The $5 Easter Egg

Easter EggWe don’t just sell Catholic items we do our best to live the Catholic faith. So unlike big box stores and other online outfits, we close at noon on Good Friday and reopen on the Monday following Easter. This way our staff and their families can participate in services together and celebrate Easter as a family.

We know that not being there for your customer service call can be inconvenient for you, so please accept our gift of a $5.00 Easter Egg. If you make a purchase at our online Catholic store this weekend, you will automatically save $5.00 on your order. No codes. No tricks. Just our Easter gift to you and your family.

Have a blessed Easter
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Celebrating Holy Week as a Family

Holy WeekAs a mother of five young children, I can attest to the fact that by the time Holy week comes around I am usually in a bit of a state of denial.  Did Lent really go by that fast?  Then there are the usual excuses, “Oh, if I only had some quiet time, I would have said more prayers, or finished that spiritual book.”  The beautiful reality of our vocation as parents is that we are called to be holy within the context of married and family life.  True Lenten penance for us is accepting the daily trials and joys God gives.  With that being said, I know I need to look to my family’s  needs and offer a meaningful Holy Week to God.  Our faith is rich in tradition and we need only search little in order to make this possible.  Here are some very basic ideas to bring a meaningful Holy Week to your home. Continue reading

5 Parent Tips for First Communion

Chalice and hostFirst Holy Communion is a big event in the life of a child and in the life of a family. We asked an experienced mom who guided three boys and three girls though the celebration of First Holy Communion to give us tips on how to make preparations that would help make it a great day.

In this exclusive article she shares her top 5 Tips for Parents for First Communion. These pointers and often missed details can help you make the day of First Communion something special rather than something stressful. Her week-to-week timetable, insights on Communion apparel, and suggestions to help you to be prepared for potential glitches, are a treasure for first time Communion parents or anyone helping a child get ready for that special day. [5 Communion Tips Article]

Win Autographed Book on Resisting Evil

We are deep in the heart of Lent. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving we are turning more toward God. Inherent in this it turning away from the Devil. This timely book can help. With insight reminiscent of The Screwtape Letters, Rev. Louis J. Cameli highlights the subtler, more disconcerting tactics of the devil: deception, division, diversion, and discouragement that hinder the spiritual journey. Continue reading

How-To Measure for a First Communion Dress

Need to buy a First Communion Dress this year? If yes, we want to share an article just posted to our store website that walks you through the basics of getting a good set of measurements for a girl’s dress. This is the first in a series of reference guides designed to take the pain out of buying a First Communion dress, veil, boy’s suit or gift.As new articles are posted, we will keep you informed.

Measuring for Communion DressThe article highlights how-to hints for measuring a child for a good fit in her First Communion dress. It provides:

  • Specific measuring tips
  • Detailed directions for key measurements
  • Tips for translating the measurements into the perfect dress choice
  • Illustrations to show where to make measurements

Article: [ The Beginners Guide to Measuring for a First Communion Dress]

Get a Spiritual Exercise Partner for Lent

Going it alone during Lent makes for a lonely journey. Have a more productive prayerful Lent with a spiritual exercise partner.

Living on a corner along a popular jogging route, we see lots of people run by. Very few of them run alone. Most have companions during their daily exercise. Many of those who run alone have devices to monitor their run. In one week, on Ash Wednesday, we begin Lent. If we approach Ash Wednesday as the start of a period of spiritual exercise, perhaps we should consider the question; “am I planning to go it alone or with an exercise partner?”

Continue reading

Super Saturday Contest Launch!

Winning a prize is fun! We want to provide rewards to the customers and friends of Catholic Family Gifts. The Result: our Super Saturday Contests. The first will launch at 12am on Saturday January 19th.

Since this is the first of the series, we thought we would keep it simple. The prize? $25 to spend on anything you want from Catholic Family Gifts.com. Continue reading

Review: Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, New York, Image, 2012

Jesus of Nazareth - The Infancy Narrative - by Pope Benedict XVI

Jesus of Nazareth – The Infancy Narrative – by Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI has given the world a special gift this year, his reflections on the Infancy Narratives found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. In this short volume he shows how the birth of Jesus fulfills the promises of the Old Testament. He also reflects on the importance of Jesus for the salvation of the world.

Benedict XVI comments on some of the most beloved scenes in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. We learn in a deeper way the meaning of the Annunciation of the Birth of John the Baptist, and the Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus. This is followed by reflections on the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the coming of the Wise Men and the Flight into Egypt, ending with the Twelve-Year-Old Jesus in the Temple.

Continue reading

Advent and Christmas with Nouwen

The inspiring words of Henri J. M. Nouwen guide the faithful on a spiritual journey through the Advent and Christmas season in this book of waiting, hope, anticipation, and celebration. Each day of the Advent season (28 in all, to accommodate the varying number of days in the season) and each day of Christmas (12 in all, ending with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist) contain a pertinent excerpt from the writings of Father Nouwen, a related quotation from Scripture, a prayer for the day, and a suggested activity that offers a concrete response to mark the season. Continue reading