Children’s Liturgy
Instructions
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
Welcome the 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 13th
Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ask:
Last week’s symbol was two joined
circles. We talked about how God was
stronger than anything and would always take care of us. We talked about our responsibility to bring
God’s light to others.
Introduce
symbol
Say: Today’s symbol is a pineapple. Does anyone know
what a pineapple represents? <let the
children guess> In the southern part
of the United States,
a pineapple is often used to represent the idea of welcome or hospitality. In the past few weeks, we have talked a lot
about how God wants us to treat each other.
Today’s readings focus on the idea of hospitality and gratitude.
Say: What does it mean to welcome
someone? <to make them comfortable,
to feed them, to take care of them in your home> To share hospitality is the same thing. Often it means to give a person rest or an
opportunity to be refreshed in some way.
Ask:
What is gratitude?
<being thankful>
Say: Let’s look at today’s poster. What does it say? <Forever I will sing the goodness 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.
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: Today’s first reading today is from the
second Old Testament book of Kings. (2
Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a). In this reading, the prophet Elisha travels to a town to
spread the word of God and stops for the night.
There is a woman who welcomes him and lets him spend the night. Listen to the story and see if you can hear
what happens to her.
Have the reader read the reading.
Ask: Did you hear what happened? The woman was hospitable to Elisha and Elisha
was grateful. <Elisha rewarded her
with a son> Can anyone tell me why a
son would be a good reward for this woman?
<long ago, a woman generally wasn’t able to take care of
herself. She needed a man to provide
food for her> So, it was a great
thing that Elisha did to repay her kindness.
Ask: Can anyone tell me if what this woman did was
important? <discuss> Was it as important as Elisha’s job or
teaching the people about God?
<yes>
Say: Without the woman’s hospitality, Elisha would
have had to worry about what to eat and where to sleep. Since he didn’t have that worry, he could
spend his energy on his teaching.
Without her, he would have to slow down or stop for a while. He was thankful that she helped him teach
about God.
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial
Psalm. Your part is to say:
To the upright, I will show the saving
power of God.
Have reader read the psalm
Say: Now it’s time to read the Gospel. Today’s Gospel reading comes from the New
Testament book of Matthew. (Matt
10:40-42) In Matthew’s Gospel today, we hear what Jesus told his disciples
about hospitality. Pretend that you are
a child listening to what Jesus is telling the grown-ups and see if you can
decide what Jesus' message means to you.
Say: Now we will stand and get ready to hear the
Gospel.
Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Read the Gospel.
Ask: What did Jesus say? <let the children discuss> Who in your life spreads Jesus’ word? <parents, teachers, priests, different
leaders> What can you do to show
hospitality and gratitude? <gifts,
cards, meals>
Hand out the large Offertory symbols (pineapple) for the children to color and the smaller symbols (oval) for the children to put their
names on for the poster.
Explain:
We will color the pineapples (don’t
forget to put your name on the back!) to
show that we have learned about showing hospitality and gratitude to others..
Ask: If you can, write one thing that you can do
this week to show your gratitude to someone who shares the message of Jesus
with you.
While they are coloring, go over the procedure for entering
the church at the Offertory, how they approach the altar and put their symbols
in the basket that the lead child will place at the altar.
Remind the children that the large symbol is to be offered
in the Offertory procession to show the congregation what they have
learned. Remind them to put their names
on the back and that they can retrieve the symbols after Mass.
Collect the smaller symbols to glue to the communal
poster. Remind the children to bring
their parents back after Mass to see it.
Give out parent letters, coloring hand-outs and stickers as
the children leave their worship space.
Parent Letter
13th Sunday of Ordinary Time A
Today is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Your children have heard a simplified version
of two of the same reading you heard:
Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24a; Mark 5:21-24, 35-43.
Symbol:
Rock
To
Reinforce at Home:
For the first few Sundays in Ordinary
Time we focus on two concepts: receiving
earthly life from bread and wine compared to receiving spiritual life from
Christ in the Eucharist and on the virtue of Faith.
The symbol for this week is a
rock. We talked about how Christ used
His hand to give life to Jairus’ daughter and we talked about the kinds of
“life” we can give with our hands. We
have talked before about how when nice things happen to us, it helps us feel
good - or more alive. Today we
reinforced some things we can do for each other to bring Christ’s love - or
life - to other people.
Activities
to do at Home:
* Write a card or a note to a person who
is sick or shut-in. Taking the name of a
parishioner from the bulletin may make this particularly relevant.
* Give a hug!
* Think of other ways to use your hands
to make others happy.
Thank you for sharing your children!
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