Stations of the Cross for Children

In an ongoing effort to make the season of Lent meaningful and real to our kids we have begun a new tradition. My first step was finding this photo frame divider at Goodwill (the same day as I found the piano!) and remembering these lovely 8x10 Stations of the Cross pictures I saw at the bookstore. These are beautiful pictures that are not gory, but are realistic and not cartoony. There are 14 Stations depicting the journey of Christ to Calvary and there were 15 slots in this picture frame! I am going to make a title on some pretty paper for the empty slot.


The second step was finding these tea light holders at IKEA. They each hold 7 tealights. I had read in Mary Reed Newland's "The Year and our Children" a description of something her family did that really appealed to me and I was wondering how to do it in our family. Her idea was to have a candelabra with 14 candles and to light them all and then to put out a light after each station. I thought this would be very meaningful for us, especially after using the Advent log to light candles counting up to Christ's birth. I love the symbolism of Christ's light coming to us at Christmas, getting brighter and brighter and the symbolism of the lights going out as we go through Lent and remember the Passion.

The kids are taking turns being the 'snuffer' and each night the 'snuffer' has the privilege of putting out the candle after we pray each station. As far as what we pray, we are using this great Children's Stations book that is simple, yet complete.