SIGNS OF LENT Daily Lenten Reflections for Young Catholics Dina Strong 1
SIGNS OF LENT Take a look out the window. Can you see any signs on your street? Is there a street number on a neighbor s door? Have you noticed that the days are getting a little bit longer a sign of spring? If you re at the movies, how do you know which door is the one you use to get back outside? Every day, we see all kinds of signs. We learn what each sign means, too: Stop! or Pizza! In Lent, we learn to follow Jesus more closely. One way we can do that is by learning to read the signs of Lent. Each day we ll take a look at a sign we know in a brand new way. We ll stop, look and listen. Then we ll follow the signs, as we follow Jesus through the days of Lent. Dina Strong 2
ASH WEDNESDAY SIGN 1 Return to me with your whole heart. Joel 2:12 Lent is here. Long before Jesus was even born, people put ashes on their head when they were sorry for something they had done wrong. In Lent, we turn to God and say, We want to do better. We put ashes on our head to remember we all make mistakes. We all fall short of God s dream for us. LOOK OUT FOR something to change in your life. What one mistake of yours could you make better this week? THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY SIGN 2 What sign will there be? Mark 13:4 you re at the zoo! How do you know you re at the zoo? The sign tells you so! How do you know you re in Lent? The signs tell you so! In Lent, we try to spend more time in prayer. We choose one thing to give up maybe chewing gum or pizza. We share the money we save by giving it to the poor. We hear more Bible stories. We look for ways to follow Jesus more closely. 3
LOOK OUT FOR the signs of Lent in your life. What could you do to show that you want to grow up a little this Lent? FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY SIGN 3 Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 slow down! In Lent, we slow down. We take time to be with God. We take time to think about how much God loves us. We take time to thank God for all the good things in our life. Thank you, God, for people who love us. Thank you, God, for good food to eat. Thank you, God, for a brand new day every morning. LOOK OUT FOR ways to slow down this week and thank God. SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY SIGN 4 We shall also reign with him. 2 Timothy 2:12 a king is on his way! Long ago, the color purple was used only by rich and powerful people especially kings! The Church uses purple during Lent to teach us. When we see purple, we see the color of 4
a king. Jesus is our king. When we see purple, we see a dark color that can feel sad. Some of the story of Jesus our king is sad, too. King Jesus died on a cross. But God gave Jesus new life, and God will give you life forever, too. LOOK OUT FOR the color purple in your church. Think of the life that God gave to King Jesus. Know that God will give you new life, too. FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT SIGN 5 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert. Matthew 4:1 This way to Wilderness! Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. The wilderness was a lonely place, full of wild beasts. We know Jesus was hungry and thirsty. Maybe he was tired, too. Maybe he was scared. But Jesus also found quiet. He found time alone to think. He found time alone to pray and be with God. When Jesus came out of the wilderness, he knew what God wanted. He was ready to give his life to God and to God s people. God? LOOK OUT FOR...a way to go apart, even for a few minutes. Can you be quiet with yourself? Can you be quiet with 5
MONDAY FIRSTWEEK SIGN 6 Because he himself was tested he is able to help those who are being tested. Hebrews 2:18 STOP! Sometimes we have to stop what we are doing. Maybe we re so mad we want to hit our brother. Maybe we like candy so much we re ready to steal it. Maybe we skip doing our fair chores, and other people have to do them. Jesus knows just how we feel. He was tempted just like us. He can give us the help we need to STOP when we need to. LOOK OUT FOR something you want to stop doing this week. Ask Jesus to help you. TUESDAY FIRST WEEK SIGN 7 We are God s co-workers. I Corinthians 3:9 come to work! Jesus came to do God s work. He didn t want to do that work all by himself. He asked friends to help. He wants you to help, too! When you care for others, you do God s work. When you tell someone about God s love, you do 6
