Lent

We are well into the Lenten season here at our house. We have done things a bit different this year. Usually we give up one or two things for the WHOLE Lenten season, but we found that everyone gets a bit burnt out. Little kids are not wired for such long sacrifices. Well, at least my children are not. More power to you with saints for children.

This year we are focusing on one sacrifice a week. Some examples are no TV, practicing patience, being diligent in our work, making small hidden sacrifices for others, kneeling down for all prayers and charity outside of our home. I think doing one a week has worked very well this year. I am able to remind the boys to do just that one thing and they don't get overwhelmed by the list of "must do's".

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Another thing we are doing is keeping track of our sacrifices and prayers on a crown of thorns. We are hoping to turn it into a crown of flowers by Easter. I drew a crown of thorns on a poster board and have used flower stamps to keep track. The red flowers are prayers said during the rosary. The other colors are morning, evening and misc. prayers said during the day. The big hearts are activities we do as a family. Examples would be attending Mass, saying the Stations of the Cross and attending the Lenten mission at our church. For the boys' sacrifices I used a stamp with three hearts. We can then see how one sacrifice will one please God, two help someone else and three strengthen your soul. The pictures below were taken last week , so we have filled up all the thorns and most of the middle already.

This is our Lenten wall. I borrowed the mantle letter idea from Elizabeth Foss's website though I am not using it on a mantle. The picture about the letters is of Our Lady holding Jesus after He has been taken down from the cross. Above the picture are the words " O all ye who pass by the way attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!"

A crown of thorns slowly becoming a crown of flowers.

This year I invested in a crown of thorns from the Holy Land and three replica Roman nails. They have been a powerful visual aid for all of us. The boys have each held the nails and felt the thorns. I am certain it will be a tradition in our family to display them every Lent.