8th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
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
Explain: Today is the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Today is also the last Sunday before Lent. Does anyone remember anything about Lent? (40 days of preparing for Easter, etc.) What do we do in Lent? (we make small sacrifices, we might fast, we think about ways to be closer to God)
Ask: Does anyone remember the main thought we have been exploring for the last several weeks? Love! Jesus is all about love!
Introduce symbol
Say: Today’s readings and all the readings until Lent are about when Jesus started teaching people about love, when He began His public ministry. Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a heart. How important is the heart to the human creature?
Do we need hearts? What happens if we don’t have one? <we die> So the heart is the very center of your being – what is in your heart is very much a part of you.
Say: Let’s look at the poster. What does it say? <Lord, it is good to give thanks to you > 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
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 Sirach. (Sir 27:6-7)
Ask: How can you tell what a person is like? <by the way they act, what they say, etc.> We are reminded in this reading that you can’t really know someone until you listen to what they have to say. We must be careful not to make judgments – good or bad – until we hear what people have to say.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke. (Lk 6:39-45) Jesus continues His teachings to His followers. Today He talks about looking at your own self before accusing others of doing bad things. He reminds us that none of us are perfect.
Say: Now we will stand to get ready to hear the Gospel
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Ask: What do you think Jesus is trying to tell us? <discuss – not to be judgmental of others>
Hand out the Offertory symbols to color and cut out. (The symbol is a heart). Hand out the smaller poster symbols so that the children can write their names on them. Collect the poster symbols and glue them to the poster.
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 the ways that our actions and our words tell others who we are.
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.
Parent Letter
8th Sunday Ordinary Time C
Today your children heard a simplified
version of the same readings that you heard: Sirach 27:6-7 and Luke
6:39-45
To reinforce at home:
Today’s readings remind us some more
about love. In Sirach we are reminded
not to make judgments about others before we know the truth about them. Jesus tells us in the reading by Luke that we
need to make sure that we are straight with God before we make accusations
about someone else. If we aren’t
behaving properly, how can we fairly accuse someone else of bad behavior?
Activities to do at home:
*Catch yourself! Sometime this week, when you are prompted to
make a hasty judgment about someone based on external factors (like the way
they are dressed!), share this with your child and talk about what Jesus would
do.
*Together with your child, plan your
Lenten celebrations. What is Lent and
how does your family want to celebrate it?
Thank
you for sharing your children!
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