Living LentLent is a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that starts on Ash Wednesday & ends on Holy Thursday. It's a time of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. We seek Him by reading His Word; we help others through giving alms; and we practice self-control by fasting. Abstinence from luxuries is important, but true inner conversion of heart is key for faithfully following Christ's will during this sacred season of preparation. In the Lent season, we remember our baptism when we were born again into a new life in Christ, and died to sin and evil.
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Fasting & AbstinenceAsh Wednesday and Good Friday are universal days of fasting and abstinence from meat. Anyone over the age of 18 and under the age of 59 are obliged to fast and abstain. Fasting, in the Latin Church, is the limitation of food and drink – typically to one main meal and two smaller meals (that together do not equal the regular meal in size), with no solid foods in between. Abstinence is the refraining from certain kinds of food or drink, typically meat. While all Fridays are days of abstinence from meat, in Canada “Catholics may substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day.” ~ Ordo, note 29b and 29d.
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Lenten Penitential ServicesSee calendar section below to see the full list of Lenten Penitential Services
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Lenten Missions, Retreats, & Events
Daily Reflections in your inbox
Beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing through all forty days of Lent, receive a daily email with a short video to help you reconnect with yourself and your God through the work of the following speaker and publications. Be open with what God can do in your life with just an email, a short video or an open heart. We invite you to subscribe to one of these daily Lenten Reflections.
Lenten Reflections with Bishop Barron
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Stations of the Cross
- Swipe & Pray - Click here to pray the Short Way of the Cross used by the Franciscans Fathers on their Missions
- Praying with the Stations of the Cross—with Station to Station Questions for Reflection and Discussion
- Stations of the Cross for Teens
- Produce an entire Living Stations of the Cross (for those with very limited time and resources)
- Brother Francis - Stations of the Cross Brother Francis: The Stations of the Cross - Stations of the Cross - FORMED
- Pray the Stations of the Cross with Hallow app on your phone
- Praying the Stations of the Cross at home
- Stations of the Cross with St. Mary's in Cochrane. Play video
- Stations of the Cross with St. Paul's Parish in Airdrie. Play video
- Stations of the Cross for Children with Brother Francis (FORMED.ORG). Play video
- Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori, narrated by Dr. Cristopher Blum (FORMED.ORG). Play audio
Lenten resources for Families with Children
The following activities might be helpful as we prepare our family to enter once again into Jesus’ Paschal mystery and to renew it in our lives:
Celebrating Lent with Catholic Kids
Celebrating Lent with Catholic Kids
Lenten Arts & Craft IdeasArts & crafts projects suitable for the Lenten Season for children (elementary level).
Get projects here |
Lenten Calendar for KidsFun visual for kids so they can see the 40 days of lent of lent going by, and Easter approaching. Download printable here
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40 Ideas for 40 DaysEngaging resources for family to use with their children during the Lenten Season.
Click here for list of ideas |
Resources from Formed.org for children:
- Brother Francis
- Let's Learn about Lent Lent with Brother Francis - FORMED
- Stations of the Cross Brother Francis: The Stations of the Cross - Stations of the Cross - FORMED
- Daily Lenten Meditation series Lent with Brother Francis - FORMED
- Benjamin Cello: O Lamb of God, I Love You (Holy Week/Passion special feature)