Traditions for the new upcoming liturgical year

As our current liturgical year draws to a close, I like to reflect over the past year to determine if what we did as a family was fruitful in a spiritual, faith-growing way. We are encouraged to do a daily examen, but this longer reaching examen can be quite helpful in preparing for the coming year. Most activities were added to our family life to spark renewal or growth, and I truly didn’t expect to create long-lasting traditions that our kids talk about throughout the year.

Starting the year with Advent is fitting, as this season draws us to the quiet solitude of prayer and helps shut out materialistic expectations that bombard us. In our family, we light the Advent wreath daily and have a parent or older child read that day’s meditation at the meal when we’re all present (that’s not always supper!). Celebrating St. Nicholas’s Feast Day on Dec. 6 has become a favorite family tradition, too. Eric, my husband, and I wanted to begin a special tradition at our own home because we were always traveling between grandparents’ homes for Christmas and New Year’s Day. The stockings are filled with a couple pieces of candy, an ornament, and another small item, like socks. Though not an annual event, we also decorate a Jesse Tree by adding an ornament each day. Hearing our salvation story repeated in the reading for each ornament is a short but meaningful lesson.

The end of the Christmas season to Lent is filled with Feast Days. Thus far, our family hasn’t picked a favorite beyond St. Valentine’s Day, but I do use those weeks to prepare for Lent! For the last four years, we’ve made a Lenten Calendar to mark the days of Lent. The kids help color the daily crosses used to mark the passing of each day. The crosses help us focus on sacrifice throughout the forty days, and hanging the calendar in our kitchen serves as a visual reminder of fasting days, as well as feast days and Solemnities during Lent. Lent of course, ends with the Feast of all Feasts—Easter! As the eldest sibling in my family, it has come to be the responsibility and joy of our family to host extended family for Easter. Most years, we keep the meal simple, but we always color eggs, frost Easter cookies, make deviled eggs, and have a great time visiting with family.

The summer and fall months are an excellent time to focus on spiritual renewal. For our family, that means attending a faith-based camp for our teens or Young Disciples camp for the younger ones. I’ve found that silent retreats really help me to hear God. The world around us is noisy and busy; it’s important that we take time—schedule it even—to develop our faith, continue learning, and find silence.

That brings us to the last third of the liturgical year. Activities begin with a flurry, even for those of us who homeschool. We bring the liturgical year into our family life with prayer or an activity centered on monthly devotions. For instance, October is devoted to the rosary, which is also our parish’s namesake. Our family learned how to make mission rosaries when our Fargo homeschool group hosted rosary making sessions. We’ve continued sharing that love of the rosary by preparing mission rosary kits for our parish’s religious education classes. All the students help make the rosaries, which are then sent to those in need.

We commemorate November, devoted to the holy souls in purgatory, by offering prayer and sacrifice using Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes. It’s how our family divvies out NDSU Homecoming Parade or Halloween candy! It’s a beautiful way to remember those who have died in the past year or are special to our family. Sometimes we talk about the person and share funny memories. It’s a prayerful way to end our liturgical year.

Our family didn’t embrace these new traditions all in one year! In fact, sometimes it was years before I even tried putting it into practice. However, liturgical based activities have added a richness to our family prayer life and taught parent and child alike to slow down, remember Christ’s sacrifice for us, and live our faith in a deeper way.
 
Further resources
Lenten Calendar: www.showerofrosesblog.com/2008/02/our-lenten-calendar.html
Our Lady’s Rosary Makers: www.olrm.org/
Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes: www.showerofrosesblog.com/2014/11/ora-pro-nobis-candy-boxes.html
 
Suzanne Lahlum is the Director of Religious Education at Holy Rosary Church in LaMoure. She has been married for 24 years and has six children.