The Paschal Candle

19 Tuesday Apr 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals, Seasons, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

From The Big Book of Catholic Sacramentals by Father Arthur Tonne

“I am the light of the world. He who follows me does not walk in the darkness, but will have the light.” – St. John, 8:12.

About forty miles west and a little south of Denver, Colorado, is the famous Gray’s Peak. It is over 14,000 feet high and is part of the Rocky Mountain Range. A traveler at the turn of the century described his experience in climbing that mountain.

He and his party started out early in the morning before the sun was up. He had heard so much of the glorious gorges, the snow-capped summits, the sparkling streams, the limpid waters of Green Lake, fringed with flowers of every hue and fragrance.

On they climbed, higher and higher, but the beauties he had hoped to behold, could not be seen. Heavy clouds, hanging low over the slopes, threw blankets of mist over the valleys below. He was disappointed, weary and chilled to the bone.

Suddenly he saw a golden shaft of light pierce the clouds. Soon the sun scattered the clouds entirely, uncovering crag and chasm, unveiling lake and stream, bathing the entire valley with a golden glow. As if by magic, darkness turned to light, cold to warmth, night to day.

The life of man is something like climbing a mountain. Especially is the life of a Catholic during Lent like climbing a misty mountain. It is desolate, chilling and wearying. But when the first light of the Easter Candle casts its Holy Saturday light into the darkness of Holy Week, we begin to see the beauties of our faith, we begin to see what Christ meant when He declared: “I am the light of the world.”

The Paschal Candle represents Christ, the Light of the world. Its wax is a “mysterious virginal production” of “the cleanly bees.” It represents the virginal flesh of Christ, formed in the virginal womb of His Mother Mary. The wick symbolizes His human soul; the flame shows forth His divine nature.

In the body of the candle you will notice five grains of incense–the five wounds of our Lord, arranged in the form of a cross. The grains of incense recall the spices used to prepare His sacred body for burial.

The blessing of the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday morning is a strikingly beautiful ceremony. After the blessing of the new fire and the procession up the aisle to the sanctuary, during which the triple candle is lighted with the triple announcement to the world: “Lumen Christi”–“The Light of Christ,” the celebrant goes to the Epistle side of the altar.

The deacon takes the book, asks and receives a blessing, and then sings the glorious “Exultet” whose opening words give the theme and spirit of its message: “Let the angelic choirs of heaven rejoice.”

Toward the end of the Preface which follows, the deacon fixes the five blessed grains of incense in the Candle in the form of a cross. After asking the heavenly Father to accept the sacrifice of this incense, the deacon lights the Paschal Candle with one of the triple candles which had been lighted from the new fire using a taper to transfer the light. Then the lamps and candles on the altar are lighted.

The deacon sings on. Here is part of his song: “We beseech Thee, therefore, O Lord, that this candle, consecrated in honor of Thy name, may continue to burn to dissipate the darkness of this night. And being accepted as a sweet savor, may it be mixed with the lights of heaven. May the morning star find its flame alive; that star, which knows no setting, that star which returning from hell or limbo, shone serenely upon mankind.”

The column of wax has become an inspiring sacramental. Standing at the Gospel side of the altar, it puts us in mind of Christ, the Light of the world. Lighted first during the early morning darkness of Holy Saturday, it represents our divine Redeemer Himself, who was dead, but is now risen to a new life, never to die again.

The forty days during which we see the Paschal Candle in the sanctuary represent the forty days our Lord remained upon this earth after His resurrection, to further instruct and inspire His apostles and followers.

It is lighted at the solemn Mass and Vespers of Easter Sunday, and on all the Sundays to the Ascension. It is not to be lighted on other days or feasts within the Easter time, unless in churches where such a custom exists.

The custom most generally followed in the United States, though by no means universal, is to have the Paschal Candle burn on Sundays during Easter time at all the Masses and at Vespers.

With the coming of Ascension Thursday we behold a simple, stirring ceremony after the Gospel of the Mass, when the server extinguishes the Paschal Candle. Christ, whom it represents, has ascended into heaven.

Seldom is this waxen pillar entirely consumed before Ascension. In the early centuries the faithful secured small portions to keep in their homes as protection against evils of soul and body. From this pious practice the Agnus Dei took its origin.

Try to be present for the blessing of the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday morning. Follow in your missal the beautiful ceremonies with which this emblem of Christ is set up in the sanctuary. Let the Paschal Candle keep continually before your mind that Christ is the Light of the world, Christ is the Light of your life.

There is so much darkness in the world. There is so much darkness in the minds and hearts of men. There is so much darkness in our lives–darkness of ignorance, darkness of unkindness, darkness of sin. Only Christ, the true Light, can dispel that darkness.

Climbing up to God is like climbing up a difficult mountain, like climbing up Gray’s Peak. Mists of misunderstanding and doubt and sadness oppress us. In such times of darkness turn to Christ, the true Light. Amen.

Introduce your children into the family’s prayers at the earliest age possible. As often as possible, say morning and night prayers or the Rosary with your children. Train them to take part in prayers before and after meals. In time of danger or sorrow, resort to prayer as the first and most important source of help and consolation. -Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook http://amzn.to/2r8cxGP (afflink)

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Easter! Maria Von Trapp

17 Sunday Apr 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in by Maria Von Trapp, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

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We cannot be grateful enough that the Holy Father, Pius XII, has given back to us the ancient Easter Night! Even as children we felt that something was not quite as it should be when the Church broke out early in the morning of Holy Saturday in the threefold Alleluia, while the Gospel told us that Our Lord was resting in the grave to rise on Easter Sunday morning.

Now the word of the Holy Father has put things straight and Holy Saturday has regained its ancient character. Apart from the one choir rehearsal for Easter, it is quiet around our house, everybody busying himself with preparations for Easter inside and outside.

Some are getting flowers and candles ready to be put into the chapel upon our return from the parish church after midnight. Others are working out a new scheme of decorating the dining room for the greatest family meal of the year–the Easter breakfast. Practically everybody is preparing some special Easter eggs for someone else.

In the late afternoon it is time for Confession, and after supper we sit together with the booklets containing the rites of Easter Night, reading and discussing the beautiful texts of this most holy liturgy. An air of expectancy is descending over the house and family which can only compare to Christmas Eve.

With the exception of one person who has to stay behind to guard the house, everybody piles into the cars to be down in Stowe a little before eleven. Invariably a voice out of the group will remind us: “Don’t let’s forget the lantern and the bottle for the Easter water.”

Many of the traditions and customs, as I have related them so far, are centuries old, handed down from father to son. In the celebration of the Easter Night, however, we are experiencing the making of a tradition, and that is something precious, too.

As we come down to the little parish church in Stowe, we see people arriving from all sides. We are all silently waiting outside around a little pile of wood logs in front of the church door.

Now comes the altar boy and, with a lighter–it is prescribed that the new flame should be made with flint–he sets fire to the wood. Meanwhile the whole community is congregated, a few hundred people waiting in the crisp air of the early spring, under the starry sky, for the “Feast of Light” to begin.

Now a solemn little procession approaches from the dark church–the altar boy, our pastor, and our Father Wasner as deacon carrying the Paschal candle. First the new fire is blessed by the pastor. Then he turns solemnly to the Paschal candle around which this “Feast of Light” centers.

With a knife the priest cuts a cross on the candle. Then the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the Alpha and Omega, and finally the numbers of the year, in this form, while he says:

Christ yesterday and today

the Beginning and the End

Alpha and Omega

His are the times

and ages

To Him be glory and dominion

Through all ages of eternity

Amen.

Then he fixes five blessed grains of incense in the cross on the Paschal candle, saying:

By His holy

and glorious wounds

may He guard

and preserve us

Christ the Lord.

Amen.

The deacon lights a small candle from the new fire and presents it to the pastor, who solemnly lights the Paschal candle, saying:

May the light of Christ

In glory rising again,

Dispel the darkness of

Heart and mind.

All of us are holding unlighted candles, and now the procession forms and enters the church. First comes the altar boy with the cross, then the deacon with the lighted Paschal candle, then the pastor, the rest of the altar boys, and finally the people. At the threshold of the church, the procession stops. The deacon raises the candle and sings “Lumen Christi” (Light of Christ) while all of us, genuflecting toward the candle which represents Christ, the Risen Saviour, answer “Deo gratias” (Thanks be to God).

After the first “Deo gratias” the pastor lights his candle from the Paschal candle. In the middle of the church we are stopped again by the deacon, who repeats, one tone higher, “Lumen Christi.” After the second “Deo gratias” the rest of the clergy present and the altar boys light their candles.

When the deacon reaches the sanctuary, he chants for the third time, again a tone higher, “Lumen Christi,” and at this “Deo gratias” the rest of the people light their candles from the new holy light. The deacon places the candle on a stand and in the warm glow of the many flames he sings in a jubilant tone the most beautiful hymn of praise, the ancient “Exsultet.”

With this, the “Lucernarium” (the Feast of Light), the first of the three major parts of the Easter Night, is completed and all the candles of clergy and people are extinguished.

Now begins the second part, the baptismal service. Once more the priests change their white vestments for violet and read at the altar four lessons. After each lesson the deacon admonishes the people, “Flectamus genua,” whereupon the congregation kneels down in silent prayer until he bids them, “Levate.”

After the four lessons, priests and people start to sing the Litany of All Saints. The Litany is sung as far as “Omnes Sancti et Sanctae Dei, intercedite pro nobis.” Then it is interrupted.

In the middle of the sanctuary, next to the Paschal candle, a large vessel with water is prepared, which the priest now blesses most solemnly–the Easter water.

