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Lent is Upon Us
by Mia Cronan
http://MainStreetMom.com
Many of us every year
feel the renewed inspiration that makes us want to put our hearts and
souls into the Lenten season. We want to prepare for the feast
of Easter, but we want to show our love for Jesus by imitating His
fasting and sacrifice during His 40 days in the desert.
As parents, sometimes we
find it difficult, if not intimidating, to try to explain our Catholic
traditions and feast days to our children. Ironically, children
have a much deeper understanding of these things than we give them
credit for. As youngsters, they are sponges for knowledge, have
great memories, and have a natural gift for accepting God and all of
His mysteries. Try to explain to your children in simple terms
why we pray, fast, and give alms during Lent. Things to explain
might include the following:
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The ashes we receive
on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday are made by burning the blessed
palms from the previous year.
-
We are reminded that
we are dust, and to dust we will return.
-
The ceremony
represents sorrow for our sins.
-
We should be
especially mindful during this season of cleansing our
hearts through prayer and self-denial.
-
The term
"penance" should be made clear to your children, as
penance means "change of heart," a victory over sin and
striving for holiness. Knowing this, our children will focus
more on the gift of forgiveness rather than the technical loss of
a pleasure or source of gratification.
-
Forgoing simple
pleasures requires "discipline," which reminds us that
we are "disciples" of
Christ.
Aside from the traditional
Lenten practices such as giving up meat on Ash Wednesday and all
Fridays in Lent, and omitting desserts and snacks on Fridays, what can
we do as Catholic families? Here are a few ideas:
-
Spend extra time in
prayer together.
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Choose a favorite
family food and give it up maybe for the whole Lent season, or
just Fridays.
-
Offer some family time
to a charitable service.
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Rather than going out
to eat, cook a light, modest meal and give the money otherwise
spent to the poor.
-
Limit TV time, or time
playing computer games.
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Attend Stations of the
Cross, if not every week, then at least once during Lent.
-
Go to confession, and
then talk about God's gift of forgiveness and how Jesus died on
the cross to open the gates of Heaven to us.
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Place a pretzel on
each dinner plate everyday during Lent Why? Dating
back to the fifth century, Christians made bread of only water,
flour, and salt during Lent, giving up the milk, butter, eggs (and
of course cheese, cream, and meat.) To remind
themselves that Lent is a time of prayer (in those days they
crossed their arms over their chests in prayer ), they shaped the
bread like praying arms, or "little arms" (bracelle).
The Germans later called them pretzels! In many European
places, pretzels are only served during Lent in remembrance of the
fasting and prayer.
Whatever works for you and
your family may turn into traditions you'll be hard-pressed to break
for many years, and your children will be grateful that you shared
God's gifts with them so early on.
Related Articles:
Easter
Party Ideas For Kids & Adults
Easter marks the start of spring and is a sacred holiday for
Christians throughout the world as it signifies when Jesus Christ was
resurrected from the grave to live again. But where did the Easter
bunny and eggs fit into the Easter tradition?
Piñata
Easter Egg Centerpiece
Easter is not only a sacred religious holiday, Easter can be a fun
time of year to celebrate the renewed growth of spring! You can make a
colorful Easter egg piñata as a fun craft for your Easter celebration
party to use as a beautiful spring centerpiece or to let the children
break in a traditional piñata game.
Holiday
Feasts Can be Healthy Too!
Holidays are one of the hardest times to eat healthy. At our house we
have a variety of health concerns on both sides of the family and so
we are always on the look out for nutritious lower fat recipes.
Jazzing
Up Your Holiday Ham
Ham is part of many of our Easter Dinners. This year why not jazz it
up with a new sauce or glaze? They are easy and inexpensive, but can
add that extra touch to your holiday meal.
Easter
Story Cookies
Before beginning, pray that the Lord will guide you and your family to
a greater understanding of this time of year and the true significance
of the Easter season.
How to
Make an Easter Bunny Cake
Did you ever see the bunny cakes in the grocery store bakery
department? If you have, you may have noticed that they can be
expensive. I'm going to tell you how to make your own so you can
save money.
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