Discover Your Diocese Archives - Page 2 of 2

12 Actually Really Good Easter Basket Fillers for Kids

Lis Luwia March 31, 2019

Picture of a girl with Easter eggs. Great East Basket Filler ideas for Catholic kids

You don’t want to bring more junk into your home, especially not on Easter Sunday! So, this year put quality stuff in those Easter baskets that will enrich minds and spiritual lives… and not the trash bin!

This post contains affiliate links to stuff I know and love. It doesn’t cost you anything, but it helps me to run this website.

12 Actually Really Good Easter Basket Fillers for Kids

My Superhero Prayer Book

Help your kids learn their prayers in a fun way!

Brother Francis Easter Coloring Book

Color your way through the 50 days of Easter!

Little Drops of Water small statue

This would make an adorable start/ addition to your child’s prayer corner

Tiny Saints Mary keychain

What better way to remember Mary’s always watching over you than to have her hanging from your purse or backpack?

Recommended: 9 Surprising Ways You Can Transform Your Palm Sunday Branches

Sam the Guardian Angel Picture Book

A darling book about a girl who doesn’t understand Mass and her guardian angel who walks her through what he sees and how she can experience Jesus better.

Shining Light Dolls- St. Joseph

Every little boy needs a hero and this one helped to raise our Savior!

Go Pray! A Catholic card game

Have some fun with your saint-friends in the style of a classic Go Fish! game!

Our Father Lamb

Help your little learn the Lord’s Prayer with this little lamb that recites prayers!

My First Rosary rattle

The perfect addition to a Mass bag or Easter basket for babies!

Rabbit T-shirt

Great for Dad or an older sibling- keep your eyes on the reason for the season!

An Easter book

An adorable board book based on Psalm 23- great for toddlers!

A Faith Cross T-shirt

Yes, they probably have one in your size, too. 😉

Holy Heroes Glory Stories

It’s hard to go wrong with Holy Heroes Glory Stories. You can choose from a multitude of videos, including this one (since Divine Mercy Sunday is only a week away from Easter)!

I hope you found some great ideas for your Easter baskets this year. And while you can’t really go wrong with sweets and treats, you could always consider upgrading to white chocolate crosses this year. 😉

20 Unique Catholic Teacher Gifts for Christmas and End of the Year

Let's thank our educators with gifts during Christmastime and at the end of the year! Find inspiration for the perfect ...

21 Catholic Gift Ideas Created by Nuns and Monks

With the Advent season upon us, many of us are Christmas shopping for our loved ones and what better place ...

7 Ways to Buy Catholic Christmas Gifts Cheap

I love giving faithful Christmas gifts to my friends and family. I feel like anything that nourishes the soul and ...

updated 3/23/2020

9 Surprising Ways You Can Transform Your Palm Sunday Branches

Lis Luwia March 6, 2019

What do you do with your palm branches after Palm Sunday Mass? I remember the first time I was able to make a simple palm branch I was ecstatic. It’s those simple pleasures in life, right?

Now, we’re bringing you some tutorials for palm branches that will let you use the blessed branches year-round. You won’t want to burn these palm branches at church next Ash Wednesday!

Just a reminder: any scraps or trimmed off palm branches cannot be thrown away since they are blessed. Please save them for your church to burn next Ash Wednesday or bury them.

Recommended: 5 Easy Ways to Live Out the Sorrows of Mary in Your Daily Life

9 Surprising Ways You Can Transform Your Palm Sunday Branches

#1 A Woven Fish

You can totally do this! Just practice with some paper first if you’re concerned.

#2 A Basket

Functional, beautiful, and holy… yes, please!

#3 A Bag or Purse

https://youtu.be/AyqdvRQgda8

As long as the recipient knows this is a blessed bag, wouldn’t this be a cool gift?!

Catholic Diocese Events Email — Psst! Click here to see what it’s all about!

#4 A Donkey

Give your child’s Jesus peg doll a donkey to ride on this Palm Sunday!

#5 A Rose

Wouldn’t this be lovely on your family’s home altar or at the foot of your Mary statue?

