Amazing Catechists

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Links to Inspire You!

By Deanna Bartalini

It’s February, and while the calendar says it is the shortest month of the year, for some, the dreariness of winter has gone on long enough, and February seems like the longest month. In February, we have Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and National Marriage Week from Feb 7-14. Right now, we are in Ordinary Time, but starting on February 22, on Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent begins.

Let’s Start with Black History Month

We have a Homeschooling Saints podcast episode for you with Lisa Mladinich and Lena Brown. Lena talks about A Catholic Perspective on Black History Month.

Take a look at this article on 8 Black Saints and Holy People of God Every Catholic Should Know, with prayers!

And The Saints of Africa by Vincent J. O’Malley tells the stories of over 60 saints, including 3 popes, 8 Fathers of the Church and 3 Doctors of the Church.

Next up – Lent

A few podcasts to listen to: Family Lenten Traditions, Is Lent a Time of Sacrifice or Action?

Holy Heroes has Lent Survival Kit to use in your home or class. I wish I had had one of these when I was working with children! It includes The Road to Calvary coloring book, calendars with activities, Lenten Adventure, Road to Easter (with stickers) and all you need to make your own Paschal Candle to celebrate Easter. Take a look!

A prayer service for grades K-3, Mind, Heart and Hand.

A video on Where Ashes Come From.

 

Would you like this content delivered to your inbox each week? Subscribe now and we’ll send you a free guide, “High Impact Lesson & Classroom Management Tips” as our thanks. SIgn-up in the sidebar on the right!

 

Read all posts by Deanna Bartalini Filed Under: Culture, Family Life, Featured, Liturgical Tagged With: Black History, books, Lent, links, podcasts

This Saint Valentine’s Day, Give Your Heart to The Sacred Heart

By Annabelle Moseley

Whether you have a Saint Valentine’s Day that delights or disappoints, the most important gift of hearts is the one each of us gives to Our Lord. The most strengthening Valentine we can receive is the chance to rest our head upon the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, listening to its beat; as St. John the Beloved did at The Last Supper. After all, St. John the Beloved was the only apostle to withstand witnessing the Way of the Cross. When we draw near to the Heart of Jesus, we are capable of so much more than we could do on our own!

Here’s a few ways to make this Valentine’s Day and Valentine’s Month extra heartfelt:

  1. Place an image of the Sacred Heart with bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table or island as a reminder of your love, and His.
  2. Pray one of the many beautiful Sacred Heart prayers as part of grace before meals. Here’s one I like: Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
  3. Make Valentine’s food in honor of the Sacred Heart. After you make the cupcake recipe of your choice (I like chocolate with vanilla frosting!) top with strawberries cut into the shape of a heart. Or, bonus points: make Red Velvet cupcakes!
  4. Try making an easy Sacred Heart craft with your kids. Get a grapevine wreath resembling the crown of thorns, and place in the center of your dining table. Make a large heart out of construction paper. Upon that heart, each family member can write a prayer intention or a work of mercy they will offer to the Sacred Heart all month long. Place the heart in the middle of the wreath.
  5. Honor his Sacred Heart as present in the Eucharist through making a Holy Hour of Adoration and Reparation.
  6. Buy a new statue, candle or image of the Sacred Heart for your home. If you already have yours, consider buying one to give someone else… especially someone in need of a little extra love this Valentine’s month!
  7. Consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our House of the Sacred Heart is a 33-Day Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus filled with art, stories, and reflections to draw our hearts closer to His. It’s a great preparation for Lent as well as a wonderful Lenten companion. The hard cover has full color sacred art on every page. A podcast companion to the book, sent to your inbox for 33 dayshttps://www.bethanyplan.com/consecration-to-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus/ offers reflections and music corresponding to each of the book’s chapters; another resource to make our hearts more like His… with each passing day. O Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto thine.

Happy Saint Valentine’s Month!

Read all posts by Annabelle Moseley Filed Under: Catholic Spirituality, Culture, Family Life, Featured, General, Prayer

Pray without ceasing?

