Season of Lnet

1. The Call to Conversion
and Purification
(Season of Lent)
Q4 Module 4

2. OBJECTIVES
Realize God’s
generosity and
love as one
commemorates
the Season of Lent
01
Exhibit willingness to
go to Confession and
perform acts of
sacrifice to
commemorate the
Season of Lent
02
Seek God’s help
in cultivating a
life that is pure
and holy here
03

3. The Father’s Dream
• When we sin, God our Father, waits for
us to come back to Him and He will
receive us back in His loving embrace.
• But to be reconciled with Him, we
need to turn our back from sin and
change our ways.
• Like the prodigal son, we need to go
back to Him, humbly admit our sins,
and be willing to make up for them.

4. THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
NOW
• Our world today offers us many
enticements that satisfy our longing for
power, wealth and popularity.
• Sometimes, we fall for these enticements
and we find ourselves deep into sin.
• Realizing that we have sinned, what do
we do?
• The poem below tells us what conversion
is about from a personal point of view.

5. Jesus Message
for Me
Acts 3:19-21

6. Jesus Message for
Me
Staying with Jesus helps us
fight against temptation,
but once we fall, what
should we do?
The words of Peter taken
from the Acts of the
Apostles tell us the right
course of action to show
that we want to change our
sinful ways.

7. Repent and Turn Back to God
◦Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins
may be wiped away, and that the Lord may grant you
times of refreshment and send you the Messiah
already appointed for you, Jesus whom heaven must
receive until the times of universal restoration of
which God spoke through the mouth of His holy
prophets from of old. (Acts 3:19-21)

8. The Church Teaches
Jesus’ Message
Conversion is an
invitation from God.
It is an invitation we
need to positively
respond to with
eagerness.
This is the essence of
the church teaching
that follows.

9. The Call to Conversion
◦ Christ’s call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of
Christians.
◦ This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole
Church who, “clasping sinners to her bosom, (is) at once holy and
always in need of purification, (and) follows constantly the path
of penance and renewal.”
◦ This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work.
◦ It is the movement of a “contrite heart,” drawn and moved by
grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first.”

11. Falling into sin is a
reality that all of us
face
• In our moments of weakness, we find
ourselves giving into temptation and falling
into sin.
• In cases when we realize that we have fallen
into sin, we may, like what is stated in the
poem, flee from our guilty conscience, but we
know that no matter how far we go, our guilt
will catch up on us.
• In the poem, the writer realized that s/he
could not run away from his/her conscience
forever, so he or she decided to cling to Christ.
• In the end, s/he realized that when he or she
is with Christ, he or she will be at peace.

12. The Process of
Conversion
• While it is true that with Christ we will find peace, we need to go
through the process of conversion before we can be reconciled with
Christ.
• The process of conversion involves a change of heart, a turning away
from sin, making up for what we have done, and promising to keep
away from sin.
• This process is described in the excerpt from the Acts of Apostles.
• Those who were listening to Peter’s proclamation about Jesus
were moved, thus they asked Him what they are supposed to do.
He told them that they have to turn away from sin in order to
enjoy the presence of Christ.

13. • This call to conversion still echoes today and it becomes more pronounced during the Season of Lent.
• This is the season that the Church prescribe as the season to observe penance and seriously think about conversion
to engage in works of piety and charity and to devote times of prayer and sacrifice through fasting and abstinence in
order to share faithfully in the passion and Death of Jesus Christ.

14. The Lenten Season begins
with Ash Wednesday.
• This day is observed by imposition of ash on the
forehead as a sign of penance and sorrow.
• It is desired that such act take place within the
Eucharistic celebration.
• The ritual of imposition of ash has its roots in the
Old Testament ritual of pouring ashes all over the
body and wearing sackcloth as expression of sorrow
for sins against God and neighbors.
• This act also reminds us of mortality , that is why we
are enjoined to repent for our sins even before the
time for our reckoning with God comes.
• Thus the priest or minister at the point of placing the
ash on the forehead mentions the words: Repent and
believe in the Gospel.”

15. The Pillars of Lent
The moment Lent starts, we are enjoined for forty days
to engage in
fasting,
abstinence,
and prayers
in preparation for the Passion, Death and Resurrection
of Jesus.
These acts are not mere external observances, they are
meant to show the faithful’s oneness with the Church in
commemorating Jesus’ fulfilment of His mission.

16. The season of Lent culminates in
the observance of Holy Week.
• The Sunday that ushers in the holy
week is called Passion or Palm
Sunday. This event recalls Jesus’
triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
• We observe this event by bringing
palm branches to the church and by
waving them as the priest enters the
church to begin the Holy Mass.
• The priest then says a prayer and
begins to bless the palms.

17. • The Palm Sunday celebration signals our journey into the most trying
moments of Jesus’ life-His Passion and Death.
• The commemoration of Jesus’ passion begins on Holy Thursday. This
day is special because it recalls Jesus’ last supper with His disciples-
an event that saw the institution of the Holy Eucharist and Holy
Orders.

18. Maundy Thursday
Liturgy
• The occasion is celebrated by the gathering of
priests in a Eucharistic celebration presided over
the bishop of the diocese.
• The priest renew their vows during this
celebration.
• In the afternoon, the Eucharist is held together
with the faithful.
• The symbolic act of washing of the feet of the
apostles is held during the Mass in
commemoration of Jesus’ act of washing of the
feet of the apostles.
• This ritual reminds us of Jesus’ message to all of
us, that is, our mission is one of service to the
least of our brothers and sisters.

19. •We also observe this day by visiting churches in
order to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. We
call this practice Visita Iglesia.

20. • Our oneness with the Passion and Death of Jesus reaches its culmination on Good Friday.
• No Mass is celebrated on this day but there is the so called Veneration of the Cross.
• The Cross is venerated because it is a sign that Jesus has conquered sin and death.
• On this day, we are enjoined to go on a fast and to go to Confession to show sorrow for our
sins, the resolve to change our ways, and the desire to be reconciled with God.

21. • There are rituals that accompany the
commemoration of Lent.
• Our faithful observance of these rituals signify
our sorrow for our sins.
• We undertake them because we believe that
they will express our commitment to tread the
path of conversion and renewal.
• More than the practice of having our foreheads
marked with ashes, the waving of palms, and the
Visita Iglesia, a meaningful celebration of Lent
entails devoting time for prayer, performing
works of piety and charity, and self-denial
through fasting and abstinence.

22. • These three acts that we observe
during Lent are not mere actions
because they pertain to our
relationship with God, with our
neighbor and with our self.
• Praying is relating with God. The
more we pray, the more we nurture
and deepen our relationship with
God.
• Works of charity speak of our care
and love for our neighbor
• while fasting and abstinence show
our sincere effort at purification
through acts of sacrifice.
• It entails penance and renewal
which we cannot attain simply
through our own human effort.
• It is only by gift of God’s grace that
we can truly and meaningfully go
through sincere penance for our
sins and renewal of our life in Christ.