The document discusses preparing for important things like the Olympics or heaven. It says that Olympic skaters spend long hours practicing from a young age. Similarly, we should prepare to be friends with God by helping others in need like Jesus did. The story of a boy named Tom shows he missed chances to help and wasn't truly preparing. During Lent, we can make sacrifices like praying or doing kind acts to thank Jesus and become more like him.

2. SPEND LONGER HOURS
PREPARING
• Tara Lupinski was a young girl, not very tall but very great.
– She is one of the best ice skater in the world.
– During the Winter Olympics of 1998 Tara Lipinski, received the
gold medal in figure skating!
– All the skaters did their best but only one receive the gold
metal..
• Would it not be wonderful if all those who do their best would
receive a gold?
• Have you ever heard how the Olympic skaters prepare?
1) From the time they are very young, maybe only six or
ten, they spend longer hours practicing every day
2) Even when they don’t feel like it.
3) What if they stop preparing when it seem too hard?

3. PREPARING FOR SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT
• Do you know that you and I are preparing for
something much more important than the
Olympics?
– And when we do our best, every one of us will
be winners!
– Everyone of us will receive something much
more precious than a gold medal!
• God wants to give us the most precious gift of all:
his love, his life and his friendship!
– Jesus came to show us how to prepare to be
winners
– How to be friends with God.
• We know that we will be happier in heaven, but
heaven can begin for us right now.
• How do we prepare for it?

4. PREPARING TO BE FRIEND WITH GOD
• Let me tell you a story of a boy: Watch and see if
he is preparing to be a winner of happiness and
friendship with God.
A. Boys and girls were walking to school;
– Tom saw a little boy to trip and fall and bust into tear.
– Tom thought, “He needs help. I am sure somebody
will help him.” and He walked by
B. As Tom was walking to his classroom, he saw an
older teacher carrying a lot of books.
– Tom thought, “I could help her, but last week she
scolded my in front of the whole class when I was
not paying attention. I am not going to help her
now”!
– He looked away and kept on walking.

5. PREPARING TO BE FRIEND WITH GOD
• During recess, he saw a boy sitting alone.
– Tom felt sorry for him and started to walks toward him,
– but then he thought, “He is new in our school, and no one
talks to him yet.
– I don’t have to be with him either. No one else is. What would
they say about?”
– He turned around and walked away.
• During lunch time, Tom saw a little first-grader cry because he
forgot to bring his lunch.
– Tom had two sandwiches.
– He thought, “I could give him one of mine because I have
plenty of candy, too.
– But I don’t have to. Let somebody else help him out.”

6. WAS TOM PREPARING TO BE FRIEND
OF JESUS?
• That night, before he went to sleep, Tom knelt by his bed and
said his prayer.
– Before he finished, he said; “Dear Jesus, I love you very much
and I want to be your friend, I don’t want to hurt you, and so I
didn’t do anything bad today.”
1. Was Tom preparing to be a winner? A friend of Jesus?
2. Did Tom do anything bad?
• Tom did not do anything “bad,”
• but he did nothing when he could have done something
good.

7. WHATEVER YOU DO TO ANYONE, YOU
DO IT TO JESUS.
• One day, Jesus said to people around him:
– “Whatever you do to anyone, even little, insignificant
people, you are doing it to me.”
• Whenever we could have done something good, but
instead we just walked by the person, we just walked
by Jesus!
• Jesus knew that whatever he did for any little and
insignificant child of God, he did it for God our Father!
• Can you think of some times, when Jesus could have
walked by someone who needed help, but instead he
stopped and helped?

8. JESUS HELPING EVERYONE.
1. One day, a blind man heard Jesus walk by with
his friends. The man yelled out to him for help.
– Do you think that Jesus just walked by him?
– NO! Jesus healed the man and gave him sight!
2. Jesus saw a man who could not walk. He needed
help.
– Jesus could have walked by, He was on his way to so
some good and to teach people.
– Do you think that Jesus looked away and walked
away? NO He healed the man!

9. JESUS HELPING EVERYONE
• When Jesus was teaching thousands of
people on a hillside,
• and they were getting hungry because
they did not have anything to eat,
• Would he just send them home? No!
– He had the power to miraculously
multiply the few loaves of bread and few
fish they had.
– Jesus gave plenty of food at everyone on
the hillside!

10. JESUS HELPING EVERYONE
• One day, Jesus saw that a woman was being stoned for her sins.
– He stopped the stoning and forgave her sins so she could live and
sin no more.
• What if Jesus had simply walked by, thinking that the woman
deserved the punishment?
• While Jesus, the Son of God, lived on earth, he showed us how to
be loving persons,
– how to be friends of God our Father,
– and how to prepare for the greatest prize, the happiness of heaven!
• IN MY THOUGHTS WORDS, WHAT I HAVE DONE, WHAT I HAVE
FAILED TO DO.

11. JESUS DOESN’T STOP DOING GOOD
• Sometimes, when we think of our sins, we only think of
something bad that have done,
• In the beginning of the Mass, when we ask God to forgive us,
• we ask him to forgive our sins
– “in my thoughts, in my words, what I have done, and what I have
failed to do.”
• God is love.
• When love is missing in our life, God is missing, and then we are
not happy.
• Remember Tom:
– do you think that his heart was happy when he kept walking by
people, whom he could have helped?
• Jesus does not stop loving us and doing good to us, even when
we do not deserve it.
– He gave us everything he had, he even gave his life for us.

12. LENT-SPRING
• We remember the great love of Jesus every day,
• but there is a special time of the year, when the whole
Church all over the world, recalls
– how Jesus loves us
– and how He helped on earth everyone He met.
• LENT SEASON: This special time of the year is during
the spring,
– it is about 6 weeks before Easter.
• A long time ago, the word “LENT” meant “SPRING”

13. LENT
• What is special about Spring?
• New life is all around us:
• tress have new buds, plants start
flowering.
• Birds make new nest for their young.
• It is a good time for us to start
something new, in our hearts and in
our lives!
• It is a good time to work more on
being winners!
• On being like Jesus! On being friends
of God!

14. SACRIFICE – MAKING HOLY OR PLEASING TO GOD
• Sometimes, this is not easy; then, we call it a “SACRIFICE”
• Do you know what that Sacrifice means?
– It is a Latin word, and it means “making holy” or very good, or
very pleasing to God.
• When we make a sacrifice, we give our thought, or word of
action to God.
• And then we are all winners!
1) What special prayers can we say during Lent to thank Jesus
forgiving his life for us?
2) What sacrifices can we make our of Love for Jesus?
3) What can we give to other during Lent? Help?
4) Encouragement? Kindness?

15. LENT SEASON
• LENT time beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending
on Good Friday
• Let us talk close our eyes for a minute and talk to Jesus
in our hearts:
• How will you prepare during Lent for the greatest prize.
Heaven!?
• With your thoughts? Your words? Your actions?
• some miracles of Jesus: eg.
• Blind Lk 18: 35-43
• Paralytic Mt 9:1-8
• Multiplication of Loves Jn 6:1-13
• Woman taken in adultery Jn 8:1-11