What is Liturgical Homesteading? Great question… one I am still attempting to answer and understand for myself. But here is a sampling of what I have come up with so far.

A good way to begin understanding what this phrase means is to think about what the phrase “liturgical living” means. In essence, they are the same thing, only one is specifically geared towards those of us who homestead. Homesteading or gardening or farming… they bring a unique facet to that phrase and provide different ways for living that out. But I digress.

Typically, when I’ve looked into “liturgical living”, I’ve come across books and blogs that are filled with crafts and recipes related to a set of particular feast days. There may be some prayers or songs associated with these days, too. The idea is that we lean into the holy men and women who have gone before us, we get to know them, and we celebrate life with them. It’s centered on bringing our faith into everyday life, and to get in touch with the rhythms of the Church.

It’s a great topic, and it was really helpful for me in growing in my faith. As a non-practicing Catholic for a good portion of my life, and not coming from a very strong “culturally Catholic” background, I was completely out of touch with the ways that Catholics throughout the ages have lived. These resources proved to be incredibly helpful, but it was just the tip of the iceberg for me.

A couple of years ago, we took a sabbatical year from our homestead. A time to rest and reflect and make sure we were really striving to follow where God was leading and not just running head-long into what we wanted to do. During that year, we wrote a family mission statement, and in my head I kept summing it up as “liturgical homesteading.” I actually spent a lot of time after that trying to look up that phrase and really didn’t come up with much of anything at all. I needed to learn more, but I couldn’t figure out where to look, and so I spent a lot of time praying on it since then.

Well, my starting point for understanding “liturgical homesteading” had to begin with our mission statement. “We strive to build family and community, observe Catholic liturgy and practice historical customs in order to orient ourselves towards God’s will.” If God was putting this phrase on my heart while we worked on the mission statement, then the mission statement must reveal something about that phrase.

I asked a learned friend if they could define the word “liturgy” for me in a way that goes beyond the definitions I was familiar with. He was referring more to the Divine Office (also known as the Liturgy of the Hours), but it was incredibly helpful to my understanding. He said, “It’s a way of sanctifying time.” That simple phrase helped me out so much. Anyone who wants to follow God’s will for their life desires to sanctify their lives, to make their life a holy life, which ties in with the last portion of our mission statement.

Of course, observing Catholic liturgy is an obvious part of liturgical living. It’s incorporating Mass and prayer and the liturgical calendar into our lives. Historical practices could refer to old Catholic customs but also traditional ways of living. There is something very disordered with the way most people live today. We are stuck behind desks and in front of screens, our time is consumed by endless entertainment, and we have never been so disconnected from the ways of our ancestors as we are today. From farming practices to how we eat, we have lost a lot of knowledge and understanding and put ourselves in a risky situation.

As members of the Body of Christ, as the Bride of Christ, we are called to be a communion of believers. We don’t live independently without influence or effect from other people. Whether we want to be or not, we are connected with others. Fostering healthy and holy relationships will help us to grow in our faith and these people are our companions on our journey of sanctification.

So what is liturgical homesteading? It’s a way towards sanctification, a way of sanctifying our family, homes, land, animals, activities, and community, and building the kingdom of God. Connecting our activities to the liturgical calendar of the Church, entrusting our efforts to the care of the saints, praying before we butcher our animals, blessing the chickens while we collect eggs, and raising a pig for a community pig roast (where we can gather and build friendships) are some of the ways we can sanctify our work.

I’m still working out what this means to me and what it can look like, but I will be sure to share my experiences with you as I go.

In Christ,
Danielle