the Tierney Family Christmas card with you fine folks now, in case you didn’t get the paper version (which DID go out during the octave!).

Stay tuned after the card for a bit MORE on Candlemas!

Dear Family and Friends,

When it rains, it pours, or so the saying goes. The last couple of months have been rather a downpour, so it seemed perfectly appropriate when the day we scheduled to take this year’s photo was the same! 2019 began with a pretty usual amount of chaos around here, Jim was continuing his work as COO of Exer Urgent Care, as a member of the board of St. Monica Academy, and as a blogger and expert dad podcaster. Kendra was growing a baby, writing and publishing a series of monthly prayer booklets and liturgical living videos, and heading up the Tierney Family Homeschool. 

Baby Barbara Josephine arrived on September 4th, missing by two days the opportunity to be born on her due date AND on Labor Day, which probably bothered her mother more than it should have. But other than that, all was well, and we managed to come home from the hospital the day she was born. She accompanied mom on a little public speaking tour and an appearance on EWTN. Her older siblings had school and sports and theater and time outs and playing outside and bee keeping and chicken wrangling and needing haircuts and not being able to find shoes. Pretty standard stuff. Then came November. <Insert ominous music.> 

Wednesday the 6th, George seemed a bit under the weather. Thursday the 7th, he couldn’t keep anything down, so that afternoon we took him to Exer. They sent us to the ER. The whole way, all his mother could think about was how very inconvenient it was to have to go to the ER when surely they’d just tell us he had a stomach bug and send us home. Instead they admitted him to intensive care and ordered a lumbar puncture. He was determined to have meningitis. Meningitis is really a location, and can be caused by many different infections. George’s infection was bacterial, and the bacteria were Haemophilus influenzae, also known as H. flu. This is NOT what we know as “the flu,” that’s a virus.

The most common strain of H. flu is b. He has been fully vaccinated against that strain with the Hib vaccine. But his was caused by type a. H. flu type a is not uncommon, and it’s likely that any of us have it in our noses at any given time. If it does cause an infection, it’s usually of the ears or sinuses. George had the bad luck to have it cross the blood brain barrier and infect the lining of his brain. He had a full course of IV antibiotics, some serious pain killers, and a very moving anointing, but it was over a week before he was able to eat or talk. After another week he was over the infection, but still weak and suffering from a lack of balance and coordination. He was transferred to another hospital for three weeks of inpatient rehab.

During the course of George’s five week hospital stay we had two sets of grandparents and two aunts come to stay with us to help. We had friends drive big kids to events and home from school, and entertain middle kids at their homes and ours. We had meals delivered and rosaries said for us for 37 days straight. We had priests and godparents and friends visit us in the hospital. We were supported with love and prayers from friends and strangers all over the world. We will always be in the debt of all of you. Thank you so much and may God reward you.

Jack (17) is a senior this year, and was elected student body president with the slogan “Tierney is the best form of government.” He participated in the USNA Summer Seminar, and hopes to attend as a midshipman in the fall. He is on the basketball and baseball teams, sings in the Schola, played Jonathan Brewster/Freddy Kruger in a slightly 80s Arsenic and Old Lace and the title role in Julius Caesar, was recognized as a Coolidge Senator by the Calvin Coolidge Foundation, and can do pushups with four younger siblings on his back. If you’ll allow a moment of sappiness in his last year at home, he is a very good young man, and a credit to his family and community.

Betty (15) is a candy striper at Huntington Hospital, which is especially convenient since we spend so much time there anyway. She was a summer camp counselor, sings in the Schola, was in both plays, and helped found the SMA Yell Crew this year. Upon presenting herself at the DMV to get her learner’s permit, it was determined that she should get glasses instead, but she talked her parents into contacts.

