Begin a Rosary Cenacle

"What a cenacle?" a relative asked when we mentioned that we had plans to go to one this weekend.

"It's when we get together with other families, pray the Rosary, have a teaching, go to Confession if we wish, eat, play, hang out with the friars...like a potluck, but with a focus on faith and community," was my honest reply.

Later, it occurred to me that I did not actually know what the word cenacle meant. Throughout the past several years, I had been taking my family to small- and larger- group Rosary Cenacles with the wonderful Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, but had somehow missed whatever the formal definition for a cenacle is.

So, I did some research and discovered that the Cenacle is the room where Jesus and the 12 Disciples met for the Last Supper and from it has sprung the idea of modern Cenacles where Catholics come together to pray to Jesus through Mary. So, I guess I was not far off in the explanation I gave my relative, and, most certainly, I am blessed to be able to be a part of beautiful local cenacles where we pray the Rosary, have catechism, enjoy games and family activities, eat together, etc.

Perhaps you and yours could start or begin a cenacle near you, too.

Undoubtedly, it would please Our Lady, who, at Fatima in 1917, enjoined:

I am the Lady of the Rosary, I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask for pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let them continue saying it every day.

It would also follow suit with Saint Padre Pio's wonderful recommendation:

Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today.

And, of course, it would prepare you and yours in a very important way!

At a church, in your home, in a community center, wherever, you could gather with others - and with a priest if possible - consider beginning a cenacle with purpose.

For more information and ideas:

• Keep family/children's cenacles simple, yet rich.

• Follow this format for formal cenacles.

• Read more about the cenacle concept and see a suggested format for one.
  

• Learn about Divine Mercy cenacles.

Connect Faith and Science with Ease {An Indescribable Kids The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science Review}

Disclaimer: I received this Complementary Product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Got a curious science lover who likes to read? I do!

He's been enjoying the book from Indescribable Kids series called The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science.

Authored by Louie Giglio with Tama Fortner and illustrated by Nicola Anderson, this hardcover edition is geared towards kids ages 6-10 or so, but can be fun for older readers like mine to dip into as well.

In it, there are 100 devotions illustrated with bright and engaging full-color drawings and, sometimes, striking photographs. The devotions cover wide variety of topics, such as:

• animals--from honeyguide birds to flying snakes to white rhinos

• space--from black holes to volcanic moons to gamma-ray bursts

• people--from optical illusions to brain freezes to our immune systems

• Earth--from rainbow rivers to blue lava to flowing glaciers

• and much more.

Of course, you can read these in order -using the attached book ribbon to keep your place. Or, you can use the table of contents and the the provided subject index to find specific devotions that key into topics of interest. (My son chose to do the former.)

Each devotional is presented as a two-page spread which features interesting scientific information on a specific topic, a faith-based connection, a short Bible verse, a closing prayer, and related illustrations and photographs.

When our copy of the book arrived at our house, I loved seeing my son dive right into it.

In fact, the scenario went like this:

"I think I heard a package getting delivered. Will you check the stoop?"  I said to my son.

"Sure, Mom...It looks like a book." My son handed me the package.

I opened it. "It is a book. YOUR book."

My son then sat down immediately in a chair with The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science, and, the next thing I knew, he was marveling, "Mom, how could an animal be that small!" and questioning "How many tons of trash do you think there is on Mt. Everest?"  

 

A bit later, my son asked if we could look up some documentaries on jerbers and the bunny trails began... 

Since then, my son has been reading the book at his own pace between doing other things. When I asked him for his thoughts for this review, he told me:

I have read half-way through the book. It is easy reading. So far, the things I found the most interesting were that:

• there is 11 tons of trash on Mt. Everest.

• there is a human-looking robot on the International Space Station that, origonally walked around on its hands but now has legs, that there is also a robot based off origami that thas two wheels and can flatten itself out to explore crevices, and that there is one named Cube-Shaped Hedgehog that can tumble across asteroids and hop.

• Baluchistan pigmy jerbers are weigh barely more than a penny, are two inches long and have a 3-inch tail, and hope aroud the desert.

