Q & A from Lenten Webinar

Just a reminder that a recording of my Lenten Webinar will be posted here shortly…stay tuned. In the meantime, I received a number of questions from participants during the Webinar and did not have time to address them that evening so I’m happy to do so now. Here they are: Lent 2013 Webinar Q & A (PDF) Lenten Webinar Q & A – Word Document Lenten Webinar Q & A (Word 97-03) [photo courtesy of Matt […]

Letting Go of Bad Habits During Lent

During my Webinar last evening, I asked participants to share suggestions of bad habits we can let go of during Lent. What a great list of suggestions! What resonates with you? What might you add? Gossiping­ Lack of patience­ Anger­ ­Being judgmental­ ­Laziness­ ­TV Shows­ ­Negative self talk­ ­Being opinionated ­Spending too much time on Facebook ­Watching too much TV­ ­Spending too much time on the Internet­ ­Negative thinking­ ­Not praying enough­ ­Unkind words to […]

Lent in a Year of Faith Webinar – A Note-Taking Sheet

To assist you during this evening’s webinar – Lent in a Year of Faith: How to Proclaim the Gospel with Power – I have put together a Note-Taking Sheet which you can download and print. It’s available in 3 formats in case you have trouble opening one or the other: Lenten Webinar Note Taking Sheet – Word Document Lenten Webinar Note Taking Sheet – Word 97-2003 Lenten Webinar Note Taking Sheet – PDF If you’ve […]

40 Ideas for 40 Days – Lenten Activities: Overcoming Impulses

Sin is often the result of acting on an impulse – like a reflex action that we do without thinking. During Lent, we strive to pay closer attention to how we act so that we can learn to discipline our impulses and not act reflexively. Materials needed: several cotton balls or rolled up paper towels, a transparent barrier (a wire screen, a piece of clear plastic, etc.), a heavy book and a table top.  Say, […]

40 Ideas for 40 Days – Lenten Activities: Justification – Being Aligned with God

Lent is a time to make sure that we are in a healthy alignment with God. Provide each participant with a fistful of Cheerios and a straight edge/ruler or popsicle stick Invite them to “spill” the Cheerios on their desk/table top in front of them. Show them the following image (either copy and paste into a handout or project it) and tell them to use their straight edge to arrange their Cheerios so that they […]

40 Ideas for 40 Days – Lenten Activities: A Sense of Direction

Ask all of your students to stand up and, on the count of three, to point north. Inevitably, there is some confusion…not all have their bearings! Explain that we can rely on a compass to help us get a sense of direction. Make a simple home-made compass. You will need a magnet, a sewing needle, a shallow aluminum baking pan filled with water, and a small piece of Styrofoam (2 in. x 2 in.) Hold […]

40 Ideas for 40 Days: A Declaration of DEpendence

Lent is a time for us to declare our independence from sins that have been impinging on our freedom and to declare our DEpendence on God! Prepare your own “parchment” to use as a Declaration of DEpendence. Here is a picture of one I prepared next to a replica of the real thing.  Any sheet of white newsprint will do. The thinner the paper, the better. I like to use a sheet from an easel […]

40 Ideas for 40 Days – Lenten Activities: Name That Song – the 7 Deadly Sins

The focus of this session is on the 7 Deadly Sins, a good way to prepare for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation during Lent. Identify each of the 7 Deadly Sins and their brief definitions (see chart below). Download or otherwise acquire versions of each of the following songs and play about 60 seconds of each song, one at a time, inviting the young people to guess which of the 7 Deadly Sins the […]

Learning the New Nicene Creed By Heart

One of my Lenten promises this year is to learn by heart (memorize) the new Nicene Creed. Of all the Roman Missal changes (people’s parts), the changes to the Nicene Creed (and the Gloria) are by far the most significant. I think it’s important to be able to recite the Creed from memory so I am attempting to learn it by heart this Lent. I spent time on the train this morning working on it […]

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