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This Sunday is the First Sunday of Lent. Lent is a good time to sharpen our tools, finetune our focus, and consider how well we are living out our Baptism. It is a time to reflect, repent, and prepare our hearts to experience the full joy and celebration of Easter. Our Lenten efforts to fast, pray, and give are ones we can do with increased vigor during Lent in preparation for continuing them through the rest of the year.
Consider downloading and using this Lenten calendar and other Lenten resources from the USCCB.
Good and gracious God, help our Lenten efforts prepare our hearts for the great celebration of Easter. May our fasting and sacrifices make more room in our lives so we will be better able to pursue you and your goodness. Help us to pursue you like never before so that we can celebrate you like never before. Amen.
Every week in the GROW newsletter, you will find helpful tips for teaching your Gospel Weeklies lesson, a reflection on the Sunday Gospel, and links to many online resources.
Videos of the Sunday Gospel (Luke 4:1–13)
Use these videos as you discuss the Sunday Gospel. Please preview all videos you plan to share with your class:
Holy Heroes
My Journey: Jesus Is Tempted
The Temptation of Jesus
Seeds
Lesson Theme: Jesus chooses to serve God.
For this lesson, you will need a Church Year calendar, scissors, tape, and paper clips. For the activity on pages 2–3, we suggest that you prepare a sample in advance. It is also a good idea to have an aide to assist the children with the cutting and gluing activity.
Sunday’s Gospel is about Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the desert. Yes, we refer to the Devil because the Devil is real, but we encourage you to focus the children’s attention on the choice Jesus made to follow God and trust God. Encourage the children to pray for God’s help when they are tempted to make unloving choices (sin).
Encourage parents to decide on a way their family can share with others during Lent. You could give them a list of several Catholic organizations sponsored by your parish or diocese that they could support.
NOTE: The instructions for the activity “We make good choices during Lent” on page TG3–35 ask the children to find the girl in the green circle on the cover of their Seeds lesson. This is a mistake. The circle around the girl on the cover of the Seeds lesson is yellow.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
Weekly Gospel Video and Saint of the Week
Bible Bag Gospel Lesson with Mrs. Cole
Promise
Lesson Theme: Jesus chooses to follow God.
For this lesson, you’ll need markers, crayons, poster board, scissors, a Church Year calendar, and a story coloring page (one per child) for the “Jack’s Oops Day” story. We suggest that you prepare a sample of the page 2 activity in advance.
Sunday’s Gospel is about Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the desert. Yes, we refer to the Devil because the Devil is real, but we encourage you to focus the children’s attention on the choice Jesus made to follow God and trust God. Encourage the children to pray for God’s help when they are tempted to make unloving choices (sin).
This is our first Lenten lesson. In addition to the lesson theme that’s drawn from the Sunday Gospel, there are several activities that will help the children learn both about what Lent is and ways they can choose to have a meaningful Lent.
Find the answer to the page 1 activity here.
The gifts of God in Creation on pages 2–3 of the booklet are A-apple, B-butterfly, C-cat, D-dog, E-eggs, F-flowers and frog, G-girl and grass, H-horse and heron, I-iguana and ivy, J-(blue) jay, K-kitten, L-llama, M-mushroom, N-nest, O-owl, P-pig, Q-quail, R-rain and rabbit, S-squirrel and sun, T-turtle, U-umbrella, V-vegetables, W-water and worm, X-in the fence, Y-yellow shirt, Z-zebra on the girl’s shirt. Direct the children who finish more quickly to find a gift for every letter of the alphabet, not just for the letters in their names.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Lesson Assessment
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
Weekly Gospel Video and Saint of the Week
Bible Bag Gospel Lesson with Mrs. Cole
Good News
Lesson Theme: God gives us strength.
Supplies you’ll want to prepare for this lesson are 2 x 3-inch pieces of red and green paper (one of each per child), a world map or globe, pencils, crayons, and a Church Year calendar.
Sunday’s Gospel is about Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the desert. Yes, we refer to the Devil because the Devil is real, but we encourage you to focus the children’s attention on the fact that God’s love is stronger than the Devil. Encourage the children to pray “Holy Spirit, help me!” when they are tempted to sin.
This is our first Lenten lesson. In addition to the lesson theme that’s drawn from the Sunday Gospel, there are several activities that will help the children learn both about what Lent is and ways they can make this Lent a meaningful preparation for Easter.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Lesson Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Venture
Lesson Theme: Jesus faces temptation.
Direct the students’ attention to the violet bar on the cover of the lesson; we have moved to a new season in the Liturgical Year—Lent. Reserve this Venture lesson throughout Lent so that you may refer to the prayer prompts on the cover as part of your gathering ritual each week.
Make sure to reserve ample time to discuss the children’s Lenten commitments. Use the activity on page 5 to help them identify sacrifices that are realistic and meaningful. Discuss how the commitments they make during Lent don’t have to end after forty days; they can lead to better ongoing habits.
The children will need scissors to cut out their My Lenten Commitment cards. This week’s lesson begins a five-week series on the Lord’s Prayer. By the end of Lent, the children will have a deeper understanding of its keywords and petitions.
NOTE: On page TG3-34 in the Venture Teaching Guide, the text for the Connecting Gospel and Doctrine section (page 4 in the student lesson) should appear as follows:
How Do We Avoid Temptation? (page 4) In this lesson, the children will begin a five-week study of the Lord’s Prayer. One of its seven petitions is “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Read and discuss the doctrine.
Discuss the Think questions on page 4. Answers: 1. Open-ended. Making sure that we are regularly reminded of our promises and being around people who support our good choices. 2. Jesus relies on the Scriptures to give him strength against the Devil’s temptation. Being prepared to deal with temptation is a good way to avoid getting caught up in it. For example, if a child is trying to cut back on excessive gaming, unplugging a gaming system or planning another activity could help.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Lesson Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
The Meaning of the Lord’s Prayer
The Our Father Explained
Visions
Lesson Theme: Jesus pledges his faith to his Father.
Ask the young people why they think the Church reads this story about Jesus’ temptation in the desert this Sunday? Jesus was human like us and, like us, he faced real temptations. How do we avoid sin, even at our weakest moments? Review the GodTalk question on page 8 together, and encourage the class to answer this question for themselves: What temptations do you face?
Remind the young people that Lent is a time to make commitments that will lead us closer to God. One way is through prayer. Ask them to consider how and when they pray and the ways they would like to enhance or improve their regular prayer practice. Ask: What keeps you from prayer? Is it being too busy, having too much “noise” in your life, or even a lack of confidence? What could help you to overcome these obstacles to prayer?
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Lesson Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
Daily Examen
Into the Examen
Image credit: Corinne SIMON/CIRIC
