I am keeping it REALLY, REALLY SIMPLE this Lent.

We are using Jenn‘s Lent for Children.

This evening I also put together a music playlist based on the suggestions in this thread.

Our mornings will begin with this Lenten Novena:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, during the Holy Season of Lent, You call us to a closer union with Yourself. Help me to prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with mind and heart renewed. Give me a spirit of loving reverence for You, our Father, and of willing service to my neighbor. As I recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, bring the image of Your Son to perfection within my soul.

This great season of grace is Your gift to Your family to renew us in spirit. Give me strength to purify my heart, to control my desires, and so to serve You in freedom. Teach me how to live in this passing world with my heart set on the world that will never end.

I ask for the grace to master my sinfulness and conquer my pride. I want to show to those in need Your goodness to me by being kind to all.

Through my observance of Lent, help me to correct my faults and raise my mind to You, and thus grow in holiness, that I may deserve the reward of everlasting life.

In Your mercy grant me this special favor: (Mention your request).

The days of the life-giving Death and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Your Son, are approaching. This is the hour when He triumphed over Satan’s pride, the time when we celebrate the great event of our Redemption. The Suffering and Death of Your Son brought life to the whole world, moving our hearts to praise Your glory.

The power of the Cross reveals You judgment on this world and the kingship of Christ crucified. Father, through His love for us and through His Sufferings, Death and Resurrection, may I gain eternal life with You in heaven. Amen.

Thursday evenings will be for Eucharistic Adoration, and Fridays will be for Stations of the Cross. As in previous years we will be using our homemade set that we put together 7 years ago. Next year, Nino will probably be ready to join us in making a new set.

For money offerings, we’ve got a baby bottle that Yena got from a fellow AHG’er that will benefit a local crisis pregnancy center. Besides this we’ve got a date reserved to help out with Kids Against Hunger. I haven’t looked at our Saturdays yet but if there are any that are open we’ll most likely join the prayer warriors at the abortion mill.

I’ve also stocked our freezer with an assortment of beans and fish. Our family likes beans and we have them at least once a week, but this Lent I would like to shoot for 3 times a week.

Beyond that, we’ll just be doing a lot of the usual reading and discussing, but with a particular focus on sacrifice and detachment. The basement decluttering wasn’t finished last year, but we got half of it done at least. This is the year we finish the other half!!

Lastly, for the first time in months I got an anti-life comment on this blog tonight. The evil one is gearing up, looks like — so we’re doing our best to arm ourselves!!

Mama Mary, ora pro nobis!