Dec 25, 2022 The Birth of Our Lord

The Birth of Our Lord 

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

Ask:  Does anyone remember what we talked about the last time we met?  <show symbol of the word YES!>  We talked about saying YES! to God even when it is a little hard.  Mary shows us how to say YES!

Introduce symbol

Say:  Today is Christmas  Day!  Are you excited?  <let the children tell a little bit about their morning>  What are we celebrating today?  <the birth of Jesus>  Remember, we are also celebrating the coming of our Lord.  We believe that He will come back to us at some point in time.  We have been thinking about that all during Advent and today we celebrate it!

Say:  Our symbol today is a star.  A star will help us remember how long God has loved us?  How long have there been stars in the sky?  <many, many years!>  God has always loved us and always will.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <Today is born our Savior, Christ 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 is from the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah. (Isa 9:2-4, 6-7)   The prophet Isaiah lived a very long time before Jesus was born as one of us.  God asked Isaiah to speak to the people of Israel to give them hope.  Pretend that you an Israelite and listen closely to what Isaiah said to you.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask: What did you hear? <let the children retell what they heard>  If you were an Israelite child, how do you think you might feel abut what Isaiah said to you?

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke.  (Luke 2:1-14).  Luke tells us a story of Mary and Joseph.  I am certain that all of you are familiar with this story.  One of the best things about the Holy Scripture is that you can hear and understand new things every time you read it.  Pretend that you are hearing St Luke tell this story to you for the very first time.  Think about Jesus coming back to us again.  See if you can learn something new.

Say:  Now we will stand and 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?  <let the children retell what they heard>  Did you learn something that might be new to you?  <invite the children to share>  How do you think you might have felt if you were one of the shepherds?

Hand out the poster cut-outs of a star so that the children can write their names on them for the poster.

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a star).  Ask the older children to write one thing they can do this week to show the love that God has shown them.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of a star and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about celebrating Jesus’ return to us.                             .

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 star graphic: in a small-size in light yellow for the communal poster, in a mid-size with gold foil for the banner symbol, and the large black & white coloring sheet for the Offertory gift

 

Parent Letter

The Birth of Our Lord  

Dear Parents:

                                                                             

             Today your children heard a simplified version of the same readings that you heard: Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7; Luke 2:1-14.

Symbol: Star

To reinforce at home:

God loves us so much He sent his son to us!  Today is a day of celebration that Jesus came to us.  It is also a day to remember and celebrate that Jesus will return.

Activities to do at home:

*Enjoy the day together! Be careful not to let the stress of perfection spoil your holiday celebration.  Remember where our Saviour chose to be born!

*Talk together with your child about a way to show love to others the way God has shown love to you (and then do it!)

*Mary and Joseph traveled a long way to Bethlehem.  Your family may be traveling to visit relatives this week.  What is something you can do together this week to think about what Mary and Joseph went through before Jesus was born.

Thank you for sharing your children!

Feast of the Holy Family Cycle C

Children’s Liturgy Instructions

Feast of the Holy Family (C)

Welcome children to their worship space.

Ask them to sit down in a circle.

Introduce yourself and your helpers.

Remind them why we come together to hear the readings. 

Introduce symbol

Say: Today is the Sunday after Christmas, known as Holy Family Sunday.  Can anyone tell me what this symbol might be?  (hold up symbol)  It represents what we think of when we think of the Holy Family - 3 people.  Who were they?  <Jesus, Mary & Joseph>

Ask:  Can anyone tell me what a family is? <discussion>  Families come in all shapes and sizes.  Sometimes a family has lots of people in it.  Sometimes families live in lots of different places.  What do you think that Jesus’ family looked like?  <Joseph, Mary, etc.>  From the Bible, we know about Mary and Joseph and we know about one of Jesus’ cousins.  Do you remember the name of His cousin?  <John the Baptist> 

Explain:  If you study the history of the time and place of Jesus’ life, you will learn that there were lots of family members in each little town. 

Families then and families now have a very important job that God gave them.  A main job is to take care of young children.  But another larger way to look at this job is to say that the job of families is to protect and nourish life.  You and me, all of us people, are gifts that God gives to mankind.  You are a gift that God gives to me.  I am a gift that God gives to you.  The people out there in the main church are gifts to us from God.  The people you see on your way home today are gifts from God.  The job of all of our families is to take care of us and to help us be the wonderful creatures God wants us to be.

Our question today is how do we care for the gifts of people that God gives us?

Introduce readings

Say:  The first reading is from the Old Testament Book of Sirach (Sir 3:2-6).  If you listen closely you will hear some advice about how to treat parents - or those who are taking care of you. 

Say:  Now we will have the first reading (light the candle)

Have the first reading.

Ask:  Do the words in this reading remind you of anything you have heard before?  <discuss- lead to the 4^th Commandment.  (There was a law given to Moses that said almost the same thing) >

 

Say:  Next we will have the Responsorial Psalm

Your part will be to say:

Happy are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways.  (hold up the poster)

Have reader read the psalm

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading is from the book of Matthew (Matt 2:13-15, 19-23).  Matthew tells us today about something that happened in the early life of the Infant Jesus.  Listen to the story and think about how the Holy Family is like your family.

Say:  Let’s stand so that we can listen to the Gospel reading.

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Read:  Read the Gospel

Ask:  What happened?  <Joseph had a dream that the infant would be killed.  He responded by taking his wife and child away so that they would be safe>  What is the message for us in our families today?

Hand out the Offertory symbols to color and the poster symbols to put their names on.  Collect the poster symbols to glue on the poster. 

Explain: Color the symbol of the holy family to show that you learned about taking care of the members of your family. 

Ask:  What does it mean when we say that “All families are holy”? That parents are holy?  Who else?  Pesky little or big brothers or sisters?  And who else?  YOU!!!  You are a gift that God gave to your family.

Encourage:  Ask those who can to write one thing they can do in their own family that will show respect and love for God’s gift to them.

While they are coloring, explain how we will go back into the church, up to the front with our gifts and rejoin our families.

Count out the parent letters and hand-outs to go home.

Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.

Use this graphic in a small size for the communal poster

Use this graphic in a medium size for the banner and a large black line coloring sheet for the Offertory gift

Parent Letter

Feast of the Holy Family  C

                                                                     

            Today your children heard a simplified version of the same readings that you heard: Sirach 3:2-6; Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

           

To reinforce at home:

All families are holy!  We are children of God and gifts from God to each other.  God created families to care for his gifts.  God created families so that we could help take care of each other. 

In Sirach, we listen to a reading which reminds us of the 4^th Commandment….Honor your father and mother.  This Commandment also applies to all other family members!  We talked about honoring members of a family would mean.

The Gospel reading in Matthew tells about a time when Joseph had to make a difficult decision to take care of his family.  We talked about decisions that parents sometimes have to make for the family that we might not understand. 

Activities to do at home:

*Share a meal together! Life is increasingly busy!  Often we spend many meals scrambling merely to feed bodies.  Choose one evening per week to gather and really spend time together.

*All families are holy!  How is your family the same as Jesus’ family?  How is it different?

*Remember all of your family!  Write a note to a relative you haven’t heard from in a while.

* Draw a picture of all the people that are in your family.  Tell stories about each one.

Thank you for sharing your children!

Feast of the Holy Family B

Feast of the Holy Family  Cycle B 

[Note to facilitators:  Today’s focus is the family.  Each child’s family is a gift from God.  Affirm the family experiences that the children share]

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

Ask:  How was everyone’s Christmas?  Does anyone have extra visitors this week? <lead the children to talk about FAMILY>

Ask:  Does anyone remember what we talked about the last time we met?  <show symbol of the word YES!>  We talked about saying YES! to God even when it is a little hard.

Introduce symbol

Say:  Today is the feast of the Holy Family.  We celebrate the Holy Family every year on the Sunday after Christmas. <show the symbol of the Holy Family>  Who are the members of the Holy Family?  <Jesus, Mary & Joseph>

Ask: Do all families have 3 people in them?  <discuss differences in families – always affirming the child’s experience>  How are all families the same?  <they are full of people who love each other, discuss similarities the children offer>

Say:  Today we are going to read Scripture and see what God wants to tell us about families.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <Happy are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.>  This is our Responsorial Psalm for today.  The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

Ask:  Do you think God really wants us to be afraid of him?  <no>  God does not want us to be afraid of him but God DOES want us to listen and do what he asks.

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 Sirach. (Sir 3:2-6)  In this reading, Sirach tells us how to behave toward our families.  Listen closely and see if you can hear some specific instructions about how to act.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask: What specific instructions did you hear? <honor your father, praise your mother, listen to the Lord>  How do you think you might honor your father?  Or praise your mother?

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

Happy are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Matthew.  (Matt 2:13-15, 19-23).  In the reading today, St. Matthew tells about a time that Joseph listened to God’s message and took especially good care of his family.  Listen to the story and think of a time when the grown-ups in your life took especially good care of you.

Say:  Now we will stand and 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?  <let the children retell what they heard>  Do you think that God talks to families about taking care of each other?

Hand out the poster cut-outs of a person so that the children can write their names on them for the poster.

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is the Holy Family).  Ask the older children to write one thing they can do this week to show how much they appreciate the family God gave them.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of the Holy Family and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about how families take care of each other.                             .

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 participation poster

The mid-size banner symbol can be made of several colors and decorated as desired.  This graphic is also used for the coloring page used in the Offertory

                                  Parent Letter

                        Feast of the Holy Family  Cycle B

                                                                 

Dear Parents:

           Today is the Feast of the Holy Family.  The children listened to a simplified version of two of the same readings that you heard: Sirach 3:2-6; Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

Symbol:  Holy Family

To reinforce at home:

Today’s focus is on the family.  We heard about Jesus, Mary and Joseph and talked about our own families.  We talked about how God wants families to be filled with love and has asked us to take care of each other.

Activities to do at home:

*Celebrate your family!  Have a special meal this week to show your family how much you appreciate them.

*Together with your child, write a letter or make a phone call to a relative that you haven’t seen for a while.

Thank you for sharing your children!