Here are some of our favorite costumes from past years!

The prizes are as follows:

This year we’ll be giving three winners a free month of the Blessed Tier of our Catholic All Year Membership, plus extra goodies from the CAY Marketplace as prizes–$100 in goods for first prize, $50 in goods for second place, and $25 in goods for third place!

Here’s how to enter . . .

If your kids are dressing up in a Catholic costume for Halloween or All Saints Day share a photo on Instagram and Facebook using #catholiccostume tag @catholicallyear and @kendra_tierney. (If you have a private account, you’ll need to set it to public for the day so I can see your tag.) If you are not a social media type, you can email your photo to me at helpdesk@catholicallyear.com.

We’ll do a round-up post following the close of the contest, which is November 1, 2022 at 11:59PM. By entering you give us permission to share photos on the Catholic All Year blog and social media channels.  Three winners will be selected & announced on November 5! Open worldwide, international winners will win a digital pize.

P.S. The 2025 Liturgical Wall Calendar just dropped in the CAY Marketplace and, you guys, it’s the most beautiful one yet! It has artwork featuring a different liturgical living tradition from each month and we can’t stop looking at it 

Grab one for your home here!

P.S. If you’re a CAY Member your FREE Liturgical Wall Calendar is on the way already! And if you aren’t a member you can learn more and join us here, and we’ll send you a FREE calendar too!

The post 2024 All Saints’ Day Costume Contest appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Another All Saints’ Day has come and gone, and it was amazing to get to see all of the saints that your families chose to dress up as! The Catholic All Year team loved getting to look through each and every costume to choose the winners and honorable mentions. So, without further ado, let’s get to the good part!

The 1st Place Winners – The Blessed Ulma Family

The 2nd Place Winner – St. Joseph of Cupertino

We’re big fans of levitation here!

The 3rd Place Winner – Little Mother Teresa

The Honorable Mentions

Note to honorable mention winners: We decided that you all were so amazing that we couldn’t let you go without a prize too! We’re gifting you three months of our Venerable Level membership to try if you aren’t a current member already! Please contact us at helpdesk@catholicallyear.com to collect your prize.

Saints Peter and Paul

St. George the Dragon Slayer

St. John Bosco

St. Juan Diego, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Thérèse, and St. John Paul II

St. Lucy

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Thomas Aquinas

Amazing tonsures! #welovetoseeit

St. Cecilia

St. Pius X

St. Maximillian Kolbe

St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Alphonsus

St. Clare of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi and St. Michael the Archangel

St. Patrick

St. Teresa of Avila, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Jean Vianney, Pope St. Pius X, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Wenceslaus, Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasatti

St. Damien of Molokai

Shout out to George as St. Michael the Archangel!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!

Our contest winners each received three months of various tiers of the CAY Membership! Want to learn more?

Check out all of the memberships below!

• Doctor of the Church
• Saint
• Blessed
• Venerable

Wondering what to do with your family for the rest of the month of the Poor Souls in Purgatory? We’ve got you covered!

Visit a cemetery to pray for the dead from November 1st-8th to recieve an plenary indulgence that can be applied to the Poor Souls! You can find the prayers for your visit in our Visiting a Cemetery Printable Booklet. Learn more about the requirements for gaining an indulgence for the Poor Souls here.

Decorate for the month of November with this All Saints Banner or this Requiescant in Pace Banner!

Meet some new saintly friends with these brand new saint photo cards and photo album.

The post The 2023 Costume Contest: Winners & Honorable Mentions appeared first on Catholic All Year.

The prizes are as follows:

First place wins three months of a Doctor of the Church level membership!

Second place wins three months of a Saint level membership!

And Third place wins three months of a Blessed level membership!

Any international winners will receive three months of a Venerable level membership!

Here’s how to enter . . .

If your kids are dressing up in a Catholic costume for Halloween or All Saints Day share a photo on Instagram and Facebook using #catholiccostume tag @catholicallyear and @kendra_tierney. (If you have a private account, you’ll need to set it to public for the day so I can see your tag.) If you are not a social media type, you can email your photo to me at helpdesk@catholicallyear.com.

We’ll do a round-up post following the close of the contest, which is November 1, 2022 at 11:59PM. By entering you give us permission to share photos on the Catholic All Year blog and social media channels.  Three winners will be selected & announced on November 2! Open world wide, international winners will win a digital pize.

The post Y’all Ready For This? It’s a CAY All Saints Day Costume Contest! appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Hello,

Thank you for the work you put into your webpage . . . .
I scrolled through the Manual of Indulgences to clarify a question I had about praying the rosary in church. But found that it just states: praying the Rosary IN CHURCH as cause for an indulgence, but doesn’t answer what is meant by “in church.” 

