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Daily Lenten Meditations

«  March 2010  »

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
  • Pray Light a candle. Every time you pass that candle today, offer a prayer of thanks. Don’t ask for anything. Just thank him.
  • Fast Don’t cut corners. Even if no one will know, complete today’s work thoroughly.
  • Give Touch is a powerful thing. Make an effort today to touch your children: a hug, a shoulder rub, a tousled head -- especially the bigger ones
1
  • Pray Make five minutes in the morning, at midday and in the evening to be still, silent, and alone, only asking God to infuse your soul with his will.
  • Fast No noise today. Turn off the TV, the radio, the iPod. Find God in the silence.
  • Give Pay particular unsolicited attention to your least demanding child today.
2
  • Pray Begin a gratitude journal. At the end of the day, jot down five things for which you are grateful. Think upon these things.
  • Fast Remember the first time you had a moment alone with your first child. What did you promise him? Do that. Be that.
  • Give We can only expect what we inspect. For every task you assign today, follow through and before it’s truly finished ensure that there is praise from you.
3
  • Pray “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me." -- John 10:27
  • Fast Every time a child interrupts you today, stop what you are doing and look into his eyes as he talks.
  • Give “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Speak kindly all day long.
4
  • Pray Ask God to show you how weak and small you are. Open your heart to see it.
  • Fast Don’t argue today. As much as possible give up, give in, give way.
  • Give When you are tempted to put on the TV for kids today, pull out a stack of favorite picture books instead. Invite the kids to join you on the couch.
5
  • Pray Take a walk, even if it’s cold or raining. Leave your iPod at home.
  • Fast Think of someone whose life you are tempted to envy and then choke out these words: Thank you, God, for the blessings you have given to X. Help me to see my own.
  • Give Think about the kind of person your husband married. Be that person for him today.
6
7
  • Pray "Love consumes us only in the measure of our self-surrender." -- St. Therese of Lisieux
  • Fast As you go about your daily routine today, remember that you are expecting someone very important for dinner tonight. Together with your children, work towards your husband’s homecoming as if you were expecting to welcome a king back to his castle.
  • Give “You can do nothing with children unless you win their confidence and love by bringing them into touch with oneself, by breaking through all the hindrances that keep them at a distance. We must accommodate ourselves to their tastes, we must make ourselves like them.” -- St. John Bosco
8
  • Pray Take this quote to prayer today and listen to God’s answer: “Real love is demanding. I would fail in my mission if I did not tell you so. Love demands a personal commitment to the will of God.” -- John Paul II
  • Fast Stop looking for encouragement and approval. Genuinely encourage and affirm someone else instead.
  • Give Let your child choose a huge stack of picture books (use that word “huge” when you ask her to gather them). Read them all to her today.
9
  • Pray Persevere. “He who does not give up prayer cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either he will give up prayer, or he will give up sinning.” -- St. Alphonsus Liguori
  • Fast Don’t forget that the only pedestal you need ever stand on, is the one your husband and children build for you.
  • Give Focus on your home today. The world can find another volunteer, but your husband and children have only you.
10
  • Pray Insist on quiet from all your children during naptime today. Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet.
  • Fast We’re half way through. Compare yourself now only to yourself when Lent began. Tweak the plan.
  • Give Reach out to a local friend today. Reconnect.
11
  • Pray Ask God to make you humble and lowly.
  • Fast Don’t compare or complain. Do compliment.
  • Give Pack a picnic and go somewhere to eat it with your children. If the weather is prohibitive, build a tent in the living room and it eat there. Sit on the ground with them. Be fully present.
12
  • Pray Sometime before bedtime tonight, make time to pray with and for each of your children.
  • Fast Rise a little earlier and bring your husband breakfast in bed. (If it’s too late today, plan for tomorrow).
  • Give Plan a date night.
13
14
  • Pray Give thanks for food, clothes, and shelter. Listen to His plan for stewardship.
  • Fast Clean out the refrigerator today instead of eating lunch. Pull everything out and wipe it all down. As you do it, thank God for the food he provides for your family.
  • Give “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
15
  • Pray Before you read or do anything else today, pray this prayer, taken from the writings of St. Louis de Montfort: Lord, help me to imitate Mary's deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom. Amen.
  • Fast Give up thinking things have to be perfect.
  • Give As you do laundry today, bless the person for whom you are folding. With every crease, offer a prayer.
16
  • Pray For a few minutes tonight, after your children are sleeping, kneel beside their beds. Let your breath rise and fall with theirs. Entrust them to the Father and thank him for lending them to you.
  • Fast Let go of self-recrimination. “There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside.” -- St. Basil the Great
  • Give Do not say “In a minute” or “When I finish this” at all today. Instead, put aside your agenda and meet their needs (and even some wants) immediately and cheerfully.
17
  • Pray Pray to know how God wants you to spend your time today.
  • Fast Let go of despair and know that God gives you sufficient grace. "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." -- St. Francis of Assisi
  • Give Make sure that every one in your family gets at least one of your hugs today.
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Bloggers

Meet the Faith & Family bloggers. We invite you to join us in encouraging and helping the Faith & Family community grow in faith!

Danielle Bean

Danielle Bean
Danielle Bean, a mother of eight, is Editorial Director of Faith & Family. She is author of My Cup of Tea: Musings of a Catholic Mom (Pauline 2005) and Mom to Mom, Day to Day: Advice and Support for Catholic Living (Pauline 2007). Though she once struggled to separate her life …
Read My Posts

Rachel Balducci

Rachel Balducci
Rachel Balducci is married to Paul and together they are the parents of five lively boys. Besides being a mom, she is also a writer and a newspaper columnist for the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia. For the past four years, she has maintained her personal blog at Testosterhome.net where she …
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Lisa Hendey

Lisa Hendey
Lisa Hendey is the founder and editor of CatholicMom.com, a Catholic web site focusing on the Catholic faith, Catholic parenting and family life, and Catholic cultural topics. Most recently she has authored The Handbook for Catholic Moms. Lisa is also employed as webmaster for her parish web sites. …
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Arwen Mosher

Arwen Mosher
Arwen Mosher lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband Bryan and their young children Camilla and Blaise. She has a bachelor's degree in theology. She dreads laundry, craves sleep, loves to read novels and do logic puzzles, and can't live without tea. Her personal blog site is ABC Family. …
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Rebecca Teti

Rebecca Teti
Rebecca Teti is married to Dennis and has four children (3 boys, 1 girl) who -- like yours no doubt -- are pious and kind, gorgeous, and can spin flax into gold. A Washington, DC, native, she converted to Catholicism while an undergrad at the U. Dallas, where she double-majored in …
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Robyn Lee

Robyn Lee
Robyn Lee is the managing editor of Faith & Family magazine. She is (yikes!) an almost 30 year-old, single lady, living in Connecticut with her two cousins in a small bungalow-style kit house built by her great uncle in the 1950s. She also conveniently lives next door to her sister, brother-in-law …
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Hallie Lord

Hallie Lord
Hallie Lord married her dashing husband, Dan, in the fall of 2001 (the same year, coincidentally, that she joyfully converted to the Catholic faith). They now happily reside in the deep South with their two energetic boys and two very sassy girls. In her *ample* spare time, Hallie enjoys cheap wine, …
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Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Fr John Bartunek, LC, STL, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and …
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Guest Bloggers

Melissa Wiley

Melissa Wiley
Melissa Wiley is a homeschooling mother of six and the author of The Martha Years and The Charlotte Years, two series of books about the ancestors of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She blogs about children’s books, family, and home education at Here in the Bonny Glen.
Read My Posts

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Mad for Mad Men Style

Fashion Friday vol. 13

Posted by Hallie Lord in Family on Friday, March 12, 2010

Hello girls!

Are any of you fans of the AMC show Mad Men? Though I’m not a devotee myself, my eyes light up every time I spot pictures from the series somewhere. What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on some of those outfits!

Imagine my delight upon learning that the costume designers for Mad Men have a blog on the AMC website called Fashion File! Let’s just say that things temporarily felt a little... READ MORE 

Comments
5
Filed under clothing, fashion, style, television, vintage mad men

Different Shades of Modesty

Fashion Friday vol. 12

Posted by Hallie Lord in Reviews on Friday, March 05, 2010

One of the things I find most interesting about the subject of modesty is the wide variety of ways in which individuals interpret it.

Unlike some aspects of our faith, God hasn’t given us a strict or specific list of rules to apply to our wardrobe, which leaves a lot up to personal discretion.

It’s been such a pleasure for me over these last few months to hear your modesty-related thoughts and opinions.... READ MORE 

Comments
12
Filed under clothes, culture, fashion, modesty, style

Bella Bands and Babies

Fashion Friday vol. 10

Posted by Hallie Lord in Reviews on Friday, February 19, 2010

Hello ladies! I’ve missed y’all!

