Lent is just around the corner (Ash Wednesday is February 25, 2009) and catechists are looking for lenten ideas and activities to mark the season. I have 2 very special plans for this blog:
- First, I am collecting scripts for the Living Stations of the Cross to make available to you through my blog. Many parishes involve their young people in the Living Stations of the Cross and write their own scripts that they develop from year to year. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO SHARE YOUR SCRIPT FOR THE LIVING STATIONS OF THE CROSS WITH OTHER CATECHISTS, PLEASE ATTACH IT TO AN EMAIL (as either a Word Document or a PDF) AND SEND IT TO ME AT joe@catechistsjourney.com.
- Second, I will be posting 40 IDEAS IN/FOR 40 DAYS beginning Monday, February 23 (I’ll begin posting a few days before Ash Wednesday to give you some time to incorporate ideas into your planning). Each day for 40 days, I’ll post an idea for a lenten activity that you can use with your classes. I’m sure that over the course of the 40 days and the 40 ideas, you find a few that can work with your group! I’ll also be inviting you to share some of your own lenten activities so that we can really develop a treasury of ideas!
In the meantime, for your own enrichment, I recommend Praying Lent: Renewing Our Lives on the Lenten Journey, a great resource for incorporating Ignatian spirituality into our observance of Lent with ideas for making it a truly transformative experience.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Margie 02.08.09 at 4:25 pm
Hi Joe,
I LOVE doing a Living Stations in our very small parish. All 50 students (K-10th) are able to participate. The older students are the narrators, the younger students are “actors” and the youngest are the crowds, women, etc. And it’s so simple to do with narrators – no memorizing lines.
When our numbers increase and we have more students, I have the First Eucharist students act out Jesus entering town, looking for a place to celebrate Passover, the Last Supper and conclude with Him going to the garden. This, of course, leads right into the Stations.
Margie
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Mary 02.25.09 at 4:04 pm
Hi Joe, I have been a Catholic my entire life, but have a question about lent. When we are fasting, does that mean that we just stop eating meat for that day, or does it truly mean don’t eat anything for that day? I have heard many different takes on it and I want to know the real answer for once and for all.
Thank you,
Mary
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Joe Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Hi Mary and thanks for your question. It’s good to clarify what we mean when we talk about fasting and abstaining from meat. For Catholics, fasting involves eating only one moderate meal for that day along with two smaller meals or snacks that, added together, are no larger than the one main meal. Abstinence is refraining from eating meat. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast AND abstinence, so we adhere to the pattern I mentioned above (one moderate meal, 2 small ones) and refrain from meat as well. On all other Fridays during Lent, we abstain from meat. Throughout Lent, we are encouraged to practice fasting voluntarily. The important thing is to not just focus on the “legal” aspects of these practices but to focus on the spiritual benefits of doing without. If we can master our desire for food, we can then practice the same control over stronger desires that perhaps are obstacles to our true desire for God. Mary, have a blessed Lent!
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walter fircowycz 02.26.09 at 9:54 am
what’s out there in spanish? que hay en espanol?
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Joe Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Walter, I suggest you contact Miguel Arias at Loyola Press who has his fingers on the pulse of Hispanic catechesis. Contact him at arias@loyolapress.com.
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Philomena 02.27.09 at 11:34 am
Hi, Joe!
At Mass this morning, Father mentioned that when we fast from something, we must replace it with some action, i.e. by performing one of the Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy. This is a wonderful way to spend the days of Lent; doing good to others.
Have a wonderful and happy Lenten Season.
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Joe Reply:
March 1st, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Hi Philomena…sound advice!
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