Revolution of Love

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Our Favorite Advent Family Activities 2021

(This is the 2021 updated version of last year’s Advent post. 🙂 )

 

Happy Advent 2021! Whether you’re being minimal this year or doing all the things, I hope it’s a time of reflection, peace, joy, and drawing closer to God. Here are some of our favorites (and a few new things) that we do for Advent.

Advent Prayer Tables

We have two main prayer tables/shelves in our house. This one is by the front door. Here we add the nativity scene (purchased at Costco) and our Advent wreath. When the kids were younger, our thin Advent candles would always topple over or break. I finally bought pillar candles. It was the best decision, since these have lasted years. The wooden Advent sign I bought years ago from Rakstar Designs.

This prayer spot is in the family room. Last year we added this new gorgeous Holy Family print from Heart of Iesvs.

I am obsessed with it! So beautiful! To hang it up, I bought wooden magnetic frames from Amazon. It was super easy to put together and I think it looks great. (You want to buy a frame that is slightly bigger than the width of your print.)

This year we added the Jesse Tree from The Stump of Jesse shop at Etsy. And…

 

This St. Andrew Christmas Novena Prayer card from Redeemed and Free at Etsy. And…

The Baby Jesus manger with “sacrifice straw” from the 2021 Advent Liturgical Box from Catholic All Year.

* * * * *

The Advent Calendar 1

Revolution of Love Blog - advent_calendar_pic_1Along with our Advent wreath, our Advent calendar has been a staple since the kids were little. Each day we have a rotating “prayer person of the day” who is in charge of leading the family evening prayer. During Advent, that person also gets to open the next box in our Advent calendar. We started this tradition years ago to take the focus off what we want to get, and instead, practice doing for others. We call it an Act of Love Calendar because we show our love for Jesus by sharing that love with others.

* * * * *

advent_calendar_pic_2WI use the children’s printable Advent calendar from Loyola Press. I cut up the calendar and put the little paper squares into the corresponding day. In the morning we read the act of kindness and complete it that day. At dinner time, we each take a turn sharing something about our day. During Advent I’ll sometimes ask if anyone wants to share about their act of love and they explain how they held their tongue or helped someone out at school. The sharing helps us to see how we can apply our faith into the daily fabric of our lives.
* * * * *

Advent Calendar 2

Last year we purchased these beautiful Names of Jesus Advent cards from Lara at Jesus Advent Calendar.com. We loved using them and put them back up this year.
The package comes with everything you need to set it up: 24 beautifully hand designed cards, 24 natural wood pegs, 4m long natural jute twin, a handy bag to store the pegs, and a sturdy box to keep it safe every year. Lara sends an email with corresponding Scripture readings and thoughts about each name. It’s been a great addition to our Advent activities.
* * * * *

A Letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa)

Revolution of Love Blog - A letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa) - letter_baby_jesusW

This is another oldie but goodie. We’ve done this activity for many years and now it’s a family tradition for each of us. Instead of having the boys write the traditional letters to Santa, I put together a simple form letter that I could print off and give them to fill out. We decide on a spiritual activity we’ll work on during Advent as a gift to Jesus, who we will pray for during Advent and what presents we hope to get to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. When they were done, they folded up their letters and put them in their shoes for St. Nicholas to deliver to Baby Jesus. (In years past we’ve also placed them inside the stocking we have hanging for Jesus.)

If you’d like to print of a copy of the Letter to Baby Jesus, it can be found here. Also, I made a second version for those who don’t want the Santa aspect. It can be found here.

For the full post, click here – A Favorite Advent Tradition: A Christmas Letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa)

 

An Advent Letter to Jesus for the Teens and Adults

This year, I used the same concept as the kid’s letter, but made a simple version for a teen or adult to use. You still choose some spiritual (or corporal) act you’ll offer to Jesus. You choose someone to pray for during Advent and instead of asking for a wrapped gift, you can write down what you are hoping to receive from Jesus this Christmas season. (ie. Peace in your heart, the ability to forgive someone who has hurt you, healing (physical or mental), etc.) You can download a PDF of the letter here.

* * * * *

Jesus in the Manger

For years we used a paper version of Baby Jesus in a manger, but we saved up and found one we liked in the EWTN shop. We wait until Christmas morning to put out Baby Jesus. Meanwhile, during Advent we have a little basket of tan pieces of yarn (used as straw) that family members can use to fill up Baby Jesus’s crib. They put a piece in the manger whenever they make a sacrifice or do an act of love for Our Lord.

Then on Christmas morning we put Jesus in the manger and sing Him Happy Birthday and celebrate with presents and cake.

