Making Lent more meaningful during the Year of Faith

Lent is a great time to get new Catholic family traditions started, and during this Year of Faith, it's not only more important than ever, it's also easier! Here's an article by Mary DeTurris Poust about getting away from your busy routine and concentrating on the three pillars of Lent -- prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Let us know how your Lent is going!

For Catholic families, Lent can be a time to step away from the normal routine to create new and sacred traditions that go beyond simply giving up a favorite food or putting money in the Rice Bowl. While those basic sacrifices still play an important role in Lenten traditions, today's families are working hard to incorporate more prayer, service and meaning into their communal walk through the spiritual desert.

Some families go without any television or "screen" time for all 40 days. Others commit to visiting the sick or lonely in lieu of typical recreational activities. Still others add the Rosary or other prayers to their nightly routines. 

Whichever path a family chooses, the actions often blossom into treasured annual traditions and sometimes even into new routines that spill over into Ordinary Time and ordinary lives. Read the entire article here.