Domestic Church Customs: Lent
We want every Lent to change our family's souls permanently, instead of just for 46 days.
Forgotten Customs of Lent
The observance of Lent is the very badge of Christian warfare. By it we prove ourselves not to be enemies of Christ. By it we avert the scourges of divine justice. By it we gain strength against the princes of darkness, for it shields us with heavenly help. Should men grow remiss in their observance…
Domestic Church Customs for Septuagesima
Above: the burying of the Alleluia. The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them. – St. John of the Cross Each year Lent almost sneaks up on our busy family. But in her wisdom Mother Church has provided a reminder for preparation…
Domestic Church Customs: Epiphany Octave & Epiphanytide
Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body.As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for…
French Catholics Strong in Tradition this Christmas
A beautiful example of French Catholic customs.
Christmas in the Colonies
December of 2024 finds us gearing up to celebrate the Semiquincentennial of American Independence in 2026.
’55 and ’69 Liturgical Reforms Uprooting Oral Custom
It it rains on the third of May, Roodmas, the honey is washed out.
Forgotten Customs of Martinmas and St. Martin’s Lent
That blessed man, Saint Martin, bishop of Tours, has entered into his rest. The Angels and Archangels, Thrones, Dominations and Powers have welcomed him. Alleluia! (Taken the Alleluia Verse in the Propers for the Feast of St. Martin of Tours in the 1962 Roman Catholic Missal). Armistice Day & Praying for the Dead Armistice Day…
Religious Orders and Fasting
The Minims began the “beer fast” of the monks.
The Anatomy of Halloween
The first day of the Hallowtide Triduum.
The Forgotten Customs of Saint Days (Part 3)
Los gigantes y cabezudos are great papier-mâché giants with large heads.