* * * * *

Magnifikid’s Daily Advent Prayers

My favorite Advent family devotional/ prayer book is the Magnifikid Daily Advent Prayers from Magnificat. For each day of Advent there is an introductory prayer, an excerpt from the day’s Gospel reading, and intercessions. It is ideally for ages 7 and up, which makes it simple enough for our youngest to understand, yet it is meaty enough for the tween, teen and adults to get something out of it. The artwork is lovely and as an added bonus, it can be used year after year since it has different Sunday readings for the various cycles. I love it!

* * * * *

Advent Journals

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that I am a big fan of the Blessed Is She Advent journals. If you still want to buy one, each copy now comes with a digital download so you can start reading before your book arrives.

This year, the book is extra special to me since I am one of the authors of the devotional. I wrote the reflections for Week Four on the Holy Family.

 

Photo credit: Blessed Is She

Plus, this year they have one for kids as well. Matthew is eager to work on his.

* * * * *

Sunday Missals

Photo credit: Every Sacred Sunday

 

I love the Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal and have been using it for a number of years.

Bella and I use the ESS Missal, but Brian and the boys prefer to use the St. Joseph’s 2022 Sunday Missal. You cannot beat the price – under $3!

* * * * *

Feast of St. Nicholas

 

St. Nicholas was born in the 3rd Century to a wealthy and devout family. His parents died when he was young & Nicholas used his inheritance to help those less fortunate. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra (modern day Turkey) at a young age. Under the Roman Emperor, he was persecuted for his faith and was imprisoned. He was later released and became known for his generosity and works of wonder, particularly protecting children and the innocent.

More Catholic American families are adopting this feast day that is popular in European countries. Normally children will put out their shoes or hang stockings the night before. As mentioned above, our family also adds into the shoes the letter to Baby Jesus so St. Nicholas can bring it to Him.

While the kids are sleeping I’ll add a few small treats into the shoes – chocolate coins, candy, a small treat (like a mini Lego set or football cards) and a religious item such as a holy card, rosary or Tiny Saints charm.

You can find a lot of activities and printables at St Nicholas Center.org.

 

This year I found these amazing book marks from The Stump of Jesse and these beautiful prayer cards from Avery and Company Shop. The family loved them so much, I bought more for stocking stuffers.

* * * *

Spirit of Giving

Advent is perfect time to give of your time, talent, and treasure. Some charity activities have been modified to cope with the pandemic, but we have been able to collect food for the homeless and fill shoe boxes of goodies for the Box of Joy ministry. (Pictured above.) The kids did extra jobs around the house to pay for the items we purchased. (Tip: I buy extra school supplies and crayons when they are crazy cheap during back to school sales to fill Christmas boxes.)

We also give to the Falge Farm Worker program that brings food, supplies, and Christmas presents to migrant agricultural workers on the Central Coast of California. They are out in the fields doing back-breaking work in all conditions – cold, heat, smokey skies, even a pandemic – so giving back to them is a joy. We always sponsor one boy and one girl. This year we added a family as well.

We also try to bring a little cheer to the people in our community, such as our delivery people who bring countless boxes to our door, so I don’t have to go out shopping.

Every morning I leave a basket of snacks and drinks on the porch. Last year I added hard to find Covid items for them. It’s a small thing, but it gives them (and me) joy. 🙂

Those are some of my favorites Advent family activities! What are some of yours?

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow Revolution of Love on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

 


Our Favorite Advent Family Activities 2020

I think we’re all ready for the joys of Advent and Christmas! Whether you’re being minimal this year or doing all the things, I hope it’s a time of reflection, peace, joy, and drawing closer to God. Here are some of our favorites (and a few new things) that we do for Advent.

Advent Prayer Tables

We have two main prayer tables/shelves in our house. This one is by the front door. Here we add the nativity scene (purchased at Costco) and our Advent wreath. When the kids were younger, our thin Advent candles would always topple over or break. I finally bought pillar candles. It was the best decision, since these have lasted years. The wooden Advent sign I bought years ago from Rakstar Designs.

This prayer spot is in the family room. We added this new gorgeous Holy Family print from Heart of Iesvs.

I am obsessed with it! So beautiful! To hang it up, I bought wooden magnetic frames from Amazon. It was super easy to put together and I think it looks great. (You want to buy a frame that is slightly bigger than the width of your print.)

 

* * * * *

The Advent Calendar 1

Revolution of Love Blog - advent_calendar_pic_1Along with our Advent wreath, our Advent calendar has been a staple since the kids were little. Each day we have a rotating “prayer person of the day” who is in charge of leading the family evening prayer. During Advent, that person also gets to open the next box in our Advent calendar. We started this tradition years ago to take the focus off what we want to get, and instead, practice doing for others. We call it an Act of Love Calendar because we show our love for Jesus by sharing that love with others.