Every family wants to take a bottle of this most holy water home. Therefore, a large quantity is set aside for the use of the faithful.

Into the rest the holy oils are mingled, turning it into baptismal water. If anyone is waiting to be baptized in this holiest of nights, this is the moment when the baptism would be conferred right there in the sanctuary.

Then the vessel with the baptismal water is carried by the deacon, followed by the rest of the clergy in procession, over to the baptismal font. While the procession returns in silence to the sanctuary, the candles of clergy and people are lit again, the priests change from purple back to white, and the pastor steps over to the Paschal candle, facing the people, and prepares them for the most important moment of the year:

“…Therefore, my dearest Brethren, now that the Lenten observance is over, let us renew the vows of our Holy Baptism, by which we have of old renounced Satan and his works, and also the world, which is the enemy of God, and promised to serve God faithfully in the holy Catholic Church.” And then he asks us gravely:

“Do you renounce Satan?”

And the whole church resounds with the answer: “We do renounce him.”

“And all his works?”

“We do renounce them.”

“Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty….”

“And in Jesus Christ….”

“And in the Holy Ghost….”

After the third thunderous “We do believe,” we may rightly be convinced that our baptismal innocence is restored. When the meaning of all this dawns on one for the first time, one feels shaken to one’s innermost being.

“Let us now with one voice pray God as Our Lord Jesus Christ has taught us to pray,” says the pastor, and a renewed congregation, “born again by water and the Holy Ghost,” says the Lord’s Prayer.

All this happened to us once when we were infants and our godparents gave the answers in our name and held the baptismal candle for us. Now we are privileged once a year to renew these vows while holding the candle ourselves. This is truly a holy night!

Kneeling down, we finish the litany together with the priest, and then comes the third part–the Eucharist service, the midnight Mass.

Every year we repeat that the greatest reward for being a singing family comes when we can sing these jubilant Alleluias at the Easter Mass!

After the official liturgy is fulfilled, there still comes for us the observance of some ancient religious customs that belong to the liturgy of the home. In the lantern we take home some of the new blessed Easter light, with which we shall relight the vigil lamp at home. The bottle we fill with Easter water, and on the way out of church we take some of the blackened logs from the Easter fire and preserve them at the fireplace, where they work as sacramentals in times of danger from storms and lightning.

We try to keep up the customs we learned from the people in the Alps when they say the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary on Good Friday. Toward three o’clock of that day the father of the house goes to the corner where the vigil light burns before the crucifix and gravely blows it out; then he pours water on the fire in the fireplace. No flame is allowed around the house between the hour of Our Lord’s death and His Resurrection, in honor of Him Whom we call the Light of the World.

When we return, therefore, in the Easter Night with the blessed light in the lantern, the vigil light is lit from it and also the fire in the fireplace, and all the holy-water fonts are filled with Easter water.

EASTER DAY

Following a custom going back to the tenth century, all the kinds of food that were forbidden during the weeks of Lent are arranged in baskets and the Church has a special blessing to be pronounced on this food on Easter morning by the priest–the meat and eggs and butter, salt and Easter bread.

We remember how in small country churches these baskets would be placed on the Communion rail, and how in larger communities the people would hold them in their arms while the priest, after pronouncing the blessing, would go down the aisle sprinkling holy water over the food.

This is what singles out the Easter breakfast from among all other meals of the year–that we partake of this solemnly blessed food. Ham and Easter bread and colored eggs and many, many flowers and pussy willows and silken ribbons give the table a festive look.

Artistically painted eggs are usually kept by the owners throughout the year, but the simply colored eggs and many, many flowers and pussy willows and silken ribbons give the table a festive look.

The simpler eggs are now used for “Eierpecken.” Around the table everyone takes an egg in hand, and now, by two’s, they try to “peck” the other one’s egg first. The one who indents the other’s egg, while his own remains uncracked, harvests the cracked egg. The one who finally has the most is hailed as victor.

In the old country all the big feasts, but especially Easter, are accompanied by “Boellerschiessen.” The young men use old fashioned heavy rifles, and particularly in mountainous parts of the country where the echo takes up those cannon-like detonations, they add tremendously to the festive character of the day.

And there’s still another thing–the Easter fire. On all the heights and summits innumerable bonfires are lit in honor of the Risen Lord.

For Easter Monday there is an old custom, still very much alive in the old country, which might well be duplicated here, even though Easter Monday is not generally a holiday, as it is in Europe. In honor of the Gospel of the day, which tells of the two disciples who went to Emmaus and met Our Lord on the way, Easter Monday became a visiting day.

Wherever there are old or sick people, they are visited by young and old.

The Sunday after Easter we still remember as White Sunday, for it was the day when the little children were led in a small procession by the rest of the parish into the church for their First Communion.

In the weeks between Easter and the Ascension there are four days set aside where the Church has her children go out into the fields and pastures chanting the litany of All Saints and asking God’s blessing for a good harvest and as protection against hailstorms, floods, and droughts. One day is the feast of St. Mark, April 25th, and the other three days are called “Rogation Days” and are the Monday, Tuesday, and

Wednesday preceding the Ascension, which always falls on a Thursday. We always make these outdoor processions up on our mountain. The very first hue of green is appearing in the meadows, the birds are singing in the woods again, and the whole atmosphere is one of spring and hope.

“Every effort we make to forget self, to leave self behind us, and to devote ourselves to the labor of making every person with whom we are bound to live, happy, is rewarded by interior satisfaction and joy. The supreme effort of goodness is,—not alone to do good to others; that is its first and lower effect,—but to make others good.” Rev. Bernard O’Reilly The Mirror of True Womanhood, 1893 (afflink)

Lovely book, worth the time and money! This book will inspire you with ways to live the Liturgy within your home!

In this joyful and charming book, Maria Von Trapp unveils for you the year-round Christian traditions she loved traditions that created for her large family a warm and inviting Catholic home and will do the same for yours….Mary Reed Newland wrote numerous beloved books for Catholic families, but The Year and Our Children is her undisputed masterpiece. Read it, cherish it, share it, put it into practice and give your kids the gift of a fully lived faith, every day and in every season….

Hot Cross Buns and Easter Alleluias!

15 Friday Apr 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

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Mary Reed Newland gets us in the right spirit of Easter! Such a glorious Feast!!

Here is the recipe we used for our Hot Cross Buns.

And here is a recipe that the girls have been using lately…

The Year & Our Children: Catholic Family Celebrations for Every Season

This is, for me, the most beautiful of all the Easter stories.

It should be the very last thing at night, after prayers, for the little ones. Ours have heard it as they lay in their beds.

It is about Mary Magdalene and how she found Him in the garden on Easter morning. She did not really understand. After all He had said about rising on the third day, still she wept and wrung her hands and looked for Him.

Even when she saw the angels, it did not dawn on her. Then – she saw Jesus. Thinking He was a gardener, she heard Him say, “Woman, why art thou weeping? For whom art thou searching?”

And she said, “If it is thou, Sir, that hast carried Him off, tell me where thou hast put Him, and I will take Him away.”

Then that lovely moment. He said simply, “Mary.” And she knew.

How tender, the love that inspired them to record this scene. We know that He appeared to His Mother first. It is an ancient tradition in the Church, and St. Teresa of Avila and many others confirm it.

But for us who are sinners, the scene described so carefully is this meeting with the one who was such a great sinner. It should be a part of every child’s Easter Eve, and often it will make them weep.

But these are fine, good tears, that come because they understand that He loves them.

Alleluia at Last

Easter morning. Alleluia!

The Hallel, greatest of Hebrew expressions of praise, together with Jah, the shortened form of Jahve, God’s name, combine to make this lovely word.

Dom Winzen writes: On the eve of Septuagesima Sunday, the Alleluia was buried. Now it rises out of the tomb…. The Alleluia is the heart of the Opus Dei; the song which the Moses of the New Testament sings together with His People after He has passed through the Red Sea of His Death into the glory of His Resurrection.

The first child awake races downstairs! Quickly they all gather and at last the door to the living room is opened.

There are the marvelous baskets, resplendent with decorations, with gifts, with goodies. Walk carefully. The eggs are hidden everywhere.

All together sing another Alleluia! as the early one lights the Paschal candle.

Then to Mass, to the great joy of Easter Communion. He is in each of us; therefore we are one in Him.

At every Mass, He will be our Paschal Lamb, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect victim, offered everywhere for us, always, until the world comes to an end.

Home to the beautiful breakfast table, the delicious Easter bread, the excitement of the egg hunt, and the opening of gifts.

It has been so long since we have sung Alleluia after Grace. What a glorious morning!

The Paschal candle is lighted. While we rejoice, it burns with a steady flame. It says, “I am risen, and am still with thee, Alleluia!”

“When God blesses your home with human life, the fruit of love, your family becomes like the Holy Family. In the family life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are exemplified the proper relations that should exist between husband and wife, parents and children.” – Fr. Lovasik, Catholic Family Handbook http://amzn.to/2nnBXOw (afflink)

“The one expenditure necessary for families who would grow in the love and knowledge of the Church is books. These sometimes seem to be entirely out of reach, until we reassess our values and compare how much we spend to feed the bodies, which will one day be dust, and how little to feed the minds, which will live forever. It is worth sacrificing to buy books.” –Mary Reed Newland, The Year and Our Children

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Holy Thursday ~ Fr. Frank Weiser

13 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Lent, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

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Beautiful Traditions for a very holy day….

