Preparing for Lent :: Our Lenten Journey

by | Feb 24, 2011 | Archives (Monthly), Lent | 21 comments

Look at His adorable face.
Look at His glazed and sunken eyes.
Look at His wounds.
Look Jesus in the Face.
There, you will see how He loves us.

~ St. Therese of Lisieux

Preparation:

Lenten Calendar:
(I’m sure this year’s calendar will be similar to our past Calendars, at my children’s request. . . After 7 years, it is officially our family’s tradition!) 

Shrove Tuesday:

 

Ash Wednesday:

Prayer for Ash WednesdayLord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this season holy by our self-denial. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Jesus Tree:

The Jesus Tree kit can currently be purchased from Leaflet Missal

I’ve started updating any links that are no longer valid, and adding some additional links to new coloring pages (to go along with the symbols and our readings from the New Catholic Picture Bible) that are now available, since I first created these posts back in 2008.  

 

Stations of the Cross:

Crown of Thorns:





Lent Lap Book:

Last Supper Puzzle:

Lenten Cleaning:

Meatless Meals for Days of Abstinence:
(Information on Fast & Abstinence)

Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent):

Palm Sunday:

View all posts for Palm Sunday.

Holy Thursday:

View all posts for Holy Thursday.

Good Friday:

View all posts for Good Friday.

Holy Saturday:

View all posts for Holy Saturday.

Our Picture Books for Lent:

The Story of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross for ChildrenChildren's Stations of the Cross (Estaciones de La Cruz Por Los Ninos) The Stations of the Cross (10 pack) My Path to Heaven: A Young Person's Guide to the Faith Jesus Life of Christ (Catholic comic book style) The Tales of Three TreesLittle Rose of Sharon Through the Eyes of John

For my older children:

Life of Our Lord for Children, ABen Hur (Radio Theatre)The Spear: A Novel of the Crucifixion

Praying the Way of the Cross:

Praying the Way of the Cross Featuring Liam NeesonThe Way of the Cross for Children (DVD)

Other Great Books/Resources:

What I will be reading this Lent:

A Lenten Journey with Jesus Christ & St. Therese of Lisieux In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, Vol. 2: Lent, Holy Week, EastertideWhat Jesus Saw from the Cross
New books for this yearThe Imitation of Christ Introduction to the Devout Life, 400th Anniversary Edition The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ 
A few favorites – now on my iTouch using iPieta!


Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection The Little Way of Lent: Meditations in the Spirit of St. Therese of Lisieux Lent and Easter Wisdom from Fulton J. Sheen: Daily Scripture and Prayers Together With Sheen's Own Words (Redemptorist Pastoral Publication)Characters of the Passion: Lessons on Faith and Trust
Also considering. . . 

“Lent is like a long ‘retreat’ during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a period of spiritual ‘combat’ which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism.”  
~ Pope Benedict XVI, from his Sunday remarks before praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on February 21, 2010



Updated Post:  
The Lenten Season In Our Catholic Home


21 Comments

  1. Lena

    wonderful source of inspiration. thanks for taking the time to put this together.

    i will definitely be referring back to this.

    AMDG

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    Thank you, thank you Jessica. Your blog is such a tremendous help to this Catholic homeschooling mother.

    Reply
  3. Kim

    I'm definitely bookmarking this. God love you.

    Reply
  4. Kelly

    Thank you so much for putting this all together, Jessica! May you be blessed for your effort in bringing others closer to our Lord. I'm honored to call you friend.

    Did you end up getting your own copy of In Conversation with God, Vol. 2? If not, I have an extra copy now. It would be no trouble for me to send it out to you. Just let me know.

    Reply
  5. Marianne

    Thank you so much Jessica! I really appreciate all your help and ideas! God bless your family this Lent.

    Reply
  6. Silly Faces and Grace

    Jessica…thank you so much for putting this together. Your such an inspiration.

    Reply
  7. Lori N from MN

    Thank you very much for getting all this info together!
    I've definitely bookmarked this post!!

