2nd Sunday in Lent Cycle C
Welcome children to their worship space.
Explain: Today is the Second Sunday of 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: Did you notice any other changes in the church today? <much less singing, Father is wearing purple vestments or stole> Did you hear any “Alleluias”? <no> Our celebration of the Mass is much quieter and simpler to help us focus on getting closer to God.
Introduce symbol
Say: Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a cloud with rays of sun behind it. The cloud represents our lives now. The bright beautiful rays of sun represent our life with God. Right now, here on earth, we can only imagine how wonderful it will be. We can’t even understand how much love and happiness there is in heaven while we have the cloud in front of us.
Say: Let’s look at the poster. What does it say? <Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord > This is our Responsorial Psalm for today. The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.
What does the word “LONG” mean in this statement? <the children will probably define long – as a measure of length> To long for something means to want it really badly. Kind of like we might long for a birthday to get here.
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 New Testament, the letter of Paul to the Philippians. (Phil 3:20 –4:1) Paul wrote many letters to the people of the early church. The Apostles had no email, no videos, no television, and no telephones. All they had were letters. He was a church leader so he often wrote to the small church communities that he and the other Apostles had established. In this letter He tells us that one day our bodies will become glorious like Jesus’ body did after the Resurrection.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke. (Lk 9:28-36) Soon after Jesus began his public ministry, he chose to reveal himself as the Son of God to a few of his trusted followers, Peter, James and John. (By the way, this is the same James that our church is dedicated to). They all went up on the mountain with Jesus and then Jesus prayed. And then something really spectacular happened. Pretend that you are one of these three Apostles, find out what happened and try to think how they must have felt.
Say: Now we will get ready to hear the Gospel
(hold up card) Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Ask: What happened? <discuss> Moses and Elijah were holy men that the Apostles had studied for all of their lives. The stories about Moses and Elijah were part of the sacred Scriptures of the Apostles, just as they are for us. Imagine how shocked Peter, James and John were when Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, and when Jesus was so bright. What did this tell the Apostles about Jesus? <that he was more important than Moses and Elijah> And then to hear God from the sky say that Jesus was his son? Wow! How do you think the Apostles felt?
Ask children to add their names to the cutouts (suns & clouds) 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.
Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a cloud with rays of sun).
Explain: Color this symbol of the cloud and sun rays and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show that we have learned that Jesus is God.
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 cloud OR the circle below (sun) as the small symbols for the participation poster |
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| Use this symbol for the banner (shiny gold foil works well for the sun rays!) and for the full-size coloring sheet used for the Offertory gift) |
Parent Letter
2nd Sunday Lent C
Today is the Second Sunday in Lent. The children listened to simplified versions of two of the same readings you heard: Philippians 3:20-4:1 and Luke 9:28-36.
To reinforce at home:
Today’s symbol is a cloud with rays of sunlight breaking out from behind it. It represents the glorified bodies that we will all have someday when we are in heaven. St. Paul tells us that we will all have heavenly bodies one day when we are joined with Jesus. It is hard for us to imagine perfect bodies with no pain, no hurts, that are perfect in every way. Think about what Luke tells us about the time that Jesus went up on the mountain with Peter, James and John. They were allowed to see Jesus in all his glory long before they really understood that he is God. Imagine how they must have felt when they saw that Jesus was God. What would you think if it were YOUR friend who shared that with you?
Activities to do at home:
*Read to your child! Share a child’s version of the Transfiguration reading. Talk about what it must have been like to be one of the Apostles who witnessed it.
*Dream together. Together with your child, brainstorm a list of what heaven must be like. If heaven is better than the best thing we can imagine, what must it be like?
*Spend the next nice afternoon together watching clouds. Look together for the sunshine that shines out from behind them.
Thank you for sharing your children!
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