One goes “to church,” meaning, one goes to a service, that’s the typical time one is in church. Do they mean they expect the faithful to be praying the Rosary with others around the time of the service, or can one be praying the Rosary alone in the building? 

Under your listing for “partial indulgences,” it does say, “Recite a Rosary alone,” so that makes me think they did mean with others.

What happens when you are praying the rosary with a group and someone sometimes skips a “Hail Mary,” for example, or I don’t get to say, “May the grace of the Baptism of Our Lord come down upon me.” at the end of each decade? It’s up to the tradition of each parish, right?  . . .  I just feel I can go “deeper” when alone, I’m better able to imagine the mysteries and their meanings because of less distraction.  However, that may not be what Our Lord wants.  So – I know the solution:  pray it twice.

In any case, do you have any comments for me?    

1.) To receive an indulgence one has to devoutly recite the Creed and the Our Father during the “visit”. Would that be outside of saying them within the Rosary? 

2.) What does “make a voluntary Christian witness to others” mean?

3.) One must be aware of his attachment to venial sin.  Right?  I so much wonder how to go about that.

4) How does one “use” a scapular?  It’s not just wearing it around one’s neck?

5.) So, just listening to the preaching of the Word of God gives a partial indulgence? Do you know whether that would apply to the baptized who are unable to partake of the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confession? 

6.) Does one “plenary indulgence” wipe out ALL temporal punishment for ALL sins of someone’s life, provided all the prerequisites are met, including attachment to venial sin?

I apologize that this email is so scrupulous.

Sincerely,

Anne

Hi Anne,

Thank you so much for your question and for your patience in our response!

The Handbook for Indulgences states: A plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.

Based on this you can gain a plenary indulgence by praying the rosary either by yourself or with a group inside a church or oratory building. You must also complete the other prayers and sacraments necessary for all plenary indulgences which are: Receiving Holy Communion,  Receiving the sacrament of Confession, praying for the Holy Fathers’ intentions, and be completely detached from all sin.

If you were to pray the rosary alone at home you would gain a partial indulgence.

When you are praying with others and someone misses a Hail Mary, adds an additional prayer that you don’t usually pray, or leaves out an extra prayer that you typically pray when you are praying by yourself, you can feel free to add that prayer in your heart and then trust in God’s mercy that the missed Hail Mary is not something that will keep you from receiving an indulgence. There shouldn’t be a need to pray it twice in this case.

1. As is the usual practice in the US and recommended by the USCCB the rosary is typically begun with a Creed (more information here) but that isn’t specifically required according to the instructions per the Vatican (more information here) it seems reasonable that it could “count” for both the rosary and the indulgence. Kendra says that in her family “We specifically dedicate the first Our Father of the rosary for the Holy Father, which is also part of the indulgence.”

2. To make a voluntary Christian witness means that you are living your life as a Christian fully, that you don’t hide your faith from others, and that your everyday actions reflect what Jesus asks of us in the Gospels.

3. A great way to become aware of your attachment to sin is to do a daily examination of conscience.

4. Kendra has a really excellent blog post and video all about scapulars and other sacramentals that I’ll link HERE. But the basics is that once you are invested in the scapular (and Kendra talks specifically about the Brown Scapular) that you “share in the spirituality of the Carmelite order.” Which carries with it certain responsibilities and privileges.

5. Indulgences are only available to the baptized.

6.) Yes, you are correct that a plenary indulgence takes care of all temporal punishment as long as all of the prerequisites are met.

And one last note from Kendra: “Scrupulosity is a challenge for many faithful Catholics. I’d really encourage you to remember that none of this is a magic spell. It’s about love and intention. Prayer is a conversation with God. The rosary is a conversation with God through Mary. Someone who loves you isn’t looking to disqualify you from your conversations!”

God bless you,

The CAY Team

Looking for more information from CAY on Rosary and Indulgences? Here are a bunch of helpful posts from the archives!
Catholic Indulgences: What they are, why they are, and why you should care.

The Family Rosary: Why is it SO Hard?

Why I Bother With the Rosary

How to Pray a Family Rosary

And we couldn’t leave out the lovely rosary products from the CAY Marketplace!

Rosary Wrap Bracelets

Rosary Poppers

Our Lady of Lourdes Rosary Pouch

The post CAY Mailbag: Indulgences and The Rosary appeared first on Catholic All Year.

And now, for . . .

In the latest CAY Liturgical Living Video, we’re talking about bird feeders , nativity scenes , and the blessing of animals . What do they all have in common? It’s St. Francis .

Watch the video here, and/or keep reading for more details plus a 25% off code for this month’s recommended books and printable PDF versions of “The Canticle of the Sun” and the St. Francis food tags you see in the video.

