Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Seventeenth Ordinary Sunday

Images

Helping at mass

Points to note

This week’s reading starts off a series of readings centred around the account of the feeding of the five thousand in Jn.  For the next five weeks, the readings will be laden with theological themes of: the feeding (Sunday 17); true bread (Sunday 18); the person of Jesus (Sunday 19); Jesus as bread (Sunday 20); and accepting Jesus (Sunday 21).

While it makes sense to present them in such a cycle to adults, it is very difficult for children. I have therefore interpreted it as: preparing the meal (Sunday 17); what we eat (Sunday 18); who we eat with (Sunday 19); the wider church who shares the bread (Sunday 20); and what to do after the meal (Sunday 21).

In all instances, it is important to emphasise the personal and the everyday occurrences that children encounter at meals and parallel them with the meal for their spiritual world.

 

Liturgy

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord,

and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John

(Jn6: 1-15)

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick.  Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples, it was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?”  He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered, “Two thousand ringgit would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?”  Jesus said to them, “Make the people sit down.”  There were plenty of grass there and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted.  When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, “Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.”  So they picked them up, and filled twelve baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.  The people, seeing the signs that he had given, said, “This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.”  Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back into the hills by himself.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Has anyone helped prepare a meal before?  Get everyone into the preparation of a meal, even if they have never helped in one. What would they have expected if someone else had prepared a meal:  table set, food cooked, plates cleaned, etc.  Do a list of what needs to be done to prepare if necessary.

Who helps with preparing the meal?  Do you? Talk about situations where the meal is to celebrate someone’s birthday or to welcome someone from far away. Are they more likely to help?  Are they more likely to help if it is a birthday for someone they like?

Doesn’t the family of God also have a meal together?  Yes, the mass.  Draw parallels between the family at home and the family of God.  There is a dining table (the altar table) with a table-cloth over it (the altar cloth).  There is food on the table (the bread and wine) and lots of diners (the congregation). There are also people who have helped in preparing the mass just like people who helped prepare the meal at home.

Discuss the people who help prepare the mass:

·           The cleaning lady cleans up the church.

·           Somebody gets the priest’s vestments cleaned. 

·           There are altar ladies who arrange flowers at the altar.

·           The priest prepares the sermon and the prayers.

·           The choir selects the songs and practises them.

·           Readers practise the readings.

·           The commentators go through their sheets.

·           Eucharistic ministers prepare to handle the holy hosts.

·           The sacristan ensures enough bread and wine.

·           Somebody makes sure that the sound system works.

·           Altar boys put out the sacred vessels and the candles.

·           The girls who project get their slides ready.

·           Ushers help people to their places.

·           And there is a co-ordinator who makes sure that all the above happens.

What about us?  How do we prepare for mass?  We make sure we have been good and have made peace with the people around us before we approach God’s altar; we say our prayers before mass; we read the readings before mass to familiarise ourselves with the mass before it starts.

Most importantly, we make sure that we come to the meal clean and as this is a spiritual meal, we have to be spiritually clean.  Discuss how we do that.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

Dreams and sacrifices

Points to note

This reading completes a series of three parables that Jesus told.  For this reading, only the shorter version in the Missal is used.  The longer alternative version has further parables.

This reading contains only two parables with the same theme.  This one theme can generate many messages: possessions, sacrifices, etc.  This reading focuses on the idea of sacrifices.  A more positive slant is given by the lead up where we discuss a little more on dreams for which we are willing sacrifice.

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 from our Father.

Alleluia!

Gospel

As this parable follows on directly from that last week, you may wish to revisit the parables of the sower and the wheat & the darnel briefly before starting this reading.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Mt 13:44-52)

Jesus said to the crowds, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.”