By Deanna Bartalini

Prayer is necessary

I think most of us will agree that a prayer life is a good and necessary part of our spiritual life. St. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and that can be difficult for many of us to understand, let alone do in the intense world many of us occupy these days. As catechists and parents, we want to instill a love of prayer in those we teach, so they can see the beauty of it themselves.

There’s a book for that!

How Our Family Prays Each Day: A Read-Aloud Story for Catholic Families by Gregory K. Popcak; Illustrated by Jacob Flores-Popcak, published by Ave Maria Press is a read-aloud picture book. In it, Marty and his family talk about all the ways they pray each day. It shows typical family situations  – siblings not getting along, mealtimes, going to Church, sports practice – and how to incorporate prayer into them.

The book makes the point that prayer is not reserved for Sunday Mass, but can take place all the time.

I read this book to my pre-school grandchildren, and they loved it. (The suggested age range is 4-8.) The illustrations are bold, there is the right amount of text on each page and following the pelican added to the fun of reading and talking about the book.

How can you use this book?

Read it to your class, making sure you hold it up so they can see the pictures. Then, talk about ways they can pray every day in their own life. There is a note for parents in the book as well to give you some tips and pointers. It also reveals why a pelican is the family pet!

 

 

Read all posts by Deanna Bartalini Filed Under: Elementary School, Family Life, Featured, Prayer Tagged With: book, book review, prayer, pre-school, religious education, resources

Encountering Signs of Faith – The Miraculous Medal

By Allison Gingras

Sacramentals Defined

First, let’s clarify what a sacramental is:

Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops’ pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time (Catechism Catholic Church, 1668). 

Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. (CCC, 1670).

The Draw of the Miraculous Medal

During a particularly difficult time in my life, a friend introduced me to the Miraculous Medal, originally called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, especially the promise that comes with wearing it, which really helped restore peace to my heart. During Mary’s apparition with St. Catherine Laboure, she explained, “Those who wear [this medal] will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck. Those who repeat this prayer, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” with devotion will be, in a special manner, under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.”  

Miraculous Medal Activities 

  • Each element of this medal came directly from the Blessed Mother—the image on both the front and the back, the words; even how it should be worn. That is remarkable in itself, but then coupled with the countless blessings and, yes, even miracles attributed to it, makes this sacramental worth investigating further.  Click here to learn more about the medal.
  • A fun Miraculous Medal craft for families. This craft is made from aluminum foil with no drawing skills needed—a traceable template of the Miraculous Medal is available as a free download. Learn more on CatholicIcing.com.
  • Seeking creative ways to build a child’s devotion to the Blessed Mother? The Miraculous Medal Shrine offers a plethora of resources, including ten very creative ways to help your family deepen your devotion to Mary while having fun.  Click here to get started!

Growing in Grace

Do you own a Miraculous Medal? Do you wear it daily around your neck? Do you have experiences or examples from your own life with the promised outpouring of graces Mary promised? If you don’t wear one, what holds you back? Have your learned anything from your Miraculous Medal investigation that might inspire you to adopt this devotion?

Learn more about the traditions and devotions of the Catholic Church (including sacramentals) as well as my incredible God-driven adoption story in my new book, Encountering Signs of Faith: My Unexpected Journey with Sacramentals, the Saints, and the Abundant Grace of God (Ave Maria Press, 2022).

 

 

Feature Image Credit: Allison Gingras/CanvaPro

Read all posts by Allison Gingras Filed Under: Family Life, Featured Tagged With: Blessed Virgin Mary, book review, catechist, Catholic, free resources, religious education, sacramentals

Seven Ways to Observe Advent with Children

By Amanda Woodiel

Photo by Stefan Schweihofer (2018) via Pixabay, CCO Creative Commons

Perhaps you too have had the experience of preparing for Christmas, only to realize that amongst the candy-making, the letter-writing, the present-purchasing, the tree-trimming, and more, you never got around to spiritual preparation, even though you really meant to this year.

If you would like to add a more reflective or penitential note to your family’s Advent observance, check out the seven ideas below to get you started.  Choose one (or two), gather what you will need, and start a new family tradition!

Jesse tree

The idea:

Recall salvation history.  Use ornaments decorated with symbols to represent the events and stories leading up to the birth of Jesus and hang them on a tree of some kind (the tree is so named after Jesse, father of King David–see Isaiah 11:1).