If you’re walking around a Catholic neighborhood, what are you going to see in the front yards? Statues of Mary, and St. Francis bird feeders, right? But why?

Well, because St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most well known saints in history, to people and birds alike. He was born in Assisi, Italy in the 12th century, to wealthy Catholic parents. After time as a soldier, he renounced his life of luxury for a life of prayer and service to the poor. While praying at an old country chapel in San Damiano, he heard the icon of Christ crucified speak to him saying, “Francis, Francis, go and repair my house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.”

He spent the next few years rebuilding ruined churches in the area (including the Portiuncula Chapel which we talked about in a previous video). Eventually he gained some followers, and received permission from the Pope to begin his order of brothers. This was followed by an order of sisters, under the supervision of his friend, noblewoman St. Clare of Assisi. Francis never became a priest, but his love of poverty and his joyful preaching converted people everywhere he went.

St. Francis had a great love for all of God’s creatures, and was known to practice his preaching by giving talks to the birds. It’s said he was so compelling that they would fly down from the trees and perch on his shoulders to be able to hear him better. So that’s where all the Catholic bird feeders come from!

Hoping to inspire people with the beauty and humility of the first Christmas, St. Francis created the first ever nativity scene, complete with living animals! People liked the idea and now at Christmastime, you’ll find a nativity in almost every Catholic home . . . but they’re mostly of the non-live variety.

Another story says that there was a wolf terrorizing the Italian town of Gubbio. Francis agreed to speak to him, and brokered a peace between the town and the wolf. In exchange for being given food, the wolf agreed to leave the town’s flocks and children alone.

St. Francis wrote a beautiful song of prayer called “The Canticle of the Sun,” in which he praises God through all of God’s creation. It is believed to be the first piece of literature written down in the Italian language. According to tradition, the first time it was sung in its entirety was by Francis and two of his original companions, on Francis’ deathbed.

So, because of St. Francis’ love for animals, there is a long history of celebrating a blessing of animals on his feast day. This is offered at many parishes. It’s also appropriate for the head of the household to bless the family’s animals at home. You can find the prayers in the USCCB’s Book of Blessings or Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, in my Catholic All Year Prayer Companion or Catholic All October monthly booklet, or online here.

We like to split the difference and invite a priest friend and some neighbors over for a backyard blessing of animals. This can happen ANYTIME, but sometime around the feast of St. Francis on October 4 is especially appropriate.

If you know me, you know I enjoy making complicated meals for feast days. But the feast of St. Francis is a good example of the fact that, even for me, entertaining for saints’ days doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. Corn “dogs”, “ants” on a log, “bear” claws, and various animal-shaped cookies and crackers are all good ways to celebrate God’s creation through snacks!

As always, thank you to our video sponsor (and the publisher of my books), Ignatius Press. You can find out more about liturgical living in the home and Catholic traditions like the Blessing of Animals in The Catholic All Year Compendium and find the text of the blessing as well as “the Canticle of the Sun” and so much more in The Catholic All Year Prayer Companion. Our featured Ignatius Press books this month are both favorites around here and they’re both about St. Francis!

Get 25% off Brother Francis of Assisi and the whole Loupio series at Ignatius.com through November 2021 with the code CAY1021

Brother Francis of Assisi is a classic book by beloved children’s author Tomie de Paola. It’s now back in print thanks to Ignatius Press! It’s got great illustrations and a detailed story of the life of St. Francis and his friend St. Clare. It’s great as a read-aloud for younger kids over a few nights, or for middle grade kids to read alone.

Also this month we are featuring the Loupio books. I’ve mentioned these in other videos, but they’re back because volume six is now available! These are fun comic book-style illustrated books for middle grade kids about the adventures of young Loupio and his friends Brother Francis and the Gubbio wolf. You can get 25% off all the books in the Loupio series and Brother Francis of Assisi all month long from Ignatius.com using the discount code on the screen and in the description below.

As promised at the top, here’s a free sample of the new CAY hymns. Check out Grace’s lyric video here.

The post An At Home Blessing of Animals for the Feast of Saint Francis appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Read Aloud Recommendations for Each Month

DECEMBER

Advent & Christmas Middle Length Family Read-Alouds (also great as audiobooks). I’ve included the publisher’s recommended age range, but we listen as a whole family, babies to adults.

