After celebrating a Passover meal with the Apostles, Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. While He was there, God permitted Jesus to see all He was going to suffer. Then Judas Iscariot and a band of soldiers, the tribune of Pharisees, and the Jewish guards came to arrest Jesus. They took Him to a priest named Annas in the Temple. During the Liturgy of the Word on Palm Sunday (Mark 14: 1 through 15: 47) and again on Good Friday (John 18: 1 through 19: 42), you will have the chance to read the events that happen next: the questioning of Jesus before Annas in Annas' house, Jesus' trial in the Temple before Caiaphas, His first trial before Pontius Pilate in the prætorium, His questioning before Herod in the Jerusalem palace, and finally His second trial before Pilate.

We are called to meditate on Jesus' Scourging at a pillar inside the prætorium as we pray the second decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. The scene in the artist Jaume Huguet's painting is crowded and full of earthly and heavenly action. Let's take a slow and close look.

The first thing we see is Jesus in the center of the painting. His arms are tied around a pillar in the room, and His hands are bound at the wrists. His knees are bent, and His chest and right shoulder are leaning against the pillar.

Do you remember what a halo is? Point to Jesus' halo. Do you see the cross shape inside of His halo?

There is a white cloth with blue stripes around our Savior's waist. This is a prayer shawl that Jewish men cover their heads with when they pray. We know that Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane right before He was arrested. We also know that Jesus' suffering is a prayer that He offered to God the Father for our redemption.

Jesus is surrounded by crowds on His left and on His right. Look at the crowd on the left. Find the two two men who have halos. Good news! There were holy men in the crowd, watching Jesus, praying with Jesus, loving Jesus! They are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They are Jesus' friends! Both men were members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council. Joseph is the man who got permission from Pilate to remove Jesus from the Cross; he is also the one who found a tomb for Jesus. Nicodemus brought the one hundred-pound mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus' Body for burial; he helped Joseph of Arimathea to wrap Jesus with burial cloths and place his body in the tomb. These two are saints who love Jesus very much.

For families ready to push it forward, add in one new prayer each week until you have a complete decade. Follow the outline:
Hold the Crucifix in your right hand. Make the Sign of the Cross properly, using the right hand only.

Still holding the Crucifix, state what you believe as a Catholic by saying the Creed.

Move to the first bead. Pray one Our Father.

Move to the next beads. Pray the Hail Mary three times, once on each bead.

Move to the next bead and pray one Glory Be.

Stay on the same bead. Announce the Mystery by saying these words: The Second Sorrowful Mystery, The Scourging at the Pillar. On Palm Sunday, Jesus was cheered and welcomed into Jerusalem. Within one week, the people turned against Him and cheered for Jesus to die. Pilate ordered Him to be whipped. God, His Father, allowed this punishment because He knew how many people commit sins with their bodies. Jesus took on the punishment for our sins so that we have the chance to go to Heaven. We recognize this Sacrifice, and we ask for Jesus' help with battling temptations of the body: lust, greed, and gluttony. Jesus, help us to become pure and loving. Jesus, help us understand that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
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Stay on the same bead. Pray one Our Father.

Move through the next ten beads, praying the Hail Mary on each one.

Move to the next bead. Pray one Glory Be.

Stay on the same bead. Pray the Fatima Prayer.

Make the Sign of the Cross using the Crucifix. AMEN!

Hi Parents!

Sometimes parenting is hard. (!!! obvious!!) As people of faith, even our beliefs can be difficult to talk about with our children. How do we appropriately explain the sixth commandment about adultery to our elementary school aged kids? How are we going to appropriately explain the tortures and crucifixion Christ endured to our elementary school aged children, or sensitive older children? Sin is ugly; explaining it is awkward and hard.

How do you feel showing this art of our Savior's tortures and death to your kids? Do you hesitate? Why? When--at what age-- do you think it is appropriate​ to begin talking to your kids about this? It should be at around age 5 or 6 if you want your child to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion at age 7 or 8, right?

We are praying the Sorrowful Mysteries during Lent. My hope is that no one avoids this prayer at this time because they are nervous about bringing the images to their children. While my own children -- 16 and 18-- have not yet seen Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, they have meditated on other forms of art showing our Redeemer's experiences since a young age. Let's address how to confidently and lovingly share the Greatest Story Ever Told to your "young children" (pre-K and Kindergarten through third grade, depending on the individual) and "older children" (fourth grade through late teens, depending on the individual).

