Many of you, after watching the episodes of Catholic All Year at Home on FORMED, have written us kind and encouraging and complimentary comments and emails (especially about Barbara and her regrets about that mouthful of salt—both times). Thank you!

You’ve also written to ask about various kitchen gear and goods and gadgets that make appearances in the show. We shoot the episodes in my kitchen with my kitchen stuff, and plenty of different items have shown up over the course of our six episodes. This post is my best attempt to run down the list of stuff you guys might be curious about, that I got recently enough it’s still available and I can remember where I got it.

It’s a big list! So to make things a bit easier for you to look through we’ve created an Amazon storefront with everything organized into easy-to-browse categories.

You can go directly to the CAY Amazon Storefront here!

The links in the storefront are affiliate links for which CAY receives compensation if you make a purchase, so . . . thanks!

Non-Amazon stuff is in the links below!

CAY Products in CAYAH

You can find the products that we sell in the CAY Marketplace in these blog posts for each episode!

Episode 1 – St. Nicholas

Episode 2 – Christmas Eve

Episode 3 – Fat Tuesday

Episode 4 – St. Francis of Rome

Episode 5 – St. Joseph

Episode 6 – Holy Thursday

Petite Santoku Knife

My all-time favorite knife, a great size for kids and adults.

Hand-carved Wooden St. Nicholas Cookie Mold

The cookie mold I use came from an estate sale. This one is similar, but he’s wearing his mitre!

The post What’s That in My Kitchen? (You Guys Asked for It!) appeared first on Catholic All Year.

As most of you will already be aware, my husband Jim passed away peacefully in our home on July 9, 2022 after a long battle with cancer. More details, as well as a video of the funeral are available on this page: Funeral and Memorial Scholarship Information. If you’d like to help us support young scholars at an authentically Catholic school, as well as help keep Jim’s memory alive, please consider making a donation to the Jim Tierney Memorial Scholarship Fund at Saint Monica Academy. You can do that directly through the school’s donation portal here. Or you can purchase one-of-a-kind Catholic charm bracelets, handmade by me. 100% of the purchase price of the bracelets goes to the scholarship fund. Find those here.

I hosted the 2022 Fiat Conference at my home last weekend. Preparing my talk for the conference gave me a chance to reflect on what I have and haven’t learned over the past few months and years. Here it is in video format: https://youtu.be/sOEXTeb_cfI

And here’s the text of the talk:

First off, thank you all so much for being here, and for the love and prayers with which you have so generously supported me and my family for the past months and years. I’ll get into it in more detail here in a bit, but I hope each of you knows how real and important that has been for us. We’re just going to have a winding little chat, kind of informal like, if you guys don’t mind. I do have a couple points I’d like to make today, that I think are in keeping with our general theme of resilience and our patroness, Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

We have sort of a running family joke that we get recognized by ONE PERSON . . . everywhere. When our whole family is out together at a national park, or an amusement park, or at Mass somewhere on the road, usually someone will recognize us and come up to say hi. I think it’s great, really. I mean, we ARE rather a spectacle when out in a group regardless. So it’s nice to be getting some of that attention from Catholics who have been following our family’s ups and downs since before many of the kiddos were born.  

Sometimes it will beg the question from some of the kids as to whether I am “famous.” So I explain about fish and ponds and all that and say that I am a very tiny bit famous among a small and very nice group of like-minded folks. But it does make one reflect on the idea of “celebrity.” And especially Catholic “celebrity.” What does that word mean? “Celebrity”? It means to be “celebrated”. To be held up as a noteworthy example of something.

And the problem with that, for Catholics, is that WE have an established system for that already, don’t we? We have a longstanding method by which we determine which Catholics are to be celebrated and held up as an example and it’s called the canonization process and, importantly, no one is admitted to that process while still living.

So a living “famous” Catholic, a Catholic “celebrity” is always going to be a bit of a liability for all of us. Someone still living can mess up, can get something wrong, can let us down.

The word bandied about on social media is “influencer” right? And I guess, as cringy as it is, I guess that feels a bit more appropriate, a bit more accurate. There are Catholics I follow on social media, and Catholics that I know in real life, who “influence” my worldview and my practice of the faith. That seems fine. Good even. As long as we keep the right perspective.

For me, personally, the angle I prefer is “subject matter expert.” You know? Like on the 24-hour news networks, when some world event happens or a particular book or movie is all the rage and all of a sudden there’s a demand for someone who knows everything there is to know about Borneo or 17th century sewing techniques or that indegenous sport with the hips and the peach baskets. For whatever reason, now we have questions for THAT person.

That’s how I’ve always tried to approach my books and social media. As a subject matter expert. As a person who loves the Catholic faith and loves the saints and Catholic history and tradition and obscure customs and who wants to share that information with you. So it seems appropriate when someone messages me to ask if there are any recipes associated with a particular upcoming feast day, or when folks start leaving comments asking if it’s going to be a meat friday, or when a friend texts me a photo of a saint statue she found at a thrift shop to see if I can figure out who it is based on its little attributes.

I love that sort of thing. I like a challenge, and I have spent a decade working on gaining very niche knowledge for moments just like those.

When I give a Fiat talk, what I want is to give you some answers. I want to give you 5 easy tips for getting your kids to say the rosary or eat their vegetables. I want to be a resource for you. I want to be that subject matter expert.

But then, this summer, my situation changed. My husband of 21 years passed away peacefully in our home, after a 16-year battle with melanoma skin cancer that eventually metastasized to his brain. So, all of a sudden, I had all these people watching me for a different reason. I had new people watching me. Thousands and thousands of new people. And they were still good, Catholic people. People who had been praying for us. But also, I’m sure, people were curious about what happens to a family when they lose someone. People who were curious about what life looks like for a widow with many children. I’m still not quite sure what to do with those people.

Honestly, the most comforting thing anyone said to me over those first couple weeks was my friend Hope who told me, “People look to you to see what a Catholic life looks like. And most people never see this part. You shared with people what a sacramental Catholic death looks like.” I appreciated that perspective on it. And I’m deeply grateful that I listened to the nudge of the Holy Spirit on that one, to go ahead and open our home when it seemed like the end was near. American culture sees death as a hidden, private matter. But that’s not at all how CATHOLIC culture sees it.

But then, you know, that part is over. And now it’s me, and my new life, and I’m not a subject matter expert in any of this. And every new TV show I start features what I now call the “VSW” for “very sad widow.” This character was in ALL shows I tried to watch this summer. She is a recent widow who is very sad and can’t function or care for herself or her home and basically abandons her children because she is so heartbroken. It wasn’t very heartening to find that this was the expectation that Hollywood, at least, had of me and my prospects.

Micaela mentioned that we chose Our Lady of Perpetual Help as our patroness because we knew that I was likely facing a challenging year. I wanted to invite speakers who knew what it was to overcome adversity. I wanted to hear those stories and know that it was possible to hold tight to the cross and keep the faith.

So now, here I am. A person trying to figure out a new different life. A life in which I am not a subject matter expert. So what am I going to talk to you guys about today? It took me a very long time to figure it out. But I’m fortunate enough to have good friends and to have had good conversations with those friends lately, and a couple things kept coming up again and again in those conversations. And they helped me to sort some things out. So this isn’t about to turn into a real talk. We’re just going to have MY side of those conversations, with me standing up here. I want to share a couple things about which I feel I have gained some understanding through the process of living with Jim’s illness and that uncertainty and with loss and widowhood.

The first is a strategy that served me well throughout the long years since Jim’s diagnosis and to which I’ve still had recourse over these more recent weeks since his death. In some ways, it was my St. Paul on the Road to Damascus moment. It came to me, undeserved, in a flash, and changed my perspective. It’s useful for big, life-changing events, but it’s also helpful in little everyday moments. 

