Tag: Lent

A New Idea for Lent 2022

Published on by Kate2 Comments

Lent is fast approaching even though it is starting so late this year! It has been quite a while since Ash Wednesday hasn’t been in February. For anyone else who is suddenly realizing that February is practically over, Ash Wednesday is on March 2, less than a week away.

The past few years I have written full length Lenten reflection journals. The Lenten journals primarily focus on praying with the ancient practice of Lectio Divina. This year, in full transparency, I was stuck. I didn’t know what to write, I didn’t feel inspired and I was struggling with what God was asking me to say, or not say. Around and around I went until Ben pulled me aside and asked what on earth was the matter with me. It took a while to find the words to express my frustration and desires. It was so good to talk to him about the problem and together, I think we found a good solution.

There is no journal this year. I am sorry for anyone who was looking forward to a new journal. The old ones are still available, still free and, hopefully, still relevant to your Lenten journey if you wish to use them. There is a new page at the top of the home page where all the Lenten journals can be found just like the Advent ones.

This isn’t to say that there won’t be some new and exciting Lenten content coming your way. While a whole new journal was overwhelming, a dedicated weekly newsletter felt much more doable and as Ben and I talked, a theme settled in my heart and I found so much peace. This is where God wanted me to focus this year.

Starting on Ash Wednesday, and then each Sunday of Lent following, there will be a post here asking you to consider one room or space in your home. How is it functioning? What purpose does it serve? What spring cleaning needs to happen here to make it a flourishing space that works in your family? Next, we will translate that physical space into a spiritual one. I help you to consider your spiritual “home” – the make up of your soul and its relationship with God. How does this aspect of your “spiritual home” work? What spring cleaning is needed? How can you spend some intentional time in this space of your spiritual life as we journey through Lent?

If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to sign up to receive an email each time I post new content. This way, you won’t miss any of these Lenten updates!

As many of you know, Ben is in the Air Force. We are thankful that he is presently home with us as the world continues to respond to the actions of Russia in Ukraine. As the situation continues to unfold, I would be grateful for your prayers for our military members and their families. Pray for their leaders, and their leaders leaders. Let us join Pope Francis’ prayer for peace:

“And now, I would like to appeal to everyone, believers and non-believers alike. Jesus taught us that the diabolical evil of violence is answered with the weapons of God, with prayer and fasting,”

“I invite everyone to make next March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting for peace. I encourage believers in a special way to devote themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.”

Pope Francis, General Audience, Feb. 23, 2022
Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

Free Lenten Journal for 2021

Published on by Kate4 Comments

Oh man, Lent is practically here! As I promised in my last post, I’ve been scurrying around finishing up the Lenten Lectio Divina journal. For this year, as with last year as well, there is only the Lectio Divina journal, no reflection journal. This is for two main reasons.

  1. I have struggled to come up with a reflection journal idea/format that is similar to the Advent ones and also works within the whole scope of the season of Lent. I can figure out how to reflect toward the upcoming Sunday, as I did one year in Advent, or looking back to carry the previous Sunday into the week, as I did another Advent year. This works just fine until you get to Holy Week. I almost need 2 journals, one that deals with Lent, and a second that focuses on Holy Week and the Triddum. Maybe next year.
  2. Lent happens fast y’all! I still feel like we are just exiting the Christmas season. I did a great job getting started on Advent early last year (they were ready and done in October – can you imagine!?) but didn’t keep my momentum up during our transition that happened this winter. We have moved from Texas to Kansas. Moving and writing did not go hand in hand for me. With this in perspective, I’m so happy to have finished the Lectio Divina journals since I didn’t really have brain space for anything else.

Ok, to the good stuff. I did manage the booklet format that I did this past Advent. So there are the two print options. The first, per usual, is the print, staple and go. Everything is in order from Ash Wednesday to Easter.

For those of you brave souls who want to make a booklet, there’s that option too. I did not get any negative feedback about the format from Advent, so my fingers are crossed it went well for you since that is what I based this journal on. You will need to print double sided and then fold down the middle. Again, please test your printer with the first few pages before going for the whole thing unless you regularly print double sided and know your machine well.

Also listed here is the blank page that you can print as many times as you would like. This page is useful if you prefer to select your own verse for reflection. It is also especially helpful during Lent if your parish does not have any candidates or catechumens. During Lent, the 3rd-5th Sundays of Lent have a few readings options. The Scrutiny readings (which I have chosen to use for the journal) are used if the parish has candidates (people who are already baptized but need to receive their First Eucharist and/or Confirmation to complete their Sacraments of Initiation) or catechumens (persons who are seeking to receive all 3 Sacraments of Initiation) are at Mass. If they are not present, or the parish does not have any that year, the regularly cycled readings are used. You can find both options on the USCCB’s website.

lenten-lectio-divina-journal-2021Download
2021-lenten-lectio-bookletDownload
2021-lent-lectio-blank-pageDownload

These journals are completely FREE to print. However, due to the copyright restrictions, you are not supposed to print 100 copies to pass out at your parish or slid under your neighbors’ doors. You can, however, use this link in your bulletin announcements, to share with your Bible study group, post on your Facebook page, etc.

It is such an honor to write these journals. It brings me so many blessings and I hope they do for you as well. I hope you have a purposeful, peaceful and hopeful Lenten season.

