St Vincent de Paul Primary School – Experiencing Lent

Experiencing Lent

Nicole, Year 6

Lent is the most important season in the Church’s year and it’s the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. It is a time when we do three things: pray, give and fast. We celebrate Lent remembering Jesus as he fasted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, without any food or drink. We then remember the Easter story from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper to Good Friday when Jesus died on the cross for our sins up to Easter, when a great miracle happened: Jesus rose from the dead.

During Lent, Catholics make promises, so we that we can become more like Christ and strengthen our friendship with God. Some people may want to give up things or to be more generous; this is called almsgiving. Many would want to pray more or go to Church more often during this important time.Lent to me means to become more like Jesus and start a fresh, new page; to change. This Lent, I want to pray more and go to Church more often, to hear the Good News and spread it, just like Jesus did himself.

At school, we also do many things to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter, such as: going to confession, so God can forgive our sins; our Ash Wednesday Service, when we receive ashes on our foreheads; the weekly Stations of the Cross assemblies (led by our Headteacher, Mr Scott Cree); our Lent topic in class during RE lessons, where we go deeper into the story of Easter; and finally, the Passion Play, performed by Year 5 children. We also help the Catholic Children’s Society (CCS) by getting money boxes from our teachers and raising money for children who are in need. It also shows how lucky and fortunate we are. Lent is a time of repentance, or forgiveness, so we can all learn to be generous and kind to one another and look forward to the most important feast of the Church’s year. The Stations of the Cross represent and show us Jesus’ journey up to the hill where he was crucified on Good Friday, which is one of the days in Holy Week, and one of the things we remember during Lent. At the end of this journey, the feast of Easter then occurs. This celebration is really joyful, as Jesus has risen from the dead to new life. We remember how the stone that

protected the tomb where Jesus was buried had been rolled away and how this was a miracle.

Lent and Easter are two times: Lent being a time of forgiveness and Easter being a time of great joy. As Catholics, we celebrate these times and turn over a new page, to have a brand new start, to be kind and caring towards all. This Lent, we will remember that God loves us and that we should always try to forgive people when they are unkind towards us. Lent means three things: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving; and also forgiveness, every year.