It came about on the day that Jim was diagnosed with melanoma, originating in a mole on his back. First it was just a malignant mole. Eventually we learned that the cancer had spread to his lymphatic system. He underwent a course of treatment and it appeared that he was in remission for nearly ten years, but we later found that the cancer was back or, more likely, had never really been gone. At that point it spread to his lungs and eventually his brain. But on that day, it was just a melanoma tumor in a mole.  

I went to pick my oldest son up from the little neighborhood preschool he attended and, when his teacher asked me how the day was going, I told her. Which, looking back, was definitely an awkward choice. We were not close friends or anything. But, that’s what happened. She says, “Hi, Mrs. Tierney, how’s your day been going?” And I say, “Well, my husband was just diagnosed with cancer.” Fun, right? But she rolls with it. She says, “Wow. You must be really worried.” A reasonable thing to say. Polite. But I remember it like it had one of those tire screeching cartoon sound effects. I *MUST* be really worried. Somehow that turn of phrase really hit me. MUST. As in, it is REQUIRED of me to be really worried. 

And in that moment I was infused with supernatural grace and/or my contrary little self rebelled against the thought that the universe was telling me what to do. I don’t like that. So I told her, “You know, I’ve decided that I’m going to wait to worry.” 

Because, really, in that moment, things were fine. My husband was well. He wasn’t experiencing any pain symptoms. I was well. Maybe later it would make sense to worry. I was going to give myself permission for that should it become necessary. But on that day, it didn’t seem like I needed to worry. So I didn’t.

I don’t think I had yet made Padre Pio’s acquaintance, so I wouldn’t have yet known his quote “Pray, hope, and don’t worry”. It’s good advice, but I’m not sure I would have been ready for that kind of commitment. I couldn’t promise that I was never going to worry. It just seemed like I could manage not to worry today.

The first real challenge to the policy came three days later when I learned that I was pregnant with baby number four. There are a lot of what ifs available to a pregnant lady, right? But still, I stuck with my plan. I decided that today again seemed okay. Today I didn’t need to worry. I’d wait.

Against all odds, after sixteen years and six more children and surgeries and seizures and hospitalizations and, eventually, hospice and death . . . each day on THAT day, it has been okay. I’ve been able to wait. I didn’t need to be really worried that day.

I think, when we look at it honestly, that teacher was unintentionally giving me very bad advice. She was telling me that my only choice was despair. Despair is a sin and worry, in my case, would have been just another way of describing despair. Despair is a turning away from hope. Hope is the virtue opposite to despair. Hope says that I trust that no matter what happens in my life, no matter my circumstances, God is good. 

On the day that I found out that Jim had cancer. We were okay. I could trust. I could hope. I could believe that God had a plan for me. I could, at the very least . . . WAIT to worry. And on the day Jim died, the same was true. On that day, we were okay. I was surrounded by friends and family. Jim had received last rites. He had made a good confession with our friend Fr. Matt, it was the last conversation he had. He had said, “yes” when our pastor Fr. Gonzales asked him if he wanted to receive the eucharist. It was the last word he spoke and the last food he ate. I was surrounded by consolations, I was covered in prayer. On that day also, I could wait to worry.

And since then, each day, it has been the same. It has sucked, in many ways, don’t get me wrong. But each day, in itself, has been okay. I’ve joked that the movie version of my life is going to have the lamest-ever inspirational montage sequence consisting of me . . . making phone calls . . . and . . . finding important documents . . . and . . . filling out paperwork . . . and figuring out how to scan paperwork . . . and miraculously having enough stamps. Super exciting stuff you guys. But it’s also been NOT being a VSW. Spending time with friends and trying to be there for my kids. Praying. Participating in the sacraments. Believing that God still has a plan for me and my life. Allowing myself to see that TODAY is okay. Today, I don’t need to worry. I can still wait.

I’m doing okay. I haven’t dissolved into VSW status. The kids are doing okay. Waiting to worry is working for all of us. But, then, one might reasonably ask, WHY would such a thing work? How is it possible that I’ve been able to wait to worry even though the thing I was waiting to worry about . . . went ahead and happened.

And that is the other topic I wanted to talk about today. I believe that the main reason I have been able to keep up hope and trust and to avoid worry and despair is intercessory prayer. Most of you have been responsible for part of that prayer, so thank you.

While the distinction is really academic, and all are interrelated, Catholics recognize five different general “types” of prayer: we call them worship, praise, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.

Worship exalts the greatness of God and focuses on our dependence upon him. Praise gives God glory for God’s own sake. Thanksgiving is being grateful for the gifts God has given us. Petition is asking God for what we need, or what we think we need anyway.

Intercession is when we ask God for something for someone else. 

People all over the world have been praying for my family for a decade.

And now I would like to pause to tell you about my favorite children’s book. It’s called The Bearskinner. It’s an adaptation of a Grimm’s fairy tale in which a soldier returns from war to find his town destroyed and his family gone, and so, he makes a deal with the devil. It’s great for kids. Anyway, the deal is that for seven years he must wear a bearskin and his pockets will be full of the devil’s gold. He can spend the money, but he cannot tell anyone why he wears the bearskin. He cannot pray. And he cannot kill himself. If he does, his soul will belong to the devil. But if he does not, at the end of the seven years he’ll get to lose the bearskin and keep the pockets full of gold. 

So at first, of course, he has a grand old time spending the money, but soon, the bearskin begins to rot and he becomes isolated and begins to lose hope. He begins to despair. One day, he has the idea that he can give his money to the poor and ask them to pray for him.

There’s a beautiful illustration in the book in which the bearskinner is walking along the river, and the prayers of the poor are butterflies shielding him from the devil and the darkness, keeping his despair at bay. And that’s really how I see intercessory prayer.

I’m standing here as a witness to the fact that prayers are not always answered in the way we would like. And it’s not because we didn’t have enough faith, or because we didn’t pray in just the right way, or because not quite enough people liked and shared a particular Facebook post. 

It might just be that it was not God’s will. 

I don’t have to understand it. But if I’m willing to submit my will to his will, I can accept it.

We have to remember that there must be a caveat attached to every prayer, spoken or unspoken, and that is, “Lord, if it is your will . . . dot dot dot.” Any time we ask God for something that we think we want we must remember that we only want it if God wants it. We must remember that God is not bound by our prayers. The goal of prayer isn’t to change God, the goal of prayer is to change US.  

And, I cannot claim to be an expert in that. But I’m going to keep on keepin’ on. I’m continuing to hope and trust. I’m continuing to wait to worry. And I’m continuing to rely on intercessory prayer, so please keep it up. Thank you!

The new 2023 Catholic All Year Liturgical Wall Calendar is now available. See it here.

The post On Not Being a VSW (Very Sad Widow): My Talk at the 2022 Fiat Conference appeared first on Catholic All Year.

“Maybe we’ve got some extra downtime, and some time with all the kids at home, and we were going to eat dinner anyway, right?

I try to find saints’ days to attach to various activities we want to do each summer anyway, like hiking, camping, bonfires, and going to the beach, which makes me less likely to blow them off and just stay inside where the A/C is.”

In the spirit of that, I figured we could all benefit from an Ultimate Catholic Summer Challenge. Let’s get motivated, learn about the saints, have fun, be granted full or partial remission of the punishment of sin for ourselves or the soul of a deceased person*, and spend some time with loved ones with these 25 summer activities for Catholic families!

*read more about Catholic Indulgences here: Catholic Indulgences: what they are, when they are, and why you should care (as of the 1999 Manual of Indulgences revision of the Enchiridion of Indulgences)

Download the printable challenge sheet here.

THE RULES

Well, they’re more like suggestions, really, because it’s all up to you.

Print out a challenge sheet for the family or for individuals. Complete the tasks throughout the summer. X them off as you go. Challenge your friends and extended family to play along! If you’re on social media, join in on the fun together by following #catholicsummerchallenge

Complete the challenge by achieving all the activities by August 31, 2022 and enter to win a $100 gift card to the Catholic All Year Shop!

