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Lent 2023

Lent is such a special season of the Church's calendar because it helps us all to prepare for Jesus' dying and rising again at Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 22nd February and runs through until Palm Sunday, 2nd April. To find out what else is going on in the parish during Lent click here.

​It can be difficult to know how to engage our family in this wonderful season of preparation as a family. We suggest below a few simple things that you could do as a family during Lent this year.

Do you have any suggestions of things families can do during Lent? Please let me know. 

God bless,
​Aseel and the CYF team

Join us for Families ​Way of the Cross  this Good Friday

A special interactive liturgy through Jesus' Passion, especially for families with children in primary school.

Good Friday, 7th April, 10 am

Taking place across the parish:
  • St Joseph's Church with live actors
  • St Mary's Church
  • St Pius X Church
  • St Edward's Church
All with refreshments in the hall after.

Mass and Children's Liturgy 

Whether you have been away from church or come to Mass regularly, Lent is really a great time to connect more deeply with Mass. 

One way to do this is to prepare for Mass by reading the next Sunday's Gospel during the week.  In prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your reading.  Reflect on any word or phrase which may strike you as you read. 

​On Sunday, come to one of the Masses which offers Children's Liturgy:
  • St Pius X at 9.15 am
  • St Mary's at 11.15 am
  • St Joseph's at 5 pm
If you attend Mass at another time, you may want to watch the Family Liturgy video to help you explore the Gospel at home.  
1ST SUNDAY OF LENT
Join the Gilbert sisters as they help us explore the 1st Sunday of Lent. They lead us in a lovely Godly Play meditation that even the cheeky bunnies want to get in on the action!

Friday Meal Times

As Catholics, we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and we abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting means to reduce the amount of food you eat (it's a period of self-restraint with what you are eating and drinking). While abstinence refers to refraining from meat (or another type of food).

The point is that in the giving up of something it gives you an opportunity to focus on God. God cares about us so much and he notices our sacrifices—no matter how small they may seem—and he wants us to use those sacrifices to draw closer to him.

So why not make Fridays in your house meat-free during Lent? If you don't already, why not try to sit at the dinner table and start with a prayer.
We bless you, Lord, and we praise you, for You have given us this meal to share, provided by the earth and prepared by human hands.
Help us to remember those who cannot eat because of poverty or sickness. Let the brief hunger we feel this Lent make us hunger even more for justice.
May this meal strengthen us to do Your will.
​Blessed be God for ever.
​Help us to remember those who have so much less than we do. Bless us as a family.
Help us to grow in love and care for each other.
We ask you to comfort and give strength and peace to those who are sick or struggling in any way.
For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear;
For friends in a world where many walk alone;
We give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.

Almsgiving

The three pillars of Lent are: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Giving alms, Jesus teaches, means making the needs of others our own, especially the needy of our world. More than simply giving money, almsgiving is an act of love that can deepen our prayer life and bring a greater sense of meaning to fasting. 
CAFOD is a charity which supports communities around the world living in extreme poverty.  For its Lent Appeal 2023, CAFOD is asking us to help families around the world to cope with the climate crisis. Watch the videos to find out how you can help. 

Stations of the Cross

Praying the Stations of the Cross–alone or with a group–is a Lenten tradition. This is a great way of praying because it is all about using our imaginations. We imagine the scene in Jerusalem as Jesus walked his Way of the Cross. Often, the Stations of the Cross is an action prayer. Catholics walk to the fourteen stations of the Way of the Cross and stop to pray at each of one.
Make your own Stations
Why not make your own Stations of the Cross using Lego?
Check out this fantastic example here.

Pray a simple version as a family
You can find a simple example using candles here 

Free Downloads

  1. Our brothers and sisters from the Church of England have put together a fantastic Family Activities Calendar as part of their #LiveLent campaign.
40 Activities for families to explore during Lent by sunhatsandwellieboots.com

In this book you’ll find 40 activities for your family to explore together during Lent.
The idea is that you can dip in & out of them week by week & find the activities that are appropriate for your family. Some of the activities are suited to older children, while others are accessible to all ages.
40acts Family Wallchart

​Here are 40acts of generosity for your family to do. Remember to be flexible; you can do them in any order, do them more than once or miss some out. 

We particularly love the "Take a Compliment" poster on page 5.
Lent Family Creative Journal by Engage Worship

This resource looks great and looks like it can be really child led.
They provide creative ideas, like writing, drawing, messy play and cooking to help the whole family explore the themes of Lent and Easter. Themes include fasting, prayer, wilderness, temptation, and there is a five-part section on Jesus' words from the cross, helping your family to engage with the reasons why Christ died. All activities can be adapted depending on the abilities and personalities present.
Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids by Catholic Icing

A fun visual way for kids so to travel the 40 days of Lent. This calendar can be personalised too.​
Holy Week in Handprints by CatholicIcing.com​
This is a great resource that even the littlest members of your family can take part in. This tells the story of Holy Week and each page can illustrated by your child using his or her handprints. The idea is at the end you'll be able to put together your own Holy Week book.

Videos

Things you could buy

Easter Books for Children

Eden.co.uk have a great selection of Easter Books for children. We particularly like "The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross" for ages 4-6. You can watch a video of the illustrator of this book reading it below.
Lent Prayer Garden 2021 by Hope and Ginger

​This Lent Prayer Garden is a wonderful resource for prayer and thanksgiving to use through the season of Lent and is great to use for both adults and children.

Each day, there is a prayer prompt and short Bible verse as well as space for reflection in the prayer guide notebook as well a colourful sticker to stick on the prayer garden poster. You can be creative and design the garden however you would like it to look.
Bibles for Children

Lent is a great time to start reading our Bibles more. Why not buy a new Bible at this time? 

We recommend "The Action Bible" for ages 10-14. The graphics are amazing.

If you want to buy a full Bible, like this one, for your child then we recommend reading one of the Gospels with them - a few verses a day.
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