Family Activity:

In preparation for Lent, look at your calendar for the 40 days of Lent and schedule family confession, adoration and stations of the cross.

Weekly Virtue:

The virtue to work on this week (Wednesday through Saturday) as a family is to sacrifice something, but don’t tell anyone. Examples include:

• Clean room
• Make your bed
• Give up social media, non-essential phone use, gaming
• First time obedience
• Washing dishes
• Open doors for others
• Be the last one in or out of the car

Family Reflection

Click the link below to read the scriptures from Ash Wednesday. The model we will be using in the Lenten exercise are detailed in this article. For the readings today we will be reflecting on the first reading and the theme of returning to the Lord.

Joel 2:12-18

Return to me with your whole heart, fasting, weeping and mourning.. God is slow to anger, rich in kindness….
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.

Reflection

The Church calendar mirrors the rhythm of life for most of us. We have seasons that we go through, there are times in which we are very productive and times when we get lax and perhaps even lazy. The spiritual life is no different and the seasons of the Church calendar are meant to remind us that we need to focus on our spiritual life more intensely during the time before Easter (Lent) and before Christmas (Advent).

Are you happy with your family’s spiritual life right now? Are there any areas which can be improved? Now is the time to take a spiritual inventory and see what needs attention, better to give attention to small things before they get bigger and harder to correct.

• Is your family too busy? Ask each family member. If you are, this article may help.

What does the name of the prophet “Joel” mean? “Yahweh is God”

A passage in Joel is referenced by whom in the new testament? St. Peter quotes Joel 3:1 in Acts 2:16 when he calls the people to repentance after receiving the Holy Spirit in the upper room.

• USCCB Introduction to Book of Joel
• Background on the Prophet Joel – Catholic News Agency

Psalm 51

Create a clean heart in me, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

Be reconciled to God, Jesus is our savior, He saves us from sin, He took the punishment we deserve for our sins.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

“And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

God loves to see our efforts to grow in virtue and holiness but do not compare yourself to your neighbor lest you set the bar too low. Strive to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Who is St. Matthew? Matthew is one of the four Gospel writers and was a tax collector prior to becoming one of the twelve handpicked Apostles of Jesus.

At which event was this passage of scripture delivered? The Sermon on the Mount.

This passage covers three commands for the Christian life, Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting.

• What is Almsgiving? Giving money to the poor
• What is the Prayer Jesus taught us? The Our Father (Matt. 6:9-13)
• What is Fasting? Giving up eating or eating less than normal for a period of time.
  • Which days during Lent are required fasting days? Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
  • What are the traditional fasting days of the Church? Wednesdays and Fridays