Sunday, August 28, 2016

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year C

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time



Images

Preparation


Points to note

The session for today centres round the idea of preparing.  Jesus’ statement at the end of the reading is a little provocative and the facilitator will have to consider if she or he wishes to extend to discussion to cover this area.  If so, it is recommended that the initial part of the discussion could be briefer with regards to the answers that you will get from the children.

The difficult line in the reading is about hating your parents.  Of course, Jesus did not mean to hate as we now understand it.  Our God is said to be a jealous God and the question is whether we are prepared to leave our most treasured possessions and relationships to serve God.

It is important that we link up our experience of our daily lives to the calling of God.  Watch out that we do not get too carried away with the preparations in the example or for the baptism and do not leave enough time to discuss the preparations to answer our call at baptism.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel
Alleluia!  Alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt form my Father.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Explain that Jesus is still on the road to Jerusalem.

The Lord be with you.
All:   And with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke
All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Lk 14: 25-33)
Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them, “If any man come to me without hating his father, mother, wife children, brothers, sisters, yes and even his own life too; he cannot be my disciple.  Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

“And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it?  Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would then start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build but was unable to finish.”  Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down to consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand?  If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.  So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.

This is the Word of the Lord


Dialogue

How many of you have ever saved up money to buy something you wanted, eg., a toy or a book?  Get the children to describe what it was that they were saving up to buy.  Was it hard saving up money?  Let the children tell us how they saved up the money.

Now, get them to imagine the scene: They have worked hard to save up their money to buy a favourite game.  Once they had enough money, they were so happy that they ran out to the shop with the money.  Imagine the downcast looks when the shopkeeper tells them that the price of the game has gone up about three months ago and the money they have is not enough.

Discuss: What have they not done?  Prepare, if they had prepared, they wouldn’t have been disappointed.  What could they have done? Check up with the shop before hand to see if the game still cost the same.  And then?  Saved some more until they have enough.

Discuss why it is so important to prepare.  Take another example: preparing for a baby’s baptism.  Have any of you ever helped prepare for a baby’s baptism?  Let them describe the preparations, but briefly.  Does the baby have to prepare?  Of course, but later, when the baby is grown up and able to make decisions.  Explain that when we are baptised, we are answering a call to be a child of God.  Discuss how we answer God’s call to be a child of God.

Discuss how people prepare for mass.  In addition to the people who prepare the church for mass – the sacristan, readers, choir, etc – it is also important that everyone who attends mass to also prepare for it.  We say our prayers and read the readings before the mass.  In a longer time frame, we also make sure that we are clean of sins and sincerely avoid any wrong-doing so that we can receive Jesus with a clean heart.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year C

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time



Images

Behaving at a party


Points to note

Let’s make this simple:  It is about not taking someone else’s limelight. 

The more I think of it, the more it seems like a grown up problem.  Remember how we would gossip about the prima donna who out-dressed the hostess?  How about the one who hijacked the mass to make a show of himself?  Well, we could go on.  There is a lot that we as adults should be reflecting on as there are always some ulterior reasons that we can think of for why someone does this sort of things.

So, with the children, we risk imposing on them our own hang-ups over other people’s dark motives and our doubts over their sincerity.  So, let’s keep this simple:  it is about how we behave properly at parties and not try to seek too much attention for ourselves.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel
Alleluia!  Alleluia!
If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!


Gospel
The Lord be with you.
All:   And with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke
All:   Glory to you O Lord
(Lk 14: 7-14)
In a Sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely.  He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour.  He said this, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour.  A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, ‘Give up your place to this man.’  And then, to your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the lowest place.  No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, ‘My friend move up higher.’  In that way, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Then he said to his host, ”When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relatives or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return.  No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.”

This is the Word of the Lord


Dialogue

How many of us have attended a birthday party before?  Whose?  Let’s try to keep this to someone else’s birthday party.

Are there proper manners at these parties?  What are they?  Steer this towards being mild mannered as we are not so much talking about table manners.

Who gets the best seat at a birthday party? Who gets to blow out the candles at a birthday party?  Who gets to eat the first and the best part of the cake at a birthday party?  Imagine if you were to take the best seat before the birthday boy/girl gets to it?  Or you were to blow out the candles before the birthday boy/girl can even draw his/her breath?  Or you insist you want the best piece of the cake and not give it to the birthday boy/girl?  Are these things OK to do?

Explain that it was likewise in the parable.  Jesus would like us to give the places of honour to others all the time, and not just at birthday parties.

You may also wish to explore the reaction of a child if say, it is their best friend’s birthday party and the friend gives the best piece of the cake to the child because of friendship.  Or the birthday boy/girl asks the best friend to help blow out the candles?  How would they feel if the birthday boy/girl asks you to join in like that?

