Are You Ready for Lent?

What an odd occurrence this year that Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day and Easter falls on April Fools’ Day! Of course, Valentine’s Day/Ash Wednesday is right around the corner: February 14. Lent invites us to turn our minds and hearts back to the God of mercy. Discover inspiring ways to observe the season in your faith formation setting with these ideas.

For Helping Children and Their Families

• Liturgical Year: Lent
  Bookmark this link for a full selection of Lenten articles, activities, prayers, and videos.
• Stations of the Cross
  Experience this common Lenten devotion with increased understanding this year. Use our popular Stations of the Cross for Children, available in English and in Spanish, or read helpful articles by Gary Jansen and James Campbell.
• 7 Ways to Practice Lent—Free eBook
  Explore seven ways to practice Lent, with background on each tradition, an accompanying prayer, and activities for you to share the riches of Lenten practices with those you serve.
• Lenten Actions Cards
  Encourage families to take practical steps toward practicing the traditional Lenten pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Print out our Lenten Actions Cards, and give sets to the families you serve.
• Explaining Ash Wednesday to Children
  Help children understand the tradition of receiving ashes at the start of Lent.

For Your Personal Spiritual Growth

• Living Lent Daily
  Come to know Jesus as a friend, and experience God’s unbelievable love and generosity toward us. Living Lent Daily is a daily e-mail series designed to help you grow in friendship with God. Each day’s message includes a brief reflection by William A. Barry, SJ.
• Arts & Faith: Lent
  Enter into a visual prayer experience this Lent using video commentary about works of art inspired by the Sunday Scriptures. Includes classroom activity ideas.

Resources for Your Faith Formation Setting

The Stations of the Cross Booklet
Help children walk through the popular Lenten devotion with this visual resource. Available in 10-packs for the classroom, the booklet’s simple but sturdy pages introduce young children to the Stations of the Cross.

A Book of Lenten Prayers
Pray with this comprehensive collection of vibrant, moving prayers that can be prayed individually or in groups during Lent.

Loyola Kids Book of Bible Stories
Written by popular Catholic children’s author Amy Welborn, this beautifully illustrated collection of engaging Bible stories is arranged in a uniquely Catholic way—based on the liturgical year. That makes it easy to pick out the Lenten stories for classroom reading.

Station to Station: An Ignatian Journey through the Stations of the Cross
Gary Jansen’s Ignatian exploration of the scriptural Stations of the Cross examines Jesus’ response to his own suffering and how his reactions can guide us in difficult times.

Other Helpful Lenten Links from This Site

Webinar: Making Lent Simple, but Not Easy
What’s That on Your Forehead? Ash Wednesday post by Joe Paprocki
Ashes by Joe Paprocki
The Four Keys to Lent by Julianne Stanz
40 Fun-Filled Days of Lent by Barb Gilman
Lenten AWE: Reaching Out to Young Adults by Julianne Stanz
Five Ways to Follow Jesus During Lent by Joyce Donahue
Lent with the Saints, Part 1: Praying with St. Patrick by Bob Burnham
Lent with the Saints, Part 2: Fasting with St. Vincent Ferrer by Bob Burnham
Lent with the Saints, Part 3: Giving Alms with St. Katharine Drexel by Bob Burnham
Helping Families Celebrate Lent by Kathy Olenik Henry
Teaching the Stations of the Cross by Lisa Jones
Feasting While Fasting by Darcy Osby
40 Crosses Lenten Calendar (English and Spanish)
Teaching Second-Graders the Beauty of Lent by Lisa Brown
Keep the Lent Momentum Going: A Lesson in Spiritual Physics by Darcy Osby
The Vocabulary of Lent by Denise Gorss
Journeying with the Scriptures in Lent by Kathy Olenik Henry
Lent as a Catechetical Leader by Paul Gallagher
Why Do We Observe Lent? by Lisa Jones

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