#6 A Huge Cross

https://youtu.be/9xhf_Ao4-EM

Rulers might work if you don’t have a saw!

#7 A Lapel Cross

How lovely that you could wear your blessed branches! Just put a pin on the back.

#8 A Traditional Palm Branch Braid

I think it looks harder than it is!

#9 A Crown of Thorns

I love this; it would look lovely behind crucifix on your wall!

If these tutorials are just too much for you or if folding a simple cross makes you as ecstatic as it makes me, here’s s simple tutorial for that!

If you like this post, follow our Lent Pinterest board.

Don’t forget to check out your Catholic diocese for events throughout Lent! (Psst! That’s what this website is all about!)

God bless your Lenten Season and Happy Palm Sunday!

21 Vegetarian Recipes for Lent this Friday

Let's abstain from meat this Lent with some delicious, tried and true recipes from yours truly! Here are 21 vegetarian ...

101 Creative Catholic Ideas to give up for Lent

101 Creative Ideas to Give up for Lent

Lent is a wonderful time of the year: a time for reflection and sacrifice, a time to start over and ...

50 Unique Ideas to Start Doing this Lent

Just as you can give something up for Lent, you can also take something on. This is a great option ...

(Palm Branch picture sourced from: By Mostafameraji – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61933505) Updated 3/31/20

5 Ways to Live out the Sorrows of Mary

Lis Luwia February 24, 2019

Lent is the perfect time to meet Our Lady of Sorrows and walk with her hand in hand, but she will meet you at any time of the year if you are willing. Here are some ideas on how you can live out the Sorrows of Mary in your daily life and grow closer to her!

This blog post may contain affiliate links, which are at no cost to you. Please see our Disclosure for more information.

the year if you are willing. Here are some ideas on how you can live out the Sorrows of Mary in your daily life and grow closer to her!

All of these ideas are sourced from Our Lady of Sorrows: A Catholic Novena & Meditation Prayer Journal (find even more ideas in the journal!)

If you want to walk closer to Christ this Lent, walk next to his Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows, with Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Novena & Meditation Prayer Journal! — Available on Amazon.com

5 Ways to Live out the Sorrows of Mary

If you want to walk closer to Christ during His Passion, walk with His Mother. With her as your guide, you will uncover the depths of her Sorrows and learn more about Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Make this Lent your best yet and depend your Catholic faith with the Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

More Ideas!!

1. The Prophecy of Simeon

Kneel down and thank God right after Mass ends, before leaving, as Jesus resides inside of you.

2. The Flight into Egypt

Offer your time and support (babysitting, write a note, etc) to single moms who don’t have a spouse or support system to walk with them through turbulent waters like Mary did.

3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple

Write a letter to or spend some time with someone who has lost a child or miscarried, especially on that child’s birthday, due date, or the day that they died.

4. The Meeting of Jesus & Mary on the Way to Calvary

Write down your worries, anxieties, and stressors. How can you offer these to God? Destroy the paper these are written on as you imagine Jesus carrying them for you.

5. The Crucifixion & Death of Jesus

Pray for those on their deathbed, especially those who need the extra push to accept Jesus before death.

For even more ideas, see Our Lady of Sorrows: A Catholic Novena & Meditation Prayer Journal on Amazon or the printable version (at a steep discount!) on CatholicMommyBlogs.com

God bless you! +JMJ+

post updated 2/29/20

Catholic Kid Activities for Each Day of Lent

Lis Luwia February 19, 2019

What better way to go through Lent with your Catholic kids than to do crafts and activities with them? Hands on activities help to solidify learning for children and it’s the perfect creative outlet for the season!

This post may contain affiliate links. See our Disclosure for more information.