Details at the bottom of the post.

Many activities included in the challenge are associated with an indulgence. In some cases the conditions of the plenary indulgence require that the actions take place on a particular day.

See this post for all the details on conditions for gaining indulgences, but the most important thing to remember is that even if you can’t fulfill all the conditions of a plenary indulgence, it is still VERY WORTHWHILE to gain a partial indulgence.

Many of the activities are associated with a particular feast day. These are ideally done on that feast day, but when that’s not possible definitely feel free to do the activity early or late and check it off.

If certain tasks aren’t achievable (for instance no Corpus Christi Procession or beach nearby), substitute an alternate activity of your choosing.

ANYTIME CHALLENGES

1. Spend 30 minutes in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

This can be achieved before the exposed monstrance in an Adoration Chapel or before the tabernacle. A plenary indulgence is available according to the usual conditions. (Manual of Indulgences Grant 7)

2. Pray a Rosary with your family, religious community, friends, or in a church

ANY Rosary is always better than no Rosary at all, but the Church does recommend to us that we pray five decades without stopping, meditate upon the mysteries for the day, and pray with our family, religious community, friends, or in a Church. A plenary indulgence is available according to the usual conditions. (Manual of Indulgences Grant 17)

Want to level up? Check out this post: Making a Rosary with No Special Tools and Almost No Knots (because knots are hard) and our rosary kits here.

3. Go to Confession

Most indulgences require that a good confession be made within within several days (about 20) before or after the actions for the indulgence. One confession can apply to many indulgences. We set a really important example for our children when we take them to confession regularly. If my kids are seeing me sin, they should also see me going to confession!

P.S. Did you know I wrote a book about confession for kids?

FEAST DAY CHALLENGES IN JUNE

CORPUS CHRISTI June 19

4. Participate in a Eucharistic Procession

Participate in a Eucharistic Procession for the solemnity of Corpus Christi, either inside or outside a church. A plenary indulgence is available according to the usual conditions. (Manual of Indulgences Grant 7)

FEAST OF SS. JOHN FISHER AND THOMAS MORE June 22

5. Make S’mores

Sometimes a liturgical food pun is just too good to pass up. I give you: St. Thomas S’mores.

SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST June 24 (observed on June 23 in 2022)

6. Have a bonfire

Have a solemnity eve bonfire on the night before the feast day. Dive into the deep (slash crazy) end of liturgical living with this awesome ancient tradition.

7. Eat crickets & wild honey.

It’s in THE BIBLE. “His food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). It’s also pretty fun. Bonus points for also wearing party hats.

This chip-flavor cricket assortment is our family’s favorite. And don’t forget the honey.

Read more about the history of the liturgical living bonfire, and why St. John the Baptist gets an extra feast day for his BIRTHDAY in this post. Or watch the video here. (Spoiler alert, I get a bucket of water in the face.)

Note for 2022: because the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus falls on June 24 this year, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is observed on June 23.

SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS second Friday after Pentecost (June 24 in 2022)

8. Publicly recite the act of reparation.

A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who, on the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, publicly recite the act of reparation (Iesu dulcissime). See the prayer here. A plenary indulgence is available according to the usual conditions. (Manual of Indulgences Grant 3)

Note: Publicly means in a church, family, religious community, or group of friends.

FEAST OF ST. JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA June 26

9. Say the Morning Offering.

O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer you all my prayers, works, joys,

and sufferings of this day,

for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered throughout the world,

in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of my relatives and friends,

and in particular for the intentions

of the Holy Father. Amen.

Get a free printable version here.

St. Josemaría Escrivá was a big advocate of having a “Plan of Life” to keep track of daily spiritual practices and goals. A really great way to start is by incorporating a Morning Offering prayer as the first thing you do upon waking. Today is a great day to give it a try!

Want some help keeping track of your goals? Try our Plan of Life Notepad.

Read more about encouraging a habit of prayer with kids: Our Catholic Morning Prayer Routine with Kids

SOLEMNITY OF SS. PETER AND PAUL June 29

10. Visit a basilica or cathedral.

Visit a basilica or cathedral on June 29, and there devoutly recite an Our Father and the Creed. (Manual of Indulgences Grant 33)

11. Use something blessed by a pope or bishop.

Use an article of devotion (a crucifix or cross, rosary, scapular, or medal) blessed by the pope or a bishop and make a Profession of Faith (Apostle’s Creed or Nicene Creed). A plenary indulgence is available according to the usual conditions. (Manual of Indulgences Grant 14)

Don’t have an item blessed by the pope? A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly use such articles of devotion properly blessed by either a priest or a deacon.

Note: CAY Liturgical Year Box subscribers received a medal blessed by Pope Francis, donated by our friends at Discount Catholic Products, for FREE in the June box! Get a Ss. Peter & Paul keychain for yourself with a FREE bonus blessed medal here.

12. Sleep in a tent like St. Paul and/or fish like St. Peter.

Also, arguing would be historically accurate.

FEAST DAY CHALLENGES IN JULY

FEAST OF SS. LOUIS & ZELIE MARTIN July 12

13. Make a string craft.

Do a craft with string to honor St. Zelie, who was a lace-maker. Try friendship bracelets, hair wraps, embroidery, crochet, knitting, finger knitting, knot-tying, bobbin lace, or sting art. (See our St. Zelie string art kit here.)

FEAST OF ST. KATERI TEKAKWITHA July 14

14. Make maple snow taffy.

Eighteenth-century Jesuit missionaries like Father Sébastien Rale and Father Joseph-François Lafitau described the making and use of maple syrup by the indigenous peoples with whom they lived. Making maple snow taffy is a simple way to enjoy maple syrup as Saint Kateri might have!  As you might have gathered from the name, this treat is usually enjoyed during the winter. We don’t have snow at our house, ever. So we might as well make this treat in the summer. All that’s required is to bring real 100% pure maple syrup to a boil (235º – 240ºF), then pour it over “snow” (we make our own in a blender). It cools to a sticky maple taffy that can be rolled up onto a stick. We like to use backyard sticks, as they seem more authentic, but if you prefer your treats to be 100% tree bark-free you might prefer a popsicle stick. P.S. Snowball fight!

Get our St. Kateri Maple Snow Taffy set here.

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL July 16

15. Get invested with the brown scapular.

Learn more about the brown scapular and how to dispose of unwanted sacramentals in this post. Or this video.

Get a free printable investiture certificate here. Get our DIY Brown Wool Scapular making kit to create two scapulars yourself!

FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE July 22

16. Play an egg tapping game.

Sure, it’s “off-season” for dyeing eggs, but this tradition is SO FUN! More about the egg tapping game here.

Read more here: How to Dye Your Easter Eggs the Way Mary Magdalene Would Have Except Her Eggs Dyed Miraculously Get our natural egg dye kit here. Get the Mary Magdalene set including onion skin for dyeing, egg cups, decorative tattoos, and an egg tapping champion button here.

FEAST OF ST. BRIDGET OF SWEDEN July 23

17. Eat lingonberries or Swedish fish candies.

You might also want to honor St. Bridget’s devotion to the seven sorrows of Mary by trying the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows. Get a printable booklet here.

FEAST DAY CHALLENGES IN AUGUST

FEAST OF OUR LADY, QUEEN OF ANGELS August 2

18. Visit a church.

With a contrite heart, visit a church on August 2. For a plenary indulgence. Pretty amazing, no? It’s the Portiuncula Indulgence courtesy of St. Francis of Assisi. Read all about it here. Or watch all about it here.

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION August 6

19. Take a hike!

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light.

Matthew 17:1-2 NRSVCE

Jesus took his people on a hike. Let’s take our people on a hike.