* * * * *

advent_calendar_pic_2WI use the children’s printable Advent calendar from Loyola Press. I cut up the calendar and put the little paper squares into the corresponding day. In the morning we read the act of kindness and complete it that day. At dinner time, we each take a turn sharing something about our day. During Advent I’ll sometimes ask if anyone wants to share about their act of love and they explain how they held their tongue or helped someone out at school. The sharing helps us to see how we can apply our faith into the daily fabric of our lives.
 * * * * *

Advent Calendar 2

This year we purchased these beautiful Names of Jesus Advent cards from Lara at Jesus Advent Calendar.com.
The package comes with everything you need to set it up: 24 beautifully hand designed cards, 24 natural wood pegs, 4m long natural jute twin, a handy bag to store the pegs, and a sturdy box to keep it safe every year. Lara sends an email with corresponding Scripture readings and thoughts about each name. It’s been a great addition to our Advent activities.
* * * * *

A Letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa)

Revolution of Love Blog - A letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa) - letter_baby_jesusW

This is another oldie but goodie. We’ve done this activity for many years and now it’s a family tradition for each of us. Instead of having the boys write the traditional letters to Santa, I put together a simple form letter that I could print off and give them to fill out. We decide on a spiritual activity we’ll work on during Advent as a gift to Jesus, who we will pray for during Advent and what presents we hope to get to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. When they were done, they folded up their letters and put them in their shoes for St. Nicholas to deliver to Baby Jesus. (In years past we’ve also placed them inside the stocking we have hanging for Jesus.)

 If you’d like to print of a copy of the Letter to Baby Jesus, it can be found here. Also, I made a second version for those who don’t want the Santa aspect. It can be found here.

 

For the full post, click here – A Favorite Advent Tradition: A Christmas Letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa)

 

An Advent Letter to Jesus for the Teens and Adults

This year, I used the same concept as the kid’s letter, but made a simple version for a teen or adult to use. You still choose some spiritual (or corporal) act you’ll offer to Jesus. You choose someone to pray for during Advent and instead of asking for a wrapped gift, you can write down what you are hoping to receive from Jesus this Christmas season. (ie. Peace in your heart, the ability to forgive someone who has hurt you, healing (physical or mental), etc.) You can download a PDF of the letter here.

 

* * * * *

 

Jesus in the Manger

For years we used a paper version of Baby Jesus in a manger, but we saved up and found one we liked in the EWTN shop. We wait until Christmas morning to put out Baby Jesus. Meanwhile, during Advent we have a little basket of tan pieces of yarn (used as straw) that family members can use to fill up Baby Jesus’s crib. They put a piece in the manger whenever they make a sacrifice or do an act of love for Our Lord.

Then on Christmas morning we put Jesus in the manger and sing Him Happy Birthday and celebrate with presents and cake.

 

* * * * *

 

Magnifikid’s Daily Advent Prayers

My favorite Advent family devotional/ prayer book is the new Magnifikid Daily Advent Prayers from Magnificat. For each day of Advent there is an introductory prayer, an excerpt from the day’s Gospel reading, and intercessions. It is ideally for ages 7 and up, which makes it simple enough for our youngest to understand, yet it is meaty enough for the tween, teen and adults to get something out of it. The artwork is lovely and as an added bonus, it can be used year after year since it has different Sunday readings for the various cycles. I love it!

 

* * * * *

 

Advent Journals

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that I am a big fan of the Blessed Is She Advent journals. If you still want to buy one, each copy now comes with a digital download so you can start reading before your book arrives. Or you can get the audio version of Maranatha on Amazon for less than $5.

Photo credit: Blessed Is She

Plus, this year they have one for kids as well. Matthew is eager to work on his.

 

* * * * *

 

Sunday Missals

I love the Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal and during this year of Covid, it has been especially helpful, whether we are attending Mass virtually at home or at an outdoor Mass.

Bella and I use the ESS Missal, but Brian and the boys prefer to use the St. Joseph’s 2020 Sunday Missal. You cannot beat the price – only $1.99!

* * * * *

Feast of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas was born in the 3rd Century to a wealthy and devout family. His parents died when he was young & Nicholas used his inheritance to help those less fortunate. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra (modern day Turkey) at a young age. Under the Roman Emperor, he was persecuted for his faith and was imprisoned. He was later released and became known for his generosity and works of wonder, particularly protecting children and the innocent.

More Catholic American families are adopting this feast day that is popular in European countries. Normally children will put out their shoes or hang stockings the night before. As mentioned above, our family also adds into the shoes the letter to Baby Jesus so St. Nicholas can bring it to Him.

While the kids are sleeping I’ll add a few small treats into the shoes – chocolate coins, candy, a small treat (like a mini Lego set or football cards) and a religious item such as a holy card, rosary or Tiny Saints charm.

You can find a lot of activities and printables at St Nicholas Center.org.

