Building Catholic Family Traditions: The Spirituality of St. John of the Cross [Paperback]

Thomas Paul Thigpen (Author), Paul Thigpen (Author), St John of the Cross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Paul and Liesa Thigpen What does it take to have a truly Catholic home? How can you implement meaningful activities in your family life without becoming overwhelmed by the effort?Where do you begin creating traditions that suit your family's lifestyle? Paul and Leisa Thigpen present hundreds of practical suggestions for building meaningful customs in Catholic homes. These step-by step strategies for creating sacred and secular traditions for modern families are both time- and budget-friendly. Pick and choose the options that best suit your needs and desires. Easily adaptable to both large and small families, Building Catholic Family Traditions will help you design activities that will nurture the spiritual and emotional health of you and your children now and for years to come. Includes ideas for * Celebrating events of the Church year * Recognizing family achievements * Celebrating seasonal traditions, such as vacation and holiday activities * Appreciating family heritage * Incorporating customs that celebrate ethnic background * Developing traditions unique to your Catholic family     About the authors     Paul and Leisa Thigpen are the authors or coauthors of several books. Leisa is currently a fulltime mother who homeschools. Paul is a Fellow in theology at The College of Saint Thomas More in Fort Worth, Texas, and frequentcontributor to Catholic Parent Magazine

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor (IN) (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879736860
• ISBN-13: 978-0879736866
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Self Help
  • #34 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Self Help

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars useless, June 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Building Catholic Family Traditions: The Spirituality of St. John of the Cross (Paperback)

This book is a complete waste of time. It provides nothing that rudimentary common sense wouldn't tell you. For example, in the chapter on traditions based on the sacraments, it tells you that it's traditional to have a party to celebrate a baptism. In the section on other family events, it tells you that following a sporting event your child is in, you should take a picture--and, if the picture is nice, you should frame it. As if people don't do this anyway. Even more annoying are sections based on their own family "traditions", e.g., writing down the cute mistakes kids make when trying to pronounce words--and then they spend two pages listing examples of the cute mistakes their own kids have made. Does this really help the reader? Not to mention the fact that I don't think they know what "tradition" means. Sending a care package to a kid going off to college is NOT a tradition (it IS a nice thing to do, but that's not why I bought this book). I wanted a book on traditional ways to celebrate the liturgical year, and this provided absolutely no help.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of ideas, May 10, 2006

By 

Karen Edmisten - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Catholic Family Traditions: The Spirituality of St. John of the Cross (Paperback)

This lovely book would be a wonderful gift for Catholic newlyweds, for adults who have just entered the Church, or for any family looking for practical ideas on on cementing family bonds through the cultivation and practice of meaningful traditions. It's brimming with ideas covering everything from the liturgical year, Mass and prayer, to seasonal and birthday celebrations, to traditions designed to "honor and serve one another in the home."

The introductory chapter offers this example of a simple holiday tradition, then builds on why such things are vital for family life:


"Somewhere between the last bite of the cornbread dressing and the first bite of the pecan pie -- that's when the basket is passed around each year at our family's Thanksgiving meal. No, we don't take up a collection to pay for the turkey. Instead, we ask everyone present to drop in the basket one at a time the three small kernels of dried corn we've placed beside each dinner plate. With each kernel, we have them give one reason why they're thankful that day.
It's a small holiday habit, yet we never cease to be deeply moved by the results. Most often each speaker thanks God for someone else present while misty eyes around the table begin to glimmer in the candlelight. And when the guests go home in the evening, they inevitably comment: 'I want to do that again next year.'
This simple practice requires almost no preparation or expense. But its rewards continue long after the meal is over, rippling out from our table into other homes as well. Such is the power and blessing of a meaningful family tradition."

The book is a practical, useful, and sweet guide to starting, or adding on to, your family's rituals. As the authors note in the introduction, "Traditions reveal the significance of our lives."

It's worth the effort it takes to make those traditions come alive. They strengthen our families, and, as Pope John Paul II reminded us:

"the family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God's love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride." ~~ Familiaris Consortio


Building family traditions isn't something we do only to have a happier home life ... it is something we do to build up the Body of Christ.