Children's Liturgy
First Sunday of Lent (Year A) 26th February, 2023
Preparing the worship space
Theme: Temptation. A desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.
Theme Colour: Purple
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==== 7:00 - 7:03 ====
Entrance Song
Ask: Last week’s theme was a <“Giving Hands”> Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves...
Welcome; Today we are going to hear about how Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. He had nothing with him. What do you think it would be like to have to live without water, or without cupboards full of food, or changes of clothes?
**Does anyone remember anything about
Lent? (40 days of preparing for Easter,
etc.) What do we do in Lent? (we make
small sacrifices, we might fast, we think
about ways to be closer to God)
There are some changes in the church
today, <much less singing, Fathers is
wearing purple vestments> Does anyone
remember what the color purple means
in the church? <Sadness or seriousness>
During Lent we try to make our lives
simpler so that we can spend more time
thinking about God.
//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*
In lent period, we shall not sing the Gloria because it’s a time for us to reflect on the quality of our life style.
Opening Prayer:
God of life, you gave your Son Jesus strength in the desert. Give us the strength to do what we know is right and to stand up for what we believe in, even when it is difficult..... Amen.
=== 7:14 - 7:19 ====
Liturgy of the Word
Introduce the first reading.
Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament book of Genesis. God created a beautiful world for us. Do you remember what happened next? He gave one command to Adam and Eve – not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Listen closely to see if you can hear anything new in this reading.
A prepared child/children come and take the first reading or second reading.
First Reading; Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 (NRSVCE)
7 then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, [a] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The First Sin and Its Punishment
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
“This is the word of the Lord”
All say “Thanks be to God”.
Ask: Was Eva/Adam wise? (Discuss), Why did they eat from the tree in the middle of the garden? <because the snake told them that they would know as much as God did, they believed the snake instead of GodL> Do we ever do that? Believe in something other than what God says? Of course – we all do. We all do wrong things sometimes. We are all tempted. And we all sin. But let’s pray in this period to be better people.
Say: Let us focus on our responsorial Psalm:
< Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned......>3x.
Introduce the Gospel
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the New Testament book of Matthew. This reading tells us about a time that Jesus went out into the desert before he began teaching. Someone came to see Jesus in the desert. Does anyone know who it was? Listen closely and see what happened to Jesus.
....
Now we will stand to get ready to hear the Gospel
..with No Alleluia!! –J J
In lent period, we shall not sing the ALLELUIA, BECAUSE it’s a time for us to reflect to be extra silent in our life style.
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 4:1-11 (NRSVCE)
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him...
The Gospel of the Lord”
“Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ”
==== 7:19 - 7:24 ====
(*) Tell your prepared reflectng story to motivate the children, but according to the Gospel and children’s level of understanding like in the suggestions below…
Gospel reflection:
Ask: Did you already know this story? Did you hear anything in the Gospel reading that reminded you of the first story about Adam and Eve? Because Jesus was man as well as God, he was tempted. It wasn’t easy for him to say NO to temptation… just like is isn’t easy for us either. The difference is that Jesus managed to do the right thing. We all have choices whether to do the right thing or the wrong thing. Our Lord ever Wise and informed!J Can we be like our Lord Jesus? (Discuss) During Lent, let’s think about how we behave and we try to change. Let’s try to show God that we are sorry for the wrong we have done and ask Him to help us behave better.
Memory Verse: “Matthew 4:10 (“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only 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 here.
Leader: As we try to make a change to our own lives and to our world, we pray:...
Prayer 1. Let us pray for the church; Pope Francis, together with our Arch Bishop Priests, and all the clergy, that they continue to love Christ and do what He wants, because they choose to serv him. We pray to the Lord...
Prayer2. We pray for world leaders: that they may not be tempted by power and money, but instead may God, guide them to make wise decisions for the good of all people, especially those who are poor. We pray to the Lord...
Prayer 3. We pray for all our sisters and brothers throughout the world: that by sharing in God’s creation, all people will have the chance to earn money to support themselves and their families. We pray to the Lord....
Prayer 4. We pray for the work in Children’s Liturgy: that God will help us to continue to support children to change their lives for the bette and 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....