What you will need:   

  • You can order a kit.  Check out Etsy for some beautiful ones.
  • You can do it yourself…you need something to be the tree, something to make ornaments, and a Bible or knowledge of Bible stories.  I use a book that has reproducible ornaments.  Each year I photocopy one set of ornaments for each child.  I cut out a large Christmas tree shape from wrapping paper and tape it on the wall.  Each day (when all goes well), the kids color their ornaments while I read to them the passage from the Bible corresponding to the symbol they are coloring.  They then cut out their ornaments and tape them on the tree.
  • The tree can also be a bare branch set into a mason jar full of stones or sand, and the ornaments can be hung on it with loops of ribbon.

Advent stockings: good works

The idea:

The family does a spiritual or corporal work of mercy (or other charitable act) each day of advent.  For example, we might give away a piece of clothing; pray for an end to abortion; pray for our priests; call someone who might be lonely, etc.

You need:

  • Slips of paper listing the good works you will do (see the end of this post for ideas).
  • Something to put them in.  I have mini stockings with numbers on them, which we hang up.  Every evening I put a slip of paper in the next day’s stocking, choosing the activity based on what can fit into our family calendar.  But you could easily do the same with numbered envelopes or, if you are really adventurous, just put them all in a mason jar and see what you pull out!

Making soft Baby Jesus’ Bed

The idea:

Family members make sacrifices and do good acts throughout Advent.  For each one, they lay a piece of straw or hay in an empty manger, trying to get the bed as soft as possible before Baby Jesus will be born on Christmas morning.

You need:

  • Raffia, hay, straw, grass, or strips of yellow construction paper.
  • Some sort of manger.
  • Baby Jesus statue.

Advent wreath

The idea:

Four candles represent the four Sundays of Advent.  Three are purple to represent penance; the fourth is pink for Gaudete Sunday (the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  Gaudete means “joy,” and the priest will wear rose-colored vestments).  On the first Sunday of Advent, light the purple candle that is diagonal from the pink one.  Say a prayer of longing for Our Savior.  Every evening light this candle, accompanied by a prayer, and each successive Sunday light an additional candle.

You need:

  • An advent wreath/candle holder
  • Candles

Salvation history candle

The idea:

Similar to a Jesse tree but for the artistic.  You will draw on a large candle (about 2 feet tall) the scenes from salvation history, starting with Adam and Eve at the top and Baby Jesus at the bottom.  You will burn the candle throughout Advent.

You need:

  • A church-style large candle, 51% beeswax, about 2’ tall.  Can be found at stjudeshop.com
  • Drawing implements

Planned read-alouds

The idea:

Read advent and nativity books during Advent: either one story per day in a book of collected Advent stories or separate books.

You need:

  • A book with a collection of 22-28 Advent stories (here is the one we have); or
  • 22-28 picture books that are Advent-related, about saints whose feast day falls in Advent, or about salvation history.  If you choose this option, you might want to wrap them in wrapping paper and number them, opening up one on each day.

Piece-by-piece nativity set

The idea:

Rather than give a little piece of candy in an Advent calendar, each day brings another object or person to add to the nativity scene, starting with the stable/cave and ending with Baby Jesus.

You need:

  • You can buy a set online that has the requisite number of pieces; or
  • You can make one yourself out of felt, bringing out one piece each day; or
  • Your children make their own paper nativity set, coloring a piece every day using free printables online.

____________________

Resources:

Here is a list of good works you might use for your family’s Advent stockings.

