Lenten eResources Radiate Christ Lenten Retreat Kit

Reproducible leader guide and handouts • Provided in Word and PDF files

Lent is a counter-cultural season that is more about how we are meant to bring Christ to the world than just a focus on ourselves as individuals.  Sr. Janet graciously opens her archive of parish-tested resources to offer this reflective and practical reflection that offers a fresh and challenging perspective on Lent.

Use this flexible kit to help you and your people live out Lent differently, whether as a full-day retreat, parish meeting, morning or evening of reflection, parish mission, youth event, or more. It's really three retreat experiences in one that you can draw from year-after-year.

This guide includes three sessions, each exploring how Lent calls us to radiate Christ to everyone we encounter:

• A Fresh Perspective on Lent - Lent is not an isolated season, but one that points toward Easter, Pentecost, and how we are called to transform the world. Lent calls us to responsibility beyond guilt.
• Lenten Practices - The three traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us get into shape as disciples for our common mission. Sometimes we think of Lent as a season of death, but it's really about life! 
• Lenten Resolutions - Our Lenten practices help us become more spacious, so God can work within us to radiate Christ in the world.  What "resolutions" might we take that will outlast the season and stay with us?

This kit has been prepared as a guide for parish leaders – with all the components prepared for you:

• Advanced planning guidelines
• Song suggestions
• Scripture readings
• Prayer
• Leader talking points
• Reflection and discussion questions
• Participant handouts

You will not necessarily need all of the included options, so just use what fits in the time and format you have.  The clear and attractive design with icons makes it a breeze to follow.

These sessions can be used in one of the following ways:

• A full-day retreat. For this case, you will want to exclude opening and closing portions of some of the sessions.

• A series of shorter, retreat-like events. For example, you could offer one session per week for three weeks, or three consecutive mornings or evenings.

• A single morning or evening event. In this case, you would use only one of the three enclosed sessions and save the others for subsequent years.

• Adapt for other uses. You can also use these materials as a personal retreat, or as source material for preaching, presentation, or other gatherings. This kit is well suited for gatherings of RCIA participants, parents, parish ministers (e.g. catechists, liturgical ministers, parish pastoral council and commissions, etc.), members of the parish staff, or anyone else in the parish.