Lent is ending, and we get to turn
our attention from temperance to joy in the Lord. When it comes to our
little ones, joy is usually an easier sell than "healthy choices."
But it seems to me that standard
observances of Easter are mostly pleasant and not really joy-driven at all: an
egg hunt and brunch don’t really capture the excitement of Christ's rising from
the dead (!) or of our salvation.
We're still doing the hunt and the
brunch, but we're trying to step it up in manageable but meaningful ways in our
family. For example, we'll put something in our son’s Easter basket each day of
the octave of Easter. Here are some of the items coming his way (besides the
necessary jelly beans)…
- A special candle – decorated with
“Easter 2014” – to use for family prayer during the next 50 days. If we get
ambitious, we will bring it to Easter Mass and light it from the Paschal candle
after the closing hymn.
- A CD of Christian songs I put
together from iTunes. We’ll decorate an old CD case with a holy card, or let
him decorate it himself! As for song choices, I steered clear of “Amazing
Grace” (since it recently prompted too many questions, like “Where were you
lost? In the woods? How did Jesus find you?”). Many of the songs I picked are
from my favorite Catholic artist, Matt Maher, and from my friend Danielle Rose.
- I’m checking out Catholic Bling (a
company started by Holy Spirit families) for something simple but beautiful,
like my little one’s faith.
If you have another idea for
Becket’s week of surprises, or an Easter tradition you think could use some PR, I'd love to hear it. Thanks, and have a blessed Easter!