    Just an fyi:
    The Jesus Tree Kit is out of stock at Leaflet Missal, and I have not yet been able to find another source for it. Do any of your readers have another source? Thanks!

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    Thanks for all the great links! Lent is sneaking up on me fast! Also thank you for the heads up about the ipieta. I am downloading it now!

    Reply
  9. Mrs. White

    Thank you Jessica! I have been in dire need of some ideas for making Lent more meaningful for my children. Can you tell me more about the sacrifice beans?

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    Many, many thanks for this, Jessica. Last year I made all the symbols for the Jesse Tree, but not the actual tree. I picked up the felt for the tree this year, but now am wondering–how do you attach your symbols to the tree? I can't quite tell in any of your photos.

    Lori, I never had success finding the kit even after watching for several months last year, which is why I undertook just buying the needed felt and making my own based on Jessica's photos (I actually made three of everything and gave the others to godchildren as gifts). It's time-consuming, but worth it (and I'm sure time-consuming even with the kit)!

    -Kelly

    Reply
  11. Lori N from MN

    Kelly,
    Thank you for your info – sigh. 🙂
    I'm afraid I'll do that as well. Great idea making multiples – I'll have to do that for my grandkids as well, but only one set this year!! I'd better get going on it…

    Reply
  12. Jessica Gordon

    Lori ~ I sent an email to Jodi (Scripture Trees) asking if they are available currently available anywhere, and I haven't heard back yet. I know back in 2009 they stopped selling the kits directly and were only selling them through a contract with Leaflet Missal.

    It is nice to have the patterns and the felt all in one kit, but it could easily be made without them. It does take time, but that would be the case with or without the kit.

    Reply
  13. Jessica Gordon

    Kelly ~ Our banner is also made from felt, so the felt pieces stick to it pretty easily – though they will fall off it someone brushes up against the banner, for example.

    Reply
  14. Jessica Gordon

    Mrs. White ~ Last year our children placed a black bean in a jar for each sacrifice they made during Lent. On Easter Morning they found that all the Beans had been replaced with Jelly Beans. (You can see a picture here.)

    Reply
  15. Anonymous

    Thank you for all of your posts. I'd be lost without you! Also, thanks for sharing your source for the Jesus Tree. I was able to call Leaflet on Friday (2/25/11) and order over the kit on the phone even though online it sated out-of-stock.

    Reply
  16. Jessica Gordon

    Yes, I just heard back from Jodi at Scripture Trees. . . She did say that they no longer sell their products directly and that Leaflet Missal is the place to purchase the kit for the Jesus Tree. She also said that they shouldn't be out of stock for long, because they keep reordering more from them frequently.

    She also said that "Anytime they order from us, we deliver more kits within a day or so. I think the issue that comes into play is that they receive the product in their warehouse but don't enter them into their system right away. I always suggest that people call Leaflet's toll-free number if their website says they are out of stock."

    I hope that helps! 🙂

    Reply
  17. Kris

    Don't know if you have read the Advent books Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage and such, but there is a Lenten book now called Amon's Adventure.

    Reply
  18. Anonymous

    Just wanted to let everyone know… Leaflet Missal has the Jesus Tree Kits marked as in stock on their website. I just ordered one. Also, buy.com has a great price on the New Catholic Picture Bible ($6.63 before shipping)!

    Katie

    Reply
  19. Jen

    Jessica,
    Thank you so much for the Jesus tree readings and picture. It's too late to order the kit for Lent, so I used what I had here to make the ornaments and banner. I just finished it today – and hung up the banner so that we are ready to go next week. I am sure this is a tradition that my youngest child will come to love and appreciate. And I am sure the older ones will benefit, too!

    God Bless,
    Jennifer

    PS – I've posted a picture on my blog with a link and shout out back to you – – thanks, again!

    http://homespunluv.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  20. noreen

    Hi Jessica, I can't remember if I've seen it on your blog or not but I'm looking for a downloading Lenten Bingo Game. Any idea where I could find it?

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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