FEAST OF ST. LAWRENCE August 10

20. Grill out.

The Catholic Church takes delightful ownership of our beloved martyrs in the cheerfully macabre assignment of patron saints. St. Lawrence was martyred by being cooked on a gridiron, and he was so tough he managed to crack jokes while it was happening. The stories say he quipped, “You better turn me over, I’m done on this side.”

So, of course, he’s the patron saint of cooks and comedians. So grill up something tasty, and maybe have a family joke night!

FEAST OF ST. CLARE August 11

21. Watch T.V.

Although she lived 800 years ago, St. Clare of Assisi was named the patroness of T.V. by Pope Pius XII in 1957. Why? Well, the story goes that one Christmas Eve, Clare was devastated about being bedridden, too sick to attend Mass. In answer to her prayers, she saw and heard the images and sounds of the Mass, as it happened, projected on the wall of her cell.

Looking for ideas for something to watch? Check out Family Movie Nights, Are They Even Possible? . . . Our Favorite Movies (Mostly) Appropriate for All Ages or The Problem With Every Movie From My Youth: and ten family movies that won’t teach your kids to swear like a sailor

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION) August 15

22. Get some herbs blessed.

The blessing of herbs is traditionally associated with the feast of the Assumption. Our Lady’s association with plants—especially herbs which have traditionally been used as natural healing remedies—came about in part “because of the Biblical images applied to her such as vine, lavender, cypress and lily, partly from seeing her in terms of a sweet smelling flower because of her virtue, and most of all because of Isaiah 11:1, and his reference to the ‘shoot springing from the side of Jesse’, which would bear the blessed fruit of Jesus.” Grab this booklet for a blessing that is appropriate for lay use in the home. But especially since it’s a holyday of obligation, it’s also appropriate to bring herbs or other produce along to Mass and ask for Father’s blessing.

QUEENSHIP OF MARY August 22

23. Have an at home Marian procession.

Simple, fun, and appropriate for any Marian feast day, a Marian procession is a lovely way to celebrate the Queenship of Mary! Read more about how we do it here. Watch how we do it here.

FEAST OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW August 24

24. Skin / peel something.

Ready for more fun with gruesome martyrdoms? Another chance is St. Bartholomew. Himself skinned alive before being martyred, he is the patron saint of tanners, leatherworkers, and bookbinders. (Remember Jack’s St. Bartholomew costume? Good times.)

Peel a clementine and call it a day. Peel some apples and make homemade applesauce or apple butter. Skin a rotisserie chicken and make a casserole for dinner. And/or try a leather craft like stamping.

FEAST OF ST. AUGUSTINE August 28

25. Visit a beach!

My favorite story from The Golden Legend old-time hagiography of St. Augustine (added by translator William Caxton in 1483) is known as “the boy by the sea.”

The story goes that one day, Augustine was walking along the beach in North Africa, pondering the mystery of the Holy Trinity and trying desperately to understand once and for all how there could be three persons in one God. He was distracted from his thoughts by the sight of a boy, who had dug a hole in the sand, and was running back and forth, from the ocean to the hole, dumping in bucketful after bucketful of water. Finally, Augustine’s curiosity got the best of him and he asked the boy, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “I’m emptying the ocean into this hole.” The man, amused, said, “Why, you can’t empty the ocean into a hole!” The boy looked into his eyes and said, “Neither can you understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity.” And then the boy was gone.

Edited / adapted by me for inclusion in the Catholic All Year Compendium

Bonus points to grownups for having a beer in honor of St. Augustine’s patronage. It would be even COOLER in these blessing for beer cups on these St. Augustine quote coasters.

And that’s it! You’ve got eleven weeks to git ‘er done. I believe in you! Here’s your chance to establish a habit of liturgical living in the home and have fun doing it. Plus have a chance to win a $100 gift certificate and finally get yourself that liturgical living box subscription you’ve had your eye on, so we do the work for you!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

To enter, email us at helpdesk@catholicallyear.com with a photo of your completed sheet and/or photos of you completing various tasks. More photos = more entries. Submitted photos may be included in a wrap up blog post and/or video. Your email must include this sentence: I, (your name here), and/or my immediate family have completed all of the tasks of the Catholic All Year Ultimate Summer Liturgical Living Bucket Challenge to the best of our ability. Cheating is wrong and could negate all those great indulgences we worked so hard to gain, so I/we did not cheat.

One winner will be chosen by random number generator and notified via email on September 2, 2022.

There will be another drawing among participants on Instagram and Facebook. Check us out there to learn more.

The post The Ultimate Catholic Summer Challenge appeared first on Catholic All Year.

(A video of this process is coming soon!)

Many years ago, I got my kids rosary-making kits and . . . it didn’t go that well. The kit required them to tie knots between each bead and they just couldn’t manage to get the knots close to the beads. Eventually, *I* took over to try to fix the situation, and I didn’t do a much better job than they had done! We still have those rosaries in our rosary storage crock. They’re pretty bad. So . . . when coming up with a DIY rosary for the CAY Subscription Boxes, I wanted it to be the string style, so it wouldn’t require the tools and knowhow of creating wire links, but also not be dependent on knot-tying skills!

These rosaries can be made by adults and by kids with some adult help, and you don’t need special tools or to be magically able to get a lot of knots to land in particular places. I designed the rosary findings and cut them on my Glowforge. Kits containing all the parts you need are included in the Catholic All Year Fall Ordinary Time Subscription Box. Kits are also available individually. You can also adapt this style of rosary-making to use with your own beads and rosary findings!

Making a Five-Decade Rosary

Find the kit here:

Wooden Rosary Kit (Makes 1)

Wooden St. Thérèse Sacrifice Bead / Single-Decade Rosary Kit (Makes 1) – Not currently available

Wooden Rosary + Sacrifice Bead Kit (Makes One of Each) – Not currently available

SUPPLIES

• 59 beads (these can all be the same, or you can choose one type of bead for the 53 ave beads, and a different bead for the 6 pater beads). I used 10mm wooden beads with a 3mm hole.
• 12 spacer beads. I used gold-tone iron beads, 5mm with a 2mm hole.
• a crucifix
• two rosary centerpieces. (You can use just one, but there will be string showing across the back of it.)
• 4 feet string. I used 1.5mm waxed cotton thread. (Cut a longer piece if you are using larger beads.)
• scissors
• small needle-nose pliers (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Note: I use waxed cotton thread because it’s sturdier and makes threading beads easier. If the end gets frayed, just trim a bit off to get a new clean end. Resist the urge to moisten the end in your mouth, as this will make it floppy and make threading beads more difficult. There is enough extra thread to trim it many times. If a particular bead doesn’t want to go on the thread, use your scissors or pliers to scrape the hole out a bit, or just toss it and grab another.

Tip: Use a kitchen towel to keep the beads from rolling away.

1. Cut a four foot length of thread.

2. Fold the length of thread in half.

3. Insert the loop end through the hole of the crucifix from front to back and put the two cut ends through the loop.

4. Pull and wiggle to tighten the loop down on the crucifix. 

5. If necessary, trim the ends a bit so they are un-frayed and even. Insert both threads into beads in the following pattern: G (gold bead) – W (wood bead) – G – Wx3 – G – W – G.

6. Stack the two centerpieces together and insert both threads into the bottom hole, from front to back.

7. (Look out, here come some knots!) Pull the threads to tighten, then, holding a finger against the centerpiece and the top gold bead, loop the two threads around your finger and the strung beads. Insert the two thread ends into the loop created around your finger, pointing them up towards the centerpiece. Remove your finger and pull and wiggle to tighten, making sure the knot is seated between the centerpiece and the gold bead. Repeat, making another knot. Pull and wiggle to tighten.

8. Split the two threads and the two centerpiece pieces. Bring one thread up on each side of the knot, and sandwich them between the centerpieces, coming out the top.

