Fruitful Lenten Season

Goal

At the end of the household, MFC members should have spent quality time with their family through prayer and sharing towards having a deeper relationship that will lead them home with Christ.

Gift

A gift is something unasked for, but freely given. Time is a gift. Let us offer this gift most especially to our own families by scheduling a short family household. You may do it during meal time or downtime, after Mass, or whenever it is comfortable to gather the whole family.

Glory

(Lead your family into a short prayer)

Lord, we come home to You and glorify You as the center of our family. As we are gathered at this moment, grant us the grace to have a simple sharing with one another. May the Holy Spirit inspire us and fill our family with Your Love. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.

Grab

What is your favorite fruit?

Grace

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Gal 5:22-23

As said by St. Francis de Sales, “Lent is the autumn of the Spiritual Life during which we gather fruit to keep us going for the rest of the year.”

Autumn is the season of the year when crops and fruits are gathered and leaves fall. It is like the 40-day liturgical season of Lent which begins with Ash Wednesday and leads up to Easter Sunday.

Lent is a penitential season. It is a perfect time to gather and offer.

First, it is a perfect time to gather - to gather ourselves to examine where we are in our lives as we reflect on the passion of Christ. This is the season to gather fruits that will sustain us in our spiritual Journey, in our walk in continuous conversion, in our “paglalakbay at pagbabalik-loob sa Diyos.” May we all strive to gather the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We need these to keep us going for the rest of the year and for the rest of our lives.

Second, it is a perfect time to offer - to offer as the Scriptures and the Church teach us to offer through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. All these spiritual exercises help prepare us for the celebration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. They help us detach from anything that distracts us from fully embracing Christ, the suffering and death He went through, and the glory that came after it. May we all strive to offer ourselves, our indifference, and our tendencies to please man and not God. We need these to purify our intentions and for the fruits of the Holy Spirit to find place in our beings.

In this time of the year, may we truly gather and offer by the grace of God. May we receive and grow the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. This is what having a fruitful Lenten season is all about!

Gather

For discussion, answer the following questions:

1. What specific fruit/s of the Holy Spirit do I need to gather this Lent?

2. What do I need to offer so that this fruit of the Holy Spirit may grow in my heart?

Go Forth

Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as a family, decide to have a personal fasting and do corporal or spiritual works of mercy as a family this Lenten season.

End this family household by praying together as one family.

Group Family Photo

Have a family photo then post it on your social media account. Use the hashtags #MissionaryFamiliesofChrist #FamilyHousehold