Fourth Sunday in Lent

Year C

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Images

Reconciliation

Points to note

This reading is one of the most best loved and best-known parables in the Gospels.  In addition to being very vivid, it has a father and it has sons in it that will make it appeal to children.  The theme underlying the parable however is very deep and unless deliberately explained well, may take it over the heads of children.  The key here, as usual, is to draw parallels with everyday events of a child’s life.

 As it is rather long, I have separated the reading into two parts: the one dealing with the younger son to be read in the liturgy while the one on the older son to be discussed with the children, if there is time.  How often have we encountered it ourselves?  However, it also deals with sibling jealousy and parents’ extravagant love.  How often have we encountered that also?

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Praise and honour to you, O Christ!

I will leave this place and go to my father and say:

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”

Praise and honour to you, O Christ!

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

All:   Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ

(Lk 15:1-3,11-32)

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained.  “This man,” they said, “welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  So he spoke this parable to them:

“A man has two sons.  The younger said to his father.  ‘Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.’  So the father divided the property between them.  A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

“When he had spent it all, that country experience a famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs.  And he would willingly have filed his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything.  Then he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here I am dying of hunger!  I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.’  So he left the place and went back to his father.

“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity.  He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.  Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I no longer deserve to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick!  Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.’  And they began to celebrate.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

All:    Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Discussion

Who are the people in the story?  Father and two sons.  Do you know that God is in the story?  The father.  If God is the father, who are the sons?  Not Jesus – us. 

Discuss how God gets upset with us when we are not good.  Use the example of the parents being upset when children tell a lie.  Get the children to talk about how upset their parents get.  What do Mom and Dad do when they get angry?

Will they get angry forever?  Will they lock you in the room and throw away the key?  Get the children to talk about how they felt when their parents are angry with them.  What did they do to help their parents get over the anger?  A hug, say sorry, repair the damage, do chores in the house.

Discuss whether their parents do eventually get over the anger?  Did saying sorry help?  Get the children to see that Mom & Dad’s starting point of getting over their anger is often when the children say sorry or do something to express remorse.

Discuss how they felt when their parents’ anger is no more.  Discuss also whether they keep remembering that their parents were angry and why.  Get them to see that their parents’ anger will easily be rekindled if they repeat their error.

Bring it back to the reading.  Explain how the son felt when he was miserable and away from his father.  Explain that the father was upset at what the son did.  Explain why the son felt a need to return to the father’s house and point out that if he did not return (ie., apologise) he would still be miserable taking care of pigs.  Link up with what the children & their parents felt in their own situation at home.

You may wish to end up with the second half of the parable:

“Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.  Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about.  ‘Your brother has come,’ replied the servant, ‘and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.’  He was angry then and refuse to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.  But for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.’

“The father said, ‘My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours.  But it is only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.’ “

Penitential

 

If there is time, you may want to pray the I confess together.

 

 

I confess I confess to almighty God, and you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God Amen.

 

Third Sunday in Lent

Year C

Third Sunday in Lent

Images

Baptism and repentance

Points to note

The reading for the Third Sunday in Lent in Year A dwelt on the idea of water as the life-giver.  We expanded that discussion to that of the use of water in baptism.  This Sunday, we take it further to discuss the baptism that Jesus gives that is more than mere baptism by water.  We will need to touch on the use of water in baptism, of course, but briefly, before going onto to the baptism of repentance.  Be careful when talking about repentance:  this is not a guilt trip for the children. 

For better focus, I have selected the first half of the second reading from the Missal reading.  The Gospel reading is particularly difficult to follow for the children.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

As the reading is not from the Gospel today, we do not sing the acclamation before the Gospel.

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the letter of St Paul to the Church in Corinth

 (1 Cor:10:1-6)

I want to remind you, brothers, how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ. In spite of this, most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.

This is the Word of the Lord

All:    Thanks be to God

Discussion

Do you remember your baptism?  What does the priest pour over the head of a person during a baptism?  Why does he use water?  Why not something like sand?  Be prepared for some really silly answers!  What do we use water for?  For drinking and for cleaning.  Discuss what would happen if we have no water.  Discuss what happens if there is too much water.

Can you remember two stories in the Bible where there was lots of water?  The crossing of the Red Sea and the Flood.  In each, take the children through the story, emphasising that in each case, the water drowned the baddies and saved the good people. 