 

I found the facts in the book much more interesting than the Bible connections, but some people might like the Bible stuff.

I would recommend this book for others who like to read about random facts and the wonders of creation. I plan to finish reading the book because it is fun to read.

The next day, he was reading the book again, so he is carrying through on that plan.

With my son's experience and commentary in mind - as well as just knowing what kinds of books my older children liked when they were younger, I would definitely recommend this book as a fun, educational, faith-connected read aloud with younger children or a free read for kids who are able to read it on their own. 

It would be ideal for science-loving kids who like to learn across different topics. Bible-loving kids who wish to see how science and the Word connect will also like the book. 

Parents who tend to strew materials which might spark deeper dives will likely find the book piques curiosity and inspires further study -  especially the call-outs in each devotional spread that invite kids to "Explore the Wonder".

Kids and parents who are looking for quick, easy, yet informative bedtime and morning reading and those who gently want to add some STEM materials to their days may also like the book. 

To see what other families thought about the book, head on over to the Homeschool Review Crew to find links to many reviews. 

You may also to engage with Indescribable Kids on social media at:

Facebook (Tommy Nelson)

Instagram (Tommy Nelson)

Instagram (Louie Giglio)

Instagram (Indescribable Kids)

Happy reading!

Get a FREE Spiritual Reading Log Set

What's a new year for if not failing forward?

This year, I am failing forward with many things, including my plans for getting my middle and highschoolers into a daily spiritual reading and me into a habit of discussing their reading with them.

Part A of the plan has been going fairly well since the fall. In fact, one of another of my children had ead through each of the Select Spiritual Reads that I highlighted here last September, and all have read more in addition.

Part B, though - the part where I would chat with each of them after they finished each book. That's where the failure has happened.

Praise be to God, there have been few spontanous, organic, and fruitful chats that I appreciated. (These were about books in the C.S. Lewis boxed set, the Miracle of Father Kapaun, and Mother Teresa: Lessons of Love and Secrets of Sanctity all of which I recommend.) And, there have also been some more planned or prompted chats about other spiritual reads during minivan rides and walks.

However, I have not been able to keep up with all of the kids' spiritual reading, my own, and life in general - and the kids have not bubbled over with spontaneous sharing with some reads as they hae with others, so some of their spiritual reading selections have yet to be discussed.

That is where the failing forward comes in!

Upon entering the new year, as I thought about all this, I decided that we all might do well with a tool to help with future discussions. Thus, I made a simple set of Spiritual Reading Logs.

On these logs, we can record thoughts, ideas, and questions as well as think about if we'd recommend the spiritual books we dig into.

My hope is that with notes from these logs in hand, it will be easier to go back and chat about different reads even if I keep getting behind my kids with them (which seems inevitable since my children sometimes select things I have never read before and there are three of them, each reading separately, and only one of me trying to keep up.)

In case th  ae logs might benefit you or your children, too, I am sharing them freely.

I hope you can use them and would love to hear what spiritual reads you and your children are diving into and what discussion points they bring up.

God bless!

Did You Miss One of Our Top 10 Faith Posts of 2021?

Happy 2022!  May the new year bring joy and peace to your heart, home, and homeschool.

As my family and I look forward to all the opportunities ahead of us, I am also taking a look back at some of the ways we've lived, learned, and celebrated our faith. As I do so, I thought I would share forward our Top 10 Faith Posts of 2021 in case you would like to revisit a favorite post for inspiration, find one you missed, download a free printable, etc.

I pray that as you scroll through our Top 10 Faith Posts, you will find inspiration to continue to live and grow in faith with your family in 2022. 

Top 10 Faith Posts of 2022

~10~

This is the time of year when Advent/Christmas books are often on sale. You might like to pick these ones up. We enjoy them - and have shared a short list for each week of Advent.

~9~

Is it me or does it seem that some years the liturgical season of Lent seems to creep up so quickly after Christmas?