Article by Francis Weiser, The Easter Book

NAMES

Holy Thursday bears the liturgical name “Thursday of the Lord’s Supper” (Feria Quinta in Coena Domini). Of its many popular names the more generally known are:

Maundy Thursday (le mand; Thursday of the Mandatum) ~

The word mandatum means “commandment.” This name is taken from the first words sung at the ceremony of the washing of the feet, “A new commandment I give you” (John 13, 34); also from the commandment of Christ that we should imitate His loving humility in the washing of the feet (John 13, 14-17). Thus the term mandatum (maundy) was applied to the rite of the feet-washing on this day.

Green Thursday ~

In all German-speaking countries people call Maundy Thursday by this name (Grundonnerstag). From Germany the term was adopted by the Slavic nations (zeleny ctvrtek) and in Hungary (zold csiitortiik).

Scholars explain its origin from the old German word grunen or greinen (to mourn), which was later corrupted into griin (green). Another explanation derives it from carena (quaclragena), meaning the last day of the forty days’ public penance.

Pure or Clean Thursday ~

This name emphasizes the ancient tradition that on Holy Thursday not only the souls were cleansed through the absolution of public sinners, but the faithful in all countries also made it a great cleansing day of the body (washing, bathing, shaving) in preparation for Easter.

Saint Augustine (430) mentioned this custom. The Old English name was “Shere Thursday” (meaning sheer, clean), and the Scandinavian, Skaer Torsdag.

Because of the exertions and thoroughness of this cleansing in an age when bathing was not an everyday affair, the faithful were exempted from fasting on Maundy Thursday.

Holy or Great Thursday ~

The meaning of this title is obvious since it is the one Thursday of the year on which the sacred events of Christ’s Passion are celebrated.

The English-speaking nations and the people of the Latin countries use the term “Holy,” while the Slavic populations generally apply the title “Great.”

The Ukrainians call it also the “Thursday of the Passion.” In the Greek Church it is called the “Holy and Great Thursday of the Mystic Supper.”

MASSES

In the early Christian centuries the bishop celebrated three Masses on Maundy Thursday. The first (Mass of Remission) for the reconciliation of public sinners; the second (Mass of the Chrism) for the blessing of holy oils; the third (Mass of the Lord’s Supper) in commemoration of the Last Supper of Christ and the institution of the Eucharist.

This third Mass was celebrated in the evening, and in it the priests and people received Holy Communion. It is interesting to note that in ancient times Holy Thursday was the only day of the year when the faithful could receive the Blessed Sacrament at night after having taken their customary meals during the day ( since it was not a fast day).

Today the Mass of the Chrism is still solemnly celebrated in every cathedral. During this Mass the bishop blesses the holy oils (oils of the sick, holy chrism, and oil of the catechumens ).

In the evening the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is celebrated in all churches. It is one of the most solemn and impressive Masses of the year, since the very “birthday” of the Holy Sacrifice is com-memorated in it.

The altar is decorated, crucifix and tabernacle are veiled in white, and the priests wear rich vestments of white, the liturgical color of joy.

At the beginning of the Mass the organ accompanies the choir, and through the Gloria a jubilant ringing of bells proclaims the festive memory of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament.

After the Gloria the bells fall silent and are replaced by a wooden clapper and not heard again till the Gloria of the Easter Vigil is intoned on Holy Saturday.

Only one priest celebrates Mass in each church on Holy Thursday; the other priests and the lay people receive Communion from his hand, thus representing more vividly the scene of our Lord’s Last Supper.

The faithful are expected and invited (but not strictly obliged) to attend this Mass and receive Holy Communion.

REPOSITORY

After the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is carried in solemn procession to a side altar, richly decorated with candles and flowers, where it is kept in the tabernacle until the Good Friday service.

This “repository” altar is a highly venerated shrine in every church, visited by thousands of people. A popular custom in cities is to visit seven such shrines. Throughout the night, in many countries, groups of the clergy and laymen keep prayerful watch in honor of the agony of Christ.

In the Latin countries of Europe and South America the Maundy Thursday shrine is called monumento. It is much more elaborate than the shrines of other nations.

Usually a special scaffolding with many steps, representing a sacred hill, is erected, so high that it almost reaches to the ceiling. On the top of this the Sacrament is elevated, raised above a glorious forest of candles, palms, orchids, lilies, and other decorations.

Dressed in black, the city people visit at least seven such monumentos, which, in many places, are open through the night. On their way from church to church they say the rosary.

DENUDING OF ALTARS

After the Mass and procession on Holy Thursday, the altars are “denuded” in a ceremony of deep significance. Priests robed in purple vestments remove the altar linen, decorations, candles, and veils from every altar and tabernacle except the repository shrine.

Robbed of their vesture, the bare altars now represent the body of Christ, Who was stripped of His garments.

In medieval times the altars used to be washed with blessed water and wine, the priests using bundles of birch twigs or palms to cleanse and dry them.

In the Vatican this ceremony is still performed by the canons of St. Peter’s on Holy Thursday.

MANDATUM

Finally, there is the ancient rite of the Mandatum, the washing of the feet. It is prescribed by the rules of the Roman Missal as follows:

After the altars are denuded, the clergy shall meet at a convenient hour for the Mandatum. The Gospel Ante diem festum (John 13, 1-17) is sung by the Deacon.

After the Gospel the prelate puts off his cope and, fastening a towel around him, he kneels before each one of those who are chosen for the ceremony, washes, wipes and kisses the right foot.

From ancient times, all religious superiors, bishops, abbots, and prelates, performed the Maundy; so did the popes at all times. As early as 694 the Synod of Toledo prescribed the rite.

Religious superiors of monasteries washed the feet of those subject to them, while the popes and bishops performed the ceremony on a number of clergy or laymen (usually twelve).

In medieval times, and in some countries up to the present century, Christian emperors, kings, and lords washed the feet of old and poor men whom they afterward served at a meal and provided with appropriate alms.

In England, the kings used to wash the feet of as many men as they themselves were years old. After the Reformation, Queen Elizabeth I still adhered to the pious tradition; she is reported to have used a silver bowl of water scented with perfume when she washed the feet of poor women on Maundy Thursday.

Today, all that is left of this custom in England is a distribution of silver coins by royal officials to as many poor persons as the monarch is years old.

The washing of feet is still kept in many churches.

In Mexico and other sections of South America the Last Supper is often re-enacted in church, with the priest presiding and twelve men or boys, dressed as Apostles, speaking the dialogue as recorded in the Gospels.

In Malta, a “Last Supper Table” is richly laden by the faithful with food that is later distributed to the poor.

RECONCILIATION OF PENITENTS

An ancient rite of Maundy Thursday now totally extinct was the solemn reconciliation of public penitents. As on Ash Wednesday, they again approached the church dressed in sackcloth, barefoot, unshaven, weak, and feeble from their forty days’ fast and penance.

The bishop led them into the house of God, where he absolved them from their sins and crimes after the Gospel of the Mass of Reconciliation.

With his blessing they joyfully hurried home after the Mass to bathe, shave, and cut their hair in preparation for Easter, and to resume their normal dress and routine of daily life, which had been so harshly interrupted during the time of their public penance.

ROYAL HOURS

The Greek Church celebrates a night vigil from Holy Thursday to Good Friday, in which the texts of the Passion, collected from the Bible and arranged in twelve chapters (called the “Twelve Gospels”) are sung or read, with prayers, prostrations, and hymns after every chapter.

In the cathedral of Constantinople, the East Roman emperors used to attend this service; hence it was called the “Royal Hours.” Its original name is Pannuchida (All-Night Service).

In Russia people would carry home the candles that they had used in this vigil, and with them they would light the lamps that burned day and night before the family ikons (holy pictures).

The Ukrainians celebrate the “Royal Hours” on Good Friday morning.

FOLKLORE

Many popular customs and traditions are connected with Maundy Thursday. There is, above all, the universal children’s legend that the bells “fly to Rome” after the Gloria of the Mass.

In Germany and central Europe the little ones are told that the church bells make a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostles, or that they visit the pope, to be blessed by him, then sleep on the roof of St. Peter’s until the Easter Vigil.

In France the story is that the bells fly to Rome to fetch the Easter eggs that they will drop on their return into every house where the children are good and well behaved.

In some Latin countries sugared almonds are eaten by everybody on Maundy Thursday. From this custom it bears the name “Almond Day” in the Azores.

In central Europe the name “Green Thursday” inspired a tradition of eating green things. The main meal starts with a soup of green herbs, followed by a bowl of spinach with boiled or fried eggs, and meat with dishes of various green salads.

Following the ecclesiastical custom, the bells on farm buildings are silent in Germany and Austria, and dinner calls are made with wooden clappers.

In rural sections of Austria boys with clappers go through the villages and towns, announcing the hours, because the church clock is stopped. These youngsters (Ratschen-buben) sing a different stanza each hour, in which they commemorate the events of Christ’s Passion.

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Palm Sunday ~ Fr. Francis Weiser

09 Saturday Apr 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in FF Tidbits, Lent, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

You may also like to read this post: Palm Sunday by Maria von Trapp

Article by Francis Weiser, The Easter Book

PALM SUNDAY LITURGY

As soon as the Church obtained her freedom in the fourth century, the faithful in Jerusalem re-enacted the solemn Palm Sunday entry of Christ into their city on the Sunday before Easter, holding a procession in which they carried branches and sang the “Hosanna” ( Matthew 21, 1-11).

In the early Latin Church, people attending Mass on this Sunday would hold aloft twigs of olives, which were not, however, blessed in those days.

The rite of the solemn blessing of “palms” seems to have originated in the Frankish kingdom. The earliest mention of these ceremonies is found in the Sacramentary of the Abbey of Bobbio in northern Italy (at the beginning of the eighth century). The rite was soon accepted in Rome and incorporated into the liturgy.