Bobby (14) made the varsity practice squad for basketball and the team for baseball and is the freshman class representative. He was murdered in Julius Caesar (but who wasn’t?). After getting his hunting license, he bagged two pheasants on a hunting trip with Uncle Bryan. He wears prescription pants. As in, the only school approved uniform supply shop doesn’t make pants in 28×34, so dad got a doctor friend to write him a prescription for non-approved pants.

Gus (12) also got his hunting license, but, alas, no pheasants. He headed this summer’s family lemonade stand business, netting over $800. He played flag football and basketball and had solos in two middle school choir performances. He is just charming enough to get himself back out of trouble with his teachers.

Anita (10) is still living the dream as head girl of the Tierney Family School. She will happily wear any visiting baby offered to her, and has an excellent record of getting them to sleep. She performed in two CTK plays, and was slightly disappointed not to have been “discovered” on her trip with mom to the EWTN studios.

Frankie (8) continues to be quite a handful, but is very good with his younger siblings. He really enjoyed his visiting days in the hospital with George, and, when George couldn’t yet sit up, Frankie came up with a knocking toy soldiers over with a ball game that impressed the hospital physical therapists. He made a dozen model St. Francises out of melty beads for this year’s Fiat Conference, then walked around the yard inquiring for attendees with sons named Francis and insinuated that the religious upbringing of said sons would be in danger without one of the models. It was an effective sales technique.

Lulu (6) has to be restrained from sitting down and doing the whole year of math worksheets in one go, which has made getting caught up on school work much easier than it would have been otherwise. She’s dear and sunny and sweet. She’s the family’s best sleeper, unloader of the dishwasher, and team Jack cheerleader.

Mary Jane (4) enjoys “cuddling” by which she means being within one foot of a person. At a Halloween party we attended as a family, she announced, “We’ve had enough candy, and it’s time to go home.” Her favorite schooltime activity is cutting pieces of paper into much smaller pieces of paper.

George (2) was a very good sport about his hospitalization, but also, ya know, was two. Occupational Therapist: Reach forward and get that sticker. George: You can do it. OT: It’s therapy, *you’re* supposed to do it. George: <looking at sticker> It’s not therapy. It’s Spider-Man. He’s made great progress, and is sitting well on his own, and walking well with assistance. We don’t expect him to have long term effects from his illness.

Barbara (3 months) didn’t note the irony of being hustled out of the hospital hours after her birth only to spend over a third of her life in two others. She also wasn’t able to appreciate the kind of compliments that medical professionals give out. Neurologist: What a cute baby. She has such good eye contact. Physical Therapist: What a cute baby. She has such good head control. We all think she’s pretty great too.

Love and Christmas wishes to all of you from the Tierneys,

Jim, Kendra, Jack, Betty, Bobby, Gus, Anita, Frankie, Lulu, Midge, George, and Barbara

P.S. Speaking of Candlemas . . .

Candlemas / the Presentation of the Lord is coming up on Feb 2nd! Here’s a quick look at what we do to celebrate, from a video we made last year. Candlelight makes everything seem fancy.

The Catholic All February prayer booklet is available as a printable here.

And as a paperback here.

I get our 51% beeswax candles here. 51% beeswax is NOT required for religious use in the home, and they’re definitely pricier than standard candles, but they smell lovely and last longer, and I like that they feel special. A box of 36 tapers lasts us through candlelight dinners all year.

Ignatius has been generous enough to sponsor these videos! The Ignatius Press coupon code CAY1219 for 25% off Jesse Box components is good through the end of Feb. Check out this very cool set for a great way to introduce kids to stories from the Bible in an interactive way. More info on the Jesse Box here.

Okay, that’s it for tonight. Fingers crossed for an uneventful home life and more time for blogging in 2020!

The post A Tierney Christmas Card Which is Late by All Metrics but One, aka Praise God for Candlemas appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Also at the bottom, a liturgical living heads up (MANY possible indulgences are coming!), and a little something I’ve been working on over Christmas break.

