Though he was a quiet man, who left us not even a single quote, there is certainly no shortage of devotion to St. Joseph around the world. In my family, we draw on Sicilian traditions and St. Joseph’s occupation as a carpenter to inspire our food and activities for our celebration.

Watch as the kids and I make cream puffs, hammer nails, and eat spaghetti with our hands off the table. I hope you and your kids find this episode to be an inspiration for fun and easy ways to celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph later this month!

You can watch the St. Joseph episode exclusively at Formed.org.

My family will be saying the St. Joseph Novena this year for a special intention. Will you join us? You can sign up here for email reminders from Pray More Novenas if you’d like. The St. Joseph Novena usually begins on March 10 to finish on March 18, but since St. Joseph’s Day is moved to March 20 in 2023, starting on March 11 and finishing March 19 would work too. We’ll be praying for your intentions as well!

Access to all the great Catholic audio and video resources on FORMED is free if your parish has a subscription.

Signing up for FORMED is quick and easy.  Just follow the simple instructions below. 

1. Go to formed.org/signup

2. Search for your parish by Zip Code/ Postal Code. Click on your parish. 

3. Register with your name and email address

4. Check that email account for a link to begin using FORMED

If your parish doesn’t offer FORMED, you can sign up for a free 7-day trial of the individual membership, and if you choose to keep it, it’s just $10 per month.

THIS EPISODE’S RECIPES

St. Joseph – March 20th

Pasta on the Table (Pasta Alla Tavola)

Sfinge Cream Puffs

Caprese Skewers

Melon & Prosciutto Skewers

Spiced Play Dough

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Pasta on the Table – St. Joseph’s Day Kit

Ora et Labora Plaque DIY Kit

Feast Day Prep Squad Apron

St. Joseph Folding Yard Stick

Missed the last episode?

If you’d like to see more episodes, please consider watching, commenting, and sharing the links with your friends, family members, parish and school/homeschool groups.

We had such fun making these!

Special thanks from me to the awesome CAY at Home team.

• Leo Severino, executive producer, you might know him from Bella (2006) and Sound of Freedom (2022)
• John Haggard, producer and director, also Dean of Students and Faculty at my kids’ school
• Elizabeth Mirzaei, director of photographer/editor, academy award-nominated documentary filmmaker known for Three Songs for Benazir (2021) and also my YouTube videos
• Charley Blum, director of photographer/editor, JP Catholic alum
• Jennifer Rueda, makeup, wardrobe, set design, and fellow homeschool mom
• Keeley Bowler, production manager, also CAY marketing manager and homeschool mom
• Brian Battles, colorist, also visual effects for Star Wars and Star Trek and Transformers movies

They’re all super talented and super Catholic and it’s an honor to collaborate with them on my little show. Have you watched it? I’d love to hear what you think!

The post Catholic All Year at Home, Ep. 5: St. Joseph appeared first on Catholic All Year.

This episode is all about St. Frances of Rome, a young woman who wanted to dedicate her life to God as a nun. It turned out that God had a bit of a different plan in mind and instead, called her first to be, a wife, mother, and homemaker. Her story was very inspiring to me when I was a young wife, mother, and reluctant homemaker myself.

I hope that through this episode you discover a friend who can pray for you and your family as you all tackle your favorite (and not-so-favorite tasks) around your own home.

Plus you’ll get to hear a little bit about how I was introduced to liturgical living, and learn to make some delicious and simple lenten recipes with your kids!

You can watch the St. Frances of Rome episode exclusively at Formed.org.

Access to all the great Catholic audio and video resources on FORMED is free if your parish has a subscription.

Signing up for FORMED is quick and easy.  Just follow the simple instructions below. 

1. Go to formed.org/signup

2. Search for your parish by Zip Code/ Postal Code. Click on your parish. 

3. Register with your name and email address

4. Check that email account for a link to begin using FORMED

If your parish doesn’t offer FORMED, you can sign up for a free 7-day trial of the individual membership, and if you choose to keep it, it’s just $10 per month.

THIS EPISODE’S RECIPES

St. Frances of Rome – March 9th

Lenten Soft Pretzels

Trashcan Soup Stock

Universal Soup Recipe

Cheese Dipping Sauce

FEATURED PRODUCTS

The Catholic All Year Prayer Companion

St. Frances of Rome Pot Holder

St. Martha and the Dragon Spoon Rest

Feast Day Prep Squad Apron

St. Joseph Folding Yard Stick

Corporal Works of Mercy Print

Liturgical Living Weekly Meal Planner

Missed the last episode?

