Preparing for Lent

Lent is a time of 40 days in the Catholic Church to prepare for Easter.  It is a time where we are asked to practice penance, fasting and almsgiving.  Lent officially starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday, when at that time the Easter Triduum (or three days leading to Easter) begin including Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.  We then celebrate Easter not as a single day, but as a 50 day season which ends on Pentecost. 

Here are a few ways that we prepare for Lent and practice penance, fasting and almsgiving.

Preparing for Lent:

I introduced you to my love of Jesse Tree Treasures during Advent and Christmas as I use Angie's beautiful ornaments for my Jesse Tree, O Antiphons and 12 days of Christmas.  I also have her sets for Lent and Easter and they are just as amazing. 

Stations of the Cross:  We use the Stations of the Cross ornaments throughout all of Lent and I think this is my favorite of Angie's sets.  With little children it is difficult to go to the Stations of the Cross every Friday at our parish during Lent, but with this set in our home we would pray the Stations of The Cross together as a family in our own home.

Walk with Jesus through Lent:  These coins walk you through a beautiful Biblical story from the Gospels about Jesus.   There are 47 disks for the 40 days of Lent and 7 Sundays from Ascension to Pentecost.  Included in the set is the Bible verses to read daily throughout Lent and the Easter session that we will use during our couples prayer time.

Holy Week:  These egg shaped ornaments walk through the story from Palm Sunday through the Easter Triduum to Easter Sunday.  They are a great addition to add a little something to Holy Week, including a beautiful devotional book.  The center ornament is a cross that is then flipped around on Easter with Easter lilies to celebrate our new life in Christ.

 

Penance:
Catholics are asked to practice a spiritual exercise or penance during the season of Lent.  You can choose to give up something that might not be good for you or something that might be difficult for you to give up and would give you time to focus on the Passion of Christ.  Common choices can be giving up social media like Facebook/Pinterest, etc, not drinking coffee or alcohol, not eating Fast Food, etc.  Another thought during lent is make a specific effort to increase your faith life by doing things like going to daily mass more often, increasing prayer time for yourself or family, going to weekly confession, etc.  Either way of either giving something up or taking something new up can both be great things to bring each of us closer to God.  Kendra from Catholic All Year has fantastic list of ideas of what to Give up or Take up for Lent if you are considering what to do for this year!

Fasting:

Catholics age 14-59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all of the Fridays during Lent.  Fasting means eating only one main meal and also some additional food throughout the day, but for the additional food to not equal a second meal.  We follow the tradition of also abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during Lent.  The Catholic Church teaches that the purpose of fasting and abstinence has a spiritual focus, self discipline and allows us to focus on the death of Christ.  Our children do not yet fast, meaning they are always fed three meals a day, but they do abstain from meat Fridays during Lent. 



Enjoying Fish on a Lenten Friday

Almsgiving: 

Almsgiving is the act of giving to those in need.  Lent is a wonderful time to reach out to each individual in our homes and to others in our community in an act of love and servitude. 
I like to think of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy to create ideas of what we can do to help give within our communities:  feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead.  Even though we have little children we try to take time to donate food and clothing to the needy, make an extra effort to visit or write a letter to those who are sick, etc.

Putting money in our Rice Bowl to give to the needy

These are just a few things that we do to help our family focus on our faith during the season of Lent.  Do you have any Lenten traditions to share?  What is the most difficult part of Lent for you, and what brings you closest to the Passion of Christ?