Give Your Child’s Lenten Sacrifice A Focus!

Sacrifice is never easy. It's even harder when you're a kid. Here are three ways you can help your child with this traditional Lenten practice;

+ Have your children draw a picture of their Lenten sacrifice or write it down. Post it beside their bed or place it on your table. As you tuck them into bed at night or sit down at the table for supper, take a few minutes to ask each child how they are doing. Ask them if their Lenten sacrifice was hard or easy today. Spend some time talking about Jesus’ passion, and how even though it was hard, painful and tiring, he never gave up because of His love for them.

+ Encourage your child to choose someone to offer up their Lenten sacrifice for (ie: their grandma who is sick, a friend, etc). To “offer up” something is a beautiful tradition in our Catholic faith where, rather than complaining of our struggles or sufferings, we turn them into a prayer for someone else. For example: “Jesus, I would really like to eat this chocolate right now, but I offer it up as a prayer for my grandma who is sick.”

+Make sure to write their sacrifice down or post a picture of the person they will be offering their Lenten sacrifice for somewhere visible. Whenever your children want to quit or cheat on their Lenten sacrifice, remind them of who they are offering their sacrifice for. This gives their lent a focus and can help them persevere when it gets tough!