  • Do something nice for someone in secret today.
  • Look around your room.  Is there anything you can give away to the poor?
  • Do an extra chore today.
  • Try hard to be cheerful in everything you do today.
  • Draw a picture of the nativity.
  • Read about a saint today.
  • Pray for your priest today.  Could you offer up a sacrifice for the Church today?
  • Pray for an end to abortion today and give away something to moms in need.
  • Pray for the deceased today.  Could you make a sacrifice for the souls in purgatory?
  • Pray for persecuted Christians today and learn about a country where they do not have freedom of religion.
  • Pray for people who do not know Jesus.  Is there something you could do extra as an offering for them?
  • Pray for your family today.  What can you do to help your family be more like the Holy Family?
  • Pray a Rosary today.
  • Pray the Chaplet of Divine mercy.
  • Do an examination of conscience tonight, and if possible, schedule Confession sometime soon.
  • Take a meal to someone in need.
  • Make a card to send to someone who lives far away.
  • Call or invite someone over who might be lonely.
  • Read the Nativity story from the Bible.
  • Make ornaments to send to the nursing home.
  • Do something for someone else that you normally don’t want to do (such as offer to play a game you know he likes).
  • Eat all of your food with a good attitude (even if you don’t like it) and be grateful you have it.
  • Sing a song to baby Jesus or make up a poem for Him.
  • Act out the nativity or part of the salvation story or do a puppet show.
  • Give money to the poor.  You may do an extra chore and give away any money you earn.
  • Bake something and give away half.
  • Write or draw a thank-you card for someone.
  • Make a gift for your priest or staff at your parish church.
  • Give away food to the food pantry.
  • Give away a piece of warm clothing.
  • Work on memorizing a Bible verse.
  • Go to morning Mass.
  • Give up something you like to do or eat today and offer it up as a prayer for someone in need.
  • Wrap up something you have and give it to someone.

 


Copyright 2018 Amanda Woodiel.  This post first appeared at www.inaplaceofgrace.com.

Read all posts by Amanda Woodiel Filed Under: Catechetics, Catholic Spirituality, Elementary School, Family Life, Featured, Homeschooling, Liturgical, Middle School, Scripture Tagged With: advent, bible, Catechesis, family, resources, scripture

Models and Moderators: Parenting to Pass on the Faith

By Jessica Ptomey

In writing and speaking about the life of the domestic church, I often encounter a version of the following question from earnest Catholic parents:

How do we effectively pass on our faith to our children?

It’s certainly not a new question. We’ve been collectively working at it for centuries. Many read the story of St. Monica’s actions and prayers on behalf of her wayward son Augustine with a knowing sympathy. But not all similar stories of parental faithfulness through history have produced the same end. We hear many times of children coming of age, leaving the Church, and losing their faith in God.

I have witnessed flawed responses to this disheartening fact. There are well-meaning individuals who sincerely want their children to develop a relationship with God and love for His Church as they walk toward adulthood. Because of this desire, they strive after a “system” or “formula” that will ensure this result. Catholic parents can so often fall into a problematic mindset of religious “box-checking.” We can easily forget that our children belong to God, and that He — not us — is directing their journey. We are asked only to be faithful (not perfect) stewards of HIS children while they are under our guard.

With this foundational truth in mind, I want to offer a life-giving framework (not a system) for how we may go about being parents who are stewards of God’s children. How can we be faithful in our responsibility to pass on a knowledge and love of God, while ultimately leaving our children in God’s hands.

I would like to adapt the marvelous “Teacher’s Motto” established by British educator Charlotte Mason (1842-1923): “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life” (Home Education, XI). I would offer that spiritual formation (religious education) is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. Let me explain briefly what Mason meant by these terms. The atmosphere is the environment, that which individuals take in and absorb all around them just as one breathes in a breath of air. What is part of one’s atmosphere becomes part of oneself. Discipline has to do not with aspects of punishment (as some may attribute the word), but rather with the formation of habits. And finally, the “living” component refers to the life of ideas. I would offer that we Catholic parents are called to both model and moderate these three vital elements in our domestic churches.

Let’s look first at being models of the faith to our children:

  • Let us consider the atmosphere that we cultivate in our own individual lives as parents and/or as spouses. Is our faith life one that exudes the fruits of the Spirit? Do we walk in peace and order as we experience both joys and sufferings in our lives, or are our lives chaotic and lacking healthy rhythms?
  • Next, we should look at our habits. How do we practice our faith? Have we made prayer, the sacraments, Mass, etc. primary habits in our daily and weekly lives of faith? How do we habitually respond to others? What are our reflexes when we encounter suffering or difficult things?
  • Finally, need to consider whether we are filling our minds and hearts with the living ideas of our faith. Have we settled for unimaginative or “packaged” explanations for our faith, or have we dug in ourselves to the original sources of truth in Scripture, the Catechism, and primary church writings and documents? Are we spiritually and intellectually curious people who take joy in discovering for ourselves God’s truth wherever we might find it?