Fun fact: When Jim and Kendra were dating, they took an improv class together. Memorable moments included the time they “won” the class with their portrayal of a disaffected vacuum cleaner (her) and frustrated carpet owner (him), the one word at a time story (still fun on long car trips), and Yay/Boo. This was kind of a Yay/Boo year for the Tierneys.

We made lots of progress on the house, including designing and executing a painted home chapel, an Adam and Eve-themed laundry closet (after all, laundry IS their fault), and a yard that now features actual green grass and plants! Yay!

The house is not done. It still needs new flooring and bathrooms and a roof, and more work on the chapel, and all the paint and tools that Kendra used to store in the chapel now live in what was supposed to be Jim’s office. Boo!

We went to Ireland! With nine kids and four grandparents! We were particularly excited to attend daily Mass in amazing historic churches, see the storied puffins and monastery of Skellig Michael, enjoy the scenic Slea Head Drive, climb Croagh Patrick as a family, make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Knock, and stay two nights in an actual no-kidding 15th-century stone tower-house castle. Yay!

They don’t seem to DO daily Mass in Ireland anymore. Boo! But the churches were still lovely. You may have heard that it rains a lot in Ireland. This is not an exaggeration. Our puffins and monastery and scenic drive and Croagh Patrick climb were all thwarted by crazy amounts of rain. Boo! But Jack, Bobby, and Kendra did make it to the top of the mountain, and the trip overall and especially Knock and Ross Castle were just extraordinary, and it was such a blessing to be able to experience it all with family.

We went to Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest for Thanksgiving in an RV! Yay! It rained on us there, too. Boo! But it was still amazing, and Nana cooked and served a very impressive Thanksgiving dinner complete with china dinner service, in the tiny RV kitchen.

Jim started a blog! Yay! It’s a xxxxxx blog. Boo! We were all pretty bummed to learn, ten years after we thought all this xxxxxxxx stuff was behind us, that the xxxxxx has been sneakily hard at work this whole time, and expanding operations to include lungs and tracheas. But there really is more yay than boo here. He is in a xxxxxxxx xxxxx, to which he is responding well. Most yay of all, so far he has experienced zero side effects from the xxxxxx or the treatment. Jim’s blog has been a source of inspiration to many and of conversion to a few! To find it click through here (it’s not searchable). He also started a podcast called The Dad Project, available wherever pods are cast. He was invited to serve on the St. Monica Academy Board, and still manages to hold down a job, somehow. If you want a free flu shot at Exer, let him know.

Kendra threw a successful Catholic women’s conference in the backyard for over 200 attendees! Yay! It ALSO poured rain on the conference. Boo! (Next project: build an ark.) Thanks be to God, a friend donated a last-minute tent to cover the tennis court, and all were cozy and dry.

Kendra published her newest book, The Catholic All Year Compendium, to great acclaim! Yay! Such great acclaim that the first printing sold out before the book was even released, and two months and 14,000 copies later, Amazon still can’t figure out how to keep it in stock in their warehouses. Boo! She continues to homeschool and homemake and hang out on her blog and social media platforms, and is currently upping her YouTube game with liturgical living videos.

Jack (16) became a licensed driver last summer, and, to his mother’s great delight, has taken over school driving and grocery shopping. He got a job in construction over summer break, and managed some Honeymooners-level complaining about work, before he had to get back to complaining about school. He informs us that his least favorite moms are Mary Todd Lincoln, Joyce Byers from Stranger Things, and Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. When pressed, he adds that his favorite moms are Jesus’, Beowulf’s, and his own. He made his Confirmation this year, at a Tridentine Mass, with the slap and everything. He made his pub singing debut, bringing down the house in Dublin with his rendition of “By the Rising of the Moon.” He celebrated with a beer afterwards, as he’s the kind of guy who finds out that you can legally drink beer in a pub in Ireland at sixteen if you’re with your parents. He’s playing baseball and basketball for SMA, working on becoming an Eagle Scout, singing in the Schola choir, and Shakespearing it up as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and King Hamlet’s Ghost in Hamlet.