How to explain the Passion and Resurrection to a Young Child

The events of the Triduum are powerfully disturbing, even for adults.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that parents are "the principal and first educators of their children" (read paragraph 1653). You know more than anyone how to discuss these events with your child because you are most keenly aware of your child's developmental readiness. Remember that when kids ask questions ("How are babies made?"), we often read way too much into it. It is usually best to allow them to take the lead in the discussion (by you asking them questions) so that you know what their objective is and what exactly they are searching for. Your children's curiosity and need for information will probably be satisfied sooner than you anticipate. You can see that I model asking kids questions in my art meditations in these posts.

It's impossible to talk about Jesus' Resurrection without talking about His death, and it's impossible to talk about His death without talking about His crucifixion. So how do you explain the Passion and Resurrection to young children? First, use language and experiences that your children will understand. Jesus didn't do anything bad ever, but He was still punished. Jesus accepted this mission to help us get into Heaven. That's why we call Jesus "our Savior." Savior sounds like save. Save means the same thing as rescue. From Adam and Eve through the lives of people living at the same time as Jesus, no one got into Heaven. Jesus rescued all faithful human beings from the time of Adam and Eve all the way to us and beyond. He rescued us from Hell and made it easier for us to get into Heaven. This is why we love Him so much. This is why it's so important to learn to be thankful and to express our gratitude to Him. This is why we pray to meet Him one day. This is how we know that we need to always try our best to be good.

Second, sticking with historical facts helps. When Jesus lived in the Holy Land thousands of years ago, people who did bad things were hung on crosses as their punishment. Sometimes their hands and feet were tied to the cross but other times nails were used. It hurt a lot. Even the worst pain we've ever felt doesn't match the pain the crucified experienced, and certainly not the pain Jesus endured with His additional tortures.

The graphic detail provided in the real story isn't necessary to convey Jesus' act of love and sacrifice. Again, if you allow your kids to take the lead in the conversation about the fine art, you will notice that they can see that He was treated badly; young kids might also understand the concept of being treated unfairly or even getting punished for something they didn't do. Also remember that "death" is an abstract concept that their young minds don't fully understand yet, so there is a lot in fine art presentations that children don't even "see."

How to explain the Passion and Resurrection to Older Children, Tweens, and Teens

If we've been doing our jobs correctly as parents and catechists, our older children, tweens, and teens know what sin is. They know that they have a choice and can either avoid sin or participate in sin. The challenge now is teaching them that they need to be held accountable for their choices, accept responsibility, apologize, and make up for their sins. They are also moving toward an understanding that God lives outside of time, so when we say "Jesus died for your sins," yes, Jesus really did. The journey of understanding all of this shows growth and maturity.

While praying the Rosary, the Mystery is announced. You will notice that within each announcement, I use words that will help older kids start moving toward accountability. I use words like "commit sins with their bodies" or "sins of thought and pride." As we move toward maturity, we realize that we are the ones who cut Jesus' skin, who penetrated His Head, Hands, and Feet. Our sins did that. The Divine Mercy Chaplet, which we will study after Easter, provides interesting meditation on our participation in each of Jesus' wounds; I quote two meditations below, and invite you and your teen to read the entire meditation linked here.

Older children and tweens will understand the scenario in this video; some will be ready to take the step in maturity:

Can you find Jesus two times in this painting? Point to Him. Yes! We see Jesus two times because this one painting shows two different events happening in the same place on the same night.

This story from Jesus' life happened on what we call "Holy Thursday." Many things happened on Holy Thursday. Look carefully at the painting. Can you name the three things you see going on in the painting? If you need help, answer these questions:  

The scenes in this painting show what happened before Jesus' arrest.

To the left, we see the Apostles. How many can you count? Who is the twelfth one who is missing? His name starts with a J-U-?-?-?. Do you know why he isn't painted here? Do you know where he is and what he is doing? If you don't, read the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, verses 1-3 and 21-23 and you will find out.

The middle scene shows Jesus begging the Apostles not to go to sleep. He wants and needs them to stay awake and pray with Him. (Luke 22: 39-46) He has to wake them up and ask them this favor more than once. This must have made Him very, very sad. All of us want our friends to show us they love us by paying attention and supporting us. Even Jesus wanted that attention and support from His friends.

In the right corner, we see the third scene. You can see Jesus praying alone here. His knees must have been really hurting because they are balancing His body's weight on a hard, bumpy stone. He was in such distress that He was sweating blood instead of water. (Luke 22: 44)

But His friends are not helping Him; they are sleeping.

Remember that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. In His human nature, He begs God like we do: "If it's possible, please don't let this happen to Me. Please take this suffering away from Me." But Jesus knows that there is no other way for us sinners to get into Heaven and that His purpose is to set us free and open the Gates of Heaven. Because He knows this, He also tells God, "Not My will, but Your will be done." (Luke 22: 42) And do you know what God did when Jesus told God how He was feeling? God sent Him a Guardian Angel. (Luke 22: 43) God sends us Guardian Angels, too. You have a Guardian Angel.

