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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Christmas Season | catholic family life | holiday plans | imperfection
As a wife, mother, and hostess, there is so much to do to prepare for Christmas. I want everything to be just perfect at Christmas time—Christmas lights, Christmas cookies, Christmas cards, Christmas tree, Christmas clothes for the kids, Christmas presents—I feel this pressure sometimes to make everything the best that it can be, to create a “magical” kind of Christmas day. Much of this comes from my own struggle with pride, but our surrounding culture plays its own role, too. After all, aren’t we told that this is supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year?” There are a lot of expectations to meet! There have been a number of Christmas days in the past, filled with all kinds of festivities, when, at the end of the day, I faced a strange realization: amidst all the celebrating, I didn’t really pray. The busyness of my Christmas day consumed my normal times of prayer.
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Advent | Catholic Faith | Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life
It’s interesting how often we follow routines around holidays and holy days. Families have traditional ways of decorating, menus for shared meals, and seating arrangements. There is something comforting about the ways we have come to celebrate important events together. Yet, with any celebration, change is in the air. I don’t think things are ever “the same” year to year, celebration to celebration, or day to day. It might seem that way, but we constantly change, we grow, history unfolds, our children grow up, they bring their families to gatherings, and so on. God’s Spirit fills the earth, gives life, and embraces our hearts with the life-changing grace of His presence.
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Advent | Catholic Faith | Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life
Each morning in the predawn, I accompany our dog into the yard. The neighborhood is quiet, and I encourage our pup to keep it that way. He has a way of letting out a woof when surprised by something he’s not familiar with. On a clear morning, there is a deep orange glow on the horizon, promising the coming sunrise. These past mornings, the frost on the grass glistened in the porch light. It is a tranquil time on the edge of darkness and light.
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Catholic Faith | Grandpa's Garden | Thanksgiving | catholic family life
Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees in this autumnal region. It’s easier to see the sky, the stars at night, the distant woodland, and to feel the sun’s waning warmth. Seasonal changes draw us into life’s evolving rhythms, schemes of color, and declining daylight hours. We adjust our perspective on the ever-changing natural world.
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Thanksgiving | The Sacraments | catholic family life | family prayer
My elementary and preschool-aged children have enjoyed making a construction paper chain full of things we are thankful for this month as we approach Thanksgiving. We have discussed the pilgrims and Native Americans in our homeschool lessons, and they look forward to traveling to visit relatives later this week. It's fun to cultivate holiday traditions with young children and to teach them to count their blessings at Thanksgiving. But how do we teach them gratitude beyond Thanksgiving day? How do we shape their hearts to cultivate gratitude for what they have when the stores are bursting with Christmas gifts they think they "need"? Here are four ways to help your families make thankfulness a habit when the pumpkin pie is long gone! When you're finished reading, we'd love to hear some of your own ideas in the comments!
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