Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

LSW children

Year B

Twelfth Ordinary Sunday

Images

Being afraid

Being protected

Points to note

While our children, by and large, grow up in safe, stable and loving environments, the discussion on fears and being afraid may need to be taken sensitively.  Talking from a safe position as they would be in church on Sunday, I expect the children to be free to talk openly as the fearful situation would have been in the past.  Be alert, however, for any child who seems to be talking as if the fearful situation is still continuing.  A bit of assurance is called for.

While you may wish to use such a situation as material for discussion, take care you do not push the child to talk more than what he or she is ready to share.  If you are confident enough for this, though, it will make for a powerful testimony and discussion.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

May the father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Jesus has just been round Galilee, preaching to the people.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk4: 35-41)

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him.  Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped.  But he was in the back of the boat, his head on the cushion, asleep.  They woke him and said to him,”Master, do you not care? We are going to drown!”  And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet now!  Be calm!”  And the wind dropped, and all was calm again.  Then he said to them, “Why are you so frightened?  How is it that you have no faith?”  They were filled with awe and said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Does any one like to be afraid?  Limit the discussion to fears that the children do not like:  we are not talking about horror movies here.  

What makes you afraid?  Why?  We normally do not like to be alone, abandoned, scolded or in danger 

How do you react when you are frightened?  You can broaden out the discussion to people in general.  Some children may suck their thumbs while others cling to their parents or older siblings.

Would you like someone to help you when you are frightened?  Who normally helps you?  Our parents, teachers, older brother, sister or friend.  What do they do?  They protect us, make the frightening thing go away or sometimes, a few comforting words or a cuddle is enough.

Would you seek help from someone strong or weak; someone who knows what he is doing or someone daft; someone comforting or someone threatening?  Why?

Explain that, in the reading, the disciples in the boat with Jesus were likely to be fishermen. Fishermen are frightened of the sea and they often say special prayers before going out to sea, whatever their religion is.  In this story, the disciples were afraid when a storm blew.  The person they turned to was Jesus, who seems pretty cool about it: he was fast asleep while everyone else was panicking over the storm!!

Wouldn’t we too want to turn to Jesus when we are frightened?  Discuss why: he is someone who is strong, who knows what he is doing, and who is comforting.  How do we call on Jesus for help?  Discuss the various ways of praying and how to compose a prayer to ask Jesus for help.

Twellth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

A caring God

Points to note

This reading may be a little difficult for the children to follow in its entirety.  It is best to concentrate on a specific focus of the discourse.  It is recommended that the dominating imagery used be that of the sparrows and the hair that the Father has counted.  Relate it to the fact that people who loves us knows us very well.  So does the Father.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us;

So all who did accept him

he gave us the power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain to the children that Jesus has been talking to his disciples about the mission of the Apostles and that they will follow the same fate as him.

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 10: 26-33)

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:  ”Do not be afraid.  Anything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear.  What I say to you in the dark, tell publicly in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim aloud from the housetops.

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both the body and soul in hell.  Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny?  And yet not one lands on the ground without your Father knowing.  Why, every hair on your head has been counted.  So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more to the Father than hundreds of sparrows.

“So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven.  But anyone who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.”

This is the Word of the Lord

Dialogue

Who are the people who you think love you a lot?  What would they know about you?  Likes and dislikes; when we are angry or sad or upset; birthdays and other important dates; many other things.  Try and drag out as long a list as possible.  Emphasise that God loves us more than any other person and he knows us more than anyone else.  God loves the whole of his creation.  So, he knows them all.  Imagine, he knows when every sparrow lands on the ground.  He has counted every single hair on our head.  (Be ready for some smart remarks on this one.)  Dwell on both these imageries.

Sometimes, there are people who do not like us.  Sometimes, even people who loves us a lot get upset with us, even if it is only for a little while. 

Do you think God has stopped loving us if these people are upset with us?  It is important to emphasise that God is all loving, both in the sense of loving everything and loving at all times.

So, even if there are people who do nasty things to us, Jesus promised that God will continue to care for us.  We are worth more to him than a whole flock of sparrows.  That is why Jesus told his disciples not to despair even if they are being persecuted.  God still loves them and remembers them and Jesus promises them that there will be a place in heaven for them.  Similarly, there will be a place for all of us who endured hardships and nasty things done to us because we are followers of Christ.  You may wish to bring out examples: the apostles, the saints, the missionaries, etc.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Twelfth Ordinary Sunday

 

Images

Being afraid

Being protected

Points to note

While our children, by and large, grow up in safe, stable and loving environments, the discussion on fears and being afraid may need to be taken sensitively.  Talking from a safe position as they would be in church on Sunday, I expect the children to be free to talk openly as the fearful situation would have been in the past.  Be alert, however, for any child who seems to be talking as if the fearful situation is still continuing.  A bit of assurance is called for.

While you may wish to use such a situation as material for discussion, take care you do not push the child to talk more than what he or she is ready to share.  If you are confident enough for this, though, it will make for a powerful testimony and discussion.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

May the father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Jesus has just been round Galilee, preaching to the people.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk 4: 35-41)

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him.  Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped.  But he was in the back of the boat, his head on the cushion, asleep.  They woke him and said to him,”Master, do you not care?  We are going to drown!”  And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet now!  Be calm!”  And the wind dropped, and all was calm again.  Then he said to them, “Why are you so frightened?  How is it that you have no faith?”  They were filled with awe and said to one another, “Who can this be?  Even the wind and the sea obey him.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Does any one like to be afraid?  Limit the discussion to fears that the children do not like:  we are not talking about horror movies here.  

What makes you afraid?  Why?  We normally do not like to be alone, abandoned, scolded or in danger

How do you react when you are frightened?  You can broaden out the discussion to people in general.  Some children may suck their thumbs while others cling to their parents or older siblings.

Would you like someone to help you when you are frightened?  Who normally helps you?  Our parents, teachers, older brother, sister or friend.  What do they do?  They protect us, make the frightening thing go away or sometimes, a few comforting words or a cuddle is enough.

Would you seek help from someone strong or weak; someone who knows what he is doing or someone daft; someone comforting or someone threatening?  Why?

Explain that, in the reading, the disciples in the boat with Jesus were likely to be fishermen.  Fishermen are frightened of the sea and they often say special prayers before going out to sea, whatever their religion is.  In this story, the disciples were afraid when a storm blew.  The person they turned to was Jesus, who seems pretty cool about it:  he was fast asleep while everyone else was panicking over the storm!!

Wouldn’t we too want to turn to Jesus when we are frightened?  Discuss why: he is someone who is strong, who knows what he is doing, and who is comforting.  How do we call on Jesus for help?  Discuss the various ways of praying and how to compose a prayer to ask Jesus for help.