What is Lent?

THE SEASON OF
LENT

Wednesday, March 6, 13

What is Lent?
• Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of
the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday)

• 40 days (#40 is a significant symbol in the Old and New
Testaments)

• Lent is a primary season of repentance for all Christians, reflecting
the forty days Jesus spent in the desert in fasting and prayer (540,
1095, 1438)." - Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary

• A season of penance, reflection and fasting which helps us
remember what Jesus did for us and prepares us for Christ’s
resurrection.


We Accompany Our Lord
on the Road to Calvary
• The Way of the Cross - Lent is a time to reﬂect, to walk with Jesus
on the road to Calvary and meditate on our own sinfulness which
has caused Jesus’ suffering.


What Catholics Do
Ash Wednesday

• Following the example of the Ninevites,
who did penance in sackcloth and
ashes (Jonah 3:5-10) who repented of
their sins led by their king to prevent
the disaster Jonah prophesied.

• Our foreheads are marked with ashes.
This is to humble our hearts and remind
us that life passes away on Earth.

• We remember this when we are told
"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust
you shall return."


• Distribution of Ashes - ashes are
made from the burning of palms
from the previous year’s Palm
Sunday. The priest blesses the
ashes and sprinkles them with
holy water.

• Fasting - Catholics over 18 and
younger than 60 are required to
fast. (1 complete meal + 2 small
ones only throughout the day)

• Abstinence - Catholics above 14
are required not to eat meat or
any food made of meat.


What Catholics Do
Palm Sunday (March 24, 2013) - On
Palm Sunday, we celebrate the ﬁrst joy of
the season; Sunday before Easter.
• We celebrate our Lord's triumphant
entrance into Jerusalem where he was
welcomed by crowds worshiping him
and laying down palm leaves before him.
He was welcomed as “King” and was a
courageous statement against the
Sanhedrin. Zechariah 9:9 “See, your
king comes to you, righteous and
victorious, lowly and riding on a
donkey...”
• It also marks the beginning of Holy
Week; a Holy Day of Obligation


What Catholics Do
Holy Thursday
(March 28, 2013)

• Last Supper of Jesus with His apostles
- a Passover Meal - Jesus is the lamb
that is sacriﬁced.

• Institution of 2 things:

(1) Sacrament of the Eucharist

(2) Sacerdotal Priesthood - priests as
ministers of the Holy Eucharist who
lead us in offering the Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus each Mass.


What Catholics Do
Good Friday
(March 29, 2013)
• We try to understand the cost of our
salvation-- how Jesus suffered and died
for us. (Way of the Cross, Adoration of
the Cross)
• Traditional Filipino custom of reading
the “Pasyon”. We also have prayers at
our parish with Veneration of the Cross.
• We unite ourselves to our Savior, and
think about how Jesus has put an end
to the reign of sin and evil on earth by
His Passion and Death on the cross.
• We think about dying to our SELVES. -
SELF DENIAL


What Catholics Do
Holy Saturday
(March 30, 2013)

• The ﬁnal day of Lent; Christians
remember the passion and death of
Jesus and prepare for His
resurrection.

• No Mass on Holy Saturday - Easter
Vigil Mass is technically part of
Easter Sunday.

• Holy Saturday (night) is called Easter
Vigil; marked by a dramatic Easter
vigil liturgy which has 4 parts:


a. Service of Light - Holy Water fonts
are drained, lights are out, the
tabernacle is empty. Service begins
outside the church. A Paschal Candle
is lit.

b. Liturgy of the Word - several Old
Testament readings and 2 New
Testament readings are read to help
us reﬂect on God’s wonderful works
for His people.

c. Liturgy of Baptism - Blessing of Water
and renewal of baptismal promises.

d. Liturgy of the Eucharist - Special
prayers are inserted in the Eucharistic
Prayer.


What Catholics Do
Easter Sunday
(March 31, 2013)
• The most important feast for Catholics.
Christmas comes second and is celebrated
in preparation for Easter.
• It is also the oldest feast of the Christian
Church, as old as Christianity, connecting
the Old and New Testaments.
• The Coming of the Kingdom - The
fulﬁllment of God’s promise of a Messiah, a
Savior.
• We remember the Resurrection of Christ,
the fulfullment and basis for our faith. St.
Paul wrote that, unless Christ rose from the
dead, our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians
15:17).

• New Life in Christ - People who are
converting to Catholicism traditionally
are baptized at the Easter Vigil service.
They have usually undergone a long
process of study and preparation
known as the Rite of Christian
Initiation for Adults (RCIA). Their
baptism is likened to Christ's own
Death and Resurrection, as they die to
sin and rise to new life in the Kingdom
of God.

