The season of Lent invites us to return to the fundamentals of our spiritual life to prepare for the new life offered to us at Easter.
Great news for families! Even the smallest children can enter into the spirit of Lent and its three traditional themes: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.
Prayer
The Stations of the Cross: Incorporate Movement
The Stations of the Cross are a beautiful and popular Lenten devotional. Make it more child-friendly by incorporating lots of movement.
Use printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages to post around your living room or throughout the whole house. (If you live in a warmer climate, set up a Way of the Cross outdoors.) Children can set up simple landmarks for the different stations (using rocks or sticks to indicate the station number) and process from point to point.
If you attend a formal Stations of the Cross service, many parishes allow children to process around the stations following the priest – bring a crucifix from home for your child to hold. This gives him something physical to anchor his reflection.
Domestic Church: Simplify Your Decor
During Lent, Catholics traditionally remove or cover statues and sacred images. Children can help identify what decorations could be put away during Lent. You can use a few yards of lace or purple cloth, but extra pillowcases work just as well for covering pieces that cannot easily be removed for storage!
Decreasing the visual clutter can not only minimize stress, but also cut down on the amount of time it takes to clean up! For further symbolism, children can decorate signs that say “Alleluia” that will later be used during Easter. “Putting away the Alleluia” illustrates to the children that something special is coming, but we need time of prayer and simplicity first to prepare.
God’s Creation: Prepare Your Yard for Spring
Manual labor can be a surprisingly fruitful time for small children to encounter God!
Have your children help re-mulch, weed, and plant flowers or seeds. The diligence of regular watering and care is an excellent practice in the habit of discipline. If you do not have gardening space outside, plant simple grass seed in plastic cups indoors. The growth of the tiny plant illustrates that sometimes growth is hidden while the roots are deepening – just like in our prayer lives during Lent.
Fasting
Be a Simon
Although younger children are not expected to fast from food in the same way as adults, the Lenten theme of denying yourself can be taken up at any age.
Tell your children about Simon of Cyrene, who helped Jesus carry His cross. Everyone could use a little help and kindness! Encourage your children to fast from unkindness and instead do little acts of love to help others carry their cross. Children may choose to help with additional chores instead of extra play time, defer to a friend’s or sibling’s choice at playtime, or offer the first bite or last cookie to someone else.
Sacred Silence for Kids
Incorporate the practice of sacred silence into your home.
The length of time can vary greatly based on your youngest, but having a regular period of silence helps us fast from the busyness of the day and be open to the voice of God. Try lighting a candle and tell your children that as long as the candle is lit, it is time for silence so that we can be aware of the presence of God.
For toddlers, prepare them for this exercise ahead of time by asking them “Did you know you can make silence?” Show them how you keep each part of your body still and breathe slowly while you “make silence.”
Almsgiving
Make Pretzels to Share
Pretzels are a traditional Lenten snack. The pretzel’s shape represents hands crossed in prayer and serves as a reminder of Lent’s penitential spirit. To cultivate the virtue of generosity, have your children participate in making soft pretzels at home and then give them away to friends and neighbors. You may also encourage your children to pray for each person who will enjoy the pretzel as they are forming the pretzel shape.
Give Away a Toy (or Two!)
Invite your children to look over their toy collection and choose an item or two that they would like to give away for another child to enjoy. Now that the Christmas season has settled down, it is an excellent time to pare down any excess that may have accumulated. Your children may be more willing than you expect to part with a toy so that someone else can enjoy it.
