5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

Helping the sick

Why Jesus came

Points to note

This reading from Mk comprises three parts: (i) the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law; (ii) curing those possessed by devils; and (iii) leaving the town to preach.  The discussion here allows for separate themes for each of the three parts.  I have chosen to combine the first two parts into a discussion on healing while the discussion on the third part is recommended for older children only.  I have included this short discussion on the third part, as there is a potential question why Jesus left which some of the older children may ask.

Talking to children about healing can also be done on two levels.  All children should be able to relate to dealing with family members who are sick.  I would, however, suggest, that discussing the sacrament of anointing should be limited to only those who have undergone instructions on sacraments as a whole:  that there are seven sacraments, etc.

In our modern, clean and sterile society, we tend to stay clear of germs, dirt and all the yucky stuff.  One unfortunate consequence is that we avoid people who are sick.  I find it sad to see people walking around with facemasks, as the message I get is that interacting with me is a risk they have to put up with. As a result, we do not provide comfort to the sick.  Don’t you long for a hug sometimes when you are sick and miserable in bed with a fever?  Well, in today’s society, that is very unlikely.  Perhaps, we should be reminded that Jesus healed the sick by holding them by the hand – very much like how Mother Teresa cradled the dying in her arms and Princess Di embrace AIDS patients.

Liturgy

 

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

He took our sickness away,

and carried our diseases for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Jesus is still travelling around Galilee at the beginning of his ministry and most people still do not know his message.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Mk 1: 29-39)

On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew.  Now, Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they took her by the hand and helped her up.  And the fever left her and she began to tend to them.

That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils.  The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also case out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.

In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.  Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, “Everybody is looking for you.”  He answered, “Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.”  And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Healing (for all children)

Have any of you ever fell sick before?  Allow them to talk about what happened to them - feeling miserable, in pain, not being able to eat proper food, not being able to go out or play..  Slowly guide the discussion to how other people tended to them:  the doctors, their parents, their family and friends, the teachers, etc.

Are you glad that you got all that treatment?  What would have happened if you did not.  Do not limit this to only the medical treatment but also lead on to the tender loving care that all of us need to get well. 

Discuss how miserable we feel when we are sick.  Wouldn’t you like a good warm hug at that point?  Of course we do!  Do you give your family members a warm hug when they are sick (Leave out friends – you do not want to be accused of encouraging the children to contract a cold at school.)?  If the children answer in the affirmative, compliment them and ask if it makes them feel better as well as the making the sick one feel better.  If they answer in the negative, contrast it with what they would wish to have when they are sick but are not willing to give to others.

Explain that it is not just doctors who heal but that we, too, can help to heal in our little way.  And just as Jesus did with Peter’s mother-in-law, it is by taking them by their hand.  St Francis of Assisi was one of those who tended to lepers when others avoided them.  There was also Fr Damian who tended to a leper colony in Hawaii and eventually died as a consequence.  They did not avoid the sick but brought God’s love to them.

Healing (for more advanced children)

Can you name the seven sacraments?  There is an easy way to remember – they come in three groups: (i) the sacraments of initiation of baptism, communion & confirmation; (ii) the social sacraments of ordination & matrimony; and (iii) the healing sacraments of reconciliation & the anointing of the sick.

Explain what happens at the anointing of the sick: the priest rubs oil, which – just like our ointments today – was an agent of healing in olden days, on the sick person and says a prayer and blesses him or her.  In the past, people tend to associate the anointing of the sick with the last rites that a Catholic receives when he or she is about to die.  In truth, however, anointing of the sick could and should happen at any time when a Catholic is sick and not be limited to the deathbed.

The anointing of the sick expresses the faith of the community that the sick person can get well again & that when he or she recovers, it is due to the good graces of God that it happens.

Why Jesus came (for older children)

Go through the last paragraph of the reading note the oddness that Jesus wanted to go away when everyone was looking for him.  Why?  Discuss what is it that the people wanted from Jesus after hearing of his healing and his casting out of the demons.  Was that what he wanted?  What did he want to do?  He wanted to preach.  So he went elsewhere so that he could preach.  Note that he continued to cast out devils when he was preaching.  This is to emphasise that he did not go away because he did not want to cure people (in the olden days, people thought that diseases were caused by devils and, so, it seems sometimes that curing people was the same as casting out devils), but that curing people was only a secondary part of his ministry, secondary to preaching.

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

Healing people

Points to note

While this is not a miracle of anointing the sick, we explore the role of Jesus in healing the sick.  This will lead on to the reading next week where we will explore further the role the children in healing others.  But for today, we focus on the calling that Jesus has to heal.

The reading has two parts: the first relates to the preaching of Jesus.  But if the reading has stopped there, it would have been incomplete because Jesus followed up his words that can be argued away, with actions that cannot be argued away.

Liturgy

 

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

He took our sickness away,

and carried our diseases for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Jesus is still travelling around Galilee at the beginning of his ministry and most people still do not know his message.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Mk 1: 21-28)

Jesus and his followers went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the Sabbath came Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach.  And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.