This is the Word of the Lord

Dialogue

What most would you like to do when you grow up?  Guide the discussions towards achievements rather than what jobs the children would like to have.  These achievements need not be big ones that can only be achieved when the children grow up.  It may be something simple like pass the exams or meet Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus (no, they are not my dreams); or something big like fly jet fighters or climb Mount Everest.  Take your time to describe the achievements, focussing on the activities themselves, e.g., the act of climbing.  Discuss how much the children would like to achieve these ambitions.

Discuss what is required for someone to achieve these achievements.  For instance, climbing Mount Everest would require a lot of training in mountain climbing as well as keeping fit.  Passing the exams would require a lot of studying.  Discuss whether these preparations are easy things to do or not.  Some of these efforts require us to give up doing things we enjoy so that we can achieve our dreams.  Discuss whether these preparations are worth the effort.  This will largely depends on how desperate we are to achieve our dreams.

Discuss the parables and how the persons in the parable are willing to give up everything, i.e., sell everything they own.  Link it up with what Jesus is trying to say.  What does the treasure and the pearl represent?  Salvation from doing God’s work.  What does selling everything they owned mean?  We give up everything to do God’s work.  For instance, a priest may give up cherished ambitions (eg., wealth, family) and become a priest.  We give up a lunch or something that we would spend money on to give our Lenten money to the poor.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

Asking God

Points to note

This of course is the reading on the common prayer of the entire Christian Church.  We will not be dwelling on the Lord’s Prayer though.  This has been dealt with in Year A, where Matthew’s version of the prayer was discussed.  Of the two versions, Matthew’s is the one closer to the one we use today.

In the passage, Jesus teaches us the importance of persistence in prayers and gives us two little points to encourage us along.  The first is the parable of the persistent man.  The second is the very graphic depiction of the love of the Father.  A thorough discussion of one or the other may be sufficient to bring the point of persistence across.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

The word was made flesh and lived among us;

To all who did accept him

He gave power to become the children of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain to the children that Jesus has just left the house of his friends, Mary and Martha. He was somewhere praying when the disciples saw him and wanted to learn to pray like him.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Lk 11: 1-13)

Once Jesus was praying somewhere, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John the Baptist taught his disciples how to pray.”  He said to them, “When you pray say this prayer:

‘Father, may your name be holy,

your kingdom come;

give us each day our daily bread’

and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive anyone who has done us wrong,

And do not put us to the test.’”

He also said to them, “Imagine that you have a friend and go to him in the middle of the night and say, ‘My friend, lend me three loaves of bread because another friend of mine has just arrived at my house on his travels and I have nothing to offer him’; and the man answers from inside the house, ‘Don’t bother me.  The door is locked now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it to you.’  I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it to you because of your friendship, if you keep knocking, it will be enough to make him get up and give you all he wants.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.  What father will hand his son a stone when he asked for bread?  Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg?  If human fathers know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Dialogue

Do we pray?  When?  What prayers do you know?

What is a prayer? 

A conversation with God. Just like talking to a friend, we talk to God in our prayers.  Therefore, just like a conversation with a friend that can happen any time, a prayer can also happen at any time.  But just like we prefer to talk to our friends without anybody interfering, it is advisable to pray in a quiet place.  That is why Luke tells us often that Jesus was at a lonely place to pray by himself, as in the passage.

What types of prayers do you know?  

There are basically four types:

(i)         an exaltation, or a praise pray;.

(ii)        a penitential prayer, or a sorry prayer;

(iii)       a petitional prayer, or an asking prayer;

(iv)       a thanksgiving prayer, or a thank you prayer.

Discuss examples of each of the four types.

Discuss what happens in a petitional prayer.  Go through the stages of a petitional prayer.  First, we have to decide what we want to ask for.  Whatever we request must not be impossible.  What is more important, it must be something we need and is good for us.  Notice that in the reading, Jesus talks about ‘human fathers know how to give your children what is good’.  That is why in the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for our daily bread, and not more.  Petitions made out of malice, greed or anger will not work.