Would they do that if they were to be the birthday boy/girl?  Why?  Would they still do that if the best friend does not have birthday parties and will not be able to reciprocate?

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year C

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time



Images

Prejudice and religious tolerance


Points to note

There are many points in this reading but we should concentrate in this session on just one and I have chosen the last line of the reading.  This can be a difficult line in this rather competitive age.  Sensitivities should be given to the reality that many children today are placed in a very competitive environment – to be the first in the class; the best at ballet; the fastest swimmer in school.

We will concentrate on the prejudices that children encounter.  Be careful: if you assume that children have their own prejudices to tell, that is a prejudice in itself.  Then we develop it into their response.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel
Alleluia!  Alleluia!
If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!

Gospel
The Lord be with you.
All:   And with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke
All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Lk 13: 22-30)
Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem.  Someone said to him, “Sir, will there be only a few saved?”  He said to them, “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.

“Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us.” But they will answer. “I do not know where you come from.”  Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets.”  But he will reply, “I do not know where you come from.  Away from me, all you wicked men!”

“Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside.  And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast of the kingdom of God.

“Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.”

This is the Word of the Lord


Dialogue

Do you know what an assumption is? No, we are not talking about the assumption like the Assumption of Our Lady we celebrated.  Explain the meaning of the word.  Then explain that people who makes assumptions about others before they meet them are said to have a prejudice.

Have you ever seen anybody having a prejudice against some one else?  Be careful that we don’t put words into the children’s mouth.  Let’s not spoil innocence.  Discuss events that the children have encountered.  Where the children have been subject to prejudice, be encouraging and supportive.  Concentrate on the children’s response rather than the actions of the other person.  If a child discusses a prejudice that he or she has, thank the child and be encouraging that he or she has come to that realisation.

Explain that long ago, Jews believe that only they can go to heaven.  That too was an assumption.  That too was a prejudice.  Explain that some Jews didn’t bother to behave themselves since they assumed that they will go to heaven anyway.  It also meant that they looked down on the efforts of non-Jews who were trying to be good because they believed that no matter how good a non-Jew is, he can’t go to heaven.

Discuss how we see the other religions?  Do we still think that way at all?  Explain that the Church teaches that all people can go to heaven and Catholics can go elsewhere if they don’t behave themselves.  In that sense, God does not have favourite children.

So, what does it mean for us?  Explain that this means that we still need to make sure that we behave even though we have already been baptised as a Catholic.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year C
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Images

A race


Points to note

I have opted out of the Gospel reading that is based on rather difficult principles, which can be controversial even among adults.  I have chosen the second reading instead.

You may note from the reading that the image of the race is explicitly referred to only once in the reading although the rest of the reading implies the image.  In reading the passage, therefore, care should be taken to stress that verse of the reading and where possible, actions and attitudes accompanying the reading after that verse should reflect the actions of a race.  It is easier to make these references in the subsequent working through of the reading.


Liturgy

As the Gospel is not read, there is no Acclamation before the Gospel.

Reading
As the Gospel is not read, there is no dialogue before the Gospel.


Explain to the children that this reading is not from the Gospel.  We do not know who the author of the letter to the Hebrews is but we know that he was trying to explain to Jewish Christians about Jesus.


A Reading from the letter to the Hebrews

(Hb 12: 1-4)
With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too then should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started.  Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection:  for the sake of the joy which is still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right of God’s throne.  Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for want of courage.  In the fight against sin: you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death.

This is the Word of the Lord


Dialogue

Have you ever been in a race before?  No, not just games: what about competition types of races.  Have anyone been to competitions?  Sports day?  Football matches?  Discuss the atmosphere there.  Who were the people involved in sports day?  The competitors, the people they are competing against, the organisers, the spectators.

Discuss that if they were to compete in Sports day, what do they have to do to prepare themselves?  Discuss the training and probably the prayers, too, etc.  Discuss how important the preparations are.  Discuss how difficult the race may seem to be and how the finishing line seems to be so far away.  What urges them on?  The knowledge that they have done it before and reached the finishing line.  And also the crowd!  Wouldn’t they run all the faster if they know that their coach and friends are there cheering them on.  And their parents.

Explain that the writer of this letter is telling his friends that they too have to prepare for the mission (remember mission: we have been talking about mission for the last few Sundays).

Just like for the race, we have to prepare a lot for doing God’s word:  which is to let others know that we are Christians by the love we show to each other.  And just like in the race, doing God’s work may seem to be really difficult at times.  But we know that in the crowd, Jesus and the saints are cheering us on.  And because of that we are trying harder.  It also helps that we know that Jesus and saints have been having a lot of problems when they tried to bring the Gospel to other people.

We think of stories of the saints when we are in difficulties, especially those stories similar to the difficulties we currently are in.  If there is time, you may wish to discuss the saints as examples to us.