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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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Sandra Bullock Offers Wise Words at the Oscars

Did you watch?

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Monday, March 08, 2010

CBS News

So I watched the Oscars.

I wasn’t planning to, but then there they were. And there I was. And I watched.

I like pretty dresses and flashy jewelry and seeing movie stars playing themselves in real life. I take comfort in knowing I’m not the only Catholic woman who pays attention to such frivolous stuff.

By the time it was nearly midnight, though, I was beginning to question my decision to commit to... READ MORE 

Comments
14
Filed under awards, celebrity, hollywood, movies, oscars, sandra bullock

Media Mindfulness

Learn about media and our families on this week's podcast

Posted by Lisa Hendey in News on Saturday, February 13, 2010

Download Podcast

This week on the podcast (click here to listen or click on the player above) we welcome Sister Rose Pacatte.  Sister Rose is the Director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles.  She is an noted national and international media literacy specialist, an award winning author and a noted film and television analyst.  Sister Rose joins us today to discuss her latest book, Our Media World,... READ MORE 

Comments
1
Filed under books, media, movies, parenting, podcast, vocations

Liked It Emm-ensely

what did you think of the new Emma?

Posted by Rebecca Teti in Reviews on Friday, February 05, 2010

Did you watch the new BBC production of Emma on PBS the past two weeks?

It irritated me at first. The slightly more contemporary dialogue and manners put me off.

Here’s a famous scene which I think is just beautifully done, however. It takes place just after Emma has thanked Mr. Knightley for his gallantry in rescuing her friend Harriet from an embarrassing snub by dancing with her.

Moments like... READ MORE 

Comments
7
Filed under bbc, emma, entertainment, jane austen, movies, pbs

Letters to God

Another great family film we should all support!

Posted by Lisa Hendey in Reviews on Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Last week, while the Facebook breast cancer “game” was all the rage,  I had the opportunity to see a screening of the new movie Letters to God.  It’s honestly one of the most inspirational films I’ve seen in a long time!  The film tells the story of a little boy battling a serious form of cancer.  As the movie’s website shares, this film is about more than simple entertainment:

Letters to God is... READ MORE 

Comments
1
Filed under cancer, movies, prayer

The Blind Side

who's seen it?

Posted by Rebecca Teti in Reviews on Wednesday, December 02, 2009

I’m hearing good things about The Blind Side and wondering if anyone has seen it?

The film tells the real-life story of how Baltimore Ravens left tackle Michael Oher came to be adopted as a teenager.

This review I ran into makes it sound worthwhile.

The author cites an interview actress Sandra Bullock gave about preparing for her role as the adoptive mom:

Sandra Bullock says thanks to the Tuohys,... READ MORE 

Comments
11
Filed under baltimore ravens, christians on screen, movies, sandra bullock, the blind side

Fatima Film Debuts Next Week

Your Chance to See a Great New Film

Posted by Danielle Bean in Reviews on Thursday, October 08, 2009

You can read Daria Sockey’s review of the newly-released film about the story of Fatima, The 13th Day, in today’s feature article.

Says Anthony Ryan, Director of Marketing for Ignatius Press, the North American distributor of the film:

“The 13th Day is an antidote film for our time. It is a reminder that a thin veil exists between our world and the next. The Message of Fatima is a relevant wake-up call to a culture torn apart by abortion, war, and injustice. Every Catholic, perhaps every person, should see this film.”

Check out Catholic Screenings to learn more about where you can register for a screening of this inspiring new film.

Comments
1
Filed under 13th day, apparitions, fatima, film, mary, movies

The Lost and Found Family

A wonderful film to share with your family

Posted by Lisa Hendey in Reviews on Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I recently had the pleasure of viewing a screener for The Lost and Found Family, a new movie being released in stores this week.  I want to point you directly to a wonderful review of the film written by Heidi Hess Saxton, and adoptive mom and foster care and adoption advocate.  Heidi expresses far more eloquently than I could the beauty of this movie, and its importance in furthering the message... READ MORE 

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0
Filed under adoption, foster care, movies, reviews

Delicious Movie

a braised chicken flick

Posted by Rebecca Teti in Reviews on Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Some girlfriends and I met to see Julie & Julia last night.

Yummy.

There’s one unfortunate dip into politics and a couple of expletives, but all the implied sex is marital, and it’s really just a pleasing portrait of two marriages.

And the cooking!

Brazen chick flick it may be, but as it puts you in the mood to braise chicken for your husband and whip up something amazing for dessert, I’ll wager... READ MORE 

Comments
4
Filed under friends, gal pals, julie and julia, movies

Free DVDs - Veggie Tales Giveaway

Bob and Larry invite you to enter to win

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Monday, August 10, 2009

Do you like to waltz with potatoes up and down the produce aisle?

Or maybe your kids do?

Veggie Tales fans of all ages will be happy to hear that we have some free DVDs to give away. The good folks at BigIdea.com are offering four (4) copies each of two of their popular DVDs: Abe and the Amazing Promise and Heroes of the Bible.

Both of these DVDs feature entertaining Bible-based stories, silly songs,... READ MORE 

Comments
236
Filed under dvd, giveaway, movies, veggie tales

From Puerile to Pure

Posted by Rebecca Teti in Reviews on Monday, August 10, 2009

My head nearly exploded when I read that director Joe Eszterhas was penning the script for a film on Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Joe Eszterhas! Has Hollywood no limits whatever?

(My eyes are still burning from a morally repugnant interview he granted to the Washington Post years ago at the height of his career.)

To my delight, however, the fellow once known for creating sordid films has experienced a... READ MORE 

Comments
5
Filed under conversions, hollywood, joe eszterhas, movies, our lady of guadalupe

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