Lenten Workshop [lots of ideas for all]

Lenten Workshop bell.

Take up your cross and follow Jesus, and you will enter eternal life. If you die with Him, you will also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you will also share His glory.

The Precepts of the Church
Coroporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy
The Stational Church

What Is Lent?

Welcome to the Lenten Workshop! As we enter this season in the spirit of the Church and of her liturgy we seek to wash away the stains of sin and to rid ourselves of all that prevents us from living a truly Christian life. We offer these instuctions, prayers and activities to help in our attempt to be united to our suffering Savior. The more perfectly we are united with Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Eucharist the more we shall share His new life and glorification at Easter. We hope you will use the following links to discover the meaning of Lent.

Lenten Workshop Ping.

This is great! Thanks.

My pleasure!

Lenten 2008 bump.

Lenten Prayers and Hymns

"Address . . . one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart." "He who sings prays twice."

Lenten Prayers & Hymns

Lent is a good time to delve into the riches of the Church's prayers and hymns. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the musical tradition of the universal Church "a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art." While there are many to choose from we offer you the following and encourage you to explore further on your own.

Lenten prayer bump to all.

Enlighten, Lord, our hearts and our minds so that we may attain to eternal life and light.

Lenten Activities

This Lent why not take time to tap the treasuries of the Church's liturgy for your children? How many Catholics use only part of the Church's spiritual riches! We are called to restore things in Christ, so this Lent make time for God. Ordinarily we assign only minutes a day to Him. Yet we need Him so badly in every area of life. Use this section of Catholic Culture's site as a spring board of ideas that you can employ to impress upon your children the great mysteries which we are celebrating in the Lenten season.

A Personal Program

Our daily life doesn't stop just because Lent is here. The challenge is to observe the spirit of Lent and perform the works of Lent while living in a secular culture, to remain in the world but not become a product of it.

A Personal Program

It should not be enough to slide through Lent by just observing the fast and abstinence laws. We should all undertake a Lenten program, an inward cleansing and purification, for oneself and the family. The program needs to be planned and organized. Ask the question: What shall I and my family do this year for Lent? Goals and activities should be realistic and reasonable.

The principal works of Lent can be divided into the following six categories:

Click on link for the active Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross

Stations Home

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

Adapted from St. Alphonsus Liguori

Before visiting the Stations, let each one make an act of contrition and form the intention of gaining the indulgences, whether for himself or for the souls in purgatory.

Act of Contrition

My Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast made this journey to die for me with love unutterable, and I have so many times unworthily abandoned Thee; but now I love Thee with my whole heart, and because I love Thee I repent sincerely for having ever offended Thee. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany Thee on this journey. Thou goest to die for love of me; I wish also, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of Thee. My Jesus, I will live and die always united to Thee.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Stabat Mater dolorosa Juxta crucem lacrymosa, Dum pendebat Filius.	At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last.
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Stations Home

FIRST STATION
Jesus is Condemned to Death

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider, that Jesus, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.

My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate, no, it was my sins, that condemned Thee to die. I beseech Thee, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in its journey toward eternity. I love Thee, my beloved Jesus; I love Thee more than myself; I repent with my whole heart of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Cujus animan gementem, Contristatam, et dolentem, Pertransivit gladius.	Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, All His bitter anguish bearing, Now at length the sword had passed.
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Stations Home

SECOND STATION
Jesus is Made to Bear His Cross

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider that Jesus, in making this journey with the cross on His shoulders, thought of us, and offered for us, to His Father, the death that He was about to undergo.

My most beloved Jesus, I embrace all the tribulations that Thou hast destined for me until death. I beseech Thee, by the merits of the pain Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross, to give me the necessary help to carry mine with perfect patience and resignation. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

O quam tristis et afflicta Fuit illa benedicta Mater Unigeniti.	Oh, how sad and sore distressed, Was that Mother highly blessed Of the sole-begotten One!
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Stations Home

THIRD STATION
Jesus Falls the First Time Under His Cross

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider this first fall of Jesus under His cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and He had lost a great quantity of blood. He was so weakened that He could scarcely walk, and yet He had to carry this great load upon His shoulders. The soldiers struck Him rudely, and thus He fell several times in His journey.