The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story by Madeleine L’Engle  2010 (originally 1964), recommended age range 4-8, illustrated short chapter book

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson 1972, recommended age range 8-12, short chapter book 

Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren 1981, recommended age 7 and up, long picture book

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 1843, recommended age 10 and up, short chapter book

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas 1952, recommended age 7 and up, long picture book

The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden 1958, recommended age range 5-8 long picture book

Advent & Christmas Picture Books

Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt 2007

The Donkey’s Dream by Barbara Helen Berger 1985

Christmas in the Manger board book by Nola Buck 1998

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco  2004

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston 1996

The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola  1997

The Legend of Old Befana: An Italian Christmas Story by Tomie dePaola  2017

The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola  1978

The Twelve Days of Christmas by Laurel Long  2011

December 6—Saint Nicholas

The Miracle of Saint Nicholas (Note: about an Orthodox Parish called St. Nicholas, not about the saint, but a great story!) by Gloria Whelan  1997

The Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard  2018

Santa’s Favorite Story: Santa Tells the Story of the First Christmas by Hisako Aoki 2007

The Legend of Saint Nicholas (An overview of the various and more fantastical St. Nicholas legends) by Demi 2003

Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins (A more detailed version of the money through the window story) by Jim Forest 2015

December 9—Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin / December 12—Our Lady of Guadalupe

Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola  1980

Guadalupe: First Words – Primeras Palabras board book by Patty Rodriguez

Third Sunday of Advent—Gaudete Sunday / Bambinelli Sunday

Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing  by Amy Welborn  2013

December 24—Christmas Eve / Saints Adam and Eve

The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary by Maura Roan McKeegan 2014

December 25—THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (Christmas)

The Christmas Story  by The Metropolitan Museum of Art  2017

December 26—Saint Stephen, The First Martyr

Wenceslas (Note: St. Wenceslas’ feast day is actually September 28, but most people associate him with the Feast of St. Stephen) by Geraldine McCaughrean  2007

JANUARY

January 1—Mary, Mother of God 

Mary: The Mother of Jesus  by Tomie dePaola  1995

My First Pictures of Mary board book by Maïte Roche 2011

January 6 (or the Sunday after January 1)—Epiphany

We Three Kings by Gennady Spirin  2007

FEBRUARY

February 1—Saint Brigid of Ireland

Brigid and the Butter: A Legend about St Brigid by Pamela Love  2017

February 11—Our Lady of Lourdes

Saint Bernadette and the Miracles of Lourdes by Demi 2017

February 23—Saint Isabelle

Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson 1999

MARCH

March 17—Saint Patrick

Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola 1992

Patrick: Saint of Ireland by Diana Mayo 2002

March 25—The Annunciation

Mary Stories from the Bible by Charlotte Grossetête   2018

Holy Week

Margaret’s First Holy Week (The Pope’s Cat) short chapter book by Jon M. Sweeney  2019

The Queen and the Cross (About St. Helena, so also appropriate for her feast day August 18 or Exaltation of the Holy Cross September 14) by Cornelia Bilinsky 2013

The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale  by Angela Elwell Hunt 1989

APRIL

Easter

The Easter Story  by Brian Wildsmith  2000

Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus by Maura Roan McKeegan  2016

The Story of the Easter Robin by Dandi Daley Mackall 2010

April 23—Saint George

Saint George and the Dragon (fairytale legend St. George) by Margaret Hodges 1984

Saint George and the Dragon (Catholic legend St. George) by Jim Forest  2011

MAY

May 22—Saint Rita

Brothers at Bat: the True Story of an Amazing All Brother Baseball Team  (we read this for the feast of St. Rita since she’s unofficially the patron saint of baseball) by Audrey Vernick 2012

May 30—Saint Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc  by Demi 2011 

May 31—Visitation

Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope by Josephine Nobisso  2008

Little Gold Star: A Spanish American Cinderella Tale by San Souci, Robert D 2000

JUNE

June 29—Saints Peter and Paul

Peter, Apostle of Jesus: The Life of a Saint  by Boris Grebille 2014

JULY

July 22—Saint Mary Magdalene 

The Miracle of the Red Egg by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson 2014

AUGUST

August 28—Saint Augustine

Brother Hugo and the Bear by Katy Beebe  2014

Gus Finds God by Michael P. Foley 2018

SEPTEMBER

September 5—Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa: The Smile of Calcutta (Life of a Saint)  by Charlotte Grossetête 2016

September 11

Fourteen Cows for America  (not a saint story, but a beautiful book for September 11th) by Carmen Agra Deedy 2009

September 29—Michaelmas

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm Hardcover by Laura Amy Schlitz  2007 (we read this for Michaelmas, because it’s about triumphing over the devil, it’s my all-time favorite picture book)

OCTOBER

October 1—Saint Thérèse

Therese: The Little Flower of Lisieux (Life of a Saint) by Sioux Berger 2011

The Little Flower: A Parable of Saint Therese of Lisieux by Becky B. Arganbright 2015