These 15 Ways to Prepare for Lent with Kids - and the ideas and traditions they include - might inspire you to be ready this year!

~8~

We had such fun putting together and performing a semi-spontaneous Christmas Epiphany Play last year and enjoyed doing so this year, too.

If you'd like a no-rehearsal, audience-participation play for next Christmas and Epiphany, feel free to use the one we shared.

~7~

Advent traditions are a beautiful thing, but as kids grow and life changes, some traditions seem to get forgotten, lost, or, at the very least, tweaked. Others, hold fast. 

This year, I asked my kids what their favorite traditions are so we could be sure to honor them this year - and to share them to, perhaps, inspire you.

~6~

Celebrating All Saints Day has been a long-time living-the-liturgical-year tradition here and we've ended up trying out a lot of games, activities, and themed-eats. This year, we shared our favorite five. Maybe they will become favorites for you, too.

~5~

Sometimes a motto read in a book for a Catholic mama's book club ends up getting passed along on a hike in the woods and, then, gets passed along in a blog post, which, oddly, becomes a top 10 in popularity for the year. This was one of those times. 

What mottos or tidbits from mama-reads have you passed onto your growing kids?

~4~

It was a delight to end up being asked to be on the judging panel for this past year's Mary Garden Contest put on by the Museum of Family Prayer.

The contest is an annual one, so you can look for it this year, too. Winners from last year can be found on the Museum of Family Prayer Facebook page.

~3~

It always surprises me what posts find their way into the top 10. Sometimes it's the ones where I am simply passing forward information, like in this one with it's prayer too beautiful not to share. 

It's truly a lovely, little short prayer taht I think you will appreciate.

~2~

As my children get older and our school-work-life balance gets even fuller, our efforts to live the liturgical year sometimes slip. Simple eats like the ones we enjoy on Saint Padre Pio's feast day draw everyone to the table to celebrate though.

What simple eats bring your teens to the table on feast days?

~1~

Have You Read Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers? You Must! It is truly a gem! I am so glad a local Catholic mama book club I sometimes participated in introduced me to it. It's an inspiring and practical read that you can access for free!

***

As I've said before: Please never be shy about making any requests for content you'd like to see here! Like many folks who share online, I have more ideas in my head than focus and time to share about them all. So, I like to tailor what we share about here to what you'd most like to see. I can only do that if you let us know.

Please leave a comment here, let me know via social media, or just tell me next time you see me (since some followers here actually know me in real life, too!)  We love feedback! 

Oh, and if you'd like to browse past Top 10 collections, find them here.

May God bless you a yours 2022 unfolds.

Select Spiritual Reads for Teens and Tweens

...there is hardly one among you who cannot spend a quarter of an hour each day in spiritual reading...

Let it take the form of a talk, an intimate conversation with God, and I promise that it will not be long before you will witness a happy change in your lives. 

Left to yourselves, you will always revolve in the same plane, think the same thoughts, and perhaps never find a new habiliment in which to dress them. Therefore, you must frequently renew your wardrobe of ideas. Some one must whisper new sentiments into your ears each day.

                            from Counsels of Perfection

                            for Christian Mothers 

                            by Reverend P. Lejeune

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

After reading Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers  by Reverend P. Lejeune, I began working to build a habit of conversing with God through focusing on at least 15 minutes of spiritual reading daily.

If I am honest, I will admit that I still have not perfected the habit. However, I am getting nearer to this simple - but not exactly easy for me - goal and always find my days edified and enriched when I successfully dedicate time to immerse msyelf for a quarter of an hour in spiritual reading.

Typically, I engage in my spiritual reading during pockets of time when my children are not in my direct presence - in the wee hours before they rise, in the margins of time between dropping some of them to work and entering Mass, out on the swing in our front yard while they are otherwise occupied... As such there has been little, "there is more that's caught, than taught," going on here in regards to spiritual reading.

Okay. Over the summer, one child sometimes chose to read spiritual materials without my prompting, but the other two do not. In fact, sadly, one of my children tends to eskew all things faith-related right now. 

