liturgical living
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Return Home Another Way
The epiphany has always been one of my favorite feasts. There’s something so interesting about the three wise men, something that stirs excitement and intrigue in our hearts and adds depth and meaning to the infancy narratives. While mysterious, these men teach us lessons in the pursuit of truth, generosity, and the ability to be…
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Gaudete!
Here we are, halfway through December once again. We’re checking all the lists: the gift lists, the to-do lists, the grocery lists. I’m a person who loves lists, they ground me and help me make a plan. But this December I’ve been dreading even making the lists, let alone taking the necessary action to complete…
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All Hallows’ Tide
After weeks of discussion and anticipation, Halloween has come and gone. It seems that the Halloween festivities have become stretched out and conflated these days, I find myself quickly “Halloween-ed out”. And don’t get me wrong, I love Halloween. Procuring everyone’s costume is always exciting, creativity is on full display, and the kids have a…
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Like a Mother
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the last of the four Marian dogmas. A dogma is a truth that God has revealed, and that the Church’s magisterium has declared to be binding. The First of the Marian dogmas was established at the Council of Ephesus in 431, where the Church defined…
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Be Sealed
This is a beautiful time of year. As the Easter season draws to a close, we celebrate four significant celebrations before the onset of Ordinary Time: The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, The Solemnity of Pentecost, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, and the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood…
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The Ascension and the Time Between
As we celebrate the feast of the Ascension, I find myself wondering what Jesus’ apostles may have been thinking and feeling on this occasion. Having experienced the sorrow and devastation of our Lord’s passion, how long did it take for the joy of the resurrection to sink in? What kind of emotional whiplash were they…
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Love, Your Valentine
Of all the holiday’s we celebrate in our modern world, Valentines Day seems to be the one with the murkiest roots. The Feast of St. Valentine, February 14, was established by Pope Gelasius at the end of the 5th century. St. Valentine, though one of the most recognizable saints in our modern world, is one…
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We Have Seen a Great Light
Celebrating Candlemas “When the days were completed for their purification, according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the…
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Joy in the Ordinary
Our family gets a huge Christmas tree. It’s over ten feet of evergreen beauty and every year it’s breathtaking. It’s covered in a variety of meaningful ornaments and red sparkly ribbon, and it lights up our entire upstairs. I love it – but it takes up a large part of our living space. Our family…
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Living the Faith through the 12 Days of Christmas
I really love the days that follow Christmas day (particularly the first 6 or so when we’re still on vacation and life has taken a pause). There is a lot of hustle and bustle in those last days of Advent, but the early days of Christmas offer us reprieve. Opportunities for rest and unhurried projects,…
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