Monday, January 15, 2007
Making Do on Mondays: A liturgical sort of year
We mothers are always so pleased when the little ones learn their months and seasons... have we taught them about the spiritual phases of the year? One of the best ways I heard about doing this was to always adorn your table with a tablecloth coordinating with the current color we are in. So children will see a green tablecloth most of the year, but that phases out with purple and pink, white and red. I think putting on a red tablecloth on the feast of a martyr or on Passion Sunday, a big impact would be made in the minds of little ones. We have to remember that kids only absorb so many facts and words and dates. What really makes a big impression are visual or spatial activities to really hit home a point. Colors have the potential to make a big impact! Other things you could do include having particularly colored vases brought out during the appropriate time. Or if you are aghast at the idea of having many days of a green tablecloth... you might make or buy colored place settings or hang a wall tapestry up reflecting the current time of year we are in.www.catholicculture.org has this to say on the matter:
Annually, through the Proper of Seasons or Temporal Cycle, the Church immerses herself in the whole “mystery of Christ, from the incarnation and birth until the ascension, the day of Pentecost, and the expectation of blessed hope and of the coming of the Lord.” Further, in the Proper of Saints or Sanctoral Cycle, she honors with special love Mary, the Mother of God, and celebrates the feasts of martyrs and saints who are already in possession of eternal salvation.
But how are the faithful to draw life from the Eucharistic sacrifice as water from a limitless spring? How can they make their participation in the sacred liturgy bear fruit in their homes and daily lives?
Within the Catholic home – the domestic church – the faithful may make use of pious practices, objects and various traditions to join with the Church in living the liturgical year. By making use of customs, traditions, and devotional practices, parents, as first teachers of their children, will be building up the “little kingdom of heaven” that is their home. Ideally, this will culminate in the celebration of the liturgy, for every practice and custom that is not oriented towards the liturgy will be hollow and fail to produce worthy fruit.
-Ellie: Oak Harbor, WA
Labels: Quotable, useful ideas
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