What Every Catholic Man Should Carry Every Day

There is a tradition among Catholic men that does not get talked about much, because the men who practice it tend not to talk about it much. It is simply a habit, built slowly, usually passed down from a father or a grandfather or a priest who said something once that stuck.

The tradition is this: you carry certain things with you every day. Not because you are required to. Not to perform religiosity. Because you have learned, through experience, what happens to a day when you do not.

This is the Catholic man's every day carry. And it is one of the most practical and underrated expressions of a daily devotional life.

Why Sacramentals Matter

The Church teaches that sacramentals are sacred signs that prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. They are not magic objects. They do not work automatically. But they are physical things that keep spiritual realities in front of us during the hours when we are most likely to forget them.

A man who carries a pocket rosary is a man who is never more than a moment away from twenty minutes of prayer. A man who wears a scapular under his shirt carries a physical reminder, against his skin, of his consecration to Our Lady. A patron saint medal is a daily companion, a saint at his side; not metaphorically, but really, through the communion of saints.

These are not sentimental objects. They are tools of a devotional life that has to be lived in the world, in ordinary places, in the gaps between obligations. The Catholic man's every day carry is a way of making those gaps holy.

The Rosary

This is the foundation of the Catholic EDC. A full 5 decade rosary or one-decade rosary small enough to live in a trouser pocket, a jacket pocket, or on a keychain and stay there indefinitely without getting in the way.

The rosary is one of the most powerful prayers in the Catholic tradition. It is also one of the most accessible. It takes roughly twenty minutes for a full five-decade rosary. It can be prayed anywhere: on a commute, during a lunch break, in a parking lot before a difficult meeting, at the kitchen table after the house has gone quiet.

The one-decade rosary (auto rosary) matters specifically because it removes friction. A rosary that lives in a drawer or on a nightstand gets prayed at home, if at all. A rosary that lives in a pocket gets prayed in the car, in a waiting room, on a walk. The most prayed rosary is the one that goes where the man goes.

When choosing a rosary as a gift, look for one with durable construction; cord or chain rather than fragile linked wire, and beads that are comfortable to handle. A one-decade rosary (a "tenner") is a good choice for men who find the full rosary difficult to complete consistently. Any decade is better than none.

Browse rosaries at Catholic Faith Store.

The Brown Scapular

The brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is one of the most ancient and widely-used Marian devotions in the Church. According to tradition, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock in the thirteenth century and promised that whoever died wearing the scapular would not suffer eternal fire. The Church has consistently encouraged devotion to the scapular while also clarifying that the promise is understood in the context of a life of devotion to Mary, not as a guarantee attached to a piece of cloth, but as a pledge of Our Lady's maternal care for those who belong to her.

Enrollment in the scapular happens once, typically through a priest. After that, a man wears it. Every day. That's the whole practice. It is a physical mark of belonging to Our Lady, worn close to the body where it cannot be seen but can always be felt.

The scapular is especially meaningful for men who are drawn to a Marian devotional life but find elaborate external practices difficult to maintain consistently. The scapular maintains itself simply by being worn.

Find brown scapulars at Catholic Faith Store.

The Patron Saint Medal

A patron saint medal is a small devotional object; usually a coin-shaped disc with an image of a saint on one side and a prayer or symbol on the other, worn on a chain or carried in a pocket.

The saint on the medal matters. The right medal is not simply a beautiful object but a specific companion. The most meaningful choice for a Catholic man is usually one of the following:

His patron saint — the saint whose name he bears at baptism or confirmation. This is the traditional first choice, and for good reason. His patron saint has been interceding for him since before he knew what intercession was.

St. Michael the Archangel — the warrior, the protector, the one who cast Satan from heaven. St. Michael is a natural patron for men who feel the weight of spiritual battle in their own lives and families. His medal carries the prayer that was once said after every Mass: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

St. Joseph — the model father, the patron of the universal Church, the man who led the Holy Family through danger and uncertainty without a single recorded word. St. Joseph is the natural patron of husbands and fathers, and his medal is particularly fitting for any man trying to lead his family well.

Medals are most meaningful when worn, not kept. A medal in a drawer is a decoration. A medal on a chain or in a pocket is a daily relationship with a saint.

Browse patron saint medals at Catholic Faith Store.

The Prayer Card

A wallet-sized prayer card is the most overlooked item in the Catholic EDC and one of the most useful. A card tucked behind a driver's license is a prayer that travels through a dozen different situations in a day, surfaces unexpectedly, and has a way of being exactly the prayer needed in the moment it appears.

The best prayer cards for a Catholic man's wallet include:

• The Prayer to St. Michael
• The Memorare
• An Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart or the Immaculate Heart
• The Prayer for Fathers
• A prayer to his patron saint

Some men keep multiple cards. Others rotate them. The point is not the specific card but the habit of having a prayer within reach that can be read in thirty seconds in any circumstance.

Find prayer cards at Catholic Faith Store.

The Every Day Carry as a Gift

This Father's Day, the Catholic man's every day carry makes an exceptional gift, not just because each item is beautiful or useful, but because it is a gift with a purpose. You are not giving him a decoration. You are giving him a devotional life that travels with him.

Consider putting together a small set: a pocket rosary, a patron saint medal, a brown scapular, and one or two prayer cards. Presented together, they communicate something a single item cannot: here is a complete practice, built for a man who lives in the world and needs to pray in the middle of it.

If you are not sure which saint medal to choose, St. Joseph and St. Michael are safe starting points for almost any Catholic man. If you know his patron saint, that is always the most personal and meaningful choice.

Shop the full Father's Day collection at Catholic Faith Store.

One More Thing

There is a reason the men who carry these items tend not to talk about it. Prayer is not a performance. The rosary in the pocket is not for anyone else to see. The scapular under the shirt is private, almost intimate, a man and his Mother.

But children see more than they are supposed to. A child who has watched his father's hand move to a pocket rosary during a difficult conversation, or noticed the beads on a nightstand, or seen a medal on a chain while helping him get dressed; that child knows something, even if he cannot name it yet. He knows that his father belongs to something. He knows that his father prays.

That knowing, accumulated over years, is among the most valuable things a father can give his children. And it starts with what he carries in his pocket.

Related: Why a Father's Faith Is the Strongest Predictor of His Children's

Rich and Caroline King are the owners of Catholic Faith Store, a family-owned Catholic retail business founded in 2005 and consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Rich and Caroline are graduates of Thomas Aquinas College and parishioners of Holy Trinity Parish in Lenexa, Kansas.