Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church -- Book Review

Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church One of my new year's resolutions every year is to draw my home’s rhythm closer in line with the Liturgical year. As part of that, I will add a new project / celebration each month. This coming year, I am going to concentrate on improving our relationship with Mary. After all, Pope Paul VI assured us that Mary leads us to her son.

I purchased a book at a retreat I went to last Spring called Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church: Activities to build the Catholic Culture in the home. Written by Catherine and Peter Fournier, this spiral bound book is full of ways to venerate Mary.

They have chosen 18 major Marian feasts to highlight -- at least one for every month of the year except April. Each feast has an easily understood summary, recipes, prayers and other celebration ideas. Some ideas are traditional, some are not, but all have some link to the essence of the feast. They make their some of their own suggestions and pull heavily from the rich Catholic traditions around the world.

In addition to information on Marian feasts, the Fournier's include Marian activities that are not date specific, like the rosary, the scapulars, Marian Saturdays and even gardening for Mary. Blurbs about traditional Marian flowers are also sprinkled throughout the book. Craft ideas and instructions close out the book an include ways to make 3 different types of Rosaries. They even include the littlest children by providing coloring pages that can be copied out of the book or pulled from their website.

Overall, I loved everything about this book. It's packed full of information of many common Marian practices plus ways to make it come alive in your home. At only 100 pages, it's thorough without being overwhelming. Plus, it's sprinkled with little gems in the borders of the pages -- think titles of Mary & gospel readings. In addition, the design is clean and pleasing to the eye. If you want to get closer to God this coming year, this book will help you form a relationship to his Mother. Start small-- start with Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church.

Merry Christmas and I pray that God blesses your families beyond measure next year!

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