"O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day. In union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. In reparation for my sins and for the intentions offered this month by our Holy Father." - Daily Offering Prayer
My intention this lent was to bring our family closer to the cross, closer to the sufferings of Jesus through His Mother Mary.
Last year, I made a Stations of the Cross for Toddlers. The girls loved having something to hold while we sat and prayed together. It kept their little hands busy and squiggly bodies occupied.
Recognizing their fascination with the hands-on stations, I wanted to incorporate more visuals and tactile items this year. A crown of thorns, woven palms, nails, purple cloth; having these things around our home at little arms' reach helped our children reflect and meditate on the Passion of Our Lord. Their young hearts were ready to learn and their love was pure and tender.
Below are a few things we did as a family during the season of Lent to help prepare our hearts for Easter.
Crown of Thorns:
A simple grape vine wreath was set ontop a purple cloth on our dinning room table. Toothpicks were added to have the appearance of thorns. The kids asked often if they could touch the "prickles."
40 Days of Lenten Prayers:
Using purple construction paper, I wrote the names of living and deceased people (relatives, friends, policemen, priests, librarians etc.) on 40 strips of paper then glued them together to make the links. The Lenten Prayer Chain was hung in our dining room next to our table. (When we first hung our chain up, it was quite long, dragging on the floor. Next year I'll make the links smaller). After breakfast, the girls would take turns tearing a link off the chain and we would pray for that particular person/persons throughout the day as well as offer little sacrifices for their soul. As each day passed by, our chain became shorter. It was a great visual for the kids, reminding them that Easter was getting closer.
Lenten Finger Puppets:
Using this pattern with a few tweaks to the Roman soldier outfit, I hot glued the puppets together for a quick assembly. I retold the events of the Last Supper, Garden of Gethsemane, and Crucifixion incorporating each finger puppet character. There was a Pontius Pilate finger puppet, as well (he was my favorite of the bunch). Somehow he didn't make it into the photoshoot.
Observing Holy Week/Good Friday:
On Palm Sunday after Mass, we placed the blessed palms around our crown of thorns. I found a few books at the library that were appropriate for Lent. We read The Easter Story, by Brian Wildsmith. It's the retelling of Jesus's Passion as seen through the eyes of a little donkey who carried Jesus through the streets on Palm Sunday.
On Holy Thursday, the family altar was stripped of the linens. Statues, holy cards, votive candles, and other sacramentals were remove and the Marian icon hanging in our dining room was covered with purple cloth. I found a holy card of Jesus praying in the garden before he was arrested and placed it amid a cluster of potted plants. It was our "mini garden of Gethsemane".
On Good Friday, we went to pray the Stations of the Cross at our local church. I have never seen hand written icon stations as beautifully detailed as these! Each station had gold foil detail which added a sense of a regality and sacredness to the icons. On the thirteenth station, two men are at the foot of the Cross: the beloved apostle St. John and Nicademus. They are holding pliers removing the nails from the feet of Christ. The thought of that simple yet gruesome act of love gave me much to meditate on.
My intention this lent was to bring our family closer to the cross, closer to the sufferings of Jesus through His Mother Mary.
Last year, I made a Stations of the Cross for Toddlers. The girls loved having something to hold while we sat and prayed together. It kept their little hands busy and squiggly bodies occupied.
Recognizing their fascination with the hands-on stations, I wanted to incorporate more visuals and tactile items this year. A crown of thorns, woven palms, nails, purple cloth; having these things around our home at little arms' reach helped our children reflect and meditate on the Passion of Our Lord. Their young hearts were ready to learn and their love was pure and tender.
Crown of Thorns:
A simple grape vine wreath was set ontop a purple cloth on our dinning room table. Toothpicks were added to have the appearance of thorns. The kids asked often if they could touch the "prickles."
40 Days of Lenten Prayers:
Lenten Finger Puppets:
Using this pattern with a few tweaks to the Roman soldier outfit, I hot glued the puppets together for a quick assembly. I retold the events of the Last Supper, Garden of Gethsemane, and Crucifixion incorporating each finger puppet character. There was a Pontius Pilate finger puppet, as well (he was my favorite of the bunch). Somehow he didn't make it into the photoshoot.
Observing Holy Week/Good Friday:
On Palm Sunday after Mass, we placed the blessed palms around our crown of thorns. I found a few books at the library that were appropriate for Lent. We read The Easter Story, by Brian Wildsmith. It's the retelling of Jesus's Passion as seen through the eyes of a little donkey who carried Jesus through the streets on Palm Sunday.
On Holy Thursday, the family altar was stripped of the linens. Statues, holy cards, votive candles, and other sacramentals were remove and the Marian icon hanging in our dining room was covered with purple cloth. I found a holy card of Jesus praying in the garden before he was arrested and placed it amid a cluster of potted plants. It was our "mini garden of Gethsemane".
On Good Friday, we went to pray the Stations of the Cross at our local church. I have never seen hand written icon stations as beautifully detailed as these! Each station had gold foil detail which added a sense of a regality and sacredness to the icons. On the thirteenth station, two men are at the foot of the Cross: the beloved apostle St. John and Nicademus. They are holding pliers removing the nails from the feet of Christ. The thought of that simple yet gruesome act of love gave me much to meditate on.
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| The 13th Station: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross |
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