9. Holding the centerpieces pinched together with Mary facing you, insert the left thread forward through the two left holes and pull. Do the same on the right side. Now both threads are coming out of the top centerpiece holes towards you.

10. Gently wiggle the two centerpieces back and forth to separate them a bit. Insert the left thread between the centerpiece pieces down through the top and out the left side. Do the same with the right thread on the right side. Now both threads are coming out the sides of the centerpiece. Insert the left thread through the left holes again, from back to front, leaving it a bit loose to make a loop. Then feed the thread up through the loop you just made, pulling the thread up between this loop and the other loop already in the hole. Repeat on the right side. Tighten by pulling and wiggling the long threads. Now there is an individual thread coming out of each corner of the centerpiece. 

11. Beginning on the left side, insert one thread into beads in the following pattern G – Wx10 – G – W – G – Wx10 – G – Wx5. Repeat on the right side.

12. Tie a single left-over-right knot in the two threads to bring the two sides together.

13. Insert the left side thread through three more beads to the right (these beads are already on the right side thread). Do the same on the right. You now have your two threads coming out of the rosary in opposite directions, with six double-threaded beads between them. 

14. While gently pulling the beads taught with the left thread held tight in your pinky and ring-finger, knot the right thread. Loop the right thread around your finger and insert the thread through the loop towards the right.

15. Pull the two thread ends in opposite directions to tighten the knot.

16. Repeat, making a second knot. Do the same with the left thread, making two knots and pulling the threads in opposite directions to tighten. 

17. Insert the left thread through two more beads to the left, then cut the tail off between the gold and wood beads. Do the same on the right.

18. Ask a priest to bless your rosary if possible, and get to praying!

Making a Single-Decade Rosary / St. Thérèse Sacrifice Beads

SUPPLIES

• 11 beads (these can all be the same, or you can choose one type of bead for the 10 ave beads, and a different bead for the pater beads). I used 10mm wooden beads with a 3mm hole.
• 2 spacer beads. I used gold-tone iron beads, 5mm with a 2mm hole.
• a crucifix
• a lobster claw clasp
• a jump ring
• a saint medallion. I used St. Thérèse.
• 3 feet string. I used 1.5mm waxed cotton thread.
• scissors
• small needle-nose pliers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut a three foot length of thread.

2. Fold the length of thread in half. Insert the loop end through the hole of the St. Thérèse medallion from front to back and put the two cut ends through the loop.

3.Pull and wiggle to tighten the loop down on the medallion. 

4. If necessary, trim the ends a bit so they are un-frayed and even. Split the two threads apart. Insert the left thread through a wood bead horizontally from left to right. Then insert the right thread into the same bead from right to left. Pull the threads in opposite directions to tighten.

5. Repeat with nine more wood beads. Pull each one gently tight.

6. Adjust each bead individually to be horizontal, and adjust the threads to be gently tight. Trim the very ends of the two threads to be even.

7. Insert both threads together vertically into a gold bead, then a wood bead, then a gold bead.

8. Tug the bottom horizontal bead down a bit, to leave an opening a little less than one bead-width.

9. Insert both threads through the hole in the crucifix, front to back. Pull it up towards the gold bead. Hold your finger alongside the gold bead and top of the crucifix. Loop the threads around your finger and insert the tail of the threads up through the finger loop to make a knot. Pull and wiggle to tighten.

10. Tie a second knot in the same manner, pulling it as tight as possible.

11. Use pliers to pull it really tight, then trim the threads off close to the knot.

12. Use pliers to twist (rather than spread) the jump ring open.

13. Insert the clasp onto the jump ring, thread the open jump ring into the moon-shaped opening at the top of the medallion, and pinch the jump ring closed with the pliers. If your saint medal has only one hole, use it for both the string and the jump ring + hook.

14. Tidy up after yourself and you’ve got your first sacrifice to record!

You might also enjoy this blog post:

The Family Rosary: Why is it SO Hard?

And this video:

The post Making a Rosary with No Special Tools and Almost No Knots (because knots are hard) appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Subscription Boxes

Limited-Edition Catholic All Year Subscription Boxes are here.

Note: I shared about the subscription boxes on social media this morning and I couldn’t believe the response! We sold five times what we were hoping to do on our first day. I kept almost closing down the subscriptions, but I wanted to make sure that people who aren’t on social media had a chance to subscribe as well, so here we are! But if you’re interested, please do subscribe today, because we are a two-woman operation and these boxes are a limited-edition offering and I’ll be closing subscriptions soon.

My goal has always been to make liturgical living in the home fun and meaningful and accessible and doable for busy Catholics. I want to bring the rich history and traditions of the Church to people in a way that fits into modern life. I love sharing the fun, simple ways that we observe and reinvent decor, foods, and feast day traditions. But I know that it can still feel intimidating, and reading through a chapter in The Catholic All Year Compendium might leave someone wondering how to even begin to collect the resources I’ve spent nearly two decades putting together for liturgical living with my family.

So when Emily Tate of the gift box company Pillar and Pearl contacted me about creating a liturgical year box subscription, saying yes was, for me, the work of a moment. These boxes are a real passion project for the both of us, with high-quality, carefully-selected items sourced from Catholic makers, discovered in unlikely places, and handmade by us.

The first box is for Lent. Others will follow for the Triduum, Easter, Ordinary Time after Pentecost, Advent, Christmas, and Ordinary Time after the Baptism of the Lord. They include things like home decor, textiles, art, jewelry, beauty items, devotional items, plants, simple crafts and DIY items, recipe cards, and more. They are designed to be useful to women of all ages and for those with and without children.

I just can’t tell you how excited I am that we can deliver these amazing faith resources to your home, so you can be prepared to celebrate the beauty of each liturgical season with your family and friends.

The Lent Box includes:
A Memento Mori Print, Lent Countdown Sheet & Stickers, an Alleluia Sign to Bury, Burlap & Purple Fabric, a Crucifix with Purple Covering, DIY Succulent Planting, Crown of Thorns & Nails, a Shamrock Bracelet, Litany of St. Joseph, Cream Puffs Recipe Card, Shepherd’s Pie Recipe Card, and an Angelus Prayer Cling

Get all the details and sign up here.

Catholic Mom Bundle Lent 2021

It’s that time again! I’ve been participating in these twice-yearly Catholic Mom Bundle sales for four years now. I really see them as an opportunity for me to get to discover and share new Catholic resources, Catholic makers, and Catholic small businesses with you guys. You get to try out digital products from 22 different creators, for 93% off the list prices. It’s pretty great all around.

The bundle is available for 5 days only, through Friday, Jan. 29. Every year, I get emails from people disappointed that they missed it. Don’t let that be you!

My contribution to this year’s bundle is something I’ve been trying to make for many years now: a Liturgical Living Weekly Meal Planner. I attempted many different designs and approaches over the years and never felt like I had it right, until now. I’m genuinely so excited about it, and it’s already proved a useful resource in my home. I can’t wait for you guys to try it!

The weekly planner pages include a place to circle the liturgical season, lines for jotting down meals for each day of the week, and a shopping list to cut and take to the store with you. Also, they’re undated. That means having a frozen pizza and leftovers week or going out of town doesn’t mean “wasting” dated pages. Fill out the weeks as you go. Skip when you want to. Zero judgement from the planner.

You’ll also get pages listing all the feast days on the universal liturgical calendar, plus all the saints’ days mentioned in the CAY Compendium. They are included with a bit of information to inspire your meal planning—like a country or foods with which the saint or day is associated. Also included are lines to jot down your family members’ special days (like birthdays, namedays, and baptismal anniversaries) and any other important recipes, holy days, holidays, and anniversaries you want to remember when meal planning.

There are so many other great printable resources included in the bundle: coloring pages for kids and teens, homeschool resources, Lenten traditions for families, health and wellness and prayer programs for moms, embroidery patterns and peg doll wraps, and super cute Valentines. Don’t miss it!

See everything that’s included and get the bundle here.

