Before baking, we decorate our pizzas to resemble the St. Benedict Medal. Using toppings like pepperoni, olives, peppers, or cheese, we create the cross, and simple symbols inspired by the medal. We try our best to make the letters “C, S,P, B.” (If you have the Cutco kitchen shears–they work great to cut, but any scissors will do! It doesn’t have to be perfect—the goal is to spark conversation around the dinner table about who St. Benedict was and why his medal has been a cherished sacramental for centuries. The Saint Benedict medal has incredible symbolism connected to it. It’s worth a Holy Pause to talk about it with your family! St Benedict medals are a sacramental-a holy object-used for protection. (and your pizza can be whatever you want it to be!)

As we prepare and share the meal, we talk about St. Benedict’s call to seek God in the ordinary, to build a life rooted in prayer and work (“Ora et Labora”), and to invite Christ into every corner of our life and home. It’s a simple, memorable tradition that reminds us that even making pizza together can become a way of celebrating the saints, deepening our Faith and living the liturgical year as a family.

Watch for a couple podcasts being released soon about St Benedict, the meaning of the St Benedict Medal, and how to create your very own Rule Of Life! (and more pizza pics…)

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I love this feast day, and here’s why

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Living Liturgically means aligning our daily lives with the rhythms, feasts, fasting, and seasons special days of the Catholic liturgical calendar. This way of life invites Catholics to move beyond simply attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, and inviting the grace and richness of the Church’s liturgical seasons into their homes (our Domestic Churches), hearts, and everyday routines. Rooted in the celebration of Christ’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection, (as well as other opportunities to take a “Holy Pause” in our life for other noteworthy times in our Faith life) the liturgical year offers a spiritual roadmap to bringing the Faith alive in your Home.

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• Advent: This season marks the beginning of the liturgical year and is a time of preparation for Christ’s coming. It’s a time of hopeful waiting, and families may incorporate Advent wreaths, daily scripture reflections, or lighting candles to mark the four weeks before Christmas.
• Christmas: Celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas extends beyond a single day to the entire Christmas season, a joyful time of embracing God’s gift of Himself in the person of Jesus. Catholics may mark this season by keeping up a nativity scene and Christmas decorations, celebrating the Epiphany, and focusing on charity.
• Ordinary Time: This season follows both Christmas and Easter, focusing on the teachings and life of Jesus. We use this time to integrate the lessons of other seasons into daily life, deepening prayer practices, serving others, and growing in personal holiness.
• Lent: This is a season of repentance and preparation for Easter. Catholics are invited to focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Families might create a Lenten calendar, set up a prayer corner, or incorporate acts of sacrifice and charity to mark this season of reflection and self-denial.
• Easter: Celebrating Christ’s Resurrection, Easter is the heart of the Christian faith and the liturgical year. Catholics celebrate the fifty days of Easter by emphasizing joy,  and sharing the Good News. Alleluia, sung after a Lenten silence, expresses the triumph of resurrection, and the season’s focus on new life is celebrated.

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