Tim and Scott are back with another action-packed, fun-filled episode of Monday Madness. This week, they review several resources that are available to help you prepare for Lent Madness (and Lent).

Watch the video to learn more, but you can get your very own giant bracket poster (in full color!) for just a few dollars. Order yours today. Put one up at home and at work. They look great on the wall in your parish hall or Sunday school classroom. No one's stopping you from putting one on your car. Or turning two of them into a sandwich board and walking around your neighborhood yelling "Lent Madness is Near!" at the top of your lungs.

And you might also like to get a colorable poster to support the whole family through the season of Lent. These colorable posters are sold in packs of 25, so they're perfect to give to your whole church. Buy the Join the Journey through Lent calendar poster or get way ahead of the game and order your Alleluia! 50 Days and 50 Ways to Celebrate Easter calendar poster.

Oh, and we would be remiss if we did not include links to the two books that Tim mentioned in the video. These are books inviting you to a humorous and joyful approach to Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter, written by Tim and illustrated by Jay Sidebotham. Check out Dog in the Manger: Finding God in Christmas Chaos and Dust Bunnies in the Basket: Finding God in Lent & Easter.

The digital Saintly Scorecard is coming soon, probably the next few days. Stay tuned!

The time you've been waiting for is here! Tim and Scott are back with the first pre-season episode of Monday Madness leading up to Lent Madness XV. This week they talk about the bracket for this year's competition, including a never-before-announced special feature new and exclusive to this year!

If you are looking for the Saintly Scorecard, they have some bad news. Due to...reasons, the Saintly Scorecard is not available in printed form this year. However, in their gracious generosity, Scott and Tim are going to provide a digital scorecard soon. It will be FREE of charge. Stay tuned for details. The good news is that the giant bracket poster is still available! You can buy your own bracket poster to follow along in style. And you probably want to get one for your church, your neighbors, and those nice people who sit across the aisle from you in church but you forgot their names. Since they're cheap, buy several!

And speaking of stuff to buy, Forward Movement, the proud sponsor of Lent Madness, are once again selling "Join the Journey through Lent," a colorable Lenten calendar poster. This fun calendar takes you through the season of Lent with suggestions for reflections and activities each day of Lent. You can color in your own calendar, so it's fun for all ages. (And there's an Easter one, too!) Buy yours right away, because they're likely to sell out.

With only thirty shopping days until Lent, you're going to want to get busy with suitably penitential gift items. And keep watch for the digital scorecard so you can study up on the saints. Meanwhile, we suggest a couple of excellent sources of information on the saints (first one and second one).

(more…)

It's the moment you've all been waiting for: the unveiling of the 2024 Lent Madness bracket! Stay tuned for the SEC's color commentary on the bracket, highlighting some of the epic contests that will take place over the course of Lent Madness 2024. Right now you should read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the bracket. Then brag to all your friends about how you've memorized all the match-ups and can't wait for Lent to begin.

Click the image to see a larger version. Or you can download a PDF for printing your very own copy.

Once you have the bracket in your hot little hand, don't stop by simply posting it on your refrigerator. The Supreme Executive Committee offers a few suggestions for helping spread the Lent Madness word.

1. Post a copy of the bracket on the front door of your church. In fact, why stop at your church? Channel your inner Martin Luther and nail the bracket to the doors of every church in your neighborhood. With giant Lenten nails!
2. Get the bracket tattooed to your back. You'll be a big hit when you go swimming at the Y.
3. Mail them out with all your Christmas cards this year. "Lent Madness: It's the Reason for the Season."
4. Go to the mall and put them under the windshields of every car in the parking lot. For Jesus.
5. Get front row seats at televised sporting events and hold up the bracket. Consider it the new John 3:16 sign. Rainbow wig optional.
6. Turn the bracket into a sandwich board and wander through Times Square. Bonus points if you simultaneously hand out copies of the bracket as if you work for a discount electronics store.
7. Staple a copy of the bracket to your dog's collar and let her roam around the neighborhood sans leash.
8. Rent a helicopter (or “borrow” one) and make brackets rain down upon the local populace.
9. Now that those Halloween pop-up stores have closed for the season, convert one into a Bracket pop-up store.
10. Memorize all 16 matchups and yell them out to everyone on the village green like some kind of penitential town crier.

Feel free to share other ideas (with photo documentation) of course. They may just end up on the Lent Madness Facebook page.

Don't forget to order your very own 2024 Lent Madness Bracket Poster! They're just $15 each, or pay only ten bucks if you order five or more. Get one for home, one for the car, one for work, and one for everyone on your street. Your parish priest will be delighted when she or he sees you've added a bit of Lent Madness spirit by attaching a bracket to the altar frontal or pulpit. Pre-order now, and be among the first to enjoy the poster!

Remember, Advent is coming. Especially if you use purple vestments at your church, think of this as a dress rehearsal for Lent. You can keep your perspective by buying Lent-themed gifts for everyone on your shopping list this Christmas.

Happy Lent!