Lent is the 40 days before Easter (Sundays are excluded). On Ash Wednesday we gather to mark the beginning of Lent with a service that includes the imposition of ashes. The last week of Lent we follow the path that Christ took beginning with Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, followed by the Last Supper on Thursday, the desolation of the crucifixion on Good Friday and the time of waiting on Saturday. Lent ends on the Saturday before Easter. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter. Today, Lent is a time of quiet reflection and spiritual renewal. Many choose to mark their Lenten journey by ‘giving something up’ such as sweets. Others mark Lent by taking on a new discipline, such as beginning each day with prayer, or daily scripture reading, or attending Church every Sunday in Lent.

Perhaps as a family you could mark the season of Lent by choosing to say grace before the family meal. A simple grace is simply to say, “Thank you God for this food and for all that you have given us.” Another idea is to have each person tell of something that was good in the day and thank God for that. Graces do not have to be complicated, but are a simple way of including God in our day.