Betty (14) is a freshman in high school! She never wanted to leave her tiny, Harry Potter-themed room in Ross Castle. She likes baking fancy stuff she saw on The Great British Baking Show, singing along to Broadway musicals, being on the volleyball team, and spending time with good friends and good books. She amazed herself and everyone else in the family by earning an “A” in math. She is an enthusiastic member of the Schola, and appeared in the chorus of both of the SMA Shakespeare plays.

Bobby (13) makes three teenagers in the Tierney house. He dressed as a Mall Santa for career day at school, and won crazy hair day with his shaved-in tonsure. He was awarded most improved actor for his role as Marcellus in Hamlet, in which he got to say the famous line: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” He played flag football and basketball at school, and is an altar server. Bobby asked for new chicks for his birthday last year, and bees this year. He currently has sixteen chickens and many thousand bees, and is a member of the Los Angeles Beekeepers Association. He caught a baby opossum that he found wandering in the yard, but mom and dad wouldn’t let him keep it. His attempt at backyard falconry with the local Cooper’s Hawks is still in the planning stages.

Gus (11) is in his first year at St. Monica Academy. He won “Most Patriotic” and was given the Ironman award for 6th grade physical fitness at summer camp. He played flag football and is an altar server, and is the family’s “Most Likely to Set Up Catan.” For his birthday, he asked for a nice suit and some “real” shoes, and he had to blow out eleven candles’ worth of candelabras because mom didn’t have any birthday candles in the house. He likes toting his baby brother around in any circumstance in which it might be noticed and commented upon. He up and made a cherry pie from scratch.

Anita (9) is preparing for her upcoming role as Tinkerbell in the Christ the King Homeschool play by writing and directing short productions at home including a recent very dramatic adaptation of Pyramus and Thisbe. Last year’s tooth troubles continue, but she was St. Apollonia for All Saints’ Day, so that’s got to help. She’s doing an excellent job as Head Girl of the Tierney Family School, ushering in an era of more colorful uniforms and plenty of oversight of her fellow students.

Frankie (7) might still favor the little devil on his shoulder when he finds himself with time on his hands, but since his first confession he’s getting better at keeping himself busy. He spent months making melty bead saints, and sold out of them at mom’s conference in twenty minutes. He made his First Holy Communion at the chapel at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock. When he announced his recent communion to the lady behind the counter of a coffee shop, he was rewarded with ten euros and a whole pie. He’s only got one shadow day left before he makes full altar server status at St. Therese.

Lulu (5) is a kindergartner this year. Her likes include sleeping in, illustrating Bible stories, listening to Beatrix Potter, and helping Jack with his homework. Her dislikes include dogs, and pretty much all other animals, but really, really dogs. Her big achievement of 2018 was staying up until midnight for Catholic New Year’s Eve (the night before Advent starts) when JACK didn’t! She and Midge are the very best of friends, and almost always get along. She has also been know to play with Frankie for entire afternoons without punching him. But other times she does.

Midge (3) took a passport photo in which she looks hilariously suspicious of the undertaking. Bobby let her name two of his hens. They are Cinderella and Chicken Pot Pie. For the All Saints’ Day pageant, she dressed up as St. Frances of Rome, or, as Midge calls her, St. Frances the Girl. She’s growing out of all her hilarious toddlerspeak. We miss “puh-partment” for apartment the most. But at least she still says opa-mule for oatmeal.

George (1) is almost always all smiles. (Except on picture day.) He insists on giving Jesus on the crucifix in his room (<cough> storage closet <cough>) a “tiss” every morning, before requesting to go downstairs for a “food snack” (weirdly literal, no?). He adores and is adored by all his siblings, and enjoys walking around with a toy phone saying, “Hi, Lulu. Bye, Lulu.” He likes biting people, but he usually asks first, and you can say no.

