What's This About?
Custom art and a daily devotional sent to your inbox for the 40 days of Lent. (Click to Read More)
Thank you for your interest in this daily art and devotional for your 2021 Lent season!
Why Am I Doing This?
For starters, because Lent is a beautiful season of preparation for Easter and I wanted to offer some thoughtful reflections and art to brighten your day.
I am also doing this to support my friend’s restaurant, who has been severely impacted due to lockdown restrictions.
Enjoy the art and devotionals I’ll send you during Lent and consider making a donation to offer Covid relief for his small business. (“Donate” button below)
Accepting Donations for Small Business Covid Relief
My friend’s restaurant, Ke Ola Poké, is only a few years old and has been severely impacted by lockdowns and various restrictions. I’d like to try and do my small part to raise awareness about his restaurant (delicious poké bowls).
100% of donations will go toward purchasing gift cards for his restaurant and then passing them out to people in Ottawa. This will support his restaurant and also help new customers learn about the restaurant. I’ll take videos and share updates with you guys so you can see the impact of your donation.
Please consider making a donation to support a small business and offer some relief.
OR
If you’re in the Ottawa/Gatineau area, please consider visiting Ke Ola Poké in Aylmer, QC, or ordering online:
ABOUT LENT 2021 - ART AND DEVOTIONAL BY LITURGY AND CALLIGRAPHY
What is Lent?
Simply put, Lent is a season of preparation in the Christian year—it is the forty days leading up to Easter—and is a time when we can open our hearts to God and reflect on how he is calling us into deeper communion with him.
We prepare to face the reality of the sacrifice of Jesus’ work on the cross by reflecting on the love God has for us and his call for us to be his holy people.
What is Liturgy?
Liturgy is simply the public participation of the people of God in “the work of God.” It is an opportunity for the people of God to celebrate what God has done through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Liturgy is an ongoing visible sign of the communion of Christ between God and man. The liturgy allows us to ground ourselves in the love of God.
“Through the liturgy of Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his church.” (CCC 1069)
Art and Liturgy
I am passionate about showing the beauty of liturgical prayer and Scripture through my artwork. I’ve chosen to do this daily devotional to prepare our hearts for this Easter season.
Each day in Lent, you will receive an email with a daily piece of my artwork that showcases a prayer, Bible verse, or thoughtful quote. Along with the artwork, I will write a small devotional for you to reflect upon during the day.*
Can I Sign Up If I’m Not “Liturgical”?
Short answer: Of course!
Long answer: Liturgical prayer is intricately linked to Scripture so whether or not you come from a background that celebrates the liturgical calendar, I think you will enjoy these daily devotionals. Each piece of artwork celebrates the beauty of who God is and what he has done throughout history and continues to do with his church.
Liturgy is founded in Scripture, so my hope is that you will find many of these art pieces familiar to you, even if you’ve never attended a liturgical church or spoken a liturgical prayer before.
They’re designed to draw you closer to Jesus and I hope that regardless of your theological background or spiritual practices, we can all agree that our goal is to develop a deeper love for Jesus.
My Theme for Lent 2021
I have chosen a specific theme for these devotionals. Each day will revolve around the theme of, “Preparing our Hearts for Holiness.” I think there is a lot to reflect on with this topic and from my own personal interest, it’s a topic I’d like to explore more deeply.
From the Biblical narrative of God’s work throughout history, to the work of the Holy Spirit in his church today, I think we’ll have a rich devotional time together.
Lent is 40 days long, so here is the basic devotional structure I will follow:
For the first half of Lent, the devotionals will focus on the overarching theme of God’s work throughout history, and especially his call for a holy people.
The second half of Lent will focus more on how we can prepare our own hearts for holiness and how the Holy Spirit guides us into a deeper understanding of what holiness is.
My main hope is that at the end of this you will have a renewed love for Jesus.
How Often Will I Get An Email?
You will receive an email every day for the duration of Lent (February 17 - April 3)— plus Easter Sunday—with a piece of artwork and a devotional for reflection.
After Lent ends, you can choose to stay on this email list and receive future devotionals from me as the Liturgical year progresses. You are free to unsubscribe at any time.
Share With a Friend
If you know someone who would enjoy this artistic journey through Lent, please share this link with them.
Custom Art Requests
If you like my style of artwork and you’d like to order a custom piece with your favourite Bible verse then please email me at kaelynne@makancreative.com. All the proceeds for custom art requests will also go toward supporting Ke Ola Poke restaurant.
Thank you for being here and I hope you have a blessed Lent!
Who Am I?
My name is Kaelynne Makan and I’m a Canadian artist who specializes in watercolour art that showcases the beauty of Liturgical Prayer and Scripture.
I don’t say this lightly, but if I didn’t pray the liturgy and rely on the prayers of the saints, I don’t think I would be a Christian anymore.
For anyone who has not experienced the richness of liturgical prayer, this may seem like a strange thing to say. Maybe some of you are already coming up with theological responses to refute the need for recited prayers, but please hear me out.
My husband and I lost our first son three years ago and while I grieved, I also wrestled with doubt and darkness and complete spiritual deadness. I had no desire to pray and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
The best way to describe the past three years, is a fog. I had a mental fog that made it impossible for me to think of a single prayerful word. If you’ve ever experienced grief, you will likely know what I am talking about. My faith in Jesus hung on by a thread and I didn’t know if I could ever trust him again.
That’s where liturgical prayer and the saints come in.
When you have no words to speak or prayers to pray, having a book full of Scripture-based prayers and a “cloud of witnesses” to rely on is the most gracious, soul-filling thing you can receive from God. Every single day I prayed the Daily Office and asked those who had gone before me to pray for me and every single day I felt God’s presence sustain me. The liturgy carried me through those years of grief and fed my soul and somehow seemed to perfectly express everything my heart was feeling that my mind had no way of expressing.
The liturgy gave me the words I didn’t have and gave my soul the strength it needed to get through each day. I didn’t always feel like praying, but because I had a companion to help guide my prayer life, I was able to continuously find the words that had been passed down through tradition that I needed at that moment.
The saints reminded me that despite great suffering and personal loss, faithfulness is still possible. They also helped me see the truth of the resurrection. Those who have died and gone to be with Jesus are not inaccessible to us, they are united with Christ in the same way that we are united with Christ, as one body and therefore we can confidently ask for them to pray for us in the same way that we would ask each other here on earth to pray for us. The prayers of the liturgy and the saints placed me tenderly in the arms of Jesus, where he gave my weary heart the rest it needed. Eventually, my heart found its way out of the depths and I have somehow encountered a love for Jesus that is stronger and deeper than ever before.
The truth of Scripture shines through the liturgy and I was fed as I prayed through the Psalms, or the words of Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), or Zecariah’s Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), or Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32). Not to mention all the other beautiful prayers written over the span of church history.
Through prayer, the church can come together to celebrate the work of Christ; whether that be in the church building, or at home. This is especially poignant right now when we are physically separated from worshipping together. I find joy in knowing that the same liturgy is being recited in the hearts and homes of so many all over the world.
*Note: These devotionals are written from my personal perspective and my own spiritual journey. This is not meant to be a dissertation on Biblical theology. I will do my best to make this accessible for anyone who professes that Jesus is Lord, but there may be theological differences between my writings and your views. Graciousness and understanding are appreciated. Any references or research links will be available at the bottom of each daily email.
Liturgy and Calligraphy, artwork and devotionals © 2021 Kaelynne Makan
You are free to save any of the artwork for your personal use, but none of the artwork should be used for commercial purposes without a licensing agreement or the express written permission of the artist.