Ideas to celebrate the Liturgical Year of the Roman Catholic Church as a family and build your Domestic Church.
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The Annunciation of the Lord
The Annunciation of the Lord: March 25th
Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Pure and lowly, humble and holy, delight in the Father's eyes. For the son she was chosen, the world waited frozen, as from her lips came her reply. "Yes," was her answer; no better word was spoken, for death would now be broken, by the Son she would bear and raise. Sing, let your heart ring, with praise for His mother, dear Mary, who's full of grace!
(Poem and oil pastel created by me)
"Hail, full of Grace! The Lord is with you." These were the words that the angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as he shared God's plan for her to become the mother of God's son, and waited for her reply. With Mary's beautiful "yes," the fate and history of mankind was changed! No longer would death prevail. Jesus, God's only begotten Son— the Lamb of God— was to become the paschal sacrifice, establishing the New Covenant between God and humanity. "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and Blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Thank you, dear Mother, for your wonderful "yes" to God's beautiful plan. As you and your family spend today celebrating, ponder upon these questions. When is a time that you've said "yes" to God? is there something he's asking you today and waiting for you to reply with a faith-filled "yes?" Below are the beautiful songs, "Gabriel's Message," by Matt Maher, and "Behold," by David Kauffman," that you and your family can listen to; to help you reflect on the beauty of today's feast day, our spiritual mother, and what God might be saying to you in your life. I hope you and your family have a blessed day celebrating our spiritual mother and God's amazing plan for salvation!
("Gabriels Message" by Matt Maher)
("Behold," by David Kauffman)
Celebrating Through Food:
To celebrate the Annunciation, my family makes cinnamon-sugar cookies using this delicious recipe from "Food.com." Since we make these on several Marian feast days, we've fondly dubbed them, "Mary Cookies." Making something sweet, smelling the sugared aroma wafting through the house, while the cookies bake, and then tasting the delicious confection, helps us reflect on the sweetness of our spiritual mother, and the love and beauty that radiates forth from her immaculate heart. When I make these cookies, I like to carve a cross on top of them with a toothpick or knife before I bake them.
For dinner, you can make "Mary Manicotti" (or in my case, stuffed jumbo shells, since I can never find manicotti shells at the grocery store), served with Texas toast and salad. I use the manicotti, or jumbo shells, stuffed with ricotta cheese, to represent that Mary was filled with grace, the Holy Spirit, and baby Jesus. The white color of the ricotta also symbolizes the Blessed Mother's purity. I use this yummy recipe from "Taste of Home."
Celebrating with a Prayer and Craft:
Pray the "Magnificat" together as a family and write or print it on white paper. Glue the paper with the prayer on construction paper of your choice and then decorate the boarder around the prayer with pictures related to Mary. You can draw the angel Gabriel, roses, symbolizing Mary's title: "The Mystical Rose," stars, symbolizing Mary's title: "Stella Maris—Star of the Sea," (Stella Maris is my favorite Marian title,) or any other pictures associate with Mary. Your children can then set their prayer cards on their nightstands and you can say the Magnificat together as a family before going to bed.
The Magnificat:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Saint Teresa of Avila: Feast Day October 15th (My rendition of François Gérard’s painting “Teresa of Ávila” 1827) "Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing. God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God, you will want for nothing. God alone suffices.” It's been a while since I've written a blog post, and as I reflect upon the words of Saint Teresa of Avila's "Serenity Prayer" above, I cannot help but find comfort in them. Living in a time when everything in the world seems to be turned upside down, and logic and truth abandoned, the wisdom of Saint Teresa offers hope, consolation, and peace. Teresa of Avila lived in a time similar to our own. Born in the 16th century, she witnessed a world that contained globalism, political conflicts, and religious tensions following the Protestant Reformation. Yet during this turmoil, she trusted in God. She lived a life of contemplation, excelled in writing and p...
Saint Hildegard von Bingen: Feast Day Sept. 17th Not only is Saint Hildegard a Doctor of the Church, but during her life she was a writer, scientist, and conveyor of the "spiritual importance of femininity" (Catholic News Agency). During her life, she was not only a confident leader, but she also served as a beautiful witness of humility, allowing others to observe that confidence, leadership, and humility can all exist and work together. This article , from the Catholic News Agency, contains not only biographical information on Saint Hildegard, but also a wonderful discussion of how modern women can relate and connect with this smart and accomplished female saint who supported the truths of the Church. Since Saint Hildegard is from Germany, and the majority of my family's ancestry derives from Germany, we decided to make "Nussecken" —dessert mini-nut bars—to celebrate today. The modifications that we changed to this recipe, were using raspberry jam instead of...
All Saints & All Souls Day: Nov. 1st & 2nd Have you ever thought about being a saint? As Catholics, we believe that we are ALL called to a life of universal holiness and striving for sanctification. When I read the book, Rediscover the Saints, by Matthew Kelly, I was struck by one of the questions he posed. In his book, Kelly asked how many times do you pray that your children become saints? Wow! What a wonderful prayer! Since reading this, I have made it a point to pray to the Lord that if it be His will, please let me children be saints in His eyes. Prayer is so important; and as parents, asking the Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, and of course the Lord Himself, to help you raise your children and help them have a faith that grows and grows in love and devotion for the Lord all the days of their lives and become saints in His eyes, I believe is one of the greatest blessings and most wonderful things we as parents can do for our children. The day after Halloween—All Hallows...
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