A Helping of Lent Ideas

Here is the start of some simple and meaningful Lent ideas that you can do with your family. (I’ve included Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday at the end.) You are not meant to do them all, but to pick and choose what you feel would work best with your family. Or even better, use some of these ideas to come up with your own original ideas suited especially for your family. Lent last for 40 days. Its purpose is to call us back to Christ, bring us closer to our Lord, especially in response to his love for us shown in his suffering, death, and resurrection. The church has given us some traditional practices to help us to do that. They are prayer, almsgiving, service and acts of charity, self-sacrifices, and studying the scriptures or other Holy writings. I came up with a simple way to keep us reminded the whole way through Lent. It’s a simple poster to put on your refrigerator (or wherever) that lists these out as well as providing a way to mark off the 40 days of Lent. I made this with the whole family in mind—children and parents of all ages. Take a look and print it out. Encourage your family to try and do at least one of these practices daily during Lent—in addition to what they regularly do. I actually printed out a copy for each of my children to put in their rooms at their desks. I even keep one at my desk. If you do only one thing with your family during Lent—this could be the one thing that is not only easy to do, but could be very meaningful. Please pass this on to your other family members and friends. It’s free! Online at http://smartmartha.com/Documents/pauseforLent.pdf

Another way that serves to remind our family during Lent is a Lenten table. This happens to be the same table that we use during Advent for our Jesse tree. I place on the table items that remind us about these traditional practices as well as some of the other items we use during Lent: Prayer: We put what we use for our Stations of the Cross, also a copy of the Magnficat. Almsgiving: We put a collection box for the poor. Useful Service And

Sacrifice: We put some way to measure little sacrifices or acts of service. Sometimes I use an empty bowl to represent fasting. Educate: We put out a Bible, and if we are using a family devotional for Lent, we put that there, too.

Something else I put on the table is a dead tree or thorn branch. At Easter this “blooms” and becomes our Egg Tree. For Lent it represents death that comes before life. It stands for Lent being a desert experience.

Ideas and PractIdeas and PractIdeas and PractIdeas and Practices of Lentices of Lentices of Lentices of Lent

PrayerPrayerPrayerPrayer Stations of the Cross -The best option is to attend the weekly stations with your parish family. This usually takes about 15 minutes. If that is not possible or convenient, here are some other options for praying the stations at your home. These could also be done so that younger children who are just learning the stations will have a better idea of what is going on. -Find some Station booklets that suit the ages of your family. I’ve picked up many for free from pamphlet racks at churches or online. I recently got one in the mail from CNEWA which I may give a donation and ask if they could send a few more. They included meditations from JPII and realistic pictures. -To keep the attention of really young kids and to create a more prayerful mood, we use a 14-candle holder. We start with all of the candles lit, and as we go through the stations,

the children take turns extinguishing the candles until at the end when Jesus dies, there is no light left. For step by step directions and pictures on how to make this go to http://smartmartha.com/StationsoftheCrossCandles.aspx

-Here is a clever, hands-on Stations of the Cross. This is also a very helpful tool to learn the stations, as well. Directions and the downloadable list of items is also at http://smartmartha.com/StationsoftheCrossBox.aspx

-Finally, we’ve shown a section of the film, Jesus of Nazareth, which goes through the Stations of the Cross, so the kids can get a better picture of what is really going on. It is a little bloody, so please preview it first. (But not nearly as graphic as The Passion.)

Mass - Go one extra time during the week

Confession - Plan to go to confession couple of times during Lent as a family. You can’t make

anyone actually go to confession, but you can provide the opportunities. Mark this on the calendar and give everyone plenty of warning. Make a sign for your refrigerator: “Confession this Wednesday 7:00—Pizza Inn Afterwards”

40 Days for Life

-One way we pray during Lent is by participating in 40 Days for Life.

(http://www.40daysforlife.com/ ) We sign up for 1 hour a week and go there together to pray and bear witness to life.

Adoration

-Schedule this time for yourself every week if possible. Write it on your calendar like it

is a regular appointment—it is an appointment with God.