We are grateful for your prayers for the coming year, and we’ll keep the guest room pillows fluffed for you! Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

With Love, Jim, Kendra, Jack, Betty, Bobby, Gus, Anita, Frankie, Lulu, Midge, and George

Happy Feast of the Holy Family! We Catholics have a few important opportunities coming up, beginning on December 31st. There’s a plenary indulgence available (pursuant to the usual conditions, more on indulgences here) when the Te Deum is recited publicly (meaning in a church, family, religious community, or group of friends) on December 31st, in thanksgiving for the year. There’s also the hymn, Holy God We Praise Thy Name, which is an adaptation of the prayer. Next up is New Year’s Day, which is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and is a Holy Day of Obligation in many countries including the US and Canada. A partial indulgence is available for reciting the Litany of Loreto on this (or any) day. Since it’s also New Year’s Day, there is also a plenary indulgence available when the Veni Creator Spiritus is recited or sung. I’ve linked to the prayers here if you want to click through.

If, however, you’re like me and prefer to have your prayers on paper, I’ve created a printable booklet of ALL the prayers, songs, Bible readings, and devotions that we use throughout the month of January, including the Golden Arrow Prayer, which we’ll be adding to the end of Grace Before Meals all month (for the first time!) in honor of the month of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Check it out here. I hope you’ll find it helpful!

Updated to add: It’s now also available as a paperback book on Amazon! They approved it super fast and it’s available for prime shipping, so you could have it in hand by the Feast of the Holy Name!

The post Merry Christmas From the Tierneys! appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Liturgical nerd details to follow, feel free to skip these next two paragraphs if that’s not you.

Before the 1969 liturgical calendar revisions, Christmas was an octave that went from December 25-January 1 (the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God), each day of Christmas was a solemnity, as is the case with the Easter octave. Christmastide went all the way to twelfth night, January 5th. January 6th was Epiphany, which was its own octave, and (until 1955) the celebration of Epiphany included the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. Epiphanytide lasted until Candlemas (the Feast of the Presentation) on February 2nd. After Candlemas, the holidays were considered over and it was time to prepare for Lent.

Now, in the Latin Church, Christmas is one Solemnity: December 25, and is an octave, but not an octave of solemnities. This is to preserve the celebrations of the liturgies of the feast days that fall during the octave: St. Stephen, St. John, and the Holy Innocents. Under the new liturgical calendar, in order to emphasize Sunday and Solemnity Masses and the readings that go with them, those celebrations supercede lesser feast days. A saint’s day that falls on a Sunday or during the Easter octave only gets bumped every seven years, since Easter moves, but those Christmas octave feasts would get bumped every year. (All it really means for us at home is no Christmas meat Friday. ) Epiphany is now celebrated on the Sunday after January 1st. Christmastide extends right past Epiphany to the Baptism of the Lord, which is its own feast day, the Sunday after Epiphany, or the Monday after Epiphany if Epiphany is celebrated on January 7th or 8th. The Christmas season ends with the Baptism of the Lord.

tl;dr: Epiphany is tomorrow and it’s still Christmas until Monday!

Which is why it’s totally fine that I’m sharing our Christmas card with you guys today. (Epiphany celebration details to follow). I did get them out in the mail before Christmas, them promptly got the flu, followed by a sinus infection and was basically out of commission from December 20th-31st. The rest of the family got the flu too, but not as badly. Fortunately we’re all recovered now! Then, I finished our homeschool group yearbook (for 2016-2017 ) and FINALLY got a chance to work on edits on the liturgical living in the home book. Whew. So no blogging. But now that’s done so here’s a wrap up of our year . . .

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s that time of year again! And what a crazy year it’s been. We’ve got a new baby and a new job in the family, and a lot of new paint on a very old house. We did some of the same stuff, like family trips to Disneyland and the national parks (this year was Arches, Yellowstone, and Sequoia) and never-before-done stuff like a depressed skull fracture and an ambulance ride. We keep it interesting.

