Solemnity of Christ the King

LSW children

Year B

Solemnity of Christ the King

Images

A different type of king

Points to note

The Solemnity of Christ the King, which falls on the last Sunday of the liturgical year (the following Sunday starts off the season of Advent), is a rather recent feastday, having been instituted in 1925.  Pope Benedict XVI wanted to remind Italians that their allegiance was not to the dictator Benito Mussolini, who was in power at that time, but to Jesus.  He drew contrast between Mussolini and Jesus in the way they exercised their kingship: Mussolini by violence and Jesus by love.

Actually, kings are getting to be a rather rare breed. There are 42 reigning monarchs in the world today, of whom 8 are Christian kings (excluding the Pope), all in Europe.  There are two Queens, the Pope, two Africans, four Buddhists, and the rest Muslims.   So really, only eight men in the world today fit our conventional image of a king.  

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David!

Alleluia!

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John

(Jn18: 33-37)

‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’ Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Have you ever met a king before? Very few of us have ever met kings.  So, you can always extend it to queens and presidents.  But, best to keep to kings and queens because children like the pomp and ceremony.

Discuss how the kings, queens and presidents are welcomed when we meet them.  They come in a big huge limousine.  There are lots of people around them, to serve them.  They don’t have to lift a finger to do anything and I bet they do not have a wallet.  The Queen of England may go around with a lovely handbag but it probably doesn’t have any money in it.

Discuss how you are supposed to behave when you meet kings, queens and presidents.  There are certain protocols when meeting royalty. You address them as Your Highness or Mr/Mrs President or Your Excellency.  You know, you are not supposed to touch the Queen: you bow (for boys) or curtsy (if girl) instead.  You speak politely and cannot munch your food loudly.  Later, someone will come and usher you away.

They also have security guards around them because of the danger that someone could shoot them. After all four American presidents have been shot and many kings of England murdered (ok, the last one was beheaded in 1649).

Contrast it with Jesus.  How did Jesus get around?  How did he enter Jerusalem?  Ask the children to imagine, their king, queen or president arriving to visit them on a donkey.

Discuss how people treated him when he visited.  They were respectful but not overly deferential – nobody bowed or curtsied to him. In fact they expected him to do work: heal them, feed them, teach them. At times, he had to show people where to fish, he washed their feet.  Also, he had no bodyguards because he ruled by love and not in fear.  If anyone wanted to kill him, he would have let them do it willingly.  Which he did.

Explain that nobody was deferential to him and he didn’t expect anyone to be.  This is because he was a king who came to serve.  A Christian king is not supposed to be lording over everyone else. Christian kings and Christian leaders are expected to be humble and help anyone who need help in any way.

Explain that when we were baptised, we were anointed priest, prophet and king.  The role of the king that we take on is the kingship of Jesus, the kingship of service.  

Today is the feast of Christ the King.  It is the feast day of all of us as kings together with Jesus.  But it is not a day when we show our power to everyone.  It is a day to remember to serve in humility everyone who needs help.

If you have time, link it up last year’s reading of the Last Judgement and who Jesus is whom we see around us.

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Thirty-third Ordinary Sunday

Images

We do not know the hour

Points to note

This reading is rather topical, coming just two weeks before the start of Advent.  However, in order not to anticipate the theme waiting of Advent too much, we focus on what it is that we are not aware of  - the time of Jesus’ coming.  In a way, this runs well into the theme of Advent.

There are many sects around who claim they know when is Jesus’ second coming.  They get their adherents to sell all they have and wait – typically at hill where Jesus will appear, conveniently nearby.  They are called millenarianists, meaning those who focuses on the thousand years that they will reign with Christ.  Not all millenarianists claim they know the timing though and many are rather moderates in their views even as they wait for Jesus.  Some are considered mainstream Christians (Seventh Day Adventists) while others are not accepted by mainstream Christians as Christians (Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons).  The rest are sects, Christian & otherwise.

Catholic teaching is that while we wait for the second coming of Jesus but we do not know the hour nor do we attempt to find out. The hour is not important in our faith – we just prepare ourselves whatever the hour.  I once asked a group of children how long the season of Advent last. One seven-year old child enthusiastically and definitively said “Forever!”  You know, she is right – it lasts forever because we do not know the hour and so, we wait forever.

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

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk13: 24-32)

Jesus said, ‘In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.

‘Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

‘But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Have you ever waited for anyone or anything?  Discuss about waiting for Christmas to come, or a birthday or a visit of a favourite relative from overseas.  Take the example of Christmas and what they do to prepare.  Do not dwell on it as you will be discussing it in greater detail next month.  You can even talk about children being good waiting for Santa Claus to come.  Ignore those older killjoys among the children trying to tell the younger ones there is no Santa Claus.

