EMBRACING FAMILY
Photo by Kat Yukawa on Unsplash
By Sarah and David Herrmann
Ready or not, our Lenten journey has begun! If Lent caught you off-guard, don’t worry! It’s never too late to start again.
Prayer
God is not calling us to maintain the “status quo” of our prayer lives. How will we respond to his call to conversion?
If we are reading the Hawaii Catholic Herald, then there is a strong probability we are people of prayer! How can we challenge ourselves not to be complacent with our prayer lives? Here are some ideas that others have shared:
- Receiving the sacraments more frequently (weekday Mass, monthly Confession)
- Friday Stations of the Cross
- Praying for each person we meet
- Designated prayer time daily (readings for the Mass that day, family Rosary, lives of the Saints, devotionals, daily Bible verse)
- Check out the Laudate app which has this available with one click!
Fasting
From what do we need to fast so that our hearts and souls are pure and holy? We’re called to “give up” in order to “give” to others.
We fast (have one full meal) on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent, but what about all the other days?! What other fasting could we do? How will our fasting improve the lives of others? Here are some ideas people have shared:
- Fasting from negative comments and discovering the good in others
- Fasting from jealousy and being grateful for what we have
- Fasting from electronic devices (except when needed for school/work) and spending that time with family and volunteering
Almsgiving
By definition, this means giving food, clothes or anything else to charity.
How about if we take on a family “charity challenge”? What would that look like in our homes?
- TIME: With what group/organization would we like to volunteer?
- — Our local parish? Catholic Charities? Family Promise? A shelter? Meals on Wheels? An elderly care home? Soup kitchens? 808 Cleanups? Rotary Club?
- TALENT: Do you have a gift/talent you could place at the service of others?
- Whatever our profession/career is, are we able to offer that expertise to someone who cannot afford it?
- TREASURE:
- Have a bin/box in each room in the house and challenge family members to fill it with things we no longer need. How frequently can the boxes be filled and donated?
- 40-day challenge! Donate one box/bag of items every day! (We know someone who decided the bag could not be smaller than a 13-gallon [kitchen size] garbage bag).
- Invite family to read/watch Marie Kondo’s recommendations for simplifying our homes. Be grateful for the joy these items gave us and gift them to someone else.
- Donate to charities.
- Donate the money that we saved from our fasting!
- Rather than eating out or going to the movies, donate that money.
- Have a CRS Rice Bowl contest to see which family member can fill it up the fastest! Who filled it with the most money?
Thanks for taking time to make Lent a priority in your family.
If you have questions you would like addressed in “Embracing Family,” please email them to Sarah and David at Success@EmbraceFamilyLearning.com and we would be honored to lift you up in prayer and respond, as well! If desired, you can remain anonymous.