October 2—The Holy Guardian Angels

Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman 2005

God Bless the Gargoyles by Dav Pilkey 2016

October 4—Saint Francis

Saint Francis and the Wolf by Richard Egielski 2005

Saint Francis by Brian Wildsmith  1996

Brother Sun, Sister Moon  by Katherine Paterson 2011

October 7—Our Lady of the Rosary

Let’s Pray the Rosary by Mauricette Vial-Andru 2015

Mysteries of the Rosary board book set by Catholic Sprouts 2019

Hail Mary board book/ Our Father board book by Maïte Roche 2017

October 22—Saint Pope John Paul II

The Story of Saint John Paul II: A Boy Who Became Pope by Fabiola Garza 2014

Lolek – The Boy Who Became Pope John Paul II by Mary Hramiec Hoffman 2008 (the two JPII books are both well-written and illustrated, but this one has more historical information)

October 31—All Hallow’s Eve

Cautionary Tales for Children Hardcover by Hilaire Belloc  2002 (originally 1907) We like these as spooky Memento Mori poems for Halloween!

NOVEMBER

A Story of St. Catherine of Alexandria by Brother Flavius C.S.C 2013 (originally 1965)

So that’s it, our entire picture book liturgical library! If you’ve read these, I’d love to know which are your family’s favorites, and if you love a saint picture book that’s not on the list, please let me know in the comments. I’m always looking to add good books to our collection. Check back in on this post, I’ll update it as we get new books!

And please pray for all of us at the Fiat Conference, and consider joining us!

The post The Ultimate Liturgical Library Post: Saint Books for All Year Long appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Happy October! In honor of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th, and the whole month of October, which is dedicated to the Rosary, this month’s Catholic All Year Liturgical Living video is about . . . saying a family Rosary. We know we should be doing it, but why is it so hard to actually, ya know, do it?

Video by Elizabeth Mirzaei, and books by Ignatius Press! Stay tuned to the end of the show for some recommendations of a few of my favorite saint biographies. Get 25% off of my recommended books through the end of November at www.ignatius.com with the code CAY1019

Most Catholics are probably familiar with all the good reasons to say the Rosary: Our bishops have officially asked us to say a daily family Rosary, popes and saints have encouraged it for centuries, Our Lady has specifically asked it of us in multiple apparitions. There is a plenary indulgence available to us EVERY DAY (subject to the usual conditions) for saying the Rosary in a church, family, religious community, or group. We know we should be doing it.

So why do so many of us . . . not? Well, from what I hear, and from my own experience, it’s mostly because of three reasons:

TIME: I know time is an issue for a lot of families, ours included, so our approach is to fit a family rosary in whenever and wherever we can. Very often, this means in the car. We do a family rosary on any long car ride. After all, we’re strapped in there anyway, with nothing better to do!

PUSH BACK FROM KIDS: It’s easy for parents to think our kids should just naturally want to pray, and if they don’t we don’t want to spoil it for them by making them. But then I think about how my kids also don’t want to wear their seatbelts, or do their schoolwork, or brush their teeth, and I realize that it’s not a piety issue, it’s a parenting issue. So we present saying the Rosary as a family activity that members of the family must participate in. If they don’t, they get a couple reminders, then they incur the same sorts of consequences as they would for breaking other family rules. What they begin doing out of obedience, they can learn to do out of love.

BOREDOM: When the rosary feels boring, and yes, sometimes it does, I remind myself that no where does it say we have to like it, it just says a lot of places that we should do it. When your mom asks you to clean your room, she doesn’t really care whether you enjoy it or not, she just wants you to do it. And then, once your room is clean, maybe you can see that she was right.

And as much as it can feel like a chore to start a family Rosary, we are always, always glad to have listened to Mama Mary once we’re done!

Get the Catholic All October printable PDF booklet here, featuring prayers and instructions for saying the Rosary.

Or here as a paperback on Amazon here.

The Catholic All Year Compendium is available here.

Use code CAY1019 for 25% off this month’s recommended books by Ignatius Press at Ignatius.com . . .
Hail Mary board book by Maite Roche.
Let’s Pray the Rosary by Mauricette Vial-Andru.

Related reading here:

Why I Bother With the Rosary

How We Say a Family Rosary

Our Father Who Art in Stop Hitting Your Sister: praying with regular kids

Related products here:

Rosary Quotes Printable Set

Rosary Prayers and Instructions Printable Booklet

Graphic Rosary: One Page Printable Follow Along Rosary With Prayers

We love the rosaries we have from The Catholic Woodworker.

And soft, unbreakable kid rosaries by ChewsLife (Note: the one the girls are playing tug-of-war with isn’t broken! The rosary has a soft clasp for safe release, and pops right back together.)

My nursing dress (in which I am actually nursing in some of those couch shots!) is from H&M.

