Full disclosure: I received a free copy of the Ultimate Catholic Bundle (August) in return for my honest review in this post.
Happy August, friends! Here we are nearing the end of August and I’m trying to figure out where summer has gone. As we begin the farewell tour of summer 2020 and greet a new school year just around the corner, organization and staying rooted in prayer are what keep me from losing my mind as a full-time WFH mom who will also be donning the “teacher hat” this year as we homeschool for the first time. (Pray for us, please!)
Since the beginning of this month I began using The Ultimate Catholic Bundle from Kathy at iamHis365.com. Like many liturgical-structured, organizational planners, what I value most in this particular arena is that it makes it so simple to center my day, week, and month on our faith, specifically aligned with the liturgical calendar. The Ultimate Catholic Bundle serves to that capacity extremely well. Because no family is the same in their faith & family journey, ample tools are provided in this Bundle and there is the flexibility within it to accommodate each family as they see fit. I haven’t had a chance to do a Lectio Divina for each Sunday’s Mass readings, but I am able to do the St. Monica Novena, which is still wonderful. If anything, this resource is a good invitation for me to consider Lectio Divina (and other reflections) more and more because of the fact that it is readily available for me to use. These and much more are simply provided as resources for families to select with the goal to remain rooted in prayer all year long.
Here are graphics of how the Bundle is broken up (click to enlarge):
As you can can see, it is broken up is by 5 P’s – this was August’s, specifically:
- Plan
- Monthly Calendar
- Weekly Planner Pages
- Pray
- 30 Day Prayer Journal Pages (Thanksgiving, Repentance, Praise, Supplication, Blessings, Protection)
- Novena Checklist
- Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Ponder
- Scripture Reading Checklist
- Lectio Divina Guide
- Short Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Marian Prayer Journal Pages
- Polish
- Art Prints: Hail Mary Prayer, St. Augustine Quote, To Jesus Through Mary
- Play
- 3 Coloring Pages
Additional notes:
- It follows the 1962 Traditional calendar and each month incorporates the dedication of the month (August – Immaculate Heart of Mary).
- It is designed to support our practice of our Catholic faith thus the Bundle takes off any effort I would otherwise need to make for incorporating the liturgical aspect to our planning and already has available the corresponding novenas and prayers of the month.
- My kids enjoy the coloring pages, and it is super helpful that I can print multiples of one print since I basically have twins and they need the same of everything. :)
- The Art Prints are also what we will regularly rotate in our homeschool room as they learn more formal / ejaculatory prayers.
- One practical thing I like is that it’s not a bulky notebook that I have to carry with me. I like how it’s just a print out of the month ahead that I can hole-punch and add to my slim folder with fasteners along with other homeschooling plans. It’s great for consolidating planning needs together.
- Because they are print outs, I also have the option to display pages on our fridge or in our homeschool room/office as well, if not in my folder.
If you’re interested in taking the next step, each new Bundle is released on the 20th of every month. As mentioned earlier, the Bundle provides flexibility in how you plan for yourself and your family, so it’s released at least two weeks before the following month so that you have time to review the Bundle and decide on & print what and how you see fit. If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a big fan of the flexibility!
As part of this review I’m offering readers a 50% off discount code for the first two months of the subscription. Click here for the link for that code or simply enter “BLOG50” in the check out. The September bundle will incorporate the Seven Dolors (Sorrows) of Mary.
Thanks for your time, and know of my prayers for each of you as you gear up for the year. Over here in our household we are depending on the Holy Spirit to take the lead as this year continues to be a year of many firsts.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
This House You're Building 