Secondly, we have to ask.  God has promised to listen.  Thirdly, we have to be persistent.  In all these, try and use examples from home.  We do ask Mom or Dad when we want something.  And similar to a petitional prayer, what we ask our parents must be reasonable.  When we ask, they will listen. But sometimes, we have to ask more than once.  We often have to bug our parents, don’t we?

St Luke tells us that Jesus prays often.  How often do you pray?

Go through the instances of prayers in our daily lives: Grace before and after meal, morning and nightly prayers, etc

Secondly, we have to ask.  God has promised to listen.  Thirdly, we have to be persistent.  In all these, try and use examples from home.  We do ask Mom or Dad when we want something.  And similar to a petitional prayer, what we ask our parents must be reasonable.  When we ask, they will listen. But sometimes, we have to ask more than once.  We often have to bug our parents, don’t we?

St Luke tells us that Jesus prays often.  How often do you pray?

Go through the instances of prayers in our daily lives: Grace before and after meal, morning and nightly prayers, etc

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Seventeenth Ordinary Sunday

Images

Helping at mass

Points to note

This week’s reading starts off a series of readings centred around the account of the feeding of the five thousand in Jn.  For the next five weeks, the readings will be laden with theological themes of: the feeding (Sunday 17); true bread (Sunday 18); the person of Jesus (Sunday 19); Jesus as bread (Sunday 20); and accepting Jesus (Sunday 21).

While it makes sense to present them in such a cycle to adults, it is very difficult for children.  I have therefore interpreted it as: preparing the meal (Sunday 17); what we eat (Sunday 18); who we eat with (Sunday 19); the wider church who shares the bread (Sunday 20); and what to do after the meal (Sunday 21).

In all instances, it is important to emphasise the personal and the everyday occurrences that children encounter at meals and parallel them with the meal for their spiritual world.

 

Liturgy

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord,

and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John

(Jn 6: 1-15)

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick.  Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples, it was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?”  He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered, “Two thousand ringgit would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?”  Jesus said to them, “Make the people sit down.”  There were plenty of grass there and as many as five thousand men sat down.  Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted.  When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, “Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.”  So they picked them up, and filled twelve baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.  The people, seeing the signs that he had given, said, “This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.”  Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back into the hills by himself.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Has anyone helped prepare a meal before?  Get everyone into the preparation of a meal, even if they have never helped in one.  What would they have expected if someone else had prepared a meal:  table set, food cooked, plates cleaned, etc.  Do a list of what needs to be done to prepare if necessary.

Who helps with preparing the meal?  Do you?  Talk about situations where the meal is to celebrate someone’s birthday or to welcome someone from far away.  Are they more likely to help?  Are they more likely to help if it is a birthday for someone they like?

Doesn’t the family of God also have a meal together?  Yes, the mass.  Draw parallels between the family at home and the family of God.  There is a dining table (the altar table) with a table-cloth over it (the altar cloth).  There is food on the table (the bread and wine) and lots of diners (the congregation).  There are also people who have helped in preparing the mass just like people who helped prepare the meal at home.

Discuss the people who help prepare the mass:

·            The cleaning lady cleans up the church.

·            Somebody gets the priest’s vestments cleaned.

·            There are altar ladies who arrange flowers at the altar.

·            The priest prepares the sermon and the prayers.

·            The choir selects the songs and practises them.

·            Readers practise the readings.

·            The commentators go through their sheets.

·            Eucharistic ministers prepare to handle the holy hosts.

·            The sacristan ensures enough bread and wine.

·            Somebody makes sure that the sound system works.

·            Altar boys put out the sacred vessels and the candles.

·            The girls who project get their slides ready.

·            Ushers help people to their places.

·            And there is a co-ordinator who makes sure that all the above happens.

What about us?  How do we prepare for mass?  We make sure we have been good and have made peace with the people around us before we approach God’s altar; we say our prayers before mass; we read the readings before mass to familiarise ourselves with the mass before it starts.

Most importantly, we make sure that we come to the meal clean and as this is a spiritual meal, we have to be spiritually clean.  Discuss hwo we do that.