Lenten Resources

Please invite friends and family who are not normally worshipping with us to come home for Lent.

Stations of the Cross

Join Us for a Lenten Retreat

As we make the journey of these 40 Days, turning away from sin and seeking to be more faithful to Christ, try these resources on-line (and some are apps for your phone) to aid in your walk with Jesus! 

Lenten Adventures: great activities for children 5-12 throughout Lent
 
Formed: a FREE “Catholic Netflix” with great programs for the whole family (St. Cecilia pays for the membership - sign up and enjoy the many movies, videos and e-books)
 
Best Lent Ever: get a daily email each day of Lent to help your prayer and reflection
 
The Hallow App: a great app to guide your daily prayer as a Catholic
 
Operation Rice Bowl: support Catholic Relief efforts through your Lenten Sacrifice
 
Pray As You Go: A Daily Lenten Retreat

• Give yourself time to meet Jesus in his Word, in Holy Communion, and the gathering of other people looking for purpose and joy in life! Here is some MOTIVATION FOR GETTING TO MASS
• Mass in our Church during the week at 6:30 am (Monday to Friday); 8:30 am (Monday to Saturday). 
• Mass in Church Saturday at 5 pm & Sunday at 6:30 am, 8 am, 9:30 am, 11 am and 5 pm (yes, please commit to EVERY weekend... it will help you form a habit that will continue after Easter)
• Eucharistic Adoration in our Church on Mondays (Noon to 7 pm) and 1^st Sunday of the Month (Noon to 5 pm). Adore Jesus at St. Albert the Great (Rectory Adoration Chapel) on Tuesday from 8:30 to 4 pm and Thursday from 4 pm to 8 pm. Adore Jesus at St. William Lower Church on Saturdays (Noon to 5 pm). Finally, Adore Jesus at Presentation Cheltenham Monday to Friday, Noon to 7 pm (Eucharist remains in the Tabernacle).

• Why hold on to your past mistakes and failures? Let Jesus into the drama and pain to bring healing. Not sure how to go to confession after a lot of years? Just ask the priest for help! Need some convincing? WHY DO I NEED TO GO TO CONFESSION?
• Confessions in our Church on Monday (6 pm to 7 pm); Wednesday (7 am to 8 am); and Saturday from 4:00 to 4:45 pm. Our Spring Night of Mercy will be Wednesday, April 2^nd, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm (with more than 10 priests available to minister God’s love. We will have confessions in Holy Week on Wednesday, April 16^th, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

• Join a Lenten Small Group as you gather with 4-5 others to discuss the Sunday Scriptures in a meaningful way. Contact Mike Tate at mike@stceciliafc.com or 215-725-1240
• Read a good book lately??  There are lots and lots of good books on faith and prayer on the shelf in the rear of the Church. Take one. Read it (even if only one page a day). Grow in your faith!
• Visit www.formed.org (free access when you sign up as a member of St. Cecilia Church) and discover the amazing resources that can help grow in your faith. There are weekly video reflections on Lent for adults and many things for kids (check out the Brother Francis and the Marcam videos). In addition, there are resources to pray the Stations of the Cross and the Rosary this Lent.
• Open your Bible and read one section of scripture each day of Lent. Use Mark’s Gospel or the Psalms. Read a small portion and then prayerfully ask: What is God saying to me here? Consider the BIBLE IN A YEAR PODCAST

• Pray the Stations each Friday of Lent in the Church at 7 pm. We will use four different resources to pray and experience different insights into the love of Jesus revealed in the Stations. Bring the family!
• On Good Friday, April 18^th, students from our school will present the Living Stations, allowing us to realize God’s love for us in an entirely new way. Join us!
• Spend some minutes before or after Mass and pray the Stations of the Cross in the Church on your own. See how much you are loved!

• Participate in the annual RICE BOWL initiative. It raises money for Catholic Relief Services but also raises awareness about world poverty and the Church’s response. Pick up a RICE BOWL in Church and make use of its many suggestions. Return the money raised through your sacrifices to Church at Easter (note Rice Bowl on the envelope; checks can be payable to St Cecilia Church)
• Join other members of the parish for a Simple Lenten Supper on Friday, April 28^th at 5:30pm in the Auditorium (hosted by our School Student Leaders). We welcome donations with proceeds going to a local charity (stay for stations at 7pm).
• When you are in the car or in the house put on Christian radio to surround yourself with His Holy Word (640AM, 560AM, 106.9FM)!  Also consider downloading the Relevant Radio App to your phone and listening to good programing there!
• Lenten fast and abstinence - The Church prescribes as a minimal obligation that all persons who are 14 years of age and older are bound to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent. Further, all persons eighteen years of age and older up to 60, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday while the other two meals are to be light.  All the faithful are encouraged to participate in Mass, to go to Confession, to take more time for private prayer, spiritual reading, and the reading and study of Sacred Scripture.
• Some ways to make sacrifices during Lent (say no to yourself and serve another) – take a shower a little colder than usual, turn off the radio in the car and ride in silence, sit in an uncomfortable chair instead of a comfortable chair, send a thoughtful text message to someone, skip seconds at a meal, do not put cream or sugar in your coffee, say “I love you” to others multiple times in one day, stay off social media for a day or two a week, put down your phone and read the Bible, walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator, eat bread without the butter, have water instead of a soda or alcoholic beverage. When you make these sacrifices, offer them for someone who is struggling in some way.
  
  LOTS OF OTHER IDEAS FOR FASTING AND PRAYER THIS LENT