Photo credit: Somedaysaints.com

Last year we got an extra special treat – Kids Adoration Journal and Tote Bundle from Someday Saints.com. Technically this is for kids ages 7-12, which is great for my boys, but the rest of us over that age loved it too, so we all got one! When the kids were younger, they also loved watching the DVD Nicholas: The Boy who Became Santa with their feast day dessert.

 

* * * *

 

Spirit of Giving

Advent is perfect time to give of your time, talent, and treasure. We can’t do activities with other people (like singing carols at a nursing home) but we have been able to collect food for the homeless, purchase items  for the local migrant workers, and fill shoe boxes of goodies for the Box of Joy ministry. (Pictured above.)  The kids did extra jobs around the house to pay for the items we purchased. (Tip: I buy extra school supplies and crayons when they are crazy cheap during back to school sales to fill Christmas boxes.)

We also try to bring a little cheer to the people in our community, such as our delivery people who bring countless boxes to our door, so I don’t have to go out shopping.

Every morning I leave a basket of snacks, drinks, and Covid items (toilet paper rolls, hand sanitizer, etc.) for them. It’s a small thing, but it gives them (and me) joy. 🙂

Those are some of my favorites Advent family activities! What are some of yours?

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow Revolution of Love on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

 


How We Celebrate Dia de los Muertos, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day as a Catholic Family

 

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) is a Mexican holiday celebrating life and death, specifically remembering loved ones who have died. Traditionally, it is a two-day holiday that believes we are reunited with our loved ones. Families build altars called ofrendas (“offerings”) with photos of their beloved deceased and decorate it with yellow marigolds, and their favorite foods to encourage them to visit from the land of the dead.

The origins of Dia de los Muertos is non-Christian and we, as Catholics, don’t believe the souls of our loved ones will “visit” us on these two days (as portrayed in the popular movie Coco.) However, we do believe that our loved ones remain alive in Christ (John 11:25) and we can (and should) pray for them. In the Catholic Church, our celebration of life after death is especially evident during All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. These feast days emphasize the Communion of Saints and the fact that we are still connected to those who died before us.

Dia de los Muertos is celebrated during these feast days and the traditions of praying for the dead, visiting and cleaning graves, making commemorative altars, enjoying a special meal to celebrate their lives are all meaningful acts that unite our hearts to theirs.

Although I’m Hispanic, I’ve never celebrated Dia de los Muertos. My first real glimpse into the holiday was during the aforementioned movie Coco. We were visiting my parents at the time, and the kids and I accompanied them to watch the movie. I loved it! A year and a half later, my mom passed away from cancer and the desire to honor her life inspired me to incorporate Dia de los Muertos with our Catholic feast days.

We started by building a Catholic version of the ofrenda, emphasizing praying for the dead.

 

RevolutionofLove.com - bis_altar_1First I cleared off our normal prayer table and switch the icon from the Sacred Heart to Divine Mercy.

Then I found boxes to serve as tiers for our altar.

I covered the boxes and the table with a yellow table cloth and some Mexican style table runners and place mats that I bought at Target a couple years ago. I also found similar ones in a local Mexican market. We added items such as:  Photos of deceased family members, papel picado (colorful paper flags), yellow marigolds, and (battery operated) votive candles.

There’s also a crucifix, icon of Our Lady of Sorrows, holy card of St. Joseph (patron of a happy death.)

I used PicMonkey to create the pictured prayer for the dead. (PicMonkey has a “day of the dead” theme with appropriate graphics.) I placed the prayer in a 5×7 picture frame.

I saved the photo as a PDF and put it in my Google Drive if you’d like to print it out and use it for your prayer table.

 

We placed another frame on the altar that has the names of family members and friends who have died.

Together these are a reminder that our loved ones are gone, but not forgotten. Our prayers and love for them remains strong.

If you don’t want to make a big ofrenda, you can do a smaller version with the a few photos, a candle, and the prayer card on a shelf. A couple years ago, before we created an ofrenda, I made this print (using PicMonkey) to display the photos of relatives who have recently died, along with the Faithful Departed prayer. We placed the photo on our little prayer table in the family room (next to where we eat) and we recite the prayer when we say grace before eating dinner.

 

All Souls Day Prayer & Family Photos

I downloaded the photo to Google Drive. You could download the photo template and use PicMonkey to make your own version, like I did, or you can simply print out a copy and write in the name of your loved ones or even tape their photo(s) to it.

 

All Saints Day

 

On the feast of All Saints Day, we celebrate the saints of the church, both known and unknown, who have reached heaven.

When the kids were younger, they’d dress up as their favorite saints and attend All Saints’ Day parties.

Now that they are older, they don’t dress up, but we attend Mass together as a family and during our evening prayers, we pray the Litany of the Saints.

The kids may be too old for costumes, but they’re never to old for special treats! The cute tableware and the paper decorations are from Be A Heart.com.

