Lent is here, my dears!

And it is sweet. 

The singing of Psalms is like honey...It is the silence of the mind, and harbinger of peace.  For the psalms pray for the future, sigh for the present, repent of the past, rejoice in good works, and call to mind the joy of the heavenly Kingdom...It is the comfort of elders, an adornment for the young, and the maturity and perfection of the intellect. It teaches always to pray more attentively to Christ God, the helper and benefactor, who by the lips of the Prophet ordained these psalms.

~St. Augustine

This will mark the third Lenten season I have made a commitment to read the Psalter everyday, with a little help from this devotional book, Songs of Praise, by Sylvia Leontaritis. 

It's a perfect companion, either along with your morning cup of coffee or tea, or during a quiet evening after you've put the kids down for bed. 

If you want to make the Psalter a more integral part of your life - either on your own or as part of a Psalter group - Songs of Praise is the perfect aid. 

It includes the full text of the Ancient Faith Psalter (with wide margins for note-taking). Each kathisma is followed by a reflection from popular Orthodox Mom blogger Sylvia Leontaritis plus several blank pages for journaling. Read, reflect, and journal your way through the Psalter and let its holy words sink into your soul.

How about a good Lenten book for your children?



A Child's Guide to Prayer, by Ancient Faith Publishing, illustrated by Tara Pappas, will make a sweet addition to any child's library.
  
A Child's Guide to Prayer is a beautifully illustrated prayer book for Orthodox Christian children aged 5-10 who are just developing a habit of prayer. The selection includes morning and evening prayers, prayers during the day, at mealtimes, for family and friends, and prayers of and to the saints - along with psalms to pray and prayers that have to do with communion and confession. 

All the prayers were carefully selected by priests and youth workers to ensure their age-appropriateness. The 120-page guide also includes brief instructions on how to pray, why we pray, and a list of different ways to pray. The book concludes with several blank pages for personal prayer requests. 

About the Illustrator: Tara Pappas lives in the beautiful state of Wyoming, where she is a mixed media artist, illustrator, and stay-at-home mother. She has been actively making art since her youth, influenced by the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. When she is not creating in her studio, Tara enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and friends.

My orange tree is in bloom, perfuming the air.  Lent is sweet.

Lenten Meditations for Families

Can you feel your soul beginning to quiet?  Lent is here!  As I type this, my house is so still.  No television.  No music.  Peace.

Ancient Faith Publishing has a new book, Tending the Garden of Our Hearts, Daily Lenten Meditations for Families by Elissa Bjeletich and Kristina Wenger.  (I'll be giving this away, please read on!)

Parents/Grandparents, if you've read and enjoyed Great Lent: Journey to Pascha by one of the foremost Orthodox Christian theologians of the twentieth century, Fr. Alexander Schmemann, you know how helpful it is to have some insights and explanations of our services and meditations during this time of fasting, prayer, and contemplation.

It's wonderful to finally have a book that offers Lenten meditations for the whole family! This lovely volume offers devotionals for families based on the scriptures for each day of Great Lent, including explanations of various lenten services and questions to discuss and ponder. You'll also find an appendix at the end with hands-on activities to bring the lessons of the season to life for your family.

Need some other good books for Lent?

Adults and Teens:
Orthodox Worship: A Living Continuity with the Synagogue, the Temple, and the Early Church.
This is my new favorite!
Ancient Faith has produced a fresh update and redesign of a book cherished by a generation of seekers. Written in an accessible manner for the average lay person, Orthodox Worship offers insights into the Orthodox liturgy. Early Christians preserved a continuity of worship from the Old Covenant to the New, employing elements from the Jewish Temple liturgy, the synagogue liturgy, and the rituals of the Jewish home. The book shows how divinely revealed Old Testament worship is not only continued but also fulfilled in the Orthodox liturgy. A line-by-line explanation of the liturgy is included. A must read - you will come to love and appreciate the Liturgy more than ever.

Children:
The Tale of Three Trees:  A Traditional Folktale by Angela Elwell Hunt.
Once upon a mountaintop, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. Each of their dreams come true in an unexpected way in this lovely retelling of an old folk tale that points to Christ.

St. Christoper, The Holy Giant by Tomie dePaola.