Now let’s examine our role as moderators of these vital elements in our children’s lives:

  • First, we must consider the atmosphere we parents create in our homes. What family and faith culture are we cultivating in the lives of our children? What are they taking in to be part of themselves and their lives of faith as they would take in breath?
  • Second, we are to provide habit-building opportunities for our children. How are we helping them to practice their faith? Have we made space for building the habit of prayer gradually as they grow older? Have we considered how to replace the bad habits of their lives (vices) with the opposite good habits (virtues)?
  • Third, we are to be spreading living ideas of faith before their minds and hearts. Have we thought critically about the books we allow to form their understanding of the faith? Have we offered them watered down ideas or ready-made answers for their questions? Or have we put in their path the most beautiful and well-articulated ideas of our faith and respected the minds God has given them to discover truth, whereby learning to love the discovery of it?

At best, I’ve laid out a skeletal framework here; but these ideas and questions should hopefully lead us toward a deeper and more life-giving consideration of what our true role is as parents in passing on our faith to our children. I believe that God would have us take heart in what He has made us capable of doing and experience peace in what is ultimately in His hands.

 

Copyright 2021 Jessica Ptomey
Feature Image Credit: Marcos Paolo Prado (2020), Unsplash

Read all posts by Jessica Ptomey Filed Under: Catechetics, Evangelization, Family Life, Featured Tagged With: Charlotte Mason, Domestic Church, Faith Formation

My Top 12 Tips for New-to-Homeschooling Parents

By Amanda Woodiel

Some friends of mine have decided to homeschool next year, and I found myself giddy.  Homeschooling has blessed our family tremendously–from the amount of time I get to form my children in virtue to the simple life we are forced to live in order to accommodate one income; from the relationships my older children have with my younger children to the generous amount of leisure it affords us.

My exuberance makes me want to rain advice and book suggestions down on my friends’ unsuspecting heads, but I recognize that I should exercise restraint.  Instead, I offer here my top 12 tips for New-to-Homeschool folks.

 

1) Decide what your non-negotiables are at this stage of your child’s education.

For us, our non-negotiables are learning our faith well; math; learning to write well; and reading time.  Would I like my kids to know their history?  Of course.  But I can add that into my non-negotiables of writing and reading.  Do I want them to know science?  I do.  Geography?  Yes.  But those will increase in intensity as they get older.  For now, if they read, write, do some math, have some kind of virtue/Bible lesson, and get outside to play or build, then that’s a good day.

 

2) Write your school’s mission statement based upon the non-negotiables and post it.

As you get into learning more about homeschooling, it’s pretty easy to lose the forest for the trees.  It’s a little like wedding planning…suddenly, you think you must incorporate party favors and cake pops while the real thing you ought to be concerned about (the sacrament of marriage) gets lost under the fluff.  Knowing what your mission is helps to make those homeschooling decisions a little easier; everything can be held under the light of “does this fit into our educational mission?”

3) Know who you are.

See, as you go along, you are going to come across blogs of homeschool parents who make snow globes and amazing origami forest animals.  If that’s not you, don’t sweat it.  Your kids will be fine, I assure you, without ever building an Egyptian pyramid out of colored sugar cubes.  Instead, focus on your own talents for teaching.  Are you great at silly songs?  That’s awesome for teaching history.  Do you enjoy being outside?  You can pack science, math, and religion into a single nature walk.  Are you good at carpentry?  More math!  Sure, you can stretch yourself every now and then and do more of what you aren’t naturally disposed to do, but for the day in and day out of homeschool, teach in a way that is pleasant to you.

4) Know who your child is.

As you go along in your homeschooling journey, you will come to know who your child is and how he learns best.  Sadly, it may not quite match your preferred method.  That’s okay–you can both stretch.  This is one reason why homeschooling is so effective: you can tailor how you teach to how your student learns.  Is he visual?  Use dry erase boards a lot.  Auditory learner?  Record yourself reading his spelling list and spelling it out for him.  Does he learn through story?  Read aloud his history.  Does he need to move a lot?  Math problems can be combined with races pretty easily.

