Catholics have a long-standing custom of publicly declaring those who lived exemplary lives to be saints. Those who get a “saint” or “blessed” designation from the Catholic church have been named to an list that, if you want a secular comparison, is a “Hall of Fame.”
One of the customs relating to saints is to designate [...]

Halloween jack-o-lantern T-shirts can be so cute … but they’ll become so much clutter if you wear them for only one or two days a year.
Stock up your dresser and closet with a bunch of solid color T-shirts, tank tops, blouses, skirts, pants and sweaters, and you will get much more use out of each [...]

If someone in your family is 100 percent certain that he or she wants to be a specific character for Halloween, say, Disney’s Cinderella or Darth Vader, you will probably need to acquire a particular mask, outfit or costume accessory to make the appropriate statement.
But in many cases, the answer is pretty flexible when you [...]

For about 15 years, I’ve volunteered as a catechist in the Catholic faith. I’ve been assigned to or subbed in almost every elementary school grade over the years. This fall, I will be teaching first grade.
I’ve always tried to make the lessons interesting and relevant to my students. But this past year, I learned an [...]

The Detroit Free Press has a very lovely front-page feature story today called “Faith sustains us in difficult times.”
The photos include a woman praying at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, two other women praying at a “prayer station” at Warren City Hall, and a laid-off man holding an open Bible.

There are some very interesting stories and discussions in the CNN / Money report Religion and Money: the Price of Faith.
From the introduction:
For the most devout practitioners – perhaps 15% of Americans, if measured by how frequently they attend services – following their faith’s precepts often has a profound financial impact: Religion guides how [...]

A few days ago, I wrote about First Communion gifts on a budget.
One of my nieces is celebrating her First Communion today. She’s getting this handcrafted card from me.

I’ve made many little First Communion paper dolls over the years with my scrapbook supplies and stencils. But I could not find the pattern I had previously [...]

Roman Catholic children traditionally receive the sacrament of communion for the first time at about age 7. It’s quite a joyous occasion within their family and parish.
Assuming you know someone who is in a First Communion class this spring (a likely scenario for my local readers in Monroe, Mich., where we have five Catholic parishes [...]

In comparison to other holidays that are widely celebrated in America, and particularly in my community of Monroe, Mich., Easter is a relatively frugal holiday season.
The trick is to focus on the traditional religious and cultural celebrations of the spring holiday, and bypass the trendy ideas that can and will become fairly expensive, fairly fast.
Think [...]

Domestic Cents is blogging about Planning for Easter. She’s working on inexpensive sewing projects that include a spring dress for her daughter and a stuffed bunny.