Bobby (12): He also likes SMA, and has claimed the positions of runner up class clown, and honorary bell choir captain. He continues to be our family class clown, but his jokes don’t really translate to Christmas card summary form. You kinda have to be there. He played on the flag football and basketball teams, and forgot his sweater for school Mass approximately twenty-seven times. He loves Narnia, and Middle Earth, and Hogwarts, and Galaxies Far Far Away. He is the proud owner of 150 carpenter ants, and 22 chickens. One of his favorite pastimes is getting bossed around by two-year-old Midge, who especially likes him to move her little stool and little chair (both) around at her direction during family rosaries.

Gus (10): Gus is relishing his role as man of the house during the day, and is the first Tierney Family School student to figure out that if you just sit down and get your schoolwork done, there’s a whole rest of the day for doing whatever you want. Which turns out to be mostly melty-beads. Seriously, does anyone want some melty-bead creations? We have some. He and Bobby are altar servers at St. Therese, so now the rest of us can fit in one pew again. He got to go away to camp for the first time this summer, and subbed in on the SMA football team when they were short players. He was Edmund in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol. He’s taken up the mantle of Jack’s neighborhood trash can business, mostly to feed his melty-bead habit. He continues to charm his way out of trouble, most of the time.

And here’s George’s birth announcement, which went out with the Christmas card, which I think is totally legit.

And now on to Epiphany celebrations! Here’s what we’re doing:

1. Our Christmas decorations are still up! There are no official rules or mandates or anything, but it’s Catholic tradition to leave Christmas decorations up until twelfth night at least. The Vatican Christmas tree stays up through the Baptism of the Lord. Since we’re having a party tonight, and I missed so much of Christmas being sick, we’re going to wait to take down the tree and the Christmas decorations until Monday. ( . . . or maybe next weekend?) The nativity sets stay out until Candlemas on February 2nd. Then they get put away along with all the various books and knick knacks that accidentally got left out when I put Christmas away the first time.

2. Tonight, we’re hosting an international potluck dinner! The three Wise Men are traditionally understood to have come from different continents: Europe (Melchior), Asia (Caspar) and Africa (Balthasar), so our guests are bringing a favorite international food, egg rolls or empanadas or ravioli, or whatever so that our dinner spread will be as universal as our Catholic/catholic faith.

3. Tonight, the kids will put their shoes out by the front door, and leave some grass or lettuce out for the camels. The three Kings will leave a few little treats in the shoes: gold coins, maybe smarties because they’re wise, or milky way bars because they look to the stars. The camels will eat their grass, and leave behind camel spit (which looks a lot like a beaten egg white).

4. Tomorrow, the kids will find the treats in their shoes, and the camel spit, and see that the travelling Wise Men have finally arrived at the nativity set, after spending the days since Christmas wandering around the house under the cover of night. (This is why it’s nice to keep the nativity sets out until Candlemas, the Wise Men JUST got there!)

5. We’ll have a King Cake. I like to use three packages of canned cinnamon roll dough, layer them in a bundt cake pan, top it with the frosting that comes in the package, and yellow, green, and purple sprinkles. When we had fewer people I used fewer packages of dough.

The period of ordinary time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday is King Cake season. You can have King Cake anytime during that period, but not before or after. And the rule is, if you find the baby Jesus in there (or bean or ring) you’re in charge of bringing the King Cake to the next gathering.

One of the kids will find the prize in the cake and get to be the King or Queen of Epiphany. They choose a consort (boys choose a queen to be the sub-ruler, girls choose a king), and if a preschooler finds the prize s/he chooses a regent to help rule. The King or Queen gets to pick our meals (from what we have in the house) and the activities and entertainment (within reason) and assign chores (without being a bully about it). And during meals, anytime the primary ruler takes a drink we all announce “The King is drinking! The King is drinking!” (or Queen) and everyone else takes a drink.