The post The Family Rosary: Why is it SO Hard? appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Sometimes I imagine Saint Bernadette, eagerly and devoutly praying the rosary at the feet of Our Lady. She reverently hold the beads, she carefully recites the prayers, her heart and her mind full of Mary’s love for her son Jesus.

That’s not how it usually goes down at our house.

Not when the kids are involved, and not even when I’m praying it all by myself.

Young Lady Saying the Rosary, Vincent Vidal. French (1811 – 1887)

When I say a rosary, it’s almost always kinda grudgingly, with all the other things I could be doing with that twenty minutes flashing through my mind. And I’m almost always distracted by kids and lists and schedules. I have to admit to never having had any particularly supernatural experiences of the rosary at all.

When we pray it as a family, the kids get wiggly. The kids don’t speak up. They stare off into the distance and forget to say the prayers at all.

They play with their rosaries instead of praying with their rosaries. They break their rosaries instead of praying their rosaries.

So, why bother? Why do it at all? There are other ways to pray, of course. Why the rosary?

1. It’s ancient and new

Catholic tradition holds that Our Lady appeared to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche sometime in the thirteenth century to impart the devotion of the Rosary. Monks of the time used beads to pray all 150 psalms from memory, but the rosary was given by Mary to St. Dominic especially for the use of lay people who couldn’t read to memorize all those psalms.

It’s been prayed continuously ever since, by Catholics all over the world. Rich and poor, religious and lay people, saints and sinners.

I love the connection the rosary gives us to all of those people. I love the resurgence the rosary has had among Catholics lately. And even among a few Protestants.

(This series of posts by a Protestant historian is a thorough and fair take on the common Protestant objections to the rosary.)

2. It’s communal and private

The rosary can be prayed alone or in a group.

When I’m alone, I am still participating in a communal prayer of the Church. No matter when I’m praying, I can be certain other Catholics are praying the rosary at the same time, alongside me.

And when I’m praying in a group, I’m still also praying personally. I’m not a spectator.

While it’s easy to imagine a nun or a pious old church lady sitting at home alone with her rosary beads, the Church actually encourages us to pray the rosary with our family or religious community or in a church. The indulgence is better:

 A plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.

So if I’m tempted to think I’d be better off just praying by myself and not bothering to pray with all these kids, I remember I’m getting paid overtime for it.

(For more on the concept of indulgences, see here.)

3. It’s vocal and meditative

I like to be busy. The rosary is perfect for that.

It gives me something to do with my mouth: say the prayers, and something to do with my mind: meditate on the mysteries.

I also get something to do with my hands.

When our family says the rosary we are sharing traditional prayers, taken almost completely from scripture. And we are contemplating the lives of Jesus and Mary, through the mysteries of the rosary.

4. It’s for all ages

Few things warm a Catholic mama’s heart like hearing the stunted first few words of her children learning to pray. It’s pretty great. And I love how my kids’ relationship with the rosary develops over time. How they learn the prayers a few chunks at a time, and eventually are able to lead the prayers. I love how they can shout out the mysteries, and how they have favorite ones. Frankie, for instance, is rather partial to the Scourging at the Pillar.

On the other end, my grandmother suffered from severe dementia at the end of her life and couldn’t place me, and thought my son Jack was her son (my dad). But it only took saying the first few words and she could recite the whole Apostle’s Creed. That’s a powerful thing to be left with at the end of life.

5. It’s for all places

I love how portable and flexible the rosary is. We usually say our family rosary sitting in the living room, or around the table. But if we’re short on time, we say it in the kitchen while we all work on the dishes.

We say it in the car whenever we have a long drive. We say it in church with the church ladies after Saturday morning Mass.

Yesterday, on the Feast of Pope St. John Paul II, we said it while walking home from our nature hike.

When the kids have trouble falling asleep, we suggest that they say a rosary. If they fall asleep in the middle, it’s okay. St. Therese didn’t mind, and that’s good enough for me.

6. It’s a mortification

I don’t get all filled with warm fuzzies when I say the rosary. But that’s okay. I say it as a spiritual exercise, to strengthen me.

I pretty much never FEEL like saying the rosary, but I’ve never regretted saying it when I was done.

I’m sure prayer is hard for everyone, but I’ve always wondered if it wasn’t ESPECIALLY hard for mothers of young children. Our lives are lived at the whims of the little people around us. It’s difficult to have a regular schedule of quiet prayer time.

But, for me, that’s the great thing about the rosary. It’s only twenty minutes, less if I really hustle through it. I can do it at any time of day and in any place. I can do it with the kids or on my own. I don’t even have to have any equipment, because I’ve always got my fingers with me.

There’s really not a good excuse for me to NOT get to a rosary during the day. And if all I get to in a day is a rosary, that’s still pretty good. (Although I do make a point of trying to include other prayers in my day as well.)

