Living the Liturgy in the Home
Prior to this time of isolation, it was easy to view the "Liturgy" as something we celebrated within the four walls of a Church building. This time has really forced us to start living "church" within the four walls of our homes and cultivate an intentional community of prayer and worship within our families. Easier said than done, right?
As families, we have so much that we are juggling right now--working from home, homeschooling children, missing friends and neighbors, grieving various aspects of our lives that we are not experiencing and many other things.
The last thing that I want to do is give you another thing to think about or worry about during these crazy days. However, speaking from experience, when I start to be intentional about faith within my own little domestic Church, all of the juggling and chaos of life gets a little easier.
Gathering as a community of faith each week at Mass helped ground us in our liturgical year and traditions. There is something comforting about coming together and anticipating the times of celebration through preparing our hearts and then moving into seasons of growth.
Without public celebrations of Masses, it is important to keep our own "calendars" and know what season we are in---right now, we are in a season of celebration, the Season of Easter! Alleluia!
My hope with these blog posts is to "round up" some ideas for you on how to celebrate the upcoming week's various celebrations, or "feast" days of different Saints and Liturgical celebrations as an aid to cultivate a living liturgy within your home and family.
This Week: Divine Mercy Sunday
The Sunday following Easter is called "Divine Mercy Sunday." This is a great feast in our Church that highlights and celebrates the great love and mercy that Christ has for each one of us and for the whole world. You can read more about how it was established and why here.
I encourage you to take some time to learn about this great Feast day and the Saint behind the message.
Ideas for the Whole Family:
Pray or Sing the Divine Mercy Chaplet together. All you need is a rosary and the prayers. This is my favorite musical rendition of the chaplet (and my kiddos love it too!)
Have a special "feast" for dinner on Sunday. The Saint that received this message was St. Faustina who was polish. Know any polish recipes? Here are some ideas. You can top it off with a "Divine Mercy" Sundae (get it..Sundae...Sunday...).
Ideas for Kids:
Divine Mercy Craft (it costs $1 for the template)
Divine Mercy Novena Coloring Activity (from My Catholic Kids who has a great explanation of Divine Mercy Sunday)
Listen to the Catholic Spouts Podcast. This week they are looking at Divine Mercy!
Happy Easter, friends! I am praying for you.
In Christ,
Sam