AlmsgivingAlmsgivingAlmsgivingAlmsgiving - We decorate a box with pictures of people in need. These usually come from

pamphlets and letters we get in the mail. Sometimes we pick just one charity to support during Lent. Instead of trying to collect cash in the box, we use slips of paper which say a certain amount of money on them. These papers are usually filled out based on giving up money that we would have spent on something else. So when we give up a dessert at a family meal, we put a paper that has $3.00 written on it into the box. This is typically what dessert would cost us at home. The kids are also encouraged to put in extra cash that they have. At the end, I count it all and send a check to the charity that we picked.

- Many churches also use the project “Rice Bowl” and provide families and kids with cardboard boxes to fill with change and cash.

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Useful ServiceUseful ServiceUseful ServiceUseful Service - Help out at a soup kitchen, - Nursing home, - Senior Center, - Meals on Wheels, - Hospital, - Your own Parish, - Food Bank, - Crisis pregnancy center, - Or wherever you can find in your community that needs some help. This may

take some phone calls and a little legwork. You may even decide to start your own charitable work. And you may even decide to continue this after Lent. It really is a beautiful act to do with your family. So much so that you truly get more out of it then you will put into it.

- Think outside the box. This year for Lent, our family is putting on the Catholicism video series at our church. It’s not a major act of charity, but it means setting up the hall, cleaning up afterward, serving refreshments, and perhaps the most sacrifice of all: giving up every Friday evening during Lent.

SacrificeSacrificeSacrificeSacrifice - I think it is important that our children and we realize that “Small things done

with great love,” are very pleasing to our Lord. So many times, we just “give up” something for Lent without really thinking about the love and motive behind our act of sacrifice.

- Giving Up Something. Whether this is chocolate or coffee or dessert, it’s important to remember every time we crave that chocolate and don’t give into eating it, that we offer that in love to Christ.

- Giving Up Something that Benefits Others. I’ve heard priests preach that it is good self-discipline to give up some kind of food or something else we enjoy, but the better sacrifice would be to give up something that will also benefit others and become acts of charity. Some examples of this are giving up negative words, having the last word, gossip, putting others down, nagging at our children/spouse, giving your opinion, or having others do for you what you can do for yourself. Picking one thing in particular and working on that during Lent, will not only be charitable to the others in your life, but will help you go further down the path to holiness.

- Some Reminders about Sacrificing. St. Therese had sacrifice beads that she kept in her pocket to serve as a reminder and to keep track of her sacrifices. I heard a story of monks who kept pebbles in their shoes. And remember the children of Fatima? They wore burlap or hair shirts under their clothes. Here are some other reminders for our home that are suitable for Lent:

o Crown of Thorns This is made from a small grapevine wreath with toothpicks stuck throughout it which represent thorns. It makes a solemn decoration for your table during Lent. Whenever someone makes a sacrifice of some sort, he gets to take one of the thorns out of the crown and place it in a small basket nearby. This is a great reminder for us all as we remember how painful it must have been to wear that crown of thorns and our small sacrifices in someway are a consolation to Christ for his suffering. The toothpicks can be stained a dark brown to match the grapevine wreath and can be saved to use again.

o Stained glass Cross This can be done as a family or individually. A section of the stained-glass cross is colored every time someone makes a sacrifice. The act of coloring it in reminds us to offer that sacrifice to Christ on the cross. Ideally by Easter, our sacrifices become a beautiful symbol of the resurrected Lord. These decorate our windows when it is Easter. To print your own, go to here: http://smartmartha.com/Documents/stainedglasscross.pdf

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o Collection of Beans I’ve seen this done many ways. Some moms will dye dried navy beans purple (for Lent) or use kidney beans and put them in a bowl. When someone makes a sacrifice, he puts a bean in a jar. Sometimes the beans are glued onto a cardboard cross to make a picture as a way to stand for our offering our sacrifices on the cross. For some moms who collect the beans in the jar, the beans “turn” into Jellybeans. This can mean that our sacrifices when given to God are often returned to us with abundant joy. “You can’t out give God.”

Educate YourEducate YourEducate YourEducate Yourselfselfselfself “To know him is to love him.” Let’s take Lent as an opportunity to learn more about our faith both individually and as a family. Did you know that the best role model our children have for reading is to see us reading? In this time of Internet and reading bits of information, it may be good for us to switch things up and pick up a real book. (Although, a Kindle can certainly count, too.) It doesn’t have to be heavy-duty theology, but some good spiritual reading may be just what we need. Here are some other ideas to educate our families and ourselves.