6. We’ll Chalk the Door and do an Epiphany House Blessing! I use the instructions and prayer found here. Some parishes give out blessed chalk, or you can bring some yourself and ask Father to bless it after Mass, or the head of the household can bless it at home. Afterwards, just bury the extra chalk. Since it’s blessed, it shouldn’t go back into the chalk box.

7. We’ll listen to this song. How is this the first year I’ve heard it?!?

And that’s that! Merry Christmas and Happy Epiphany and Happy New Year! Here’s hoping there’s more blogging around here is 2018.

The post How (and When) we Celebrate Epiphany, and Why This Christmas Card is Definitely Not Too Late appeared first on Catholic All Year.

I’ve only been asked if our family does the Elf on the Shelf a couple times, and I’ve just replied that we don’t without going into a lot of detail about why. But in the most recent instance, the wording of the question really got me thinking about WHY we don’t do Elf on the Shelf, even though I’m in general a proponent of quirky holiday fun and even of baptizing secular traditions.

The question:

We haven’t really ever done much to observe Advent, but my kids are getting old enough to appreciate traditions, so I’m hoping to start some this year. They have friends who do the Elf on the Shelf, and so I looked it up. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but the idea of an elf watching you and reporting back to Santa seems like it doesn’t match up with Catholic Advent. Am I off base here? Will my kids be missing out on something fun? Do Catholics need the Elf on the Shelf? Is there something we could do instead?  -Angie

The Answer:

I love how you put this question, Angie. Because we don’t do the Elf on the Shelf, but I’ve never taken the time to formulate exactly WHY. Your question really has the two reasons why. First: the Elf on the Shelf just doesn’t quite line up with what we teach our children about the world and the saints and Christmas, and second: we Catholics have so many other fun things to do that we DON’T really need the Elf on the Shelf to have a fun and whimsical Christmas.

Back story: the Elf on the Shelf is an American pre-Christmas “tradition” developed in 2004 by a couple ladies who wanted to sell you a book. Now, as a lady who has appropriated/rediscovered/made up quite a few traditions myself, and who has written a book about them, that’s not necessarily a problem for me. But while our family liturgical year traditions, old and new, have their roots in our ancient Catholic faith and their goal is to entertain and catechize . . . the Elf on the Shelf is a spy and a tattletale, and his goal is to intimidate children into good behavior (and probably to get you to buy more elf stuff).

The idea is that you buy the picture book and the stuffed elf doll. You set him up somewhere in your house or classroom and each day he watches the kids to see if they’re being naughty, and each night he magically flies off to report to Santa on the day’s doings. He flies back and hides in a new spot, and the kids look for him again each day. Perhaps because we live in a fallen world, he is often found making messes or engaging in acts of questionable taste. And then, of course, you post a photo of it on social media.

In any case, certainly parents and teachers who do the elf thing are just looking to enjoy an entertaining game with their kids in the lead up to Christmas. The elf reporting back to Santa is just an offshoot of the longstanding naughty and nice list. But in our house, that’s not what we emphasize about Santa. We emphasize that Santa, like God, wants us to be good, but we know that we very often are not as good as we mean to be. We need God’s radical mercy and the graces he bestows upon us, undeserved, through the sacraments. I see that reflected in Santa’s desire for our good behavior, but his generosity in spite of our failures.

Rather than some sort of secret police elf spying on them and reporting back to Santa, what my kids actually have is a guardian angel, assigned to each of them by God. That guardian angel functions pretty much in exactly the opposite way as the Elf on the Shelf. Rather than spying on us and ratting us out, our guardian angels guard us and protect us and advocate for us to God the Father.

To me, the Elf on the Shelf is a perfect example of a secular attempt to find the shared community fun of liturgical living. I get where it’s coming from, but it’s all skewed somehow.

