LENT

Ted S. Relunia
VS teacher
 OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

• To discuss the season of lent, its pillars and important days.

• To uplift the spirit of sacrifice, self-discipline and humility.
• To show concrete and practical ways on how to celebrate Lenten season
meaningfully.
 ACTIVITY
Have you ever sacrificed something?
Can you give a specific life experience?
How did you feel about it?
What did you learn about sacrificing?
WORD OF GOD
(MATTHEW 4:1-11)

JESUS IS TESTED IN THE

WILDERNESS
 NARRATOR:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into

the desert to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty
nights, and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to
him
 DEVIL:

IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD,

COMMAND THAT THESE STONES
BECOME LOAVES OF BREAD
 JESUS:
IT IS WRITTEN:
ONE DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE,
    BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES
FORTH FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.
 NARRATOR:

Then the devil took him to the holy

city, and made him stand on the
parapet of the temple, and said to
him
 DEVIL:
IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, THROW
YOURSELF DOWN. FOR IT IS WRITTEN:

HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING

YOU AND WITH THEIR HANDS THEY WILL
SUPPORT YOU, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT
AGAINST A STONE.
 JESUS:
AGAIN IT IS WRITTEN, ‘YOU SHALL
NOT PUT THE LORD, YOUR GOD, TO
THE TEST.
 NARRATOR:

Then the devil took him up to a very high

mountain, and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world in their
magnificence,  and he said to him.
 DEVIL:

ALL THESE I SHALL GIVE TO

YOU, IF YOU WILL PROSTRATE
YOURSELF AND WORSHIP ME.
 JESUS:
GET AWAY, SATAN! IT IS WRITTEN:
THE LORD, YOUR GOD, SHALL YOU
WORSHIP
    AND HIM ALONE SHALL YOU SERVE.
 NARRATOR:

THEN THE DEVIL LEFT HIM AND, BEHOLD,

ANGELS CAME AND MINISTERED TO HIM.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS:

WHAT IS THE PASSAGE ALL ABOUT?

DID JESUS ALLOW THE DEVIL TO TEMPT

HIM? WHY OR WHY NOT?

IF YOU WERE JESUS WILL YOU DO THE

SAME? WHY OR WHY NOT?
CHURCH TEACHINGS
LENTEN SEASON
 LENT
The word Lent derives from the
Middle English word lenten,
meaning springtime – the time of
change and renewal.
Is the time of spiritual preparation
prior to the Easter season.
 The latin equivalent is quadregesima
meaning 40 days

Catholic liturgical season consisting of

forty days of fasting, prayer, and
penitence beginning at Ash Wednesday
and concluding at sundown on Holy
Thursday.
The 40 days of Lent correspond to
the 40 days that Jesus spent in the
wilderness to fast, pray, and endure
the temptations of the devil, all in
preparation for his public ministry
which would culminate in his death
on the cross.
 ASH WEDNESDAY
 Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of
fasting and prayer.
 Theme: repentance and renewal
 Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient
Jewish tradition of penance and fasting.
 The practice includes the wearing of ashes
on the head. The ashes symbolize the dust
from which God made us

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust

you shall return.“
 "Repent and believe in the
Gospel."

Ashes is a symbol of penance

made sacramental by the blessing
of the Church, and they help us
develop a spirit of humility and
sacrifice.
 "Each year, Lent offers us a
providential opportunity to deepen the
meaning and value of our Christian
lives, and it stimulates us to
rediscover the mercy of God so that
we, in turn, become more merciful
toward our brothers and sisters. In
the Lenten period, the Church makes it
her duty to propose some specific tasks
that accompany the faithful concretely
in this process of interior renewal:
these are prayer, fasting and
almsgiving."
-Pope Benedict XVI
PILLARS OF
THE
SEASON OF
LENT
 PRAYER
Prayer as a means of responding to God’s love
“which always precedes and sustains us”.
We are also called to hear and respond to the
Word of Jesus, in order to experience
“the mercy He freely gives us”
God is always engaged in a “dialogue of salvation
with us”, despite our weaknesses and failings.
-Pope Francis
 FAST
Eating less food than normal (does
not necessarily mean no food).
What you can eat: One normal, full-
sized meal, and two smaller meals
which if combined would not exceed
one full meal.
Who has to fast: Catholic aged 18
and older
 ABSTINENCE
Do not eat meat.
What you can eat: fish and seafood
Who has to abstain: Catholic aged 14 and older

Why:
"Catholic peoples from time immemorial have set
apart Friday for special penitential observance by
which they gladly suffer with Christ that they may
one day be glorified with Him. This is the heart of
the tradition of abstinence from meat on Friday
where that tradition has been observed in the holy
Catholic Church.“
-USCCB
"Denying material food, which nourishes
our body, nurtures an interior disposition
to listen to Christ and be fed by His
saving word. Through fasting and
praying, we allow Him to come and
satisfy the deepest hunger that we
experience in the depths of our being: the
hunger and thirst for God.“
-Pope Benedict XVI
 ALMS GIVING
Material generosity to the less fortunate.
What you can give: money, goods, acts of charity
Why:
Almsgiving "represents a specific way to assist those in
need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free
us from attachment to worldly goods . . . Almsgiving helps
us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to
respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others
whatever we possess through divine goodness."
-Pope Benedict XVI
 IMPORTANT DAYS DURING LENT

Ash Wednesday: Marks the start of Lent and the time for penance.
Obligatory day of fasting (ages 18 to 59) and abstinence (ages 14 &
over).

Fridays of Lent: Obligatory abstinence (ages 14 & over). All Fridays

(even outside of Lent) are days of penance.
 PASCHAL TRIDUUM

Holy Thursday: Lent ends and the Holy Triduum begins in the evening with the
commemoration of the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.
Good Friday: The anniversary of the Crucifixion of Christ (no Mass). Obligatory
day of fasting (ages 18 to 59) and abstinence (ages 14 & over).
Holy Saturday: Christ is in the grave conquering death and freeing the captives.
Final day of Lenten fasting (no daily Mass, Easter Vigil begins at sundown)
Easter Sunday: Lent has ended and the joy begins, the day of
Christ's resurrection, the principle Christian feast of the entire
liturgical year. This is the celebration of Christ's victory over sin
and death merited for us by his passion, death, and resurrection
from the dead on Easter Sunday
 "The observance of Lent is the very badge of
the Christian warfare. By it we prove
ourselves not to be enemies of Christ. By it we
avert the scourges of divine justice. By it we
gain strength against the princes of darkness,
for it shields us with heavenly help. Should
mankind grow remiss in their observance of
Lent, it would be a detriment to God's glory, a
disgrace to the Catholic religion, and a danger
to Christian souls. Neither can it be doubted
that such negligence would become the source
of misery to the world, of public calamity, and
of private woe."
- Pope Benedict XIV
 “Keep your eyes fixed on the
outstretched arms of Christ crucified,
let yourself be saved over and over
again. And when you go to confess your
sins, believe firmly in his mercy which
frees you of your guilt. Contemplate his
blood poured out with such great love,
and let yourself be cleansed by it. In
this way, you can be reborn ever anew”

- Pope Francis
 ACTIVITY

In a small piece of paper (it can be used or scratch paper) the you will
enumerate the things you can sacrifice this Lenten season, after
enumerating those things you choose your own partner to share your
answers. You may compare your own sacrifices to your partner. After
which, you will post it on your bulletin board to also read by your
classmates.
THANK YOU!