A Dozen for Delight: 12 Ideas for Living Joyful Family Life Through Out the Church Year

Note: This handout I wrote is going out to our 2nd grade faith formation class and others at our parish in the next week.  Welcome to any new readers from SH parish!  I will blog on these ideas in more detail, including some links for materials to do them throughout the next liturgical year.  Feel free to use the comments here on the blog for any questions or to add your own best ideas!

1. Begin anew w/ Advent, the beginning of the Church liturgical year. Use an ADVENT WREATH to mark the 4 weeks of waiting. Even wait to put up your Christmas Tree until the 3rd Sun of Advent, marked by the pink/joyful candle. Then celebrate all 8 days of Christmas.

2. Leave Baby Jesus out of your family NATIVITY SET until Christmas morning. And the three kings as well! Have the kids move the kings around the house & gradually closer to your manger scene to symbolize their journey, finally arriving on their feast day, Epiphany (2nd Sun after).

3. Celebrate the anniversary of your child's BAPTISM DAY w/ a white dessert. Light her Baptismal Candle & look at photos. Remind her that she is a beloved child of God created w/ a unique mission of love & service for Him & others. What can she do this month to serve in a way only she can?

4. Use a LENTEN CENTERPIECE, such as a homemade desert scene, for a visual reminder of the season (like the Advent wreath & nativity set for Christmas). "Undecorate" the house for this season of more sacrificial waiting, including draping purple cloths in appropriate places- such as over the TV, if this is something given up during Lent- and stripping surfaces of clutter & excess.

5. Be sure to link EASTER BASKETS to the Resurrection of Jesus w/ spiritual treats & treasures.

6. Everyone loves (St) Valentine's Day & St Pat's Day- wearing red & green, eating treats, even giving little gifts. Do the same for other FEAST DAYS throughout the year, especially feast days of family patrons, such as those after whom members are named, or any saint your child especially likes. Make a unique dinner related to the saint or just have any favorite dessert to celebrate. Talk about that saint's life & example. Use a Catholic calendar to find the feast dates of saints.

7. May is the month of MARY. Join in the parish May Crowning. Say a decade of the Rosary on Sundays or everyday this month. Add some religious art to your home by hanging an image of Mary.

(She’s a powerful friend. What adult doesn't still need and want their mommy sometimes?)

8. Celebrate the feast day of our parish, the FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS on June 11. Write Fr. Hoa a note thanking him for all he does (or send an e-mail or voicemail). Add some more religious art to your home by hanging an image of the Sacred Heart.

9. Make a FAMILY ALTAR or PRAYER TABLE on or near your meal table or in another quieter spot where you can gather to pray regularly. Use liturgical colors to mark the seasons of the Church: purple for the Advent & Lenten seasons of waiting & preparing, white for the great feasts of Christ- Christmas & Easter, red for feasts of martyrs & the day marking the descent of the Holy Spirit called Pentecost (May 23), and green for the growth-filled Ordinary Time between these seasons & feasts. Keep a Bible there, as well as a candle.

10. Don't take a break from Sunday Mass over the summer just because faith formation classes are over! Use the extra time to MAKE EACH SUNDAY A MINI-EASTER w/ a family dinner & time for family fun. Pre-read the Sun Mass readings. Many special Sundays fall during the summer.

11. BLESS YOUR CHILD w/ words & by making the Sign of the Cross on his forehead at bedtime and on special days, such as the first day of school.

12. Round out your celebration Halloween w/ the FEASTS OF ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS.