Lent 2011: here's how we'll do Stations of the Cross ...

ETA (3/10/11): Yes, Paula is right, it was Ruth at Just Another Day in Paradise where I got this idea.  I really love that it is all connected so I don't have to re-set it every Friday, but instead can leave the votives/cross on our family altar in the dining room all week!  THANKS Ruth for this brilliant idea.

On Fridays during Lent, we always try and do the Stations of the Cross ... either at home or in our parish or wherever.  This year, to ensure that we DO the Stations each Friday, we borrowed an idea from one of my lovely online lady-friends (but since I'm pushing 50, I just can't remember who -- if it's you, PLEASE post to the comments!) and did the following:

14 votive candle cups hot-glued to a board (I actually had to string some boards together (thus the gaps underneath) that I painted purple.  Each of the cups represents a Station of the Cross.  The wooden cross backing up the candles (and attached by using a square block instead of the rectangles for the rest of the "board") was painted by LegoManiac -- which accounts for the "blood" dripping down where the wounds of Christ would be.

The idea is that when we get ready to do the Stations, we light each of the candles.  As we read the Station, we blow out the candle, until all 14 are blown out.  In the darkness, we will then quietly (well, that's the plan) head to bed.

Cool, huh?

How is your Lent progressing?
 

Lent 2010: Fridays in Lent

Fridays of Lent are so much more than "suffering" through abstaining from meat (btw, we're having sweet potato soup for dinner -- don't tell the kids). 

We as Catholics are called to remember the AMAZING sacrifice Jesus made for us all.  One way we do that is by praying the Stations of the Cross.

Years ago (at least 5 or 6! man, I'm getting old), someone on 4real mentioned a Stations of the Cross box with items that would help the kids (and moms, too) remember each station in a very direct way.  Here's our Stations of the Cross that we prayed this morning, and the symbols we use.  We'll do this every Friday during Lent, both in the morning and then again at dinner with Dad.

Stations of the Cross

Station 1 --  Jesus is condemned to die

symbol --  string for binding his hands

We adore you o Christ, and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 2 – Jesus takes up his cross

symbol – a small wooden cross

We adore you o Christ, and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 3 -- Jesus falls for the first time

symbol -- a bandaid

We adore you o Christ, and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 4 -- Jesus meets his mother

symbol -- a rosary

We adore you o Christ, and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 5 -- Simon helps Jesus carry his cross

symbol -- a heart for charity

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 6 -- Veronica wipes the Holy Face

symbol -- cloth with the face of Jesus drawn on it

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 7 -- Jesus falls a second time

symbol -- a bandaid

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 8 -- Jesus comforts the weeping women of Jerusalem

symbol -- facial tissue

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 9 -- Jesus falls for the third time

symbol -- bandaid

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 10 -- Jesus is stripped of his garments

symbol -- piece of purple cloth

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Staton 11 -- Jesus is nailed to the cross

symbol -- large nail

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 12 -- Jesus dies on the Cross

symbol -- a crucifix

Kneel and Pause for a moment

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 13 -- Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in his mother's arms

symbol -- picture of the Pieta

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Station 14 -- Jesus is laid in the tomb

symbol -- rock

We adore you o Christ and we praise you

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Prayers for all your intentions this Lent 2010.  Please keep our family in your prayers, too.