The Catholic All Year Membership

I’m not sure how many people even know about it, since I did a pretty lousy job of promoting it, and never even got around to putting a link to it on the blog, but for the past eight months, I’ve had an amazing core group of supporters over on Patreon. I’ve been creating monthly printable liturgical year resources for them, and sending them physical copies of my new books and calendars. It’s been lovely, and I’m so grateful for those patrons. But it felt like time to move off of someone else’s platform and reach more of my own people, so I’m happy to announce that all of the monthly resources offered to those first patrons and MORE are now available right here at Catholic All Year.

There are three levels of membership, and they’ll get you access to things like monthly dated clipart calendars and saint summaries, Catholic quote posters, yearly wall calendars, revised monthly prayer booklets, discounts on ALL digital listings in the shop, exclusive all-new liturgically-inspired recipe packets, physical copies of new books, and a super cool bonuses if you sign up before 3/1.

I’ll be closing my Patreon account at the end of February, so if you’ve been a member over there, please cancel that membership and join us here!

See which level is right for you here.

I hope some or all of these resources will be helpful to you, but if you’re not feeling them or it’s just not the right time, please know I am 100% fine with that! Blog posts and my Liturgical Living Heads Up Newsletter (which you can sign up for in the “subscribe for my latest content” box on the homepage) are always free and open to all. And–stop me if you’ve heard this before–but I intend to write some blog posts in the near future!

Best, Kendra

The post Liturgical Year Subscription Boxes, Meal Planner Catholic Mom Bundle, and New CAY Memberships! 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.

I always encourage people to only follow accounts that they find helpful, and none that disturb their peace. So I support your decision! But I’m sorry to see you go. 

Two considerations come to mind in response to your message. First, one of my favorite things about liturgical living in the home is that it’s a way to grow in our Catholic faith that can be practiced by people on different ends of the political spectrum, and by people on various places on the guitar-Mass-to-Gregorian-Chant continuum. It can be a resource to people at all points in their faith journey. This apostolate of sharing things I’ve learned about Catholicism with others is the reason my blog and social media accounts exist. It has been a significant part of many conversions, which is just so SO amazing to me.

Especially in the past few years, as my readership has increased, I have mindfully tried to stay away from divisive issues except where there is a clear connection to the Mass and the sacraments or liturgical living in the home. This is to give people permission to learn about the saints and the history and tradition of the Church without feeling that they have to be in lockstep with my personal beliefs in other areas.

In real life, issues are complex and multifaceted. In real life, there are plenty of social/political issues upon which good Catholics are allowed to disagree. Even when we agree on a problem, we don’t always agree on solutions. Real change for the better comes from individual growth in personal holiness. But social media often prefers coercion tactics and virtue signaling. 

So much of the internet is purposefully divisive. A couple years ago during the #metoo movement—which was purportedly against the sexual harassment and assault of women especially in professional environments, but which was conflated with the pro-abortion movement—a prominent pelvic floor exercise program took to social media to make sure their followers knew that anyone who didn’t support a woman’s right to have an abortion could show themselves the virtual door. There’s a huge knitting forum that wouldn’t let you talk about knitting unless you also aligned yourself with their views on various political and social issues. Exercise and hobbies have always been things that could bring us together despite important political and social divides. How sad if that kind of friendship isn’t possible anymore.

Of course I have views on current events and opinions on policies. But it limits the people who would be able to hear the message of my apostolate if I make my platform also about the issue of the moment. Today it’s police brutality and anti-racism, but a few minutes ago it was masks and staying home, and before that it was sexual harassment with a side of Netflix, and before that immigration, and before that was Cecil the lion.* There will never not be an issue dividing the internet. I want to be a place of respite from some of that stuff, even when it’s important stuff. I want you to be able to learn about the saints whether you’re charismatic or sspx or protestant or orthodox or syro-malabar or lds, and about the traditions of the Catholic Church even if you are a pagan pro-abortion segregationist. I believe that this is what God is asking of me in this moment.

And that brings me to the second consideration. I get messages like yours each time there is a new social media movement, insisting that I must use my platform to champion the issue about which you feel very strongly. But here’s the thing. Eight years ago, God put it on my heart to want to know more about the saints and Catholic traditions, and to desire that others would know more about them too. I didn’t reach out to existing Catholic bloggers to say I was disappointed in them for not sharing this message that I thought was important. I reached out to them to ask if they had any advice for starting a blog and social media platform of my own. Because if God put it on my heart, I figured it was my job to do it.

St. Paul told the Corinthians that we are all the Body of Christ, in different parts and with different gifts and responsibilities. (1 Cor 12) In other words: It’s a potluck. It’s better if we don’t ALL bring jell-o salad. Is your thing more important than mine? Probably so! All the more reason for you to get to work on what you’re bringing to the table.

There are plenty of good Catholic takes on current events. My favorites recently have been by my good friend (and fellow Fiat Conference planning committee member) Karianna Frey. You can find her on Instagram @kariannafrey.

*These issues are not all equal in importance. But all have prompted people to write to me to share their disappointment.

The post A Potluck Is Better if We Don’t ALL Bring Jell-o Salad: Why I Maybe Didn’t Write About an Important Topic That’s Important to You appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Click here to learn more about the membership options, and here to read why I’m making the switch.

First, some good news! They won’t be open for Pentecost, but Los Angeles churches have a plan for opening in time for Trinity Sunday, praise the Lord! (Trinity Sunday is in fact the absolute “deadline” for receiving communion during the Easter season. It warms the cockles of my heart to think that the powers that be around here might have taken that into consideration.)

From the archives: Pentecost is Bigger Than Christmas

I’m seeing lots of other plans for opening in cities across the world, and creative solutions, and bishops advocating for the faithful when local governments don’t understand Catholic Truths. There’s a lot to be grateful for!

Reader Christine had a fun idea for Pentecost to bring us a bit of togetherness. Whether or not our dioceses have access to the sacraments, whether or not our personal circumstances allow us to participate in the sacraments . . . we are united in faith and spirit. On Pentecost (5/31) let’s show some of that fire ! Light a candle, have a bonfire, on your own, or with a few friends or family members, and share it with the hashtag #pentecostflames and #catholicallyear I’d love to see this shared far and wide! Feel free to share my image or create your own.

Blessing of a Bonfire Booklet of Prayers, Blessings & Bible Readings {Digital Download}

And, second . . . I joined Patreon. But for a pretty good reason, I think. You can let me tell you about it here while Barbara offers you her crackers, or read on below. Or just click through to Patreon now. (CAY Memberships are now available here!)

Anyway, Patreon, is a platform that allows people to sponsor their favorite artists and creators so that those people can spend more time creating and less time hustling. It’s a cool idea. Don’t we all want to imagine ourselves as old timey patrons of the arts, sitting on our ancestral estates, helping out starving artists and bringing beauty into the world?

But that’s actually why I haven’t joined Patreon before now, even though you guys are so sweet and a few of you have suggested it. I just have to assume that the vast majority of you guys don’t have ancestral estates. I’m not starving and I don’t even really consider myself an artist. I’m more of a haver of whims and opinions and a compiler of things and that just doesn’t quite feel the same. I’ve always thought of this as a hobby and an apostolate and something I want to be doing anyway.

But, to be fair, it’s kind of an expensive hobby.

I started blogging back in January of 2013, just after blogs were declared dead. Social media is a great and very cost-effective way to reach people. But I still love longer format blogging and have no plans to abandon it. For many years my blogging expenses on google’s blogger platform held steady at $25 per year. That’s pretty cheap for a hobby.

