Lenten Watchfires: Rejoice and Be Glad and Saint Francis of Assisi

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Lent is upon us and I wanted to deep dive into the Beatitudes with my family. We will be using the beautiful book Rejoice and Be Glad! Living the Beatitudes by Rachel and Ted Schluenderfritz along with different picture books for each Beatitude. This will be a weekly post throughout Lent visiting with a Beatitude and a saint.

Watchfires

I chose the name Lenten Watchfires for this series as I feel that it defines one of the goals of Lent as they are a symbol of vigilance and readiness, the perfect example of spiritual attentiveness. Lent is a season of watchfulness, repentance, and waiting, especially as we move toward Easter morning. These last hours before dawn are always the hardest, and for my family in particular this year has been a very difficult season, and we are hoping and praying for an end to this season soon. All in all, watchfires feel just right. So please join us in our Lenten journey.

Supplies

As I am trying to keep this super simple I would recommend, of course, the book Rejoice and Be Glad! Living the Beatitudes by Rachel and Ted Schluenderfritz. A prayer prayer journal for each person to be able to write their thoughts into (for little ones they can draw in their prayer journals, it’s a good habit to start). Fun pens for journaling. A quiet time and space for each to pray, meditate and journal.

Rejoice and Be Glad!

Last fall I had the pleasure to interview Rachel and Ted Schluenderfritz about their beautiful book on the Beatitudes. You can find the interview here and here. This book has really touched my heart and I keep going back to it over and over again. We will be taking it slow, focusing on one Beatitude a week, along with discovering the saint associated with that Beatitude. It will be a slow, simple and prayerful time.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is how Jesus starts the Sermon on the Mount. But what is poverty of spirit?. As we read and spend some time on the meditation on this beatitude on p.3 of Rejoice and Be Glad! Pay special attention to what is awakened in your heart. What questions come up for you? Spend some time praying and thinking (meditating) on what it means to be poor in spirit.

Saint Francis of Assisi

I love Saint Francis! He has been a constant presence in my life from my scouting days, through my college days and now with living on a farm. We even honeymooned in Assisi. This week, spend some time learning more about this incredible (in all the sense of the word) saint.
I especially love the picture book: Francis: the Poor Man of Assisi by Tomie dePaola, newly republished under the title Brother Francis. But you could also listen to Saint Francis of Assisi by the Merry Beggars, a wonderful and more in depth retelling of Saint Francis’ life. The movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a classic (parents caution is recommended as always).
How did Saint Francis live a life poor in spirit?

Going deeper

Choose one of the four virtues mentioned in Rejoice and Be Glad! And start paying special attention to it in your life. Make it a priority throughout your day. In your prayer journal copy the verse quoted to illustrate that virtue. Make a decision to apply this virtue to your life. Pray with this quote throughout the week, journal how you have been applying it and ideas on how to apply it in the future. Talk about it as a family at the dinner table. 
As I said, keeping it simple is the key to success. We will see you next week for a visit with our second Beatitude and Saint Peter!
Praying for you.
Love,
Mattie