Liturgical Living at Home

The Parish Religious Education Office wanted to share a monthly selection of feast days and celebrations within the church that you can celebrate at home with your family. Challenge: try one new thing! It's a fun way to make the liturgical year come alive for your family. Once you start, your kids will ask all sorts of questions--"What feast day is today?" "What do you know about this saint?" "How can we make the celebration of ___ extra fun?"

We hope each month you will journey with us along the special feast days we highlight with a few ideas of how to make them extra special and memorable for your family. If you ever have ideas you'd like to share, send them to kmccarthy@sthilarychurch.org so they can be added to a future newsletter. If you try one of our ideas, or one of your own and take a picture, send it in so we can select a few to share in the next month's newsletter! (See where it will go down below)

This podcast is called "Ordinary Time Catholic Podcast" gives a great overview of Liturgical Living at Home. I'm always on the hunt for new podcast options and ideas to share with you.

The dedication of March to St. Joseph is a rich tradition that invites us to reflect on this great Saint’s faith, humility, obedience, and selfless love. He is an exceptional model for us in navigating our spiritual journey.

The Italian tradition (specifically in Sicily) of a St. Joseph Table is a popular devotion for the Feast of St. Joseph, which originated in Sicily. It is practiced on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph.

This celebration featuring a makeshift shrine is a symbolic “thank you” and renewal of the Sicilian people’s devotion to St. Joseph.

It is a shared celebration, in which the riches of food are given as alms to the poor and no one can be turned away. It has three aspects: veneration, special recognition of St. Joseph during Mass and at the “table”; the table, both a kind of “altar of reverence” and a communal celebration; and the poor, with the intention that the gathered food will help people in need.

Here’s how to set up your own St. Joseph Table at home or at your parish:

STEP 1: Choose a date and invite guests. If March 19 is not possible, celebrating a day or two before or afterwards is OK. It is ideal to host the celebration after Mass. Invite guests, especially children to dress up and play the parts of the Holy Family, the Apostles and angels. Guests should bring decorations or food items for the table.

STEP 2: Set up the table. Place a table in a prominent location of your home or church. On the table, arrange at least two display tiers using durable boxes or small shelves. (The three tiers represent the Holy Trinity, and the ascent from earth to heaven.) Cover the table and tiers with a white tablecloth.

STEP 3: Decorate the table. Place a statue of St. Joseph on the top tier. On the other tiers, display flowers (white lilies, in particular), candles, statues, rosaries and holy cards. The setup should be solemn and festive – use your imagination! Vigil lights of green, brown and yellow (representing St. Joseph’s clothing) can be placed all around, and the table can be surrounded by palms reminiscent of the Holy Land.

STEP 4: Set out a basket to collect prayer intentions and alms for the poor. You might collect canned goods for a food pantry or have a cash donation basket.

STEP 5: Prepare the menu. One traditional main dish in Sicily is “Carpenter’s Pasta” – pasta made with bread crumbs sautéed in butter to resemble sawdust – but you can include fish, soups or other pasta. Cheese isn’t used, symbolic of the food shortage experienced in the origin legend of the tradition. Sesame-coated artisan breads in symbolic shapes are a key centerpiece of the table and the menu. Don’t forget to include dessert: cakes, biscotti and cookies embellished with almonds are common. For menu ideas, go to www.yearofstjoseph.org.

STEP 6: Gather and place specific foods on the table. Special breads, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, pasta, wine and olives are all traditional items found on a St. Joseph’s Table. But as it is Lent, omit any meats and cheeses. Arriving guests should place their items on or around the table.

STEP 7: Bless the St. Joseph Table. Before or at the start of your celebration, invite a priest or deacon to bless your table, or pray together as a family.

STEP 8: Eat. The three children representing the Holy Family eat first, and they sit at a small table reserved just for them. Food is served buffet style.

STEP 9: Pray. After the meal, pray together as a group, seeking St. Joseph’s intercession. Pray the Litany to St. Joseph.. To end the celebration, offer guests a small gift such as a St. Joseph holy card. When possible, deliver the items collected for the poor to conclude the devotion.

Snap a photo and send it our way so we can show others how much fun you're having! There's so much to celebrate and enjoy this month as Christmas is wrapping up and we are back to Ordinary time for a short bit.

Homemade butter was a fun activity to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Brigid of Kildare in my home and PSR classroom. The kids love it and we toast up some bread for toast and homemade butter (YUM!). Fun fact: St. Brigid is known for her hospitality and is the patron of milkmaids!