This is a re-post for several quick ideas to help keep some Love in Lent
I’m participating in the Keeping LOVE in LENT Blog Link-Up 2013, hosted by
Usually, I keep written assignments, work progress, etc, on our dry eraser board, which we keep in the hallway of our learning room area. Impulsively, I erased everything and wrote these FOUR letters:
At the end of the day, when I walked passed the board, I noticed this added illustration (from Conductor, my 15 year old):
Thus begins our Lenten season.....
We make a list of our Lenten Commitments:
PRAYER + FASTING + ALMS GIVING
~ LENTEN FASTING ~
The evening (and week) before ASH WEDNESDAY, our family goes through our pantry 'using up' the 'excess'.
SHROVE TUESDAY, or Shrovetide, is the time used to prepare for LENT.
By 'using up' the 'excess' we are better able to keep to our Lenten Commitments or Promises - as it relates to fasting or abstinence.
My children LOVE Shrove Tuesday also known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday!
We free ourselves from the "prohibited articles of diet", therefore keeping a simpler fare, allowing us to keep our focus more on CHRIST (and less on 'ourselves').
Living Lent: Abstain from meat on Wednesday AND Fridays.
As a mother and preparer of meals...food is a big deal in our house, which comprises a decent portion of our days activities, time, mindset and effort.
We begin Ash Wednesday with the Holy Mass and usually have
LENTIL SOUP as our 'one full meal'.
 |
| Before... |
Zucchini, spinach, carrots, fingerling potatoes....whatever we have on hand...and lentils!
 |
| After! |
Soupe du jour ~ Soup of the Day! Worth the Wait.
Living Lent: The Code of Canon Law and our bishops remind us of other Works of Mercy and means of doing penance: prayer, acts of self-denial, alms giving and works of personal charity.
I used one of my favorite cookbooks "Twelve Months of Monastery Soups" by Brother
Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. Everything in this cookbook comes out
delicious; a must have cookbook!
Some traditions include making Hot Cross Buns
and Pretzels, as well as RESURRECTION ROLLS for EASTER...
~ LENTEN ALMS GIVING ~
CREATE FOR ME A CLEAN HEART ~ and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
~ Psalm 51:10
"We Will Give Something Up To Lift Others Up!"
Our family participates in the RICE BOWL project, through Catholic Relief Services, that helps those in need;
and by giving food items to the St. Vincent de Paul Society through our parish.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS ON FRIDAYS, AFTER THE HOLY MASS.
QUARANT'ORE ~ FORTY HOURS DEVOTION
We began 40 hour devotion in our parish for Lent, two years ago. Continuous prayer before the (exposed) Blessed Sacrament...an ideal time for the sacrament of Confession is after you have had time to reflect in front of Our Lord: Gazing upon him in both the Monstrance and on the Cross...
We helped our pastor to organized a 40 hour devotion...a true spiritual retreat!
 |
| Refreshments for the late night adorers... |
BITTER LAMENTATIONS ~ LENTEN LAMENTATIONS
(my personal favorite...this devotion was introduced to us by our pastor)
Ancient chants retracing the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ; The devotion
incorporates prose and verse, chant and reading, prayer and meditation, inviting
participants to reflect on the mystery of Christian redemption, the Passion and
death of the Christ.
The Lamentations take the shape of a
three-part cycle; one part is sung each Sunday afternoon service. Each of the three parts has a parallel form
and structure, with repeated musical motifs.
The Lamentations highlight the very
emotional nature of Christian
spirituality, inviting a personal identification with the Suffering Lord
and His Mother. The devotion is
followed by Benediction and Holy Mass.
~ LENTEN PRAYER & READING ~
These are some of the books that we will be reading this Lenten season:
EVENING VESPERS, WEEKDAYS AND SUNDAYS
ON LOVE:
ON THE HOLY FATHERS...since we heard the news of Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, we began reading THE POPES: - an amazing book on the full list of the Popes, compiled by the Prefect of the Vatican Archives, Monsignor Angelo Mercati, published for the first time, by the Holy See in its 1947 Yearbook. I have the sixth edition, expanded, printed in 1999.
Did you know that the word "amen" in religious ceremonies is attributed to St. Clement I's time (88-97) as well as the "Dominus Vobiscum" (The Lord be with you) said at the beginning of Mass?
ON FORTY DAYS...learning LOVE for God's Word, in short story form.
LENTEN BASKET ~ Filled with Books, Movie, & Purple cloth to cover Saint Statues & Crucifix (during Holy Week)
SACRIFICE JAR ~ SMALL DEEDS DONE WITH GREAT LOVE:
My children will drop a bean in a jar with every prayer, good work, sacrifice...at the end of the Lenten season, they are replaced with JELLY BEANS!!
MORE MOVIES:
A Family Retreat with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is highly recommended, there are plenty of wonderful films appropriate for viewing during the Lenten Season
CLEANING HEART, SOUL & HOUSE:
Keeping our 'Liturgical Supplies' organized, helps us to Live Lent..as well as Easter, Advent, Christmas...
 |
| these removable hooks are both practical and time-savers |
Keep LOVE in LENT
Our Pastor publishes this in our bulletin:
A List of "Give Ups" for LENT
1. Give up bitterness; turn to forgiveness.
2. Give up hatred; return good for evil.
3. Give up negativism; be positive.
4. Give up complaining; be grateful.
5. Give up pessimism; be an optimist.
6. Give up harsh judgments; think kind thoughts.
7. Give up worry; trust Divine Providence.
8. Give up discouragement; be full of hope.
9. Give up anger; be more patient.
10. Give up pettiness; be more mature.
11. Give up gloom; enjoy the beauty around you.
12. Give up jealousy; pray for trust.
13. Give up gossiping; control your thoughts.
14. Give up sin; turn to virtue.
~ LIVING LENT, LOVING LENT ~
HOW DO YOU LIVE LENT?
HOW DO YOU KEEP LOVE IN LENT?
Check out the Lent reflections participating in the Keep LOVE in LENT Blog Link-Up 2013! We'll be sharing different ways, tips, stories and real-life experiences that will help us focus on Lenten sacrifices, prayer and good deeds, and how to carry them out with LOVE instead of a GRUMBLE.
Discover new Catholic Blogs to follow!
.jpg)
.jpg)