You are worthy
I may or may not still have Christmas garland in my kitchen. The lights still twinkle, and I love it. To save face, I'm calling in "winter decor." It's worked so far; however, whether I'm ready or not, Lent begins this month.
In prayer, God has made it very clear what He desires from me during this walk in the desert — self-discipline…. That was hard to type and will be even harder to sharpen over the 6 weeks of Lent. I share this with you for a few reasons, but mostly because I feel this may be something the Holy Spirit asks of many of us right now.
To be clear, I am not talking about a "self-help" style of discipline where I go to bed earlier and exercise more because my skin will thank me for it, and I will look a whole lot better in that dress I just bought that is already a little tight. No, I mean self-discipline as it pertains to my spiritual life—not hitting the snooze button as a (torturous) penitential practice. Forgoing sweets, fasting, allowing my body to hunger…. Disciplining my time so daily Mass and weekly adoration is the focal point, not an afterthought. And perhaps most importantly, intentionally taking children by the hand, leading them through this desert like never before.
To assist in our intentional and disciplined Lent, The Pelican Project is sharing Stations of the Cross meditations for the entire family with you! You can download the 14 individual stations (complete with 14 beautiful graphics from Jordan Schmitz @defy_designs!) or a condensed version of our Lenten 6 Pray, Grow, & Serve devotionals. This week, you will want to download our Pray, Grow, & Serve devotional, teaching your kiddo all about Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday.
Each of us will walk through the desert in a slightly different way, but the goal is that in prayer, we will curl up in our heavenly Father's lap and let our hearts pour into His. In fast, we will allow hunger to starve our temptation to doubt while desperately relying on His Body and Blood as our sustenance. And, in almsgiving, we will lay all we have at the feet of Christ and beg Him to not allow our left hand to know what our right hand is doing.
Our goal is that each day will be an exercise in virtue and preparation for the personal and undeserving gift of Christ's Passion and Resurrection. Together, with our children, we will meditate over every lash, every thorn, and every nail, teaching them that Christ loves them so much that He had their face, their heart, their soul in His mind's eye as He bore every moment of His suffering.
