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How To Make a Lenten Sunflower

As Catholics worldwide prepare their hearts for Lent, now is the perfect time to teach the children in your life about the true meaning of this holy season. When we examine our hearts and repent of our sins, we deny ourselves and put others first. The three disciplines of the season — prayer, fasting and almsgiving — give us the perfect opportunity to put our faith into action.

You can help your children set their Lenten intentions by making a paper sunflower. This craft will be completed over the 40 days of Lent. Paper petals are added each week, giving children a place to track their prayers, sacrifices and good deeds.

The sunflower represents our faith. As we spend time with Jesus in prayer, make godly sacrifices, and love our neighbors through generous giving, our faith and lives will flourish. As sunflowers grow, they turn toward the sun. That’s how we should grow too, turning toward God’s Son, Jesus, as the source of all light and life.

A more traditional version of this craft is a forget-me-not flower, which helps kids remember their Lenten resolutions and sacrifices they’ve promised to make for Jesus.

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Getting Started

Materials Needed:

Green, yellow and brown construction paper
Craft glue
Markers or crayons
Scissors
Paper plates

Directions:

Start with the center of the flower, the paper plate. Color it or cover it with construction paper.
Cut out a stem and glue it to the edge of the plate.
Cut out three leaves and glue them to the stem. On each leaf, write one of the pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting or almsgiving.
Now that the base of the flower is finished, it’s time to make the petals. Cut out six large petals from yellow construction paper (or another vibrant color).
On each Sunday of Lent, glue a petal to the paper plate. Write your prayer intention for the week on the petal and include at least one plan to serve others. For example: Collect canned goods for the parish food pantry, do yardwork for a homebound neighbor, or send an encouraging note to a friend.
On the sixth Sunday of Lent, Palm Sunday, feel free to fill any gaps on the flower’s base with additional petals.
Hang the sunflower in your home as a reminder to put your faith into action!

Please post a picture and tag Cross Catholic Outreach on Facebook or Instagram. We want to see how you bring glory to Jesus in your community!

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Share Lenten Blessings

As you look for opportunities to bless others this Lenten season, don’t forget to pray for families in Africa who rely on contaminated water to survive. They are battling extreme poverty and sickness — but with generous support from friends like you, we can build clean water systems that will change lives. Over the 40 days of Lent, pray, fast and share a glass!

Donate to Make a Difference

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Cross Catholic Outreach supports the work of frontline Catholic religious and lay partners and other relief organizations serving the poor and vulnerable in over 30 countries. Visit our Easter Catalog to make your best gift to the projects that touch your heart, whether for food, water & health, housing, education, emergency aid, orphans and vulnerable children, or some other life-enriching outreach. Your generosity will have a lasting impact because it addresses critical needs with meaningful solutions in Christ’s name.

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Father Dave Caron, O.P.

Fr. David G. Caron, O.P., joined Cross Catholic Outreach in 2021. Previously he was the Director of the Office of Evangelization and was the Promoter of the Jubilee Year of Mercy for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In 2015, he was named a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis and continues to serve in that capacity. Fr. Dave previously served as President and Assistant Professor of Liturgical and Sacramental Theology of Aquinas Institute of Theology. A former diocesan priest and parish administrator, he joined the Dominican Order in 2000. In addition to pursuing his passions of preaching, leadership development, evangelization, and liturgy, Fr. Dave has a deep admiration for Pope Francis’ invitation to the whole Church to go to the peripheries and there “accompany” the poor and others by modeling God’s mercy.

Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.