If you’d like to see more episodes, please consider watching, commenting, and sharing the links with your friends, family members, parish and school/homeschool groups.

We had such fun making these!

Special thanks from me to the awesome CAY at Home team.

• Leo Severino, executive producer, you might know him from Bella (2006) and Sound of Freedom (2022)
• John Haggard, producer and director, also Dean of Students and Faculty at my kids’ school
• Elizabeth Mirzaei, director of photographer/editor, academy award-nominated documentary filmmaker known for Three Songs for Benazir (2021) and also my YouTube videos
• Charley Blum, director of photographer/editor, JP Catholic alum
• Jennifer Rueda, makeup, wardrobe, set design, and fellow homeschool mom
• Keeley Bowler, production manager, also CAY marketing manager and homeschool mom
• Brian Battles, colorist, also visual effects for Star Wars and Star Trek and Transformers movies

They’re all super talented and super Catholic and it’s an honor to collaborate with them on my little show. Have you watched it? I’d love to hear what you think!

The post Catholic All Year at Home, Ep. 4: St. Frances of Rome appeared first on Catholic All Year.

The “You Can Still Do This” Guide to All Things Holy Week

Here, let’s talk about the Seven Churches Visitation.

Under normal circumstances, following the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper, the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the tabernacle in the church, which is left open and empty. The Sacrament, in a temporary tabernacle or pyx, is placed on an Altar of Repose in a different location in the church or an adjacent chapel or other room for Adoration. It is traditional to recite the Tantum Ergo before the Altar of Repose.

From this practice arose the tradition to visit several churches to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in each church. It actually began with St. Philip Neri, who would organize his sixteenth century buddies on a walking tour of Rome to visit the city’s seven basilicas on the night of Holy Thursday!

There is a plenary indulgence available to the faithful for the recitation of the Tantum Ergo on Holy Thursday, before the altar of repose (Manual of Indulgences 7:2). Recently, an apostolic letter allows us to gain indulgences without fulfilling the usual conditions of confession and communion if we are prevented by the Coronavirus from doing so, provided we resolve to do so when possible. So this indulgence is available to us from home today, even if we don’t have access to Mass and confession.

Our Holy Thursday tradition has been (since our first try in 2013!) to do a modified Seven Churches Visitation during the day. Buuuuut . . . since all the churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are currently locked up tight under the COVID19 Coronavirus directives, what we usually do is not going to be possible this year.

Perhaps we’ll still get in the car and drive to seven churches, and stay outside. I think it would still be meaningful. But it also occurred to me that this might be a very good use for some of the virtual tours available for the world’s greatest Catholic churches. There are WAY more than seven available online, so if there’s one you’ve always wanted to see, hey, now’s your chance. But here are my suggestions.

1. St. Patrick’s Cathedral – New York City, NY

You can move the image around, and zoom in right here.

2. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart – Notre Dame, IN

See more 360 images here.

3. Basilica of St. Mary – Minneapolis, MN

Same as above for this 360 degree image.

4. Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres – Chartres, France

5. La Sagrada Familia – Barcelona

6. Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception – Washington D.C.

7. The Sistine Chapel – Vatican City

Poignant isn’t it? Seeing all these beautiful sanctuaries empty, just as they probably are as you read this . . . but just as we trust that after the triduum comes the resurrection, we have to trust that after the quarantine will come full, bustling churches once again!

Have a beautiful Triduum and a very blessed Easter.

A FEW RESOURCES YOU MIGHT FIND HELPFUL FOR THE TRIDUUM

• Catholic All April Prayer Booklet featuring at home prayers, readings, and devotions for Holy Week and Eastertide
• Holy Week Meal and Activity Planner ($1)
• Stations of the Cross Booklet
• Stations of the Cross Coloring Pages for kids and adults
• At Home Veneration of the Cross Booklet ($1)
• Blessing of a Bonfire Booklet of Prayers, Blessings & Bible Readings {Digital Download}
• Holy Saturday at Home DIY Easter Candle and At Home Lucernarium & Exsultet for the Easter Vigil Booklet {Digital Download}
• Easter Sunday at Home Dry Mass Booklet {Digital Download} + FREE Printing & Shipping Available

If you have a recommendation for a virtual tour of a Catholic Church that I didn’t include, please put it in the comments!

