Opening Prayer – Fourth Sunday of Lent
Open our eyes…
Open our ears…
Open our hearts…
So we may see, hear and feel You in the scriptures.

Journal/Reflection Questions
1Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
• Consider the next big decision you need to make. Try to think of the situation through God’s eyes. What would Jesus do? Is there a story in the Bible which can help you see how God sees the situation?
• Have you ever questioned how God handled something? What can we learn from Samuel’s doubt of God choosing David to be King about our own doubt?

Ephesians 5:8-14
• Saint Paul says to “live as children of light”, how can you do this?
• Do you see Christ’s light in the world today?

John 9:1-41
• The Blind Man is thrown out of the synagogue for defending Jesus, have you ever been thrown out because of your belief? What caused this division? How did you react? Was it resolved?
• Reflect on how Jesus used clay to cover the blind man’s eyes and heal them. What in your life has Jesus covered with clay or mud in order for you to transform?

General Questions for Journaling
• Compare and contrast King David from the first reading and the Blind Man in the Gospel. What qualities do you admire and wish to emulate?
• Have you ever felt God call you to do something you felt was too big or too much for you to handle? What did you do?
• Are there areas of darkness in the world? What light do you see in the darkness? What can you do to be light in this darkness?
• Jesus is healer; do you think those who suffer have a deeper connection to Jesus because of their desire to be healed? Explain.
• Have you experienced blindness in a situation before? What was the situation? How did you know you were blind? What changed in the situation so you could see?
• Are there areas in our lives which we choose to be “blind”?

Closing Prayer – words by Jesse Manibusan from the song “Open My Eyes”
Leader: Open my eyes Lord,
ALL: Help me to see your face.
Leader: Open my ears Lord,
ALL: Help me to hear your voice.
Leader: Open my heart Lord,
ALL: Help me to love like you.

Challenge for the Week: At the Ash Wednesday service, when Catholics receive the ashes on their foreheads, the priest or layperson says, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” OR they say, “Turn away from sin and be true to the Gospel”. In either case, we are called to conversion during Lent. How are you doing keeping your Lenten sacrifices? Has the fasting, prayer and almsgiving began to change you in a positive way? What do you need to do in order to be able to make it through these final weeks of Lent? What obstacles do you face? Use these words, heard on Ash Wednesday as a mantra to help you get through these challenging final days of Lent.

Opening Prayer – Third Sunday of Lent
Father,
You put a thirst in us that only You can quench.
You lead us through rocky and desert places
to a wellspring with the water of life.
May the Word we read today satisfy our desire
and fill us with Your Spirit so we may overflow!

Journal/Reflection Questions
Exodus 17:3-7
• Can you relate to this feeling of thirst? Have you ever been “dying of thirst”? How does this translate into ones spiritual life?
• Why was Moses afraid? When have you felt like Moses? Where was God? How did God help you?

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
• An agreement made between two people requires each side to give something. God gave us His Son, Jesus gave us His life and the Holy Spirit gave us the Bible. What are you being called to give?
• Where do you see the Holy Spirit working in your life? What does it look like? Feel like? How do you know it is the Holy Spirit?

John 4:5-42
• What does Jesus ask for and then offer in return? Imagine Jesus asking you the same thing. How might you respond, how have you already responded? What has He asked for in return, what do you give?
• Define “living water”.

General Questions for Journaling
• The Trinity is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. How do you relate to each part of the Trinity?
• Do you thirst for things in your life? Take time to be honest with yourself and reflect on things you thirst for each day. Are these things life giving or do they drain life from you?
• What do you think the woman at the well was feeling when Jesus told her all of the things of her past. How would it make you feel if a stranger did the same to you? How does it feel to know Jesus does know your past?
• Put yourself in the Gospel story as one of the villagers. How would you react when the woman came back to share what had just happened at the well? Would you believe her? Would the encounter change how you felt about her?
• The woman at the well shows how humans long to be loved and Jesus is the only one who can give the everlasting love humans desire. What do you desire? Are there things in your life you cannot live without?
• When you are in the desert and look out into the horizon, you can see a mirage, an image of water in the distance. Use this image to describe an experience in your life. What was your desert experience? What was your mirage?
• How does the story of the woman at the well, help give you encouragement to continue to work on your Lenten sacrifices?

Closing Prayer
Rain down your love, oh Lord
Rain down your peace.
Rain down your mercy, oh Lord
Rain down your compassion.
Rain down your grace, oh Lord
You are our living water!

Challenge for the Week: Consider all of the ways we use water every day. It is one of life’s necessities. As Americans, we often take for granted how much we use water. We use water when we flush the toilet, take a shower, brush our teeth all just to get “ready” in the morning. Water is needed to brew coffee or tea and to prepare or cook our food. If you have ever had to turn off the water to your house or gone camping in a primitive spot then you might begin to be able to understand what was like for the Israelites. Despite all of our advances, there are still people in the world who live without clean water to drink, cook or wash. It is also important to drink plenty of water for our bodies to run better because water for our bodies is like oil for our car. The challenge this week is to be more aware of the water we use and why we use it. Say a prayer of thanksgiving each time you use water, pray for those who don’t have clean water, ask God to help you trust in him to provide for you just like you rely on the water to come out of your faucet. Also try to drink the recommended amount of water and pray each time you go to fill up your cup. At first, drinking so much water will cause extra trips to the bathroom to use more water, but then our bodies adjust; but the extra water equates to more time spent in prayer and perhaps we will adjust to having Christ with us more often too!