A Mass was celebrated in some church outside the walls of Rome, and there the palms were blessed. Then a solemn procession moved into the city to the basilica of the Lateran or to St. Peter’s, where the pope sang a second Mass.

The first Mass, however, was soon discontinued, and in its place only the ceremony of blessing was performed.

Everywhere in medieval times, following the Roman custom, a procession composed of the clergy and laity carrying palms moved from a chapel or shrine outside the town, where the palms were blessed, to the cathedral or main church.

Our Lord was represented in the procession, either by the Blessed Sacrament or by a crucifix, adorned with flowers, carried by the celebrant of the Mass.

Later, in the Middle Ages, a quaint custom arose of drawing a wooden statue of Christ sitting on a donkey (the whole image on wheels) in the center of the procession. These statues Palm Donkey; Palmesel) are still seen in museums of many European cities.

As the procession approached the city gate, a boys’ choir stationed high above the doorway of the church would greet the Lord with the Latin song Gloria, laus et honor. This hymn, which is still used today in the liturgy of Palm Sunday, was written by the Benedictine Theodulph, Bishop of Orleans.

Glory, praise and honor, O Christ, our Savior-King,

To thee in glad Hosannas Inspired children sing.

After this song, there followed a dramatic salutation before the Blessed Sacrament or the image of Christ. Both clergy and laity knelt and bowed in prayer, arising to spread cloths and carpets on the ground, throwing flowers and branches in the path of the procession.

The bells of the churches pealed, and the crowds sang the “Hosanna” as the colorful procession entered the cathedral for the solemn Mass.

In medieval times this dramatic celebration was restricted more and more to a procession around the church. The crucifix in the churchyard was festively decorated with flowers. There the procession came to a halt.

While the clergy sang the hymns and antiphons, the congregation dispersed among the tombs, each family kneeling at the grave of relatives. The celebrant sprinkled holy water over the graveyard, the procession formed again and entered the church.

In France and England the custom of decorating graves and visiting the cemeteries on Palm Sunday is still retained.

Today the blessing of palms and the procession are usually performed within the churches. The new liturgical arrangements made by Pope Pius XII have restored the original solemnity of the procession, and the members of the congregation now take active part again in the sacred ceremonies of Palm Sunday.

The blessing of palms, however, is now very short and simple compared to the former elaborate ritual.

NAMES

The various names for the Sunday before Easter come from the plants used—palms (Palm Sunday) or branches in general (Branch Sunday, Domingo de Ramos, Dimanche des Rameaux).

In most countries of Europe real palms are unobtainable, so in their place people use many other plants: olive branches (in Italy), box, yew, spruce, willows, and pussy willows.

In fact, some plants have come to be called “palms” because of this usage, such as the yew in Ireland and the willow in England (palm willow) and in Germany (Palmkatzchen).

From the use of willow branches Palm Sunday was called “Willow Sunday” in parts of England and Poland, and in Lithuania Verbu Sekmadienis (Willow Twig Sunday).

The Greek Church uses the names “Sunday of the Palm-carrying” and “Hosanna Sunday.”

Centuries ago it was customary to bless not only branches but also various flowers of the season (the flowers are still mentioned in the first antiphon of the procession). Hence the name “Flower Sunday,” which the day bore in many countries—”Flowering Sun-day” or “Blossom Sunday” in England, Blumensonntag in Germany, Pdsques Fleuris in France, Pascua Florida in Spain, Virdgvasdrnap in Hungary, Cvetna among the Slavic nations, Zaghkasart in Armenia.”

The term Pascua Florida, which in Spain originally meant just Palm Sunday, was later also applied to the whole festive season of Easter Week. Thus the State of Florida received its name when, on March 27, 1513 (Easter Sunday), Ponce de Leon first sighted the land and named it in honor of the great feast.

In the new liturgical order of Holy Week, Palm Sunday bears the official title “Second Sunday of the Passion, or Palm Sunday.” Thus the Church enhances the significance of this Sunday as a memorial of Christ’s sufferings, which are commemorated by the reading of the Passion.

The word Passion in this connection means those passages of the Gospels which report the events of Christ’s suffering and death. The Passions of all four Gospels are read or chanted in all Catholic churches during the liturgical services on certain days of Holy Week and observed in varying degrees in many Protestant churches.

On Palm Sunday, the Passion of Saint Matthew (26, 36-27, 54) is solemnly sung during Mass, in place of the usual Gospel. The ancient liturgical rules prescribe that three clergymen of deacon’s rank, vested in alb and stole, chant the sacred text.

They are to alternate in contrasting voices. One (tenor) represents the Evangelist narrator; the second (high tenor) chants the voices of individuals and crowds; the third (bass) sings only the words of Christ.

The melodies prescribed for the liturgical chanting of the Passion are among the most impressive examples of Gregorian chant, and for many centuries remained the only Passion music, until the nonliturgical works on the Passion were written.

THE PALMS

In central Europe, large clusters of plants, interwoven with flowers and adorned with ribbons, are fastened to the top of a wooden stick. All sizes of such palm bouquets may be seen, from the small children’s bush to rods of ten feet and more.

The regular “palm,” however, consists in most European countries of pussy willows bearing their catkin blossoms.

In the Latin countries and in the United States, palm leaves are often shaped and woven into little crosses and other symbolic designs. This custom was originated by a suggestion in the ceremonial book for bishops that “little crosses of palm” be attached to the boughs wherever true palms are not available in sufficient quantity.

In the spirit of this blessing, the faithful reverently keep the palms in their homes throughout the year, usually attached to a crucifix or holy picture, or fastened on the wall.

In South America they put the large palm bouquets behind the door. In Italy people offer blessed palms as a token of reconciliation and peace to those with whom they have quarreled or lived on unfriendly terms.

The Ukrainians and Poles strike each other gently with the pussy-willow palms on Palm Sunday; this custom, called Boze Rany (God’s Wounds) they interpret as an imitation of the scourging of our Lord.

In Austria, Bavaria, and in the Slavic countries, farmers, accompanied by their families, walk through their fields and buildings on the afternoon of Palm Sunday. Praying and singing their ancient hymns, they place a sprig of blessed palms in each lot of pasture or plowland, in every barn and stable, to avert the punishment of weather tragedies or diseases, and to draw God’s blessing on the year’s harvest and all their possessions.

“Think of the Queen of Heaven and Lady of the World as humble housewife at the same time that she is mother and caretaker of God’s Son. It makes me sigh of tenderness, fills me with goodwill and love for the small and great chores of the home. How fragrant would be the robes that this pure lily washed. How tasty would be the food her delicate hands prepared. From her holy lips, not a whisper, no complaint or claim, only praise and sweet words. A life of worship and continuous obedience, in the freedom of those who choose to love – were she to kneel in prayer or clean the floor.” -Veronica Mendes, A Mulher Forte

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“Lady Day” – March 25th, The Annunciation

25 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 2 Comments

Annunciation Painting by Svitozar Nenyuk

by Joanna Bogle, Catholic Family Australian Magazine

On March 25 we celebrate the Annunciation—the day on which Mary was told she was to be the Mother of the world’s Redeemer.

Why March 25? Because it is exactly nine months before Christ’s birth celebrations on December 25.

Everything in the Church’s calendar makes sense. When Mary heard the message of the Angel, she was also told that her cousin Elizabeth was to have a child and was indeed already in her sixth month of pregnancy. So count three months on to complete the pregnancy and you come to June—now we celebrate the nativity of St John the Baptist, on June 24.

The old name for the feast of the Annunciation is Lady Day. In an age which fails to respect unborn life, Lady Day is a day for honoring Christ in the womb of His mother, for celebrating the Incarnation and remembering that when the Word was made flesh, it was as an unborn baby.

Do you know that beautiful prayer, the Angelus? It is said at noon. Some churches still ring out an Angelus bell. You are meant to stop what you are doing for just a couple of minutes, to recall the Incarnation and thank God for it.

The Angelus

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.

Hail Mary…

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.

Hail Mary…

And the Word was made flesh (genuflect or bow your head)
And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary…

Pray for us, 0 Holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech thee, 0 Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Death be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through Christ Our Lord Amen.

(Note: we know of several homes where the Angelus is recited. What a beautiful custom to restore in your family)

Devotion to Mary in the Middle Ages was responsible for forming attitudes towards women in Christian Europe. The idea of chivalry was formed around it: in honoring Mary, men honored, in a sense, the whole female sex.

Women were no longer to be regarded as slaves or playthings for males. They must not be associated with degradation or regarded merely with sensuality. Instead, through Mary, women were to receive a sort of homage, a huge respect.

Manners, good taste, and the concept of mutual courtesy were all associated with this. It lingers still in the old ideas about a man taking off his hat to a lady, offering his seat to her in a bus or train, opening a door for her, rising when she enters a room.

In denouncing all this, as both males and females (but, alas, especially females) have done in recent years, we have denounced a precious part of our heritage.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Waffles (wafers, gauffres, it’s all the same word) were eaten rather generally on feast days, in much of Europe, starting at least in the twelfth century. But they were eaten especially on the Feast of the Annunciation.

In some places the crumbs were buried in the fields. The prayer was clearly that Mary, who was blessed on this day with fruit, would bless the harvest of the farmers.

SWEDISH WAFFLES

Here are Swedish waffles for the Annunciation.

Light and crisp, these make excellent dessert waffles.. They are traditionally eaten with whipped cream and cloud-berry preserves. Cloud-berries are first cousins to our raspberries.