The post Holy Thursday at Home: a Virtual Seven Churches Visitation appeared first on Catholic All Year.

It’s super late this year. Almost as late as it can possibly be. The latest since 2000 and the latest until 2030 when Easter will be on April 23 again. In 2038 it will be on April 25th, the latest possible Easter! I might be the only person interested in that little tidbit. So, let’s move on, shall we?

Lent is late, but it will arrive next week. Lent is always a great kick in the pants for me. New Year’s resolutions come RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF CHRISTMAS. Who wants THAT? And a New Year’s Resolution is meant to be forever, or for a year, anyway, which means, practically, they’re harder to stick to. Lent is a nice, tidy length, perfect for trying out new additions and subtractions from my life to see if they make me and my home better.

If it was a great success, maybe I’ll stick with it long term. If not, well, Easter will come, and I can try something new next year.

I don’t want to bug you guys with salesy stuff too much. This year in particular feels like a lot, because I had the book launch, and I’m trying to create and promote my monthly prayer booklets, because they are a genuine help to my family and I hope they are to yours! But I would never want you to think you have to buy ANYTHING to be a part of the Catholic All Year community. I’m not getting as many blog posts out as I would like to (I’ve got some mailbag questions that just need formatting, so hopefully those will be posted soon) but the archives are all here and all free, and I hope you’ll poke around there a bit every so often. And I have new content on Facebook and Instagram here and here almost every day, if you’re not giving that up for Lent!

Update: The Catholic Mom Bundle Sale is over for the season, but my contribution is available for purchase here in my shop.

I like to participate in this Catholic Mom Bundle once or twice a year, because it’s a great way to introduce you guys to other Catholic women who are out there creating content to help us live out our faith in our lives and our homes. This Lent 2019 Bundle features FIFTEEN items: books, journals, liturgical living resources, crafts for moms and kids, and beautiful, printable art. It’s available for five days only, for only $25, which is 89% off. It really is a great value, even if you’ll only use a few of the included resources, and, if you buy it from me, it helps me justify the amount of time I spend creating this stuff!

So, here’s what you’ll get . . .

1. Cut back on your spending to devote more to almsgiving with “Hail Marry’s Guide to a No-Spend Lent eBook” & “The Hail Marry No-Spend Planner”
2. Observe each day of Lent along with inspirational posters and sacrificial practices with “The Catholic All Year Printable Lent”
3. Play engaging word puzzles, coloring pages and bingo games for children with “Lent Activity Bundle for Catholic Kids”
4. Help the youngest family members walk the Via Dolorosa with the Montessori-style “Stations of the Cross Cards and Meditations for Families with Young Children”
5. Create a hands-on prayer experience with the simple “Easy as Abacus Stations of the Cross Craft Kit”
6. Grow in virtue and intentionality with “Until I Rest in You: A Lenten Journal for Catholic Moms”
7. Slow down and create a work of beauty with “Pray Fast Give Embroidery Pattern”

There are even more workbooks, printables, and eBooks in the Catholic Mom Bundle. Ordinarily everything would cost $233. But for 5 days I’m partnering with these lovely women and we’re selling all our products as a bundle for only $25.

See more details on all the products here.

I’m super DUPER excited about my contribution. So I want to give you a look at everything you get in the Catholic All Year Printable Lent.

Ta DAAAA! Okay, maybe it doesn’t look like a whole lot here. But these are our beloved family Lent traditions, that for over TEN YEARS I have just kinda thrown together every year for my kids, finally in a professional, printable, accessible, useable format perfect for homes or classrooms.

You get:

• A Lent Clipart Countdown Calendar featuring medallions for Lenten weekdays and Sundays, special days, saints’ days, feasts, and fasting days
• A brief explanation of the symbols used on each medallion
• A sample mock-up arrangement of the clipart calendar, posters, and quotes
• A Lenten prayer, fasting, almsgiving poster
• Eight different Lent quotes from the Bible, the catechism, and the saints
• A group Voluntary Lenten Disciplines page for things a household or classroom are taking up or giving up together, in an example version (the one our family uses) and a blank version
• Individual Voluntary Lenten Discipline slips
• A Label and Instructions to make a Lenten Sacrifice Bean Jar

The Voluntary Lenten Discipline Pledges come in a group version for things that a family or classroom are giving up or taking up together, and these individual pledge slips for . . . individuals. The example version in the main photo is what WE do in our house, but there’s a blank version to fill in what you’d like to do.

