Lent offers parishes a great opportunity for accomplishing the definitive aim of catechesis: “to put people not only in touch, but in communion and intimacy with Jesus Christ” (General Directory for Catechesis, #80). We can take our cue from the RCIA and see these 40 days as a time for purification and enlightenment. With careful planning we can help the whole parish, as well as individual parishioners, grow closer to accomplishing this aim.

As with so many endeavors the secret to success is to plan early, involve as many people as possible and choose a variety of approaches. The document on adult faith formation, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, suggests five approaches for helping adults grow in their faith: large group, small group, individual, take home and family faith formation.

Sometimes you can use the same resource in each of the approaches. Choose a Catholic Update or print up copies of the baptismal promises. Plan different ways the resource could be used by an individual at home or in a small or large group. Ask your pastor to preach about how the subject matter chosen (the resource) relates to Lent. (If you click here you will be taken to the archives of Faith Formation Update to investigate other themes and ideas for your parish this Lent.)

The General Directory for Catechesis also suggests that the RCIA be the inspirational model for all catechesis (#90). The catechetical programs we plan for adults and children throughought the year involve more than teaching, lecturing and textbook instructions. Catechetical programming also means process. If we use baptismal catechesis as our model, we allow time for fellowship and storytelling. We must incorporate symbols and rituals as we involve participants in all aspects of Christian life (#91).

Finally, remember that the earlier you promote your activities and the more people you involve, the more likely Lent will become a part of your parishioners’ personal calendars.

One idea for your gathering is to consider “The Last Days of Jesus.” The objective of this 90-minute session is to review Jesus’ life by remembering favorite stories about Jesus. You will also be talking about Jesus’ enemies and how he continued to live the Good News even to his death. 

The activities in this session include a reading regarding Jesus’ last days along with some questions for discussion. (Click here for the reading.) There is also a quiet meditation followed by more sharing, a closing activity where family members work together to design a cross to take home and a closing ritual that incorporates the family crosses and ties the 90 minutes together. The activities are taken from the Leader’s Guide to God Is Calling, a family catechetical series. (Click here to read “The Last Days of Jesus.”)

Twelve years ago, my husband and I were quite in sync with the spirit of joyful anticipation of the season of Advent as we counted down the final weeks and days until the birth of our daughter on December 28th. Advent has had a richer meaning for us ever since because we connected our life experience to the life of Jesus and the Church.

We can relate many of our needs and life experiences to the life of Jesus, who models for us a need for solitude, a need for regular connection to our heavenly Father. As a catechetical minister, you probably know all too well how the demands of your hectic position and the needs of others can make it a challenge to make time for yourself and God.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Mark 1:32-39. It’s a story of Jesus being brought all who were sick and possessed by devils. The whole town was at the door. But Jesus is reported to have cured only many who were sick and to have driven out many devils. He didn’t cure them all. And then, early the next day, he went off to a quiet place to pray. The apostles searched him out, telling him that everyone was looking for him. Jesus’ response was to say that it was time to move on to the neighboring towns to proclaim the Good News there as well. There’s an important lesson in this for those of us who try to do it all: Even Jesus placed limits on his ministry so that he could more fully carry out his mission.

Henri Nouwen uses this Scripture story and two other moments in the life of Jesus as the basis for meditations in his little book Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life, now available as an audiobook. I invite you to take an hour out of your busy lives and listen to this book as your own preparation for the season of Lent. Then, during Lent, offer it to small groups or in three larger Lenten adult faith formation sessions. Lead a morning of reflection for your pastoral council, parish staff and other leaders in the parish using these audio meditations. With the help of this short gem, you and your parishioners will reflect on how we learn to make prayer and solitude (Mark 1:32-39), care for others (Mark 6:32-44) and hopeful expectation (John 16:16-22) our natural Christian responses to life, born out of taking time in our busy lives for finding our quiet center, for God. I’ve selected an audio clip from Nouwen’s first meditation to share with you (Windows Media | RealMedia).

May you find God’s presence in all the seasons and events of your life. May your Lenten preparations lead you to better balance, so that you may more fully carry out the mission to which you have been called.

Sweet, Sweet Spirit: Prayer Services From the Black Catholic Church is a collection of communal prayers in the Black Catholic tradition, built “on the living stones of the lives of our ancestors of faith, the songs of our brothers and sisters, the dances of our most ancient kin and the sounds of the drums that guided them.” Jesuit Father Joseph Brown and Franciscan Father Fernand Cheri III have fashioned a heartwarming collection of blessings, litanies and prayer services for occasions ranging from home blessings to retreats, Black History celebrations, funerals and dedications. These are prayers and celebrations that share and build on the rich Black Catholic experience that will inspire and evangelize the entire faith community.

In a similar vein, Songs of Our Hearts, Meditations of Our Souls: Prayers for Black Catholics draws on the richness of the African American Catholic tradition to offer an inspiring collection of personal and family prayer. Cecilia Moore, Vanessa White and Paul Marshall have brought together an inspiring collection of traditional and contemporary prayers rooted in “the vibrant connection with a God who liberates.” This is a beautiful collection, with prayers for children and families, prayers for celebration, prayers to saints and ancestors and traditional Catholic prayers, along with valuable information and insights on the spirituality of Black Catholics. An excellent personal prayer resource.