God s work. When you pitch in to help someone get a chore done, you do God s work. Just like Jesus! LOOK OUT FOR a way to do God s work this week. WEDNESDAY FIRST WEEK SIGN 8 Sell what you have and give to the poor. Matthew 19:21 leave your stuff outside! We get ready for school by packing our backpacks. Homework? Yes! Gym clothes? Yes! Snack? Yes! Sometimes we have to put down even good things to go where we want. Jesus asked a rich young man to put down his money and follow Jesus. What do we have to put down to do God s work? We have to put down our anger if we want to spread God s peace. We have to put down our greed if we want to share with God s poor. LOOK OUT FOR something to put down this week. Maybe you can let one quarrel stop. Maybe you can give one part of your money to someone who needs it more. 7
THURSDAY FIRST WEEK SIGN 9 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. John 6:35 good food here! People love to eat together. Maybe that s why Jesus fed thousands of people with bread! Then he told them, I am the true bread. If you eat this bread you will live forever. Every Sunday we remember the good food that Jesus brings us. We hear God s word. We share God s good bread. Jesus promises us, You will live forever. LOOK OUT FOR good food that God gives you, at home and at church. FRIDAY FIRST WEEK SIGN 10 There is a boy here who has five barley loaves. John 6:9 time for lunch! Before Jesus fed 5,000 people, he asked for a bit of food. A child said, Have mine! He gave Jesus five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took the loaves and fish. Jesus gave thanks to God for this bit of food. Jesus broke the bread and shared it with the crowd. Five thousand people had enough to eat! And it 8
all started with the gift of a child. LOOK OUT FOR...a way to share with others today. How about sharing a bit of food? How about sharing a bit of time? SATURDAY FIRST WEEK SIGN 11 Why spend your money for what fails to satisfy? Isaiah 55:2 spend your money! Sometimes we want something so much we spend all our money on it. We think it will make us happy. A week later we ve forgotten that new toy. Now we want something else. Meanwhile, the things that make us happiest are free! We don t buy people to love us. We don t buy air to breathe or water to drink. LOOK OUT FOR the good things in your life that you don t have to buy. Thank God for that all those good things. 9
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT SIGN 12 This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. Mark 9:7 take a hike! Jesus traveled on foot a long way to do his work. He traveled to the country to feed people. He traveled to the cities to teach people. He hiked to towns where he was known. He hiked to towns where he was a stranger. One day he hiked up the side of a mountain, taking with him his friends Peter, James and John.There God changed him. His friends looked and Jesus was shining like the sun! And what did God want his friends to do? Listen to my beloved Son, said God. LOOK OUT FOR one way you can listen to Jesus today. MONDAY SECOND WEEK SIGN 13 Put away the old self of your former way of life. Ephesians 4:22 going out of business! Lent is a time we think about what parts of our life we want to put out of business. Maybe we wish we d count to 10 before getting mad and yelling. Maybe we re tired of blowing our whole allowance 10
the day we get it. Maybe we want to stop getting into the same ol fight with the same ol kid at school. LOOK OUT FOR one thing you do that you want to put out of business. Ask God to help you close those doors! TUESDAY SECOND WEEK SIGN 14 Stand fast with your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:17 put on your shoes! Restaurants say you ve got to put your shoes on to eat there. The Bible tells us to put our shoes on, too but these shoes are different from your sneakers! These shoes are readiness for the gospel of peace. Let s break that down. Readiness means we re ready to go. The gospel is good news. The Bible tells us to be ready all the time to spread the good news of peace. LOOK OUT FOR one way to make peace this week. This can be as easy as bringing someone tired a cold glass of water. This can be as hard as saying, I m sorry, when we do something wrong. 11
WEDNESDAY SECOND WEEK SIGN 15 Happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. Matthew 5:12 happy, happy! What do TV ads say makes people happy? Candy! French fries! Meals that are big, Bigger, BIGGEST! A new CD! A new car! What does Jesus say makes us happy or blessed? Putting others first. Making time for God. Making peace with each other. LOOK OUT FOR signs of real happiness in your life. How can you make peace this week? THURSDAY SECOND WEEK SIGN 16 Jesus said, Look out and beware. Matthew 16:6 watch out! Some things don t make us happy at all. It doesn t really make us happy to tell mean stories about each other. It doesn t really make us happy to take more than our fair share. It doesn t really make us happy to stay mad at people. God wants us to be truly happy. Jesus shows us how: be kind, be fair, and be ready to forgive. LOOK OUT FOR ways to be truly happy this week. 12
