31st Sunday Ordinary Time B

Children’s Liturgy Instructions

            Thirty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time   CycleB

Welcome children to their worship space.

Ask them to get their carpet squares and sit down in a circle.

Introduce yourself and your helpers.

Ask children to add their names to the cutouts (      ) provided.  Remind the children that we are making a poster for each Sunday and that they will sign a cutout and glue it on when they are here .

Introduce

Explain: Today is the Thirty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Ask:  Does anyone remember what our symbol was for last Sunday? (  musical notes )  And what did it mean?  <it stood for praising God for all the good things he does for us!>

Explain:  Last week, the Gospel told us about a blind man that Jesus cured.  He was very pleased and told everyone how wonderful Jesus was.  The musical notes remind us that singing is a great way to praise God.

Introduce symbol

Say:  Today’s readings are about the laws God gave us to live by.  Our symbol <hold up symbol - two hearts > represents the most important law..

Ask:  Does anyone remember the name of the laws that were given to us by God in the Old Testament?  <Commandments>  Which Old Testament prophet did God give them to?  <Moses>

Ask:  Today’s poster, which comes straight from the Gospel, says  <Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength>  What could that mean to us? 

Say:  In the Gospel today, Jesus talks about the most important Commandment.  Let’s see if we can understand what that is.

Introduce readings

We have three readings today.

Say:  Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Words of God.

Say: Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament, the book of Deuteronomy. (Deuteronomy 6:2-6)  It tells about the prophet who received the Commandments.  What is another word for Commandments?  <rules, laws>  In this reading, Moses tells the Israelites about God’s laws.  He tells them what will happen if they follow all of God’s Commandments.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask:  What did you hear Moses tell the Israelites?  What do you think this might mean to us today?

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

I love you, Lord, my strength.

Say:  The second reading is from the letter to the Hebrews.  (Heb 7:26)  This reading is a very short part of the letter to the Hebrews and reminds us how important Jesus is.

Have the reader read the second reading.

Say:  Now we’ll have the Gospel reading.  The Gospel selection today is from the book of Mark. (Mark 12:28-31).  When you hear the Gospel, remember that He brought a whole lot of new ideas to the people of his time.  Do you remember what religion many of the people he spoke with belonged to?  It was the religion that Jesus himself belonged to.  <Judaism>  The Jewish faith is our own tradition, too.  The Old Testament in our Bible is the Jewish Scripture.

So Jesus spent a lot of his time trying to teach the religious leaders about the new ideas about faith.  Many of the religious leaders asked Jesus questions, trying to understand new ways of looking at the important ideas about God’s laws.  And in this reading, they wanted to know what the most important commandment was.  Listen to what Jesus had to say.

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.....”

All respond:  Lord, let your Word be in my mind <make cross on forehead>, on my lips <make cross on lips>, and in my heart <make cross on heart>

Read:  Read the Gospel

Ask:  What did Jesus say was most important? <love>  He spoke of two kinds of love, didn’t he?  Who are we supposed to love?  <God and everyone>  How did he say to love others?  <as much as we love ourselves>  What do you think this tells us about loving ourselves?  <that is important to love ourselves, too>  Do you think we can love others if we don’t love ourselves?

Explain:  So, #1 - love God with everything you have   and #2 - love everyone else as much as you love yourself

Hand out the symbols to color and cut out. (The symbol is a heart) 

Explain: Color this symbol of the heart and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about what the Scripture tells us about the most important one of God’s laws.

Ask:  What can you do this week to show your love for God or for others?  If you can, write one way to show love on the back of your symbol.

If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.

While they are coloring, explain how we will go back into the church, up to the front with our gifts and rejoin our families.

Count out the parent letters and hand-outs to go home.

Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.

Parent Letter

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Today your children heard a simplified version of the same readings that you heard.

            Deuteronomy 6: 2-6

            Hebrews 7:26

            Mark 12:28-31

           

To reinforce at home:

            Today’s readings emphasized the special laws that God gave us to make our lives better.  In the Jewish Scriptures, Moses received the Commandments and told us that if we lived by these laws, we would be happy and fulfilled.  Jesus explained those laws further by reminding us of the most important ways to be close to God.  One word, LOVE, sums up the greatest of the Commandments.  Jesus told us the two most important things to remember:  love God with everything you have and love everyone else as much as you love yourself.

Activities to do at home:

Help your child write a letter to show love to someone special in their life.

Together with your child, write a special prayer that tells God how much you love him.  Say it together at bedtime.

Thank you for sharing your children!