What if you were asked to prepare for Christmas but nobody knows the date?  I love the pause as the concept sink into the children.  Some may even question the point of waiting if that something may not even happen.  Keep it warm as it is a good question.

What if you had a favourite relative who says that he/she will be coming for a visit but will not tell you the date?  He/she tells you to get everything ready because he/she will be taking you on a journey.  Discuss what the children will do.  Some will be sceptical and I think it is healthy to be sceptical like this in today’s world. Ask how do they feel if days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years as they wait?

Explain the church teaching on the Second Coming.  That Jesus will come again.  It will be preceded by great suffering and persecution of the Church but we do not know the details.  Jesus will come in triumph to defeat evil and usher in a period of paradise on earth where we will reign with him in glory.  He will also raise up all who are dead (suggest you pass this part quickly if you are not prepared for awkward questions – like what age will they be, etc – for which the Church do not have definitive answers).  That Jesus will judge all the living and the dead.

Discuss that we wait for the coming of Jesus by doing good and being prepared for that judgement.  And as we do not know when that judgement will be, it means we will continue to do good until the end of our lives.  Whether the Second Coming happens in our lifetimes or not, it is not important. What is important that we are always prepared for it.  That on the day we die, we can say we have done all that we can do in our lives to get a good judgement on the day of the Second Coming – by being true to Jesus and his teachings.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Thirty-second Ordinary Sunday

Images

Giving everything

Points to note

This Sunday’s reading actually comprise two sections, but I have taken up the option in the Missal to drop the first section.  This will enable us to concentrate this Sunday’s message on something that is closer to the children.  You may, however, wish to include the first section.

The story of the widow’s mite, though short, is a very powerful one.  Very much like the two coins which contained everything the widow had, the whole of the attitude of a Christian can be conveyed in this story: whatever we do or give to God, give our all.  The point is not just to give our excess, but to give our all.  The widow could have held back one coin, and still could be praised for giving half of all she owned, but she did not.

The story examines our own attitudes.  Jesus was not just contrasting the two coins of the widow with the many gifts of the rich, but also with us.  The holding back of one coin is something we have always had to face from childhood.  It is very much a story of each of our faith journey: from sharing of toys to sharing our life with God.  There is much, therefore, we can discuss on this.

I have started the discussion for today with a joke.  It is important that if we were to start any discussion with a story, we should try to return to it at the end of the discussion.  I have provided an idea for doing just that.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Happy are the poor in spirit;

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk12: 41-44)

He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting in money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal.  A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they had put in all the money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Three men won money at the races.  They all agreed that they should give some of the money to God but could not decide how much.  The first said, “I will draw a circle in the sand and throw the money up in the air. Whatever money that fall outside the circle belong to God and whatever that fall inside the circle belong to me.” He did, collected his money and gave the rest to the poor.  The second man said, I would do the same. I will draw a circle in the sand and throw the money up in the air.  Whatever money that fall outside the circle belong to me and whatever that fall inside the circle belong to God.”  He did, collected his money and gave the rest to the poor. The third man said, I would do the same. I will draw a circle in the sand and throw the money up in the air. Whatever money that go up to heaven belong to God and whatever that fall on the earth belong to me.”

Which of these three persons are you like?  This isn’t meant to be a serious question but to lead the children to talk about how much they would give to God if they have enough money.  Begin by discussing amounts: one million?  two?  You can then lead on to discuss fractions: half? quarter?

For younger children who may not yet fully appreciate the idea of money, we could discuss the idea of possessions:  toys, cookies, favourite books.  Young children are by nature sharers.  But we are talking about more than sharing here; we are talking about giving, and never seeing what they gave away again. So, will they give a cookie, or a toy no longer needed or some outgrown clothes?  But what if it is their last cookie, the teddy they had from baby, or their favourite dress?

Explain that in the story (the Gospel story, not the joke), the widow gave everything she had.  And Jesus said that she has given more than anyone else because she gave everything.  Explain that it is not the amount she gave that is important, it is that she gave everything.

When Jesus said that, did he only meant only money gifts? Explain that we can also give everything when we do things as well.  Discuss examples:  when Mom ask us to help, we do it wholeheartedly; when someone wants to talk to us when he or she is sad, we listen intently and not let our eyes wander everywhere; when a teacher teaches, we pay full attention; when we pray or say thank you, we really mean what we say.  Anyone else have any other examples?

Sometimes, we fall short.  We may be selfish and perhaps, refused to share what we have.  We may not pay attention when listening to a teacher or to someone we don’t like.  Sometimes, we bargain or we make compromises.  We tell Mom that we will help her for half an hour, which we say is better than nothing.  They are not alone: all of us are guilty of it.  But the widow gave two coins.  She did not give one and say that was good enough.  She gave two coins; she gave everything she had.

