Do you realize we’re only 2 ½ weeks away from the beginning of Lent? Yes, Ash Wednesday approaches on February 22 this year. While I know that we often see Lent as a serious time for fasting and penance and prayer, Lent also invites us to prepare for Easter, to embrace a spiritual springtime along with the temporal springtime. Let’s think about how we’ll keep this Lent. This week I’d particularly invite families to consider how we lead our children along the pathways of Lent. Try to bring Lent into the home. We’re not just Catholic in church after all! Your children will hear about Lent in PREP classes. Your younger children will hear about Lent in upcoming Children’s Liturgy of the Word sessions. Ask them what they heard—in the classroom, during Mass, during their special Liturgy of the Word. Those conversations in the car on the way home can be a great opportunity to encourage the faith in our young people. (And, of course, you don’t have to wait for Lent—car conversations about Mass and PREP can always be good idea.)