Catholic Daily Planners and the Church Calendar
One of the frequent questions I am asked is how I keep track of the upcoming feast days, and whether or not I have a favorite planner.
Just the other day Annie left the following comment on my Keeping Track and Making Progress {Daily Checklists and Planners for the School Year} post from last year:
This post was very helpful to me! I switched to the checklists midyear, and it was so much easier. Thank you! I’m looking for a new calendar to keep track of feast day celebrations. Do you have a preference between the Tan one and The Catholic Daily Planner now that you’ve used both?
Since I actually just ordered a couple new planners for the next school year, I thought this would be a great time to revisit the topic and try to answer Annie’s question.
When I recommend a Catholic Planner I always suggest either the Saints Calendar & 16-Month Planner published by TAN (I’ve been using this calendar for many years) or the Catholic Daily Planner by Michele Quigley (I just purchased my 3rd annual planner).
[UPDATE: You can visit TAN Books / Neumann Press via my new Affiliate link here! Thank you!]
Last year I was also given a review copy of the Holy Simplicity Planner (I blogged about it here.) but after discovering that the publisher practices *Sedevacantism and the planner follows the General Roman Calendar of 1954 (which is currently used by the Sedevantists and is not the current calendar used by Traditional Catholics in good standing with the Holy See) I removed the links from my blog and can no longer recommend the Holy Simplicity planner in good conscious.
*Sedevacantism (derived from the Latin words sedes or “seat”, and vacans or “vacant”) is the position, held by a minority of Traditionalist Catholics, that the present occupant of the papal see is not truly Pope and that, for lack of a valid Pope, the see has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958. A tiny number of these claim the vacancy actually goes back to the death of Pope Pius X in 1914. Sedevacantists believe that Paul VI (1963–1978), John Paul I (1978), John Paul II (1978–2005), Benedict XVI (2005–2013), and Francis (2013–present) have been neither true Catholics nor true Popes, by virtue of allegedly having espoused the heresy of Modernism, or of having otherwise denied or contradicted solemnly defined Catholic dogmas. Some of them classify John XXIII (1958–1963) also as a Modernist antipope. Source: Wikipedia
Saints Calendar: This Saints Calendar and Daily Planner – 2013 includes both the New or Novus Ordo Sundays and feast days, and the Traditional Sundays and feast days (as of 1962). These latter are observed when the Traditional Latin Mass is offered. The Novus Ordo Sundays and feast days, which date from 1970 or later whenever they differ from the Traditional ones, are designated: (New). The Traditional Sundays and feast days, most of which go back centuries, are designated: (Trad.). Also included here are any feast days which no longer appear on either the New or the Traditional calendar (as of 1962) – such as the feasts of St. Philomena, St. Dismas (the Good Thief), St. Tarcisius, St. Gemma Galgani and St. Dominic Savio; these Historical feasts are designated: (Hist.). It should be noted that there was some moving around of feast days even before the New Calendar was introduced in 1970. For example, St. Catherine of Sweden is shown in March 22 in a 1931 edition of Butler’s Lives of the Saints but on March 24 in a 1956 edition of the same work. In this calendar, the date in parentheses after the name of a Saint is the year of the Saint’s death.
Catholic Daily Planner: It is built on the standard guidelines of both the Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI in 1970 used in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite and the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 used in the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, as well as the particular calendar for the United States of America. It does not represent all possible variants.
- Saints Calendar & 16-Month Planner (for all Feast Day Celebrations and Plans – from TAN)
- Half-Sized Catholic Daily Planner (for all Appointments, School Plans, etc)
- Full-Sized Menu Planning Booklet (Menu Planning)
- Color-Coded Check Lists (Lesson Plans & Goals – Mom)
- Weekly Check Lists (Lesson Plans – Children – We’ve tried other lessons planners in the past, but always come back to our own modifiable weekly check lists.)
- Magnetic Saints Calendar (Feast Day Calendar Magnets for the children, based on the 1962 calendar)
I really don’t think you can go wrong with either the Saints Calendar or the Catholic Daily Planner. They are both excellent planners which I highly recommend! Hopefully the above descriptions will help you decide which is the best fit for you and your family.