All Souls’ Day

The Communion of Saints is comprised of three group: The Church Triumphant, the faithful who have died and are now in heaven. The Church Militant, those of us on earth still on our journey to Heaven. And the Church Penitent, the faithful departed who are still expiating their sins in Purgatory. All Souls Day is dedicated to this, often forgotten, portion of God’s family.

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030)”

The Church encourages and gives us ample opportunity to pray for the dead in the month of November. Our prayers, Masses, indulgences, sacrifices, and works of mercy are our way of loving and helping the Faithful Departed.

On All Souls’ Day, we visit our local cemetery, where my father-in-law is buried. We clean his grave and add fresh flowers. It’s interesting to see other graves and how families have decorated them with flowers and items that they loved.

I give each of the kids a handful of flowers and allow them to walk around the cemetery and choose people who don’t have any flowers or decorations.

They offer a prayer for them and leave a flower at their grave.

Their choices have included older persons, young kids, soldiers, priests and religious, and a teen who recently took his life. One of the people I prayed for was a woman with the same name as my mom since her grave was too far away for me to visit. It was a moving experience.

Together Dia De Los Muertos, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day remind us that this life is a journey towards Heaven and death cannot separate us from the love we share with each other. The grief of loss is tempered with the knowledge that, God willing, we will all be together again one day.

How do you celebrate these feast days? I’d love to hear your traditions. 🙂

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

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Tips for Making a Holy Hour & Bringing Kids to Adoration

What Is A Holy Hour? How Is It Different from Adoration or Benediction?

A Holy Hour is the Catholic devotion of being in the presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist for one hour. This can be as simple as going to the local church or chapel to pray before the tabernacle that holds the Eucharist.

Some parishes have what is called the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction. In this ceremony, the Eucharist is placed in a special vessel called a monstrance that holds a consecrated Host. It’s often gold and has what looks like rays or sunbeams surrounding the host. It is placed where people can adore Jesus.

There are special prayers and songs when Jesus is placed in the monstrance. There are more at the end when the priest blesses the people with the monstrance containing the Eucharist. That is called the Benediction.

In churches where there is perpetual adoration, the monstrance is always displayed and there is always at least one person sitting with Jesus in the chapel. Some churches will have Eucharistic Exposition only during certain hours of the day or 24 hours only on First Fridays.

When the Eucharist is removed from the monstrance, it is placed back in the tabernacle.

When a person goes to pray before Jesus in the Eucharist, whether Jesus is in the monstrance or inside the tabernacle, you can say you are in Adoration. When you pray before Jesus for an hour, it is called a Holy Hour.

What Do You Do During a Holy Hour?

There is not a set plan. Everyone has their own preference. Some people follow books that guide you through the Hour and others just do whatever feels natural at the time.

The first time I tried making a Holy Hour it didn’t go well. After 10 minutes of praying I was distracted, fidgety, and completely losing focus. It was hard for me to sit in silence and even harder to quiet my mind.

To make things easier, I started to divide my Holy Hour into smaller chunks.

  • Talk to God – I spend the first 10-15 minutes just talking to Our Lord. I poured out everything that is on my heart. I’ll pray about the things troubling me and for my family and friends. I’ll thank Him for my blessings. I’ll ask for forgiveness for my sins and praise Him for his mercy and love. It helps when I close my eyes and in my mind’s eye I see and interact with Jesus.
  • Scripture, Rosary, or Chaplets – Secondly, I either pray the rosary, the Divine Mercy chaplet, read Scripture, or meditate on the Blessed Is She daily devotion. I use anything that helps me to think about or mediate on Our Lord and what He is doing in my life.
  • Journal – At the half way mark, I write in my prayer journal. I always think better as I’m writing, so as I ponder what I had read or was praying about, and I write down my thoughts and sort through them. It usually helps me to realize what the Holy Spirit is speaking to my heart.
  • Closing prayer and Litany – The last 10 – 15 minutes, I again speak to God from my heart telling Him how much I love Him and thanking Him for this time together. I close my Holy Hour with a recitation of the Litany to the Sacred Heart.

Everyone has their own method, but this is what works for me. And I have to admit that now that I make this a weekly practice, it has gotten easier and I don’t always need to “fill” my time to keep me focused. I am able to quiet my racing mind and just talk (and listen) to Our Lord. That is really the goal of making a Holy Hour – spending time with Jesus. There are days when I can’t wait to sit with Jesus. Admittedly, there are also days when it was a fight just to stay awake. Regardless, the main thing is that I’m showing up. Sometimes it’s when I’m struggling that I receive the most graces from the Holy Hour.

What If I can’t do a whole hour?

