Stations of the Cross

Our church recently blessed our brand new outdoor Stations of the Cross, and just in time for this Lenten season.  What a beautiful way to share the journey with a young child!

 After giving our visit a long thought, Alex exclaimed, "Mom, I'm really annoyed that Jesus had to wear a crown of thorns.  It makes me really angry!"

A Crown of Thorns

I fell in love with this idea because it is such a vivid reminder of what Christ suffered for us.  Each time during Lent that we put others before ourselves, we get to remove one thorn from the crown.  By Easter, all of the thorns should be removed, and the crown gets decorated with flowers and becomes a celebration wreath for our prayer table.  

Simple.  

Beautiful.  

Deeply Meaningful.

Bury the Alleluia

I grew up never knowing about this tradition, and when I first heard of it I brushed it aside for other things.  But this year I felt really drawn to the idea that we could make something tangible that would remind us that during Lent we as Catholics do not say Alleluia.  Alex is very much a hands-on learner, so being able to put his hands on the letters, form the word, and put each letter in the box himself was something that really captured his interest.  We "buried" the box and he is already anticipating Easter morning when we can joyfully exclaim ALLELUIA and bring the letters back out to celebrate.

The credit for how I chose to do this goes to Lacy over at Catholic Icing - I thought her idea for painting the letters and box to be re-used year after year was perfect! 

This is one of my favorite traditions for Lent.  

Fasting Bread.  

Full of rich symbolism AND deliciously yummy goodness.  

For more about the meaning behind each ingredient, check out http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2011/03/fasting-bread-for-lent.html. 

I'm not much of a bread maker, but this bread is scrumptiously satisfying and keeps me full my entire day of fasting!