Who was the first person we heard in the Gospel who was baptising people with water?  John the Baptist.  Who was he?  The cousin of Jesus, elder by some six months.  He was known as the precursor, which means the one who comes before.  In this case, the one who came before Jesus to introduce Jesus to the world.  John started telling people about the Good News before Jesus started teaching.  John wanted the people to prepare for Jesus’ coming by cleansing themselves as part of their repentance.  When John baptised, he wanted the people that he baptised to repent. 

Explain repentance.  This is where we do something wrong.  People get upset with us.  We get miserable when people get upset with us.  Use everyday examples.  Discuss when we did something wrong at home, like taking the cookies when Mom said not to: Mom gets upset and we get punished and we get miserable.  Discuss what we do about it:  We feel sorry and apologise for it.

The concept of repentance isn’t all that difficult to impart to the children if you parallel it with simple everyday examples.  Take your time to explain if necessary, as understanding this will help them grasp next week’s idea of forgiveness.

Penitential

If there is time, you may want to pray the I confess together.

 

I confess I confess to almighty God, and you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God Amen.

 

Time out If you have the time, you may wish to discuss other uses of holy water in the Church.  We use it to bless ourselves when we enter the church.  Sometimes, people may take some holy water home as a way of taking a bit of the holiness of the church home with them. During the Easter midnight mass, part of the beginning of the mass is devoted to the blessing of the water.  The priest dips the newly lit Easter candle into the baptismal water (not fully, of course) and blesses it.  The water is then used for baptism and as holy water during the year.

Second Sunday in Lent

Year C

Second Sunday in Lent

Images

A baptismal journey

Baptismal promises

Points to note

The readings for Lent are structured as a journey, a journey of faith not just for the catechumens but for all the faithful as we prepare to renew our baptismal cleansing at Easter.  The journey began with the testing of Jesus in the desert on the first Sunday of Lent.  This Sunday, we see the desired goal of our Lenten journey.

As part of the Easter, we renew our baptismal promises.  It will be good to get the children to renew them at the end of the Liturgy of the Word, after the discussions.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Praise to you, O Christ!

From the bright cloud, the Father’s voice was heard:

“This is my Son, the beloved.  Listen to him.”

Praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ

(Lk 9:28-36)

Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and went up to the mountain to pray.  As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning.  Suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.  Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him.  As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah.”-- He did not know what he was saying.  As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud, the disciples were afraid.  And a voice came from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One.  Listen to him.”  And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.  The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussions

Imagine if you have to go on a long journey.  Would you like to go alone or would you prefer to be accompanied?  Now, think of a journey where you have to walk for days as in the olden days.  Does anyone still want to walk alone?  It can be boring and it can be dangerous.  Discuss how as humans, we all need to be with people.  We are all part of a society and we always need people around us.  Imagine a society without people and we are always alone – would you like to be in such a society?

Discuss how Lent is like a journey.  Discuss what is at the end of the journey – the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  As such, Lent is that journey we make with Jesus on his final days on earth. 

Every journey has a destination – nowadays we set the GPS for it.  What is the destination of the Lenten journey?  It is important that we do not end up with the crucifixion.  The Lenten journey ends at the Easter Vigil and so, our Lenten journey ends with the resurrection of Jesus.

Get the children to imagine how Jesus would look like at the point of the resurrection.  I would imagine that there would be a lot of shining light and he would look perfect – no longer the battered body taken down from the cross.  His clothes, while plain would be a dazzling white of purity.  Would he look like the Jesus in the story we just read?

Explain that this story gives us a glimpse of the destination of the journey we embark on for Lent.  We are to be white and dazzling like Jesus.  How do we do that?  We cleanse ourselves.  We do that by the three practices of Lent

1.     Prayer

2.     Penitence

3.     Alms-giving

How do we do all these three things during Lent?  If possible, get the children to make a commitment for each of these three practices.

BAPTISMAL PROMISES

Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?

I do.

Do you reject the glamour of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin?

I do.

Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?

I do.

Do you believe in God, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?

I do.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?

I do.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?

I do.

 

First Sunday in Lent

LSW children  Year C

First Sunday in Lent

Images

Our baptismal promises

Points to note

Lent is a busy season when we prepare to accompany Jesus in his final days in Holy Week as well as to prepare ourselves for the great festival of Easter. One of the many things that happen during Lent is the final preparation of catechumens for their baptism during Easter Vigil mass, when they make their baptismal vows.   But it isn’t for them alone.  Those of us who have been baptised also have to prepare like they do, to renew our own baptismal vows, albeit not so intense. Other aspects of Lent are covered in Lent 1 of Years A & B. 

