Feast of the Epiphany (Year C) 3/01/2016
Colour: Green
Props: A Gift Or Star shaped pieces of Papers
==== 7:00 - 7:03
====
Entrance
Song:
We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and
mountain,
Following yonder star.
Refrain
O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.
Welcome;
Say: Today is the Feast
of the Epiphany. Can
anyone tell me what that means? <Epiphany is a word that means – something wonderful and new. We usually use it when we
discover something exciting that we didn’t already know> Who do we celebrate today? <the
magi or wise men> Our theme of a gift, represents an
epiphany. Something wonderful, that we don’t quite know what it is,
something exciting that everyone will like. And it represents what
the wise men brought to the king they were looking for. (hold up the
gift box)
Ask: Can you think of a reason why we
might want to celebrate the Wise Men? Who were they? What did they do? <looked for baby
Jesus; gave Him gifts; protected Him by giving false information to King
Herod> What can we learn from the Wise Men?
Let Children discuss with you these points but plan for time.
//V// In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit.
//R// Amen.
//V// May The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
And the love of God,
And the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit,
be with you all.
//R// And with Your Spirit.
==== 7:03 - 7:08
====
NEWS TIME :-)
==== 7:08 - 7:11
====
Penitential Rite
Dear little children, let us
acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to
celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Confession of our sins
I confess to the Almighty
God,
and to you, my brothers
and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my
words
in what I have done and In
what I have failed to do
-strike the breast 3 times as
you say-
through my fault
through my fault
through my most grievous
fault
THEREFORE I ask Blessed Mary
Ever Virgin
all the Angels and Saints
and you, my brothers and
sisters
to pray for me to the Lord
our God
Have
Mercy on us oh Lord
For we have sinned against
you.
Show
us, Oh Lord, your mercy
And grant us your
salvation.
You
were sent to heal the contrite of heart.
Lord have Mercy
Lord have Mercy
You
came to sinners
Christ have mercy
Christ have mercy
You
are seated at the right hand of the father to intercede for us.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
May the almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our
sins and bring us to life everlasting? AMEN
====
7:11 - 7:14 ====
GLORIA - Eco
Opening
Prayer
God
of wonder, help us to have as much faith as the wise men who followed your star
to find Jesus. Lead us down the right paths and help us to recognise Jesus in
the people that we meet as we travel through life. Amen.
===
7:14 - 7:19 ====
Liturgy of
the Word
First
Reading, Introduce the reading.
The
first reading is from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah. Isaiah was one of the great prophets in Scripture. A prophet
often helps us understand things that happen by speaking for someone
else. Isaiah lived long before Jesus was born and had a special
relationship with God. He spent most of his life looking for God,
listening for Him. God used Isaiah to teach people about His
love. He used Isaiah to tell people that He was going to send His
Son to save them.
A
prepared child comes and takes the first reading or second reading.
Isaiah
60:1-6 (GNT)
The
Future Glory of Jerusalem
60 Arise,
Jerusalem, and shine like the sun; The glory of the Lord is shining on you! 2 Other nations will be covered by darkness, But on you the light of the Lord will shine;
The brightness of his presence will be with you. 3 Nations will be drawn to your light,
And kings to the dawning of your new day. 4 Look around you and see what is happening:
Your people are gathering to come home!
Your sons will come from far away;
Your daughters will be carried like children.
5 You will see this and be filled with joy;
You will tremble with excitement.
The wealth of the nations will be brought to you; From across the sea their riches will come. 6 Great caravans of camels will come, from Midian and Ephah.
They will come from Sheba, bringing gold and incense. People will tell the good news of what the Lord has done!
The brightness of his presence will be with you. 3 Nations will be drawn to your light,
And kings to the dawning of your new day. 4 Look around you and see what is happening:
Your people are gathering to come home!
Your sons will come from far away;
Your daughters will be carried like children.
5 You will see this and be filled with joy;
You will tremble with excitement.
The wealth of the nations will be brought to you; From across the sea their riches will come. 6 Great caravans of camels will come, from Midian and Ephah.
They will come from Sheba, bringing gold and incense. People will tell the good news of what the Lord has done!