FRIDAY SECOND WEEK SIGN 17 The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 Watch out! Curves ahead! Some days we wake up feeling happy and good. Today we re going to have the best day ever, we think. But at breakfast someone snaps at us. We step outside and it s raining, not sunny. We can t find a friend to play with at recess. This is turning into a bad day! Life has curves that we don t know are coming. What can we do on a bad-curve day? We can find a friend or family member to listen to us. We can read a good book or listen to a song we like. We can kick a ball around until we feel better. Even on a tough day, we can find a way to make it better. LOOK OUT FOR something that doesn t go your way this week. How can you make your own day better? SATURDAY SECOND WEEK SIGN 18 Knock and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:9 ask to come in! The friends of Jesus asked him, Teach us to pray. Jesus taught them the words of the Our Father. 13
Jesus taught them that God wants to give all people good things. But most of all, Jesus taught his friends that all they had to do was knock and the door of God s love would open right up! God loves us.when we turn to God in prayer, God hears us. God knows what is best for us. God will be with us always. LOOK OUT FOR a time to turn to God in prayer this week. Knock on God s door! THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT SIGN 19 Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. John 4:7 something cool to drink! On a hot day nothing feels so good as taking a big, slurpy drink of something cold. Jesus was that hot and tired and thirsty one day. He asked a woman at a well to give him something to drink. At first she wouldn t. Your people and mine don t like each other, she said. But Jesus teased back saying, If you knew who I was, you would have asked me for a drink! Because whoever drinks what I have to give will never be thirsty again. The woman believed him. She told her friends about him, and they believed him, too. LOOK OUT FOR one way that God gives you just what you need. 14
MONDAY THIRD WEEK SIGN 20 Master you have the words of eternal life. John 6:68 Jesus is our teacher. Do you think everyone welcomed Jesus? Do you think everyone wanted to hear what he had to say? Some people got angry when Jesus tried to teach them. Some people made fun of him. Some people said, This is too hard. They walked away from Jesus. Jesus asked his friends, Do you want to leave, too? Peter answered for all of them. Who else would we go to? he asked. Jesus, you are our teacher. You have the words of life. LOOK OUT FOR a way to come closer to our teacher, Jesus. Ask a parent or adult to read to you about prayer in Luke 10:1-10. TUESDAY THIRD WEEK SIGN 21 Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep. Luke 15:6 God is like a good shepherd. Jesus wanted his friends to know about God s love, so he told them three stories. This is the first story he told. A shepherd had 100 sheep. Ninety-nine of them were safe! But one was 15
lost. The shepherd left behind those 99 sheep and went in search of the one who was lost. When he found it, he brought it home. He asked everyone he knew to celebrate with him! The one that was lost was found. LOOK OUT FOR signs of God s love in your life. Ask a parent or grown-up to read you the story in Luke 15:1-7. WEDNESDAY THIRD WEEK SIGN 22 Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost. Luke 15:9 God is like a careful woman. Jesus wanted his friends to know about God s love, so he told them three stories. This is the second story he told. Once there was a woman who had 10 silver coins. Nine of them were safe! But one was lost. The woman took a broom and swept her house, from top to bottom. At last, she found the one coin that was lost. When she found it, she asked everyone she knew to celebrate! The one that was lost was found. LOOK OUT FOR signs of God s love in your life. Ask a parent or grown-up to read you the story in Luke 15:8-10. 16
THURSDAY THIRD WEEK SIGN 23 He was lost and has been found. Luke 15:24 God is like a loving father. Jesus wanted his friends to know about God s love, so he told them three stories. This is the third story he told. Once there was a young man who got bored at home. The young man took his money and went far away. He wasted all his money on parties and foolishness. When it was gone, he was hungry. He took a job feeding pigs, but he didn t have enough to eat. He decided to go home and ask his father for work and food. But his father ran down the road to him and hugged him. The father asked everyone he knew to celebrate! The one who was lost was found. LOOK OUT FOR signs of God s love in your life. Ask a parent to read you the story in Luke 15:11-24. FRIDAY THIRD WEEK SIGN 24 This is the way; walk in it. Isaiah 30:21 go this way! Jesus came to show us the way. In fact, Jesus says he is the way! When we think about how to live, we can look at Jesus and see the answers. Jesus feeds the hungry. 17
