A blog about Liturgical Living in the Western Rite

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021

Lent and Easter Kids’ Book and Gift Recommendations

Do you guys make Easter baskets for your kids or godchildren? We do! I think it’s a super fun reward for all of the hard work the kids have been doing to make sacrifices for Jesus during Lent. Our Easter baskets usually have a book for each kid, some favorite candy and snacks, and a religious item. Last year my family did this Lenten Devotional together, and I really loved it. The book was geared toward older children (not little ones) and follows the Eastern Rite observance of Great Lent. However, we still found it useful as Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and we learned so much. Here are my favorite suggestions for reading books together during Lent and Easter or for filling those Easter baskets!

March 4, 2021March 5, 2021

Prepping for Lent and Easter

Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.

As we enter our pre-Lenten season in the Western Rite, I’ve put together some of my favorite tips, materials, and go-tos for Lent. Like with everything on my blog, this is what one Western Rite Orthodox family does, but please, use whatever is most helpful for you and your family. In my next post I will cover my favorite Lenten books for kids and ideas for Easter baskets.

January 8, 2021January 11, 2021

Celebrating a Name Day

Finding a Patron Saint

As a convert to Orthodoxy, celebrating “Name Days,” or the feast days of patron saints, was a new concept for me. I had heard that Orthodox converts often adopted a patron saint at their Chrismation and were even called by that name thereafter, in some churches. I wasn’t given a “Christian” name at birth. Frankly, I was named after a Russian neighbor because my mom liked the sound of her name. Some people I knew had a “baptismal name,” but I was baptized at age 12, and it wasn’t a custom in my denomination to change your name at baptism. Until becoming Orthodox, I had never even heard of the martyr St. Adrian of Nicomedia (306AD) from which the name Adrienne is derived, and I likewise knew nothing of St. Emmelia of Caesarea (375AD), called the “Mother of Saints”, who was to become my patron saint.

December 12, 2020December 26, 2020

Orthodox Christmas Gift and Stocking-Stuffer Ideas

Hi friends, it’s that time of year again! I’ve been a mom for almost ten years now, and with 5 children, I have a lot of experience with managing the holidays with little ones! We have all witnessed the difficulty of keeping Christmas about Christ and not about all the presents. I personally come from a broken and blended extended family, which at the holidays often makes the presents multiply exponentially. This is something we struggle to keep in check.

I also get asked a lot by other “mommy friends” for Christmas/St. Nicholas Day gift ideas, so I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite go-to items for Orthodox families and my best advice on keeping the number of presents under control and maintaining our focus on Jesus. I have relied on both Orthodox and Catholic sources for my religious gift suggestions, as you will see below:

December 5, 2020December 26, 2020

Children’s Book Recommendations for Advent and Christmas

Hi readers! In a previous post, I have discussed how my family practices Advent, so I wanted to follow up with a guide of what you could be reading with your kids during this season to prepare for Christmas. It’s tempting to jump on board the Christmas train as soon as Thanksgiving is over (or even right after Halloween!), but as Orthodox Christians, we believe it’s important to observe a season of expectation, waiting, and even penitence before we start celebrating. This may look differently in each family, but one way we, a Western Rite Orthodox family of 7, mark the season of Advent is through books.

November 29, 2020December 26, 2020

How One Western Rite Orthodox Family Observes Advent

In my eight years since becoming Orthodox, my husband and I have worked to establish liturgical traditions in our home that will give our children and ourselves spiritual stability. Walking through the life of Christ every year with the seasons of the Church helps to create defaults of habit and discipline that were lacking in our faith prior to our conversion. We have 5 children under the age of 10, so what works for our family in this stage of life may be different than what would best serve your own family. However, I have collected below some of our favorite family practices for the season of Advent which I hope may be helpful to you in beginning your own traditions.