For a fresh approach to a Lenten calendar, explore a variety of values with young children this Lent. Our Lenten Countdown for Children invites children to choose a good value to practice each day, coloring and numbering circles as they go to track their progress. Values listed include sharing, patience, honesty, and more—all traits covered in the book A Whole Bunch of Values.
Denise Gorss is a catechist with more than 20 years experience, mostly in junior high. She appreciates the gifts of Ignatian spirituality and likes sharing various types of prayer with the young people in her groups. She enjoys seeing the world on pilgrimages and lives in the Chicago area, where she works as Web Editor at Loyola Press.
Today’s Lenten activity is a Scripture search on the Seven Last Words of Christ. More on that in a second. The Seven Last Words of Christ – A Scripture Search Explain that, before dying, many people speak final words that express their feelings and thoughts at that moment. Invite the young people to identify the speakers of these famous last words (fictional and non-fictional): “Et tu, Brute?” (Julius Caesar) “I have been and always will be […]
This Lenten activity is an opportunity for catechists to connect Holy Week and the end of Lent to the celebration of Easter. Holy Week Basket We are all familiar with Easter Baskets. This activity takes the Easter Basket and transforms it into a Holy Week Basket in preparation for the celebration of Easter. Place a traditional Easter Basket (filled with that fake green grass!) in the center of the room. In the basket, place a number […]
During Lent, we fast from many things liturgically: there is no Gloria or Alleluia during Mass, and the worship space is empty of flowers. The music is simpler too. Gone is the joyful praise that we engage in most other times of the year. These absences are a backdrop that reveals the growing intensity of the narrative of Jesus, who is entering the final stages of his earthly ministry. Lent is a serious time of preparation for […]
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