Ultimately, some people give their all: they give their lives.  There are, of course, people like Jesus and St Maximilian Kolbe.  There are also more ordinary people like the priests and sisters, who gave up their lives to serve God.  Explain that the priests took a vow of poverty and they do not own anything of themselves.  The Church owns everything.

Return to the joke at the beginning of this discussion.  Perhaps, there should be a fourth way:  I will draw a circle in the sand and throw the money up in the air.  Whatever money that goes up to heaven belong to me and whatever that fall on the earth belong to God

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

LSW children

Year B

Thirty-first Ordinary Sunday

Images

Commandments

Promises

Points to note

This passage is one that children can easily identify with.  To take the idea further, we should attempt to concentrate on the concept of commandments and covenants.  You may wish to look at the first reading for the covenant that God made with the people of Israel.  

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk12: 28-34)

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord your God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this:  You must love your neighbour as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.”  The scribe said to him, “Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true:  that he is one and there is no other.  To love with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.”  Jesus, seeing how wisely he has spoken said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to question him anymore.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

What are laws? What kind of laws are there?  Who makes them?  What happens when you break a law?  Explain that laws are things that we have to do or to follow.  Get the children to discuss in practical terms about the laws they have encountered: those in school and those at home.

Explain that sometimes we have to do things not because there is a law that says we have to do it but because of a promise we made.  Discuss about promises and how they work. Introduce the idea of a contract or a covenant.  A covenant is just a fancy way of saying a contract.  A contract or a covenant is where two persons promise to do certain things for each other.

God made a covenant with the people of Israel.  Do you know where was that covenant made?  In the wilderness of Sinai.  The covenant that God made was not just with Moses but with the whole people of Israel and in a way, with us as well.  What were the promises that God and the people of Israel made to each other?  The people of Israel promised to keep God’s laws and God promised to keep the people of Israel as his people.

What were the laws that God wanted the people of Israel to keep?Keep in mind that although we think largely of the Ten Commandments, the laws that the people of Israel were to keep can be found in the second to the fifth book of the Old Testament.  These laws cover a wide range of areas and involve the whole of the people’s daily lives.

Do you know that someone has counted all the laws that God all?  Do you think anyone can remember all 613?  That is why the laws were summarised into the simple Ten Commandments.  Discuss what a commandment is.  Can anyone tell us what all the Ten Commandments were?

Summarising into the Ten Commandments was still not enough for some people, and there were people who tried to summarise them into one commandment.  If Jesus had to have only one commandment, which would he have picked?  You may wish to discuss how the Ten Commandments can be summarised into the commandment of love.

Who would you love?  You can put everyone into two categories: (i) God; and (ii) people around us. The Ten Commandments, for instance, can be split accordingly: the first three deals with (i) and the others deal with (ii).  

Some people say that the cross symbolise this idea as well: the vertical line (loving God) and the horizontal line (loving each other).  We should always be reminded that the two directions of love must always go together, otherwise there is no cross!

Is it possible to love God without loving the people around you?  Is it possible to love people around you without loving God? Why do you say that?  While it is clear from 1Jn that ‘whoever who says he loves God but does not love his brother is a liar’, you may get very interesting ideas from the children.  You could expand on it by discussing God being upset at how we fight each other and being mean to one another, very much like how Mom gets angry when we fight.

Discuss the practical ways of how we love God by loving one another. How does it make God happy that we love one another.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Thirtieth Ordinary Sunday 

Images

Helplessness of a blind man

Points to note

Here is another vivid story told by Mark.  This is one of the few stories that centres so much on the person who was healed instead of on Jesus.  Much has been said about the response of Bartimaeus on hearing that Jesus was to come into Jericho.

It may therefore be an idea to centre the session around Bartimaeus.  For starters, a variant of the game of blind man’s buff could be fun, especially for the younger ones:  Get a volunteer, preferably one who is not told what will happen next.  Have him or her blindfolded.  Turn the volunteer round several times to disorientate him or her.  Rearrange the room to place as many obstacles as possible. Then, the volunteer is to make his or her own way to the door.  No one is allowed to give instructions.  Watch the fun.  Try it again a second time.  This time, the other children are, then, to guide the volunteer to the door or some other object.

The point of this little game is to bring out the idea of helplessness and the availability of some one to help and guide.  This will link up with the idea of being poor in the spirit and being totally reliant on God. This is the situation that God wants us to be in, and this is the situation that Bartimaeus was in.  God is a little bit of a jealous kind.  He wants us to be like a new-born babe and to be the only one we can turn to in our helplessness.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia! Alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord,

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk10: 46-52)

As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the side of the road.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, “Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.”  And many of them scolded him. And told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder,  “Son of David, have pity on me” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man. “Courage,” they said, “get up; he is calling you.”  So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus.  Then Jesus spoke, “What do you want me to do for you?”  “Master,” the blind man said to him, “let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has saved you.”  And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

(Assuming that you have played the game above)  Get the volunteer to describe how he or she feels about volunteering or being volunteered.  What did the other children feel about this one child volunteering/being volunteered?

