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Soup and Stations: Keeping Lent in our home and adapting traditions

News of the Diocese

April 1, 2020

Soup and Stations: Keeping Lent in our home and adapting traditions

This piece was written by Desiree Rodriguez-Gould, a former chair of Northcoast TEC and assistant director of college counseling at St. Edward High School in Lakewood.

The third trimester of my pregnancy with oldest child was challenging. I was miserable, nauseous and in terrible physical pain. It was also during Lent. I had mixed emotions: joy because of the new life being formed, yet frustrations with the sacrifices that continued to be asked of me.

Many of these same sentiments have resurfaced in recent weeks with COVID-19. I have seen social media postings stating things such as, “the Lentiest Lent Ever” and we certainly know that is not true. The question I currently face is how do we keep Lent in our home and Church?

A couple years ago for Christmas, our dear friend Father Ed Suszynski gave our family a book, “The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life,” by Kendra Tierney. Kendra offers great historical context within the liturgical calendar as well as practical and creative ways to engage children in understanding Catholic faith and practice. As a mom to young children, I am always looking for the practical and engaging; Kendra really managed to nail both of those things. By the time I started to read the book, it was perfect timing for adding to our Lenten practices at home.

One of Kendra’s recommendations included an evening referred to as “Soup and Stations.” Last year, during a Friday of Lent, we welcomed some family and friends with young children to our home for a simple meal followed by Stations of the Cross. It is never a hard sell with my children to invite others to our home; they love company and a good theme. I like to think they get that from me.

Everyone gathered together and we started our evening with a simple prayer of gratitude for faith and friendship. Prior to the gathering, I had found many free, online resources that provided child-based handouts and projects for stations, including a stations booklet that was easy to decorate and simple enough for each child to understand.

Each child then colored stations that we provided. Even though this was a new experience, I found that everyone was open to the opportunity; it was almost as if we were all yearning for this time together in prayer and fellowship.

After coloring, we said grace and enjoyed a meal together. Much like Kendra notes in her book, we wanted something simple. We had grilled cheese, tomato soup and salad. After dinner, we gathered in the living room to share in the traditional prayer of the Stations of the Cross. As one can imagine, with a group of children it was a bit chaotic.

It is in these moments that I am reminded of Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” After stations, to help provide context, my husband set up the Formed app on the television and the children watched the last station. It was a wonderful evening full of hope and love. Something we could use more of in the world right now.

This year in our Lenten practices, we will continue the tradition of Soup and Stations, although it will look a bit different. Perhaps it will be a virtual hangout or just our little family; regardless, the spirit will be alive and full.

We long for community, but find that the challenges we face are small in the light of our Lenten journey. Our family prayer is stronger and our lessons much deeper in the midst of this pandemic. Much like the Lent during my pregnancy, the struggles I face do not take away the joy of new life. COVID-19 has changed our routine, however Easter is not cancelled; that battle was won and that is where Lent is leading us today: the joy of the resurrection, the joy of new life.

Let us not forget about what St. Pope John Paul once reminded us, “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”

To read more from author Kendra Tierney, click here to read, 'So you're a homeschooler now,' posted by the diocese on March 30, 2020

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