“This is the word of the Lord”
All say “Thanks be to God”.
Let us focus on our
responsorial Psalm:
< Lord,
every nation on earth will adore you.>
Introduce
the Gospel
Explain; Today’s Gospel reading is from the book of Matthew. (Matt
2:1-12) Matthew tells us today about the story of the wise
men. He tells us about their search for the baby who was born to be
king of the Jews. Listen to what happened when the Wise Men stopped
and asked for directions.
Let us
welcome the Gospel:
..with Alleluia!! - OR
Welcome the Gospel through a song. Halle halle
halle is a Caribbean song. Listen to it on youtube, its so easy to learn.
Halle,
halle, halle-lu-jah!
Halle,
halle, halle-lu-jah!
Halle,
halle, halle-lu-jah!
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
x2
Silently say: ”Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I
may worthily proclaim your Holy Gospel.
The Lord be with You,
AND with your Spirit.
The
Gospel Reading was written by Matthew 2:1-12
Let
Lord’s Word be in my mind <make a cross on forehead>,
and on my lips <make a cross on lips>, and
in my heart <make
a cross on the left side of the chest> OR
Glory to You Lord Jesus Christ.
Visitors
from the East
2 Jesus was born in the town of
Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some
men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem2 and asked, “Where is the baby born to
be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we
have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about this, he was very
upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. 4 He called together all the chief
priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be
born?”
5 “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea,” they
answered. “For this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah;
for from you will come a leader
who will guide my people Israel.’”
you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah;
for from you will come a leader
who will guide my people Israel.’”
7 So Herod called the visitors from the East to a
secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem with
these instructions: “Go and make a careful search for the child; and when you
find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9-10 And so they left, and on their way they saw the
same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were,
what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place
where the child was. 11 They went into the house, and when they saw the
child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out
their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.
12 Then they returned to their country by another
road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.
The Gospel of the Lord”
“Glory and praise to you Lord, Jesus
Christ”
==== 7:19 - 7:24 ====
(*)Tell an
interesting story according to the Gospel and children’s level of
understanding.
Gospel reflection:
Ask: What happened? Who did they ask directions
from? <Herod – the current king of the country then> Why
do you think that Herod might trick them? <because he was
afraid of a new king> The Wise Men trusted their own wisdom and feelings
to tell them what to do. They asked for information and they thought
about whether or not to trust it. And then they made their own
decision. What might have happened if they had gone back to
Herod? <they might have been killed, even Baby Jesus would have been
killed as an infant>
Let
us stand up and we profess our faith.
Profession of our faith
I believe in God the Father,
Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, his only
begotten Son, our Lord:
--bow down--
Who was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, died and was buried:
He descended into hell:
The third day, He rose again from
the dead:
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God
the Father Almighty:
From there He will come to judge the
leaving and the
dead:
I believe in the Holy Spirit:
the holy catholic church:
the communion of saints:
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
==== 7:24 - 7:26
====
Prayers of the Faithful
Now is the time to pray for our
stuff :-)Intercessions.
You may want to ask the children to
offer their own prayers or you can use the suggestions below.
God
guides us and shows the right way to live our lives, and so we pray to God
together:
Prayer 1. Let us pray for all
the leaders in the world: that they may be moved not to think of their own
power and wealth but to rule wisely and do what is right for all their people… We pray to the Lord...
Prayer 2. Let us
pray for our churches: that they may shine like the star, leading people to Christ
Jesus, and spread God’s message of justice, peace and love. We
pray to the Lord...
Prayer 3. Let us pray for those people throughout the world who are
undertaking long journeys, or who are in need of guidance: that they may find
their way to a place of safety, welcome and peace… We
pray to the Lord..
Prayer 4. Let us pray for our parish, our family
and friends: that we may always be open to following God in our lives, in both
our actions and our words… We pray to the Lord...
==== 7:26 - 7:28
====
Silently, each one tell God your
petition.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.
Amen
==== 7:28 - 7:30 ====
Song Interlude: Walk Walk in the light, walk walk in the light, .........
Sing as we give in our offertory and
we walk to the big church... NOTE-- after the song, is being sung, we pick the children
that will perform next Sunday....
