A weekly guide for Catholic familiesTen minutes around the table.
A richer Sunday at Mass.
When Mass starts to feel like checking a box
You're present every Sunday. You get everyone dressed, out the door, and into the pew. You and your family sing, listen to readings and the homily, and receive the Eucharist. And when you leave, you realize not one of your kids (or even yourself for that matter) can remember what this Sunday’s Gospel was about.
It isn’t that you don’t care. It isn’t that your kids don’t care.
These days, it can be hard to focus on anything for more than about 15 minutes. It can be easy for our kids to feel like they are sitting through something pointless that doesn’t pertain to their daily lives. And as parents, we often wonder what we can do to help them hear God’s Word. To lead them into a life of faith.
First, let’s remember that evangelization is the work of the Holy Spirit. As parents, we lead our children the best we can, but ultimately we must trust that He is the one who will call our children to Christ.
But that doesn’t mean we should sit back and do nothing.
When you’ve already read Sunday’s Gospel reading, talked about it for just 5 minutes, looked at beautiful sacred art that reinforces it, and prayed over it, the Gospel suddenly comes to life. You’ll feel less distracted when sitting in the pew on Sunday. In fact, I bet after using The Sunday Table, even the homily will be more interesting and feel more applicable to your life and your children’s lives.
The Sunday Table is designed to give you a brief time each week to invite the Holy Spirit to be at work in your family’s heart and home.
Remember, these are the stories and lessons that will stick with your children in the years to come. Let’s give our children (and ourselves!) the best chance at truly hearing the voice of Christ.
How it works
Every week, on Thursday morning, you’ll receive one beautifully designed guide that brings Sunday’s Gospel to life before you ever get to Mass. Use it anytime before Mass on that Sunday.
You’ll spend only about 10, maybe 15 minutes max, when you sit down to go through the guide. You’ll start by inviting the Holy Spirit in. You’ll read the Gospel and questions designed to help you and your family contemplate it with deeper meaning. You’ll also look at a single piece of sacred art that can be tied to the Gospel reading. There are questions to guide you and your family through a visio divina-type study.
A brief section on how our Catholic faith, through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, links back to Sunday’s Gospel reading is also included to help you see how the Gospel is lived out in our faith. Finally, each guide is wrapped up with Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm refrain, a short prayer, and a few upcoming dates from the Church’s liturgical calendar.
It’s really that simple. And the guide comes ready to print, to read on a tablet or laptop, or to open on your phone, so it works wherever your family actually gathers. Our own family gathers at the kitchen table on Sunday morning before Mass (hence the name, The Sunday Table). But yours may gather on the couch or even in the car on the way to Mass.
See a week for yourself
The best way to know if this belongs on your table is to try it. Download a complete sample week for free.
Why sacred art?
Here is one thing I firmly believe: beauty leads to Him.
Did you know that for most of the Church’s history, families learned the faith through images? The great paintings in churches and cathedrals, sculptures, stained glass, and other works of art weren’t mere decoration. They served as catechesis. Remember, throughout much of the history of Christianity, most people could not read.
And even in our modern age, we remember things more vividly when we have images. I can remember details of my childhood church more than any other church I’ve attended regularly. I remember the crucifix at the back wall, above the altar. I can still see Jesus’ face as I often looked at it and wondered how much Jesus must have loved us to have died for us. I remember the statue of Mary to the side, behind where we often stood in choir. She always looked so caring, motherly, and peaceful. I knew the real Mary likely did not look like her, but I imagined she must have had those same qualities.
As a child, I knew the Stations of the Cross by the wooden plaques that lined the side walls, above the stained glass windows. Each plaque presented a scene from that station. To this day, when I attend a Stations of the Cross, I can imagine those same wooden scenes. I remember the stories and parables in the stained glass windows that lined the side walls, down alongside the rows of pews. The one closest to the pew my family often sat in when I was little was of the story of Jesus and the five loaves and two fishes.
But images don’t have to reside in a church. Why do you think medieval monks illuminated the Gospels with gold ink? Do you imagine certain individuals from the Bible by a picture in your children’s Bible, or maybe even a movie? Or maybe you imagine certain saints, when you hear their name, by what their holy card in your prayer corner looked like?