In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit, and it shouted, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?   Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are: the Holy One of God.”  But Jesus said sharply, “Be quiet!  Come out of him!”  And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him.  The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant.  “Here is a teaching that is new,” they said, “and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.”  And his reputation spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Discuss the first part of the reading.  Explain that Jesus was a preacher who spoke to people about God.  Did people accept Jesus’ preaching?  Yes, it left a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority. 

What is meant by ‘with authority’?  It could mean that he made a lot of sense.  It could mean that he was persuasive.  It could mean he had great speaking skills.

Discuss what happened after he left the synagogue.  Jesus commanded unclean spirits to leave a man that the spirits possessed.  Which is easier – to preach with words or to heal people possessed by evil spirits?

Have you heard of the phrase ‘Action speaks louder than words’?  Discuss whether this was what made people impressed with Jesus preaching?  That he was able to follow up his words with actual actions, and not just leave them as mere words.

Discuss what are the evil spirits.  Explain that in the olden days, people believe that diseases were caused by evil spirits.  So, if someone is sick, they believed that the person was possessed by evil spirits.  So, when a person is cured, the evil spirits are said to be expelled from the person.  That could be one way of looking at Jesus’ actions of healing.

Today, we don’t go to have our evil spirits expelled when we are sick.  We go to a doctor.  However, there are still diseases that we need Jesus to help us heal.  The diseases of

·       hate (refusing to forgive and seeking revenge),

·       greed (for material things or for praises),

·       addiction (to computer games or to Facebook),

·       jealousy (of someone else’s position or accomplishments)

·       prejudice (against someone different from us or someone unfamiliar). 

Are there any more evil spirits that could inhabit us?

Discuss how we need Jesus to heal us of these diseases and that he indeed did come to earth to heal people of these evil spirits.  To be healed, we must listen to Jesus’ preaching like the people in the synagogue did and we do that today by following his Gospel.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

What are your ambitions?

Points to note

Remember the life cards that we used to have in school, which charted our growth as children throughout our school years and which the teachers have to call us one by one to fill them up once a year.  There is a question there about what our ambitions were when we grow up.  This is always a good game for the children and it should prove to be fun to talk about it.

 

Liturgy

 

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

The kingdom of God is close at hand;

Believe the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Jesus has just been baptised by John the Baptist, who was arrested by King Herod and Jesus is just about to begin his public ministry around the Galilee area, his home region.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Mk 1: 14-20)

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee.  There he proclaimed the Good News from God.  “The time has come,” he said, “and the kingdom of God is close at hand.  Repent and believe in the Good News.”

As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.”  And at once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets.  He called them at once and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

What is your ambition?  What do you want to be when you grow up?  Most children should have one and give each child a chance to describe his or her ambition and why.

Pull the stated ambitions together and see that the main ones have attributes in common:  respect, success, comfortable work and life, etc.  Discuss if these are important.

What if you were told that your job will involve

• Long hours – you could be on call at all hours and you have to work Sundays and over Christmas as well
• Little pay – basically you only get some pocket money every month
• You will not be allowed to own anything – no house (well, you get a little room to sleep in), no nice car (there is a cheap one to use if needed), no fancy restaurants (unless someone invites you), no nice clothes allowed
• You will not be allowed to marry and raise a family or even have a boyfriend/girlfriend for the rest of your life.

Well, these are what the priests, brothers and sisters get when they agree to become priests, brothers and sisters.  Discuss what types of people would agree to turn their backs to respect, success and comfortable life that everyone else aspires to.  Would the children be such people?  Would it be important for there to be priests, brothers and sisters?

In the story of the calling of the disciples, they had even less to go on.  Potential priests, brothers and sisters are quite clear what they are getting themselves into.  All the disciples have is a stranger asking them to follow him and to leave their familiar and comfortable life behind for a life of hardship, uncertainty and death.

Discuss what Jesus means when he asked them to be fishers of men.  Note that the leading disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John, were fishermen.  That is why St Peter is the patron saint of fishermen.  To this day, the Portuguese fishing village in Melaka celebrates the feast of St Peter is a big way every year.  Sometimes, the Pope is also referred to as a fisherman as the first Pope was a fisherman.  Becoming a Pope is sometimes described as ‘stepping into the shoes of the fisherman’.  The Pope wears a ring with a picture of a fisherman on it.  Do you know that when the Pope dies, his ring is broken to avoid fraud, as in times past, it was his personal seal?  A new one is made for the new Pope.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

Calling people by their names

Points to note

For this reading, I have chosen the first reading instead of the Gospel reading of John’s account of the calling of the two disciples.  For one thing, Mark’s account of the calling of disciples next Sunday is probably easier to follow.  More so, I find that the story of the calling of Samuel has a certain appeal to children.  First, it is a story of a child.  Secondly, there is the drama of the narrative, which if told well, can be very effective.

There is also the calling of Samuel by name.  If we did not get to discuss about baptism and the names we were called at baptism in LSW at the Baptism of the Lord, we can start off the year with names being called in LSW.  So, facilitators will get to know the names of all the children.