But then google stopped supporting blogger. You can still have a blog there, but if something goes sideways with the platform they’re just not going to fix it, and all those years of posts could just disappear forever. So I made the decision to migrate to WordPress and invest in a better site there. I have an IT guy now, and a virtual assistant to help me with behind the scenes stuff. I have subscriptions to PicMonkey (for my graphics), Adobe (for formatting printables), and Mailchimp (for the new liturgical living newsletter) all related to the blog. Some of those expenses increase as the number of followers increases. And now that I reach so many more people, I spend over 300 times that original $25 a year to keep my website going and create and share that content. (And that’s not counting expenses related to creating the series of Liturgical living videos from last year.)

So I’ve got the shop and especially the monthly prayer booklets and the sales from those cover the expenses of the blog, but only if I can come up with new things to create that people want to buy every month, because the website upkeep is monthly. And that means I’m hustling to try to create new shop content and spending time on staging and photography and listings and all that gives me less time to work on blog posts and YouTube videos, which is content that I get excited about and I know you guys want.

And still, I didn’t want to pull the trigger on Patreon because this system was working. It was time consuming, but working. The way I’ve sometimes seen it used by YouTubers, patrons get early access to content and get exclusive content that the “regular people” don’t get. And I really wasn’t looking to do that. I want everyone to have the same access to my blog posts and videos and for everyone to be able to get in touch with me.

But then multiple people started asking about if I could provide subscriptions to some of the monthly liturgical living printables, so they wouldn’t have to go to the shop and make purchases each month. It turns out that Patreon seems AWESOME for that.

So, what does all this mean for you? Maybe nothing. All the free blog and video content stays free. The printable posters and booklets in the shop are still available and still priced the same for now. But if you think you could spare as little as $3 a month, I can get you a new liturgical printable poster every month, without having to spend time on staging and photography and listings. For $7 a month, you get a new dated liturgical clipart calendar every month, like the ones I’ve offered for Lent and Advent. And there are higher tiers with other rewards, like signed hard copies of my books (or not signed. That’s up to you) and all the tiers get discounts on all the digital products in the shop.

I usually have 1-2 big public speaking events each month and I had an inventory of all those books which are currently just taking up space in the garage. So hopefully this will be a way to get them into people’s hands.

In case you haven’t seen them before, here is an example of a Catholic quote image, this one is St. John the Baptist for June. They’ll vary each month.

And this is what the clipart calendar looks like. These will vary in color, but the style will be just like this each month. I went ahead and took some photos of the June set, but the benefit of the Patreon subscription model is that in future months, I can just create and share them, without staging, photographing, and listing. These monthly sets will only be available on Patreon.

My hope is that this platform will allow me to eventually offer updated monthly prayer booklets, maybe start workshopping recipes with you guys for the someday-going-to-happen cookbook, and be able to spend more time on writing books and blog posts and creating video content, because I’m spending less time on the hustle.

And in case you’re wondering why I had makeup on on a random quarantine Thursday, it’s because Jim and I were working on our talk for the Catholic Marriage Summit. It’s an amazing online program featuring some really amazing speakers like Scott and Kimberly Hahn, as well as the Darrows, Chapmans, Tomeos, and Fradds! It will be presented for free online June 11-13, but there’s also an all access pass available for purchase if you’d like more workshop-type content and access to the talks for a longer period of time. Anyway, it’s free to sign up. Check it out here.

Finally: Please do not feel obligated to become a patron! Nothing is going to change here content-wise, and I know not everyone HAS a few extra bucks a month. But, the monthly printable bundles are only going to be available through Patreon right now. So, if that’s something you’re interested in, or you’re not, but you just want to help support my content for other people, please consider subscribing to Catholic All Year (right here) over on Patreon. Thank you so much!

The post Pentecost, Printables, Behind the Scenes, and Maybe Patreon? appeared first on Catholic All Year.

I Like to Think That I Would Die for Jesus

I was impressed with the general tone of the dialog. I did have to delete some comments for breaking my long-standing rules against insults and speculating on people’s motivations or what they really mean. But, overall, I saw thoughtful comments from people with differing opinions, and that’s a very good thing. I know this is a contentious issue, and that I set some folks on edge right off the bat with the sensational title. If you didn’t get a chance to wade through the nearly one thousand comments here on the blog and over on Facebook, I wanted to share some clarifications, requests, and considerations inspired by the combox.

Do I think I’m a martyr?

I apologize that it sounded to some as if I thought someone would be a martyr if he was to choose to go to Mass, contract the Coronavirus, and die. I do not believe that, and I didn’t say it in so many words. My intent was to highlight the fact that many martyrs have died to have access to the sacraments and have died protecting the Blessed Sacrament itself. That shows me that the sacraments are real, and that they are important enough that people have chosen martyrdom for them. Because I believe that, I am willing to accept reasonable risks to my health to have access to them. I understand that when one accepts risks to health, one is ultimately accepting the risk of death. I understand that there are risks to others as well, and I think we should take steps to mitigate those risks as much as possible.

If the sacraments are just symbolic then certainly they aren’t worth any risk at all. But if we believe what we say we believe, then the reward of the sacraments is worth some risk. And I’d argue that since the sacraments could all take place outside, with hand washing/sanitizing and social distancing, and without singing, the risks could be less than they are for going to the grocery store.

And the reward, seen from an eternal perspective is much much greater.

Isn’t this a “pro-life” issue?

No. Please, hear me out, but . . . NO. If you, like me, pray for an end to legal abortion of babies and legal euthanasia of the sick, disabled, and elderly, I beg you to stop using abortion debate jargon in other disagreements. Accusing someone of not being “pro-life” because they are comfortable with a different level of risk than you are isn’t appropriate. Invoking “bodily autonomy” against stay at home orders is an enormously bad idea if you actually care about the rights of the unborn.

Updated to add, from a response to a comment on FB,

Here’s my reasoning . . . from a practical standpoint, it’s being used in this particular case to shut down discussion. I say, here are my reasons for thinking what I think, and someone says, you can’t think that, you’re not pro-life! Which is not good conversation. By any metric, being “pro-life” can’t mean you think you can make it so no one will die. So what we should be discussing is risk, and what risks are worth taking for which people and for what rewards.

Second update: There is more on this subject in the comments.

Fine, call it what you will, but don’t you want people to NOT DIE?

Yes, I do want that. God wanted that. In the Garden of Eden, there was no death. But now, as a result of original sin, disease, decay, and death are a part of this life. By the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have the hope of eternal life in heaven to look forward to, where there is no suffering and no death. But there’s just no getting around the fact that we are all at risk of death at all times from any number of causes. The question we are looking at now (whether we realize it or not) is just risk versus reward.

Before all this virus stuff, I chose to risk my own life and the lives of my children, other motorists, and passers by whenever I drove my car. But we considered that acceptable because the reward is high enough and the risk is low enough. The husband is “essential” and leaving the house to work. We consider that risk acceptable, because he is in healthcare and helping others, and he is earning a paycheck, which is useful for us at home. My seventeen year old son does the grocery shopping for us and for friends who aren’t willing or able to go themselves. There’s a risk, but the reward is food in the house.

So, now . . . the sacraments. If I knew that, for instance, the host was poisoned and I would certainly die, would I receive it? No. My faith does not require that of me. But certainly the sacraments are worth SOME level of risk. I believe that the sacraments are real and efficacious and that they are worth a risk at least equal to what I would accept to get money or food.

People who are more vulnerable to the virus, or those who live with or care for them, are able to accept less risk in all areas of life, and have always had recourse to a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass, and to acts of contrition and spiritual communion in lieu of confession and communion. I fully support that, and would certainly use those options myself, even were Masses available, if I or a loved one was sick.

Four Effective Ways for Catholics to Pray When Separated from Mass and the Sacraments

The fact that some particularly vulnerable people will choose to take the risk of attending Mass is definitely a pastoral concern, but not being willing to trust the prudential judgment of individual adults and families leads to an impossible situation all around. If Masses are offered in an area, some vulnerable people will choose to come. If Masses aren’t offered in an area some people will travel to other dioceses and crowd Masses there, or leave for other rites or schismatic groups, or abandon the faith entirely. If we take responsibility for one, we have to be willing to take responsibility for the other as well.

