•
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.

•
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.

• Discipline of lessening the food we eat to ‘TAME” the body so that we can concentrate on higher/more spiritual things.
• Voluntarily or freely giving up something good as a form of penance (pagsisisi sa kasalanan)
• 40 days of Lent is the season of penance in preparation for the coming resurrection of the Lord.
• These are acts of Repentance , the turning away from sin and turning back to God.
• Bible Reference: Christ Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed (Lk. 5:35).
• Church Practice Reference: 1983 Code of Canon Law;
Canons 1250 to 1253

• Fast on Ash
Wednesday (1 st day of
Lent)
• Fast on Good Friday
(Holy Week) – the day of the Lord ’s crucifixion
• Abstain from meat on
Ash Wednesday
• Abstain from meat on all Fridays of Lent
• OK: Fish and seafood
• For people ages 18-59
• NOT ALLOWED: Pork,
Beef, Chicken, Lamb and all other meats.
• Allowed: 1 full meal in a day plus 2 small snacks not equal to a full meal.
• For people ages 14-59

• The color ‘purple’ or ‘violet’
• Color of repentance and penitence
(pagsisisi), purification and preparation – our penitence for our sins
• Also symbolizes royalty of the King who came for the salvation of all.

• The number 40 – symbol that we often see in the
Bible:
• 40 days of Lent
• 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert/wilderness, fasting, where he triumphed over the devil
• 40 days that Jesus stayed with His disciples after His resurrection before He ascended to heaven
• 40 years traveled by the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land
• 40 days of the great flood of Noah
• 40 days of Moses with God at Mt. Sinai
• 40 is a Biblical symbol meaning a period of preparation for receiving God ’s grace or action

• The number 40 – symbol that we often see in the
Bible:
• 40 days of Lent
• 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert/wilderness, fasting, where he triumphed over the devil
• 40 days that Jesus stayed with His disciples after His resurrection before He ascended to heaven
• 40 years traveled by the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land
• 40 days of the great flood of Noah
• 40 days of Moses with God at Mt. Sinai
• 40 is a Biblical symbol meaning a period of preparation for receiving God ’s grace or action

• Ash Wednesday (March 1) -
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 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."

• Palm Sunday (April 9, 2017) - 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.
• Holy Day of Obligation

• 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.

• 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 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
• FASTING AND ABSTINENCE!

• Easter Sunday (March 31, 2013)
• The most important feast for
Catholics. Christmas comes second and is celebrated in preparation for Easter.
• We remember God ’s sacrifice of
His Son for our sins-- the Lamb of
God.
• We remember the Resurrection of
Christ, the basis for our faith.
• It is also the oldest feast of the
Christian Church, as old as
Christianity, connecting the Old and New Testaments. - The fulfillment of God ’s promise of a
Messiah, a Savior.

• 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?

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

• 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 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).

• 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.
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.
”

• 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

• 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.'"

• 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.
”

• 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.
7 So 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. 9 If 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.

• 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 ninetynine 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 righteous persons who do not need to repent.
”

• 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 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."

•
• - Sins of Commission disobedience to the commandments of God in the OT and to the teachings of Jesus.
• - Sins of Omission - tThe good we did not do (You did not feed me, clothe me, visit me in prison, etc.)
• - Jesus asked Peter “Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.
”
• - mocking God/blasphemy, trusting in our false idols, selfishness, anger, envy, malice, greed, disobedience to the teachings of the Church Christ founded.