4th Sunday Advent Cycle B
Welcome children to their worship space.
Ask them to get their carpet squares and sit down in a circle.
Introduce yourself and your helpers.
Introduce
Say: Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent. Can someone tell me about the next time we come to Mass? Which feast will we celebrate? <discuss the Christmas plans at your church>
Ask: What was the symbol for last week? <scallop shell> We talked about Isaiah and John the Baptist and how we are all waiting for Jesus to come.
Introduce symbol
Say: This is the symbol for this week (hold up the symbol), This is a special word - YES!. Both Isaiah and John the Baptist said YES! to God. Today we are going to talk about another special person who said YES! to God.
Say: Let’s look at the poster. What does it say? <God is king of all the earth!> This is our Responsorial Psalm for today. The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.
Introduce readings
We have two readings today.
Say: Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Word of God.
Say: The first reading today is taken from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans (Romans 16:25-27). St. Paul wrote his letters to the people in the early church after Jesus’ death and resurrection. They had no telephones or email so he wrote all these letters that are part of our Bible today. His letters are not only for those people long ago. They are for us too! St. Paul reminds us about the prophets who wrote about the coming of the King. And he reminds us how lucky we are that Jesus came to us and made all the prophecies come true.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Say: What is different about what St Paul writes and what Isaiah wrote? <St Paul wrote to us about Jesus after he was recognized as the Messiah. Isaiah wrote about the coming of the Messiah>
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
God is king of all the earth!
Say: Today’s Gospel reading is taken from the book of Luke (Luke 1:26-38). Today’s Gospel reading is a story we have all heard. It is about a young girl who did something very special for God. She trusted God so much that when God asked her to do something very hard, she said YES! to God. Let’s hear the story and see if you can hear who this girl was and what she did.
Say: Now we will get ready to hear the Gospel
(hold up card) Alleluia, Alleluia.
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Ask: Who was the girl? <Mary> What did she do? <agreed to be Jesus’ mother> Do you think it was hard for Mary to say YES! to God? Why or why not?
Ask: Does God ever ask you to do anything hard? <maybe like obeying parents, being nice to someone we don’t like or going to church> Do you think you can try to be like Mary and say YES! with a smile on your face even when you aren’t sure about it?
Hand out the poster cut-outs (exclamation point) for the children to put their names on. Collect them to glue on the poster when they are finished.
Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is the word YES!). Ask the older children to write one thing they can do this week to say YES! To God.
Explain: Color this symbol of the word YES! and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show that we have learned about Mary and how she did what God asked her to do.
If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.
Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.
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| Use this small graphic for the community poster |
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| Use this graphic for the medium banner symbol and the large Offertory gift |
Parent Letter
4th Sunday Advent B
Dear parents,
Today your children heard a simplified version of the same readings that you heard: Romans 16:26-27, Luke 1:26-38
Symbol: YES!
To reinforce at home:
We have spent the last several weeks talking about the waiting that we (and the world) experience before the coming of Christ. By celebrating the birthday of Jesus, we share in a small way the joy that we will experience when Christ comes again at the end of the world.
Today we talked about Mary, the very special person who said YES! To God even though she probably had no idea how things would turn out. We talked about times that God wants us to do the right thing and how difficult it is sometimes to be like Mary and say YES!
Activities to do at home:
*Discuss with your child ways that you know what God wants you to do and how to say YES! with a smile on your face.
*Christmas is almost here! Take some time together to pray for the people who bring Jesus into your lives.
*Find out the schedule at your church. Make plans to attend your church programs and services during the Christmas season.
Thank you for sharing your children!
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