Ways for Catholic youth to observe Lent and deepen faith
As a time of reflection and renewal, Lent is an appropriate time for Catholic youth and their families to search out their faith together.
Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday, April 6, this year, is 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, as is written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Two resources — the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Archdiocese of Newark and the National Catholic Education Association — have compiled lists of resources for Catholic youth and their families to explore their faith during Lent through fasting, praying, and working on their relationship with God.
Here are seven activities for families to grow in faith.
Get messy while learning about Lent
Learning about Lent can be fun! Craft and cooking projects centering on Lent offer a unique way to reflect on the lessons of Christ’s time in the desert and his Easter sacrifice.
To help illustrate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, here is a recipe for Easter Story Cookies. This baking activity can be completed at any time during Lent. Each step of the recipe correlates to a stage on Jesus’s journey to Cavalry and is accompanied by verses from scripture.
Catholic Icing has also created a list of fun Lenten activities for children, including instructions for building a Lenten altar in the home, printable coloring pages, a Lenten board game, and more.
Digital Lent calendars
Following a calendar throughout Lent is an organized way to work on maintaining your relationship with God daily.
The Busted Halo Lent Calendar shows every day of Lent and Holy Week but does not let you “open” each day and find out what is behind the picture until the day of the event. Each link will lead you to a special new Lent-themed “Daily Jolt” and “Micro challenge.”
Loyola Press has also created a “40 Ideas for 40 Days” activity calendar for children and families to follow throughout Lent. This resource contains crafts, prayers, guided mediations, and other activities that will spur reflection and renewal.
Connecting Lent with Laudato Si’
As Lent is a time for renewal and rebirth, there is no better time to focus on giving new life to our common home: the earth. Pope Francis’s second encyclical, Laudato Si’, focuses on the environment and its destruction, and calls on Catholics across the globe to take action to protect “our common home.” The foundation of Laudato Si’ rests in a long history of Church teaching on creation.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has created a Stations of the Cross: Renew The Earth reflection based on Laudato Si’ that Catholic students can follow throughout the Lenten season and pray for the restoration of the earth. The Stations of the Cross is an ancient tradition and a spiritual pilgrimage of accompanying Christ in his passion. According to JRS, “while Christ’s Passion existed in history, the Passion continues to play out in modern times. Our sisters and brothers fleeing the damage done by climate change make great sacrifices along their journey to find safety.”
Another way that students can take action to change the world is by participating in Catholic Relief Services’ Operation Rice Bowl. Each Lent, Catholic families across the country unite to put their faith into action through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. “Through CRS (Catholic Relief Services) Rice Bowl, families learn about how our sisters and brothers across the globe overcome hardships like hunger and malnutrition, and how through Lenten alms, we have the power to make the world a better place for all.”
Give back to your local community
During this time in the Liturgical year, Catholics are called upon to give alms in honor of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. Alms are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty.
Recently, students across the Archdiocese have been giving alms to their community by donating goods and services to Mercy House, a resource center for women and families operated out of the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Newark. The Respect Life Office has invited students across the Archdiocese to come volunteer at Mercy House in a variety of ways, including through food donations and service projects.
To get involved with volunteering at Mercy House, contact Respect Life Office Director Cheryl Riley at 973-497-4350.
Featured image: Mike Scheid via Unsplash