Also, I have always been fascinated by names and they are fun.  So, for this session, it will be good to delve into a book of names and understand the meanings and the stories behind some names you will encounter in the session.

Liturgy

As the reading is not taken from the Gospel reading, there is no acclamation before the Gospel.  Explain that this reading is about the prophet Samuel when he was a little boy.  Samuel was one of the greatest prophets of Israel and was the one who made David the king – on God’s instructions, of course.

Reading

A Reading from the First Book of Samuel

(Sm 3: 3-10,19)

Samuel was lying in the sanctuary of the Lord where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, “Samuel!  Samuel!”  He answered, “Here I am.”  Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, since you called me.”  He said, “I did not call.  Go back and lie down.”  So he went and lay down.  Once again the Lord called, “Samuel!  Samuel!”  Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, since you called me.”  He replied, “I did not call, my son; go back and lie down.”  Samuel at that age did not yet understand the ways of the Lord as he has not yet learned the scriptures.  Once again the Lord called, the third time.  He got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, since you called me.”  Eli then knew that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, and he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’  So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Then the Lord came and stood by, calling as he had done before, “Samuel!  Samuel!”  Samuel answered,  ”Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him and he became a prophet everyone listened to.

This is the Word of the Lord

Discussion

Go through the story again.  How did God call Samuel?  By his name.  Discuss how it would be if Samuel didn’t have a name – God would have to call him ‘Oi!’ or something like that!!  Is it important that we all have names? Why?

When were we given our names?  At our baptism.  The baby is brought to church with the family.  The priest asks the parents what name they wish to give the child.  That is the first time your names are heard in the church and the whole community of God now know your names.

You could take this opportunity to ask the children what their parents replied.  Go round and ask the children one by one - that’s one way of finding out the children’s name.  It will be a good start to the year to find out all the children’s name since all family members know each other’s name and shouldn’t we too as God’s family?

Do we know how we got our names?  Some could have been named after a relative or after someone famous.  Or there could some interesting story to it.  The Guinness Book of Names record a boy named ‘Bill’ because he came at the end of the month! 

Do your names have meanings?  It may also be handy to have a book of names so that you could give the meaning of the names of children.  But don’t do too many as there may not be enough time.  It is also interesting to see variation of names.  John, for example, can also be Ian (Scottish); Uwen (Welsh); Sean (Irish); Jean (French); Johannes (Dutch); Juan (Spanish); Joao (Portuguese); Hans (German); Jon (Scandinavian); Jan (Polish); Ivan (Russian); and most unusually, Giovanni (Italian).

Sometimes we were given names so that we can take on the virtues of the name.  For example, the parents of a girl called Faith may want her to grow up faithful.  Or the parents of a boy named Francis may want him to grow up to be like St Francis.  In the olden days, people believe that you take on the virtues and attributes of the name that you were given or the virtues of the person you were named after.  That is why names are so important in those days.

How many names do we have?  We can have Christian names, Chinese/Indian names, surnames, nicknames, etc.  All of us got an extra name at our baptism.  We were all given the same name:  Christians.  After our baptism, people call us Christians.  Whose name did that take on?  Does it mean we should take on the attributes of Christ and be like him if we were to retain the name Christian and have people to continue to call us that?

Baptism of Our Lord

Year B

Baptism of the Lord

Images

Baptism

Joining a family

Being a new person

Points to note

Baptism is a sacrament of initiation.  It is important to remember that a sacrament of initiation initiates a person into a community.  Baptism is not merely a personal journey to meet God, but is also a person journey to meet a community.  The baptism of Jesus was his way of meeting the community he was called to minister, the entire human race. 

Emphasis should therefore be placed on the family and the Church when someone is baptised.  Nobody goes alone to church to get baptised.  We are brought there by our families.  After baptism, we then become members of the family of the Church.

Note that as not all the children may have been baptised, discussions and activities must cater for them.  Perhaps, they may be asked to share their experience of what they see when someone is baptised.

Liturgy

Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!

John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said:

This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Alleluia!

Gospel

The Lord be with you

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk 1: 7-11)

In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, “Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals.  I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth from Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John.  No sooner had he come out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him.  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rest on you.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

How many families do we belong to?  Two: the family at home and the family of the Church

How do we join the family at home?  At birth

How do we join the family of the Church?  At baptism

What happens at a baptism?  Go through the various parts of the baptism.  The baby is brought to church with the family.  The priest asks the parents what name they wish to give the child.  The priest then asks if the parents would help the baby grow in faith and love God and neighbours.  The priest them baptises the child using the formulation “With this water, I baptise you [name] in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”   The family then returns home with a child who is now a member of God’s family.

Do only babies get baptised?  Bigger children and adults get baptised as well.  So did Jesus.  It was at his baptism that Jesus met his family of the Church, the one that God had entrusted to him to love and minister to.

Draw parallels between the family at home and the family of the Church:

·       families love one another;

·       know each other’s name (note that when the priest asked the parents the name of the child at baptism and the parents reply, that was the first time the name of the baby was heard in the Church);

·       share with one another;

·       have meals together; etc..