lent for modern catholic kids | daily reflections and prayers

Cards have been updated to reflect dates for the 2017 Lenten season. Enjoy! 

We’re one week into Lent this year, and I feel like we kind of struggled for the first week.

Our parish priest stressed to us the importance of ‘not giving up chocolate’ again and instead challenged us to really make this Lent count.

So we agreed.

We wouldn’t give up chocolate.

But honestly, after so many years of doing just that–giving up sweets–for Lent, it felt strange not to.

And we all weren’t really sure how to manage, what to do, or really how to make Lent count without doing so.

So I did some research, I poked around, and I created something that would help make Lent different for us this year. It would help make my modern Catholic kids, and our modern Catholic family, more reflective during this special time.

I created daily reflections and prayers for our kids–our family.

And I think it could really change the way we look at these 40 days before Easter.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Lent for Modern Catholic Kids — Daily Reflections and Prayers:

First of all, Lent is a season during the Christian year where Christians focus on repentance, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and runs the 40ish days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. It follows Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras which are days of partying and excess, since Lent, of course follows.

(Believe me–I’m by no means an expert on Lent; if you want to learn more, definitely visit the resources at the end of this post.)

But what I wanted this year was something similar to what I was reading in Michael Kelly’s Rediscover Jesus— something that would help our family to have our ‘Best Lent Ever‘.

So I created daily cards with a Lenten spin.

You know we love our daily cards.

Lunchbox notes, daily grammar, daily writing.

You name it.

I like consistency.

Anyway, I created simple prompts based on Traci Smith’s 2016 Lenten Practices for Families Calendar (which you can buy for $2). I liked the way that Traci based her activities on the three traditional ‘pillars’ of Lent–prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (or service).

I had never looked at Lent in this way, so I thought it might be worth doing for our family. Any way that we, as parents, can break down something big and complicated like Lent into something smaller and more manageable, the better. Right? Right.

So really, that’s it.

I found a tiny wooden easel that Cora got at a birthday party last month, and I created cards that would easily rest on it.

I didn’t want all of the cards to be on the easel; rather, I wanted just a few–3-5 cards–so that if someone missed one by chance, it would be easy to catch up.

There are eight pages of Lenten reflection cards and a final page with the 5-finger prayer method and a prayer for Pope Francis. We used the Pope Francis prayer handout at our Children’s Liturgy of the Word last year. I think it’s helpful for kids.

And that’s it.

Do you want these cards? Do they’ll help your family really make this Lent count? 

I’d love to have you try them and let me know what you think!

Join us.

Do share what you’re doing this Lent to really make it count. 

Follow us on Instagram at @teachmama1 and use the #prayfastserve hashtag for your own family’s practices. 

Want a few more ideas for the Easter season?

• Resurrection Rolls
• Lent ideas for kids & family
• Easter egg pattern match game
• Egg dying 101

Learn more about Lent:

• Dynamic Catholic: Lent
• Lenten Resources from The Upper Room
• Catholic Life: Lent
• Lenten Activities from TheCatholicMom.com

fyi: Many thanks to Traci Smith for sharing her vision and for being my inspiration here. Head over to her site for a fabulous, easy-to-use 2016 calendar. 

fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy.