“It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ ”
“At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.”
Source: USCCB.Org “Mark, chapter 1:9-13”
Our Art Gallery
For Parents to Teach to Their Children
We have read about Moses and the Ten Commandments. In a letter to children by Rosemary Gortler and Donna Piscitelli,
authors of Living the 10 Commandments for Children, young readers learn:
“To live these commandments means that we sometimes have to resist temptation and do the right thing.
Temptation is that strong feeling to do something that is wrong.”
This week, we learn how Satan tries to tempt Jesus to do wrong. We see how Jesus uses the laws and Scripture given by God to rebuke and cast out Satan.
“One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Source: USCCB.org “Matthew, chapter 4:4B”
Learning About the Sacred Objects Used in the Mass
Our Art Gallery
The Book of the Gospels and the Roman Missal
Our Readings
“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
‘If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.’
He said in reply,
‘It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.’
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’
Jesus answered him,
‘Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, ‘All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.’
At this, Jesus said to him,
‘Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.’
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.”
A Reading for Children–An Excerpt from Jesus of Nazareth The Story of His Life Written for Children
“The Temptation” Pages 126-127
“If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” (Matt.4-3)
“But there are plenty of things, which, with a little thought, we can understand quite well in Holy Scripture, and God means us to learn from the Life of our Blessed Lord all we can. This wonderful fact of His conflict with the devil was for our sakes, to teach us how to meet temptation. Our enemy is stronger than we are, but he has been completely conquered by our Leader, and this gives us an immense advantage over him. For a foe that has been beaten again and again comes onto the field in a very different spirit from one who has never known defeat. We have to fight the same enemy who fled in terror at our Lord’s word “Begone!” And our Lord stands beside us always. He encourages us to use His own word: “Begone, Satan!” and promises us victory if we only ask Him for it and do our best. He has taught us by His own example that temptations are not sins; that we are not to be surprised or frightened when temptation comes; and even if it comes again and again and in different shapes we are to meet it calmly and patiently, trusting in His strength whose soldiers we are.”
Our Prayers 
The Saint Michael Prayer
By Pope Leo XIII 1884
“Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the Divine Power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
Source: OurCatholicPrayers.Com
We Celebrate with Music–“Onward Christian Soldiers”
From:”Bulletin Blurb” Hymnary.org
“The apostle Paul recognized the reality of spiritual warfare when he wrote, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12 ESV) It is important to recognize a distinction between spiritual warfare and physical, political warfare. The church universal should oppose war that is sought for human, political reasons, but it cannot avoid fighting evil in all its forms through the armor of God: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer (Ephesians 6:14-18).”
Text: Hymnary.org
1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
2 At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise! [Refrain]
3 Like a mighty army
moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
where the saints have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity. [Refrain]
4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro’ countless ages
men and angels sing. [Refrain]
Our Art Project–Jesus in the Wilderness
“At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.”
This collage requires two pieces of watercolor paper, a piece of sturdy poster paper that is larger than the two pieces of watercolor paper, watercolors, glue, scissors, and coarse salt. I painted an imaginary scene of the wilderness where Christ stayed for forty days and nights. I found a painting I wanted to use for inspiration and I tried to replicate it. The painting, “Bridge of Glory” is by Nicholas Roerich. Not surprisingly, mine looks nothing like his beautiful painting! No problem…I intended to cut it into strips for my collage. My second painting is something I thought younger children might enjoy–long bands of color that represent colors of the wilderness. While the paint is wet, sprinkle with coarse salt. Let dry, then shake excess salt off. I learned that “less is more” when sprinkling salt. Then, if your children are game for this, cut both paintings into strips. They can cut the paintings horizontally, vertically, or even on a diagonal. No measuring is needed. No perfection wanted! Lay the strips out to see how it looks. Then glue the strips down as wished, onto the sturdy and bigger paper. It looks pretty when some of the color of the big sheet of poster paper shows through. I cut out a cross from watercolor paper to indicate Jesus’ triumph over Satan. Your children might like to add angels and the devil to this scene. I just drew mine free-handed, painted Satan with markers, and glued the cut-outs onto the collage. The goal of this project is to remember Jesus’ forty day fast in the desert and the efforts of the devil, who fails to tempt Him, three times.
I had both of these salts in my kitchen. Any coarse salt will do. It makes a great effect when sprinkled onto wet watercolor paint.
Methods and Materials
Suggested Homework Activities–Week Twenty-Two
MagnifiKid!, March 1, 2020, First Sunday of Lent, Vol. 17, Part 4, Section 2, Page 12 suggests that students make a “Lenten notebook” to write down things they are learning about Jesus. Your child doesn’t need to make a notebook, you can buy an inexpensive one for this purpose; or re-purpose an existing one.
Here are some ideas from MagnifiKid that are easy to do:
For Family Discussion:
“Today you start on the path toward the rediscovery of your baptism. When you were baptized, your parents, speaking in your name, rejected evil. What does that mean?“
“We have to admit that some part of us makes it really easy to choose evil. We sometimes have to fight temptation in order to choose what is good. Sometimes we choose evil, which makes us and others unhappy. Our sinfulness is everything in us that pulls us away from God. Through our baptism, Christ pulls us out of the grasp of evil. He frees us to choose love, not sin.”
Writing Excercise:
“Open your Lenten notebook to page 2 and after “I reject” write the phrase: ‘Satan, sin, obedience and all evil.'”
Prayer:
“Make the sign of the cross and say this prayer:
‘Thank you, Lord, for facing
temptation in the desert.
You conquered evil for me
and for all people. Help
me always listen to your
word. Help me to love and obey you always.’”