Here are 40 Days Worth of Lenten Crafts:

Recommended-> 50 Unique Ideas to Give Up for Lent

1. Use chalk to promote a “dust” feeling with this Ash Wednesday craft
2. Fill out a Lenten promises card
3. Make a crown of thorns sacrifice wreath
4. Create your own stations of the cross at home (or buy them here)
5. Print out these free Catholic art bookmarks to walk through the week with you
6. Get busy in the kitchen with easy Lenten pretzels!
7. Make these awesome Palm Sunday branches
8. Make this Jesus and donkey paper doll for Palm Sunday
9. Make a coin-covered cross (Paid in Full)
10. Paint your own crucifix
11. Create a Lenten good deeds chart
12. Make a Holy Week lapbook
13. Make a resurrection garden (but roll a rock in front of the tomb until Easter!) (PSST! I bought wheatgrass and had the grass grow throughout Lent around the tomb. We trimmed the wheatgrass and planted flowers on Easter. The wheatgrass made a great addition to a Easter celebration smoothie!)
14. Make a chalice and bread for Holy Thursday
15. Recreate Calvary Hill with this easy printable
16. Build a Lego Last Supper and/or Lego resurrection garden
17. Make a Jesus felt finger puppet (good for older kids or a parent can make it for kids to play with)
18. Create stepping stones as a visual of Jesus’ walk to the crucifix
19. Fold this EASY stations of the cross prayers mini-book
20. Paint wooden resurrection eggs (buy the wooden eggs here)
21. Create an egg carton Holy Thursday Last Supper craft
22. Color Stations of the Cross Brother Francis pages or watch a Brother Francis Stations of the Cross video (doesn’t get much easier!)
23. Paint a watercolor crucifix
24. Make an Agony in the Garden diorama
25. Color the Sorrowful Mysteries
26. Glue this Stations of the Cross lift flap notebook
27. Draw a St Veronica ornament
28. Make an Easter Wreath for the door to your child’s room
29. Color foil to make beautiful crosses
30. Make a Stations of the Cross Carousel
31. Make an empty tomb craft
32. Help your kids create a Holy Week banner
33. Make a Jesus peg doll with the 5 wounds of Christ
34. Create a Jesus peg doll reenactment
35. Make pray, fast, give magnets
36. While you’re doing magnets, check out these Stations of the Cross magnets
37. Make shadow Stations of the Cross
38. Color a Lenten prayer stained glass coloring page
39. Create this pray, fast, give placemat
40. Make a “stained glass” cross
41. Fold your palms branches into the shape of a cross

I hope these help you! Want more ideas? Check out SO many more ideas on our Lent Pinterest board. Follow it here!

21 Vegetarian Recipes for Lent this Friday

Let's abstain from meat this Lent with some delicious, tried and true recipes from yours truly! Here are 21 vegetarian ...

101 Creative Ideas to Give up for Lent

Lent is a wonderful time of the year: a time for reflection and sacrifice, a time to start over and ...

50 Unique Ideas to Start Doing this Lent

Just as you can give something up for Lent, you can also take something on. This is a great option ...

(This post was last updated March 9, 2020)

50 Unique Ideas to Give Up for Lent

Lis Luwia February 19, 2019

Lent is around the corner and you’re wondering what you’re going to give up. There’s only so many times you can give up chocolate and this year you want to do something different. Here are 50 unique things you can consider giving up for Lent!

Recommended: Catholic Kid Activities for Each Day of Lent

Pin this for later

Give up:

