A Manageable Plan for Formation this Lent

Megan Cottam reviews The Little Purple Book for Children: Signs and Symbols of our Faith, published by the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan. 

As an Associate Director of Family Formation for my home diocese, I am constantly testing and researching resources to help families share the faith at home. I have worked my way through countless Lenten programs that promise a conversion of heart for the entire family. 

However, I have found that most resources either have only passive listening expectations for children, or cram too much content for each age group so that the Lenten practice can become a burden.  

The Little Purple Book for Children: Signs and Symbols of our Faith strikes the perfect balance. It is an approachable booklet, full of formative activities that will stir conversation between parents and children. 

The four specific benefits of this choice for a Lenten practice are ownership, readability, strong formative content, and application opportunities. Let’s review them in turn. 

One hardship of Lenten practices is the need for all family members to be present at the same time. While ideally, we would love to read stories and reflections around a long dinner, this is not the reality for the everyday family on a weeknight. The flexibility here allows your children to work on the activities while you are busy around the house, and then to have a conversation afterwards about what they learned. My 8- and 5-year-old were excited to complete the games and activities and did not come asking for my assistance. The instructions of the book are written to the children themselves, teaching ownership and developing the habit of a Lenten practice at a young age. Our family time together could then be spent on answering faith questions and defining some new theological terms. 

This booklet approaches content through the lens of a child; it is not lecture and reflection based, but discovery and activity based. This kept the interest of my children without the glossy, zoned-out eyes that come with traditional auditory learning. My youngest, who is an early reader, was not overwhelmed by the amount of text on the page. 

Furthermore, without the lengthy reflections, this booklet is still able to deliver quality Catholic formation. It uses true theological terms, explained on the correct age level, and without watering down any faith teachings. Children are encouraged to generate their own prayers, define terms, explore the connection of nature to faith, and seek out liturgical symbols at Mass. All of these practices are seeds that develop into life-long faith habits. 

This leads to the last benefit, which is application. Beyond the activity of the day, my children took the tasks very seriously. For example, the First Sunday of Lent has children noticing what is carried to the altar at five different points in the Sunday liturgy. This activity had my extremely active 5-year-old son focused throughout the entire Mass so he could have all the answers! It was a great launching point for a car-ride discussion on the Mass and the meaning behind some of our gestures and actions. 

I highly recommend The Little Purple Book for Children: Signs and Symbols of our Faith for elementary-aged families. The flexibility and accessibility combined with quality content and discussion points makes this the perfect fit for growing your family’s faith this Lenten season. 

Ask for The Little Purple Book for Children: Signs and Symbols of our Faith at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from LittleBooks.org.

Copyright 2024 Megan Cottam
Images: Canva