Kendra Tierney is a mother of 10 children, but she makes time to include traditions at home based on the liturgical calendar.
She said it’s a way to provide a “framework for learning about the Catholic faith and these traditional practices that have been so fun for my family.” Those traditions are a good way to “create that strong family culture and Catholic identity,” she said.
Tierney is founder and chief executive officer of Catholic All Year, which she called an apostolate about liturgical living in the home. It includes a blog, website, YouTube channel and presence on the Formed Catholic streaming service. She recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to describe how families can include liturgical traditions during the season of Advent.
Tierney describes liturgical living as “bringing the practice of our faith home with us from Mass so that it’s part of our everyday lives.” At her family’s home, she said, it’s about remembering feast days with special meals and decorations and observing liturgical seasons. The rhythm of their lives looks different based on each liturgical season — practices she said “our ancestors would have done.”
Tierney said Advent is a time of waiting and preparing, so “slow down the (Christmas) decorations.” Her family does not put up a tree until Christmas Eve.
For Advent, making decorations from scratch out of paper and greenery, “things our ancestors would have done,” are welcome, Tierney said. She advised focusing on adding prayers and practices that feel different than Christmas “so that on Christmas Eve, we make that joyful transition from the Advent season to the Christmas season.”
Her household displays an Advent wreath; Tierney said the circle symbolizes eternity, and wreaths with berries and seed pods are a reminder of new growth.
Advent traditions in Tierney’s home include what the family calls “straw for baby Jesus.” When a child obeys quickly “or without complaining,” he or she can place a piece of straw into the manger, which started years ago as a cardboard box, but now is wooden. Throughout Advent, this symbolizes that “your good deeds, your good behavior are preparing a nice soft bed for baby Jesus when he comes,” Tierney said.
Making crafts together — even paper snowflakes — help children learn to make “little presents for other people,” she said.
To hear more tips for observing Advent at home, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Nov. 24 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Nov. 25 and 2 p.m. Nov. 26. And visit Tierney’s website, and find her on Formed and YouTube.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who discusses the Advent season; and Quinci Schmidt, who works on her family’s dairy farm near Rogers, and describes life on the farm and living her faith and vocation.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at https://anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
