Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Thirty-second Ordinary Sunday

Images

Preparing for a feast

Points to note

For this Sunday, the theme is limited to the preparation for the feast.  It is important to draw the parallels with the children’s everyday life.  Extract from them their experiences on their preparations for their parties.  They then need to understand that the feast we have in Church is similar to the parties they have had in that preparations need to be made.

The reading itself actually deals with preparations for the life in the hereafter.  I plan to cover this in the later years of the cycle.  However, for the older children, the eschatological aspects of the reading may be broached.  The reading deals more with the implications of not being ready for the feast.  It is crucial therefore that we continue to emphasise the requirement to prepare for Paradise.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Stay awake and stand ready,

because you do not know the hour

when the Son of Man is coming.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Jesus has just denounced some Jews for thinking that they know how to get to heaven by themselves.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew

All:   Glory to you O Lord

 (Mt 25: 1-13)

Jesus told this parable to his disciples:  “The kingdom of heaven will be like this:  Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were sensible:  the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps.  The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘The bridegroom is here!  Go out and meet him.’  At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil:  our lamps are going out.’  But they replied, ‘There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.’  They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived.  Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed.  The other bridesmaids arrived later.  ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us.’  But he replied, ‘I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.’  So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Have you ever held a party before?  A birthday party?  A Christmas party?  Did you help in the preparations?  What did you do?  Where children did not help much in the preparations, ask what the parents and the rest of the family did.  Make the discussion as complete as possible.

The family of the Church also holds celebrations.  When are the celebrations held?  What do we call these celebrations?  Who are the people who make the preparations?  What do they do?  The priest has to prepare for mass; the music ministry prepare the hymns, the altar boys get the altar ready; the church office prepares the bulletins; the altar ladies prepares the flowers; the church is cleaned by the cleaners; the readers practices the readings; the wardens organises the car park and welcomes the people.  What else can anyone think of?  You may wish to dwell on the items that are prepared such as the vessels such as the ciborium (which holds the host) and the chalice (which holds the wine); the altar with the altar cloth and candles; the vestments such as the alb (the white gown  the priest wears over his clothes) and the stole (the strip of cloth the priest wears over his neck).

Discuss how we ourselves prepare for mass: We wake up early, which means we need to get to bed early the night before.  We put on nice clothes to go for mass.  We help our parents to get things ready (getting the younger ones dressed and into the car, or helping get the dinner into the oven).

More importantly, we also prepare ourselves spiritually for mass.  Most families may do it in a different way.  Some may read the Sunday mass readings before-hand while others make do with some simple prayers. It will be also pleasing to God if we can reflect back on the past week – whether there is anything we need to thank God for, give him praise or to ask his forgiveness.  And of course we all try to do good before we go to mass and avoid anything that could be upsetting to God – much like how we try not to upset the birthday boy before and during the birthday party.