Sleep: Get up earlier to read scripture and pray
Negativity: Focus on the positive!
Complaining: Bite your tongue and offer it up.
Doing your hair before church: Consider veiling!
Social Media: The modern day “chocolate” that Catholics give up for Lent
Condiments: Think Mayo-less deviled eggs
Enjoying nap time: when your kids go down for a snooze, keep moving and get stuff done!
Sitting on sin: Go to weekly confession
Phones: Put your phone on vibrate except for certain times of the day
Drinks: Only drink water
Sugar: Cut the sweets!
Screens: Eliminate screen time one day per week
Electricity: For one hour per day, turn off all the lights and screens (but maybe not the heater if it’s necessary!)
Stuff: Go the minimalist route and purge something every day
Swearing: Kick those nasty words to the door
Saying the Lord’s name in vain (Oh my God/ gosh)
Alcohol: Just consider first if no wine for 40 days would actually make you a better person! 😉
Turning the other way: Go out of you way for your neighbors
Selfishness: Do one nice thing for someone else every day
Forgetfulness: Make a list of people to pray for daily and follow up with them to see how they’re doing
Passing the basket: Make it a point to tithe more by saving up in a different area of your life
Cooking only for your family: Bring a meal to a family going through a rough time or an elderly neighbor, etc
Netflix: Watch Formed.org instead!
Games: that small, sad violin for Candy Crush
Busyness: Make time for the things that matter like prayer, rest, and quality family time
Microwave: Get creative with reheating in pots and pans!
Eating out: East in and make it count
Meat: Become a vegetarian-friendly house for Lent
Shopping: Only spend money on necessary groceries and toilet paper
Spending money: Spend no money whatsoever during Lent! Stockpile groceries and get creative cooking from nothing as Lent goes on
Comfort: give up sitting in your favorite spot on the couch or sleeping with a pillow
Walking in comfort: Put a small pebble in your shoe daily that will bother you just enough to remind you to pray
Warmth: Give up warm showers
Laundry machines: Wash everything by hand
Talking too fast: Think before speaking
Sacrifice: Give up the best parking spot for someone else and save the last cookie for your kids
Cards: Use only cash to make purchases
Texting: Only call or use email
Caffeine: This may or may not be the best Lent ever
Closing your eyes to need: Help through a service project or shelter
Praying in privacy: Pray in front of an abortion clinic once per week
Paper plates and paper towels: go green!
Blow drying your hair: Brr!
Makeup: “You’re never fully dressed without a smile!” (Annie)
Yelling: Change your parenting style
Mirrors: Wipe your face really well after brushing your teeth!
Hitting the snooze button: good luck!!
Elevators: Take the stairs, friend!
Talking first: Make it a point to listen better and ask questions
Driving by the church: Stop in the church for Adoration for an hour every week

Do you like attending Catholic events? Check out what’s happening in your diocese!

I hope these help you! Want more ideas? Check out SO many more ideas on our Lent Pinterest board. Follow it here!

Also, if you’re looking for a Catholic prayer journal to help you through Lent, especially in growing closer to Our Lord in His Passion, you might like Our Lady of Sorrows: A Catholic Novena & Meditation Prayer Journal. (This is an Amazon affiliate link) I wrote this to help others grow closer to Our Lady of Sorrows and learn what it means to stand next to Jesus during His Passion and Crucifixion. I hope you like it!

21 Vegetarian Recipes for Lent this Friday

Let's abstain from meat this Lent with some delicious, tried and true recipes from yours truly! Here are 21 vegetarian ...

101 Creative Ideas to Give up for Lent

Lent is a wonderful time of the year: a time for reflection and sacrifice, a time to start over and ...

50 Unique Ideas to Start Doing this Lent

Just as you can give something up for Lent, you can also take something on. This is a great option ...

(This post was last updated Jan. 19, 2020)

7 Ways to Decorate your Catholic Garden as a Prayer Space

Lis Luwia November 18, 2018

Make your garden a prayer and Catholic meditation space

You love gardening or you want to bring the beauty of your faith to your outdoor living areas but you’re not 100% sure how. You could easily add some statues of Catholic saints, but how can you make a meaningful prayer space in your backyard garden?

Hopefully, you find the solution to your Catholic prayer garden or are sparked with an idea while reading this. I’ve compiled several ways you can use your garden as a prayer space. This is a perfect way to enjoy prayer outdoors… and if you have these in the front yard you could be evangelizing to your neighbors without ever having to open your mouth!

Here are 7 Ways to Decorate Your Catholic Garden

1. Start with symbols

What are some things that are symbolic in our faith? Lilies are symbolic of purity, the Annunciation, and the Resurrection. You might also notice images of saints holding lilies too. St. Agatha and St. Thecla carry palm branches and if you have a special devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux, roses are the way to go since they are her signature flower! Check out our post on flowers to symbolize Mary in your garden.

Catholic prayer garden — Image sourced from Pinterest, stbridgeteastfalls.org

2. Make it Interactive

Make an interactive prayer space to walk the rosary through your garden. You can decorate the ground with stones to help you pray and meditate on the mysteries as you spend some peaceful time outside.

