Do you want to celebrate the liturgical year at home, but you don’t know where to start? Or maybe you don’t even know what living liturgically means. Either way, you have come to the right place.
So, what is the liturgical year?
There’s no reason to be confused or intimidated by this terminology. The liturgical year is just another way of saying church year or christian calendar. The term liturgical year isn’t even specific to Catholics.
How do I live the liturgical year?
Well, you know how you might have a cook out for the 4th of July, go apple picking in the Fall, or bake cookies at Christmas time? When we do these things, we are living seasonally. And you know what? People like to live seasonally! It keeps us from getting worn out on the same ‘ol same ‘ol every day, and it also gives us a little something special to look forward to. We can remember important days or events in their right time, give them some acknowledgement, and sometimes learn some things.
To live the liturgical year just means to celebrate those special days and feasts that are on the Church calendar. And I guarantee that you have already been doing this!
Have you ever…
- Celebrated Christmas? Boom! That’s living the liturgical year!
- Dyed Easter eggs? Congratulations! You have lived the liturgical year!
- Sent Valentines? Again, liturgical yeeeeeaaaaar! St. Valentine is a Catholic Saint after all.
Yay!!! You are already living the liturgical year!
Wow! You are off to a great start!!!
Printable Liturgical Planning Book
I have an all new liturgical living ebook that will help you plan out this entire process and customize the liturgical year for your own family. This is the perfect resource for families that are living the liturgical year at home. You can use this book year after year to organize your liturgical resources, building your library as you go! This is an absolute wealth of printables for Catholic families to organize everything from feast day celebrations, to Sacrament anniversaries, to your home altar. Read more about my Weaving The Faith ebook here.
Why is liturgical living at home important?
Earlier in this series, I covered how the Catechism tells us that evangelizing our children is our responsibility and privilege as parents. The resources our parish provides to our children should just be one tool in our tool box. The Catechism tells us that the home is the perfect place for religious education to start, and that we should start children from a young age.
Also, when you live the liturgical year at home, you can weave the Catholic faith into all aspects of life. This is a powerful tool because nostalgia from childhood celebrations carry into adulthood, truly making being Catholic a part of who your kids are, and can carry on to future generations. It is so important to make our beautiful faith into more than just a time card to punch at mass on Sunday mornings.
How do I incorporate more liturgical celebrations?
So if you have ever looked at a church calendar, there are tons of days you can celebrate. In fact, there’s generally more than one thing going on per day. So first you need to know that you are NOT going to celebrate all the days, obviously. You are just going to pick what is relevant to or interests you the most.
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Monthly Liturgical Membership
Of course, the liturgical seasons and feast days will be celebrated at your parish. The first place you’re going to start is making sure that your family attends mass on Sundays, and also on holy days of obligation. Also, make sure your family is receiving the sacraments. These things all need to happen before you take on any extras.
Where should I start?
So… here are my 15 recommended places to start celebrating the liturgical year with your little ones.
- Advent- This is the season leading up to Christmas, and it is a beautiful place to start celebrating! I actually have an Advent/Christmas planner available for Catholic moms that can help you plan your season while limiting stress. As all of my materials are, it is written in a way for all Catholics to understand, no matter where they are on their journey. I especially love traditions like Advent wreaths, tree lightings, and Jesse trees.
- St. Nicholas day shoes- This happens on December 6! It is a super fun way to celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas. I have a lot of information on how to get started in my Advent planner mentioned above.
- St. Lucy Day Celebration- Again, this is during Advent, and one of our family’s favorites!
- Celebrate Christmas… Christ at the Center- It’s so easy in today’s world to get caught up in the Santa Clause machine, but really putting Christ at the center of Christmas is a great way to live liturgically. Again, Advent/Christmas planner lol.
- Saint Valentine’s Day- Did you know Valentine’s day is a Saint feast day? Well it sure is!
- Saint Patrick’s Day- Same deal with Saint Patrick! Make it about the Saint, not the leprechaun.
- St. Joseph’s Altar– This one is a little more obscure than the other Catholic traditions I have mentioned, but it’s a really fun and good one!
- Truly Observe Lent– Observing Lent before Easter is so important to living the liturgical year at home!
- Celebrate Easter– Christ at the Center- Just like Christmas, be sure to make Easter about the lamb and not the bunny!
- May Altar or honoring mary in May– This is a really great tradition and a great way to honor our heavenly mother Mary. You can find resources for celebrating May with Catholic kids here.
- Pentecost– Another great Catholic feast day!
- All Saints’ Day Party– This is a personal favorite, and we celebrate All Saints’ Day every year!
- Baptism Anniversaries- You can totally celebrate the anniversaries of yours and your kid’s baptisms! Pull out those baptismal certificates and mark your calendar! This can be very simple, like cupcakes after dinner, but will still mean a lot to your kids.
- Celebrate your Saint feast day (or one that’s “close enough”)- Growing up being named Lacy, I happily took on St. Lucy as my patron Saint. If your kids are not named after a Saint, just have them choose one. Look up the feast day of each family member’s Saint, and make it a point to celebrate!
- Home Altar and/or Catholic decorating – So I don’t know that decorating is the right word, but you know… have a Catholic presence in your home. Hang some crucifixes, make sure you have rosaries available, maybe some St. pictures, etc.
Monthly Devotions And Resource Pages
I now have a special page to help you live liturgically from month to month! You can quickly click any month and find all the resources you need from that one page. I hope this makes it easier for families to celebrate the liturgical year than ever before!
You can also check out 5 easy places to work the liturgical year into your life over at Real Life at Home.
This is just 1 post of many in my series of Passing On The Faith To Your Catholic Kids. Check out the others!