The Lenten Sacrifice Bean Jar is SO GOOD for resetting habits around here. I’ve got a post on how it can be used for Lent here, and for general behavior modification here. Usually we use purple kidney beans, since they are more Lent in color, but I didn’t want to go to the store before I took these photos, so these are pinto beans.

The Lent Clipart Calendar has individual medallions for each POSSIBLE day of Lent in this and EVERY OTHER YEAR. You get super cute little cacti for the weekdays of Lent, but there are also medallions for special Lent days like Ash Wednesday, and the days of the Triduum. There are Sunday medallions, and ember day medallions, and a medallion for each and every saint on the universal calendar (plus some of our favorites who are not on the universal calendar) whose feast day might fall during Lent in any year. You also get a little explanation of the symbols I chose for the medallions, in case your kids ask you if St. Gemma Galgani was a paratrooper (she was not) or if St. Peter Damian liked naps (he did).

So anyway, this is my printable magnum opus. It was a labor of love for my kids and yours. I really hope you like it and that it will inspire and enable you to try out these traditions in your home or classroom.

As a thank you for buying the Catholic Mom Bundle using my affiliate link, for which I receive a percentage of the proceeds, you’ll also get this set of four Lent Saint quotes, a $20 value, for FREE!

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Part I

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Part II

Joseph Most Just, Terror of Evil Spirits

Saint Frances of Rome: Find Him in Her Housekeeping

Just email your receipt or confirmation number to helpdesk@catholicallyear.com and I’ll send you the four .jpg files.

Happy Lent!

The post The Catholic Mom Bundle Lent 2019 appeared first on Catholic All Year.

Let’s jump in the ol’ T.A.R.D.I.S. and take a look back at the Triduum, just for posterity’s sake, shall we? And let’s, um, go backwards. ‘Cause, why not?

In case you missed it in all the hubbub yesterday, here are all the Easter photos.

Scroll to the very bottom for new free printables for the Easter season. 

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday meant finding where I had stashed all the new Easter clothes, and making sure things all fit, and, when they didn’t, making a quick trip to Old Navy.

We put away the Lent decorations, and gussied up for Easter.

We dyed (and painted) Easter eggs.

For the first time ever, we tried using the brown eggs from our backyard hens (on the bottom), as well as the white eggs from the store (on top) that we usually use.  I think the brown eggs turned out really beautifully. The colors looked really rich compared to the white eggs, I thought.

Good Friday

On Good Friday we ate hot cross buns. Yum.

We finished up the last of the Holy Week declutter and donate in the morning. 

From noon to three we read from the Bible, said the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary, then, once the little kids were napping, walked over to venerate the cross at our local parish. In the evening we had friends over for our annual Good Friday Fish Fry, and Stations of the Cross. (Thanks, mom, for cooking!)

Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday we did our customary morning Seven Churches Visitation. It is traditionally supposed to happen at night, after Holy Thursday services. I kept figuring, SOME day I’ll be able to do that. Then, a few years ago I just decided I didn’t want to keep putting it off until SOME day, so we just moved it to the morning. Each year we’ve tried to visit seven new to us churches. Some of our very favorites have been the non-Roman rite Catholic churches. They’re so different. It’s cool. We do two stations of the cross at each church. This year we brought along change the kids had been collecting during Lent, along with the thirty pieces of silver from Spy Wednesday, to put in the poor boxes.

After naps, we watched The Prince of Egypt and ate gummy frogs. Then we went to Holy Thursday services. Then we came home for our special meal, which I’ve decided to start calling a Last Supper rather than a Seder, so as to avoid confusion. I’m not sure that Jesus had knishes, but I’m not sure that he DIDN’T either.

Finally . . . reading from the Bible and family foot washing. Lulu quite enjoyed having her own feet washed by Gus, but was having NOTHING of washing my feet.

Spy Wednesday

On Spy Wednesday we had our last BIG cleaning day, then in the evening, the kids searched for Judas’ thirty pieces of silver. In a new twist this year, we used flashlights. It was fun that way, but it made it tough to take photos.