In our home during Advent, we do an Advent wreath, and Advent calendars, and Straw for Baby Jesus, we celebrate the feast days of St. Ambrose, and St. Nicholas, and the Immaculate Conception, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, and St. Lucy, and we do a nine day Christmas Novena. It’s PLENTY! I definitely don’t need a whole month of trying to keep up the wacky antics of a snitch elf.

And, in fact, far from being a cultural secular tradition that Catholics might well want to grab up and baptize, the *secretly moving through the house at night* thing . .  is actually predated by a Catholic tradition that existed for generations before the Elf on the Shelf was a whole aisle in Walmart. In the 1955 book The Twelve Days of Christmas by Elsa Chaney, she suggests a tradition that was old then: “If the Wise Men are making their journey to Bethlehem through the house, their resting places may be fixed just before night prayers begin.” (EWTN library)

So that’s how WE do it. Once Advent is over, and Christmas has begun, we do the Traveling Wise Men.

Now, we don’t know much about the Wise Men with any sort of historical accuracy. However, Catholic tradition is that there were three, and that they were kings from Asia, Africa, and Europe, and that they were called Sts. Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.

Despite what your kids might think if they’ve seen the movie The Star, it was a common ancient belief that a new star appeared at the time of a ruler’s birth (not before). St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, confirms as the traditional understanding of the Catholic Church, that the magi saw the star as it rose on the night of Jesus’ birth, began to follow it, and were able to travel quickly to their destination with Divine assistance (Summa Theologiae III q.36, a.6, ad 3). Tradition says they arrived on the thirteenth day, January 6th, when we celebrate Epiphany.

So, short story long, in the Catholic tradition, Wise Men depart not at the beginning of Advent, but upon the rising of the Star of Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve, when we put the baby Jesuses in the mangers of our nativity sets, we also put the Wise Men out, but a few feet away and facing in the opposite direction from the Holy Family. Each night, the Wise Men move (they’re following the star, so they prefer to travel by night) until they’ve circled the house (or the yard) and come back to arrive at the nativity set on the morning of Epiphany. Each day the kids get up and look for where the Wise Men have ended up. Occasionally, the Wise Men will forget to move during the night. This can be very troubling to the children. However, it just means that there must have been a sandstorm overnight, or one of the camels was sick, and usually they’ll manage to make their move during the day, but always when no one is watching. Some years there are more sandstorms than others, but, somehow, they always manage to reach their destination on time.

We have acquired quite a few nativity sets over the years. Not ALL the Wise Men get to make the journey. In our house, only the mantle set and the outdoor set move. If the kids want to know why, I just tell them that . . . . I don’t know why. But they are welcome to send their toy Wise Men on a journey if they’d like. Sometimes they do.

I really do enjoy our traveling Wise Men. It’s a fun family game, for a manageable time period. It has been practiced by Catholics for generations, allows us to learn a bit about the traditional Catholic understanding of the Wise Men, and is something that defines the days of Christmastide for us.

Speaking of Liturgical Living . . .

I’ve got a liturgical year wall calendar that features all the feasts and fasts of the Universal Calendar and then some, illustrated with images featuring the traditional Catholic monthly devotions. It’s an easy visual way to bring liturgical living into your home.

As the Church year begins with December, so does the calendar. You get December 2025 through December 2026, thirteen months. Available for purchase here.

Or it’s available as a pdf download here.

Related Reading . . .

The post Do Catholics Need the Elf on the Shelf? appeared first on Catholic All Year.

School starts up again around here today, for better and worse. I do like a break, but . . .

*when Jack was a little guy and he was having trouble with something, he would complain that it had gotten “grambled up.” Somehow, the husband and I turned that into the name of our fictional dream home: Gramblewood. As in, “That renaissance masterpiece would be lovely over the mantle at Gramblewood.” It was always just an inside joke, but when our friends universally demanded that this crazy house have a name, we realized that this is it: our dream home. Our Gramblewood. Let’s hope we don’t gramble it up TOO badly.

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