Jesus protects the children. Jesus walks with the poor. Jesus forgives those who do wrong. Jesus teaches those who want to do right. Jesus comes close to God in prayer. Jesus comes close to God s people every day. LOOK OUT FOR a new way that you can walk in the way of Jesus. Will you go this way or that way? SATURDAY THIRD WEEK SIGN 25 To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news. Luke 4:43 find another place! Jesus didn t stop moving. He didn t just settle down in a place where the people welcomed him, and liked what he had to say. Even when he had healed a great crowd of people, he told his friends, I must keep going. He traveled throughout his country telling people the good news of God s new world. He even went to places where he knew he wouldn t be welcome. Jesus never moving because there were always more people who needed to hear good news. LOOK OUT FOR signs of God s love on the move! Ask a family member to tell you about ways God s work is done around the world. 18
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT SIGN 26 Blessed are your eyes because they see. Matthew 13:16 take a good look! Jesus looked at the world in a way no one ever had before. No one has ever seen it the same way since! Jesus looked at the world with God s eyes. He saw all the people in it as sons and daughters of God. He saw every human being with eyes of love. He knew just what each one needed to draw closer to God. LOOK OUT FOR a new way to look at others. Can you see the person God loves in every person s face?ask Jesus to help you, too. MONDAY FOURTH WEEK SIGN 27 Go and do likewise. Luke 10:37 time to start! We can t wait until it s time for the movie! First we have to get our tickets. Maybe we stop for some popcorn. The previews might look good. But then it s time for the real thing: the movie we came to see. Jesus says that every day of our life we can pay attention to the real thing. What s the real thing for Jesus? God s love for everyone in the whole world. Best of 19
all, we don t just have to sit and watch: we get to be in the greatest story ourselves! LOOK OUT FOR one way you can act out God s love today. Lights! Camera! ACTION! TUESDAY FOURTH WEEK SIGN 28 It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. Romans 13:11 time to wake up! What time do you wake up? Do you jump out of bed, ready to go? Do you crawl out a little more slowly? Do you try to snooze for just one more minute? Whatever you do, every day you wake up and begin again.the Bible, too, says it s time for us to wake up! What does that mean? We re already out of bed! But the Bible says that real waking up means loving God and loving God s people. LOOK OUT FOR a way to wake up today! How can you wake up to God? How can you wake up to other people? WEDNESDAY FOURTH WEEK SIGN 29 I am going to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 you ve found the right house! 20
Have you ever been lost? Maybe you got worried about how to find the way home. Maybe you asked someone for help. Maybe you told them your address. Jesus tells us not to worry about finding our way to God s home. Jesus tells us that he is the way to God s home. Jesus tells us, too, that God s home has all the room anyone could ever need. LOOK OUT FOR a way to follow Jesus. Ask a parent or grown-up, What s one way that you use to follow Jesus? THURSDAY FOURTH WEEK SIGN 30 The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest. Isaiah 11:7 is this road safe??? Imagine a world where bears and cows could be neighbors. Imagine a world where babies could play with poisonous snakes. Imagine a world the a wolf could be the guest of a lamb. That s the world the Bible promises us. Someday even the scariest animals will be at peace. Someday even human beings will be at peace. LOOK OUT FOR new ways to imagine a world at peace. Ask a parent or grown-up to read aloud to you Isaiah 6-9. 21
FRIDAY FOURTH WEEK SIGN 31 To you I raise my eyes, to you enthroned in heaven. Psalm 123:1 going up! The writer of the psalm imagines God and heaven as up above. We don t mean up on the roof! We don t mean up on the moon! We don t mean even as far up as the stars in the sky. We mean God is far above anything we can see or imagine, even if we could travel to the end of the universe. God s love is greater than our love. God s kindness is bigger than our kindness. LOOK OUT FOR your own way to praise God. How could you finish this prayer sentence: God, I look to you because SATURDAY FOURTH WEEK SIGN 32 I came down from heaven to do the will of the one who sent me. John 6:38 going down! If God is so great, how can human beings know anything about God? God wants to be known. God sent us teachers to tell us how to follow God s ways. God sent us writers to write down stories about God. God sent us Jesus so that we could see everything God would say or do when God walked the earth as a human 22