For centuries, much of Western art has depicted Bible stories, saints, and Church history. Some by choice, and some by commission. Regardless, we have hundreds upon hundreds of paintings that embody beauty, goodness, and truth. For me, personally, it wasn’t until I began homeschooling and did artist studies with my kids that I truly took the time to stop, look at, and appreciate many of the great paintings.
And that’s why, every week, The Sunday Table gives you a new piece of artwork to look at and contemplate. In fact, don’t be surprised if your children start recognizing saints by their symbols and reading paintings the way they read stories. And honestly, you will too!
What’s included?
A new guide every Thursday, delivered by email, as a beautifully designed PDF or screen-friendly view
The full weekly, at-home family devotion:
Read the Gospel
See sacred art
Know the Catholic faith more deeply
Remember the Responsorial Psalm
Pray
One masterwork of sacred art is included each week, with guiding questions
This Week in the Church: the feast days and saints your family will meet in the days ahead
Seasonal guides throughout the year (for example, Allhallowtide, Advent, Christmastide, and more!)
Pricing
In honor of the Month of the Holy Rosary, we’re having a sale from September 14 to October 31:
$59 a year (about $1.13 a week) or $6 a month
+ receive an olive wood rosary from the Holy Land*
*While supplies last. Your rate is locked in for as long as you remain a member.
On November 1, the price will go back up to $89 a year or $9 a month for new signups.
Cancel anytime. No contracts, no hard feelings.
From my table to yours
I'm a Catholic mom who has spent years writing curriculum and teaching children. I homeschool my own children and help teach in our co-op. I remember watching my kids in Mass and seeing the Sunday reading go right over their heads. They had little interest in what was being read, let alone the homily.
My kids aren’t perfect. At 8 and 10 years old, they still don’t pay amazing attention every Sunday. But let’s face it, as adults, are we 100% attentive, every single Sunday? Try as we might, it can be hard with so many other things bombarding our thoughts.
However…
Since we began using The Sunday Table in my own home, I’ve noticed a big difference in how much my kids listen and pay attention during Mass. I finally feel like I’m giving them the tools and knowledge so that they can walk into Mass each week, listen to what’s being said, and understand how it applies to their lives.
Editorial standards
Scripture is quoted from the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. Catechetical content is grounded in Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the teaching of the Magisterium. Every work of sacred art is explained using reputable museum and art-historical sources, and every issue is reviewed for theological accuracy before being sent out.
FAQs
-
I write this guide for families with children roughly ages 5 to 18. However, it’s really for the entire family. Parents and other adults can benefit from using it too. Younger kids can even benefit from being nearby and simply listening in as they’re interested.
-
About ten minutes. Some weeks can take longer, but only if conversation runs longer than usual. (And hey, that’s a good problem to have!)
-
You’ll receive your first guide on the Thursday following your signup. (If you sign up on a Thursday, you will receive the following Thursday’s guide.)
Then, every Thursday morning for as long as you’re subscribed, you’ll receive your guide via email. The guide received each Thursday covers the Gospel to be read in Mass on the following Sunday.
If you don’t see your guide in your email by Thursday morning, check your spam folder and promotions tab. If you still don’t see it, email us at hello@sundaytablecatholic.com. We’re here to help!
-
No. Many families read it from a phone or tablet at the table. You’ll receive a printable PDF. You’ll also receive links to desktop/tablet and mobile-friendly versions.
-
No. While it does work beautifully for homeschooling families, it's written for any Catholic family. Your kids may attend a parish school, public school, and/or religious ed.
-
You can always go back and look at past weeks’ guides. Pick back up with the current week’s guide.
-
Yes, you can cancel anytime.
-
Yes! This is fully Catholic. Scripture, sacred art, the Catechism, the liturgical calendar, and the saints, all in fidelity to the Church's teaching. See our editorial standards above.
Bring the beauty of the Mass to your family’s table
This week, let the Gospel find your family already listening.
