Lent 2008

I do realize that my ideas for celebrating seasons would be more helpful if I could get them up before the season started. Alas, with back to back stomach bug, flu, and colds this was not likely this time around. Actually, with all the sickness, it feels like we are already in the fourth week of Lent instead of the first!

Anyway, our theme this year is "Walking With Jesus." I looked at the readings for the Sundays of Lent and drew out a map for where we would be going with Jesus. Then I drew the arrows for all the days in between. We start at the heart on Ash Wednesday ("Turn to me with your whole heart...") and go into the desert for the Temptation, then the mountain for the Transfiguration, then the well to meet the Samaritan Woman, you get the idea. Along the way, as we make little sacrifices, acts of kindness, or extra time with Jesus, we draw flowers near the arrow for that day. We are strewing flowers on Jesus' path.

I am hoping that we will all get well enough to do some physical walking or hiking prayer time (literally walking with Jesus) and we are doing some guided imagery meditations of our walk with Him also.

We talked about the usual ways to walk more closely with Jesus: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The kids asked to go to Mass more and join in on Evening prayer for the prayers part. They wanted to give up candy and desserts for the fasting part, and want to give more of their allowances for the almsgiving part (usually they tithe).

We do celebrate Sundays with desserts, incidentally, so last Sunday when the Gospel was the Temptation in the desert, we had a desert dessert: spice cake covered with sandy brown sugar!