Lent and Other Special Seasons

Catholics use the period of Lent and Advent as a time of preparation for Easter and Christmas respectively. Many priests choose the lifestyle of John the Baptist and preach abut repentance, the practice, the feeling and the need for it. For years I have been challenged by the repenting approach to Lent. It is not that I am not inclined to repent, however forty days of practicing the various ways to repent, does not make me a better person. I am more likely to become a better person if I learn a new skill along with the expectations of behaviour which will accompany this skill. For example teaching me about health and safety will encourage me to practice safety measures when I am using the acquired skills and when I am exposed to risks which accompany most activities.

Another way we acknowledge that we are reaching close to the celebration of Easter is in the "Good Friday Walk". Early in the morning of Good Friday, there is a walk with the recitation of the Rosary and the  reading on the Stations of the Cross representing the walk of Jesus with the cross.

There is some measurement used for the marking of the various stations and there are persons who walk with a wooden cross. Given that the area where I live ranges from hill and descent to the sea, and each year a different route is used, this can be a challenging walk both physically and mentally.

On a good note, close to the celebration of  both Christmas and Easter, my parish collects  groceries from the parishioners. These groceries are meant to be funded by our  self denials. However I do not believe that our parishioners deny themselves that much, as the groceries which are received  far outweigh any amount of self denial given the means of most of the parishioners. On the other hand, if I were to give at these times as a means of atoning for my sins, accepting that I can be forgiven, then Lent and Advent would not be a trial for me.

In searching for images to use in this blog, I  found the following sites which covered teaching about the stations of the cross to children.

http://www.loyolapress.com/images/stations-of-the-cross-for-children.pdf

THESE IMAGES ARE FROM THE CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME DES CHAMPS IN NORMANDY, FRANCE 

SAY AN OUR FATHER, A HAIL MARY, AND A GLORY BE . . . AND MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AT THE END OF EACH STATION.
http://www.pbase.com/spdavis/stations_of_the_cross