Wordless....Saturday?

Some songs just "are" Lent to me.

and this one too..



This lent I've felt a kind of pull towards darkness: despair, really, I guess. I hear Marilla in Anne of Green Gables admonishing me "To despair is to turn your back on God!" and I know I need to hear those words and turn...cling to that Rock...bury myself in a loving Father's merciful arms no matter how much the world screams differently (Earthquakes, wars, Tsunamis) and no matter how difficult my personal crosses may be to bear.

My fists have been clenched. Ready to fight. Closed to receive anything--any more pain, but also, any real love.

The daily mass readings today instruct me:
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit."
Jeremiah 17

I pray we all unfurl our fingers and welcome His embrace. I pray we see where He bids us do our part, and leave the rest in His most capable, merciful and loving hands. I pray we do not seek our strength in the flesh, but rather have all our hope placed in the Lord. I pray that as we stand up from the prayers we make on our knees that we all carry His wisdom, love and strength past the immediate moment, and into as many minutes and hours we can resist the temptation to re-clench those fearful fists. Pray with me too, my friends?

I feel it is so important to come back here and recognize that a particular book has seeped in through my cracks and I feel I have inadvertently stolen the imagery of its amazing author. As I have mentioned before, 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp has had a deep impact on me--a lasting one that is changing how I think and approach certain attitudes in my life. 

Voskamp says "...and I enter the world like every person born enters the world: with clenched fists." 
and "we live with our hands clenched tight. What God once gave us on a day in November slashed deep. Who risks again?" and "What if I opened the clenched hands wide to receive all that is? A life that receives all of God in this moment? How do you do that when the terror tears up your throat and you wear the burn scars of a razed past?"

I think reading this book helped me realize how tightly clenched my fists are...and how much I want to open them to God's grace. I'm so relieved it came to me in my drifting off to sleep place tonight that this powerful imagery is not mine (not that I ever thought it was, I was just pouring out my praying heart!).

Sometimes I'm still floored

at the simple beauty of scripture...

and at the wisdom of the Holy Catholic Church.

2801

When we say "Our" Father, we are invoking the new covenant in Jesus Christ, communion with the Holy Trinity, and the divine love which spreads through the Church to encompass the world.

2802

"Who art in heaven" does not refer to a place but to God's majesty and his presence in the hearts of the just. Heaven, the Father's house, is the true homeland toward which we are heading and to which, already, we belong.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Enlightening background

I just discovered this interview of Dr. Robin Maas. She is a Theologian who converted from Christian Science to Catholicism (via being Methodist for a short period). She does an excellent job of describing Christian Science and how it relates to Catholicism. If you are curious, I suggest you take a listen! :)

Go to Ewtn to download the mp3 called True Holiness

Lent in our home

First, I want to say--any ideas we use in this house are rarely original. That being said, I read so many wonderful ideas I don't always remember where I heard them. So, I attribute these ideas to all inspiring bloggers everywhere. :) I'm simply sharing what we've decided to do with our family this Lenten season!

Reading and prayer for Mom


Daily Mass readings at www.dailygospel.org

Evening prayer at www.divineoffice.org
It seems I am not able to commit to praying all the hours, so I'm starting where it seems to fit most naturally to me.

Two other books I'm keeping close to my heart, for now.

The book of Proverbs. Read like this.

Praying the Sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary daily at the request of a dear friend for a very special intention. Praying the Stations of the Cross and weekly Adoration.



Reading and Prayer for kids

Reading through the gospel stories in

Savoring each Sunday Gospel throughout the week.

Reading selected Proverbs (and using them for copywork)

Memorizing and praying the Act of Contrition

Praying the Stations of the Cross on Fridays (a tradition continued from last year that my children were really enthusiastic about)

Praying the Rosary at bedtime (we pray along with The Everyday Rosary, but I may be looking for something to supplement this).

Weekly Adoration

Activities

Filling a prayer jar with our intercessory prayers we pray individually for others (we got this idea from The Lent-Easter Book and we have been doing this for a few years).

My kids have also asked to make a crown of thorns. I need to get on this, because I've seen them around online, but I really don't have a clue how to make one!

Fasting

We are turning off "Screens" as a family this Lent. I will admit, I still feel palpitations when I commit to this publicly. Please pray for us. I am allowing myself time to blog and interact in some spiritual groups I am apart of...but, even these I plan to be very intentional about. For me, the big temptation on a daily basis is mindless surfing and (gulp) facebook. The TV and video games are a big sacrifice for my children. I am proud of them that they are (reluctantly) willing to make this sacrifice in order to make more room for God in their lives. We have already decided we need to replace our key TV watching times with alms-giving. Wednesday we are brainstorming a list of quick things we can do for others--together and on our own.

We love Soup on Fridays, but I'm still looking for yummy (meatless recipes). If you have any favorites, PLEASE do share in the comments section.

I always enjoy reading how other families live out the liturgical year at their house. Two of my favorites this year are found at Sarah's post here and Misty's post here.

Ash Wednesday is fast upon us. I pray that you all have a holy, fruitful and blessed Lent! 

Figuring Life Out - One Thousand Gifts

Some things are worth repeating. Life. Changing. Book. If I haven't convinced you yet, this video surely will...

Animated Educational Paradigms

Thought provoking and fun to watch! :)