Our Lady told us at Fatima to pray the Rosary daily. The bishops told families to pray the rosary daily. Popes and saints have told us to pray the rosary daily. They didn’t say I have to like it, just that I should do it.

7. It’s a gift

And wow, are there ever a lot of lovely things associated with saying the rosary.

There are rosary promises, and rosary miracles, and rosary messages. All of these are considered “private revelation” and as such are a pious tradition, which a person is free to believe or not believe.

But I know it’s something that I want to be a part of our family culture. I want it to be a tool in my kids’ tool kits. I want them to know it’s there and know how to use it. I feel like our family rhythm is better when we are in the swing of a daily family rosary.

We haven’t always, ALWAYS been great about getting to it. The family rosary has been a part of our family life since the husband and I got married, but our consistency
has fluctuated quite a bit. These past few months of uncertainty about house buying,
however, have been VERY motivational for us. We’ve been saying it every
day, and hoping for our miracle, in spite of our wiggling bodies and wandering minds.

Here’s how we do it, usually . . .

How We Say a Family Rosary

Here’s how we do it on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary . . .

Here are some tips from Haley at Carrots for Michaelmas . . .

Can You Pray the Rosary with Little Kids in the House?

If you are not yet a person who regularly prays the rosary . . . this is a good month to start.

If
you used to be a person who regularly prayed the rosary and then you
had kids, or a job, or school and now, not so much . . . this is a good
month to pick it back up again.

If you are a person who regularly prays the rosary . . . this is the perfect month to keep up the good work.

I’ve got some resources for all y’all. And people get to win them!

Mary Holds My Hand: A Child’s Book of Rosary Meditations

A cute little book to help you guide your children (or your childlike self) though meditations on each of the mysteries of the rosary. It’s written by Michele E. Chronister of My Domestic Monastery and illustrated with original folk art by Heather Sleightholm of Slightholm Folk Art.

The Joyful Mysteries: Illuminated by Sixty Works of Sacred Art (The Illuminated Rosary)

This book is one of four available, one for each set of mysteries of the rosary. It has a two page spread featuring the prayer and a different work of art for EACH BEAD of the rosary. I think it’s intended for kids, but would also be quite useful for distractable adult-types.

It’s published by Peanut Butter and Grace, a Catholic family company with a really great selection of useful and practical resources for Catholic families.

Update 2024: This book is now published by OSV and you can find it here!

Kids are tough on rosaries, but I don’t want to be that mom who won’t let anybody touch anything. So I am really grateful for GOOD child-friendly rosaries. Mary Jane’s godparents gave her a Chews Life Rosary, and we love it.

Shannon of Chews Life makes fun, safe, brightly colored rosaries that are supposed to be for babies but have proved very popular with all my kids, even the thirteen-year-old. The beads have a very comforting give to them!

“Give me an army saying the rosary and I will conquer the world.” -Pope Blessed Pius IX

“To recite the rosary is nothing more than to contemplate the face of Christ with Mary.” -Pope St. John Paul II

“The devil, of course, hates the Rosary, precisely because it changes hearts, detaches from sin, attaches to the all–pure Mother of God, and leads to conversion. One of the ploys he uses to deter people from praying it is to suggest that unless one can pray it well, i.e. perfectly, one shouldn’t pray it at all. I would suggest, rather, that the Rosary, even prayed badly, is better than no Rosary at all.”

-Fr. Mark Kirby

There will be four winners, announced next Friday. To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me the last time you said a rosary (“not yet” is allowed!), and/or your best tip for remembering to say a rosary or wrangling kids while saying a rosary.

I was provided some of these items for review, and some links are affiliate links.

Stay tuned. I’ve got even more October giveaways to come!

The post Why I Bother With the Rosary {October Giveaway Series} appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Ashley asked me to share how we celebrate the Feast of JPII in our home, and we wouldn’t miss it, because our Jack is named John Paul in his honor. And that feast day is today: October 22nd.

Quick story about that: While I was pregnant (in 2002), Jim pointed out that the Pope was ailing and perhaps he would die before the baby was born, and we could name the baby after him. And I said I was pretty sure that people don’t have to be dead to have babies named after them. It turns out I was right. So we named the baby John Paul. But we call him Jack.

Anyhoo, it is Jack’s name day. Normally he’d get to pick anything he likes for dinner. But I bought kielbasa at the store because it was on sale AND because it was Polish. So I pretty much told him that he could pick anything he wanted for dinner as long as it was kielbasa and sauerkraut. He countered with kielbasa + potatoes + brownies and he didn’t have to eat the sauerkraut. Deal.

recipe at Taste of Home

I plan to poke some gummy worms into the brownies after they cool down, for the “fisher of men, also of fish” thing.

credit: Mama Gone Green

In her question to me, Ashely had the best idea yet for how to celebrate a great outdoorsman like Pope John Paul II: Take a hike. I think ours will just have to be a nature walk around the suburbs. But we will definitely be walking today!

