Juan Campos prays with his son Daniel during Mass in this 2015 file photo. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Incorporating children into the Lenten journey can be difficult for parents. I know it was for me, until one year, when I was at a loss, I decided to ask my sons what they wanted to do for Lent. Talking to my kids about prayer, almsgiving and fasting opened up great discussion. I found new avenues to take in my own faith life, as they see faith with fresh eyes. Talking to them about faith gave them more ownership over their own Lenten journey and walk with Jesus. Prayer When my boys were 3 and 4, as part of their nighttime routine, we would pray for our friends and family. The list got rather long. I began to think the list was long so that they did not have to go to sleep. I suggested limiting the list to three people who really needed our prayers. They quickly focused on those who were ill or had an immediate concern. I was surprised at how this deepened our prayers for that person. We followed their trials and illnesses. We checked in with the person, seeing how we could be God’s “hands and feet,” loving them through their difficulty. My sons would ask me to mail their latest artwork to those we prayed for, and I knew that they were thinking about our prayers at other times than just bedtime. When an illness was healed or a new job was found, we celebrated, then added another person to the list. Almsgiving This year I asked my sons, now 9 and 10, if they had extra money to help our community, where would they spend it? Their answer: the homeless. In Seattle, where we live, homelessness has reached a breaking point. There are tent cities popping up on freeway off-ramps and in city parks. The main street closest to our home is lined with recreational vehicles where people live. My sons had several great ideas on where to share our money and time: • Donating money and goods to a shelter. Both our parish and their Catholic school host a nighttime shelter. We can share with our neighbors there. • Helping out at a food bank. Not just by giving money but by donning a hair net and latex gloves to pass out food. My sons already do this once a month with their school. Now we will look into helping as a family. • Building a tiny house. Last year, the eighth graders at their Catholic school built a tiny house for one of the dozens of tiny home communities in our city. The middle schoolers raised funds with a GoFundMe campaign, as well as bake sales and car washes. Then they rolled up their sleeves and learned basic carpentry with a few skilled parents. The sense of pride and service was palpable. Fasting I asked my sons what we could give up for Lent, using the money we saved toward helping the homeless. My bookworm son said we could give up buying books during Lent, if it meant having more money to give to our shelters. My youngest suggested giving up sweets. I found this convincing as I know I spend money on both. For meatless Fridays, I have put the boys to work on finding meatless recipes that sound good to them. I was surprised at how much they enjoyed looking through my old cookbooks for some vegetarian recipes. One outcome of this activity is that they realized they can make one of the pasta recipes. So there is at least one Friday in Lent that I do not have to cook!
Pope proposes Lenten resolution: Keep your eyes on Jesus This Lent, Christians should become “seekers of light” by keeping their sights set on the light of Jesus through prayer and participating in the sacraments, Pope Francis said.
Grad student creates Stations of the Cross with migration theme When Jacqueline Romo was considering what to do for her senior thesis project at Dominican University in 2019, she drew on her personal and faith journeys for inspiration and created “The Passion of the Monarca Migrante,” which uses the monarch butterfly and the plight of migrants to depict the Stations of the Cross.
Meditating on Jesus’ 40 days in the desert can enrich Lent Lent is a time of preparation for the commemoration of Jesus’ death and Resurrection and his ultimate second coming. To unpack this season, editor Joyce Duriga spoke with Kevin Pease, director of the Scripture School at the Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago.