***The readings for this Mass come from the Weekday lectionary; the Gospel from the Feast of the Assumption and the first reading from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary***
Welcome children to their worship space.
Introduce
Ask: Does anyone remember the symbol for last week? <oil lamp> Why? What did it mean? <it symbolized having faith in Jesus – that he will come back and that we need to be ready to do what he tells us>
Ask: Do you think that it is easy or hard to do what Jesus tells us? <discuss> What kinds of things does he tell us to do? <discuss – be nice, love others, forgive, etc> Are these easy things to do? <sometimes>
Introduce symbol
Explain: Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. Can anyone tell me what that means? <that we believe that Mary went straight into heaven> We believe that Mary’s body went straight into heaven with her.
Say: Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a lily. The pure white lily is often used to represent Mary. Mary was without sin. Mary gave her entire faith and trust to God and said YES! God asked her to do a difficult thing. Does anyone remember what it was? <accepting, carrying, giving birth to – and parenting the baby Jesus> She had to say YES! Not once but many times over and over and over again.
Say: Let’s look at the poster. What does it say? <Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.> This is our Responsorial Psalm for today. The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.
Say: Mary continually blessed the name of God by her words and actions.
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, book of the prophet Isaiah. (Isa 9:2-3a, 6-7a) Isaiah was a prophet who told everyone about a Messiah who would come to save Israel. We know that he told about Jesus. Mary was an important part of the plan of salvation. Because of Mary, Jesus came to save us. While you listen to Isaiah’s words, think about what would have happened if Mary had said NO.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Ask: What did Isaiah say to us? <let the children tell what they remember> What do you think might have happened if Mary had been too afraid to do what God asked her to do? <let the children discuss possibilities>
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke. (Lk 12:49-53) In the Gospel today, we hear about the first people to honor Mary for being the mother of God. We also hear how Mary feels about what has happened to her. Listen to what St Luke tells us. See if you can hear who honored Mary. Try to remember some of the things that Mary said about being Jesus’ mother.
Say: Now we will get ready to hear the Gospel. Please stand up.
Say together: Alleluia, Alleluia.
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Ask: Did you figure out the names of the two people who honored Mary first? <her cousin, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s unborn baby, who would grow up to be John the Baptist> John is a prophet who spent his whole adult life preparing people for the coming of the Savior.
What did Mary say that tells us how she felt about being the mother of God? <let the children retell what they hear…. “I praise the Lord” “I am glad because of God” “From now on people will say that God has blessed me” “I am God’s servant”>
Say: Mary is very special! It only makes sense that the human being who made it possible for Jesus to come to us be honored by having her body go straight to heaven to be with him.
Hand out the poster & Offertory symbols to color. (The Offertory symbol is a lily). Have the older children write one thing that they can do this week that will honor Mary.
Ask the children to write their names on the small poster symbol (flower)
Explain: Color this symbol of the lily and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show that we have learned about how Mary said YES to 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.
Use this graphic for the mid-sized banner symbol & for the full-size coloring sheets for the Offertory symbol
Parent Letter
Feast of the Assumption C
Dear Parents,
Today is the Feast of the Assumption. The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Isaiah 9:2-3a, 6-7a and Luke 1:39-56
Symbol: Lily
To reinforce at home:
What a special feast we celebrate today!! The Mother of God was honored in the most special way! It is fitting that the body that housed our Lord Jesus be assumed directly into heaven without going through the process that other human bodies do.
Our readings today remind us WHY our mother Mary is so very special. She belonged to God entirely. She put her faith and trust in God completely. She said YES to what God asked of her! She brought Jesus into the world and loved and cared for him.
Activities to do at home:
*Plant a “Mary garden” or make a flower arrangement to put in front of a statue of Mary. Use roses, marigolds, forget-me-nots and lilies. These are some of the flowers that represent her.
*Do something special for your parents. They take care of you just like Mary took care of baby Jesus.
*Pray the rosary together. This would be a great week to explain and re-learn the rosary together with your child. Ask your faith formation team for resources or look on the internet!
Thank you for sharing your children!
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