As I thought about all this at the beginning of the month, I wondered if I should move the times and locations of my (almost) daily spiritual reading to ones when my children are near to me in order for more "catching" to go on. Then, i realized, with my faith-adverse child in the mix, my efforts might be fruitless. I would likely end up distracted and at leat one of my children would probably not "catch" anything.

Therefore, I decided to coax the kids into personal spiritual reading this fall with clear parameters and appropriate carrots and sticks.

The parameters: Every day, each child must pick material off our spiritual reading shelf and read for a quarter of an hour, freely taking some of that time to journal, too, if desired.

The carrot: When a child finished a book, he or she can let Mom know. Then, the child can choose a treat (a snack to share or a place  to go visit) and we'll have a book chat whle eating or visting.

The stick (for the two who may need it): No child may not turn on a screen until spiritual reading/journaling are completed.

After deciding this, I stacked a shelf with fiction, nonfiction, light, and heacy faith-related reads and let each child pick one.

One of my children picked Ablaze: Stories of Daring Teen Saints, enjoyed it, and, then, moved onto Mother Teresa: Lessons of Love and Secrets of Sanctity.

Another child is reading Catholic Stories for Boys and Girls, because that child cannot remember when we read the stories as a read togther and wanted something super light to start with.

My final child began with The Great Divorce, which I am now reading, too.

Then, that child moved onto A Shepherd in Combat Boots next.

None of these books are of the deep spiritual quality that Reverend P. Lejeune indicated would be best for daily spiritual reading, but all are serving the purpose of building a holy habit in my children and that thrills me.

I pray that the habit of daily personal spiritual reading is ignited in my children and continues throughout their lifetimes.

I would love to hear what spiritual reading (including edifying faith-based fiction) has engaged your middle and high school level children. Please share titles with me in a comment here, on our Facebook page, or, if I am blessed to know you in real life, in person.

Thank you!

May God bless and guide all of our families as continue living and learning during this new school year.

Did You Miss Any of our Top 10 Faith Post in 2020?

Happy 2021!  I hope your year has started with many blessings.

Ours sure has. Some challenges, too, of course. But, many blessings as well.

One such blessing is the promise of the year ahead and all the opportunities there may be to live, learn, and celebrate our faith - and to share some of what we do here in case it helps you.

The other day, as I was looking back in order to plan forward for upcoming liturgical living, I realized I had never checked in to see what my most popular sharings of 2020 were.

Upon doing so, I quickly saw that among our most-visited posts were a combination of faith-related and review /giveaway ones. That made total sense, since, again in 2020, that is mostly what I found time to share.

In case you missed any of the Top 10 Faith Posts from 2020 - or just want to revisit a favorite post for inspiration or its free printable, I collected a linked list here for you.

I pray that as you scroll through our Top 10 Faith Posts, you will find inspiration to continue to live and grow in faith with your family in 2021. 

Top 10 Faith Posts of 2020

~10~

Perhaps the Lenten art, music, and poetry ideas that I prepared and shared for our AMP club last year can help you as you plan forward for this year's Lent.

~9~

We enjoyed celebrating St. Angela of Merici on Jnuary 27 with easy eats and conversation. 

Now is a good time to put simple eats on your grocery list in preparation for celebrating St. Angela of Merici this year!

~8~

Free printable copywork and journaling sets are helpful on saint days and any day.

If you missed our one for St. Bonaventure, get it here.

~7~

Celebrating Mama Mary and gardening are both worthwhile endeavors. Combining the two can be a fruitful delight. Perhaps, you might consider making an edible Mini-Mary Garden this year.

~6~

Pizza toasts are popular eats in my home. Retelling the story of the Passion as we make them makes them into liturgical living eats. Perhaps you'd like to do the same this Lent.

~5~

I got a message requesting the creating of an Act of Faith Copywork set and was happy to create and share one. 

Now, this year, my kids will be using this free handwriting printable to help prepare for their confirmation. Maybe yours can, too.