Before I started a full hour on a set day, I would do 15 minute chunks of time. Then I started Holy Half Hours, working my way up to an hour. In the past I’ve done two half hour sessions or 20 minutes three days in a row. If you are in a season of life where you simply cannot get to the Chapel for a whole hour, do what you can. Challenge yourself, but also be realistic. God knows your heart. He knows when you’re giving as much as you can and when you’re capable of doing more. Sincerely ask Him and He will show you what He wants.

What If I Can’t Leave the House?

There will always be times when you are sick or unable to leave the house with your little ones. On those days, I use the live feed of Perpetual Adoration from Catholify or from EWTN. I set up my iPad, light a candle, and them spend my quiet time with Our Lord.

What Do You Bring to Your Holy Hour?

I have a prayer tote that I carry all my prayer items, whether I am doing a Holy Hour in the chapel or spending time in morning prayer in my living room.

First, let me say that I’m one of those people who carries around way too much in her purse or overpacks her suitcase, so that’s why my prayer bag is full! 😉

Inside the tote (from a past Blessed Is She retreat) I keep my essentials (and extras) – Bible, prayer journal, petition book (where I write down the petitions I told people I would bring to the Lord,) prayer books, spiritual reading, rosary, prayer card pouch, and pencil pouch with pens and highlighters. I like having everything in one tote so it’s easy to grab whenever I want to spend time in prayer. Granted, when I make a Holy Hour, I’ll actually only use a 2-3 items, but I like having them available depending on how the Spirit moves me.

Tips to bringing kids to Adoration

This picture sums up what Adoration time should ultimately be, as St John Vianney once explained it, “I look at Him and He looks at me.”

1. Start Small -I strongly believe that young children should be exposed to religious practices, including going to Adoration. It should be a normal part of everyday life. However, where I may differ from other parents is that I don’t believe that it must be all or nothing. I’m a firm believer in baby steps.

I know some families who bring all their young kids to full Holy Hours. That is awesome and I applaud them. However, I never felt called to do that. Instead I started small. When my oldest was a toddler, I would often take her to the chapel to make a 5 minute visit to Jesus. I would have her kneel down at the front of the church and encourage her to say a little prayer to Jesus. Eventually, she got used to entering the church (relatively) quietly, blessing herself, and she would say her own sweet words to Jesus without my prompting.

As more kids came along and they were in preschool, which was across the street from a Catholic Church, we would go every day after school to make a short visit (5 – 15 minutes tops.) They got used to it being normal to go visit Jesus in the church.

It can feel frustrating to have noisy children in church or kids who complain that it’s boring, but one day they will be able to pray on their own and you may find they are asking you to take them to Adoration.

As they got older, we added on the time we would spend in Adoration. It can be hard when you have many kids at various ages. Your solution is really going to depend on your family situation and what you feel God is asking of you. Here are a few tips that I’ve used or moms I know have used.

  • Start with short visits to the chapel. Show them how to bless themselves and genuflect (on both knees if Jesus is exposed in the monstrance). Explain to them how this is a holy place and we should be quiet. Tell them that Jesus can’t wait to see them and that when He speaks to them it is done silently in their heart so they need to quietly listen to Him.
  • Bring a tote bag of prayer items. (See below.)
  • Assign an older sibling to a younger sibling. The older one can quietly read a bible story to the younger one or look at a picture book of saints.
  • Swap babysitting with another mom. Make short visits with your toddlers and preschoolers, but for longer visits with your older kids, have a mom friend babysit the little ones while you take your (and her) older ones to Adoration. The next time, swap.
  • Go as a family. Designate a shorter time for the littles then one parent takes them back to the car to wait. The other parent, completes the hour (or 1/2 hour) with the older kids.
  • I’m not above bribing my kids to stretch and do harder things. (ie. “We are going to Mass and Adoration today but afterwards, we’ll get ice cream if I hear no complaints.”) Some parents may disapprove but I want this to be a positive experience that both draws them closer to God and strengthens our bond as a family.

I don’t believe there is a one size fits all. Although I do a weekly Holy Hour and Brian visits the Adoration chapel every day during his lunch break, as a family we more often do Holy Half Hours since their days are full with traditional school and after school activities and our church is not open in the evening. We fit in Adoration before monthly confession, we arrive for weekly Mass a half hour early to pray, and we make a First Friday Holy Hour since locally that is the only time there is evening Adoration and we can go as a family. However, during the summer months when the kids are out of school, then we are able to make a weekly Holy Hour during the day. It’s during the school year that we have to adjust.

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom to know what is right for your family and the strength to do it. If you feel God is asking you to commit to a full hour with your little ones, then humbly resign yourself to spending a good portion trying to keep them relatively quit and contained.  You may feel like you got nothing out of it, but trying not to lose your temper or sanity, is a prayer in itself. God will shower graces upon you for your sacrifices.

