Many people today desire a simple life that is closely connected to land, whether it be gardening, farming, or ranching. There is a spiritual draw to a non-consumeristic lifestyle that places God, the family, and the home at the center of all activity. This “agrarian conversion” has led many families to seek out rural communities and leave behind the suburban life.
Over ten years ago two Catholic friends, Jason M. Craig and Thomas D Van Horn, experienced a similar agrarian conversion inspired by past Catholic land-movements and a growing desire to work with their wives and children, going deeper than just “supporting” them financially. Both began a journey, perhaps with a tad too much romanticism, toward land-based life on farms. All these years later, the two have been tempered by the unyielding realities of land and limitations, and have gained significant insights into the reasons, challenges, and possibilities of homesteading and farming. Van Horn operates a commercial bee operation and Craig operates a microdairy while working remotely for a Catholic apostolate. Both, however, now have extensive experience in general homesteading, niche-marketing of farm products, and trying to order their households around an agricultural life.
In The Liturgy of the Land: Cultivating a Catholic Homestead, authors Jason Craig and Thomas Van Horn present the practicalities and theological aspects behind the desire for a productive, holy home. Our current culture understands economy in efficient consumeristic terms, but our Catholic Faith tells us different. The productive homestead is the center of economic life and the family is at the center of the homestead. This book aims at bringing the stories from their experience into a presentation and proposal of homesteading as a way of life, considering the principles (why?) and the practicalities (how?).
ENDORSEMENT
“Most Catholic families yearn for a more integrated life in which all its swirling aspects—work, home, relationships, prayer, leisure, school, festivity—move back into harmony. The authors of this luminous book have an answer: Catholic homesteading. Blending the Distributist vision of Chesterton, Belloc, and McNabb, the family focus of Catholic social teaching, the agrarian insights of Wendell Berry, and the hard-earned wisdom of years on the farm, their captivating portrait of the homesteading life should undoubtedly serve as the go-to guide for any Catholic homesteader (or those open to becoming one). You'll learn why this model served families well for centuries, what we lost when it faded, and how we can reclaim it today. The final chapter alone (Discerning Ideas and Enterprises), loaded with practical tips and advice, will save you hours of confusion and thousands of dollars of mistakes. Learn from these wise prophet-farmers the path of true integration and how the time-tested wisdom of the Church can lead your family there.”
— Brandon Vogt, Catholic homesteader, author of Why I Am Catholic and Return
- Publish:
- 04/02/2024
- Pdf:
Download Preview: The Liturgy of the Land: Cultivating a Catholic Homestead Preview (PDF)
- Height:
- 9.00
- Width:
- 7.25
8 Reviews
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liturgy of the Land
If you own a homestead, are dreaming of homesteading in the future, or have a crazy friend who homes…
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Wonderful
<i>Liturgy of the Land</i> is a wonderful, thought-provoking ode to Catholic homesteadin…
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The Liturgy of the Land
However, it should have included the devastating grip of usury and debt that prevents so many of us …
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The Liturgy of the Land
This is an excellent book! Highly recommend.
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The Liturgy of the Land
Excellent book. Tying together the truth about the land God has given us with the truth of the Catho…
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So beautiful!
Such a beautifully written book that combines my two favorite things-Catholicism and homesteading! W…
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A worthy read
In The Liturgy of the Land Catholic homesteaders Jason Craig and Thomas Van Horn share with readers …
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Practical and Inspiring
Wonderful Read, insightful perspectives on the conversion that is needed to make the return to the l…
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