1 3/4 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 1/3 cups flour
1-2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold water
3 tablespoons melted sweet butter

Whip the cream until stiff. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the water to make a smooth batter. Fold the whipped cream into the batter. Stir in the melted butter.

Heat the waffle iron. (If it is well used, it will not need to be greased). Fill the grid surface about two-thirds full of batter. Bake until golden brown.

Place on a rack to keep crisp while you make the rest of the waffles.

Yield: about 8 waffles. (recipe from “A Continual Feast” by Evelyn Birge Wilz).

Build your husband up in your children’s presence. It is up to you to assure he is a hero in their eyes. They should know why he works so hard….and that it is the reason for the roof over their heads and the food on the table. That time when Dad arrives home needs to be a highlight in their day! -Finer Femininity 💕

The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, March 25th, the Feast of Annunciation! Pray along with the Catholic World…

(We are saying ours at 11:00 CST)

Coloring pages for your children….

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A Meditation on St. Joseph

19 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Seasons, Feast Days, etc., Spiritual Tidbits

≈ 2 Comments

The Year & Our Children: Catholic Family Celebrations for Every Season
Among the responsibilities that came crowding into St. Joseph’s life after he discovered that all innocently he had taken as his betrothed the one who would be Mother of God, that which must have frightened him most, I should think, was that of being “father” to a Child who is God.

It was not that his love was wanting. Joseph had dedicated his life to God. He longed with an ardor like Mary’s for the coming of the Messiah.

A devout Jew felt so keenly the greatness and majesty and unspeakable mystery of God that even Christ, when He called His Apostles, let recognition of His divinity come to them slowly.

To have known unmistakably at the outset would have put such a gulf between them as to make impossible the intimacy He needed with them in order to teach them as He wished. And here was Joseph, having lived a most holy life, deeply recollected, far advanced in prayer – asked to be “father” to the Messiah!

One gasps at this sort of thing. “But I’m afraid … I can’t … I don’t know … I’m not good enough .. . what will I do?” These must have been somewhat his sentiments.

Then the angel said to him, “Do not fear….” and we see that it was God’s will that Joseph be Mary’s husband. He could do what he could do; beyond that, he could do no more. Apparently it did not dawn on this humble man that he could do what God had prepared him to do.

Do not doubt that he had been prepared. St. Joseph did not just happen along during the preparation for the Redemption.

He had been chosen, as Mary; and although he was not given her Immaculate privilege, in every way he was God’s work.

Strangely enough, what God needed for His divine Son was a father, and that was not a role to entrust to just anyone. He was to be father in the everyday sense of the word.

This Boy could not grow up and prepare for His mission out of some bizarre situation where there was no father. There must be nothing irregular. He must have a mother and a father, relatives, a craft, a home, a town – everything ordinary that boys have.

At least they must have the appearance of the ordinary; if they were extraordinary, no one need know – now.

The only answer to the puzzle of how to raise the Child who was God was to raise Him as every Jewish boy was raised: with the help of God, perfectly.

We assume, of course, perfectly. He was God. He was perfect. As though our Lady and St. Joseph were puppets with no will, no judgment, decisions of their own.

She was full of grace; so her will in every matter was perfect. He was full of love of God and dedicated to Him; so with grace his will was perfect, too.

But it is not as though they had no choices to make. Aside from the approval of his marriage, the message to go to Egypt, or the message to return, no divine revelations told Joseph how to father the Christ Child.

He had what all Jewish fathers had as guide: the Law, and that was all. The pattern was given by God: parents have authority over their children; children are bound to respect and obey their parents.

And St. Joseph had, as reservoir to draw on, his own rich personal life with God out of which he drew his wisdom and formed his decisions.

It was the father’s role to decide where they would live, and Joseph had to make this decision a number of times.

He must have learned once and for all on Christmas Eve that it would be up to him to decide.

No angel appeared that night to show them a lodging. It was his role to teach this Boy to pray the prescribed daily prayers, to conduct Him and His mother to synagogue, where He sat with His father, and on pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifice.

He taught Him His trade and, with it, how to barter honestly, how to fix a just price for his work, how to evaluate wood, a respect for tools, the techniques of a good workman. He taught Him of crops, for almost every Jewish craftsman depended partly on the food he could grow to help support his family.

If we read our Lord’s parables over and see how many of them tell of the works of a man – building, planting, harvesting – we have a clue to the things Joseph must have talked about with Jesus.

And although it was His Mother who formed His interior life as a Child, still there were long hours of meditation and recollection shared by Jesus and Joseph as they worked together in silence, praising God for the wood, for their hands, for the work He sent them, for the barter and monies paid them which “kept the family going.”

If Joseph waited for some sign from this Boy that He could do His growing and learning without any help, it did not come.

He did the things all boys did, but with a graciousness and beauty that must have made Joseph think of Adam before he destroyed the harmony of his nature.

Joseph must have wondered how He would redeem men. He must have watched Him sometimes and wondered when it would begin.

He must have known, suddenly – and then as though he had always known it – that he would never see it.

Again and again, when there was something to learn, some counsel to be sought, this Boy must have come to him as quite the most ordinary boy would, and asked, “Father, do you think I should do it this way, or is it better another way?”

And Joseph, giving his best judgment and the reasons why, must have told him, as all fathers do, of some experience fetched up from his own youth, and afterward thought, “But He knew. He already knew about my boyhood….”

But He gave no sign. Joseph was as fully and wholly and totally obligated to be father to this Child and husband to His Mother as any other Hebrew husband and father.

On the Cross, the Boy, grown to a man, said to St. John, “Behold thy Mother.”

Our present Holy Father has said, “The mother of the Head is the mother of the Body.” Then what of the father?

Pope Leo XIII tells of the father in his Encyclical Quamquam Pluries:

The Divine household, which Joseph governed as with paternal authority, contained the beginnings of the Church. The Virgin most holy is the mother of all Christians since she is the Mother of Jesus and since she gave birth to them on the mount of Calvary amid the unspeakable sufferings of the Redeemer. Jesus is, as it were, the first-born of Christians, who are His brothers by adoption and redemption.

From these considerations we conclude that the blessed Patriarch [Joseph] must regard all the multitude of Christians who constitute the Church as confided to his care in a certain special manner. This is his numberless family, scattered throughout all lands, over which he rules with a sort of paternal authority, because he is the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus Christ. Thus it is conformable to reason and in every way becoming to Blessed Joseph, that as once it was his sacred trust to guard with watchful care the family of Nazareth, no matter what befell, so now, by virtue of his heavenly patronage, he is to turn to protect and to defend the Church of Christ.

With Christ as our Head, we are the Church. We are St. Joseph’s family. Family life was the only life St. Joseph knew. He was not a monk or a hermit or a priest or a bishop. He was a husband and father.

It is significant. The Child was the Priest. The father taught the Child who became High Priest, who offered Himself in sacrifice; who paid for the sins of men.

For all the years He spent with His father, He showed the mark.

He was formed by the father as well as by the mother; Joseph and Mary, husband and wife, father and mother, prepared this Boy for His vocation.

“Holiness means happiness. Holy people are happy people at peace with God, with others, and with themselves.
There is only one requirement. You must do God’s will. This embraces various obligations and gives you corresponding rights and privileges.
This is the lesson of the Holy Family. The will of God must count for everything in our daily lives. Prosaic deeds done for God can lead to spectacular holiness.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were human, intensely human in the best sense of the word. They show us how our lives, too, should be human–truly warm and Godlike.” -Fr. Lovasik

Awesome prayer! I say this daily.

Oh St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

Oh St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers.

Oh St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart.

Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.

St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.

Coloring pages for your children….

These graceful wire-wrapped necklaces can be worn every day as a reminder of your devotion! Get them blessed and you can use them also as sacramentals.

Available here.

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No words of St. Joseph are recorded In Scripture. In fact. little mention is made of him there. Yet. despite these seeming limitations. the Church nonetheless possesses an indescribably rich knowledge of St. Joseph. This book will astound most readers both with its scope and with its profundity. Based mainly on Scripture, but supported also by Tradition and the depositions of saints. it is a carefully reasoned analysis of the entirety of that great saint’s role in the history of Salvation and the life of the Church. Includes details about his spiritual life and noble lineage; how he was prefigured in the Old Testament; his relationship to Mary and Jesus; why he has been named by Pope Pius IX “The Patron of the Universal Church;” and so forth. Many beautiful insights…..

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Lenten Way of the Cross – An Activity for Lent… With Printables!

03 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Lent, Seasons, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

I’m a little late posting this….a lovely Lenten Activity!

I am very grateful to Mary Ann Scheeler for sharing with us this wonderful activity for our children that she has created! Thank you, Mary!

Remember The Spiritual Christmas Crib for Advent? Well, this is the Lenten version!

From Mary:

The first three on the list have to be drawn on a large sheet of paper, similar to the crib and its roof, namely the mountain, the paths and pitfalls. Its not meant to be the Stations of the Cross, but a Spiritual Lenten Way of the Cross for children. The prayers are adapted from the Advent Spiritual Crib, and from a book called Lent for Children – A Thought a Day, and some I made.

—–

So…get yourself a poster board….or more than one, depending on the size you are going to make the Way of the Cross. Some sharpie markers and crayons can be helpful…..and then draw the part that is applicable to the day as each day of Lent passes! OR use the clipart that Mary has provided here:

Spiritual Lenten Children 40 Day Journey Printables

Get your children to color them on the corresponding day, and voila! you can add them to your Lenten scene!

You can also print out (or write out) the special prayer for the day and put the assigned one up so everyone can say it throughout the day.

This activity is a wonderful opportunity to make Lent more meaningful for all!