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

Choosing our Feelings & A New Method of Fasting

Published on by Kate1 Comment

Lent is on the way. I know this because my fingers have been frantically typing to finish up the Lenten Lectio Divina journal for this year. It ought to be ready and posted by this weekend, so for anyone who is looking for it, it’s on the way! 

I had a revelation a few days ago that I wanted to share. A little update first. As I sit here typing, I am almost 35 weeks pregnant with #6. My sister-in-law and I have been walking the pregnancy journey together, which has been so much fun. She, however, is a bit further along than I am and that day I spent thinking she was at the hospital getting ready to meet her first child. I was so happy for my brother and his wife. This is their first baby and has been a long journey. Pregnancy and pandemic are not the easiest combination.

And yet, while I was genuinely happy and excited for them, I felt off all day. I blamed it on ligament pain, general pregnancy stuff, etc. But as I woke up the following morning (it turned out I had it wrong and this was the day of the inducement) I was struck by this rather ugly thought:

“Yesterday I was jealous that she was going to have her baby and I’m not there yet.”

It hit me hard too. All day, I was harboring this jealously so tightly within me that it’s tendrils reached out to effect my entire day. I wasn’t patient, I struggled with motivation, I didn’t even want to cook dinner or plan out the meals for the week because it involved too much work. I felt exhausted even though I hadn’t done much. I was frustrated with myself for my failings and that surely didn’t do anyone in the house any good. 

Because of this revelation, the actual day of the birth of my very first nephew, was noticeably different. I still had the same ligament pain, same pregnancy stuff. But I acknowledged this struggle I am having, prayed about it and it makes all the difference. While writing this, two of the girls asked me to play a game with them. I very much wanted to get it finished this afternoon during the few precious hours of quiet time while Gabriel, now 18 months, is asleep. The day before, I would have probably snapped at them for interrupting me and sent them to play on their own. This day, I closed my laptop and played Go Fish. 

Instead of letting my jealously rule me, I chose to rule it.

Any program for addiction will tell you that you have to own the feelings and thoughts you are having. You have to acknowledge you need help, that you can’t go it alone. By naming how we are feeling, we are acknowledging the feelings for what they are. From that place, we can choose to indulge them, dismiss them, or change them. I am so thankful that God revealed to me my jealous heart so that I could greet my new nephew with a heart full of joy and love.

With Lent coming up, this is a great time to consider what feelings we are ruling, and which ones we are allowing to rule us. What actions or activities do we feel we cannot live without, and what can we let go of without too much complaint?

Since the start of the year, I have been trying something new. Instead of one big New Year’s resolution (which I usually fail at by now) I have chosen a weekly fast that changes with each week. Sundays are “off” days and simultaneously discernment days. No fasting, but discerning the upcoming week to see what I will be fasting from. Some things I’ve fasted from already include:

  • Desserts
  • Instagram
  • Social media scrolling (I check in once a day because important announcements for Ben’s squadron are often posted on Facebook but I did not allow myself to sit and scroll the newsfeeds)
  • Games on my phone

I have repeated a few and have found some to be harder than others. Desserts were hard all week long and I found myself reluctant to bake anything because I couldn’t have it. This is something to work on for sure since my whole family wasn’t fasting from dessert, just me. Social media wasn’t as hard as I expected, though I did notice that I just played more solitaire or word searches so it wasn’t necessarily a reduction in screen time. I plan to fast at some point from using my phone after the kids are in bed, like a digital sunset if you’ve heard of that. This week happens to be phone games and I am noticing a reduction in screen time. There’s only so much Instagram scrolling I’m willing to do, which is new information for me about my phone tolerances and habits.

Usually for Lent we choose one thing to fast from. I’d like to offer an alternative, especially if you were planning on fasting from something you habitually do each year, like pop or chocolate. Take some time and look at your calendar for Lent. What might you fast from each week that would bring either meaningful change to that week, or could reveal meaningful information about you, your habits and feelings? Maybe you only pick two things and switch back and forth (there are 6 weeks including Holy Week so you would fast an even number of times). Each time you revisit the fast you could tweak it, adjust it, so that you continue to grow and stretch yourself. Here’s an example:

Week 1: Fast from saying “I want.”

Week 2: Fast from chocolate.

Week 3: Continue your fast from Week 1 and include delayed gratification practices. If there is something you want to do, buy, eat, etc., wait a specific amount of time before doing the activity (Personally, I would not count main meals in the “I want” category.) 

Week 4: Continue your fast from Week 2 and include no desserts of any kind.

Week 5: Continue your fast from Weeks 1 and 3. Challenge yourself to fast from whatever was the hardest thing to wait for in the previous weeks.

Week 6: Continue your fast from Weeks 2 and 4. Challenge yourself to eat no dessert or snack between meals.

Do you see how the fasts grow upon one another, building your stamina over the course of the whole Lenten journey? This is just one idea of course, there are so many good practices and methods of fasting. 

What are you planning on fasting from? What do you think of the idea of trying a gradually building fast over the course of Lent? 

Don’t forget, the free Lenten Lectio Divina journal for this Lent will be out by this weekend! This is a totally free resources to download, please feel free to share the blog post link when it is up.

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com