Children’s Liturgy Instructions
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A
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 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ask: Last week’s symbol was a treasure chest. We talked about the treasures that were important to us and about the treasure that God wants to share with us, heaven.
Introduce symbol
Say: Today’s symbol is a loaf and fish. Does that remind anyone of anything? <some children will probably recall today’s story of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes>
Say: Today we will hear some scripture readings that remind us to follow Jesus’ laws of love and God will take care of us.
Say: Let’s take a look at the poster. What does it say? <You open your hand to feed us, Lord; you answer all our needs.> 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 is from the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 55:1-3). God promises to give us everything we need. What are some things that you need in order to live? <food, shelter, clothing, etc.> Let’s listen to this reading from Isaiah that lists some of the things we need and see if they are the same ones we listed.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Ask: What did you hear? <add eternal life to the list!> If we follow God, we will gain heaven!
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part will be to say:
You open your hand to feed us, Lord; you answer all our needs.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Matthew (Matt 14:13-21) In today’s Gospel reading we hear about the great love that Jesus has for us! As we begin, Jesus has heard some news about John and wants to be alone. Can anyone tell me who John is and what Jesus might have heard? <it is his cousin John and Jesus heard about John’s death> Does anyone remember anything about John? <let the children recall details, remind them that John spent his life telling people that the Messiah was coming!> Can you imagine how sad Jesus must have been?
Say: So he was sad and he wanted to be alone. But the people loved Jesus and followed him. So Jesus left his sadness behind and spent the day teaching and healing. Then Jesus’ disciples came to him with a problem. Let’s pretend that you are the people who loved Jesus. Listen to what happened.
Say: Now we will get ready to hear the Gospel
Please stand up.
Glory and praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
Read: Read:
“a reading from the holy gospel.....”
All respond: Glory to you, O Lord.
Read the Gospel
Ask: Did you hear what happened? <let the children retell the story> Jesus took care of all the people who gave up their time to follow him. Have you heard this story before? What do you think this story means for us today? <When we do what God wants us to do, Jesus always makes sure that we are taken care of>
Say: People try to stay where they are the most comfortable. Don’t you like to make sure that you have your toys and your snacks and your favorite things nearby? Sometimes when we are truly trying to live out the love of Jesus, we aren’t doing what makes us the most comfortable – like when Jesus put aside his sadness so that he could take care of others. Sometimes we have to put our own feelings behind and think of others too.
Hand out the poster cut-outs of fish or ovals so that the children can write their names on them for the poster.
Hand out the Offertory symbols to color.
Explain: Let’s color the loaf and fish symbols and bring them to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show what we have learned about thinking about the feelings of others.
Ask the older children to write something on their symbol that they can do this week to put their feelings aside and take care of someone else.
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.
Give out stickers, parent letters and hand-outs as they leave.
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| Use this pattern to cut out the small symbols for the attendance poster |
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| Use this pattern to create the medium-sized banner symbol from construction paper and also for the full-sized coloring page. |
Parent Letter
18th Sunday of Ordinary Time A
Dear Parents,
Today is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Isaiah 55:1-3 and Matthew 14:13-21.
Symbol: loaf and fish
To reinforce at home:
The readings today remind us that God takes care of us. When we listen to God’s word and try to do what God asks, God promises us eternal life. In Matthew’s account of the loaves and the fishes, we are reminded that upon that day, Jesus himself was very sad. Jesus really wanted to be alone because he had just learned of his cousin John’s death. His example to us was to put aside his own feelings and take care of others. When we put aside our own feelings and take care of others, we follow Jesus’ example.
Activities to do at home:
*Set the example! Next time you are really busy and your child is begging for a story or an activity, take the time to share yourself with him or her.
*Together with your child, think of one thing you can do this week for another person. Take time out of your schedule and do it!
*Make one loaf of bread together and share it with each other at dinner.
Thank you for sharing your children!
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