5) Look at different homeschooling philosophies before you sweat which curriculum you will use.

Charlotte Mason, Classical, Waldorf, and Unit Studies will soon become educational philosophies you will dissect with other homeschooling parents.  Simply learning about different ways to homeschool will likely help you fine-tune what is important to you.  Personally, I don’t follow any homeschool philosophy in particular but have picked out elements from several different methods.  I strongly believe in outside time a la Charlotte Mason, I incorporate the 4-year cycle of history study used by the Classical method, and I am low-electronics like Waldorf.

6) Co-op…or not.

You can’t go wrong here.  Trust your gut.  You can do a co-op and thereby pool your talents with others so that your kids are getting pottery classes, for example, whereas you can hardly draw a stick figure personally.  On the other hand, you could not do a co-op and learn art alongside your child at home.  One thing I will say is that the “socialization” impetus for co-ops is largely over-emphasized.  If you live in a neighborhood, go to church, have interactions with extended family, participate in any organized extra-curricular activity like Cub Scouts or sports, and make time for play dates or library activities…your kids are going to be socialized just fine, and they will be socialized across age groups as children have been for hundreds of generations before.

7) Structure your day.

In general, children like structure to their day, and this is especially important if your child is transitioning from traditional school to homeschool.  He is used to having nearly every minute planned out for him.  Clearly, you don’t need to go to that extreme, but a simple rhythm to your day will obviate being asked again and again, “What are we doing next?  Can I go outside?  When can we paint?”  It can be as simple as “breakfast, read aloud, math, recess, handwriting, read-alone time, lunch, done.”  It will also keep you from having to reinvent the wheel every day.

8) Schedule your non-negotiables first.

I used to put the stuff that was really important to me, like Scripture memorization, after we got other subjects out of the way.  Do you know that meant?  That meant we hardly ever got to Scripture memorization.  Someone dropped by, or I had to prep dinner, or everything just took longer than I had anticipated or it was a beautiful day and we decided to go for a walk.  I finally realized that we had to do our non-negotiables first and all of those lovely enrichment-type activities as the day progressed.  That way, by the end of the day, we had at least done what was most important to us.  Another idea is to put the electives at the end of the week.  In our home, we schedule Fine Arts Friday and study art history, music appreciation, poetry, creative writing, and/or go on field trips then.

9) Don’t try to re-create a traditional school environment at home.

You don’t have to do six different subjects every day.  You could decide to take a month and do all science all the time.  You can do one subject in-depth every day of the week for a total of five subjects weekly.  You can do school in the afternoon.  Your kid does not have to sit at a desk.  You can do math problems with chalk outside.  You can do all of school outside!  You can do a math review while you grocery shop.  You can add non-traditional subjects like service projects and gardening.  Or maybe that’s all you do for a month!  Again, refer back to your non-negotiables and mission statement, but remember, you can be far more flexible and creative in how you implement them than what you might believe at first.

10) Structure quiet time into every day.

This is to keep your sanity, basically, and yet I personally believe it to be a fundamental human need that is often overlooked.  I want my kids to know how to be alone with themselves without having to turn on a screen.  I want them to learn how to entertain themselves.  Especially since we have a large family, we could constantly be chattering away and running about without ever learning to listen to our thoughts and how to be at peace with ourselves.  And also–this will be the time when you get your things done.

11) Use a daily checklist.

Any child who can read can use a checklist to help manage his time.  This is convenient when you have multiple children to teach.  You can’t constantly answer “What should I do next?”  I make our checklists on the computer.  Each page lasts a week and has five columns, one for every day.  Anything that we do together we do first (such as prayer time–we love Lisa’s book Heads Bowed: Prayers for Catholic School Days), and then each child has independent work for the day to get done.

12) Read aloud and then read aloud some more.

Reading aloud has been part of our family culture and has given us innumerable adventures from our living room.  We probably know as many imaginary characters as we do real people, and it has widened our experience and deepened our bonds like nothing else.  If all I did for the first three grades were to read aloud for a couple of hours each day, I would consider that time well spent.  Since I usually don’t have hours every day to read aloud, I do what I can and supplement with audiobooks.