being. Jesus says, I come down from heaven to do just what God wants. LOOK OUT FOR ways to know God better. Ask a parent or other grown-up, How do you learn more about God? FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT SIGN 33 There shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain. Luke 11:9 no more room for you! Jesus always made room for people, but not for bad times! When he saw sick people, he healed them. When he saw hungry people, he fed them.when he saw children whom grownups were trying to boss around, he took them into his arms. When Jesus comes again, he will take away the bad times of sickness, bullying, hunger even death. Meanwhile we help get the world ready for Jesus by doing what we can to get rid of bad times, too. LOOK OUT FOR a way to help someone who has bad times. Can you listen to someone sad? Can you help someone tired? 23
MONDAY FIFTH WEEK SIGN 34 Justice shall be the band around his waist. Isaiah 11:5 buckle up! What does Jesus put around his waist? In Isaiah 11, we read that justice and faithfulness go around the waist of the one sent by God. Justice means being fair. We all want people to be fair to us, but we have to be fair to others, too. Faithfulness means people can count on you. Jesus was faithful to God, and people could count on Jesus to do the right thing. LOOK OUT FOR a way to buckle up! When is God asking you to be fair to someone else? Who is counting on you to do the right thing? TUESDAY FIFTH WEEK SIGN 35 What I say to you, I say to all: Watch! Mark 13:37 Wait. Look. Listen. Jesus promises us that he will come to us. Even now if you re sad or scared or lonely, you can turn to Jesus any time. Wait: stop worrying. Look: look at the faces of those who love you, or at a picture of Jesus that you love. Listen: you don t have to say much. Jesus knows how you feel. You can say his name, Jesus, 24
and listen to what you hear even if what you hear is silence. LOOK OUT FOR a time to stop worrying, look at Jesus and listen. WEDNESDAY FIFTH WEEK SIGN 36 Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19 find Christians here! The first Christians often used the sign of a fish to show who they were. That s because so many stories about Jesus involved fish or fishing. The first people Jesus asked to help him do God s work were fishermen. When his friends couldn t catch any fish, Jesus told them just where to cast their nets. They caught more fish than they had ever seen before! When Jesus rose to new life, he came to his friends while they were fishing. LOOK OUT FOR a good fish story! Ask a parent or other grown-up to read to you John 21:1-14 THURSDAY FIFTH WEEK SIGN 37 Who is my neighbor? Luke 10:29 find a good neighbor here. 25
Jesus taught, Love God. Love your neighbor. One man asked, Who is my neighbor? Jesus said, Once robbers beat up a man. Some people passed him by. One person stopped to help. Who was a neighbor to that man? The one who stopped to help. Go and be a neighbor, too! LOOK OUT FOR a way to be a good neighbor at school this week. Who needs your help? FRIDAY FIFTH WEEK SIGN 38 If God so loved us, we also must love one another. 1 John 4:11 some people want to leave others out! Some signs keep some people out. That s not God s way. God sent Jesus to all people, because God loves all people. God wants us all to share together the good things in life. God s love is for people of every age, every color, every country, every language. God s love is for everyone girls and boyz! LOOK OUT FOR someone who might feel left out. Can you find a way to share with them? 26
SATURDAY FIFTH WEEK SIGN 39 Prepare the way of the Lord. Matthew 3:3 it s almost time for Easter! We get ready for holidays.we might shop for special food to share. We might send cards to friends or family members. We might buy Easter candy or dye eggs in a rainbow of colors. The most important way we get ready for Easter, though, is to open our hearts to God and to God s people. LOOK OUT FOR one way to open your heart this week. This can be as easy as bringing someone working a glass of cold water. This can be as hard as saying, I m sorry, when we do something wrong. PASSION SUNDAY SIGN 40 Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Mark 11:9 hosanna, Lord! The word hosanna means Save us now! We sing hosanna this Sunday. We remember Jesus this Sunday. We remember how he rode a simple donkey into Jerusalem the very last week of his life. We remember how the people cried, Hosanna! Save us now, God! God said yes to their prayer. God sent Jesus to save all people now. 27