Altar Boy Resources
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
Please Pray for the Soul of Neumann Press Founder
In your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of Dennis McCoy, founder of The Neumann Press.
Our family has been so blessed by the books from Neumann Press – the precious baby records (reprints of the one my husband had from his own childhood!), traditional coloring books our children love, the gorgeous hardcover copy of Sermons of the Curé of Ars we read often at dinner, and so many other inspiring and beautiful Catholic books they have reprinted. We’ve slowly been collecting them all to share with our children.
May God reward him greatly for his dedicated service in promoting and spreading the Catholic faith!
Saint George and the Dragon :: A 3-D Sugar Cookie Story Quilt
Feliz Cumpleaños Chiquita :: A “Josefina” Birthday!
Feliz Cumpleaños Chiquita :: A “Josefina” Birthday!
On Saturday we celebrated Chiquita’s 8th Birthday! This year she requested a Josefina themed birthday party. I hadn’t been feeling well all of last week, and was overwhelmed from way too much paperwork, other commitments, and a 12 year old boy who had been sick all night Friday/Saturday morning. Thankfully I had put a little thought into her birthday weeks ago and had supplies and a few activities planned to make sure she had a special day, even though we kept the celebration simple and to just our immediate family.
Chiquita was given Josefina, her very first American girl doll, for Christmas in 2010. This past year the girls also completed a Unit Study and Josefina Lap Book. And last Christmas Chiquita received a dress-up clothes to match Josefina! The first thing Chiquita did when she woke up was put on her Josefina outfit!
Las Mañanitas
mañanitas (may-nyah-NEE-tahs) – a traditional song sung to wake someone in the morning on a special day ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Usually I try to have a cake baked and decorated the night before, for the children to discover when they wake up in the morning, but Friday night Sean and I were out late (He had choir practice for our Latin Mass and I needed to run a few errands. Afterwards we went to every store in town trying to find a bike for the birthday girl.) so early Saturday morning we got up early, wrapped a few gifts, placed some flowers on the counter, along with a coffee cake and melon for breakfast. We then “woke up” the birthday girl singing Las Mañanitas! I purchased a beautiful Mañanitas CD from Sister Servants which we played all morning.
We sing songs for your feast day, which were sung by David, King,
Now we sing them in your honor; Of all your beauties we sing,
Awake now, my love, awake now, the dawn has already flown;
hear the little birds are singing, the moon’s already gone home…
Along with the Coffee Cake and Melon the birthday girl also enjoyed New Mexican Hot Cocoa!
Esteban and Mariana brought a wonderful gift. It was a melon that had been buried in sand since last fall’s harvest to keep it fresh. When Josefina thanked her, Mariana said, “It’s not much, but my heart goes with it.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Tia Dolores had made a special fancy loaf of bread. ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Twinkle Toes made sure to add a Statue of St. Joseph to the decorations for her little sister.
“The morning song was only the first surprise in a day full of them. Ana made cookies called bizcochitos for everyone to eat before breakfast. At morning prayers, Francisca showed Josefina how she’d decorated the family altar with garlands of mint and willow leaves and how she’d surrounded the statue of San Jose, the saint Josefina was named for, with white wild lilies and little yellow celery flowers. Clara, who liked to be practical, surprised Josefina by helping with her chores.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Memory Boxes
The girls had also been saving the Memory Box Craft Kits they received for Christmas to paint on Chiquita’s birthday!
“Papa had given her a little wooden box of Mama’s. Josefina called it her memory box because in it she kept small things that reminded her of Mama, such as a piece of Mama’s favorite lavendar-scented soap.” ~ Meet Josefina
The girls had so much fun painting their own little wooden memory boxes!
Rose didn’t want to be left out of the painting fun… I ended up finding a wooden egg for her to paint. She painted it pink, of course, and has been carrying it around ever since!
Snake-Bite Calzone
Then everything happened so fast it was a blur. The snake gave a menacing rattle. Mariana threw the rock at it and missed. The snake whipped its head around, shot forward, and struck Mariana on the arm with its fangs.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Shortcake had suggested incorporating a snake into our party, and Charlotte found me a recipe from Kraft for a Snake-Bite Calzone! Of course I needed “a five year old boy and a three year old girl” to help make a special lunch for the birthday girl! 😉 The prefect distraction for my two “helpers” while the girls finished painting their memory boxes!