Danielle was kind enough to offer me a bit of time off as I adjusted to some new circumstances in my life. Well, just one new circumstance, actually ...

A beautiful, tiny new circumstance who should be making his or her arrival late this coming summer.

We are all overjoyed, but this Mama’s been suffering from that yucky 1st trimester tummy that I know most of you... READ MORE 

Comments
27
Filed under bella band, clothing, fashion, maternity, pregnancy, style

Casual Fridays - Dress Me!

Need your help finding the "perfect suit"

Posted by Lisa Hendey in Just me on Friday, January 22, 2010

I need your help!  In March, I will be giving two major presentations at a big Catholic event and I’m already stressing over what to wear.  Hallie’s recent post on skirts has me rethinking what would normally be my attire for this type of event - a dark, classic pant suit. 

I’ve decided that for at least one of the days, I’d like to wear a suit with a skirt.  Here’s the problem:  I have hips!  Most... READ MORE 

Comments
24
Filed under career, casual fridays, clothing, fashion, working moms

Skirts and Sorrows

Join us for this week's podcast

Posted by Lisa Hendey in News on Thursday, January 14, 2010

Download Podcast

On this week’s Faith & Family Live Cast (click here to listen or click on the post above), Danielle, Sarah Reinhard and I take on the recent discussion prompted by Hallie’s recent “Skirting the Issue” post.  We share our thoughts on the philosophies and practicalities of exclusive skirt wearing.

This week’s Faith & Family Feature Product is the newly redesigned website of the National Catholic Register,... READ MORE 

Comments
0
Filed under fashion, grief, modesty, podcast, prayer

More Skirts, More Comments

New thread to continue the discussion

Posted by Danielle Bean in Family on Saturday, January 09, 2010

UPDATE: I think we’ve said all we should on this topic at this point. I’ve closed comments on this post.

I am thrilled that so many of you have answered Hallie’s call for a civil discussion of the pros and cons of women wearing pants versus skirts.

When a post here receives so many comments, the comments form paginates which can make it difficult for people to follow the discussion and reply to specific comments.

We know this is a problem and will continue to work toward a resolution, but in the meantime, please feel free to continue the discussion here, in a fresh new combox.

Comments
102
Filed under dresses, fashion, modesty, skirts, wardrobe, women

Skirting the Issue

Fashion Friday vol. 8

Posted by Hallie Lord in Just me on Friday, January 08, 2010

UPDATE: The number of comments on this post has made it difficult to follow the discussion and reply to specific comments. I am closing comments here, but please feel free to continue the discussion of this topic in this new post.

Ladies, I’m very, very cold.

Yesterday morning it was 18° outside. This morning was an only slightly more bearable 24°.

I know. You heroic pioneer women up north are laughing... READ MORE 

Comments
98
Filed under dresses, fashion, femininity, modesty, skirts, style

Better Beauty Through Books

Fashion Friday vol. 7

Posted by Hallie Lord in Reviews on Friday, December 18, 2009

Hiya chickadees!

Can you believe we’re a mere week away from Christmas? I still have so much left to do! I’m not complaining, though. I promise. There’s something about the rushing around that is part and parcel of this upcoming week that fills me with giddy anticipation.

This week I’m sharing three of my favorite fashion/charm themed books for benefit of those of you who, like me, are still working... READ MORE 

Comments
2
Filed under beauty, books, fashion, fashion friday, style

In Over My Head

Fashion Friday vol. 6

Posted by Hallie Lord in Reviews on Friday, December 11, 2009

Hiya girls!

I hope you won’t mind if I tie my second Fashion Friday stocking stuffer suggestion into the slightly more weighty topic of covering one’s head at Mass. Veiling is an issue that’s intrigued me for a long time and I’m eager to hear your experiences with and opinions on the subject.

Over time I’ve learned that if there’s an issue I can’t seem to get off my mind it usually means God is trying... READ MORE 

Comments
64
Filed under church, faith, fashion, head cover, mass, style

Hemlines and Happiness

Fashion Friday vol. 4

Posted by Hallie Lord in Reviews on Friday, November 20, 2009

Every so often I stumble upon an item of clothing that I am so delighted by that I want to own it in every color and pattern available to me. Not that I actually get to indulge that desire, of course, but you know you’ve unearthed a treasure when you get that itch.

I feel that way every time I stop by Vintage Hem, a company that has resurrected the classic petticoat to bless the modern modest woman.... READ MORE 

Comments
3
Filed under fashion, feminine, hemlines, modesty, skirts, style, vintage

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