You can print out the instructions here:

Spiritual Lenten Way of the Cross

A note from Mary Ann as you begin the activity:

This would be our first year, and everyone will draw/create theirs a little differently. The printables have almost three of everything, because I have three older kids who will be getting to have fun with it. If you have one child, you will only need one of everything and if you have more children you might need to print out more.

Some of the images like Jesus, or Mary, or Veronica, etc there is only one, because they are extra special.

The layout is something of the large mountain of Calvary, then there will be the long path, depending on how you draw it, could be steep, could be winding, or a little of both. The rest of the days are draw along the path wherever you want them.

You might start low and each day ascend a little higher, or you might just draw them wherever you think they fit. Some things like the crosses will probably be at the top. The very last day, the tomb, is separate, if you do the printables, and would be off to the side of mount Calvary. Hope this helps. 🙂

Here is the devotion:

1 – Ash Weds. The Mountain of Calvary

2 – Thurs. after Ash Weds. Path

3 – Fri. after Ash Weds. Pitfalls

4 – Sat. after Ash Weds. Bugs

1^st Week of Lent:

5 – Mon. Dust and Ashes

6 – Tues. Bushes

7 – Weds. Boulders

8 – Thurs. Trees

9 – Fri. Pharisees/Crowd

10 – Sat. Water and Basin

2^nd Week of Lent:

11 – Mon. 3 Crosses

12 – Tues. Skull and Bones

13 – Weds. Dark Clouds

14 – Thurs. Incense (myrrh)

15 – Fri. Simon of Cyrene

16 – Sat. Goats

3^rd Week of Lent:

17 – Mon. St. Veronica and Veil

18 – Tues. Lambs

19 – Weds. Palms

20 – Thurs. Donkey

21 – Fri. Purple Robe

22 – Sat. Weeping Women of Jerusalem

4^th Week of Lent:

23 – Mon. Rope

24 – Tues. Pillar

25 – Weds. Scourges

26 – Thurs. Thorns

27 – Fri. Board with Inscription (INRI)

28 – Sat. People passing by

5^th Week of Lent:

29 – Mon. Sponge of Vinegar

30 – Tues. Nails

31 – Weds. Lance

32 – Thurs. Soldiers

33 – Fri. Sorrowful Mother

34 – Sat. Mary Magdalene

6^th Week of Lent:

35 – Mon. St. John

36 – Tues. Two Thieves

37 – Weds. Silver Coins

38 – Thurs. Bread and Wine

39 – Fri. Jesus

40 – Sat. Tomb

Beginning of Lent:

1 – Ash Weds.

The Mount of Calvary

Our Dear Lord spends 40 days in the wilderness and even though the mountain is steep, we prepare our souls spiritually and bravely start on the path with Him.

Offer Him your sinful heart as the mountain you will overcome this Lent. Now is the time my love to show. O Jesus dear, thy grace bestow.

2 – Thurs. after Ash Weds.

Path

What path have I walked during my life? If I haven’t gone in the right direction, I will now follow you, dear Jesus, wherever You will go. Help me walk on the path to my true vocation.

May I so live that I will be ready, dear Lord, when you call for me.

3 – Fri. after Ash Weds.

Pitfalls

Carefully walk around the pitfalls of temptation. I will be generous with my brothers and sisters and avoid yelling or fighting over a silly excuse or toy.

Jesus, help me to keep temptations out of my heart.

4 – Sat. after Ash Weds.

Bugs

Watch out for the pesky bugs of distraction as we start the climb up the mountain. I will pay attention during prayers and during spiritual reading, but most especially at the Holy Mass.

Begone! I’ll say, when Satan bids me be lazy or sin. And since I fight for Heaven I shall win!

First Week of Lent:

5 – Mon. Dust and Ashes

I will shake off the dust of perceived injury and not listen to foolish feelings of pride and envy when I realize my life is so short, but Heaven is forever.

Angels, round me everywhere, please keep me in your loving care!

6 – Tues. Bushes

See the bushes growing as weeds? I will keep the garden of my heart clean by performing little acts of mortification, by bearing the cold or sitting and standing erect.

Dear Jesus, Who suffered so much for me, let me suffer for love of You.

7 – Weds. Boulders

When anger seizes my heart like giant boulders, I will remember how meek my Jesus was when He suffered for me. I will avoid harsh and mean words and be kind and gentle to all.

Jesus, help me to be meek and humble like You.

8 – Thurs. Trees

The trees stand so tall and yet one immediately obeyed and bowed its bark to become a humble cross for the King of Kings. I will give up my own will and obey my superiors cheerfully and promptly.

Jesus, I wish to be useful to you; like a steadfast tree, though small, but oh so true!

9 – Fri. Pharisees/Crowd

I will diligently remove from my heart every inordinate desire to be praised. I will help those in distress even if it means I will be laughed at or scorned; I will not join the mocking crowd.

Jesus, I was made for Thee; never let us parted be!

10 – Sat. Water and Basin

Have I gone to confession lately or do I pretend I am good? Dear Jesus, I will wash my sins in the water of my tears and happily do the penance the priest gives me.

Jesus, teach me to know and correct my greatest sins.

2^nd Week of Lent

11 – Mon. 3 Crosses

I will renew my Lenten offerings to Our Lord and accept the small crosses He sends me through the day to comfort Him in His sorrowful Passion.

“Thy Will be Done,” I’ll quickly say, as soon as sorrow comes my way!

12 – Tues. Skull and Bones

One day we shall die, shall I be remembered for good deeds or bad? While I still have time, I will cheerfully obey the inspirations of my Guardian Angel and the guidance of my parents.

Jesus, immensely good to me, I want to live and die for Thee!

13 – Weds. Dark Clouds

When bad health and sickness makes me feel so ill and the days are dark and long, I will cling to Our Lady and ask her to bring my misery to Our Lord as a gift to ease the coldness of men’s hearts.

“Remember Me,” dear Jesus. I hope to be in Paradise some day with You.

14 – Thurs. Incense (myrrh)

Incense is a prayer before Your altar, Oh Lord, on the Cross. I will offer extra prayers, as incense, through the day for all those who are not in the state of grace but will die today.

May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

15 – Fri. Simon of Cyrene

I offer my strength to Your service as Simon of Cyrene; help me to use it in the service of others, especially those closest to me.

Jesus accept my service of love; I offer it for those who do not love You.

16 – Sat. Goats

Am I like the goats that kick and butt as I do not finish tasks, but whine and complain and waste my time? I will do the things I do not like without complaining, especially my homework or my chores, and make better use of my time.

Jesus, I need Thy holy grace; to help me every day and place.

3^rd Week of Lent:

17 – Mon. St Veronica and Veil

Does my mother need help with the baby or does my sister need help with her homework or does my brother need help to put on his shoes? May I see in my family Your image, Dear Lord, and help them in whatever they need.

As older I grow, my heart must remain; Childlike and humble, if Heaven I’ll gain.

18 – Tues. Lambs

I will strive to be like a lamb, meek and patient. I will not murmur or talk behind my parents’ back when they give me a command.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours.

19 – Weds. Palms

I will be a peacemaker in my home and not start or join petty fights with my brothers and sisters.

O Jesus, give me for my part, a tender and forgiving heart!

20 – Thurs. Donkey

Do I stubbornly cling to a fault and try to excuse it? I will be grateful to God for the love He has shown me by dying for me and remember that my faults put Him on that cross.

Jesus, I need Thy grace all days, to free me from all my evil ways.

21 – Fri. Purple Robe

Many times, my things are scattered here and there and not put away, even when my parents asked me to do so. I will keep better care of my things, like my clothes, books or toys, and make sure to put them away when they should be. I will thank God for what I have and remember others may not have the nice things I do and not take it for granted.

Oh Jesus, I wish my life could be, a hymn of gratitude to thee!

22 – Sat. Weeping Women of Jerusalem

Today I will pray for all the children who have no parents to love them, and especially those children who died before they were born.

Little Innocents, pray to Jesus for me and my country!

4^th Week of Lent:

23 – Mon. Rope

Are my companions good friends, who help me to love God more and obey His laws? Or do they tell me I should do things that are not good, like a little rope pulling me away from the Ten Commandments? I will take care to listen to good companions and be a good friend to them.

Jesus, teach me to love you above all things!

24 – Tues. Pillar

I will study my Catechism well so that I can explain my Faith to my brothers and sisters and to anyone who might ask about Our Lord and His Church.

O Thou art mine and I am Thine; Thy cross is both my proof and sign.

25 – Weds. Scourges

Do I forgive quickly and readily, or do I hold a grudge for a long time? I will learn from Jesus to forget and forgive all who hurt and injured me.

O Jesus, give me true contrition; This, today, is my one petition!

26 – Thurs. Thorns

Our Dear Lord is hurt daily by impure actions that drive the thorns deeper into His Head. I can practice modesty in my words, deeds, dress and actions to amend for my past bad actions and those of the world.

Dear Jesus, close my heart to all that hurts You!

27 – Fri. Board with Inscription (INRI)

When I hear Our Lord’s Holy name used in vain, do I join in or keep silent? If I hear His name used badly, I will immediately say a silent prayer in reparation for the insult after all He has done for me.

Dearest Mary, help me praise His name, forever and ever. Amen!

28 – Sat. People Passing By

So many people ignore Our Lord and reject His laws. Do I disregard Him, too, and disobey my parents, whom He put in charge of me? When my father or mother ask me to help, I will immediately do as they ask for love of God.

Jesus, obedient all Your life through, Oh, give me the grace to grow like You!

