Tag: Liturgical Year

Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church

“God bless you and keep you,” my husband says, tracing the sign of the cross on our wiggly daughters’ foreheads. After our family finishes our night prayer in the living room, and the squabble discussion about whose turn it is to blow out the candle on the family altar is peaceably resolved, each of our girls receives her blessing. “God bless you and keep you,” I also pray for each of them, marking them with the sign of the cross as well. This pairs well with a bedtime hug.

This simple daily practice is one way that we try to live out our family’s vocation to be a domestic church. Through baptism and the sacrament of matrimony, Christian families live their daily life “in the Lord.” Just like the universal church, the Holy Spirit forms the Christian family into a communion of persons, a communion of life and love. Jesus is present in their midst and works in and through them. Continue reading “Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church”

Christmas and January in the Domestic Church

Christmas lasts until Jan. 10 this year.

Though the stores have switched their displays from Christmas décor to weight-loss accessories and Super Bowl gear, if you visit any Catholic Church you will encounter smells like pine, balsam and incense. You will see Christmas trees sparkling with lights and sanctuaries lush with velvety poinsettias. You will hear Christmas songs sung at Mass. And you’ll hear the story of the Nativity over and over again. It is as if we need time to let the grace of Christmas soak in.

By late December, however, our consumer culture is sick of Christmas. It has been celebrating it since November with a glut of holiday products and treats, a frenzy of seasonal activities, and lots of shopping. But the church has been waiting for the Lord through the holy season of Advent with silence, prayer and penance. Now that he is here, the church is ready to revel in Christmas with all her senses!

Continue reading “Christmas and January in the Domestic Church”

Your Place in the Domestic Church

“The work of evangelization begins at home.” –Pope Francis, April 2014

These are the resources included on the handout for the talk I gave at Holy Rosary, Edmonds on Sept. 19. The talk provided lots of practical ways to live out the liturgical year in the domestic church. You can download a PDF of the handout here, but all the live links are below. Continue reading “Your Place in the Domestic Church”

7 Tips for a More Peaceful Christmas

Looking to the Holy Family can help you rise above the stress of the season

The Holy Family had the first stressful Christmas. Imagine what it must have been like for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Cross-country trip by donkey while nine months pregnant. Arriving late to a Bethlehem crowded to maximum capacity. No reservations. Dealing with a whole town full of in-laws. Giving birth in the equivalent of someone else’s garage. Visits from unexpected guests describing unusual visions. And, overnight, her husband decides that they need to flee the country. Because of a dream he had.

Not that it was any easier for St. Joseph. He must have felt torn between the pressure of getting to Bethlehem in time to fulfill his legal duty and concern about his very pregnant wife and the baby. Finding parking for the donkey. Finding a place to stay. Leading the family out of mortal danger. Hoping that Mary would understand about the whole “because an angel told me in a dream” thing. Continue reading “7 Tips for a More Peaceful Christmas”