This is dePaola's interpretation of the legend of St. Christopher, who originally had been a giant named Reprobus out to serve the world's most powerful king - - a ruler he finds when he carries the young Christ across a river. 

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger (I love this edition - Zwerger's illustrations with Wilde's telling are so poignant.) 

A once selfish giant welcomes the children to his previously forbidden garden and is eventually rewarded by an unusual tiny child. I cry every time I read this.

Those are some of our family's tried and true favorites.  I'd love to hear about yours!  

I'll send Tending the Garden of Our Hearts to the first reader who leaves a comment (please include your email so I can contact you for your mailing address)!

Go here to see my past Lenten/Easter blog posts and book recommendations. Have a blessed journey!

A Little Book Stack for Lent and Holy Week

Whether you're about to start Lent as an Eastern Orthodox Christian (we start Lent and celebrate Easter - Pascha - according to the Julian Calendar), or are anticipating Holy Week as a Western Catholic or Protestant Christian (according to the Gregorian calendar), I think you're going to like what I've got in my little book stack today!

1. Lent! Wonderful Lent! a picture book by Debra Sancer (ages 4-10)
2. Queen Abigail the Wise, a chapter story by Grace Brooks (ages 8-12)
3. The Mystery of Art, a meditative book by Jonathan Jackson (teens and up)
4. The Life of Christ in Icons, a Bible story board book by Marina Paliaki (preschool)


BOOK #1

Lent! Wonderful Lent! is like a mini Lenten catechism for kids.  The author, Debra Sancer (a good friend who used to go to our Parish!), starts the book with a beautiful explanation of repentance, and then highlights each Sunday of Lent, starting with Forgiveness Vespers. 

Sweetly illustrated by Amy Stokes, this book can be approached in whatever way best suits your family.  With younger children, you might read from it on Saturdays or Sundays as Lent progresses, in preparation of the services.  Older kids might like it read aloud in one sitting as an introduction (or review) of what each Sunday of Lent will focus on.

Debra also devotes a couple of pages as an explanation as to why we sing an Akathist Hymn to the Virgin Mary in prayer services during Lent.

BOOK #2

I was sooo excited when Queen Abigail the Wise arrived in the mail a few months ago!  For two reasons: reason #1 - because the author, Grace Brooks, a dear friend of mine who was in our Parish and sang in choir with me for many years; and reason #2 - because it's a chapter book about young Orthodox girls - and we need good books for the 8-12 age group!

In a moment you'll see why I was saving my review for Lent... 

Grace has written a fun book.  Her engaging story involves a ten-year-old girl named Abigail who faces ten-year-old challenges.

Our young heroine is grappling with things like how to pay attention in church, how to understand her faith, and how to interact in a loving way with her family and her friends.  Abigail wants to do the right thing, but faces constant distractions!  She wants to do something important, but is challenged with insecurities. She likes being a leader, but is struggling with jealousy.

Abigail is sure if could just have an icon of her patron saint, maybe she could learn to be more like her.  When her priest encourages her to first try to help people in their parish, she elicits the help of some of the other girls in her church (even though she doesn't know all of them very well), and they form the "Every Tuesday Girls Club".

You'll be swept right along with happens after that.  The story begins at the start of Lent (with a fly, and the Sunday of Orthodoxy.  Yes, you read that correctly!), and it ends with Pascha.

As you can see, the girls in my parish are devouring this book! One told me, "It was AMAZING." Another, in true "Abigail style" said she started reading it, lost it, found it, started it again, and lost it again (but really likes it so far). 

Queen Abigail the Wise would be the perfect companion for your daughter during her own Lenten journey - or as a Pascha gift!  You can find "Queen Abigail the Wise" on Facebook or her own website, here.

BOOK #3

If you have a young adult in your life who happens to be an artist, drama student, or musician, The Mystery of Art by Jonathan Jackson would make a wonderful Lenten read (or Pascha gift) for them.  I've given this book to both my adult sons.

[In case you don't know Jonathan Jackson, he began his career in Hollywood over twenty years ago on the soap opera General Hospital.  He has also performed in many feature films, including The Deep End of the Ocean, Tuck Everlasting, and Insomnia, and is currently one of the stars of the ABC primetime drama, Nashville, a show centered on the inner workings of the Nashville music scene. Along with acting, Jonathan is also the lead singer of the band Enation and the author of Book of Solace and Madness, which was published in 2012. Jonathan is an Orthodox Christian and resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Elisa, and their three children.]

