Liturgical Living at a Glance: April 2016

 

I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then).  I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope having them all in one place is helpful to you, too!

I pinned all of the following resources on an April (and Easter!) Liturgical Living board on pinterest for your convenience!

As always, remember not to get overwhelmed. You don’t have to observe every saints day! (We certainly don’t at our house.) The liturgical year is a gift. It shouldn’t feel like a burden!

Hey it’s Easter! For 50 days! Party!

Eastertide:

• Getting the Eastertide Party Going: Carrots for Michaelmas
• 50 Days of Easter Activities for Kids: Look to Him and Be Radiant
• Regina Caeli: Latin Chant for Toddlers: A Blog for My Mom

April 3rd: Divine Mercy Sunday

Food:

• Super Simple Divine Mercy Cake: Better than Eden

Activities:

• Divine Mercy Watercolor Art Page: Look to Him and Be Radiant
• 7 Ways to Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with Children: Slice of Smith Life

April 4th: Feast of the Annunciation

It’s weird, but since this year Good Friday fell on March 25th, the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation was moved until after the Easter Octave.

Food for Thought

• Why Mary Has to Hold All the Cards: Thoughts on the Annunciation, Assault, and Free Will: Carrots for Michaelmas

Celebrating Around the Table:

• 12 Simple Ways to Celebrate the Annunciation: Better Than Eden
• Waffles for Dinner for the Feast of the Annunciation: Catholic All Year
• On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord: Three Sided Wheel

April 11th: St. Stanislaus

Food/Activities for Celebrating:

• St. Stanislaus in LEGOs: Catholic Playground (Maybe it’s just because Benjamin is obsessed with LEGO stuff, I thought this was actually a pretty fun idea for sharing stories about the saints with kids.)

• Coloring Page: Catholic Playground

April 23rd: St. George

Book:

St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges

(Our copy is falling apart because we’ve read it so many times.)

Food/Activities for Celebrating:

• Make Shepherd’s Pie for St. George of Merry England. You can find my recipe in our liturgical year cookbook, Feast! I don’t mean to brag…but my recipe is a little bit famous. If you don’t believe me, just check out the Shepherd’s Pie-centered reviews on the Amazon page.  I made a giant batch last month when friends came to visit and it was gone in the blink of an eye.

April 25th: St. Mark

Food/Activities for Celebrating:

• Make an Italian meal. (St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice and his feast is enthusiastically celebrated in Sardinia.) Here’s a simple ideas from Catholic Cuisine: Risi e Bisi

April 29th: St. Catherine of Siena

• Coloring Page: Catholic Playground

Food for Celebrating:

• Make an Italian meal honoring St. Catherine. We have a Sun-dried Tomato Risotto recipe in our new cookbook, More Feasts!

Activities and More:

• 7 Quick Ways to Celebrate St. Catherine of Siena: Two Os Plus More

Books:

Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset (This is one of my favorites! It’s for adults, not a picture book and really helped me get to know St. Catherine. Undset is one of the finest authors of the 20th century, so if you’re looking for a good book about a saint, definitely check it out.) And here’s a great reflection on the book by my friend Christy.

 Do you have any special traditions for saints days in April or for Eastertide? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Check out our real food liturgical year cookbook: Feast! Real Food, Reflections and Simple Living for the Christian Year. You can buy the ebook for $7.99 or the print version for $21.99.

(Links to Amazon are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Carrots!)