LOOK OUT FOR ways to remember Jesus this week. Ask someone to read with you Mark 11:1-10 maybe your parent, a grandparent or another grown-up. MONDAY IN PASSION WEEK SIGN 41 A poor widow also came and put in two small coins. Mark 12:42 a poor woman gives everything. Jesus and his disciples watch as a poor woman comes with money for the poor. Rich people put money in the box, too lots of money! Jesus says, She has put in more. She has put in everything she has. Soon Jesus will give everything he has, even his life, for the sake of all people. LOOK OUT FOR ways to give this week. How can you share with God s poor? TUESDAY IN PASSION WEEK SIGN 42 Where I am, there also will my servant be. John 12:26 This sign means new life for all. When Jesus was in the last days of his life, he told his friends Andrew and Philip good news: the time had come for God to give him glory. That is, the time had come for Jesus to enter 28
new life. The way would be hard! Jesus would suffer and die on the cross. But Jesus told his friends that it was like a seed going into the ground. It wouldn t stay a seed, but grow into a new plant that had many seeds. Jesus said that when he died, he would come to a new life that would give life to many. LOOK OUT FOR a way to celebrate Jesus new life. Put some seeds into dirt even the seeds of an orange! Keep the dirt moist. Watch for new life. WEDNESDAY IN PASSION WEEK SIGN 43 As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. John 13:34 This sign means love one another. Imagine you are going away for a tough journey. You won t see your friends or family for a long time.what are the last things you d want to say to them? What would you especially want them to remember? When Jesus shared his last meal with his friends, he told them something he wanted them to remember forever. He said, I m giving you a new teaching: love one another. Love one another in just the same way that I have loved you. LOOK OUT FOR the most important words you have ever heard from Jesus. When you think of Jesus teaching, what do you remember most? 29
HOLY THURSDAY SIGN 44 He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet. John 13:5 serve one another. On the night before he died, Jesus took a towel and wrapped it around himself. That s what servants did in Jesus day! He knelt in front of each of his friends, just as a servant would. He washed the dirt and dust from their feet, just as a servant would. He dried their feet carefully, just as a servant would. He said, This is how I serve you. You serve, too. If you love me, be servants just as I am your servant. LOOK OUT FOR a way to serve with love this week. Who needs your love and help? GOOD FRIDAY SIGN 45 He emptied himself becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:7-8 the cross is a sign of God s love. When we look at the cross, we might feel sad or puzzled or scared. Why does Jesus die on a cross? Doesn t God want good things for Jesus? We all 30
love good food, good-looking clothes, good times with our friends. Jesus loved these good things, too. But Jesus loved God and God s people most of all. He chose to give up even the best gift of all, human life, to give all people a way to come closer to God. LOOK OUT FOR a cross that you can see. Tell Jesus what you feel. Know that Jesus loves you no matter what you feel or say. HOLY SATURDAY SIGN 46 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb. Matthew 27:61 Wait! On Holy Saturday, the Church waits. We remember the life of Jesus. We remember the death of Jesus. We remember Jesus resting in the tomb. And we wait: we wait for the great day of Easter. We wait to light the new fire at the Easter vigil. We wait to rejoice again in Jesus new life. We wait to sing out for the first time in weeks the great alleluias that remind us: he is not dead. He is risen. He lives forever with God. LOOK OUT FOR signs that Easter is almost here. 31
EASTER SUNDAY SIGN 47 The Lord has truly been raised! Luke 24:34 Alleluia! Christ is risen! All the signs of Lent show us the way to the biggest event of human history. Jesus is risen from the dead. In Jesus, we see how much God loves us. In Jesus new life, we see the new life God wants for each and every one of us. This day is so full of joy for the Church that we celebrate it for 50 days. From now until the Day of Pentecost, we sing and say, Alleluia! Christ is risen! LOOK OUT FOR ways to celebrate the greatest feast of the Christian year. Can you and your family think up a way to celebrate Easter every day this week? Signs of Lent was written by Dina Strong for All Saints Press. 2010 All Saints Press, PO Box 190825, St. Louis MO 63119. AllSaintsPress.com. Illustrations by Bill Vann Printed in the USA. 01-313 32