Grocery stores are offering special shopping hours for seniors, with fewer people allowed inside. Surely we could come up with creative solutions for the sacraments as well. In important ways the logistics actually favor the sacraments, since, with the permission of the bishops, they could all potentially be moved outside, which appears to be safer than indoors, especially inside air-conditioned buildings. It’s less easy to move supermarkets outside.

What about particularly vulnerable priests? Do I want all priests to be dead?

I think individual bishops and priests should make individual decisions for individual circumstances. It’s possible that particular communities would be without their priest for his safety, but that seems preferable to a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn’t allow any priests to minister to their flocks. (The situation in my diocese.)

There’s a noteworthy disconnect in the general narrative here. Doctors and nurses who are working are heroes. (Agreed.) Grocery store employees and Grubhub drivers who are coming to work are also heroes. (Okay, sure.) But a priest who wants to observe safe practices as much as possible while still providing the sacraments and other pastoral care to his parishioners is considered reckless. “He might get the virus! He might spread the virus! He needs to stay home and stay safe!”

A priest willing to take risks to attend to the spiritual needs of those in his care is OF COURSE a hero. Perhaps the secular media can’t see that. But we should. And may God preserve all our priests. But a noble death in the service of others is a great consolation to those left behind. If we believe what we say we believe about eternal life then we allow priests to take risks and make heroic choices in the same way that doctors and nurses and Amazon delivery guys are doing.

Can’t I just be patient?

Yes. But, just so you know where I’m coming from . . . In Los Angeles, Masses can be attended by a priest and media support people only, church doors are locked, adoration is not permitted, confessions are allowed only in danger of death, drive up confessions are specifically prohibited, marriages and baptisms are not permitted, the faithful cannot visit the graves of their loved ones at Catholic cemeteries. Catholics face a stricter lock down here, in a city with 1500 deaths, than in New York City that has had over 21K deaths. Some of these restrictions are by government mandate, some are extra precautions taken by our bishops.

What I would like to see from our government is an acknowledgment that the practice of our faith is at least phase 2 essential. (It’s not currently considered so in California.) I’d like to see us politely advocating for that.

Can’t I just be obedient?

Sure. But, as I have not taken a vow of silence, obedience doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to say anything about it. My concern is twofold: the message the bishops are getting from the faithful, and the message the faithful are getting from the bishops.

First, the bishops are human and can be just as susceptible to the 24 hour news cycle as other people. The media narrative is that physical safety should be our number one concern. If our bishops believe that their top priority must be our physical safety above all else, then they are going to make decisions based on that. As of this weekend, church services are permitted by the state of Iowa (where my sister lives). But the bishops of Des Moines have decided to continue the suspension of all Masses throughout the state. They feel they cannot ensure the health and safety of all. Those bishops should hear us say: “Thank you for caring so much about us, but please allow your priests to come up with creative solutions. Allow individual priests and members of the faithful to assess the risk in their circumstances and decide how and if they receive the sacraments. We want you to care about the needs of our souls as much as our bodies.”

Being Weird Catholics: Seven Ways We Help Our Family Believe in the Real Presence

Which leads me to my other concern, which is that we know that the majority of buns in the pews already do not believe in the Real Presence. They already are not familiar with the Precepts of the Church. They already don’t avail themselves of confession. I wonder what will be the long term fallout from our bishops telling us: just watch the Mass on TV, just talk to God about your sins, there’s no hurry on baptism, you don’t have to receive communion during the Easter season. I believe in the authority of the pope to grant indulgences (and who loves and promotes indulgences more than I?!) and in the authority of the bishops to grant dispensations. But all of this that we believe about the sacraments is already so hard to believe, and actions speak so loudly. If the bishops tell us by their actions that the sacraments are not worth any level of physical risk, then that is the level of value the faithful will put on them, and then everything is just symbols and we are Protestants.

Catholic Indulgences: what they are, when they are, and why you should care (as of the 1999 Manual of Indulgences revision of the Enchiridion of Indulgences)

I want to hear them say, not, “Our priests are old and can’t risk their health,” but “We have a task force of young priests setting up mobile outdoor confessions for you.” Not, “All baptisms are cancelled,” but, “Baptisms are a priority, but we want to do them as safely as possible, so we are offering the old school practice of a baptism as soon as possible after birth with just the baby and the father and the priest and the godparents. We’re going to annoint, sprinkle, light the candle, and get out of there. No parties, but lots of removing of the stain of original sin.” This is a chance to witness to the fact that the sacraments are real and efficacious and that they are worth some level of risk to provide and obtain. And I’m worried that’s just not the message folks are getting.

Am I an idiot? Do I even know what I’m talking about?

I don’t know. Maybe to both. Pray for me.

The post Abortion Jargon, Obedience, and Whether I Just Want to Kill All Priests: The Catholic + Coronavirus Can of Worms appeared first on Catholic All Year.

I suppose one never knows for sure until one is faced with the opportunity, but I like to think that I would die for Jesus, and for you.

I believe in the authority of the pope and our bishops to dispense us from our Sunday obligation, and to offer new indulgences in new ways, and that both of these are licit and charitable and good. I believe that the Covid-19 Coronavirus is real and that it poses a real danger to the health of some and that there are steps that we can and should take to mitigate some of the risk.

However . . .

The annals of hagiography are filled with saints willing to be martyred in defense of their neighbor, the Church, and the sacraments. Specifically the Eucharist.

There are news stories of priests (here and here) and laypeople who risked or sacrificed their lives attempting to save the Eucharist from danger.

I’m not here to tell you what choices you should make for your own health and family in your particular circumstances. But it seems to me that the narrative that our bishops are hearing is that we, the faithful, are scared. They are hearing that we want safety. I want to come out and say that I want Jesus in the Eucharist, and I am willing to risk death for it.

I believe that Jesus is truly present in every particle of the Blessed Sacrament and I am willing to risk death to treat every particle with reverence.

I believe in the efficacy of the sacraments of confession, baptism, matrimony, anointing of the sick, and extreme unction, and that the faithful have a right to them even in times of crisis. (Can. 213)

I believe in the Precepts of the Church and that the requirement to receive the Eucharist during the Easter season is real and important. (CCC 2042)

I believe that friends and family and fellowship and community are integral parts of our faith and the human experience and there are levels of risk that I am willing to accept for those opportunities.

I understand that no matter what precautions I take, I and people I love might get the Coronavirus. It sounds pretty miserable. I understand that no matter what precautions I take, I and people I love might die of the Coronavirus or any number of other things. That is all the more reason why I prefer to have access to the sacraments, even with the risks that would entail.

It is the responsibility of the faithful, per Canon Law, to let the bishops know what we need. (Can. 212.2-3) I invite you to consider doing so.

See also: Control Is an Illusion: Some Things I Noticed While Spending Five Weeks in the Hospital with a Two Year Old (and a baby sidekick)

Update 5/9: New policy, because it’s my blog and I can.

I strongly object to the use of the term pro-life in this debate. To willfully and purposefully kill someone by abortion or euthanasia is in no way the same as to accept that there are risks associated with particular choices in life and to allow people the freedom to make those choices. I risk my own life and the lives of my children, other motorists, and passers by when I drive my car. But we consider that acceptable because the reward is high enough and the risk is low enough. It is not anti-life to drive. It’s not anti-life to allow people to choose other behaviors that have risks. 

Let’s talk about whether the reward of the sacraments is worth the risk. Let’s have this discussion, let’s try to convince one another to see it our way. But please don’t call it a pro-life issue.

In related news, please try to just say what you think without offering insult or speculating about the motivations of the people to whom you are responding. It just keeps everything so much more pleasant.

As always, I reserve the right to delete comments or portions of comments as necessary. -Kendra

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