My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the cross, but of my sins, which has made Thee suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I love Thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Quae moerebat, et dolebat, Pia Mater, dum videbat Nati poenas inclyti.	Christ above in torment hangs, She beneath beholds the pangs Of her dying, glorious Son.
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Stations Home

FOURTH STATION
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider, the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other, and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly.

My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow Thou didst experience in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Thy most holy Mother. And thou, my Queen, who was overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by thy intercession a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of thy Son. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Quis est homo qui non flerent, Matrem Christi si videret In tanto supplicio?	Is there one who would not weep Whelmed in miseries so deep Christ's dear Mother to behold?
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Stations Home

FIFTH STATION
Simon Helps Jesus to Carry His Cross

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider that the Jews, seeing that at each step Jesus, from weakness, was on the point of expiring, and fearing that He would die on the way when they wished Him to die the ignominious death of the cross, constrained Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross behind Our Lord.

My most sweet Jesus, I will not refuse the cross as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept in particular the death that Thou hast destined for me with all the pains which may accompany it; I unite it to Thy death, I offer it to Thee. Thou has died for love of me, I will die for love of Thee, and to please Thee. Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Quis non posset contristari, Christi Matrem contemplari Dolentem cum Filio?	Can the human heart refrain From partaking in her pain, In that Mother's pain untold?
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Stations Home

SIXTH STATION
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider that the holy woman named Veronica, seeing Jesus so afflicted, and His face bathed in sweat and blood, presented Him with a towel with which He wiped His adorable face, leaving on it the impression of His holy countenance.

My most beloved Jesus, Thy face was beautiful before, but in this journey it has lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood have disfigured it. Alas! my soul also was once beautiful, when it received Thy grace in Baptism; but I have disfigured it since by my sins. Thou alone, my Redeemer, canst restore it to its former beauty. Do this by Thy Passion, O Jesus. I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Pro peccatis Suae gentis Vidit Jesum in tormentis, Et flagellis subditum.	Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, She beheld her tender Child, All with bloody scourges rent.
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Stations Home

SEVENTH STATION
Jesus Falls the Second Time

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider the second fall of Jesus under the cross—a fall which renews the pain of all the wounds of the head and members of our afflicted Lord.

My most gentle Jesus, how many times Thou hast pardoned me, and how many times have I fallen again, and begun again to offend Thee! Oh, by the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary helps to persevere in Thy grace until death. Grant that in all temptations which assail me I may always commend myself to Thee. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Vidit suum dulcem Natum Moriendo desolatum Dum emisit spiritum.	For the sins of His own nation Saw Him hang in desolation Till His spirit forth He sent.
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Stations Home

EIGHTH STATION
Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider that those women wept with compassion at seeing Jesus in so pitiable a state, streaming with blood, as He walked along. But Jesus said to them, "Weep not for Me but for your children."

My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep for the offenses that I have committed against Thee, because of the pains which they have deserved, and still more because of the displeasure which they have caused Thee, Who hast loved me so much. It is Thy love, more than the fear of hell, which causes me to weep for my sins. My Jesus, I love Thee more than myself; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Eia Mater, fons amoris, Me sentire vim doloris Fac, ut tecum lugeam.	O Thou Mother! fount of love, Touch my spirit from above. Make my heart with thine accord.
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Stations Home

NINTH STATION
Jesus Falls the Third Time

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners excessive, who tried to hasten His steps when He had scarcely strength to move.

Ah, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness Thou didst suffer in going to Calvary, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect and all my wicked passions, which have led me to despise Thy friendship. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

Fac ut ardeat cor meum In amando Christum Deum Ut sibi complaceam.	Make me feel as Thou hast felt: Make my soul to glow and melt With the love of Christ, my Lord.
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