In case you missed it, here was my post about the first few days of Holy Week.

And my guest post at Teaching Sam and Scout, the link didn’t work when I posted about it here last time. So here’s one that does work, I hope.

I hope your family will have a very fun and blessed Easter season! Speaking of Easter seasons, instead of saying the Angelus at noon, during Easter, we’re supposed to say the Regina Caeli. So, I made up a printable of that for you . . .

Enjoy!

The post Our Triduum in Photos appeared first on Catholic All Year.

UPDATE: I’m now back on board with my original post, thanks to some advice from Scott P. Richert of the About.com Catholic page and your comments. Whew. But I’m leaving this up because it happened, and because the photoshopping is pretty profound.

Dear Internet,

Remember that post I wrote yesterday? The one about how we can’t ALL be right about Sundays in Lent?

Well, I was right about that part.

But, as it turns out, much of the rest of it was wrong.

I researched that post by consulting faithful Catholic websites, and actually reading actual papal encyclicals. (Despite that background. Seriously, Vatican, do you want us to go blind?) 

All the information I found indicated that fasting from food wasn’t required or considered acceptable on Sundays, even during Lent. Not being able to find primary sources that referred to other voluntary Lenten disciplines, I extrapolated to apply the food policies to other fasts.

Except there ARE primary sources that directly address this exact issue. From the USCCB no less.

Q. Why do we say that there are forty days of Lent?  When you count all the days from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, there are 46.

A. It might be more accurate to say that there is the “forty day fast within Lent.”  Historically, Lent has varied from a week to three weeks to the present configuration of 46 days. The forty day fast, however, has been more stable. The Sundays of Lent are certainly part of the Time of Lent, but they are not prescribed days of fast and abstinence.

Q. So does that mean that when we give something up for Lent, such as candy, we can have it on Sundays?

A.  Apart from the prescribed days of fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and the days of abstinence every Friday of Lent, Catholics have traditionally chosen additional penitential practices for the whole Time of Lent.  These practices are disciplinary in nature and often more effective if they are continuous, i.e., kept on Sundays as well.  That being said, such practices are not regulated by the Church, but by individual conscience.

Thank you to Becky for sharing the link in the comments.

So, there you have it. Although it does say it’s up to an individual to decide, I feel like I, personally, would have to have a very good reason for going against the recommendation of the bishops.

We haven’t told the kids yet. But tonight’s screening of The Prince of Egypt will be our last movie night of Lent. (Thank goodness it was really, really good. And thanks to Jessica for the recommendation.)

As Ashley Sue recommended in the comments of my earlier post, we will find ways to celebrate the joy of Sundays in Lent without breaking our traditional family disciplines of giving up treats and television.

If you broke your Lenten disciplines on my recommendation this Sunday, please accept my sincere apologies. I’ll do the penance for all of us.

I’ll close with a quote from the speech my son Jack gave at our parkday’s Great American Speeches Pageant:

I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better
information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important
subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.

— Benjamin Franklin, On the Faults of the Constitution

I’ve changed my opinion on this. I’m sorry for any confusion or inconvenience I’ve caused. If you shared my earlier post, I ask that you would do so again with this one.

Your friend,
Kendra

UPDATE:
p.s. I agree with many of you who have said that the bishops’ recommendations seem to leave a lot of wiggle room. Absolutely they do. But . . . If they had said, for instance, “cigarettes” I would think, “yes, those are addictive, you wouldn’t want to have those on Sunday.” If they had said “swearing” I would think, “yes, that’s in poor taste, we shouldn’t take that back up on Sunday.” But they say “candy,” which is pretty much exactly what WE have been indulging in on Sundays at my house. I have written to the USCCB for clarification, and hope to hear back soon. But, until I do, we’re going to err on the side of caution. Unfortunately.

UPDATE UPDATE:

I’ve been in contact with the very wise Scott P. Richert of the About.com Catholic page. He advises me that my first post, and his About.com posts AND the USCCB post can all coexist. Also, that the USCCB page was not written by a bishop, but rather an employee of the bishops, so my concern about obedience to the bishops is not an issue. Anyway, this has all been an interesting exercise. I never did hear back from the USCCB about my concerns, but I feel confident again in the position I endorsed in my original post. Whew.

The post An Open Letter to the Internet About My Being Wrong appeared first on Catholic All Year.