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Man does not live on bread alone

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel

Discuss with the children about the new season of the Christian calendar that we are entering.  This is available in the end panel of this leaflet & for a more complete explanation, at Soundbites about Lent and Easter

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

(Lk 4:1-13)

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days.  During that time, he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry.  Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.”  But, Jesus replied, “Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.”

Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, “I will give you all this power and the glory of all these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose.  Worship me, then, it shall all be yours.”  But Jesus answered him,” Scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God

And serve him alone.”

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple.  “If you are the Son of God,” he said to him, “throw yourself down from here, for scriptures says:

He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you,

and again:

They will hold you up on their hands

in case you hurt your foot against a stone.”

But Jesus answered him, “It has been said:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Baptismal Vows Do you renounce sin, so as to live in the freedom of the children of God? R. I do. Do you renounce the lure of evil, so that sin may have no mastery over you? R. I do. Do you renounce Satan, the author and prince of sin? R. I do. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? R. I do. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father? R. I do. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? R. I do. And may almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us new birth by water and the Holy Spirit and bestowed on us forgiveness of our sins, keep us by his grace, in Christ Jesus our Lord, for eternal life. Amen.

 Having exhausted all these ways of testing him, the devil left him to return at the appointed time.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

This discussion should be kept short as the bulk of the discussion takes place before the reading.

Discuss the reading and bring out again interesting parts of the story:

·     After his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness to pray.

·    In the wilderness, he fasted.  Discuss about people who fasted to help them in their prayer.  Fasting is a reminder of our sacrifice.

·     Jesus was tempted when he fasted.  We, too, will be tempted when we fast.  We, too, will be tempted when we try to keep to our sacrifices.

Explain that during Lent, there are people called catechumens who are preparing to be baptised at the Easter midnight mass, during which they make their baptismal vows before they can get baptised.

 

If there is time, you may want to go through the baptismal vows, which we will be renewing at the same mass but do not do the response – that is reserved for the Easter Vigil mass.

 

DAYS OF LENT

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is celebrated in many formerly French areas (famously in New Orleans, USA).  It refers to people gorging themselves on Tuesday before starting their fasts on Ash Wednesday.  Other than fasting and abstaining as described earlier, we also go to for mass on Ash Wednesday.  It is very much a normal mass, but we also receive ashes on our forehead to remind ourselves of the dust and ashes from which we came and to which we will return.  These ashes are available to everyone, including non-Catholics, and comes from burning the palms used in the previous year's Palm Sunday.

The liturgical colour for Lent, like Advent, is purple, being the colour of preparation.  The exception is the fourth Sunday in Lent, where churches are allowed to use pink.  This Sunday is know as Laetare Sunday (Latin for Joyful Sunday), and it is the Church's way of giving us a breather half-way through a long penitential season.

Palm Sunday is the sixth and the last Sunday in Lent.  It commemorates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey, welcomed by the people waving palm leaves.  Traditionally, Middle Eastern people greet conquerors by waving palm leaves and paving their way with palm leaves.  I remember scenes of people waving palm leaves when US troops entered Iraq.

Holy Week runs from Palm Sunday until Holy Saturday, and has been celebrated as a single week since the third century.  As the most important week in the Church's calendar, all days of the week are called Holy: Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, etc.  There are no closing hymns at mass on all days of Holy Week as all masses in Holy Week are considered as part of a single celebration.
On Wednesday, at a mass known as Chrism Mass, all priests in the diocese will meet up for mass at the cathedral with their bishop.  This denotes the unity of the diocese.  At this mass, the bishop blesses the oils, which will be used by all priests all over the diocese for the anointing during baptism (Oil of Catechumens), during confirmation (Chrism Oil) and during anointing of the sick.

During Holy Week, all statues (and in England, pictures as well) are veiled with purple cloths to commemorate Jesus being hidden away after his burial until his resurrection.  Crosses are unveiled after Good Friday services while other veils are removed later but before the Easter Vigil.

The Easter Triduum (Latin for three days) refers to the triple mass celebrations of Holy Thursday, Easter Vigil (the midnight mass) and Easter Sunday.  No, Good Friday is not part of the Easter Triduum as it is not a mass.  And, yes Easter Sunday mass is a different mass from the midnight mass and we should be attending them both: they are not substitute for each other.