5^th Week of Lent:

29 – Mon. Sponge of Vinegar

Lots of children have nothing to eat today, but I often waste my food or refuse to eat what my mother has prepared for me. At meal time, I will gratefully eat whatever is given me and even if it isn’t my favorite, I will offer it for those who have nothing.

O Jesus, loving from the first, for Thee my longing soul doth thirst!

30 – Tues. Nails

In my thoughts have I been jealous of another or thought something bad about them? I will not give into rash judgments about my family or my friends. Instead, I will think kindly of them and be happy for their good fortune.

My Jesus, I want to please You in all I do today.

31 – Weds. Lance

I will not pierce Our Lord with ingratitude; instead I will thank Him for all the gifts He has given me in my home and family and my Faith.

Oh, I wish my life to be a thanksgiving song, Singing to Jesus the whole day long!

32 – Thurs. Soldiers

I will be a soldier of Christ and learn from Him to silently and patiently bear refusals and disappointments.

Little self-denials win God’s grace and make my soul the leader of the race.

33 – Fri. Sorrowful Mother

It is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and we see Our Mother sharing the torments of Jesus, embracing Him, kissing Him, and adoring Him. Let us hasten to her with pure and loving hearts and under her lovely blue mantle let us hide for a moment of prayer.

O Mother of Sorrows, I grieve with thee, and beg forever thy child to be!

34 – Sat. Mary Magdalene

She was forgiven all her sins by Our Lord because she loved Him so much! I shall be like Mary Magdalene and offer my love to Jesus throughout the day.

Jesus you’ve done so much for me, I’m in your debt eternally.

6^th Week of Lent:

35 – Mon. St. John

St. John comforted Our Lady in her great distress. Do I comfort others when they are sad or hurting? If I see someone hurting or sad, I will try to help them and comfort them when they are grieving.

O Jesus, make me very kind, so as to always fill my heart and mind!

36 – Tues. Two Thieves

Every day I choose between two destinies: heaven or hell. Are my habits good habits that help me choose Heaven? I will cultivate habits of being prompt and ready to go in the morning, doing my homework well, helping around the house and listening to my parents right away.

Oh, Jesus make me quick to see, that service which is dear to Thee!

37 – Weds. Silver Coins

For 30 pieces of silver Judas betrayed Jesus. Do I betray Jesus when I do not tell the truth or cause my brother or sister to get in trouble? I will not believe the devil any longer when he tempts me to lie because he will not bring me happiness.

Jesus, give me a loyal heart, where sin will not even have a small part.

38 – Thurs. Bread and Wine

I will offer Our Lord acts and prayers of perfect love for these precious anniversaries: The First Mass and for giving Himself in Holy Communion. Jesus, I thank you with all my heart for this gift of the Blessed Sacrament.

You knew I’d hunger, Lord, for Thee, So you found a way my Food to be.

39 – Fri. Jesus

What can I do today but kneel and watch You and to love You for giving Your very life for me – the price You paid to open heaven for me! I will kiss Your Sacred Feet, nailed to the Crucifix, as a sign that I will cling to You, and hold You, and never let You go.

I love You, Jesus, on that Tree; where you lovingly died for me.

40 – Sat. Tomb

We prepare with Our Lady for the happy moment when Our Lord shall return by going to confession. We have cast the “old man” of sin out and the “new man” will rise with Christ. We ask our angel to guard our soul as they guarded the tomb of Our Lord and we get ready to greet Him tomorrow.

Dear Jesus and Mary, I love you so! Oh be there to greet me when home, one day, I will go!

A couple of pictures of the Lenten Way of the Cross in progress from last year:

The Devil exults most when he can steal a man’s joy of spirit from him. He carries a powder with him to throw into any smallest possible chinks of our conscience, to soil the spotlessness of our mind and the purity of our life. But when spiritual joy fills our hearts, the Serpent pours out his deadly poison in vain. – St. Francis of Assisi

Thank you, Caroline! God bless you!

SOO gorgeous in person!! 😍 Love the feel of it in my hand… It helped so much during Advent to keep track with the children. As always, she is so generously kind, & I was surprised how quickly it arrived on time, since I ordered it late… Thank you for your sweet understanding!
✨❤️

Always a delight to come back to!! Beautifully made ❤️❤️ Another add on to my little one’s collection 😉

Lenten Way of the Cross Family Activity available here.

Lenten Bundle available here.

Lenten Journal Available here.

Printable for The Catholic Mother’s Traditional Lenten Journal! Get started right away! Available here.

NEW!

Graceful loveliness….Wear your devotion! Each link is handmade on these religious necklaces. Get them blessed and you can wear them as sacramentals. A special gift for someone. Available here.

Available here.

St. Bridget of Sweden

St. Rita

St. Anne

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, the renowned author of The Hidden Power of Kindness, gives faithful Catholics all the essential ingredients of a stable and loving Catholic marriage and family — ingredients that are in danger of being lost in our turbulent age.

Using Scripture and Church teachings in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format, Fr. Lovasik helps you understand the proper role of the Catholic father and mother and the blessings of family. He shows you how you can secure happiness in marriage, develop the virtues necessary for a successful marriage, raise children in a truly Catholic way, and much more.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

Ash Wednesday – Divine Intimacy

02 Wednesday Mar 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Lent, Seasons, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

Santa Teresa de Jesús, by Adolfo Lozano Sidro

From the wonderful Meditation book, Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

MEDITATION

“Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return” (Genesis 3:19).

These words, spoken for the first time by God to Adam after he had committed sin, are repeated today by the Church to every Christian, in order to remind him of two fundamental truths–his nothingness and the reality of death.

Dust, the ashes which the priest puts on our foreheads today, has no substance; the lightest breath will disperse it. It is a good representation of man’s nothingness: “O Lord, my substance is as nothing before Thee” (Psalm 38:6), exclaims the Psalmist.

Our pride, our arrogance, needs to grasp this truth, to realize that everything in us is nothing. Drawn from nothing by the creative power of God, by His infinite love which willed to communicate His being and His life to us, we cannot–because of sin–be reunited with Him for eternity without passing through the dark reality of death.

The consequence and punishment of sin, death is, in itself, bitter and painful; but Jesus, who wanted to be like to us in all things, in submitting to death has given all Christians the strength to accept it out of love.

Nevertheless, death exists, and we should reflect on it, not in order to distress ourselves, but to arouse ourselves to do good. “In all thy works, remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin” (Sirach 7:40).

The thought of death places before our eyes the vanity of earthly things, the brevity of life–“All things are passing; God alone remains”–and therefore it urges us to detach ourselves from everything, to scorn every earthly satisfaction, and to seek God alone. The thought of death makes us understand that “all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone” (Imitation of Christ I, 1,4).

“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die … then there will be many things about which you care nothing” (St. Teresa of Jesus, Maxims for Her Nuns, 68), that is, you will give up everything that has no eternal value. Only love and fidelity to God are of value for eternity. “In the evening of life, you will be judged on love” (St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Maxims: Words of Light, 57).

COLLOQUY:

“O Jesus, how long is man’s life, although we say that it is short! It is short, O my God, since, by it, we are to gain a life without end; but it seems very long to the soul who aspires to be with You quickly….

O my soul, you will enter into rest when you are absorbed into the sovereign Good, when you know what He knows, love what He loves, and enjoy what He enjoys. Then your will will no longer be inconstant nor subject to change … and you will forever enjoy Him and His love.

Blessed are they whose names are written in the Book of Life! If yours is there, why are you sad, O my soul, and why are you troubled? Trust in God, to whom I shall still confess my sins and whose mercies I shall proclaim. I shall compose a canticle of praise for Him and shall not cease to send up my sighs toward my Savior and my God.

A day will come, perhaps, when my glory will praise Him, and my conscience will not feel the bitterness of compunction, in the place where tears and fears have ceased forever….

O Lord, I would rather live and die in hope, and in the effort to gain eternal life, than to possess all creatures and their perishable goods. Do not abandon me, O Lord! I hope in You, and my hope will not be confounded. Give me the grace to serve You always and dispose of me as You wish” (St. Teresa of Jesus, Exclamations of the Soul to God 15 – 17).

If the remembrance of my infidelities torments me, I shall remember, O Lord, that “as soon as we are sorry for having offended You, You forget all our sins and malice. O truly infinite goodness! What more could one desire? Who would not blush with shame to ask so much of You?

But now is the favorable time to profit from it, my merciful Savior, by accepting what You offer. You desire our friendship. Who can refuse to give it to You, who did not refuse to shed all Your Blood for us by sacrificing Your life? What You ask is nothing! It will be to our supreme advantage to grant it to You” (St. Teresa of Jesus, Exclamations of the Soul to God 14).

“The Holy Family lived in a plain cottage among other working people, in a village perched on a hillside. Although they did not enjoy modern conveniences, the three persons who lived there made it the happiest home that ever was. You cannot imagine any of them at any time thinking first of himself. This is the kind of home a husband likes to return to and to remain in. Mary saw to it that such was their home. She took it as her career to be a successful homemaker and mother.”
-Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook

A quick homily on needing a sense of humor during this time along with not just doing the minimum requirements…

I want to thank you all so much for any reviews you have given me on my etsy shop and also on Amazon. I know it takes time to leave a review and so I very much appreciate it! I will post some of the reviews now and again here on the site. We especially enjoy the pictures!

From Miriam, Thank You!

I just received my Lenten Way of the Cross ✝️ today, the day before Ash Wednesday! incredible. I ordered late, but you mailed it immediately. Thank you!! It is wonderful and already displayed on my kitchen table ready to begin with the family tomorrow! As with everything I have ordered from you, it’s perfect, and it was so beautifully wrapped too! So much ❤️ went into it. Thank you and also, thanks for all your inspiration!

