Denver Catholic

19 DENVER CATHOLIC | DECEMBER 22, 2018-JANUARY 25, 2019 Living the Liturgical Year as a family Helping our kids be charitable in the world C hristmas and family go together as we gather to cele- brate one of the holiest feasts of the year and to honor each other with presents and meals together. Christmas involves many family traditions, but the liturgical year should shape our family life year-round. There are a few recent books, including the re-re- lease of a classic, that can inspire us to enhance the faith life of our family. Kendra Tierney's The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life (Ignatius, 2018) gives helpful practical suggestions. Tierney, a mother of nine, o¯ ers insights from her own experience to extend the celebration of the feasts and seasons into family life: making each Friday and Sunday distinct, remembering baptism and name days, and develop- ing family traditions for the important days of the Christian year. She engages questions of how to navigate Advent as a time of preparation, how to integrate St. Nick and Santa, when to put up the tree, how to give presents, etc., but also looks at how to bring the same level of festivity to the Epiphany, Fat Tuesday, Lent, Easter, All Saints, and the feasts of saints throughout the year. Sophia Institute Press has just released some important books on this topic as well. The fi rst one is from Maria von Trapp — yes, the real-life star of The Sound of Music — entitled Around the Year with the von Trapp Family (1955, republished 2018). She explains how her family's Catholic traditions were the soil that sustained them in their trans-Atlantic fl ight from Nazism, noting that "they have grown out of times and from people who found it natural to carry over their beliefs into the forms of every day life. . . . If some of my readers fi nd in this book hints that will make Cath- olic home life more warm and expres- sive of our religion, bringing children and parents closer together, I will feel happy in the thought that the trans- planted tree has been able to thank its new country by passing on some of its strength that the earth brought here around its roots" (xx-xxi). The book also o¯ ers practical suggestions for the liturgical year, but I recommend especially the fi nal three chapters on Sunday, daily life, and making family customs a feast in themselves. The ever-insightful Father James Schall o¯ ers a more theoretical expla- nation of the liturgical year in The Reason for the Seasons: Why Christians Celebrate What and When They Do (Sophia 2018), explaining the histor- ical, cultural and spiritual underpin- ning of the great feasts. Schall defends the festivity of Christmas against those embarrassed by its true mean- ing: "We are joyful. We experience a sense of hilarity because the faith is true. We dance, sing, laugh, and are rowdy because we discover that the risk of God in creating and redeeming all of us was worthy of Him" (19). Yet, he also points to the equally important need for the stillness, peace, and rigor of penance to anticipate true festiv- ity, found in the Advent and Lenten seasons: "Lent is not the season 'to be jolly,' though it is not a time of sadness either. Rather, it makes us aware that we are involved in a mystery of disor- der that passes through each of our souls" (116). Sophia also o¯ ers us a helpful ref- erence in Helen Ho¯ ner's Catholic Traditions & Treasures: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (2018). Unlike the other texts, it does not focus exclusively on the "Church Year" (which it treats in chapter three), but provides an overview of the exterior forms of the Church, including her hierarchy, sac- raments, devotions, art and books. Sections such as "Catholicism in the Home," "Devotional Aids," and "What Catholics Wear" will also help us to live the faith in the home. For instance, Ho¯ ner relates that "Catho- lics are encouraged to set aside space in their homes for prayer. . . . Prayer corners in a home show the impor- tance of prayer. A comfortable chair and a table with a Bible and a rosary remind family members to pray throughout the day" (74). Finally, Michael Foley's Drinking with Saint Nick: Christmas Cocktails for Sinners and Saints (Regnery, 2018) enhances our cheer with a sequel to the wildly popular Drinking with the Saints. Like the fi rst volume, Foley o¯ ers drinks to accompany the liturgical year, this time focusing on Advent and Christmas. Given the reprint of her book, we can take Maria von Trapp's punch recipe as an exam- ple, given by Foley for the Twelve Days of Christmas. The recipe calls for sliced pineapple, oranges, lemon and orange juice and rinds, cherries, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, water, claret, rum, and champagne (see page 108 for proportions). Christmas is a wonderful time of year to connect with family and to celebrate our faith. Let's keep up the festivity all year as we integrate the liturgical seasons into our daily life. I am increasingly drawn to stories of youngsters in our commu- nity, and across the globe, who are stepping up to help others. This Generation Z, or Gen Z, is proactive in fi nding solutions to issues and set- ting goals to make a positive impact. Gen Z is a hope- ful bunch. They're optimistic not only about what our communities, our country and our world can become, but they are also confi dent that they have the power to help and make things better. Their age doesn't hold them back. When I approach any story, I search out "the why" someone is motivated to do what they do. In helping Catholic Charities of Denver tell its life-changing stories, I've come across some inspiring examples, recently published in the quarterly Charity Works and collected at ccden- ver.org/kylescorner. "For Grace's 12th birthday party, she asked family and friends to collect toiletries and help her pack 100 sack lunches for residents at Samaritan House." (Charity runs in the family, as Grace's grandfather is Michael Sin- nett, the Vice President of Shelters at Catholic Charities.) Grace wants those with nowhere to live to realize that they are special, that they are loved and supported. Grace is considering doing something similar when she turns 13 in June. As parents, don't we all want our own children to think of others and to be charitable? Gen Z is made up of those born between the mid-1990s and mid- 2000s. Their world is way more com- plex than when I grew up. They're keenly aware of what's going on and they're reacting. They are peeling away at some of the uncertainty, unrest and unhappiness by galvaniz- ing each other to make a positive dif- ference and be charitable. This is a generation unlike any- thing we've seen before. They are realistic and resourceful. They may see stories of injustice, war, violence and natural disasters through their social media accounts. They watch, read and listen to how hearts are mended and communities are rebuilt through love and people simply being compassionate to one another. They say, "Why can't I do that?" And they do it! Parents, engage with your children, ask them to identify a problem they see in society. What is one thing they would like to help change? Ask them how they would solve that problem. Here's another inspiring story from Catholic Charities. Tabitha, 13, who has younger siblings, was inspired to do something for women in crisis pregnancies. "I have always had babies in danger of abortion and their mothers, fathers, and families very close to my heart, because of my little siblings," Tabitha wrote in a note, published with her story in Charity Works. "They have shown me that children and babies are people; and how precious and invaluable those people are." Tabitha's baby shower for Marisol Health resulted in baby clothing, boxes of diapers and six car seats. That is inspiration for this season and year-round. I wish you all a Merry Christmas of love, compassion and engagement! Kyle Dyer, of Kyle Dyer Storytelling, is a former TV news anchor who hosts the monthly Engage events for Catholic Charities. See more at ccdenver.org/kylescorner. KYLE DYER The Catholic Reader R. Jared Staudt, PhD, is a husband and father of six, the director of formation for the Archdiocese of Denver, a Benedictine oblate, prolifi c writer, and insatiable reader. DR. R. JARED STAUDT

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