Dear Auntie Leila,
I am a relatively new reader of your blog Like Mother Like Daughter. I enjoy the peaceful tone of the blog. You seem to manage being dignified without being stuffy, faithful to the Church without being uptight. I also enjoy reading about families in which teens are living, contributing and growing. There are many excellent blogs written by intentional Catholic mothers but so many focus on young children. Amazingly, my own little group of six children are now mostly in their teens (they are from twenty down to eight).So, my question to you is this: how have your Lenten traditions changed as your children have grown, and what seems to have worked for you to help your older children experience prayer, fasting and alms-giving? (I am a convert, so no family traditions to lean on.)
Thanks so much!
Sonja
The bishops have called for a renewal of the practice of the family Rosary. If you are not already praying this, Lent is a good time to start, and now is a good time to get into practice. Of course, it's important that your husband is on board with this. If not, find something that he wants to do. Even a small part of the Liturgy of the Hours — one antiphon and Psalm from Vespers, for instance, prayed together after dinner — would be wonderful.
Find the right jar to put on the kitchen or prayer table to collect alms for a local charity, and include in your conversation what that might be. Remember that your ice cream money can go right in there as well as the change the kids collect and larger offerings.
Leave a Reply