Lent starts on Wednesday!

Time moves so quickly, doesn’t it? That’s why I want to make a post about Lent a few days early. I know when I wake up on a particular Wednesday in February or March and realize, “Today is Ash Wednesday?!” and I haven’t prepared, I always feel behind schedule. I never really feel caught up when I’m not ready for Ash Wednesday, and I never feel my Lent season is experienced well when I’m not ready.

I repeated that thought of “not ready,” did you notice that?​ Lent is a period of preparation. It requires reflection and action. It’s hard for me to follow through if I’m not prepared for my preparing. I know that sounds a bit controlling, but the change I strive for during Lent seems to happen at a better quality when I have the time to prep for it.

Let’s take some steps back and look at the bigger picture.

How long is Lent?
Lent is a period of serious reflection before the joyous celebration of Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is the day that Jesus rose from the dead: Resurrection Day. If you counted the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, you’d count 46 days, yet we are taught that Lent is just 40 days. Why? Because every Sunday is a celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, so the Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday are not Lenten days.

The calendar is … what?!

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Wednesday before Holy Thursday.

Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are called the Triduum (pronounced as 3 syllables: “Trid-do-um”). Holy Thursday commemorates the day Jesus and the 12 Apostles celebrated their Passover meal, followed by time in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest and trials, and the start of Jesus’ torture.

Good Friday remembers Jesus’ torture, judgment, death, and entombment.

Holy Saturday is a day of meditation and quiet, as the Blessed Virgin, Apostles, and friends mourned; this is the time Jesus descended to hell to gather those in the Bosom of Abraham and delivered them to Heaven.

Easter Sunday commemorates the day that Jesus appeared to His Mother and friends, having risen from death.

Mardi Gras is French, and it means Fat Tuesday in English. It is the day before Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, Christians cleaned all indulgent foods from their pantries, which is why it’s called Fat or Gras. In many cultures (Brazilian, Italian, and Creole from New Orleans in Louisiana, USA) developed community celebrations based on this cleaning out; carnivals and parades have become common. Some faith traditions call Mardi Gras Shrove Tuesday. Shrove means to confess your sins. Traditionally, we are called to be introspective and examine ourselves at the start of Lent in order to determine what we need to work on during Lent to bring ourselves into a closer relationship with our Lord. We are invited to spend a substantial amount of time during Lent reflecting God’s holiness and all of the ways we turn away from our call to be holy. It is a time of awareness and promise. By recognizing our sinfulness, we are led to repentance (which is the turning away from sin) and real change.

For Catholics, fasting does not mean starving yourself and eating nothing. Fasting means that we eat three very small meals. We eat simple, whole, and humble foods. We drink only water or something with nutrition (broth, pureed soups, milk, etc.). There should be no sugar consumption (no sodas, no desserts, no junk).

Remember that you fast only two days a year--you can do this! When we fast, we practice self-denial and learn to lead a life of moderation and generosity. When we learn to not take for ourselves, we deepen our compassion for people who are in need, and that leads us to develop a deeper hunger and thirst for God.

Fasting applies to:

• Children (anyone younger than 18) are not required to fast.
• Adults 18 and older are required to fast, with exceptions:
  • The Catholic Church does not want pregnant or breast-feeding moms to fast.
  • Adults with a health condition that will be negatively impacted by fasting should not fast.
• Adults 60 years and older are not required to fast.

 
About abstinence:
The Church asks us to abstain on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday. Abstinence means not eating meat, including poultry, pork, beef, and other types of red meat (lamb, veal, buffalo, venison, etc.). Dairy products are discouraged (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.). On the other hand, fish and seafood is allowed. Fasting and abstaining from meat reminds us of our reliance on God, who is the source of all abundance and nourishment. When my children were preschoolers, I started training them in abstaining from meat and from indulgent foods like treats. 