More importantly, you are building a foundation of love for the Eucharist in your children. When it feels especially rough, just remind yourself that your little noise maker will one day be able to sit and pray quietly as their love for our Eucharistic Lord deepens.

Lastly, I just want to add that as important as it is to bring your little ones to Adoration, you as a mom also need alone time with Our Lord. Ask you husband, a family member, hire a babysitter or babysit-swap with a fellow mom to watch the kids so you can go pray alone, even if it can’t be for an hour. Momming is hard work and you need to be able to spiritually recharge!

2. Bring a Tote Bag of Prayer Items – Just as I have my tote of spiritual material, so do my kids. From the youngest to the teen, they take their prayer book, rosary, Bible or saint book, journal and pens or pencils. I have them kneel and pray to Jesus in their heart first.  Afterwards, they can read their book, Bible or journal. As they get older, they pray the rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet or their own special devotional prayers.

Photo credit: Somedaysaints.com

Last year we each purchased the Kids Adoration Journal and Tote Bundle from Someday Saints.com. Technically this is for kids ages 7-12, which is great for my boys, but the rest of us over that age loved it too, so we all got one and have been using it. (Reference the previous photo.) 🙂

3. What books to you recommend for kids?

Each of my kids choose their own books. They usually bring a prayer book, their journal, and a bible or saint book.

Matthew loves looking up passages in a regular Bible so I bought him Lara Casey’s Write the Word Journal for Kids. (I use the adult version and love it.)

Although, it is written for Christians and isn’t specifically Catholic, he looks up the Scripture in our Catholic Bible, writes it out, and either journals or draws a picture. Other times he likes to look up his favorite verses in the Bible and he copies them into his own Scripture notebook.

For one of my sons, who was reluctant to go to Adoration, I bought him the Minecraft Bible. It kept his interest and he was still learning about God’s word. Catholic graphic novels about the saints have also been a big hit with my kids. (I did an post about them here.)

Now that some time has passed, my reluctant son is used to going to Adoration and he doesn’t bring these with him anymore. He uses a more traditional bible or he’ll pray part of the rosary or he’ll read a saint books or use his Adoration journal. I consider that progress!

If you need some inspiration, here is an Amazon list of books my boys enjoy – Books for Kids to Take to Adoration.  You don’t need to bring mounds of books, just one or two is fine.

If you have younger kids, check out the Adoration Pack for Families from Catholic Sprouts. I love the board book and coloring book, but my kids have passed that stage. I did however, order their parent guide book and a set of holy cards. 🙂

(Update: The bundle is not longer available, but you can order the items individually. I received A Parent’s Guide to Adoration after writing this post and read it. I still found it very helpful! I especially loved Nancy’s tip on teaching her kids how to do private silent prayer at home.)

4. What if I can’t afford special journals and tote bags?

You don’t need to buy an special Adoration items. You can go to the craft store and get a plain inexpensive tote. Or check the dollar section at Target or your local Dollar Store for totes and lined journals. When Bella was a toddler/preschooler I bought her a blank unlined journal and let her draw pictures of Jesus, Mary, or God’s creation. She felt like she was “journaling” too.

You can print out favorite prayers online and cut them out and tape them inside their inexpensive journals to make their own prayer books. Matthew did this when he saw Brian make one. He taped one of this favorite prayer cards to to the cover. Or you can staple the prayers together and let them make their own book. Use your imagination and they can create something special without spending a lot of money.

I hope that answered some of your questions and inspired you to try something new or keep up with what you’re doing. If you have other questions or tips that have worked for you or your family, please share them!

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Favorite Advent Family Activities 2019

Many of you have asked for the links of items we use during Advent, so I made today’s Friday Favorites an Advent Edition so the links would be in one convenient spot.  🙂

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The Advent Calendar

Revolution of Love Blog - advent_calendar_pic_1Along with our Advent wreath, our Advent calendar has been a staple since the kids were little. Each day we have a rotating “prayer person of the day” who is in charge of leading the family evening prayer. During Advent, that person also gets to open the next box in our Advent calendar. We started this tradition years ago as a way to combat the seasonal “gimmies” to help bring the focus back on Christ and sharing his love with others. We started the tradition of making our Advent Calendar into an Act of Love Calendar. We explained that we can show our love for Jesus by sharing that love with others and what we do for others, we do for Our Lord.

advent_calendar_pic_2WTo keep things simple, I searched online for a children’s printable Advent calendar. I found this one from Loyola Press. I simply cut up the calendar and put the little paper squares into the corresponding day. Each day we had one act of kindness that everyone in the family would do. If one of the day’s activities was not suitable for our family or if there were other acts or activities I wanted our family to work on, I just wrote my own words on a slip of paper and added it in a box. On Sundays our act of love is spending time together so we do something fun as a family, such as, decorate our Christmas tree or bake cookies or watch a Christmas movie together (without fighting about who gets to choose the movie.)
At dinner time, we each take a turn sharing something about our day. During Advent I’ll sometimes ask if anyone wants to share about their act of love and they explain how they held their tongue or helped someone out at school. The sharing helps us to see how we can apply our faith into the daily fabric of our lives.

