I don't think I ever really understood what Lent was when I was younger. I mean, I understood the "things" about it...no meat on Fridays, 40 days till Easter, ashes, long Masses, Stations of the Cross
Now I have to say I really appreciate it. I appreciate the countdown to Spring. I understand that anticipation for new beginnings, using self-control and self-discipline, taking steps back from the materialism and excess's of life, allow me to fully feel and appreciate, with gratitude, all that I have.
In terms of what I wanted to do for Lent, I kept thinking about what sacrifices I felt like I should make, or what things would be nice to do, all without putting so much as ten seconds of focused prayer into it. When I actually carved out some time for silence to try to discern what I was led to do during Lent, I had an entirely different vision of what the next 40 days should look like for me.
Here are my personal and out family Lenten resolutions...
Personal
I'm planning to give up a food/drink item, set limits on my recreational Internet use time, and increase my prayer time to include attending daily Mass as often as my schedule allows. I will read a chapter of Proverbs every day (don't you just love Proverbs? Even if you aren't religious, they are just beautiful snippets of knowledge, plainly written, universally true...all those little things you want to teach your children about life.)
As a Family:
The kids have all decided to "give something up" (Catherine wanted to give up homework-lol). In addition we are going to spend one night of the week as family, to pray and discuss a variety of topics (we had been doing this for a while, but got out of the habit). I got this idea of Family Meetings from my LDS friends who talk about Family Home Evenings. I'm not sure I'm doing it "right", or there is any "right" way to do it, but it will be out take on it. We will pray, tell the kids a story about how we learned some life lessons, we'll talk about something that needs to be dealt with (i.e. getting along better), and we'll find some way for everyone to say something...a story, an experience, a problem, a concern, highs and lows, complimenting another sibling.
We will also each fill in a 40 day Lenten Calendar. I came across this on the Internet and thought it would be a great way to involve even the little kids in our family Lenten journey.
Lastly, we will attend our church Friday evening Stations of the Cross followed by the community soup dinner (as our schedules allow).
"Start by making your own home a place where happiness and love abound, through your love for each member of your family and for your neighbour. Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home. Make them long to be with their families. So much sin could be avoided if our people really love their homes.
Mother Theresa
(the smartest woman ever, who I will be quoting like crazy during these 6 weeks and for years to come)
Mother Theresa
(the smartest woman ever, who I will be quoting like crazy during these 6 weeks and for years to come)
Blessed Ash Wednesday!
