Liturgical Living at a Glance: April 2017 (Holy Week and More)

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!

(And don’t forget about this year’s Easter Basket Gift Guide!)

Holy Week Preparation

• Sticky Handprints and When You’re Not Ready for Easter: Carrots for Michaelmas
• The “You Can Still Do This” Guide to All Things Holy Week: Catholic All Year
• New Catholics, Here’s Why I’m So Excited for You: Carrots for Michaelmas

April 9th: Palm Sunday

• Let his blood be upon us and upon our children: Carrots for Michaelmas
• 10 Things to Do with Palms from Palm Sunday: Catholic Icing

April 13thth: Holy Thursday

• Seven Churches on Holy Thursday: Clan Donaldson

• Last Supper Craft: Catholic Icing

• Happy Foot Washing Day: Catholic All Year

April 14th: Good Friday

• Printable Stations of the Cross for Children: Catholic Icing

• Make Hot Cross Buns (The Pioneer Woman has a good recipe.)

• Read T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (especially East Coker IV).

• How to Talk to Little Kids about the Crucifixion: Catholic All Year

April 15th: Holy Saturday

• Attend a Vigil Mass! Get ready for Easter!

• Getting the Eastertide Party Going: Carrots for Michaelmas

April 16th: Easter Sunday!

• Carrots Easter Basket Gift Guide: Carrots for Michaelmas

• 8 Picture Books for Lent and Easter: Carrots for Michaelmas

• Catholic Resurrection Eggs: Catholic Icing

• Preparing for an Easter Feast: Team Whitaker

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 23rd: Divine Mercy Sunday (+ St. George)

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

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! and I have to say, it’s really good. My Shepherd’s Pie recipe is the only legendary thing I make. All our other best family recipes came from Daniel, so I think it’s ok if I brag about my one claim to fame

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, Holy Week, 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.

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