Relax.  There are many ways to do this homeschooling thing right, and as long as it is done thoughtfully and with love, I can hardly think of how you could go wrong.  Blessings on your homeschool journey!

 

Copyright Amanda Woodiel (2018).  All rights reserved.

Read all posts by Amanda Woodiel Filed Under: Family Life, Featured, Homeschooling Tagged With: family, teaching

Why We Should Pray With Our Children From an Early Age

By Lisa Mladinich

Hi All!

This is my ten-minute discussion with Matt Swaim on the Son Rise Morning Show, today!

We cover why it’s important to pray with children from an early age, what they learn, and how to help our teens and young adults who have lost their faith. Just the simplest points are discussed, but we could go a lot deeper.

I’d love your comments, suggestions, and questions in the chat!

https://amazingcatechists.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SON-RISE-MORNING-SHOW-1-14-20-praying-with-children.m4a

 

Here’s where you can order my book, “Heads Bowed: Prayers for Catholic School Days.”

I’m looking forward to your comments!

Blessings,

Lisa Mladinich

Follow me on Facebook!

Read all posts by Lisa Mladinich Filed Under: Book Reviews, Catechetics, Catechism, Catholic Spirituality, Family Life, Featured, Homeschooling, Lisa's Updates, Liturgical, Resources, Scripture Tagged With: Heads Bowed: Prayers for Catholic School Days, Liguori Publications, prayer books for children, praying with children

Interview with Leila Lawler and The Summa Domestica

By Lisa Mladinich

Do you like a good story?
Enjoy this fascinating conversation with Leila Lawler about the role of beauty in her conversion from atheism, the critical skills of homemaking, and her fantastic new three-volume set, The Summa Domestica!

Order Leila’s beautiful boxed set here!

Leila Marie Lawler is a wife of one, mother of seven, and grandmother of sixteen (and counting!). She lives in Central Massachusetts. Leila encountered Christianity as a high school student and entered the Catholic Church in 1979, the year she was married to Philip F. Lawler, noted Catholic author and editor of Catholic World News.

Leila practices “kitchen sink philosophy” at Like Mother, Like Daughter, a website for practical and theoretical insight into all aspects of daily life. She writes on everything from cooking and knitting to education and recovering what she and her daughters call “the collective memory.”

Leila is a Fellow of the Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture, a project of Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts in Merrimack, NH. Her previous book, co-authored with David Clayton, The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home, is published by Sophia Institute Press.

Find Leila at her blog: http://likemotherlikedaughter.org

Leila Lawler on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/leilamarielawler

Link for Purchase: https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/the-summa-domestica-3-volume-set

Facebook (her publisher): https://www.facebook.com/SophiaInstitutePress/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SophiaPress

Read all posts by Lisa Mladinich Filed Under: Family Life, Featured, General, Homeschooling, Interview, Lisa's Updates, Podcast, Video Tagged With: conversion story, family life, homeschooling, interview, Leila Marie Lawler, Sophia Institute Press, The Summa Domestica

New Year’s Resolution: How to Increase Our Hospitality for Jesus in Our Hearts and Homes this Year

By Annabelle Moseley

As this month begins, the gifts have been unwrapped, leftover Christmas tinsel may be clinging to the rug and there might be a few gingerbread cookies still left in the pantry. We’re a bit worn out from hosting or attending December’s Christmas gatherings, or due to pandemic-related concerns, we are feeling a bit disappointed that this Christmas wasn’t quite as social as years past. And now comes January of a new year, traditionally a time to start fresh. How can we rest or rejuvenate ourselves, no matter what kind of end to 2021 we had?

