Lent
What is Lent?
Traditionally Lent is the Liturgical season of 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday that starts with Ash Wednesday. It’s one of the most important times of year for us as Catholics. While Advent is a celebration and a time of great anticipation, Lent is more frequently seen as a time of solemn observance and preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
When is Lent?
It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the solemn celebration of Christ's death and resurrection (the Three Holy Days). Lent lasts for 40 days and reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert when he was tempted before beginning his mission.
Why 40 days?
The number 40 has symbolic significance. It is a traditional number symbolising a lifetime. In the Bible it is used to suggest a generation or a symbolic lifetime…a period of growth and change. Thus Moses stayed on the Mountain of God forty days (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28), the spies were in the land for forty days (Numbers
13:25), Elijah travelled forty days before he reached the cave where he had his vision (1 Kings 19:8), Nineveh was given forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4), and most importantly, prior to undertaking his ministry, Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2).
What should we do during Lent?
Lent is a time to notice God’s work and to receive God’s mercy. Fasting, charitable works (almsgiving) and prayer are the three traditional practices during Lent. The scriptures during this time also challenge us to come to God who repairs our relationship with him and with others. Lent is a time, with God's help, to become the person that he calls us to be. It is a time to seek healing and reconciliation, and a time for renewing and restoring our commitment to God. It is a time for shedding some of the ‘baggage’ of our lives that prevents us from being totally open to God. The season of Lent challenges us to ask the questions: “What is it in my life that is in need of healing?” “What could I change in my life in order to more fully live the Gospel?”
Family Lenten Activities
During these 40 days of Lent, your family can engage in prayer, activities, and projects to help strengthen your spiritual growth, growing closer to each other and Jesus.
Although many Lenten activities often revolve around prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, these activities may be hard concepts for younger children and students to grasp. Many may consider them as punishments rather than a way of drawing closer to God.
Enclosed are suggested activities, based on Lenten principles and concepts, to help find age-appropriate activities for your entire family! You can pick the ones best suited for you and your family.
Make a cross with things you find in nature.
This simple and inexpensive craft is a great way to work together as a family to create something special. Using things only found in nature, such as sticks or rocks, create a cross in the ground or glue to a piece of card. Talk to your child about why the cross is often associated with Lent and Easter.
Share a meal with someone.
Food always helps to bring friends and family together. Consider making or taking a meal to a family member, neighbour, or friend. This activity is about taking the time to help feed another individual.
Give away something to someone.
Together as a family, you can decide if there is anything you can donate or give to another person, group, or family. You can gather up old stuffed animals that are no longer used and donate them to a local charity. Or donate old clothes or go shopping for groceries for a local food bank. It can even be something as simple as giving something to a friend or relative, it doesn’t have to be big or expensive; it’s just about learning to give something that was yours to someone else who can use it.
Surprise someone with a special note.
Mail or handwritten notes from children of all ages are cherished, especially to older family members or church members. Consider surprising someone with a piece of mail carrying a special note letting them know that you’re thinking of them. Each family member can choose a different person to write a note to, or you can all write a note to the same person and mail it together as a bundle.
Pray for someone.
Leading up to Easter, try to challenge yourself and your family to pray for someone you may not normally pray for. If you are struggling to think of someone as a family, try thinking about those who are part of your faith/community family as a place to start.
Help with garden work or pick up litter.
With spring just around the corner, another great service activity you can do as a family is to do garden work for a grandparent, elderly neighbour, member of your church, or family friend who may need some extra help. Another way to find an opportunity to help is to walk through your neighbourhood or local park and collect rubbish/litter o help clean up your community.
Go on a scavenger hunt.
Give each child an Easter basket, bag, or bucket and tell them to go around and collect items that remind them of Lent and Easter. Items could be a cross, a palm, a Bible, a coin – anything that they can think of.
Give up something for a day.
Giving something up for Lent is a common practice many do, but it’s important to teach children why we do this. Lent is a sign of sacrifice and self-discipline for believers. This is one way for us to practice Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Allow each child to pick what they would like to give up for a day. It could be no sweets, not watching TV, or maybe not playing with their favourite toy. Help your child navigate to something that is achievable. It’s important the children associate this important Lent activity with success to help boost their confidence in their spiritual walk.
Make an Easter card.
Find a printable Easter card template to colour or you can choose to make your own! One of our favourite religious Easter card crafts is to tear up pieces of bright colour tissue paper or construction paper and glue that to the front of a piece of folded card. Then cut out a black or dark-coloured cross and glue it to the front. It’s easy, fun, and colourful.
Don’t know what to write on the inside? Consider just including a Scripture verse and then have each child sign the bottom. Here are some Bible verses to consider:
Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed. John 20:29
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Matthew 28:6
Perform a random act of kindness for someone.
Random acts of kindness are a great way to teach children that they can spread a little joy in the world by assisting others. Most children love surprising others and once they get started, many will want to do more than just one act! This can include holding the door open for someone, helping someone with a chore, collecting spare change in your home and donating it, giving someone a compliment, or even making someone laugh. When talking about acts of kindness, ask ways that Jesus and his disciples showed kindness to others.
Lenten Prayer Trail
As part of our Lenten journey we all took part in a Lenten prayer trail in the hall. We began by thinking about God's amazing creation and listening to the story of creation in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Next we thought about how we sometimes make wrong choices and the need to say sorry and ask for forgiveness. We did this by writing sorry prayers to God. Then we thought about how our lives are transformed when we follow Jesus and how his forgiveness transforms our lives. Finally we listened to the parable of the Sheep and Goats and thought about our responsibilities as followers of Christ. We reaffirmed our Lenten promises and placed them around the crucifix.
Our Lenten Homework
We decorated a stone with our personal Lenten promise.