Admittedly, I have slacked as a Catholic Mom on “teaching” my children religion. Not for lack of belief but more my own uncomfortableness in explaining the “why” and “what does that mean”. This stems from my own lack of retention over the years.
Proudly, Sofia does attend a Jewish preschool and has learned many basic principles of religion. She’s learned prayers and the foundations of having a moral compass. She’s learned some common Old Testament stories like “Creation”, “Jonah and the Whale” and “Noah’s Ark” but we haven’t moved passed what she gets in her Judaic class in school.
On Ash Wednesday, I took Sofia to the Liturgy of the Word and we received our ashes together. She was apprehensive and wanted to know why they were wiping that on our heads! I didn’t have a good explanation. On the way out of church, they were giving out little guide books to the Lenten season and I picked one up. It’s not overly preachy or lengthy. It’s a great, easy to follow guide to understanding our faith a little more.
The Ash Wednesday lesson explained the dualism of Lent looking at the past and present. The challenge they proposed was that you spend less time thinking about things from the past and spend time thinking and praying on the future. “Don’t drift halfheartedly…Plunge into it.”
So, we are by talking more about what the season means. We are learning the “why” together. Today’s lesson was about Jesus’ last supper and the closeness of that group. The desire for closeness in his final hours. The ending message was to just enjoy his presence. I took this as being intentional in enjoying the presence of those we are close with as well.
Happy Lent to all those who celebrate!
Saying her Hebrew prayers at bed.
Saying her Hebrew prayers at bed. 