For starters, Christmas isn’t really over. It’s the season known as Christmastide now! Some people keep their decorations up until the “twelve days of Christmas” culminate on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. Still others like to keep their decorations or at least their Christmas lights up until the traditional end of the Christmas season on Candlemas, or the Purification of the Virgin Mary on February 2. But whether you prefer to pack the ornaments away immediately or keep the Christmas decorations and crafts going, there’s one thing every home can benefit from this January: increasing our hospitality. Hospitality during Covid? That’s right! We can welcome Jesus into our home EVERY DAY. And doing so will make us feel a greater sense of true belonging in these disjointed times as we are reminded of Whose we are. Let’s make a resolution now, or better yet: five! Here’s five ways we can increase our hospitality for Jesus in the new year:

1) Welcome Jesus First Thing, Every Day

“Now it came to pass as they went, that He entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha, welcomed Him into her house”(Luke 10:38). We know how Martha worked as hard as she could cooking and cleaning for Our Lord and how Mary gave her full attention, sitting at the feet of Christ and listening to Him. But it’s easy to forget the simple profundity of that verse: she “welcomed Him.” How often Jesus was misunderstood, rejected, or overlooked. Yet Martha welcomed Jesus: receiving Him into her home! No wonder she became a saint! Let’s resolve to welcome Jesus in our homes and hearts this year… first thing; every day! What will that look like for us? Well, it can look like praying a Morning Offering prayer daily as soon as our eyes pop open, deciding to find and attend a daily Mass, praying an Our Father and emphasizing “Thy Will Be Done,” even as we start the coffee or take the dog for a walk. If there’s a prayer that helps you surrender everything to Jesus, try placing it behind the door of your most-opened kitchen cabinet or on the table near where you eat breakfast every day.

2) Tell Jesus, “Our Home is Your Home!”

You’ve Heard the Expression “My Home is your Home” or “Mi Casa es Su Casa!” Well, this 2022, let’s offer that sentiment to Jesus! Saints Martha and Mary offered Him a peaceful respite from a world that often rejected him. We should ask ourselves: Does our house do that? Do people who pass by our house know we are Catholic? This month, why not add a statue of Jesus or of our Blessed Mother on our property in a place that can be seen from the road, inspiring others! Do people who enter our home see our faith proudly on display? Add a beautiful picture of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place in the home. Then arrange with a priest to have a Home Enthronement Ceremony in which you officially declare Christ as the King of your Home. Here is the Enthronement Ceremony which is ideally led by a priest, or the father of the family, or if neither is available, the owner of the home. We pray, “May our home be for Thee a haven as sweet as that of Bethany, where Thou canst find rest in the midst of loving friends, who like Mary have chosen the better part in the loving intimacy of Thy Heart!”

3) Give Jesus Your Heart, Again and Again

St. Francis once asked Jesus what he could give Our Lord, since he had already given Jesus his heart. Our Lord answered, “Francis, give me (your heart) again and again. It will give me the same pleasure.” Consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the first time, or once again. You can never consecrate yourself too often… it is like a repeated “I love you.” This one offers a fresh approach to the 33-Day Consecration. Available completely for free online, it sends daily emails to your inbox with a link to a 9-12 minute podcast containing beautiful stories and reflections, featured works of art and inspiring music… all themed around that day’s line in the Litany to the Sacred Heart.

4) Invite Jesus to Each Meal You Have

We know Saint Martha of Bethany worked hard on each meal she served Jesus. How wonderful to imagine the grace of inviting Jesus to our own table, to invite Him to sit among our family members and to serve Him there. But we can do this! Let’s resolve to always pray grace before meals and perhaps end by praying, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!” This 2022, why not also a prayer of thanks after meals, frame a picture of Jesus and place it in the center of our table as a way to include this most Beloved family member, and add readings from and discussions of Scripture to our mealtime conversations.

5) Take a Course in Welcoming Our Lord from the Saints

Martha and Mary were devoted hostesses and they can teach us how to welcome Our Lord. After all, Jesus did not just stop by their home once. Rather, He loved visiting them and would often visit when he was in or near Bethany. To start 2022 with a 9-day novena to Saints Martha and Mary that delves deeper into the lessons we can learn from their house at Bethany, sign up here for 9 podcasts delivered daily to your inbox that includes moving reflections, sacred art and music for only 9-12 minutes a day.

God bless you as you resolve to make your home and heart shine with hospitality to Our Lord in this fresh first month of 2022!

Read all posts by Annabelle Moseley Filed Under: Catholic Education, Catholic Spirituality, Creativity, Culture, Family Life, Featured, Prayer

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