- Family Devotions. I’ve always liked the idea of family devotions, but have had a hard time fitting it in to our family’s schedule. The only time I’ve been able to do it somewhat (we miss many days and sometimes only make it half way through) is to use Lent as our “excuse.” For us, we use dinnertime. And the simpler, the better. This year we are going to try using Fr. McBride’s Teen Catechism. Other times, we’ve just used the evening prayer from the Magnificat. There are also many books written every year for Lenten devotions for all ages. We’ve used a handful of these. Remember, less is more, but none is still none.

- Family Movie Night. And I don’t mean let’s rent some videos or go to some blockbuster at the theatre. That is great for the rest of the year. In Lent, our movie night involves watching a movie that we probably wouldn’t otherwise watch. These are those great Catholic movies about saints and older movies with some great lessons. We also try to take the time afterwards to discuss the movie. If you find that your teens try to bail out on you, try putting it on your calendar or schedule it at a regular time so that they can get their homework done at another time or make their plans with their friends for another time.

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, or Shrove TuesdayMardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, or Shrove TuesdayMardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, or Shrove TuesdayMardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday

We make Mardi Gras a festive occasion lasting just one day. We try to play silly games or make silly crafts. It’s a good night for games like Pictionary and Charades. You can do odd things like eat breakfast for dinner or eat dessert first. Just find one simple zany thing to do and if it goes well, establish it as your own family Mardi gras tradition.

We haven’t found just one thing we do every year, although I am still looking. It seems that a Tuesday school night is too difficult some years to do really do anything. But, we still have to eat! So our family Mardi gras tradition has revolved around 2 meals that we always have on Fat Tuesday—Muffulettas and King Cake, and pancakes. Since we like both of these meals, we usually have both, but one is certainly enough. I always set the table with some flair of purple and green. We eat the pancakes for either breakfast or lunch. Traditionally, pancakes were eaten in abundance on Fat Tuesday so that the kitchens could be cleared of all butter, eggs, and milk since these were not eaten during Lent. We have our decadent pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream with sausage on the side. For dinner, our family favorite is the Muffuletta. This is almost like eating a sub sandwich, but with a delicious olive spread. We also have a traditional King Cake with the hidden plastic baby inside. The finder of the baby in their piece of cake is the King for the rest of the day. (And by tradition—New Orleans’s style—has to bring the King Cake next year.) Really, any New Orleans style food would make a great Mardi Gras meal.) http://allrecipes.com/features/holidays/mardi-gras/?prop24=PN_1.1.2_NP.Mardi-Gras-Rec

Muffuletta SandwichMuffuletta SandwichMuffuletta SandwichMuffuletta Sandwich————from Familyfun.com

Invented in 1906 by Italian immigrant Lupo Salvadore, who opened his Central Grocery in downtown New Orleans, the muffuletta is a signature food of the Big Easy. During Mardi Gras season, the Central sells as many as 500 of these Frisbee-size treats. One serves a family of four. Here's how you can make your own at home: Mix the Muffuletta Spread

1 5-ounce far pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained and sliced (I add black olives, too.) 1 tomato, seeded and chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 tsp. dried oregano 3 tbsp. olive oil 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper In a small bowl, stir all of the spread ingredients until they are well mixed.

Stack up the Sandwich

1 9-inch round loaf of sesame-seed-topped bread Mayonnaise 1/4 pound each of sliced, baked ham, salami, Provolone cheese, and Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese Slice the loaf in half and spread the top and bottom with mayonnaise. Layer on the olive spread, meat and cheese. Tightly wrap the sandwich in plastic and refrigerate for one hour. When you are ready to eat, slice the sandwich into wedges and serve.

Ash WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh Wednesday With the silliness and decadence of Fat Tuesday put away for another year, it is time to begin our focus on Lent. Our traditional meal on Ash Wednesday is lentil soup. I start this tomato-based lentil soup in the morning in the slow cooker. We try to fast the entire day with this soup being our only meal at about 5:00. Nothing tastes as good as that lentil soup after going a whole day without food! This is very similar to what we will eat on Good Friday. During this meal, we often discuss ways that our family will observe Lent together as well as encouraging our children to share some of their own personal goals for Lent.