Opening Prayer – Second Sunday of Lent
Let our words and actions become a blessing to others.
Let our burdens be lightened through your grace.
And may we find your light shining, even in the dark places.
May we turn to you, O God, to be our example for life.

Journal/Reflection Questions
Genesis 12:1-4a
• Would you respond in the same way as Abraham to God’s request?
• How are you a “blessing” to others? How can you be more of a “blessing” to others?

2Timothy 1:8b-10
• What does Paul say about the hardships expected for those who follow Christ? What does he say of joy?
• Are there burdens you carry because of you are a Christian?

Matthew 17:1-9
• On a scale from 1-10, how well do you think you listen to God?
• “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” was spoken to Jesus at His baptism too, what are the similarities in these two passages? Why would God say the same thing again? What significance does it hold?

General Questions for Journaling
• How is God calling you out of your comfort zone?
• Are there limits to what you will do for God? On where you will go? How does this affect your relationship with Him?
• How can you be Christ to another person? Plan to be intentional with your words and actions when interacting with others for an entire day.
• If it is God’s grace that has saving power, how do you experience it in your life?
• Have you heard God speak to you? When was it? Where were you? What did you do when you heard it? Who did you share the experience with?

Closing Prayer
Leader: Let our attitude be Christ’s.
ALL: May we recognize the life-giving power in our love for others.
Leader: Let our attitude be Christ’s.
ALL: May we transform our lives to reveal your purpose for us.
Leader: Let our attitude be Christ’s.
ALL: May we bless all people, even those with whom we have conflicts.
Leader: Let our attitude be Christ’s.
ALL: May we be able to recognize God working in our lives.
Leader: Let our attitude be Christ’s. May our love give life.
ALL: AMEN!

Challenge for the Week: Jesus is clothed in dazzling white, He is transfigured. For what events in our lives do we wear white? How are we changed through those experiences? What can we do to be more committed to living out our baptismal call and transform into the person God calls us to be? Furthermore, our sin brings darkness to our lives; are there habits that we can eliminate from our lives so we can shine brighter? Make a commitment to change a habit, which causes you to sin into something which gives God glory and makes His light shine!

Opening Prayer – First Sunday of Lent
Heavenly Father,
You give us the breath of life,
You created us from nothing,
You sent your Son to die for our sins,
You love us above all things.
Oh, how grateful we are for all these gifts
Let us show our gratitude.

Journal/Reflection Questions
Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7
• How is your relationship with God? How is it different than the way God intended it to be?
• What do you try to hide from God? What do you hide from others?

Romans 5:12-19
• Paul says we should be grateful for the sin of Adam. Why do you think he says this? What do you think?
• Is there a difference between sinning against God and sinning against our neighbor?

Matthew 4:1-11
• Jesus fights the devil in the desert, how can you draw strength from this reading in your struggles?
• Where do you feel the Spirit moving you in your life right now? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to follow?

General Questions for Journaling
• The gift of freewill gets humans into a lot of trouble. Is there a time when you knew the will of God but you ignored it like Adam and Eve?
• Why do you think God gave humans free will but not the other creatures?
• If God didn’t give humans free will, what do you think the world would be like?
• How do you hide your sinfulness from others? Are you honest with yourself about your faults and failings?
• Do you celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation regularly? The precepts of the Catholic Church say a person should receive the sacrament at least once a year. If not, what is keeping you from receiving God’s grace through this sacrament of healing?
• Sometimes when a person fails, they become discouraged and give up because the weight of sin can be paralyzing. What can you do to help you remember that Jesus already bore your sins? How can you free yourself or others from the burden of sin?
• Describe a time when you felt you were in the desert. Describe a time when you felt you were in the wilderness. How did those experiences similar? Differ? Where was God in these experiences?

Closing Prayer
Leader: One cannot live on bread alone;
ALL: Lord, you give us your flesh and blood.
Leader: One cannot serve two masters;
ALL: Lord, it is YOU I choose to serve.
Leader: One cannot honor any before God;
ALL: Lord, YOU are above all things in my life.
Leader: When we are faced with temptations and trials;
ALL: May we turn to YOU for strength to overcome!

Challenge for the Week: Jesus is faced with some great challenges in the Gospel this week. How do we fair when faced with these same challenges? Here are some thoughts on fasting, almsgiving and prayer…
Whether we are Catholic and bound by fasting or abstaining regulations of Lent or whether we are on a diet or trying to eat healthier, we are tempted by food like Jesus was by the devil in the desert. When we don’t care for the needs of others or don’t make time for God daily lives, our actions say we honor ourselves more than our neighbor or God. If we do things just for the praise of others or to be acknowledged for doing something good, then we are not giving God the glory He deserves for giving you the free will to choose to do the right thing. We are tempted each day…can we be strong like Jesus?