Jeanette is ready for Lent with her Way of the Cross…

And Theresa is ready, too!

See below for links if you would like to purchase one….

Mother and Son Aprons! Feminine and Beautiful!

Available here.

Lenten Way of the Cross Family Activity available here.

Lenten Bundle available here.

Lenten Journal Available here.

Printable for The Catholic Mother’s Traditional Lenten Journal! Get started right away! Available here.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

St. Valentine’s Day – An Opportunity, Mary Reed Newland

14 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 2 Comments

Some thoughts for Valentine’s Day….

The following is an excerpt from The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland who explains to us how we can use St. Valentine’s Day to get to the deeper meaning of love.

Most fun of all is making valentines at home. The materials cost little or nothing if you keep a supply of construction papers, pastes, and other such items on hand, and the work provides many opportunities for mothers and children to discuss the differences between friendship and love and the lamentable forcing of the boyfriend issue in the first grade.

It is not always the children who are at fault. Abetted by the teasing of grown-ups, children little more than babes make the unfortunate conclusion that boy must meet girl and be boyfriend and girlfriend at six years of age; they never do learn that it is possible to be that rare and wonderful creature: a friend who happens to be a boy.

The same parents who wring their hands over high-school children determined to go steady are the ones who encourage puppy love in the kindergarten. We ignore the fact that childhood crushes in the young are merely an awkward way of trying to be special friends, we do them no favors. Of course children get crushes, and of course girls become boy-conscious, with vice becoming versa; but they need not be shoved and pushed so hard.

One of the most excruciating trials of youngsters who believe themselves to be in love these days is restraining their impulses of affection. Very few children deliberately set out in their first encounters with crushes to commit any sins of impurity. In their innocence of experience, they do not know exactly how such sins can be, or if they know the theory, they do not know the fact.

It is the task of Christian parents to convince them that these impulses must be held in check. Held in check they are good, they are manifestations of sincere and genuine affection, but they can so easily be transformed into something that is not good. The reason it has become such a delicate and difficult task (although I suppose it always was a worry for parents) is not because this restraint is impossible but because so few today seem to practice it.

The example of promiscuous contemporaries is a powerful thing. It rarely helps to start lecturing on the subject once children reach high school; it does not help at all to pooh-pooh love or schoolgirl crushes or the boyfriend business once it begins for a son or daughter growing up.

But such occasions as St. Valentine’s Day (with innumerable opportunities all year round, of course) open this subject for discussion in a pleasant way. We may use the evenings spent making valentines to have our own open forum on the subject of love and the showing of love and how it is that people fall in love, and how it is all related to God’s love.

Such Christian concepts as respect for girls and women, respect for our bodies and the bodies of others, the propriety and impropriety of kissing – whom and when – right judgment about the movies, their ads and their love-making, many other things can be formed at a very early age. We must use all our talent and love and conviction to form them in our children.

We are foolish if we think that our children, because they are nice children, are automatically safe. In the movie ads and posters they see, the newsstand magazines and comics, the covers of the paperbacks, slicks, and in a hundred ways promiscuity is preached to them – and it is not preached to what is nice in them but to the deplorable weakness left in human nature by the inheritance of Original Sin.

We can work to form in them the conviction that making love is something positive and beautiful that belongs with marriage, and this concept can exist even for the small ones without, as we might fear, any undertones of s-e-x.

Demonstrations of affection they can automatically connect with mommies and daddies, as well as with relatives and friends. When there are things to denounce, such as this week’s ad showing a movie siren and lover wrestling on the beach, we can make our denunciations more convincing if we avoid panic but rather express regret that some people persist in distorting out of its sacramental context what should be the beauty of human love.

There are many facets of this subject for parents to ponder. Each can adapt best the teaching for his children, but let us emphasize while they are still little that it is friendship that holds the joys of companionship for them.

I suppose the free use of the word boyfriend has made it almost a synonym for friend, but not quite. It may be a losing battle, but we continue to explain the difference. “Your friend, dear – your friend who is a girl. Little boys in second grade have friends, not girlfriends. Yes, I know – they tease and say you have a girlfriend, and that is too bad, because it is necessary that you love everyone with much more love than the word girlfriend intends.

You must try to love them as our Lord loves them, and you must try to see our Lord in them. If you like someone especially well, better than others, that is all right. Then they are among your special friends. Be glad and be careful of your friendship. Friendship is a beautiful, holy thing if you keep it that way.”

“The human heart is not shaped like a valentine heart, perfect and regular in contour, it is slightly irregular in shape as if a small piece of it were missing out of its side. The missing part may very well symbolize a piece that a spear tore out of the universal heart of humanity on the Cross, but it probably symbolizes something more. It may very well mean that when God created each human heart, he kept a small sample of it in heaven, and sent the rest of it into the world, where it would each day learn the lesson that it could never be really happy, that it could never be really wholly in love, that it could never be really whole-hearted until it rested with the Risen Christ in an eternal Easter.”

~ Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Manifestations of Christ)

Fun, Vintage Valentine Pictures… Charles Geilfus (1856-1914)

February 14th is the Feast of the great Catholic martyr and priest, St. Valentine. His persecutor, known to history as Claudius II, not only hated Catholicism, but also forbade his own Roman soldiers to marry. St. Valentine performed secret nuptial Masses for those Catholic soldiers that had found a spouse….

St. Valentine Coloring pages…

Need a little help staying focused this Lent? The season is around the corner…

The Catholic Mother’s Traditional Lenten Journal!

For more information or to purchase visit my Meadows of Grace Shoppe here.

Pdf Version here.

This journal will lay out some simple activities in which your children will be doing their sacrifices and will have a tangible means of “counting” them for Jesus. You, Mom, will have a place to put a check mark if that the activity is remembered and completed for the day. This journal also includes a place for you to check off whether you are fulfilling your own personal resolutions…your Spiritual Reading, your Family Rosary, etc. It makes it more palpable if you can check it off at the end of the day….there’s just something about putting pen to paper when an accomplishment has been fulfilled! It is filled with inspiring quotes, too! My hope is that this journal may help you stay focused on making this Lent fruitful for your own soul and the souls of those little people entrusted to your care!

Father Weiser has here applied his winning formula to an explanation of the fasts and feasts of the Lenten and Easter seasons with equally fascinating results.

Why do we wear our best clothes on Sunday? What was the Holy Ghost’s role in medieval churches? How did a Belgian nun originate the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament? Where did the Halloween mask and the jack-o’-lantern come from?

Learn the answer to these questions, as well as the history behind our traditional celebration of Thanksgiving, in this gem of a book by Father Weiser.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

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Finer Femininity

~ Joyful, Feminine, Catholic

Category Archives: Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

The Paschal Candle

Spring Aprons! Feminine and Beautiful! Fully lined, made with care and detail. Available here.

Easter! Maria Von Trapp

Hot Cross Buns and Easter Alleluias!

Holy Thursday ~ Fr. Frank Weiser

Coloring pages for Holy Week…

Woman’s Lovely Veil/ Chapel Veil/ Traditional Head Coverings

Palm Sunday ~ Fr. Francis Weiser

Don’t forget to sign up for the Easter Giveaway by following this link!!

“Lady Day” – March 25th, The Annunciation

The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, March 25th, the Feast of Annunciation! Pray along with the Catholic World…

A Meditation on St. Joseph

Lenten Way of the Cross – An Activity for Lent… With Printables!

I’m a little late posting this….a lovely Lenten Activity!

Beginning of Lent:

First Week of Lent:

2^nd Week of Lent

3^rd Week of Lent:

4^th Week of Lent:

5^th Week of Lent:

6^th Week of Lent:

NEW!

Graceful loveliness….Wear your devotion! Each link is handmade on these religious necklaces. Get them blessed and you can wear them as sacramentals. A special gift for someone. Available here.

Ash Wednesday – Divine Intimacy

I want to thank you all so much for any reviews you have given me on my etsy shop and also on Amazon. I know it takes time to leave a review and so I very much appreciate it! I will post some of the reviews now and again here on the site. We especially enjoy the pictures!

From Miriam, Thank You!

Mother and Son Aprons! Feminine and Beautiful!

St. Valentine’s Day – An Opportunity, Mary Reed Newland

The Catholic Mother’s Traditional Lenten Journal!

Spring Aprons! Feminine and Beautiful! Fully lined, made with care and detail. Available here.

Coloring pages for Holy Week…

Woman’s Lovely Veil/ Chapel Veil/ Traditional Head Coverings

Don’t forget to sign up for the Easter Giveaway by following this link!!

The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, March 25th, the Feast of Annunciation! Pray along with the Catholic World…

I’m a little late posting this….a lovely Lenten Activity!

Beginning of Lent:

First Week of Lent:

2nd Week of Lent

3rd Week of Lent:

4th Week of Lent:

5th Week of Lent:

6th Week of Lent:

NEW!

Graceful loveliness….Wear your devotion! Each link is handmade on these religious necklaces. Get them blessed and you can wear them as sacramentals. A special gift for someone. Available here.

I want to thank you all so much for any reviews you have given me on my etsy shop and also on Amazon. I know it takes time to leave a review and so I very much appreciate it! I will post some of the reviews now and again here on the site. We especially enjoy the pictures!

From Miriam, Thank You!

Mother and Son Aprons! Feminine and Beautiful!

The Catholic Mother’s Traditional Lenten Journal!

2^nd Week of Lent

3^rd Week of Lent:

4^th Week of Lent:

5^th Week of Lent:

6^th Week of Lent: