Category: Traditions

Thoughts on the Change of Rules for Washing Feet on Holy Thursday

Posted: by David W

So the Pope made a change in the Holy Thursday rite of Washing of Feet and both Progressive and Traditionalist Catholics tend to see it as a harbinger of change in the Church. They only disagree over whether it is a good or a bad thing. I think the assumption that this signifies change to areas of doctrine is false. I think that people are forgetting a few things, and forgetting these things lead to bad conclusions.

The point I would make is that when Our Lord acts, there is a great deal of depth to His actions. It would be foolish of us to limit the meaning of His actions to only one aspect. So the Church can decide to emphasize one aspect of this depth of meaning at one time in her history and another aspect at a different time. In doing this, the Church is not contradicting the other aspects of meaning.

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HALLOWEEN IS CATHOLIC ? Yup

Posted: by Melanie Jean Juneau

I raised my nine children in the shadow of  other dedicated Catholic mothers, mostly homeschoolers, who thought Halloween was evil, dedicated to witches. Their children were not allowed to celebrate with their neighbors but went to a church basement to celebrate All Saints Eve.

This church was an hour away from us. More importantly, I felt my children suffered enough  because of a perceived alienation from their peers. At our tiny Catholic, country school everyone dressed up for the day and often joined friends afterward to go door to door. I did not want to deny them the joy and creative fun which surrounded this cultural, childhood tradition.

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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?
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