I will never, ever get tired of looking at JPII in the out of doors.

If we tire of walking, we are fortunate enough to have the awesome Ignatius Press movie: Pope John Paul II on DVD. But in case YOU don’t, it’s available live streaming from the Ignatius website!

It stars Jon Voight as the elder, and Cary Elwes as the younger Karol Wojtyla. (By the way, please tell me you’ve read this: The Dread Pirate and the Pope. It just makes me so happy.)

And we own these two great books.

Or Gina’s post at Someday (Hopefully) They’ll Be Saints: It’s Gonna Be A Party! St. Pope John Paul II Feast Day.

Reader Christina asked me to make this great JPII quote printable. And, how could I say no?

So here it is: Pope St. John Paul II quote on red . . .

And: Pope St. John Paul II quote on white . . .

Click on the title to download the image from Google Drive, or just click on the image to enlarge it, and right-click to save it to your computer. You may download the image for free for your own personal use. If you’d like to sell it, please contact me. Thanks. To request a custom printable, visit my Etsy shop here.

The post Celebrating the Feast of Pope St. John Paul II in the Home, with a Printable appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Here’s how we celebrated/are celebrating/will celebrate.

For Halloween, we carved pumpkins and went trick or treating around our neighborhood. It was lovely. The weather couldn’t have been nicer and there were a TON of other families out. We had a great time!

For All Saints Day, we’ll be back in costume first thing in the morning and off to Mass then to our Homeschool group’s All Saints Pageant and Carnival. The kids will each give a few clues about their saint then the other kids guess who they are. Then the teenagers throw a carnival for the little kids, with saint themed games. My kids look forward to it all year!

Then for All Souls, we usually go as a family to a Catholic Cemetery to say a rosary and pray for the dead, but more on that at the bottom.

For now, you need seven of something. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the costumes we were planning for this year. Let’s see how they turned out shall we?

Bobby was St. Maximilian Kolbe for All Saints, and an escaped convict (or guy in his pajamas inexplicably in handcuffs and a ball and chain) for Halloween. Looking at these pictures, I am totally going to shave his head in the morning. So please imagine him to look even more authentic.

Betty was St. Joan of Arc. She used a set of armor Jack and Grandad made for Jack’s St. Nuno costume two years ago, along with a new frilly red skirt (thanks Nana!) and a battle standard that I made according to the description St. Joan of Arc gave of it during her trial. Except she probably didn’t use google image search and inkjet iron on transfer paper for hers.

For trick or treating he was a zombie. That face is a combination of him trying to be a zombie and not liking how the fake blood tastes.

Perhaps you’re saying, “That wasn’t so bad. St. Lazarus did have leprosy after all.” Well, it’s only going to get worse.

This is where we ended up on the St. John the Baptist head on a platter costume. Jack and Grandad designed and built it. And it turned out awesome!

Jack was a huge hit trick or treating. He would kneel and set the table down on each front porch, with the cover lowered over his head. Then when the door opened, he could pull a little lever under the table and open up the cover! One house announced that Jack had won their costume contest and gave him a full sized candy bar. Only him. Not the other kids. It was like his personal dream come true.

I can only imagine the folks at the Saints pageant will like it too. Yes?

Okay, now I’m serious. Do not scroll down any more. Don’t do it. It will only make you mad.

I tried to warn you. But look how cute he is! And how cooperative he was for the photo shoot! Firing squad ready, this one.

Well, if you made it through that you get to see the grownup costumes!

Jim was business casual Abraham Lincoln.

To be able to gain an indulgence, one must have the intention to gain
them, and perform the works at the time and in the manner prescribed.

The traditional conditions to attain a Plenary Indulgence:
A Plenary Indulgence can be gained only one per day. The faithful must
be in the state of grace and these three conditions must accompany the
prescribed act:

1. the faithful must receive the sacrament of confession, either eight days before or after the pious act is performed,
2. receive Holy Communion on that day
3. and recite prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary is the minimum, but any other additional prayers may be added).

All attachment to sin, even venial sin, must be absent. If one’s
disposition is less than perfect or if some of the above conditions are
not fulfilled, the indulgence becomes partial”

If you’d like to keep track of ALL the feasts of the Catholic liturgical year, I’ve created a wall calendar to help you do it!

The post Hallowtide . . . It’s How We Roll: All Saints Day Costumes for Awesome Kids Only appeared first on Catholic All Year.