Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving

I know that many families use the sacrifice bean jar during Lent. The idea is that we make small sacrifices during Lent to prepare our hearts for Easter. Each time a sacrifice is made, a bean is placed into a special jar...

We have incorporated this tradition in our house but we ALSO have a Lenten Kindness Jar to accompany the sacrifice beans.  All members of our family can pick out a kind deed to do as often as possible. Each time they do an act of kindness OR make a sacrifice, a bean goes in the jar.  Many of the Acts of Kindness involve prayer and giving.  Between the two of these, our whole family is able to practice all 3 major components of Lent...Prayer, Fasting (sacrifice) and Almsgiving (acts of kindness). You make click here to see our Acts of Kindness List!

It is adapted from a list by Holy Heroes. If you haven't heard about their Lenten or Advent Adventures, be sure to check them out! By the end of the 40 days of Lent, the jar has filled up. On Easter morning, the beans are "miraculously" replaced with jelly beans. The kids whole family loves to look forward to the overflowing jar of jelly beans...Oh boy, colorful beans of joy!

"We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love." ~Mother Teresa~