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The Orthodox Church has established several ways to prepare ourselves for the greatest of all feasts, the Holy Pascha.\u00a0 We are not \u201cmaking up\u201d for past sins. We are not \u201cmaking sacrifices\u201d to or for God.\u00a0 Instead, we use the 6 weeks of Great Lent and Holy Week, which follow to develop better habits and walk in the footsteps of Christ to turn our lives around and become closer to God.\u00a0 Here are some ways to make Great Lent meaningful to you and your children.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n PRAY FAST The Church teaches us not to eat meat, eggs, or dairy products from the beginning of Lent until Pascha.\u00a0 There is no minimum or maximum age.\u00a0 Parents need to adapt this according to the needs of their children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Skip 2<\/span>nd<\/span> helpings.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead of cheese sandwiches, have tuna or peanut butter.<\/span><\/p>\n Choose fruit instead of ice cream for dessert.<\/span><\/p>\n Limit drinking of milk; drink water or juice instead<\/span><\/p>\n Try some new foods to replace those that are not eaten during Lent.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember that fasting applies not only to food but also to our way of life. It is a quiet time. It is a time to focus on our relationship with God. It is <\/span>not<\/b> an appropriate time for parties.<\/span><\/p>\n Limit your TV, phone, and electronics time. Select programs that are \u201cfamily-friendly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Avoid going to the movies. Spend more time with friends and family.<\/span><\/p>\n Read the writings of the Saints and other theological books. Teach yourself Orthodox theology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n GO TO CHURCH Attend Memorial Liturgies on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n Attend at least one Lenten service each week.\u00a0 Pre-sanctified liturgies are held on Wednesday<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0mornings at 9:00 a.m. and Friday evenings at 5:00 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n GIVE ALMS The \u201cPennies from Heaven\u201d project, which our Church School conducts during Lent, allows students to do this. In addition to collecting donations from others, children donate from allowance or chore money. Children do extra chores for donations.<\/span><\/p>\n DO GOOD DEEDS Kids should go through toys and clothes that are no longer needed.\u00a0 Give them to any organization<\/span><\/p>\n that helps those in need, especially in war-torn Ukraine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n READ THE BIBLE GO TO CONFESSION AND RECEIVE COMMUNION<\/b><\/p>\n All Orthodox Christians who have made their first confessions are expected to go to confession and communion at least four times each year during the four Lenten\/fasting periods.\u00a0 It is <\/span>required <\/b>during Great Lent to continue to receive communion and go to Confession at least once in order to be in good spiritual standing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n FORGIVING OTHERS [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Orthodox Church has established several ways to prepare ourselves for the greatest of all feasts, the Holy Pascha.\u00a0 We are not \u201cmaking up\u201d for past sins. We are not \u201cmaking sacrifices\u201d to or for God.\u00a0 Instead, we use the 6 weeks of Great Lent and Holy Week, which follow to develop better habits and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,41],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-236554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-saint-of-the-day","tag-great-lent"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236558,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236554\/revisions\/236558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smuocnb.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/b>Establish a quiet time before an icon in the morning and at night to pray. Lent is a perfect time to practice that. Pray at mealtime, especially as a family. Practice unceasing Jesus\u2019 prayer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>We do not \u201cgive up\u2019 something for Lent, such as cookies, candy, etc.\u00a0 Instead, we respect the food God has given us, thank Him for it, and eat properly and only as much as our body needs to be healthy.\u00a0 Just as Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert, we fast for the 40 days of Lent and during Holy Week.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>Attend Divine Liturgy on time every Sunday, staying until the dismissal and final blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>\u201cAlms\u201d strictly refers to money given to help the needy.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>Help family, friends, and neighbors with above and beyond-expected chores and works of love.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>The wall calendar provided by the church lists the Bible readings for each day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>Begin Great Lent by attending Forgiveness Sunday Vespers. Continue your Lenten journey with the same forgiving attitude. The devil will test your patience and lovingkindness during this Lent; be prepared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n