Get Into Scripture with Your Kids This Lent

Nicole Berlucchi shares about ways to help your children to engage with Scripture this Lent (or anytime).

Over the last few years, I’ve started being very intentional with my kids about Scripture. I don’t want the only time they are reading Scripture to be at Sunday Mass, because we all know, even the best of us, how easy it can be to zone out or be distracted during Mass when your mind is full of things.

Lent is a great time to have your children spend a little more time in Scripture as a “something to do” in Lent rather than “something to give up.” Here are some tips I’ve found useful as I’ve explored Scripture with my children.

Help Them Find a Line to Proclaim

Whether it’s a line they can say to friends in times of trouble or a line they can say to themselves, help your kids identify and memorize six lines from Scripture, one for each week of Lent. The Psalms are a great place to start. Psalm 27 is a favorite of mine, full of good one-liners.

Have your children read the full psalm at the beginning of each week and then choose one line to proclaim that week. Highlight it in their Bible. Ask for it each morning: what do you have to say about the Lord today? If they forget their line, open the Bible and go back to the psalm (or whatever book you choose). Help them remember it. Try not to write it down outside of the Bible, but instead get them in the habit of going back to reread it in the Bible.

Choose a Short Book or a Gospel to Read Together Through Lent

My son and I chose Saint Paul's Letter to the Ephesians one year. A shorter book will make it easier to read through by the time you get to Easter. Read a chapter or read a paragraph. Some days there isn’t much to discuss, other days you might find yourself astounded by the insights of what is being shared.

I never perfectly did it every night, but we knew the goal was to finish by Easter. We would read aloud and underline as we were reading. Then share what each of us had underlined and why. I encourage them to make notes in the margins that they can return to as they all have a journaling Bible. I’ve done this with my kids as young as third grade. (Gospels are usually easier when your kids are younger, but obviously you won’t make it through the whole book.)

Connect the Daily Readings to Life; Talk About Them with Your Kids

The daily readings from Mass are always a great place to draw attention to Scripture. When I read something in the daily readings that is speaking to me and a current life situation, I point it out to my kids because I want them to start to draw the same connections. I want them to understand the Lord is speaking to us each and every day. We might not always understand, but some days it is as clear as day. He is telling us something we need to hear in this very moment.

Showing your children how you are listening for God’s voice in the readings models how they should begin to listen for His voice. They will start doing it on their own. They might not come to you every day with an observation, but when they do, you will know they have taken on a posture of listening when it comes to Scripture.

So often we lead our children into the habit of sacrificing for Lent, like giving up candy, television or video games. All of these things are good sacrifices, but sometimes I find that in doing something like reading Scripture, we receive so much more and understand much more why Jesus sacrificed Himself for us.

This Lent, let your children discover how Scripture is so much more than the readings we hear each Sunday, but instead is a way to give us courage in our days, help us learn more about our faith, and open our ears to the Lord to show us He is very aware of what is happening in our daily lives.

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Copyright 2026 Nicole Berlucchi
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