I always say to beware of anyone telling you something like “The One Thing You Need To Know” about most things, but particularly when it comes to Christianity. A religion of paradoxes (three Persons in one God, the last shall be first, lose your life to find it, and so on) can hardly be amenable to tidy meme-ification.
And yet… the liturgical year is perhaps not that One Thing, but it is All The Things.
Last week I tried briefly to offer some perspective on keeping your peace at home and simultaneously planning to teach your children while observing what other people say they do to teach their children.
I'm sure all these organized people are wonderful — and certainly when we need inspiration (which is a good deal of the time), they are appreciated. I for one am happy they are showing us what they do.
But it is well to remember that any one person can only do some of the things some of the time, and what I am trying to say here at LMLD is that knowing what's for dinner, getting some laundry done, and tidying up might not make for a fancy IG feed, but it will help you not lose your mind.
But once you start on the road to order, you quickly realize that the liturgical year actually is the real key to everything. “The liturgical year is… Christ Himself,” says Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Mediator Dei:
165. Hence, the liturgical year, devotedly fostered and accompanied by the Church, is not a cold and lifeless representation of the events of the past, or a simple and bare record of a former age. It is rather Christ Himself who is ever living in His Church.
Moving through the year in tune with the Church offers us a sacred rhythm that becomes in itself the most fruitful path to encounter God and His will for us. Right now, when minds turn to the coming school year and anxiety (as well as excitement) can run high, remembering that there is this path helps a lot. Among other things, following the liturgical year will, in an organic way, assist us in knowing how to prioritize and evaluate our goals in our own small-c curricula.
Even the secular calendar makes more sense when seen in the light of the sacred one. To take a small example that charmingly ratifies my intuition, every November I am surprised and delighted to be reminded that the feast of St. Martin coincides with Veterans Day, as well as what used to be called Armistice Day and Remembrance Day. And this is no coincidence, because traditionally peace treaties were sought and signed on his feast, and the Armistice ending World War I was deliberately scheduled for the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Of course, St. Martin of Tours was a soldier who followed Christ, and the patron, as a veteran, of soldiers.
Anyway, my point is that if you put what you may feel is very limited energy towards making the liturgical year your pattern, you will experience flourishing in your home and your school. I can promise it!
I do have a book that helps. Basically, it's the book I wished I had had when I was starting out, so I am overcoming my reluctance to self-promote in order to make sure that you know about it. The Little Oratory: A Beginner's Guide to Praying in the Home (affiliate link) is for prayer and also for practical acquisition of an organizing principle firmly attached to the transcendent. Unlike other books, it is not a big hodge-podge of devotions and more things to put on our plate that may or may not relate to our situation and inclinations. Rather, we try to convey the idea of how the liturgy itself simplifies and unites us in ancient, continuous, and universal prayer, elegantly overcoming the syndrome of ever-multiplying oughts and musts.
Liturgical time is made up of all the units — moments, hours, days, weeks, seasons, years, even decades and millennia (think of Jubilee centenaries!). Sanctifying those units helps the confused and whiplashed family on their way to a more calm existence. The book goes into more detail and focuses on the traditional practice of making a little oratory or home altar — but for those desperately searching for Order and Wonder, I just want to say, the liturgical year observed in the home is the organizing principle.
bits & pieces
- I did not know Fr. Joseph Koterski, but those who did loved him, and a mutual friend of Fr. Mankowski, who also died suddenly this past year, says that the young orthodox Jesuits cite both of them as mentors and role models. After reading this remembrance, I do wish I had met him.
- A lot of what is going on now in our society amounts to coercion — coerced speech and coerced action. This student stood up to his institution — a seminary — and won his battle against being forced to proclaim himself a racist.
- It has come to my attention that some of my links to the beloved C. S. Lewis doodles are broken. I just wanted to make sure to direct you here to their youtube channel, CSLewisDoodle.
“It is not a secret that there is a war on art, a war against the good and beautiful. The new Vandals are on the move…
“Sacred art is a cornerstone of Western culture, identity, and faith. It is a cornerstone of true culture, a culture which celebrates life and the ascent of man to God. Even “secular art” contains the traces of Christian truth and beauty in it.”
- I often urge readers to get the book As Nature Made Him by Joseph Colapinto (affiliate link; it's actually at my town library, which is how I found it*) to understand the evil pseudo-science underlying transgender ideology. The book exposes the movement's founder, Dr. John Money, as the manipulative liar he was. This article condenses the heartbreaking event that catapulted Money into his expert status — and the little boy who suffered for it. *Did you know that you can request that the library buy a book you are interested in? This one would be good to have in its stacks.