Rose wasn’t sure she was interested in eating “snake” for lunch… even if it does taste like pizza!
The birthday girl, on the other hand, thought it was perfect!!! And the boys? Well they said next time we need to make 4 or 5, not just one. It was GOOD!
He handed her something that looked sort of like a shell. It was rattles from a rattlesnake. “I’ve saved these since I was a boy just your age,” said Papa to Josefina,” to remind me of something I was proud of. Now I am giveing them to you, because I am proud of you.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Spanish Appetizers
There were meat turnovers, and fruit tarts, and candies fruit that looked like jewels. ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Thankfully I had picked up lots of appetizers (which helped make up for not having enough Snake Calzone) at Costco including Mini Chicken Tacos, Beef Taquitos, and Chicken, Pepper Jack and Jalapeño Empanadas, with Chips and Salsa.
Spanish Songs and Games
“Popular pastimes from Spain included singing games such as La Vibora de la Mar (The Sea Serpent), which is similar to London Bridge, and guessing games such as El Floron (The Flower), which is much like Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button?” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
We choose a few games from The American Girl’s Party Book. This book is out of print, but we were able to purchase a copy for pretty much the cost of shipping. We choose a few Spanish Songs and Games to play outside on our beautiful spring day!
El florin (el flo-ROHN), or The Flower
One player is the Guesser. The other players sit in a circle holding their closed fists out in front of them. The Guesser closes her eyes. One of the players hides the floron – a flower blossom or other small object – in her hand. Then players chant the lines below as the Guesser tries to guess who has the floron. If the Guesser is correct, she and the hider switch places.
The flower goes in the hands,
And in the hands it has spoken.
Guess who has it, guess who has it,
Or be taken for a fool!
It look a little while to explain the concept to our little Rose! When Chiquita opened her eyes the first time and I said “Ok, who do you think has the flower?” Rose immediately forgot about keeping her fist closed and pointed to Snuggles hand shouting “HE HAS IT!” to Chiquita! Lets try that again…
The Rainbow
Players choose a home base. One player is the Angel. The other players are the Rainbow. They each think of a color to be – without saying their color out loud. Then the Angel calls out a color. When a player’s color is named, she runs for the base while the Angel tried to catch her. If she reaches the base before the Angel, she chooses another color and rejoins the rainbow. If the Angel catches her, that player is out of the game.
The Sea Serpent
This game is much like London Bridge. Two players hold their hands up high to form a bridge. The other players form a line, each holding onto the waist of the player in front of her. The line weaves under the bridge like a sea serpent as the players chant the lines below. At the next-to-last line, the players forming a bridge drop their arms to catch a player. Gently they rock her back and forth. Then the game starts again.
The sea serpent we like to play
To have fun, to have fun.
Under the bridge all on a track,
Children in front go faster and faster.
If you don’t follow, you’ll stay back,
Back, back, back, back.
Birthday Gifts
“Josefina swirled the shawl around her shoulders and looked behind her to see the brilliant embroidered flowers and the slippery, shimmery fringe on the back. She fluttered the fan and felt very elegant indeed.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Chiquita was so very excited to open her own very beautiful shawl sent from her madrina!
She also loved the birthday card her padrino had mailed to her!
She also received a couple new outfits for summer, the set of Kit Books, the set of 4 American Girl movies, and her first very own bicycle!
Josefina’s Leather Pouch and Flowers
“She walked across, picked the primroses, and tucked the stems in her pouch. She let the yellow flowers stick out so that they wouldn’t be crushed.”~ Meet Josefina
The birthday cake was inspired by Collette, and based on Josefina’s Leather Pouch and Yellow Evening Primroses! I posted a tutorial here: Josefina’s Primroses in a Pouch Birthday Cake
Even though the cake was one of the easier cakes I have decorated, I was so happy with the results, and so was the birthday girl! It turned out so pretty, and looked just like Josefina’s pouch.
We love you Chiquita! Happy Birthday!