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A Letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa)

Revolution of Love Blog - A letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa) - letter_baby_jesusW

This is another oldie but goodie. We’ve done this activity for a number of years and now it’s a family tradition for each of us. Instead of having the boys write the traditional letters to Santa, I put together a simple form letter that I could print off and give them to fill out. We decide on a spiritual activity we’ll work on during Advent as a gift to Jesus, who we will pray for during Advent and what presents we hope to get to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. When they were done, they folded up their letters and put them in their shoes for St. Nicholas to deliver to Baby Jesus. (In years past we’ve also placed them inside the stocking we have hanging for Jesus.)

If you’d like to print of a copy of the Letter to Baby Jesus for your little ones, I posted the PDF here. Also, I made a second version for those who don’t want the Santa aspect. It can be found here. 🙂 For the full post, click here – A Favorite Advent Tradition: A Christmas Letter to Baby Jesus (Instead of Santa)

 

An Advent Letter to Jesus for the Teens and Adults

This year, I used the same concept as the kid’s letter, but made a simple version for a teen or adult to use. You still choose some spiritual (or corporal) act/gift you’ll give to Jesus, someone you will pray for during Advent, and instead of asking for a wrapped gift, you can write down what you are hoping to receive from Jesus this Christmas season. (ie. Peace in your heart, the ability to forgive someone who has hurt you, healing (physical or mental), etc.) You can download a PDF of the letter from my Google Drive here.

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Jesus in the Manger

For years we used a paper version of Baby Jesus in a manger, but we saved up and found one we liked in the EWTN shop. We wait until Christmas morning to put out Baby Jesus. Meanwhile, during Advent we have a little basket of straw that the kids can use to fill up Baby Jesus’s crib. They put a piece in the manger whenever they make a sacrifice or do an act of love for Our Lord.

Then on Christmas morning we put Jesus in the manger and sing Him Happy Birthday and celebrate with presents and cake.

 

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Magnifikid’s Daily Advent Prayers

My favorite Advent family devotional/ prayer book is the new Magnifikid Daily Advent Prayers from Magnificat. For each day of Advent there is an introductory prayer,  an excerpt from the day’s Gospel reading, and intercessions. It is ideally for ages 7 and up, which makes it simple enough for our youngest to understand, yet it is meaty enough for the tween, teen and adults to get something out of it. The artwork is lovely and as an added bonus, it can be used year after year since it has different Sunday readings for the various cycles. I love it!

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The Advent of Christmas

Last year we added The Advent of Christmas by Matt Maher to our Christmas book collection. Although my boys are a little older than the age range, the artwork is lovely and the message is beautiful. It was perfect to read during library class at school to teach the students who may not be as familiar with the meaning of Advent and the Advent wreath. It has quickly become a favorite.

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Sunday Missals

I love the Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal and posted about it often on Instagram. Someone asked if there is a kid’s version. As far as I know there is not.

One of my boys likes to use the Magnificat’s Magnifikid.

My other boys, along with Brian, like to use St. Joseph’s 2020 Sunday Missal. You cannot beat the price – only $1.99!

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Brian and the boys use the above missals and they use Blessed Is She’s Selah Kids Journal as their Sunday prayer journal.

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Feast of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas was born in the 3rd Century to a wealthy and devout family. His parents died when he was young & Nicholas used his inheritance to help those less fortunate. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra (modern day Turkey) at a young age. Under the Roman Emperor, he was persecuted for his faith and was imprisoned. He was later released and became known for his generosity and works of wonder, particularly protecting children and the innocent.

More Catholic American families are adopting this feast day that is popular in European countries. Normally children will put out their shoes or hang stockings the night before. As mentioned above, our family also adds into the shoes the letter to Baby Jesus so St. Nicholas can bring it to Him.

While the kids are sleeping I’ll add a few small treats into the shoes – chocolate coins, candy, a small treat (like a mini Lego set or football cards) and a religious item such as a holy card, rosary or Tiny Saints charm.

You can find a lot of activities and printables at St Nicholas Center.org.

Photo credit: Somedaysaints.com

This year we got an extra special treat – Kids Adoration Journal and Tote Bundle from Someday Saints.com. Technically this is for kids ages 7-12, which is great for my boys, but the rest of us over that age loved it too, so we all got one! Later in the day we have watched the DVD Nicholas: The Boy who Became Santa with their feast day dessert.

For more Advent ideas, check out this past post – Favorite Advent Traditions 2017.

Those are some of my favorites Advent family activities! What are some of yours?

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow Revolution of Love on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