- We just celebrated the feast of the great St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and that gives me the opportunity to shock you with some venerable sacred art on the topic of the lactation of that saint — the Blessed Virgin bestowing her breastmilk upon him! Prepare yourself to confront your 21st-century prudery! “Our culture today doesn’t exactly have a healthy view of the human body or sexuality. This story has been generally accepted and preserved for centuries in the Catholic tradition. If such a story doesn’t make sense to us today, perhaps we should consider that it is because we are lacking something in our views of these things.”
from the archives
- I did plant tomatillos this year and they are doing better than last year (which was my first time). One salsa-making issue here in my New England garden is that the cilantro has gone to seed and disappeared by the time the tomatillos and tomatoes are ripe and the peppers have started to grow. But other than that, I am on board to make more roasted tomatillo salsa!
- If you are looking for that solid science curriculum that fits in between elementary and high school, I recommend Christopher Blum and John Cuddeback's Nature's Beautiful Order. These two college profs write well and know how to bring science and philosophy together.
liturgical living
Today is the feast of St. Pope Pius X! We are devoted to him… I recommend you read his short encyclical on what exactly is required for your child to receive First Holy Communion (in the Roman rite). You might be surprised at how simple he makes it. And you might be surprised at who he says is the child's primary instructor (no, not mom!).
This saint also renewed Gregorian chant and expressed the place of the Psalms in worship, which is quite relevant to my post today! You can read an inspiring selection from his teaching on this subject in today's Office of Readings.
How do we have a relic of St. Pope Pius X?
After the death of my mother-in-law, there was a considerable sorting out of the household goods. Eventually it dwindled, for us, to a box of what seemed to me to be assorted pieces of costume jewelry and, well, junk. I almost just chucked the whole thing, but of course in the end, I sat down and went through it, piece by piece.
Among the trinkets was this relic. So I am glad I took the time!
The plate is something I found at Marshalls (I actually found two and gave one to a friend). It's quite small, as you can see in the first picture of this post, and it depicts St. Peter's on the left and the Castel Sant'Angelo on the right, with the Tiber in the foreground.
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Laura H. says
Auntie Leila, As always, your thoughts are much appreciated! Your blog has helped me immensely for the past five years. We are moving into our 12th year of homeschooling and I still struggle with the picture-perfect depictions of Someone Else’s Homeschool. (Our home isn’t Instagram-ready, but we now have dinner before 8pm and can find clean socks.) Between your post last week and this one, you have prompted me to really clarify the vision that God has for our particularly family and embrace the Liturgical Calendar deeper to support us growing together in holiness. Thank you!
Nicole Cox says
Trying again. My rather huge and grabby nursling just erased everything I typed 🙄. The links section knocked it out of the park today! Thank you so much.
I particularly loved the St. Pius X encyclical on First Communicants. I had no idea that it was the father’s role to present and determine if the child is ready to receive. I’ll be pondering that! I love how simple and clear his list is to determine the child’s readiness. It was a comfort as a homeschooler, in the thick of preparing several first Communicants, to know we’re headed in the right direction (and to know what to say when we exempt from Religious Ed, though our pastor is Fr Pokorsky so I’m guessing we won’t have issues/hoops to jump through!).
Also– your thrifting luck– a Spode Blue Room Rome plate(s)?! Wow!
Angela says
Auntie Leila, I’m glad the memorials and tributes to Fr Koterski moved you. He was really all they’ve said he was. May he Rest In Peace. Your links are really terrific this week; I cannot WAIT to show my husband what Pope St Pius X said! You’re so appreciated and I’m grateful for your honest and caring heart.
Leila says
May Fr. Koterski’s memory be eternal!
Janet says
Leila, I wanted to comment on how you found that relic of St. Pius X. That’s exactly how I found a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux!
My brother-in-law’s unmarried aunt passed away and her nieces and nephews were cleaning out her house. The woman was a very devout Catholic and had a lot of religious items saved. My sister collected them and gave them to me to sort through. Imagine the utter shock of finding a 1st class relic of St. Therese – I’ve been devoted to her since childhood!
I had heard that in the early 20th century, the Vatican would send out relics upon request. I don’t know if that’s accurate but it’s worth a careful examination of old sewing baskets and religious tchotchkes left by elderly relatives.