3. Have a Place to Sit

I know what you’re thinking… where are you going with this? Well, make or buy an outdoor pew bench! Here is an example of how to make a simple one, you hand person you! (Just make sure to use outdoor paint and outdoor fabric if you use/make cushions.) It actually doesn’t look all that hard, as long as you have all the right hardware and some time set aside!

Or purchase pews from an old parish when they replace them. I’ve seen this happen to a couple of parishes and it’s a great time to grab them! Keep an eye on parish bulletins or ask your parish secretary if he/she knows of any churches replacing their pews. You can also find some in secular stores sometimes, but they’re not often referred to as pews there.

4. Make a Shrine for Your Statues

It’s easy to put a simple statue in your garden and it’s set! But, why do that when you can create a full-on shrine for your favorite saint or create a mini-grotto for Mary in your own backyard? Use your imagination and check out these examples on my Pinterest board (Outdoor Catholic Decorating) to get your ideas flowing!

Stations of the cross outdoor decorations

5. Have Your Own Stations

Purchase your own outdoor stations of the cross and place them throughout your yard. Wouldn’t that be amazing to walk your own Stations of the Cross in your own garden at 3 p.m. throughout Lent? (Here’s the collection I found picture above.)

6. Make a Resurrection Garden

Making a Resurrection Garden is an awesome project to do with kids. Check out this DIY Resurrection Garden to do with kids and here is a grown-up version for you to do on a bigger scale. Be sure to close the tomb on Good Friday and open it again with a celebration on Easter. That would be a great time to plant your flowers around the tomb to celebrate that He is Risen! (Pin this idea for later)

7. Offer a Prayer Box

Have you ever seen those personal lending library boxes in the front yards of your neighbors? I love the library, but what if you could take it one step forward and make a prayer box for your neighbors? Create a little slot, offer paper and a pen and you’re set to go! Don’t forget to check your box and pray for your neighbors! What an act of beautiful charity!

I hope your creative juices are flowing! Check out the rest of my ideas on Catholic Decorating (indoors & outdoors) and follow us over on Pinterest! >>HERE<<

Updated 3/9/20

7 Ways to Buy Catholic Christmas Gifts Cheap

Lis Luwia November 8, 2018

I love giving faithful Christmas gifts to my friends and family. I feel like anything that nourishes the soul and points back to Christ is a great gift for me to give. But, sometimes, it seems so difficult to find Catholic Christmas gifts that fit the budget! Here I’ve detailed 5 ways you can stretch your wallet and provide faithful Christmas gifts to your friends and family!

This post may contain affiliate links on stuff I support and love!

Let’s do this! Here are:

7 Ways to Buy Catholic Christmas Gifts Cheap

1. Check out thrift shops and bookstores

I recently walked out of a thrift shop with five Catholic books, including Theotokos, a Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I bought it for a mere 50 cents and it’s worth $40 on Amazon!

You can find C.S. Lewis books at almost any used bookstore, Christian ornaments, decorations, and crosses at thrift stores and in the clearance section of Catholic bookstores. Psst! Don’t forget yard sales too! Shop like this throughout the year and you’ll have great Catholic gifts for everyone on your list!

2. Buy it in online

When you try to buy something through Amazon, take a few extra clicks and go back to the seller’s personal website. Several authors sell their own books at a cheaper rate on their websites than on Amazon or offer them for a cheaper rate as an ebook version than can be found in other stores.

For example, Catholic Mommy Blogs sells the ebook version of Our Lady of Sorrows: A Catholic Meditation & Prayer Journal on their website for only $3.99. On Amazon, this same book as a hard copy costs $13.89. You could print and bind this book as a gift or send it directly to that person as an ebook gift.

(PRO TIP: Do you love books as much as I do? Check out iBooks (through Apple) and Hoopla (through many local libraries), where you can find many spiritual Catholic classics for free.)

3. Get Creative

This gift idea is great for kids! Run to your nearest craft store and grab your supplies, print off the materials, and create your own peg doll nativity set. This is kinda DIY, isn’t it? But Lacy at Catholic Icing makes it so easy that your ten-year-old could do it and gift it to her cousins. So then you’re not really doing it… are you? Plus, no glitter or children’s painted handprints required!!

