40 Days of Seeking Him in Lent 2014, Week 2
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This morning, we walked through the cold temperatures with the promise of glorious sunshine to attend Mass. With spring break occurring this week for the schools, I noticed several regular attendees not in the pews. But, we were still able to connect with a few friends, enjoy a modest breakfast and witness the baptism of a precious baby girl. This was followed by time in fellowship with other families attending the baptism. Some are friends I rarely have more than a few minutes to chat with after Mass and a few were people I had not me before today. All in all, it has been a wonderful day with a resounding reminder that we are part of a community of believers.
In stark contrast is the majority of Lenten practices I hear people doing each year. Many focus on giving up a food item so that the sacrifice might remind them of Christ and help them grow closer. Others add more devotional time or time in the Word. While I embrace those practices, I am really feeling a tug to remember that I am part of that larger Christian community and need to not isolate myself from others.
One communal activity we do each Lent is the Friday night Soup Dinner followed by Stations of the Cross. Each week a different ministry or group at our parish takes charge of the food and leading the stations. As our family is quite active at the parish, I end up making something (whether soup, mac n cheese, cheese pizza, or bread rolls) almost every week. Our family looks forward to those nights spent with our church family for both the fellowship and time in prayer together. Occasionally, one of the boys will be picked to serve as the priest or deacon walks to each station around the church. This first Friday of Lent, R was asked to be part of that procession.
I hope that my readers will join us on the journey through Lent as we seek to grow closer to Christ. Christian bloggers are welcome to join us in the weekly link up with posts that they are writing to showcase activities or reflections taken during this Lenten journey.
How is your Lenten experience going so far?
Have you found a particular devotion or practice to be helpful in bringing your mind to Christ and growing in relationship with Him this Lent?
Laura
As always I enjoy reading about you and your family during Lent. I’ve learned so much over the past few years from you. It has been a joy to get to know you through our blog worlds.
Blessings,
Trish
We attended a Stations of the Cross for Children last week, and my children really enjoyed the community atmosphere. The catechist asked questions that they were both eager to answer and my oldest daughter took turns reading the prayers and carrying the cross from station to station. In previous years, we gathered with friends to pray the stations together, but meeting those same friends at a church with a formal program gave all of the children more enthusiasm to participate, I think. Thanks for the reminder that experiencing Lent as a community is as important as family Lenten practices. Thanks for hosting this link up.
Laura
LOVE.
So so true, all of it. I have adapted your philosophy in recent years as well, tho I still do “give up” two food items that I love that I “need” esp on long days by about 4PM. I just feel I need a reminder that’s “hard” evidence of the Lenten season–for me it’s sacrifice, And these two things are small but I feel not being able to enjoy them.
My husband on the other hand, takes this Lenten sacrifice very seriously in terms of giving up bc he really feels intense sacrifice gets him in focus and prepare for Easter spiritually…..so we don’t quite see eye to eye right now on a this aspect of Lent!
Thanks for hosting!! I linked my Keep Love post from 2013 this week…and I found a great calendar and Lent stickers at a couple of creative blogs this week, which I may blog about and share next week…gotta see how things go.
Your statement abt Stations made me wish we lived not quite so far away! It sounds very much like my parish and I love your pics too…my boys served last Fri at our stations as well and it was just what we needed after a long day, when we we really thought we needed was staying home and relaxing!
Take care and have a great day!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Chris! I should add that there’s been so many avenues of my life being tested by fire lately that giving up coffee again or a complete spending fast seemed like a poor choice for this Lent. Carving out time for additional devotional time or attending Mass more frequently during the week is a form of sacrifice for me as well as I am giving up time. Of course, Mass attendance is a win – win for me.
This is a good reminder. We as a family don’t usually observe Lent, but it’s good to think about the things we maybe should be doing without.