Time for a Change of Heart

Lent is a time when we prepare as a faith community;

to meet the risen Christ at Easter.

• It is a time for conversion, where we acknowledge and turn away from whatever keeps us from living the Gospel, a time to remind ourselves that we are called to lives rooted in right relationship with God and neighbor.

• As we prepare to meet Christ in his resurrected glory, we pray for a change of heart towards greater love of God and neighbor; we fast from self-indulgence and indifference to the poor and suffering; and finally, we share our food, our wealth and our time with others in need.

• Over these days, we have asked the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to act justly, the courage to love tenderly and the faith to walk humbly

with our God, so that we might rejoice in the triumph of God’s righteousness in Jesus.

“Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves

what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty.”

–Pope Francis

• As we began Lent we reflected on these words from Pope Francis.

• What has been your “self-denial”?

• Have you enriched the lives of others?

• Has your “self-denial” strengthened your relationship with God? With

others?

• Has your “self-denial” changed how you see the world? How you see your

role in the world?

• Let us begin our prayer in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

• Lord, as we draw near to the end of this holy season of Lent,

grant us a change of heart that we might turn away from sin

and follow your Son’s Gospel.

• We ask you to fill us with a hunger for what is just.

• By your grace, may our lives become more deeply rooted in

prayer, self-sacrifice and a willingness to share, in order that

your Reign of justice might more fully flourish in our hearts,

when we greet your risen Son at Easter.

• We ask you this, through Christ our Lord. Amen!

Read Aloud as a Class

• Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one that makes you the happiest to remember?

• Which is the one you would most like to undo?

• Jesus gave his life for us: Is there any person in the world, or any cause that, if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for?

• If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?

5 Minute Quiet Reflection

• What does the verse above mean to you?

• Restate this verse in your own words?

• Is there any suggestion in the verse that you should wait for

something to happen to you before you do good to others?

5 Minute Class Discussion

• Do I love the Lord above all things?

• How do I manifest and express my love of God & neighbor?

• Has my Lenten sacrifice helped me strengthen my love of

God & neighbor?5 Minute Quiet Reflection

• Father we thank You for the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who learned obedience through the things that He suffered, and in Whom we see the perfect example of a Man.

• We know that Jesus chose to willingly face intense suffering and persecutions in His life, so that by His sacrificial death on the cross, He might pay the ultimate price for us.

• Help us to learn the lessons of suffering that are so evident in the life of the Lord Jesus – Who was willing to suffer for the greater glory of God and for the benefit of so many others.

• Thank You for opening our eyes to the fact that suffering for righteousness sake may be difficult to bear in the short term, yet God in His grace and wisdom will use it for His glory and for our eternal benefit.

• May we be obedient and faithful in the things that we have to suffer for righteousness sake, and may we suffer in this life, for the sake of others.

• We ask all this through Christ Our Lord. Amen!Read Aloud as a Class; to be Followed by 30 sec. of Silence

• Gracious and forgiving God, you know what occupies our thoughts, what

longings stir in us. Give us the grace to give all these things into your hands.

Throughout the day and even the night, make us open to the ways you come

to us, sometimes with your blessing, at other times with needs that we might

meet. Let us meet you in each and every encounter with others.

• In this season of Lent, make us mindful of what matters most. May we

honor you, O God, and those that you cherish as we live out the minutes of

each day. When we stray, when we distance ourselves from you, from those

you love, do not depart from us, but stay by our side. For only in your

company do we find true life. Hear the prayers of our hearts,

• Hear the prayers we do not even have words for. Open us to your deep

caring and make us conduits of your love for others. open our eyes to see

you in the least, in the loved one, and even in the enemy.

• In you, is love that transcends all doubt. Give us such love. Amen!

Read Aloud as a Class