4. Use Your Skills

If you know how to sew, crochet or embroider, your craftiness can make some seriously cool Catholic gifts for friends and family! Check out Jen’s blog Faith & Fabric for Catholic sewing and quilting designs and grab your faithful embroidery patterns from Happy Nest Home Goods.

5. Put it together for them

My kids have a cute little prayer table in their room. It has prayer cards on it, saint medals, and small saint statues. I would love to add to this table, and I’m sure you probably know someone who would love to have a prayer table… maybe even your own family! Why not make one for them? You could use:

a simple table runner (or place mats!) in different liturgical colors (green, white, purple),
some prayer cards,
a small statue of the child or family’s patron saint
a battery-operated candle
a crucifix
and a book on the saints or liturgical living

Put these in a pretty box and it will be such a delightful gift! Read more about family prayer tables.

6. Cook up something perfect

Do you prefer to make gifts in the kitchen? Check out these great ideas for Christmas gifts you can make in the kitchen at Catholic Cuisine like Cathedral Window Cookies and St. Nicholas Cheese. You could also make gingerbread nativity cookies!

7. Know how to save money online

Lastly, Make Ebates.com your friend whenever you shop online. This website rebates you money as you purchase from your favorite online retailers like Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, etc, for serious cash back on selected items! I don’t shop online without them.

——–

I hope these tips and tricks will help you find affordable Catholic gift ideas! God bless you and your family this season!

While you’re here, please check out Catholic events happening in your diocese!

Post updated November 8, 2019

20 Unique Catholic Teacher Gifts for Christmas and End of the Year

Let's thank our educators with gifts during Christmastime and at ...

10 Free St Andrew Christmas Novena Mobile Wallpaper Options

Need a reminder to say the St Andrew Christmas Novena ...

Catholic devotional books for advent recommendations prepare for Christmas

Catholic Books to Prepare you for Christmas (to read during Advent)

As Christmas draws nearer, you realize that you haven't properly ...

7 Ways to Buy Catholic Christmas Gifts Cheap

I love giving faithful Christmas gifts to my friends and ...

21 Vegetarian Recipes for Lent this Friday

Let's abstain from meat this Lent with some delicious, tried ...

Inspirational Christian mobile cell phone background wallpapers

10+ Inspirational Christian Mobile Phone Backgrounds

Get started on the right foot everyday with these inspirational ...

21 Catholic Gift Ideas Created by Nuns and Monks

With the Advent season upon us, many of us are ...

How to Decorate Your Catholic Child’s Playroom or Nursery

What better way to provide an inspirational message for your ...

10 Flowers to Plant to Symbolize Mary in Your Garden

Lis Luwia July 6, 2018

10 10 Flowers to Use to Symbolize Mary in Your Catholic Garden

If you’ve ever considered planting a garden for Mary, you’ve probably looked at some pictures online and considered buying a statue of Mary, if you don’t already have one. But how do you decide which flowers to best decorate her garden with?

(Image courtesy of Fingalo, Wikipedia Commons. This post may contain affiliate links)

Here are 10 Flowers to Plant that Symbolize Mary that would be perfect in your garden!

Also Recommended >>> 7 Ways to Decorate your Catholic Garden as a Prayer Space

1. The White Lily “Annunciation Lily” symbolizes Mary’s Immaculate Purity.

2. The Violet symbolizes Mary’s humility “regarded by the Lord”.

3. The Monkshood “Our Lady’s Slipper” symbolizes Mary’s graceful Visitation trip to visit Elizabeth in the hill country: “All her steps were most beauteous.”

4. The Thistle-Down is also a Visitation symbol due to its graceful movement in the air.

5. The Rose symbolizes the Blessed Virgin of prophecy, “the Rose wherein the Divine Word was made incarnate.

6. The Daisy symbolizes “Mary’s Flower of God” (Jesus)

7. The Periwinkle represents the “Virgin Flower” and the blue color recalls her fullness of grace.

8. The Columbine represents the dove of the Holy Spirit, Mary’s overshadowing, indwelling, divine Spouse.

9. The Pansy symbolizes the Trinity (first revealed to Mary) and is also called the “Trinity Flower.”

10. The Everlasting symbolizes Mary’s eternal loving mediation in heaven.

Plus, a bonus (which isn’t exactly a flower) is the Strawberry which symbolizes the “Fruitful Virgin”, in flower and fruit at the same time.