• Holy Communion - This reception of
the Eucharist is a visible sign of our
faith and our participation in the
Kingdom of God.


LENT: A Season of Repentance

• Ash Wednesday: When the priest puts
the ash on our forehead making the
sign of the cross, he says “Repent and
believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1:15)

• What does it mean TO REPENT?
What is REPENTANCE?

• When people are asked to “repent”,
how do we usually react? Is it easy to
repent?


To Repent means...
• Repentance is seen as a threat to our way of life-- the life that we
are used to. It is something hard to do.

being sorry
remorse conversion
renewalcompunction
transformation
sadness over sin


Jesus forgives our sins.

Jesus Forgave the Paralytic
• Jesus forgave and healed the
paralytic: “They gathered in
such large numbers that there
was no room left, not even
outside the door, and he
preached the word to them.
3 Some men came, bringing
to him a paralyzed man,
carried by four of them...
they made an opening in the
roof above Jesus ... and then
lowered the mat the man was
lying on. When Jesus saw
their faith, he said to the
paralyzed man, “Son, your
sins are forgiven.” Mk 2:1-12

•

Jesus Teaches Us to Forgive

• Jesus preached “For if
you forgive men when
they sin against you,
your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.
But if you do not
forgive men their sins,
your Father will not
forgive your
sins” (Matthew
6:14-15).


Jesus Forgave Mary of Magdala
• Remember the story of
how Mary Magdalene
anointed Jesus’ feet with
perfume. Jesus said “For
this reason I say to you,
her sins, which are many,
have been forgiven, for
she loved much; but he
who is forgiven little,
loves little. Then He said
to her, "Your sins have
been forgiven."
Luke 7:47


Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
• Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.
When Peter asked Jesus how many
times we are to forgive, Jesus told
them the parable of the who after
having been forgiven by the Master
his debt, turned on another servant
who owed him money and sent him
to prison. The Master said to the
unmerciful servant ‘You wicked
servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that
debt of yours because you begged
me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had
mercy on your fellow servant just
as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his
master handed him over to the
jailers to be tortured, until he
should pay back all he owed.
• 35 “This is how my heavenly Father
will treat each of you unless you
forgive your brother or sister from
your heart.”

Father, Forgive Them...
• At Jesus cruciﬁxion, He
said “When they came
to the place called the
Skull, there they
cruciﬁed him, along
with the criminals—
one on his right, the
other on his left. Jesus
said, ‘Father, forgive
them, for they do not
know what they are
doing.’ Lk 23:34


The Five Sundays of
Lent: Journey Into
Repentance and
Forgiveness


1st Sunday of Lent: Temptation
• Gospel: Luke 4:1-13 Jesus was led by the Spirit
through the wilderness and was tempted there.
• TEMPTATION, Our human experience. We
always have this battle between good and evil in
ourselves. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the
dessert where He was tempted by the devil.
• 1st Temptation: Jesus fasted for 40 days and
nights and was very hungry. The devil said “If
you are the Son of God, tell these stones to
become loaves of bread." -- This was a
temptation to PRIDE and to PHYSICAL
COMFORT.
• Jesus answered: “Man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that
comes from the mouth of God.” -- What’s
more important than the physical is the spiritual.
(Our bodies die but our spirit is eternal. We are
nourished by the Word of God.)


• 2nd Temptation: The devil took Jesus to a high place and said "If you are the Son
of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his
angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will
not strike your foot against a stone.'" - Temptation to test God, daring God to do
something. This shows lack of obedience and respect to God. We cannot dictate
on God to do we want Him to do for us. (Remember the thief that was cruciﬁed
with Jesus?)

• Jesus answered: "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.'" - shows Jesus obedience, reverence and submissiveness to the
Father. TO SIN IS TO DISOBEY GOD!

• 3rd Temptation: Again the devil took Jesus to a high mountain overlooking the
great city and said "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and
worship me." - A LIE! TEMPTATIONS ARE LIES or deceptions that the devil tells
us to make us fall into sin. The devil is the father of all liars. This is also a
temptation to GREED.

• Jesus answered: "Away from me, satan! For it is written: 'Worship the
Lord your God, and serve him only.'"


2nd Sunday of Lent: Transﬁguration

• Gospel: Luke 9:28-36 The
TRANSFIGURATION of Jesus. Jesus
took Peter, James and John to pray on a
mountain and there His apostles
witnessed His face and clothing
changed, and the apperance of Moses
and Elijah.
• Jesus showed His disciples His true
nature as the Son of God to strengthen
them for the coming passion and death
of Jesus on the cross. The
transﬁguration gives hope.


