We have been very purposeful about our Faith activities since this past Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) and spent some time preparing beforehand for our Lenten sacrifices. Our preparations included:
- signing up for Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. I also additionally ordered the workbooks and the road map (if you go to the site, you'll understand). Many of the printables are available online but not all. My kids and I are enjoying the videos and the rosary recordings that are out there.
- Making a Lenten Goal poster where we all participated by writing our sacrifices/plans on heart-shaped colored pieces of paper. It's been very handy to point to and gently remind my son (who put "I will stop pestering my family members" as his sacrifice). We plan to color in a thermometer type thing, like you would see for a United Way campaign, instead of money, it's tracking progress towards Easter. The idea is to encourage each other to keep working towards our sacrifices to God. [Oddly, today's homily on temptation, stressed that we can not fight temptation all on our own just "me and Jesus" style. I guess I was ahead of the homily on this one!].
- Using some resources found online at Mrs. Walker's Frog-tastic Web Site, we made a bucket fillers display and have talked about filling each other's buckets rather than stealing goodwill from others. My kids have been really enjoying getting their little notes and writing them. I really do feel like they are seeing the efforts.
We've been adding some things to our sacrifices and activities here and there to focus on the sacrifice our Lord made for us. In the Catholic Church, that's really at the crux of Lent, focusing on the sacrifice that was made on our behalf and be repentant. It's really so much easier to make little sacrifices when you imagine and see the image of Christ on the Cross.
- Inspired by another blogger (who's site I didn't pin on pinterest or bookmark, however, it's quite prevalent on Catholic Mom blog sites-- the twist was that this person tied a crucifix to theirs) and the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure suggestion of making a bean jar, we've all been enjoying doing things as asked or for others and putting a bean in the jar. By the way, we decided to use chickpeas, because they are easier to pick up and seemed like something we could easily imagine that Jesus may have snacked on. By the way, at Easter, those chickpeas (aka Garbanzo Beans) will replaced by Jelly Beans. It was a quick and inexpensive craft and we ended up making 2 (one for my Confirmation Sponsor). In addition, the crucifix I chose to decorate it with is the Blessed John Paul II crucifix. I chose that crucifix for it's "look" and already have a connection with the Blessed JPII. I would definitely credit him with the turning point to my eventual return to the Faith after many years away. The kids and I decided to let this be a kitchen table centerpiece so that we can all be reminded to do things for others.
To bring things around to Soothing Sunday, my kids' school has a Lenten reading challenge each year. Families are asked to turn off the electronics and read for an hour each day. The resulting reward is your name is entered into a drawing for a bicycle. They give away (through generous donations) one bicycle per grade, one for a family, and even the teachers get entered (though without fail, for the last 5 years that we've been there and I'm sure long before that, the donate the bike back).
Today our family activities will include, catching up on Holy Heroes (we were "naughty" yesterday and skipped it), saying a decade of the rosary together (we're on the second Sorrowful Mystery-- which is available on the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure page for today), and then we plan to read together. All this family activity is bound to lead to something good. Surprisingly, as much as my kids groan about getting up and going to school/church/anywhere that isn't "fun," they are very into the Lenten Adventure. It's really fantastic.
I'm going to have to look around, but I may be following Holly at the Three-Sided Wheel's Domestic Church idea for today as well and redecorating the mantle. We had already purchased a small tealight candle holding grotto to light during our rosary time. [I was lucky enough to find it on the 50% off shelf, covered in dust and looking sad, lonely and not all that inspiring, at my local Catholic Shoppe. After running it under some cold water and letting it air dry, it's turned a gleaming and inspiring white. I think it would go nicely with Lenten mantle display, as will my Infant of Prague crystal (the infant image is engraved into the lead crystal and coated with an iridescent finish)that a dear friend brought me from the church of Our Lady Victorious which houses the Infant statue.]
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