Children’s Liturgy (Oratorial)
Four Sunday of Easter (Year A) April 30th, 2023
Preparing the worship space.
- Colour: White
- Theme: Sheep. The Shepherd knows his sheep
and his sheep know his voice.
Welcome: Today Jesus tells us that he has come so that we may have life and have it to the full. But what does it mean to live life to the full? Let’s think some more about this today…
Ask: What was last week’s theme? <“Bread.”> It stood for sharing in the Eucharist together, ...”
====
7:00 - 7:03 ===
Entrance Song
D G
Baa Baa He’s the Good Shepherd
D
A
Everywhere I go He knows.
D
G
Baa Baa He is my Savior.
D A
D
I will follow where He goes.
G D
A D
Jesus loves me; finds me; cares for me.
G D
E
A
Watches; saves me; Leads back home.
REFRAIN
I was so lost; where do I begin
He paid the cost for my sin. REFRAIN
I was so scared; Storms would frighten me.
I will not fear; He’s with me! REFRAIN
//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 ====
With a loud voice lets sing the Gloria!
GLORIA - Glory to God in the highest
And peace to His
people on earth
Lord God, Heavenly
King, Almighty God and Father We worship You
We give You thanks
We praise You for Your
glory
Lord Jesus Christ,
only Son of the Father
Lord God, Lamb of God
You take away the sins
of the world
Lord, have mercy on us
You are seated at the
right hand of the Father
Receive our prayer
For You alone are the
Holy One
For You alone are the
Lord
For You alone are the
Most High
Jesus Christ
With the Holy Spirit
In the glory of God
the Father
Amen, A…amem, A….a aamen.
Opening Prayer:
God of all, you sent your son Jesus, so that we may have life to
the full. Inspire us to do all that we can so all your children around the
world may live free from poverty and hunger.
Amen.
=== 7:14 - 7:19 ====
Liturgy of the Word
Introduce the first reading.
Say: Today’s first reading is from the New Testament book of Acts.
We are going to hear some more things that St. Peter told the crowd in
Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost. Last week, we heard Peter
tell them that Jesus rose from the dead even though they had killed him. The
people were worried about what would happen to them. Listen to what
Peter had to say to them and what Peter did….
A prepared child/children come and take the reading.
Acts 2:14a, 36-41NRSVACE)
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing with
the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live
in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
36 Therefore let the entire
house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and
Messiah,[a] this
Jesus whom you crucified.’
The First Converts
37 Now when they heard this,
they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles,
‘Brothers,[b] what
should we do?’ 38 Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be
forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For
the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away,
everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ 40 And he
testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves
from this corrupt generation.’ 41 So those who welcomed
his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were
added.
“This is the word of the
Lord”
All say “Thanks be to God”.
Ask: Did you hear what St. Peter said? <he
said that God was still waiting in heaven for them and would forgive them>
What did that mean? What is forgiveness? <forgiveness
s when God makes your sins go away> How do you think the people felt
then? <good!>
Say: Let us now focus on our responsorial Psalm:
< The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want >3x
Introduce the Gospel
Say: Today’s
Gospel reading comes from the book of John. In the Gospel today,
Jesus talks about sheep and their shepherd. He talks about how the
sheep know the shepherd and will follow him and no one else. He also
calls himself something else. Listen closely to the gospel reading
and see if you can hear what he called himself.
...with Alleluia!! –
We
sing while standing and welcome the gospel!!
Alle-lu Alle-lu, Alle-lu
Alle-lluia!!
Lets praise the Lord….
Alle-lu Alle-lu Alle-lu
Alle-lluia!!,
Lets praise the Lord….
Alle-luia, Lets Praise
the Lord!
Alle-luia, Lets Praise
the Lord!
Alle..lluia Lets praise the Lord….!!!
The leader reading the gospel, silently says: “Cleanse our hearts and our lips almighty God, that we 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. John.
Glory to You, O Lord
John 10:1-10 (GNT)
The Parable of the Shepherd.
Jesus said, “I am telling you the truth: the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. 4 When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice.”
6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what he meant.
Jesus the Good Shepherd
7 So Jesus said again, “I am telling you the truth: I am the gate
for the sheep. 8 All others who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be
saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only
in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have
life—life in all its fullness.
The Gospel of the Lord”
“Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ”
==== 7:19 - 7:24 ====
(*) Tell your prepared reflecting story to motivate the children, but according to the Gospel and children’s level of understanding like in the suggestions below…
Gospel reflection
Ask: What did Jesus call Himself? <Gate to
Heaven>
Can you remember what
Jesus says, right at the end of today’s gospel?
Jesus says, <“I
have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.” >
What do you think it
means to have life to the full? Let children discuss..
Explain: Living life to the full doesn’t mean
having all the latest toys or the most fashionable clothes or the biggest
house.
And it doesn’t even mean just having all the things we need in life, like enough food and somewhere safe to live, although this is a really important part of living life to the full.
It also means being the best person that we can be, living our lives well and having the chance to use all our gifts and talents for the good of others.
Memory Verse: John 10:10 “…,I have
come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness., ...”
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: We pray together to God, who comes to give us life to the full:
Prayer
1. We pray
for world leaders: that they may do all that they can to make sure all their
people have the chance to live life to the full..... We pray to the Lord...
Prayer2. We pray for all our brothers and sisters around the world: that they may have the chance to live free from poverty and hunger and be able to make the most of their own talents and gifts to build a better future...... We pray to the Lord...
Prayer 3. We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may use our gifts and talents to be the best people we can be and for the good of all.... We pray to the Lord....
Prayer 4. God of life in all its fullness, be with us as we try to be the best people we can be and inspire us to help others have the chance to use their gifts and talents too, so that the world may be a better place, reflecting the glory of your Kingdom.... 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
