Category: Liturgical Calendar

Art of the Ressurection

Posted: by Melanie Jean Juneau

Catholics aree92cc3bdf22bfe44fc9772ceaa2a9d84 more focused on the Passion than on Pentecost while Pentecostals are more focused on, well, the Resurrection and Pentecost. Although we are in a Liturgical season of joy, there are still more pins of the Crucified Christ than of the Resurrected Christ on Pinterest’s Catholic sites.

When people think of a Catholic saint, the first image that comes to mind is a sad, pale, thin figure, often tortured and in pain, or looking as if he was wearing a hair shirt. Traditional Catholic art has reinforced this impression. Recently I was looking for images of smiling or laughing monks. Hundreds of images popped up featuring Buddhist monks laughing, but I had trouble finding a handful of photos or paintings of joyful Catholic monks and priests

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Celebrating Passion Sunday

Posted: by Nicole Ernest

passion sundayDid you notice something different at your church today?  Did you remember to veil your crosses at home?  Today is Passion Sunday (the 5th Sunday of Lent) and the beginning of Passiontide.  It is said that:

“Crosses and statues are veiled now and will remained veiled for two full weeks.  The Catholic Encyclopedia describes this custom as follows:  “Before Vespers of Saturday preceding Passion Sunday (i.e. the 5th Sunday of Lent) the crosses, statues, and pictures of our Lord and of the saints on the altar and throughout the church, with the sole exception of the crosses and pictures of the Way of the Cross, are to be covered with a violet veil, not translucent, nor in any way ornamented.  The crosses remain covered until the solemn denudation of the principal crucifix on Good Friday.  The statues and pictures remain their covering, no matter what feast may occur, until the Gloria in Excelsis of Holy Saturday”.

Continue reading about Passion Sunday and see what our family did to celebrate at Children Of The Church Blog!

Feast of St Patrick – A Liturgical Playdate

Posted: by Nicole Ernest

st patrick songOne thing that I LOVE about blogging is the community that it forms and the amazing resources that it provides!  It is so easy to get almost intimidated when you enter the world of Catholic blogs or Pinterest, but the great thing that I have learned is that everyone is different and we do not need to do things the way other people do things.  More than that, we may not even called to do those things!  We are called to live our vocations to the best of our ability, and to do for our families what is best for their individual needs.  Keeping that in mind I try to use this community to praise others for the amazing, inspiring things that they are doing, support them during times of need and take little pieces here and there that I can apply to my life and vocations.

A favorite blogger of mine has always been Kendra Tierney from Catholic All Year!  She is a Catholic homeschooling momma of 7 children (soon to be 8) who in the most down to earth, realistic way talks about how they live their life and live the liturgical year.  One thing that she recently talked about was creating Liturgical Playdates, calling it Liturgical Living for Beginners (Yup, that’s Me!!)  If you know me in real life you would know that I am not much of the hostess, and I am really good at the basics.  Either way, I decided to give it a go and throw a St Patrick’s Feast Day Liturgical Playdate.  I invited 3 other homeschool moms who are dear friends of mine and with their children and mine there was a total of 11 children for a morning of fun and learning.

Head on over to Children of the Church Blog to see what we did!

Stations of the Cross with Children

Posted: by Nicole Ernest
stations of the cross with children2I know that during Lent and the Easter season that the main thing that I want our children to learn and understand is that God loves us so much that he sent his one and only son Jesus to live in this sinful world and that he then died on the cross for each and every one of us!  In order to understand this, we choose to share the Passion of Jesus with our children (even at a young age) and answer honestly what questions they have.
Most Catholic Churches during Lent pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday remembering the Passion of Christ.  Usually these services are held in the late evening which means we are not able to go as a family due to little ones bedtime.  We think it is very important for our children to learn the Stations of the Cross and hear the story so we are making opportunities for our children to learn in other ways including:
  • Praying at Home
  • Teaching with Engaging Resources
  • Praying within the Community
Praying at Home
How can you learn about and pray the Stations of the Cross with your family even if you cannot go to the scheduled time at church?  How can you make time and space for your family for this special meditation during Lent?
Continue Reading at Children of the Church Blog

Ashes and Sackcloth: A new meaning

Posted: by Ellen Marie Dumer

As I live in a pile of ashes that seems to follow me through Lent this year, I have found that soulflamea flame inside me is creating them. They are ashes of sin burning away from my mortal body. They leave behind skin that is raw and painful. Denial of bodily cravings, leaving mind-numbing television behind, and dragging my feet through the mud of humility, makes me evermore aware of the the burning fire of the Holy Spirit in my soul..

womandustIt tries to breakthrough and the burning is not quenched by any salve, but only by more time in prayer, with the Eucharist, and with my eyes wide open to the trail of my past, its revelations of where holiness may be possible. I long for Easter and the new skin of purity to be worn through next year, for a taste of the glorified body that will eventually be mine to inhabit.

All praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful to my soul!

Loving Lent

Posted: by Melanie Jean Juneau

 

customizemyi-comThoughts to Ponder

I choose to surrender the clutter in my life, heart, spirit so Jesus will set me free from stuff and fill me with His Loving Presence.

May the things of this world fall away, so I may fall in love with God.

Only God can fill the empty places.
Grace does what I cannot do.
Jesus will have to do everything.
This is true humility.

Pride entices me to work harder, pray more, fast religiously, perform heroic acts of virtue.