How One Mom of Ten Made Liturgical Living Possible for Real Catholic Families
What happens when a homeschooling mother in Los Angeles decides to share twenty years of liturgical living experiments—the successes, failures, and everything in between?
Meet Catholic All Year—the award-winning blog and resource empire created by Kendra Tierney, a wife, mother of ten children, and self-described "enthusiastic amateur experimenter in the domestic arts." For over a decade, Kendra has been showing Catholic families that living the liturgical year isn't just for monasteries—it's for messy homes with real kids, real budgets, and real schedules.
Through her blog, books, and FORMED videos, Kendra has helped thousands of Catholic families discover the joy of celebrating the feasts, seasons, and saints of the Church calendar—without requiring expertise or months of advance planning.
Twenty Years in the Catholic Mommy Trenches
Kendra Tierney isn't a theologian or a professional catechist. She's a mom who's been doing this work in her own home for two decades.
When she started her blog in 2013, she wanted to share what her family had learned: that the Catholic liturgical year provides a ready-made framework for teaching children the Faith—through food, prayer, conversation, decorations, and celebration.
She called it "Catholic All Year" because that's exactly what it is: Catholicism lived all year long, through every feast and every season.
The blog exploded because Kendra was filling a real need. Catholic parents wanted to celebrate the liturgical calendar but felt overwhelmed. They didn't have time to research every saint's feast day. They didn't know what foods were traditional for what celebrations. They needed someone who had already figured it out—and was willing to share the shortcuts.
That someone was Kendra.
The Books That Made Liturgical Living Accessible
Kendra's practical approach found its fullest expression in her books, published by Ignatius Press:
The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life
The foundational guide covering the entire liturgical year—Advent through Ordinary Time and back again. For each season and major feast, Kendra provides:
- History and meaning of the celebration
- Stories and activities appropriate for families
- Food ideas from traditional Catholic cultures
- Decoration suggestions that won't break the bank
- Tips from the trenches about what actually works with real kids
The Catholic All Year Prayer Companion: The Liturgical Year in Practice
The practical companion volume with prayers, devotions, and spiritual practices for each part of the Church year.
A Little Book About Confession for Children
Helping parents prepare their young children for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Traditional Catholic Prayers for Awesome Catholic Kids
A series of prayer books making traditional prayers accessible to children.
On FORMED: Bringing Liturgical Living to Video
Kendra's reach expanded significantly through her video series on FORMED, the Catholic streaming platform:
Catholic All Year with Kendra Tierney — Video teaching on living the liturgical year with practical ideas for every season.
Catholic All Year at Home with Kendra Tierney — Additional content helping families implement liturgical living in their domestic churches.
These video series bring Kendra's warm, practical teaching style to families who might prefer watching over reading—and give visual demonstrations of crafts, recipes, and celebration ideas.
What Makes Catholic All Year Different
There are other resources on liturgical living. What makes Kendra's approach unique?
Real-Life Tested Everything she recommends has been tested in her own home with her own ten children. If it doesn't work with real kids, she won't suggest it.
Honest About Failure Kendra is refreshingly honest about what didn't work. Not every tradition stuck. Not every recipe succeeded. This honesty helps other families feel less pressure to be perfect.
Scalable to Your Family Whether you have one child or ten, whether you homeschool or not, whether you have hours or minutes—Kendra provides options that can be adapted to your situation.
Rooted in Tradition The celebrations she shares aren't invented—they draw on centuries of Catholic culture from around the world, connecting modern families to the communion of saints who celebrated before them.
Practical Over Precious Kendra's goal isn't Pinterest-perfect celebrations. It's families who grow in love for Christ and His Church through the rhythm of the liturgical year.
Survival Tips From the Trenches
Beyond feast-day celebrations, Kendra addresses the challenges that make Catholic family life difficult:
Bringing Young Children to Mass Real strategies for surviving Mass with toddlers, not just theoretical ideals.
Saying a Family Rosary How to actually pray the Rosary as a family when attention spans are short and interruptions are constant.
Managing Holiday Expectations Keeping Advent and Lent meaningful without burning out.
Balancing Celebration and Ordinary Time You can't celebrate everything. Here's how to choose what works for your family.
Why This Matters
Before Catholic All Year, there was no single place where a busy Catholic mom could find tested, practical instructions for celebrating the liturgical calendar with real kids on a real budget. Kendra Tierney filled that gap by doing the work first in her own home with ten children and then sharing what actually stuck. Her books, blog, and FORMED videos have become the default starting point for thousands of families attempting liturgical living for the first time — and the resource they keep coming back to when they need a refresher on what to cook for Michaelmas or how to survive Lent with toddlers.
How You Can Support
- Visit the blog: Explore CatholicAllyYear.com for free resources and ideas
- Buy the books: Find The Catholic All Year Compendium and other titles at Ignatius Press
- Watch on FORMED: Access her video series through your parish's FORMED subscription
- Follow along: Connect on social media for seasonal inspiration
- Share with friends: Know a Catholic mom who feels overwhelmed? Send her to Catholic All Year
Discover More Catholic Media & Creators — Go Paid
Catholic All Year is just one of the faith-formation creators in our directory. Paid subscribers get our quarterly Catholic Media Guide spotlighting blogs, podcasts, publishers, and video creators helping families live the liturgical year — plus Kendra's own recommended resources list.
Paid subscribers get: curated Catholic business guides, exclusive deals from listed businesses, deep-dive interviews, and full directory access. Upgrade your subscription →
Do you celebrate the liturgical year with your family? What's your favorite feast day tradition? Drop a comment below—we'd love to hear your ideas!
Find Catholic All Year:
- Website: catholicallyear.com
- Books: Ignatius Press
- FORMED: Catholic All Year with Kendra Tierney
- Amazon: Kendra Tierney Books
- DCB Listing: Find Catholic All Year on Discover Catholic Business
Sources: Catholic All Year, FORMED, Ignatius Press, Goodreads