"Lent must renew in us our union with Jesus who speaks to us of the need of conversion and shows us the way to reach it. The Church, a wise and loving Mother, suggests useful ways to reach this wonderful purpose; these are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving."
-Pope John Paul II
Today begins the holy season of Lent. So, what is Lent all about? It's about preparing our hearts and setting straight our crooked paths so that we can better love and follow Christ. I came across a quote last week...
"There is PEACE in P-E-N-A-N-C-E" ...
and this is the most important part of Lent. True peace comes from following our Lord, and we can't follow Him fully unless we get rid of all the garbage that is keeping us away from him. We have many devotions that we will do throughout Lent, but the most important is taking part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation often. We will be doing much of the same as last year, along with adding a few new things....1. As we sit down for a meal, we will read one of the following (one per meal):
Bringing Lent Home with Mother Teresa
Welcome Risen Jesus
Bible Story to go with our Jesus tree banner (note: this is a kit and does require assembly)
2. We will also use crown of thorns and take out a thorn as we perform kind deeds and make sacrifices.
3. After lunch we will all take some quiet prayer time and we will have an opportunity for any of the following: read a spiritual book, pray the Rosary (using this lovely version), pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet (we have this recorded on our DVR and it is played weekly on EWTN), or the pray the Stations (we have a poster set that is hung up around the house plus we will also be making this kit).
4. Daily Mass at least once a week.5. No desserts after meals.
6. I'm thinking about simplifying and giving away items using a plan similar to the 40 bags in 40 days, but for sure we'll be collecting money using our rice bowl.
7. We will also be watching the Lenten Adventure videos as well.
8. I got the idea from a couple sites to print a Lenten Journey book for each child. Here are the pages that we have included in ours...
Lenten calendar (where the kids color a square a day - of course, in the specific liturgical color)Ash Wednesday
Sign of the Cross
Our Father
Hail Mary
St. Katherine Drexel (printed off this cd - to be colored on March 3rd)
St Patrick (to be colored on March 17th)
St. Joseph (to be colored on March 19th)
Palm Sunday
Holy Thursday
9. We will also be coloring the Stations of the Cross pages and create a carousel to display them.
10. Also included in their Lenten Journey books will be a checklist and pages for "Growing Good Fruit for God" (found in A Year With God). We will practice the five ways (one per week) listed to help us grow good fruit for Jesus - (1) Good Words, (2) Good Signs, (3) Good Thoughts, (4) Good Energy, (5) Good Imagination
"We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You, because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world"
**For more great ideas, visit....