In The Mystery of Art, Jonathan describes the relationship between his personal theology and his work.  He explores the profound implications of human creativity in the image of God, along with the process of becoming an artist (of any sort) dedicated to practicing his or her art from the context of a deep relationship with God.


BOOK #4

This beautiful book is exactly what it says "The Life of Christ in Icons".  It's one of a series of three from Athos Children's Books by Marina Paliaki.  (The other two in the series are The Birth of Christ and The Mother of God.) 

I was excited to find this gem for my little grandsons at All Merciful Saviour Monastery during my recent trip to Seattle. This board book is a perfect size for preschoolers - roughly 8 1/2" by 7 1/2 " - so that the icon details show up nicely.

And its sturdy pages makes it a perfect companion in church for little hands during Lent and Holy Week.  There are questions throughout, that make the book very interactive for home or church. (Any of the three books in the series would also make perfect gifts for little ones' Pascha baskets!)

The gift of Lent is that it is a time of preparation - to draw closer to God and to acknowledge that He is the reason that we exist. We need to seize this opportunity with our children to grow spiritually, so that it doesn't become just a "what-food-are-you-giving-up-for-Lent?" experience.

I hope you liked my little Lenten stack o'books!  Go here for my other Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha posts...as you prepare your hearts during this holy season.

Click here

A New Retelling of an Ancient Legend, Just in Time for Lent (and Easter!)

As the first week of Lent draws to a close, I'd like to recommend a beautiful picture book that your child will want to read with you again and again during this holy season leading up to Easter.  It's the most recent collaboration of author Dr. Chrissi Hart and artist Niko Chocheli:  The Legend of the Cross.

Niko Chocheli's stunning artwork brings a sense of majestic wonder to Chrissi Hart's poignant and heartfelt recounting of this medieval legend that traces the history of the special tree that would become the Cross of Christ.

From the Garden of Eden to Golgotha: the myth retold for young audiences...
You and your child will be transported as you follow the tree's wondrous and mythical journey in this beautifully crafted tale - from its origin as three seeds brought from Paradise and buried in Adam's grave, the tree grows tall and survives the Great Flood; gives shade to King David; is cut down by King Solomon; is forgotten and left at the bottom of a deep pit that miraculously becomes the Pool of Bethesda; floats to the surface many years later and is taken to its final holy destination on the hill of Golgotha, where the "Hope of the world" hangs upon it - the tree mystically participates in bringing man back to a New Paradise.

I think this mesmerizing book will bless all who read it for generations to come, and I hope you will add it to your child's Lenten bookshelf (or to his or her Easter basket!)  Just like the tree, we are on a journey to Golgotha during Lent.  And The Legend of the Cross points us toward our destination - the hope of the Resurrection! 
 

So let us rediscover Lent. A journey, a pilgrimage! Yet, as we begin it, as we make the first step into the “bright sadness” of Lent, we see—far, far away—the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom. And it is this vision, the foretaste of Easter, that makes Lent’s sadness bright and our Lenten effort a “spiritual spring.” The night may be dark and long, but all along the way a mysterious and radiant dawn seems to shine on the horizon. 

–Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Dr. Chrissi Hart is a Child Psychologist, author, and podcaster.  Born in Cyprus, Dr. Hart grew up in England from age three and writes stories for children from her cultural heritage that are inspiring and spiritually satisfying. 

Niko Chocheli, a native of the Republic of Georgia, is so highly regarded as an artist that, in 1997, he was granted permanent resident status by the U.S. government because of his "extraordinary ability in the arts." It's a recognition shared by the likes of cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Lenten Journeys: The Same, But Different

With so many beautiful sunny days here in Southern California throughout January, February, and March, I have to remind myself that in many other parts of the U.S. there's still a winter chill and even some snow, as spring is anticipated.

Torrey Pines Reserve near San Diego, CA

This year for Western Christians, when spring officially arrives on March 20, Lent will almost be over - while for me, as an Orthodox Christian, Lent will just have started!  

The lenten spring shines forth,

the flower of repentance!

Let us cleanse ourselves from all evil,

crying out to the Giver of Light:

Glory to You, O Lover of man!