Enjoy your gardening and get creative with faithful symbols! These are also great flowers to leave at the foot of the statue of Mary at your church!

Post last updated 3/9/20

7 Ways to Help Keep Your Inner Circle Catholic

Lis Luwia March 23, 2018

Want your friends and family to not drift away from the Catholic faith? Here are 7 ways you can help them stay in the Church!

Surely you’ve had a friend or relative who has strayed away from the Church. And you know as well as I do that once they’ve walked away, it’s hard to lead them back. So what are you doing to stop them from walking away in the first place?

Here are some ideas that you can start implementing today within your inner circles to strengthen your Catholic bonds and grow together in Christ.

1. Pray together and for each other

Of course praying for each other seems like the most obvious things to do, but how often do you really pray for your friends? And how often do you pray for the things weighing on their hearts? After you text or call a friend this week, as them how you can pray for them. And when you’re worried and need prayer, reach out! As you friends and family to pray for you and your intentions or ask what’s going on in their lives that you can offer up your suffering for. It will deepen your friendship and lead all that goodness back to Christ!

2. Thank God, not goodness

My daughter said, “Oh, thank goodness!” I’m sure she got that saying from me or my husband, but what exactly is “thanking goodness?” And isn’t that degrading the thanks we should be giving to God? Let’s reflect daily on the words we’re using in our conversations and see how they can bring glory to God and lead others closer to Him.

3. I’ve been thinking about you/ I’ve been praying for you

It’s a common text: “I’ve been thinking about you… how are you?” Now, I don’t believe in coincidences; I believe in the Holy Spirit. I think that those thoughts are put in our minds to pray for that person. So the next time a friend pops into your head or you see someone who looks like your sister in the street, take a moment and say a pray for them. Later, let them know, “I’ve been praying for you… how are you?” What a joy that relationship will be!

4. Catholic activities

What do you do when you hang out with your friends? Instead of checking the movie listings, check out dioceseevents.com first. This website has a bunch of Catholic-based activities within each diocese in the USA- perfect for hanging out with you friends and making more friends!

5. Catholic group text/ email/ Facebook groups

Create a group text with all of your Catholic friends (or just a few friends) and keep in touch that way. Ask each other to pray for certain intentions, send each other Catholic humorous memes, and send inspirational saint quotes or updates on saint feast days. You could also make this as a group email or a small Facebook group.

6. Catholic vacations

Make your vacations reflect your faith! When you visit Grandma’s house or travel to the beach for the Summer or a holiday, check out the Catholic events going on in that diocese. Make time for extra prayer, a moment to visit a basilica or cathedral, and connect with other Catholics in the area (plus drag your family along with you)!

7. Catholic articles and news

Stay abreast of Catholic news and feast days. When your child or niece or religious education class makes an amazing craft for the Feast of the Assumption, share it on social media and get the picture to your friends and family. Believe it or not, you’ll be reminding your loved ones about this special day int he Church and keeping them connected within the Communion of Saints!

I hope this list helps you with ideas on how to keep your friends and family connected with the Church. Remember that prayer is the first step and God is above all! +JMJ+

LIVE A CATHOLIC-INFUSED LIFE

Lis Luwia January 2, 2018

When my family goes on vacation, we spend several hours researching activities and events along the way and in our destination. We look at the city’s event calendar, blogs, and maps. We also use MassTimes.org to find what parish we will attend that weekend, if we’re not familiar with the parishes in that area.

But, recently, I realized that our vacations (besides going to Mass on Sundays) aren’t Christ-focused, and they should be. I began looking into shrines, family pilgrimages, and Catholic concerts in the area. There are a lot of things happening… but not a lot of publicity on it.

So I created this website. It will help you when you go on vacation or when you stay in your hometown. You can find Catholic events in your diocese (or whatever diocese you’re traveling to) and start to infuse a little more Catholic in your life.

God bless you! +JMJ+