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 […]
Now that we are into our first full week of the Lenten season, I’d love to hear what you are up to this year. What are you doing for Lent for yourself and for the class(es) you teach? Share your thoughts below in the box under “Leave Your Reply.” I look forward to hearing from you.
(Jonathan Sullivan has invited all Catholic bloggers to write on a common theme today – penance – as a way to mark Catholic Blog Day. I’m happy to participate with my fellow Catholic bloggers!) There is a great scene in the movie Mrs. Doubtfire in which Robin Williams, dressed as Mrs. Doubtfire (a matronly British nanny), has had too much to drink. In his inebriated state, his eyes land on a sexy woman at the […]
The beginning of Lent often coincides with the beginning of spring training and the reporting of pitchers and catchers, so I can’t help but dip into my bag of sports metaphors to talk about Lent. Lent is nothing more than a 40-day retreat and a retreat is basically an opportunity to step back from ordinary activities to connect with God in a special way. It’s the spiritual equivalent of throwing a change-up. For those of […]
Just in time for Lent! I’m happy to once again provide my very popular 40 Ideas for 40 Days of Lent – a resource that provides catechists and families with 40 practical, creative, and inspiring catechetical activities for the Lenten season, many of them placed specifically on days/dates to which they connect in the Lenten liturgical calendar. This year, to keep things fresh, I have included 7 brand new ideas, one for each week of Lent. […]
This activity is called Good Deeds Bracelets for Lent and it comes to us from Arma Dei. They describe it this way: Inspired by St. Therese, this bracelet works similar to other good deed bead bracelets, as the beads slide and stay in place, recording each good deed, extra prayer (foregone opportunity to complain) or sacrifice. Arma Dei sells a craft kit that contains everything you need to create these bracelets. Be sure to take […]
Today’s activity – a Salt Dough Crown of Thorns – can be found in many places on the Internet, I am drawing from a couple of Web sites: Ten Kids and a Dog and Three Sided Wheel (which has an excellent tutorial) Basically, you make a salt dough and then roll out the dough into 3 long rolls/ropes. Next, you braid the rolls/ropes and shape it into a circle. Add toothpicks (loosely) to represent the thorns, asking forgiveness […]
Believe it or not, LENT is only 4 weeks away! With that in mind, I’m happy to once again provide you with a number of Lenten resources right here on my blog, beginning with the popular 40 Crosses Lenten Calendar idea created by my friend Victor Valdez, a DRE in Mountain View, CA. Thank you, Victor, for sharing this idea with us. With help from some folks here at Loyola Press, we’ve updated the calendar for […]
Here’s a great story from Tim: During Lent this past year I planned a guided meditation for my seventh and eighth graders. I was really impressed with the responses I got back from the students, as I only received one negative response! Unfortunately the meditation did not last as long as I would have wanted it to. Thankfully, my DRE had our Living Stations props nearby – so we each took turns carrying the cross […]
As we head into this weekend and prepare to celebrate the 5th Sunday of Lent, I wanted to share a message of hope with you. It comes from a blog called Chronic Hope and I found it very inspiring. I’ll let the author of the blog speak for herself. Check it out and have a great weekend! Chronic Hope
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