Get the volunteer to describe how he or she feels when blindfolded, and then turned around several times, had the room rearranged and then told to make his or her way to the door?  Was it easy to find the door the first time?  Was it frustrating?  How did the other children feel when they could see him or her heading the wrong way but could not give any guidance?  What about the second time?  How did the volunteer feel about getting all these guidance?  Was it easier?  What did the others feel?

Explain that the whole idea of this little game is to show what is meant by being poor in the spirit.  Being poor in the spirit, as the Beatitudes had wanted us to be, means that we are so totally helpless that we have no one to rely on.  When we are poor in the spirit, we therefore have to rely on no one but God and God alone. 

(If you did not play the game, take the children through the scene from Bartimaeus’ point of view: the dust in the hot sun, the noise, the crowds, lots of movement)

Back to Bartimaeus:  put ourselves in his shoes, if he had any, that is.  Discus how helpless he was in his blindness.  Discuss how he felt when he heard that Jesus the master healer was coming to town.  He decided that he would ask Jesus to heal him.  Discuss what else he could have done instead: he could have felt that his problem wasn’t big enough to bother Jesus with.  He could have felt that he wasn’t important enough to get Jesus’ attention.  He could have felt that there are others who may also need to ask Jesus.  He could have felt embarrassed to ask Jesus in front of so many people.  He could have felt that other people may not like him to cause a commotion in public.

But Bartimaeus did not do any of these things and he was healed. Discuss how Bartimaeus must have felt after he was healed.  Parallel all these discussions with how the volunteer in the earlier game felt.

Discuss how we should be praying to God in our nightly prayers tonight.  How could we be poor in the spirit like Bartimaeus and yet, persistent like he was? Surely we must have things that we would like to ask Jesus for.

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Twenty-ninth Ordinary Sunday 

Imagery

Humility

Being a leader

Points to note

According to the Missal, the first paragraph of this reading is optional.  I would feel that the first paragraph is essential for us for several reasons.  One, it is a narrative and narratives go down well with children.  Narratives also help give background to the discourses.  This particular paragraph echoes another reading about humility a few weeks back (cf. Sunday 25).  You may wish to revisit this reading.

This Sunday’s reading takes the concept a little further in that it applies the ideas of humility to leadership.  Some of the older children may have had some position of responsibility, either in school activities or over younger brothers and sisters at home.  This will provide some material for you to work on during the sessions as you draw out of these children their idea of leadership.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

no one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk10: 35-45)

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus, “Master,” they said to him, “we want you to do us a favour.”  He said to them, “What is it that you want me to do for you?”  They said to him, “Allow us to sit one at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them.  “Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or to be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?”  They replied, “We can.”  Jesus said to them, “The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for the seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.”

What we discussed in Sunday 25 At our baptism, we are anointed priest, prophet and king.  Discuss each of the three anointing in turn. Discuss briefly what we should be doing in our three roles.  Our anointing as priest calls us to prayers.  Our anointing as prophet calls us to be teachers and proclaimers of the Word.   Our anointing as king calls us to be servants.  Explain that the structure of Jesus’ kingdom is such that the least will be greatest and whoever wants to be a leader has to be servant to all.  Note the washing of the feet at the Last Supper.

When the other ten heard this, they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that among the pagans their so called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.  For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Do you have prefects and monitors in school? What are their jobs? To get everyone to keep the school rules. Have you noticed that different prefects and monitors have different ways of doing their jobs? Discuss how monitors and prefects carry out their tasks as monitors and prefects.  BE CAREFUL!! Some of the children could be monitors and prefects themselves.  You don’t really want a slanging match in the middle of your session.

Discuss the different styles of leadership.  Some people are strict.  Some people use reason.  Some people use charm.  Get the children to talk about the teachers they like.  Each would have a different style of leadership.  Which type of teacher would they like?   The one who bosses everyone about because he is the teacher or the one who is willing to do things with the children?  Extend the discussion to the monitors and prefects that the children like.  Extend the discussion to how they would like to be a monitor or prefect if they were appointed one and still keep the rules.

Jesus expects his disciples to be leaders in the Church.  But he expects them to be a different type of leader. Discuss the concept of the inverted pyramid of the Christian hierarchy (one of the titles of the Pope is ‘servant of the servants of God’ – the idea that he is at the bottom of the hierarchy as servant to all).  You may want to bring in what we discussed four weeks ago about our anointing as a king at our baptism

With this in mind, how do the children think Jesus would like them to be if they were to be a monitor or a prefect?  Discuss also broadly how we should act when we meet people less fortunate than us or weaker than us.  We should remember that these people may be closer to the kingdom of God than us if they approached their misfortune and their weakness in the Christian spirit. Therefore we should not lord over them.