Plan Your Days with the Christian Planner: Catholic Edition

Barb Szyszkiewicz reviews a new Catholic planner that doubles as a spiritual journal.

On a bookshelf in my office, you'll find planners dating all the way back to 2013. I recently found a few more in a box in my basement and will be adding them to the shelf as well. For me, a planner is not something I use all year and then throw away. It's an essential part of my record-keeping for home and work. 

While 2020 has meant that out-of-the-house activities and work travel came to a screeching halt in mid-March and still haven't really resumed, that doesn't mean I don't still need a planner. In some ways, I need it more than ever. I've been exploring new-to-me ways to use planners and new planner formats, and I'm very impressed with the new Catholic edition of the Christian Planner. You can use this high-quality planner at work, home, or school -- and it doubles as a spiritual journal. 

I'm a beginner at using planners for spiritual journaling, but it's a practice I'd like to try more often, ever since I listened to a recent episode of the Catholic Momcast in which Lisa Hendey shares how she uses her planner as a spiritual journal.

The Christian Planner: Catholic Edition offers a weekly two-page devotional spread. At the bottom of one of the pages you'll find references for the Sunday readings and a quote from Sunday's Gospel. The rest of the space is for you to use however you'd like; one page is blank and the other ruled, so you can doodle, letter a quote, write ... or even use some space for pre-planning the week ahead.

The spiritual content in this planner begins as soon as you open the book, with an overview of the liturgical year and four pages of "Seeking Sainthood" worksheets with prayer/journaling prompts, bucket list, and yearly spiritual goals.

I prefer that my planners contain liturgical-year information; the monthly views in the Christian Planner: Catholic Edition boast feast-day information and the liturgical designation for each Sunday of the year.

Another aspect of the monthly view I'm finding useful is its 6-week format. You won't see those split boxes with two days jammed into the space for one because the planner only offers a 4- or 5-week grid. With a 6-week grid, there's plenty of room, and it's good to see the extra days preceding and following the current month. The dates for the current month are in bold type, so they stand out.

The monthly pages also contain a to-do list, Scripture quote, and reflection/action questions to help you celebrate your blessings and contemplate ways you'll serve God and others in the month ahead.

The weekly pages in this planner are divided into day and evening sections, but do not have specific times written in. That allows for flexibility to use those sections for appointments, scheduled tasks, or simply to-dos, whichever you prefer. There's also a list section in the side margin, a habit tracker, Scripture quote, and some extra "free space" for whatever you need.

In the photo above you can also see that instead of tabs for each month, this planner has a little shaded index section. No more bent tabs, but it's easy to flip right to the month you want to view.

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You can use this high-quality planner at work, home, or school - and it doubles as a spiritual journal.  #catholicmom

The Catholic Edition of the Christian Planner is available in hardcover with a lay-flat binding and elastic to help keep your page open, as well as two bookmark ribbons so you can easily flip from monthly view to weekly view. There are three color options, including plum, celery, and this lovely sapphire blue.

The paper in this planner is high-quality, bright white 70-lb. paper, and the planner measures approximately 7 inches wide by 9 inches high. There's also a slip pocket on the back cover for those extra papers or receipts.

Do you like to try before you buy? You can download free PDFs of the Christian Planner to see if the format works for you. These PDFs don't include the Catholic content, but the basic format is the same. You'll be asked to provide an email address, and then you'll immediately receive access to the downloads.

Copyright 2020 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Image copyright 2020 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.