This time last year, we were facing the prospect of celebrating Holy Week at home. As I prepared resources for my students and parish, I shared here on the blog a collection of tools for each day of Holy Week and a matching journal- and so, so many people took advantage of these tools- it remains one of the most
popular blog posts of all time.
This year while our access to the Sacraments fortunately is becoming more and more available, we still recognize that our celebration at home is a extension of the liturgy of our Church. Within the domestic church, we can continue our prayer and catechize our children. With that in mind, I hope that this Holy Week journal and the calendar of resources is still helpful this year and every year!
The Holy Week schedule includes:
-Suggestions for every day from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday
-Spots to list recommendations for participating in the Liturgy (put your parish schedule here, for example)
-Scripture reading from the Gospel of the day
-List of FREE activities including:
-Videos (all on YouTube or Formed-add your parish code if you have a subscription)
-Simple craft
-Coloring Page
-Food/snack suggestion
-Song or music playlist
This
Holy Week Retreat schedule is shared with you in an editable format (in Google Slides). You can make a copy or download it (use in Microsoft PowerPoint) and edit it to fit the needs of your home, classroom, parish, or school. Then save as a pdf and email out to anyone you like.
I've edited the dates and checked links from last year's version, but you are welcome to revise as much as you like to make it more relevant or varied.
Click here for a Spanish translation of the schedule shared from a blog reader! (Links on this one have not been updated.)
As a companion resource for kids participating in the Liturgies or reading the Gospels with their families, I also made this
Holy Week Journal. It lists the name of the day, the Gospel to read, lines for journaling or copying a favorite verse, a question to think about, and a little bit of clip art to color. I picture it being copied single sided and the blank back of each page being used as a space to draw a reflection or letter a Scripture card. The second page of the journal contains some suggestions/ideas for how to use it across a variety of ages.
Here's a preview of what the inside pages look like:
And thanks to reader, here is the
Holy Week Journal in Spanish!
And in FRENCH too!
And
Portuguese:
I know that your family might have other traditions or prayers or foods that you typically enjoy during this holiest of weeks. And that is awesome! That's one of the reasons I made this schedule editable. I just tried to pull together resources for people with limited supplies/time or who are overwhelmed with choices.
It's my hope that this schedule and journal makes planning for parents, teachers, and church leaders to be able to more easily send ideas to the families you work with. If you have any suggestions or great ideas that might help us all, please send them my way or add them in the comments.
~~~
Finally, I've been sent a few resources recently that while not free are affordable and I think could have great value for your family. I wanted to share three of them here. (No affiliate benefit for me, just my honest opinions after receiving review copies!)
The brilliant and creative Lacy from Catholic Icing has organized her tried and true Holy Week and Easter recipes into a 60 page ebook! This cookbook has so many ideas packed inside, including a ton of bonus printables to support the hands-on and kid-friendly recipes, each of which points back to Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This would be a tool your family could use to build yearly traditions that will be both memorable and effective!
One of the best things I did during Holy Week last year was create a dedicated journal for prayer and art. It helped me focus on the importance of each day even while we were separated from the Sacraments. This year I'm making it a tradition, and I got a head start setting it up using this Holy Week journal written by Sara Estabrooks. It has reflections, readings, prayer prompts, and room to journal for the nine days leading up to Easter Sunday. I also am filling it with beautiful stickers and tabs and images from the matching journaling kit from Open Journey. I know this will be a fruitful too this year and in years to come!
***The Open Journey kit is digital and an instant download, but Sara's journal is physical (and I just heard she only has a few left!) so if you'd like to have it in time, today's the day to order!
I'm so excited about this resource! Verso Ministries, a pilgrimage company, is offering a virtual Holy Week pilgrimage with FREE daily videos of sites in the Holy Land with their expert guides. That alone is sure to be an amazing opportunity. The videos will be 7-10 minutes long and while geared toward an adult audience, I imagine are still something that will work well to watch together with older kids.
In addition to the videos, they are also offering a VIP experience that includes a 90 page ebook, filled with readings, prayers, and beautiful photographs, as well as access to private virtual groups and live mini retreats. The people from Verso have generously offered 20% off the VIP experience with code KATIE20. You can sign up for the free videos and see more info on the VIP package
here.
May God richly bless you and your loved ones during this Season!
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