Celebrating Catholic Life
A Resource for Families, Teachers, and Catechists
About Me
I am Colleen Rooney, a Catholic baby boomer. My husband, Bob, and I have been married for 36 years. We have four grown children and ten grandchildren. I have a M.A. in Theology from St. John’s University, Jamaica, N.Y. Celebrate Catholic Life is about the building blocks and resources for living a healthy, holy, joy-filled Catholic life. Some think to celebrate means to party, like college kids at the end of the class week. To celebrate on this site means to recognize the components, the ingredients, for the kind of life that human beings were created to live. So what can you expect to find on Celebrating Catholic Life? Under the Faith tab you will find Jesus, who said: “I came that they might have life and have it to the full.” The core building blocks for establishing that life are found under Faith. Under the Family tab you will find God’s design for the human person, a life lived first in a family with a mother and a father. Under Food, you will find how Catholics celebrate an event with festivity, rejoicing and food. Under Saints you will find models, the incredible variety of human beings, who have gone forward on this journey to our heavenly home. Under Prayer you will find the lifeline to our communication with our Creator. Under Talks you will find titles of talks I have given and would be happy to give again. There will also be links to others who are building a culture which celebrates Catholic life. Under the Resource tab there will be listed books, DVDs, programs, and recommended links to other very good sites which will help you to live, teach, and grow in your Catholic life. Finally, we recognize and offer throughout this site the means Our Lord left us in His Church and through His faithful followers to aid us in the crosses that we all inevitably experience at one time or another.
Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children,
Colleen Rooney
Are you looking for a warm, inspiring book for Christmas? Look no further!
Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children offers warmth and inspiration
and much more. It introduces your children to traditions and customs drawn from
many cultures as they prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. What can you expect
from this book? Parents and teachers will find a new resource to expand their
children’s understanding and enjoyment of the Advent and Christmas seasons.
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Liturgical Calendar
The Catholic Church has a calendar, the General Roman Calendar. It is also
called the Liturgical Calendar. Some call it the Christian Calendar. The
Liturgical Calendar focuses the faithful on honoring those who are living in the
Church triumphant, now. The popes have taught, including Pope Paul VI in
Mysterii Paschalis that these celebrations of the life of Our Lord, His Mother,
and the saints during the liturgical year exert “a special sacramental power and
influence which strengthens Christian life.” The more actively engaged we are as
Christians in participating in liturgical celebrations of the Christian Calendar,
the more fully we are transformed by the living Christ.
The Christmas Book,
Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
The well researched and delightful work of Fr. Francis
X. Weiser should engage any reader interested in
the history of Advent and Christmas traditions. Fr.
Weiser writes in an easy to read style while recounting
stories, legends, history, symbols, and recipes linked
to the celebrations associated with the Advent and
Christmas seasons.
The Easter Book,
Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
Published two years after his Christmas Book,
this book recounts the origin, history and meaning
of the greatest feast of Christianity: Easter. Fr. Weiser
describes in his charming and well-researched
style the liturgical and popular celebrations which developed over
centuries in the pre-Lenten, Lent, and Easter seasons.
Food Traditions
Throughout the centuries Christians have celebrated the feast days of the Liturgical Year with special foods. Culinary traditions associated with these
festivities hold a distinctive place in the domestic lives of the faithful, both in
the monastery/convent and the homes of the Christian family. Join me on my blog where I feature weekly, a saint, a recipe, a prayer, and a children's book. Just click here
The Holy Day Book,
Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
This book is the third in the trilogy of Fr. Francis
X. Weiser’s work on the origin, development
and meaning of feast day celebrations in the Church.
The focus is the saints’ feast days found in Ordinary
Time. Father concludes his work with these words.
“It is the author’s wish that this final book...not
only deepen the understanding of our feasts but
also inspire a more fruitful and joyful celebration
in church, home, and heart.”
A Continual Feast,
Evelyn Birge Vitz
This book is a classic in the genre of Catholic cookbooks that follow
the liturgical year. Published in 1985 by Harper & Row and acquired
by Ignatius Press, it entered a field which had been vacant for years
and captured the spirit of wives and mothers with its knowledge of Catholic
food traditions and the delights of the home. Evelyn B. Vitz at the time was
a recent convert to the Catholic faith, a professor of French Literature
at New York University, and mother of five children. The subheading of
the title says it all: A cookbook to celebrate the joys of family and faith
throughout the Christian year. The recipe selections are drawn from around
the world. Pithy quotations are sprinkled throughout. History and charm abound.
Cooking with the Saints,
Alexandra Greeley, Fernando Flores
Do you know a Catholic foodie? If so, this book is for them. Written by
Alexandra Greeley, a formally trained chef, and Fernando Flores, a
world traveler, this book is a result of their combined enthusiasm for the faith
and good food which first began as parish cooking classes. With the support
of Fr. Edward Hathaway, then pastor at St. Veronica Church in Chantilly,
what began as cooking classes turned into a beautifully photographed collection
of recipes celebrating saints’ feasts throughout the year. It is both scrumptious
and exquisite. Published in 2019 by Sophia Institute Press, it is sure to be
another classic in cookbooks following the liturgical year.
Talk Schedule
Talks
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Author Book Signing, Colleen Rooney, Queen of Angels Catholic Store, Jacksonville, FL, November 20th, 2021 10am
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Author Book Signing, Colleen Rooney, The Blue Mantle, St. Augustine, FL, December 6th, 6pm