-from Cheesefare Wednesday Vespers

Every year, this presents somewhat of a challenge for me as a blogger - trying to schedule my Lenten and Easter posts for all my readers who share the same fast and feast, but with different dates.  

It was easy in 2011, since Western and Eastern Christians shared the same date for Easter, but this year, the calendars are quite different - Orthodox Easter, or "Pascha", won't be celebrated until May 5th, while Western Christians will celebrate on March 31. (One major difference in determining the dates, is that the Eastern Orthodox Church calculates the date so that Easter always falls after Passover, since the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ took place after he entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. In the Western Church, Easter sometimes precedes Passover by weeks. Read more HERE).

Books for LENT:
So, for any of you Orthodox readers who are looking for some Lenten reading for your kids (and yourself), go here to read my Lenten Good Books posts.

For  HOLY WEEK:
And for my readers who are about to embark on Holy Week, check here for my past posts for book recommendations and activities (including making your own Easter Egg Tree).

This year, my own Lenten reading will include The Jesus We Missed: The Surprising Truth About the Humanity of Christ, by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon (Senior Editor at Touchstone Magazine).

Please stay tuned for my Easter and Pascha posts...but you're welcome to see my past posts here.

DIG IN...To Lent...With Books!

(photo from Gwinnettmagazine.com)

Lent is a journey toward the Hope and Joy of Christ's Resurrection. It is a chance for us to slow down with our families and to focus and examine the condition of our spiritual life - which like a seedling plant, needs to be cultivated through prayer, fasting, acts of charity, and repentance.

A lovely new book from Jane G. Meyer illustrates this examination and cultivation perfectly: The Hidden Garden, illustrated by Masha Lobastov.
Within every heart is a hidden garden. We can neglect it until the weeds take over and the flowers wither and die. Or, with the help of Christ, we can care for it and make it a place of beauty, grace, and joy. This charming parable will encourage children (and adults) to open the gate to Christ and tend the garden of their heart with loving care. -Product description from Conciliar Press (update 12/13 - now Ancient Faith Publishing).

Don't miss Jane's new picture book - here just in time for Lent!  Through the eyes of an old man we learn how our heart can be like a desert, where we wander all alone with our anger and selfishness, not even willing to open the gate to Someone who knocks.  

How can we find the key that will let Him in to show us "how to turn the desert into a place of color and beauty"?  You'll have to get the book to find out (and I guarantee it's a beautiful place you'll want to step into over and over again!) 

Children will also like the practical tips "To Help Tend Your Garden" at the end of the book - reminders for everyday, but especially as Lent starts.

BE STILL...

This is a photo of my dad, Fr. Peter Gillquist (of blessed memory),
as a little boy - taken in the 1940's for a church bulletin.

The gift of Lent is that it is a time of preparation - to draw closer to God and to acknowledge that He is the reason that we exist.  We need to seize this opportunity with our children to grow spiritually, so that it doesn't become just a "what-food-are-you-giving-up-for-Lent?" experience.

Books About Prayer for Kids...

Prayer For A Child
by Rachel Field

The Monk Who Grew Prayer
by Claire Brandenburg

Anytime, Anywhere: A Little Boy's Prayer
by Marcus Hummon

Give Me Grace... A Child's Daybook of Prayers,
by Cynthia Rylant

Special Agents of Christ: A Prayer Book,
by Annalisa Boyd

Hear Me: A Prayerbook for Orthodox Teens

    

More Lenten Reading:

FOR KIDS & TEENS:

The Tale of Three Trees, by Angela Elwell Hunt

The Book of Jonah, by Niko Chocheli

The Life of St. Brigid, by Jane Meyer

Saint Patrick, Enlightener of the Irish, by Zachary Lynch

The Blackbird's Nest, St. Kevin of Ireland, by Jenny Schroedel

Song of the Swallows, by Leo Politi

Saints: Lives and Illuminations by Ruth Sanderson

Letters to St. Lydia, YA Novel by Melinda Johnson

FOR PARENTS/ADULTS:

Great Lent: Journey to Pascha by Alexander Schmemann

The Lenten Spring by Thomas Hopko

The lenten spring shines forth,

the flower of repentance!

Let us cleanse ourselves from all evil,

crying out to the Giver of Light:

Glory to You, O Lover of man!

-from Cheesefare Wednesday Vespers