First Sunday in Lent

Year B

First Sunday in Lent

Images

Sacrifice

Lent

Points to note

As this is the first Sunday of Lent, we should discuss the significance of Lent and Ash Wednesday.  Facilitators may need to take note that this may have already been discussed with some children last Sunday but there really is no harm going through the same ground for the benefit of absent children.  Provided such practice is not done too often, children are usually happy to display what they have learnt the previous Sunday.

In line with the reading, children should walk away with the idea that they make at least one sacrifice during the season of Lent.  If possible, the children should make a public acknowledgement of the sacrifice they will make.  In discussions with the children, link up sacrifice of Jesus with the sacrifices that they will have to make.  Also, emphasise the fact that in undergoing sacrifices, there will be temptations to lure us away.  This will linkup with the reading.

Liturgy

Before the reading, explain that this is the season of Lent and the implications of it.  You may refer to the box at the end of this leaflet.

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

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

All:   Glory to you O Lord

 (Mk1:12-15)

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and he remained there for forty days and was tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild beasts and the angels looked after him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee.  There he proclaimed the Good News from God.  “The time has come,” he said, “and the kingdom of God is close at hand.  Repent, and believe the Good News.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

This discussion should be kept short as the bulk of the discussions take 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.

You may wish to discuss what kind of sacrifices that we could make.  Emphasise that we do not make sacrifices and suffer for the sake of suffering but to be with Jesus and all his friends in the world today in their sufferings

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.

SACRIFICE FOR LENT For many of us, Lent goes hand-in-hand with sacrifice.  Today, what we sacrifice is pretty much a private matter and even Church laws are now comparatively relaxed. In the olden days, people were required to have only one meal a day, without meat, eggs, dairy or oil, during the whole of the season.  Imagine going for forty days without MacDonald's!!  In fact, until the twentieth century, this rule was applied to all Fridays of the year and in many countries, Wednesdays or Saturdays as well. Today, Church law in most countries only requires all adults (in US, defined as ages 14 to 60) to have only one full meal and two small snacks on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, with no meat on both days.  Fish, amphibians and reptiles, which are not considered as meat, are allowed, as are meat in liquid form (eg., chicken broth).  There are no restrictions on drinks, and I was told, including alcohol!  We are also to abstain from meat on all Fridays in Lent. n England, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is known as Pancake Tuesday, when pancakes are eaten all over the country.  In the olden days before fridges were available, people take down all the eggs they have in the kitchen cupboards and make pancakes with them.  This is because they can't have eggs during Lent and the eggs will not keep until Easter.  One can imagine that the rules regarding what can and what cannot be eaten during Lent gave rise to numerous interesting practices and recipes for Lent, and also Fridays of the year. Pretzels, made of flour & water and none of the forbidden eggs & dairy, is a Lent food developed by German monks.  The shape is that of an angel/Christian at prayer - which is why the logo for Auntie Anne's Pretzels has an angel with a halo on top. Falafels, vegetarian meatballs popular in Middle Eastern streets, were first made by Egyptian Copts for Lent.   The most interesting Lent food, is- Japanese tempura.  Apparently, tempura was introduced to the Japanese by 16th century Portuguese Jesuits.  The word comes from the Latin word for period (tempura therefore has the same root as temporal), referring to the period of forty days, a technical Church term for Lent.  I guess that is why there is no meat tempura.