Three Catholic Planners for Busy Moms

Maura Gentry reviews three planners built for moms keeping track of family life. Tell us about your favorite planner! 

I love the back-to-school season almost as much as I love fall. Though I am no longer in school myself and my son is far from school age, I still love wandering through the stationery aisles at the grocery store and relish cracking open a new notebook every time I finish a journal. Along with the school supply craze comes the need for a planner to keep everyone on track — from the student taking home their first homework assignment to the high-schooler juggling college applications with AP courses to the mom keeping track of them both (and the state of the household, to boot).  

As a mom with a Type A personality, having a perfectly organized planner is important to me, perhaps too important. For this reason, I have long been on the lookout for a planner that keeps me organized while pointing me to Christ, reminding me that at the end of the day, it’s all on His shoulders, not mine.   

A Note on Preparedness  

Though Christ says “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself” (Matthew 6:34), He also reminds us to be prepared. I always loved the Parable of the Ten Virgins, also recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. The five wise virgins go out with their lamps and oil besides to meet the bridegroom, for they do not know how long they will be waiting. The five foolish virgins forget to bring oil and are off to market purchasing it when the bridegroom arrives. Christ forbids us to worry, but he also admonishes us to ready ourselves for his coming.  

It is in this light that I have long been on a search for my “perfect” Catholic planner, one that is roomy enough but not too bulky to carry around; one that leads me to Christ rather than having me focus on my to-do list; one that guides me and grounds me in the liturgical year rather than focusing on the perfect bullet-journal aesthetic.  

In case you have also been searching for the perfect planner to help you manage family life while keeping you grounded in the liturgy of the Church, I’ve made a short list of my favorite options.  

Planners for Family Life 

Blessed is She Planner  

Though this wasn’t the first Catholic planner on the market, the Blessed Is She planner was the first to make a big wave — and it still is probably one of the best-selling planners out there for Catholic women. I have bought at least four of these planners and have experimented with the various sizes and binding styles, I like them all. Though it can be a bit bulky, it’s a gorgeous planner with thoughtful monthly reflections. There’s even a handy weekly meal planning section and plenty of room to keep track of everyone!  

The BIG Catholic Planner  

From the folks over at Wallet Win, the BIG Catholic Planner is for the CEO of the family. It’s got everything, including 18 hours of daily planning space. It really is meant to be your family’s command center and can be bundled with their Catholic Planner (a printable PDF poster for visual planners) and planning workshops. Though I haven’t bought into this planning system yet as it’s a tad pricey, I can see myself doing so when kids are school-aged and going a million directions.  

Liturgical Planner from Gather & Pray  

I just found this planner last year and I am obsessed. It has an innovative layout where you can see the monthly spread and the weekly spread all at the same time; the weekly pages are slim and flip within each month tab. It has plenty of space for notes and to-dos.  

Though it doesn’t have reflections (a plus for me, as I don’t like my planner to be a journal too), the Gather & Pray Liturgical Planner does have prayers, novena reminders, and lovely stickers for Adoration, meatless Fridays, and more. As a bonus, it can fit full 8 ½ x 11 sheets inside it without getting them folded or damaged — essential for those pesky permission slips! I really just love the creativity of the layout in a planner that is also incredibly Catholic.  

Whether you need a new planner to start the school year, or you bookmark this post to revisit again when 2026 rolls around, I pray that one of these options can help you enjoy the blessing of Catholic motherhood.  

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Copyright 2025 Maura Gentry
Images: Canva; planner images courtesy of the publishers, all rights reserved.