Children&#039;s Liturgy of the Word 3.6.22

March 6, 2022 - March 14, 2022

A reading from the Gospel of Luke 4:1-13

Jesus walked through the desert for forty days praying and getting closer to God. There he was tempted by the devil to make sad choices and sin. Jesus did not eat anything during that time. And, at the end, he was hungry.

So, the devil said to him, “If you’re really God’s son turn this stone into a piece of bread.” Jesus would not do it eventhough he was hungry because he loved God and didn't want to do what the devil wanted.

Then the devil told Jesus that he would make him the most powerful and richest ruler of all the world if he would just worship him. Jesus said, “You will worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.” Jesus still wouldn't do what the devil wanted.

Then the devil took Jesus to the top of the church and told him to throw himself off the top because the God will have the angels save him. Jesus replied, “Don’t challenge the Lord your God.” He didn't do what the devil wanted.

With that the devil was finished tempting Jesus and trying to get Jesus to follow him, he left him. Jesus did not sin or make sad choices.

This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Today is the first Sunday of Lent (40 days before Easter) which means that we should be trying our best to get closer to God. How can we do this? Yes, by doing things for God like praying, coming to mass, serving others, asking for forgiveness, and showing our love for others. We started Lent on Ash Wednesday when we had mass and a cross of ashes was placed on everyone's head. Today is day 5 of Lent.

Today we heard a story that helps us know Jesus even better. Does you know what temptation means? Sometimes we want something like a birthday present or special dessert, or to go somewhere fun and we must wait for these things until we get permission from our parents. That strong feeling of wanting something or wanting to do something very badly is called temptation. It is so tempting to just go ahead and open the present or eat those delicious brownies, isn’t it??? (response) Temptation itself is not a sin (sad choice) but it is what we do when we are tempted that matters. If you just took the present or dessert without asking Dad or Mom would that be, okay? (response) No, then that would be a sad choice, wouldn’t it? Taking things without permission is a sad choice. We have talked about the word “sin” before. When we sin, we are making a sad choice and we do not want to do this, right? God wants us to always try to make happy choices. Temptation is sometimes hard to control especially if you can not have what you want, right? (response) But what can we do if we feel “temptation?” Jesus taught us today as he is tempted but does not sin (or make a sad choice) that God does not want us to do that either because he loves us.

Did you all hear all 3 times that Jesus was tempted and had to make choices? First, He could turn stones into bread, and he was very hungry after fasting without food for 40 days. Second, he could be the most powerful and richest ruler of the world if he worshiped the devil. Third, he could jump off the church and ask God to have the angels save him. In other words, the devil wanted Jesus to do three things that would take Jesus away from his Father God. To all three, Jesus said, "NO!" His love for God was more important.

Do you think that God wants us to make happy choices that lead us closer to him and not sad choices that make us sin? Yes, of course. God wants us to live happy lives where we make happy choices that bring us closer to him. Last week we talked about our church being God’s fruitful orchard that produces good fruit and spreads it to everyone. We make God so happy when we spread love and kindness to everyone we know. We should always try to grow closer to God every day.

Questions for the week:
1) How long did Jesus stay in the desert and why was he there? (40 days-Jesus was there fasting and praying to God)
2) What did the devil want Jesus to do to the stones? (Turn them into bread)
3) What did the devil promise Jesus if he worshipped him? (That he would be the richest and the most powerful ruler in the world)
4) Did Jesus make sad choices (sin) and do any of the things that the devil asked him to do? (No, Jesus did not sin)
5) Why or why not? (Jesus did not sin because his love for God was more important)
6) How can we make good and happy choices? (Sharing, praying, loving, caring, sharing)

Challenge for the week: Continue with JAM (Jesus and Me) and let’s ask ourselves, what would Jesus do? each time when we must make choices in our life because we all want to make the happy choice.

COLORING PAGE

Lenten Cross Countdown
by Catholic Mom