Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2010 / Giving up fighting with siblings, pop among Lent sacrifices
Giving up fighting with siblings, pop among Lent sacrifices
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published February 26, 2010
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Chloe Accardo and David Dzierzawski, students at St. Mary School, Mount Clements, both plan on giving up candy for Lent. |
MOUNT CLEMENTS — No candy. No pop. And for the ambitious, no fighting with siblings.
Children all over the archdiocese are among those giving up something pleasurable for Lent, and at St. Mary School in Mount Clements, those things included the usual sweet treats. Some students said they would give up most television, the computer except for homework, or video games. One student said he was giving up beef jerky — as a favorite treat, it would be a sacrifice.
Children and Lent
Some suggestions for children marking the time of Lent:
- Read along with a child-friendly book of the Stations of the Cross.
- Save money from chores to donate to a charity of the child's choice.
- Download and print out a Lenten coloring sheet, quiz or puzzle.
- Keep track of every day a child successfully goes without soda, candy, video games, etc.
- Give up something sinful, such as fighting with siblings.
Sources: Catholicmom.com, catholicculture.org, catholic.org
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Fourth-grader Chloe Accardo said she plans on giving up bubble gum. "I like it a lot," she said. "I chew it almost every day. It will help me stop having that habit, of having bubble gum."
Classmate David Dzierzawski thought about giving up his iPod, but only for a minute: "I don't want to do it, but it would be a good thing to do," he said. However, David says he plans to keep a penny bank with money he's saving from buying candy or other treats. "I'll give the money to the poor," he said. "Because it's good to give things up for the poor.
" Eric Manczyk, also a fourth-grader, is planning on giving up pop, including his favorite, root beer. His classmate Grant Chaffee recognized how hard it would be for him: "I can never do that," Grant said.
Eric said he'd drink grape juice with dinner, instead.
Joseph Sowell, also a fourth-grader, said he's giving up fighting with his sister and three brothers. "Last year, I didn't call them names," he said. "It went good. I had to catch myself, though."
As of Ash Wednesday, Grant hadn't decided yet what his Lenten sacrifice would be. "I haven't figured it out yet," Grant said. "I'd do not fighting with my sister, but that is going to be kind of hard."
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Grant Chaffee, Joseph Sowell and Eric Manczyk all received ashes to begin Lent last week at a St. Mary, Mount Clements school Mass. |
The students, who attend Mass as a school twice a week during the school year and will participate in an interactive Stations of the Cross later in Lent, said they've been learning about Jesus' sacrifice for us since very early in their Catholic education. "It makes me sad He had to die," David said of Jesus. "He was probably in a lot of pain when He was nailed to the cross," Grant added.
Catholics traditionally give something up for Lent to deny themselves something they enjoy, as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice for us. Others take on something, such as praying the rosary daily or going to church more often.
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