Supporting your parish at least once during Lent by going to the Friday Fish Fries makes a fun family tradition. At home, try to keep your seafood dishes simple; we are fasting and abstaining from extravagance, not simply from certain animals. If your family members do not like any kind of fish, legumes (lentils, black beans, white beans, etc.) are a good source of protein, too. ​

Another prayer habit you could engage during Lent is actually praying for the people you tell on social media, “I’ll pray for you.” Take out a calendar and, on each of the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, write the name of one family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, acquaintance, … or even someone you don’t really like. As each day arrives, offer your prayers and petitions, frustrations, joys, and sufferings for that person’s intention. If you wanted, you can tell that person that you are praying for him or her on that day and ask him or her if he or she has any specific intentions he or she wants you to pray for. Knowing their struggles, their hopes, spiritual life, family relations, health, and whatever else brings you into closer communion.
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A Prayer Table in a prominent place in your home will help highlight that “in this family, we pray.” You can practice the prayers we ask your kids to memorize, or you can start your own prayer devotion there, or you can complete the Family Liturgy there, or you can even have the kids do their Religious Education Program homework in that area—in any case, it signifies a quiet, meditative place. Your prayer table could be an end table or coffee/cocktail table in your living room, a section of your kitchen counter or dining table, or a piece of furniture you buy just for this purpose. You can make this a permanent place in your home, a sacred space that will change with the seasons and with time, as the members of your family grow and change.  Basics that should always be on your Prayer Table are

1. a placemat, cloth napkin, or tablecloth,
2. a candle,
3. a crucifix,
4. a Bible,
5. an empty bowl or other container to collect prayer requests
6. slips of paper and pens to write prayer requests

Optional items include:

1. statues of a patron saint, or a saint whose feast day is coming up (St. Patrick and St. Joseph are celebrated during Lent),
2. vase and bouquet of flowers,
3. prayer books and/or poetry books and/or a hymnal (or a Kindle or old smart phone that can access resources from the web),
4. storybooks for children,
5. postcards or print-outs of sacred art relevant to the season,
6. a beautiful container for your family’s Rosaries,

For Lent and Advent, purple will be the main color (tablecloth, candles, and/or flowers).

Gather your family around the table on a certain day at a certain time. While lighting the candle, say something like, “We light a candle to remind us that God is with us in this place, at this time.”

Some good storybooks for Lent include  The Tale of Three Trees, The Donkey that No One Could Ride, and The Colt and the King.

You should also choose a good Stations of the Cross book. An electronic format is useful if you come to our parish parking lot and pray the Stations together as a family, outside. Or you can join other parishioners inside (materials will be provided). Times are listed on our parish's homepage.

Donate your Money: You had the option of taking the Operation Rice Bowl, sponsored by Catholic Relief Services, the last time you came to classes. You might donate goods or money to Holy Family’s St. Vincent de Paul. If money is tight in your family, you can always buy the supermarket “BOGO” and give your free one away. You might also ask each family member to find three to five high-quality, useful items in their bedrooms, family room, or kitchen that would be appreciated by those who are less fortunate. Donate the items to the Holy Family Thrift Shoppe, GoodWill, or the Salvation Army. After you donate the items, pray together at your prayer table for those who will receive them.

​Donate your Talent: Become involved in a parish activity that ministers to others. Children and teens can join Altar Servers, Ushers, and Young People’s Choir among other youth ministries. Moms and Dads can always use your talents and time here in the Religious Education Program. We would love to work with you!

Do you want to celebrate the different days in the Lenten season? Here are some ideas:

Mardi Gras: Clear your pantry. Get rid of foods and beverages that do not honor the body that God designed for you. Instead of gorging on them, consider donating unopened packages and bottles to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry here in our parish. Your body is God’s gift to you. How well are you treating it—with foods and with other choices? How are you abusing your body (your intellect, your physical body, your emotions and your psychology, etc.)? Are you using your body  to abuse others (yes, this is a question of morality)? How? These unhealthy choices and habits are also things you want to clear out and get rid of. It’s ok to feast today. Say this grace before your meal. 

Ash Wednesday: Today is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but many Catholics happily choose to start the Lenten season by going to Mass and then receiving ashes on their foreheads. I feel going to Mass and receiving ashes is important for our children, who respond well to physical expressions and rituals. This resource provides details on the Ash Wednesday tradition. Our Mass schedule is here.

St. Patrick's Day (March 17), St. Joseph's Day (March 19), and the Annunciation (March 25): Everyone likes to claim that they are Irish on St. Patrick's Day and Italian on St. Joseph's Day. And why not? It's fun to celebrate these saints and their contributions to our faith Tradition. The secular party, though, might be more than what we should be doing during Lent, even if these days don't fall on a Friday. Go ahead and celebrate, but within reason. Take note, though: if St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday, you are not permitted to eat meat unless the Bishop gives a dispensation, so check the Diocesan website. But if St. Joseph's Day or the Annunciation falls on a Friday, you may eat meat. What's the difference? Read this article to find out. 

Can preschoolers celebrate Lent?
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YES! You probably can see children of all ages being able to participate in some way in all of the activities listed above. Children love to help, and teens want to “give back.”

Have a blessed Lent! We are here to support you in your Lenten efforts, so please let us know what you need!

Mary Acevedo, Director of Religious Education​

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