• If the 1st Sunday of Lent talked about the constant
battle between good and evil within ourselves (our
human experience), the 2nd Sunday of Lent talks
about the journey of man towards God. It is the
story of our salvation.
• OT Journey to God - Israelites were saved from
slavery to Egypt by God. The Exodus talks about
their journey with God and towards God.
• NT Journey to God - Jesus on the road to
Calvary where He was to be cruciﬁed - story of
our salvation; Jesus dying on the cross to save
us from our sins.
• My Journey to God - Jesus said "If anyone
would come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew
16:24
• How are we transﬁgured? As we journey towards
God, God transforms us, changes us, makes us
more like Jesus. Remember that Jesus said “Be
holy as your Father in heaven is holy.”


3rd Sunday of Lent: Repent or Perish
• Gospel: Luke 13: 1-9 Jesus said:
Repent or Perish (To perish means to
die)
• Jesus told the Parable of the Fig Tree:
“A man had a fig tree, planted in his
vineyard, and he went to look for fruit
on it, but did not find any. 7So he said
to the man who took care of the
vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been
coming to look for fruit on this fig tree
and haven’t found any. Cut it down!
Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’
the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one
more year, and I’ll dig around it and
fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year,
fine! If not, then cut it down.’” - Who is
the gardener?

• God is always portrayed
as a merciful God. But
He is also a just God.
Jesus told many parables
to stress the importance of
turning away from sin and
becoming obedient to the
laws of God.
Parable of the Sheep and the Goats - ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the
world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed
clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and
you came to visit me.’....
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into
the eternal ﬁre prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you
gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a
stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I
was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’


Parable of the10 Virgins - Ten virgins took
their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and
ﬁve were wise. The foolish ones took their
lamps but did not take any oil with them.
The wise ones, however, took oil in jars
along with their lamps. The bridegroom was
a long time in coming, and they all became
drowsy and fell asleep.
When the bridegroom came, the 5 wise
virgins were allowed to go in with him to the
banquet but the foolish virgins were left out.
What does this mean?
Don’t get caught unprepared. We do not
know the hour when our life ends and we
have to meet our Creator.


4th Sunday of Lent: God Forgives
• Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Highlights the
FORGIVENESS OF GOD which is greater than
any sin. We only need to come back to our
Lord, confess our sin and stop committing
these sins.
• Parable of the Prodigal Son tells the story of a
Father’s forgiveness for his son who demanded
his inheritance and wasted it away. Verse 18 “I
will set out and go back to my father and say
to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven
and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to
be called your son; make me like one of your
hired servants.’ The Father welcomed him
back with open arms and had a party for his
return. The other son, the good brother, got
angry but the Father said “you are always with
me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we
had to celebrate and be glad, because this
brother of yours was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.’”

• Parable of the Lost Sheep.
Luke 15:4-7 More rejoicing in
heaven over a sinner who
repents? “Suppose one of you has a
hundred sheep and loses one of
them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-
nine in the open country and go
after the lost sheep until he ﬁnds it?
5 And when he ﬁnds it, he joyfully
puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes
home. Then he calls his friends and
neighbors together and says,
‘Rejoice with me; I have found my
lost sheep.’7 I tell you that in the
same way there will be more
rejoicing in heaven over one sinner
who repents than over ninety-nine Each of us is precious to God.
righteous persons who do not need
to repent.”


5th Sunday of Lent: Forgiving Others
• Gospel: John 8:1-11 The Adulterous
Woman. Jesus taught by example the
value of forgiving others.
• Jesus said to the mad crowd “Let any
one of you who is without sin be the
ﬁrst to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again
he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.” - SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
• Then Jesus asked the woman “Woman,
where are they? Has no one
condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she
said. “Then neither do I condemn
you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and Go and sin no more.
leave your life of sin.”


• Mary Magdalene anointed
Jesus’ feet with perfumed oil
which was expensive. What
does this tell about Mary
Magdalene? -
COMPUNCTION OF THE
HEART
• Luke 7:47 "For this reason I say
to you, her sins, which are
many, have been forgiven, for
she loved much; but he who is
forgiven little, loves little."


WHAT WE HAVE BEEN
DISOBEDIENT, PROUD, VAIN, ENVIOUS,
LUSTFUL, GREEDY, INDIFFERENT, SELFISH

Recognizing our sinfulness
- Sins of Commission -
disobedience to the
commandments of God in
the OT and to the teachings
of Jesus.
- Sins of Omission - The
good we did not do (You did
not feed me, clothe me, visit
me in prison, etc.)


Realizing
Our faithlessness, disobedience,
selﬁshness

and Encountering
God’s love and forgiveness
(which we do not deserve)

Leads to
CONVERSION

Pope Benedict XVI said...

"Being Christian is not the result of
an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the
encounter with an event, a
person, which gives life a new
horizon and a decisive direction.”

- Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (1) 2006


What is Lent?

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