Welcome St John the Baptist Family!

Our Catholic Faith

Pre-K and Kindergarten

January 28, 2026

Parents,

At your baptism you were given the gift of faith. At your child’s baptism he or she was given the gift of faith. The gift of the Catholic faith has been passed down for generations and generations. We can and should nurture this gift given to us by God, and we should nurture the gift of faith given to our children by raising them to know, love, and serve the Lord. As parents, it is our right and duty to teach our children the Catholic faith.

Once per month, the online lesson will consist of a different element of our faith; it could be a Catholic tradition, a fact about our faith, from the Bible, from our Catholic Catechism, or a Catholic belief. All lessons will expand on that topic so that you will enjoy the beauty and richness of our Catholic faith

Opening Prayer

Loving God,
as we begin this Lenten season,
help us slow down and make room for You in our hearts.

Teach us to be more loving, more patient, and more forgiving.
Give us the courage to let go of habits that pull us away from You
and the strength to choose what is good, even when it’s hard.

May this Lent help us grow closer to Jesus
and become the people You created us to be.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Meaning of Lent

We will be talking about the Lenten season and what our faith and traditions are as Catholics.

The Shroud of Turin has unexplainable markings of a whipped, crucified man on it. It is generally believed to be the burial shroud of Jesus. See www.shroud.com for more details.

Understanding Lent

Parents:

This is a short lesson to read to your child. You may add additional information as you read.

Matthew 4:1-11.

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

“Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike Your foot against a stone.”

“Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’

“Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give You,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’

“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”’

“Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.”

Ask students, How many of you have heard of Lent?

What is Lent?

Lent is the 40 days before Easter, and it starts with Ash Wednesday.

Have any of you heard of someone giving something up for Lent? What kinds of things have you heard of?

Other times, instead of giving something up for Lent, people will try to do something good every day for Lent.

They either give something up for the 40 days of Lent, or they try to add something that they’re doing for the 40 days of Lent.

Why do you think people do that?

When people give something up or add something, it reminds them of the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert. Jesus fasted – He didn’t eat – for 40 days. So, people give something up or add something for 40 days to be like Jesus.

And do you know why Jesus fasted for 40 days?

Jesus was using that time to get ready to start teaching people. He was focusing on God so that when those 40 days were over, He would be ready to start doing what God wanted Him to do.

And that’s why we celebrate Lent too. We do something special during Lent, like giving something up or adding something good to our day to show that we’re getting ready to be used more fully by God. We’re focusing on God for those 40 days so that we can better learn to do what He wants us to do.

Maybe you can think about something God wants you to do or not do this Lent.

Activity

Make a copy of the Good Deeds Chart.

The chart shows the image of a large, colorless stained glass window with empty spaces. Each time your child performs a Good Deed, he or she colors a space on the chart. When Easter finally arrives, the completed chart shows a bright range of color that represents all of their Lenten acts of love.

A Good Deed is not a chore. It is an extra responsibility you take on. Making your own bed, cleaning up your own toys, and other daily household/classroom duties do not count as Good Deeds because they are things you are supposed to be doing every day. In contrast, making your parents bed, cleaning up a sibling’s toys for them, and helping a parent clean up after dinner is a Good Deed because you are helping someone else to accomplish their job.
We never lie about Good Deeds. Some students just love to color in the chart and can’t wait to fill it up. So they will quickly color five spaces on the chart, but can’t describe what they did to help someone else before they colored the spaces. Explain that each time a space is colored, it is like a prayer that let’s God know how hard we’ve been trying to be kind to others.

Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross are a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth as a man. The 14 devotions, or stations, focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. The stations are commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to station. At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on a specific event from Christ's last day. Specific prayers are recited, then the individual moves to the next station until all 14 are complete.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church prays the stations of the Cross during Lent on the following Fridays:

February 27, March 6, March 13, and March 27.

We hope you and your family make time to pray and devote this special time with Jesus.

In our Easter celebrations we use many symbols such as butterflies, eggs, and rabbits. Can you explain why these are good symbols of the resurrection of Jesus? Perhaps you can think of other symbols for Easter.

We hope this lesson will prepare you for a prayerful Lenten season.

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