~4~

Saint Valentine's day will be here before we know it. Perhaps you' enjoy going on the same Nature Scavenger Hunt we did. Get a free printable hunt sheet.

~3~

Our Lady never lets us down. 

Help your children learn the short Memorare prayer so they can fly to her whenever there's a need!

~2~

It surprised me to discover that my request to join me in praying for wayward children became such a popular post. 

It broke my parenting heart to be in a position to make such a request, and I continue to appreciate and offer prayers to St. Augustine, St. Monica, and St. Ambrose on behalf of my child, myself and you and yours, if you need them, too.

I am confident our prayers are heard and, in the end, all will be well!

~1~

Prayer is such a vital part of life - formulaic and spontaneous.

It appears many appreciated the free Apostles Creed prayer copywork set I made. I pray that using it helped your children grow in handwriting skills and succinct, solid understanding of our faith!

If there are other Catholic prayers, quotes, or material you'd like me to create and share as free printable copywork and journaling sets, just ask. I am always happy to help as I can!

In fact, please never be shy about making any requests for content you'd like to see here! Like many folks who share online, I have more ideas in my head than focus and time to share about them all. So, I like to tailor what we share about here to what you'd most like to see. I can only do that if you let us know.

Please leave a comment here, let me know via social media, or just tell me next time you see me (since some followers here actually know me in real life, too!)  We love feedback! 

Oh, and if you'd like to browse past Top 10 collections, find them here.

May God bless you a yours 2021 unfolds.

Wonderful Reads to Start the New Year With

What better way is there to start the New Year than with some quality books? 

I'd love to hear what you and yours are reading.

This post does contain affiliate links, I will receive a commission for products you buy through my referral link at no extra cost to you.

Here, among the books we've been curling up with are:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. This classic has taken a place in our nightly read together pile and is perfect for it! Chapters are relatively short, yet meaty, and give us plenty to think about. 

If you've never read this book with your tweens and teens, I highly recommend it, and, if you'd like ideas for discussion points, be sure to pop over to the C.S. Lewis Institute to find free PDF reading guide for the book.

My eldest - who sadly is eschewing most things Catholic/faith-related right now unless "forced" into participation, received the book The Eighth Arrow by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. for Christmas.

I have not had a chance to browse the books since he has it squirreled away in his room where he stays up until the wee hours each night reading.

Score! He likes the book! 

And I like that it is by a priest - J. Augustine Wetta O.S.B - who wrote another good book that we read as a nightly read together some months ago upon a recommendation and loan from a friend.

My eldest son did not take to Humility Rules as well as he is taking to The Eighth Arrow since Humility Rules is more overtly faith-related. Still, on the whole, Humility Rules was a fruitful read for my children and me.

Plus, my children all enjoyed the humorous illustrations in the book. Thus, I don't hesitate to recommend the book as a solo read or group one to you and yours.

Finally, in my personal reading pile is a book recommended to me by a wise and holy local priest: The Temperament God Gave You. I have only just begun the book, but am already appreciating it. 

I would love to hear what you and your have been reading!

As Requested...Get Your FREE Act of Faith Copywork Set

Have a request? 

I am happy to help out if I can.

I had posted a link to the free Memorare copywork set that I made in a Catholic Charlotte Mason-Inspired, Relaxed & Eclectic Homeschoolers group I am in, and a friend and blog reader asked if I take requests and would create an Act of Faith copywork set.

Absolutely!

Here it is - for her and for anyone else who might be blessed by it during these times when affirming our faith seems even more important than ever.

As with most of my free copywork sets, the Act of Faith copywork set includes a cursive model:

A print model:

And a blank line sheet:

That way, your children can choose to practice their printing, cursive, or both.

Also, as usual, to help children remember to "ground" their letters, there is a double thick line at the bottom of each line on the blank sheet.  Plus, there are spaces between words on the model to prompt them to leave spaces between words as they copy.

I pray that this simple Act of Faith copywork set blesses your and yours.

If you have other requests, jut let me know.

You can find more free, printable prayer copywork here!

May your day be blessed and your faith be strong!