Lenten Preparations

A few photos and descriptions of how we celebrate Lent in our home:

Crown of Thorns - Starting with a grape vine wreath from the craft store, glue toothpicks all around and place it in sand on a cake pedestal. The sand represents the 40 days in the desert. In the center, place a purple candle. The thorns can be removed when a child has performed a sacrifice. Another variation is to make a salt dough wreath and place the toothpicks in it. The crown is very fierce looking and an excellent example of the real suffering of Our Lord.

The bare tree on Ash Wednesday.

Jesus Calendar- this is a countdown calendar for Lent. Each day has a reading

from the bible on Jesus' life and a felt symbol that is added to a banner. It

comes as a kit and can be purchased from Leaflet Missal. I put ours together very slowly over the course of many years. The only thing different about mine versus anyone elses is that I am a little partial to glitter and beads. 

Hide the Alleluia - I have a box that I painted purple and into it we place

wooden letters spelling Alleluia. I talk to the children about the meaning of

the word and its absence during Lent. On Easter morning, the Alleluia is

prominently displayed on the mantle and in Mass, of course. A variation on this

includes writing Alleluia on paper, rolling it up, and literally hiding

somewhere in the house to be found on Easter morning.

Lent for Children A thought a Day -  This is a

booklet that can be printed at Family Feast and Feria.  Jennifer very kindly made a printable document of 1931 set of readings for children. It is very traditional with little sayings for them to repeat throughout the day. I made a book cover for it out of a purple

file folder, then decorated and laminated it.

Purple Ribbons - We drape all our crosses and religious artwork in purple for

the season. The lamb is a reminder of Our Lord and His sacrifice.

Lent and Candles - I prop up these glittery letters on the mantle with purple candles in wall sconces. Colored candles are such an easy way to decorate for the liturgical seasons.

Stations of the Cross votive candles - This is my favorite! Buy 14 votive

candles to represent the 14 Stations of the Cross. You can number the candles

(which is what I did) or find small black and white prints of the Stations on

the internet to paste onto the candles. Turn out all the lights in the house and

light all the candles to start. After the readings and prayers of each Station,

have a child extinguish 1 candle. At the end, when Jesus is placed in the tomb,

you will be in darkness too. Very powerful! We read the meditations from Jesus, Make Me Worthy for our family stations. These are so intensely sweet and inspiring for absolutely everyone.

To help facilitate the Stations of the Cross devotion on Fridays, I made 3 part cards for both the older and younger children. The older ones can match the station picture to the name while the younger ones simply put the simpler cards in order. The 3 part cards can be found here and the simple ones can be found at Catholic Artworks, but I can't find the direct link right now. I also made a quick little card for writing down intended sacrifices. And the Q&A is fun, quick, and educational for all and the children love to answer the questions over lunch, each one striving to out answer the other. They are a wee bit competitive with each other!

Dominic is exploring our new Lenten centerpiece for the dining room table. I usually use the lamb and twigs but this year Stephen brought home a gorgeous bowl of succulents. I really love all the different colors and textures and since it has a desert-ish feel, I thought it would be perfect for Lent. Now, if only I can keep the little boys off the table and out of the planter!

Jessica at Shower of Roses has so many, many ideas and links. I highly recommend looking at her site! She is my mommy blogging hero! :-)