Children’s Liturgy
Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany (Year A) 8th January, 2023
Preparing the worship space
Theme: Wise
Men/Gifts
Theme Colour: White
==== 7:00 - 7:03 ====
Entrance Song
We Three Kings of Orient Are :
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star
Born a King on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light
Ask: Does anyone remember the theme for last week? < the solemnity of mother Mary, why? We remember her for she obeyed God…>
Welcome; Today we hear about some people who travelled a long way to see the baby Jesus and who brought Him gifts. We are going to think about the gifts that we too can offer Jesus.
//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 – Glory to God in the highest!!......
Opening Prayer
God of
light, your star led the wise men to Jesus. Guide us as we try to follow Jesus
in our lives and help us to share our gifts generously with others.... Amen.
=== 7:14 - 7:19 ====
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading, Introduce the reading.
Say: Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament book of Isaiah 60:1-6. Isaiah is telling us about the coming of Jesus Christ. Let’s listen to what he prophesied. Isaiah the prophet!
A prepared child/children come and take the first reading or
second reading.
Isaiah 60:1-6 (NRSVCE)
The Ingathering of the Dispersed
60 Arise,
shine; for your light has come,
and the
glory of the Lord has
risen upon you.
2 For
darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick
darkness the peoples;
33 Nations
shall come to your light,
and kings
to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Lift up
your eyes and look around;
they all
gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your
daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
5 Then you
shall see and be radiant;
your
heart shall thrill and rejoice,[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the
wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A
multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young
camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those
from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall
proclaim the praise of the Lord.
“This is the word of the Lord”
All say “Thanks be to God”
Ask: What did Isaiah say? <let the
children retell the story a little> Say: Isaiah says;
“Arise, shine; for your light has come” promises that:
“Nations (Gentiles)
shall come to your light”(Jesus)
The people will enjoy prosperity and well-being.
Let us focus on our responsorial Psalm:
< Lord,
every nation on earth will adore you.!...>3x.
Introduce the Gospel
Today’s Gospel reading comes from the gospel book of Matthew 2:1-12., we hear After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Let’s listen closely to the story..
Now we will stand to get ready to hear the Gospel
..with Alleluia!! – OR
Welcome the Gospel through a song
Chorus:
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah!
Yelele Yelele, Hallelujah!
Moto
Moto, Hallelujah
Moto
Moto, Hallelujah
Moto
Moto, Hallelujah
Yelele
Yelele, Hallelujah!
Silently say:” Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your Holy Gospel.
The Leader starts: The Lord be with You,
And with your Spirit.
A reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Glory to You, O Lord
Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSVCE)
The Visit
of the Wise Men
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea, wise men[a] from
the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the
child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its
rising,[b] and
have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod
heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and
calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired
of them where the Messiah[c] was
to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of
Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd[d] my
people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men[e] and
learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then
he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and
when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him
homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set
out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,[f]until it
stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When
they saw that the star had stopped,[g] they
were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the
house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid
him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been
warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by
another road.
The Gospel of the Lord”
“Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ”
==== 7:19 - 7:24 ====
(*) Tell your prepared
interesting story according to the Gospel and children’s level of understanding
like in the…
Gospel reflection:
Ask: What happened? <let the children retell what they
have heard> OR
Engage; Wise men bring Jesus presents. Can you remember what the gifts they bring are?
How does it feel when you are given presents? What is the best gift you have ever been given?
Can you think of a time when you gave someone else a gift? How does it feel when you give somebody a gift? Does it make you happy? Why?
The gifts that the
wise men gave were very expensive. Do we have to spend lots of money on
presents to make people happy?
We give gifts to people who are special to us. Just like the wise men we can also give gifts to Jesus to show Him that He is important in our lives.
Memory Verse: “Mathew 2:11 (“11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him....”)
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 living 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.
Leader: The wise men offered their gifts to Jesus. Together we pray we may all share the wonderful gifts that God has given us:..
Prayer 1. We pray for the world church leaders: Pope, Francis, Bishops,
Priests, and all the clergy, to receive the
gifts of the Holy Spirit so that what they teach, is sound & clear to all
of us..
We pray to the Lord...
Prayer 2. Let us pray for people around
the world who are poor: that they may receive the gift of hope and be able to
change their lives for the better.
We pray to the Lord....
Prayer 3. We pray for our parish,
families and friends: that we may listen to God’s word and all share our gifts
with others..
We pray to the Lord.....
Prayer 4. God of love, guide us to do
what is right and to use our gifts (like singing, writing, playing football and
etc) to change the lives around us, for a better future.
We pray to the Lord.....
==== 7:26 - 7:28 ====
Silently, each one tells 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....
Bring up A child in a way he should go, and
when he is old, he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6