Josefina’s Primroses in a Pouch Birthday Cake
Yesterday we celebrated Chiquita’s 8th Birthday! This year she requested a “Josefina” party theme… After a busy week, I was exhausted and still not feeling well on Friday so we actually picked up a “Caramel Tres Leches” cake at Costco as a back up to the cake I had originally planned on making. Thankfully Saturday morning I was starting to feel a little better and managed to pull together her requested theme!
Supplies:
- 2 – 9″ Round Cakes, baked and cooled
- 1 can Chocolate Frosting
- 1 can Milk Chocolate Frosting
- 1 can White Frosting
- 1 Werher’s Caramel Candy
- Yellow Citrus Gum Dropsy
- 5 Orange Gobstoppers or Sixlets
- Green Gum Drops or Spice Drops
- Green Apple Twizzler Pull-n-Peels
To create the sprig of yellow evening primroses I cut the yellow gumdrops in half to create the flower petals with an orange Gobstopper in the center. The stems were made with strips of Green Apple Twizzler Pull-N-Peels, and the leaves were made with green spice drops cut in half diagonally and then pinched into a leaf shape.
Our Annual Little Flowers Mother-Daughter Tea Party
On Saturday afternoon we had our 5th annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party! (You can find pictures from 2009, 2010, 2011-which was a Marian Tea followed a few months later with a birthday party, and 2012 in the archives.) Since we have been taking a break from Little Flowers this year, having completed all four wreaths, I wasn’t planning on having another tea until a dear friend offered to host it at her home the day after her own daughters Mother-Daughter Tea Party, leaving me to just coordinate the guests, food, servers, games, prizes and favors! It was so incredibly generous of her and her home was decorated beautifully! Honestly I don’t know how she did it, hosting a 3rd large tea party immediately after my groups… May God bless you and reward you, Stasia!
This year I did ask for a small donation of $5 per family, to help offset the cost of a little hostess gift and tips for the servers. I provided the napkins, favors, games, and prizes, Stasia kindly provided her home with all the decorations, tea, sugar, cream, lemon slices and place cards, and each of the other moms was asked to bring one or two of the menu items for this year’s Four-Course Tea.
Following our first course we had a Mother-Daughter Cupcake Puzzle Race while the servers cleared the soup bowls and prepared for the second course.
Our 3rd course this year was the Grapes, Strawberries and Scones with Cream, Lemon Curd and Jam! In past years this has always been our first course, but we switched it around since this course always seems to make a mess out of the plates. It worked out very well, having it after the sandwiches this year.
Our 4th and final course this year was the desserts. One of the mom’s brought little brownies, another brought gluten-free samoas, and another brought lots of tea type cookies which the servers stacked into towers!
This course concluded our tea and the girls all went outside to play The Game of Graces while the moms helped clear and re-set the tables for the tea party that was following our own.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
The weather has been crazy this week! On Monday we had grey skies… Rain… Hail… Snow… More rain… Blue Skies… Sunshine… Grey skies… More hail… and then the blue skies came back. It is sunny (yet still a little chilly today) but thankfully the blue skies are back. I’m hoping they will stick around! I’m so ready for summer.
Where is this poor little boy’s momma?! He fell asleep half way across the tile floor while I was making pizzas for lunch last Friday afternoon for the kids and our visitors. Poor baby! I wasn’t going to take a picture (proof of what a awful mom I am sometimes!) but my friend insisted. Don’t you just love the drool and his little toes tucked under his bottom. And that little bruise on his forehead? Well, he has started banging his head on whatever is closest (including that hard tile floor) when he is upset or doesn’t get his way… I’ve never had a baby do that before!
Indoor Tea Party Games
In between each course of our tea party, while the servers prepared for the next course, we played party games! I loved all the suggestions that were shared, but since I ran short on time and since we included some new outdoor activities (Bocce Ball, Maypole, and Graces) this year I opted for a couple favorites from last year’s tea party: the Cupcake Jigsaw Puzzle Race and Little Flowers Bingo.
Well this post includes the last of all the games and activities we had during this year’s Mother-Daughter Tea Party! I have a busy day ahead, since we are (finally!) signing papers this evening on our home refinance… Still I will try and pop back in soon to share the last of the pictures from the tea, including all the lovely decorations and delicious food. I hope you all have a blessed day!
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