Sixteenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time (Year A) Sunday 23rd July 2023

 Children’s Liturgy (Oratorial)

Sixteenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time (Year A) 

Sunday 23rd July 2023

Preparing the worship space

Color: Green

Theme: Wheat and Weeds

  

 

Welcome: Today Jesus tells us the parable of weeds to try to explain what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Let’s think some more about this today.

                  ==== 7:00 - 7:03 ===  

Entrance Song 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZugvUQ4m90U Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here; Come bow before him now with reverence and fear: In him no sin is found - we stand on holy ground. Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.

Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around; He burns with holy fire, with splendor he is crowned: How awesome is the sight - our radiant King of light! Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.   

Ask: What was last week’s theme? <

“Seeds….”> < “We talked about how Jesus’ teachings are like seeds and we are the soil that the seeds fall upon. We said we should be the good soil so that we may be fruitful”.>

 

//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…

 Oh Lord Have Mercy

//Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)

Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)// x2  

Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy x2  

//Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)

Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)// x2 ====  7:11 - 7:14 ====

With a loud voice lets sing the Gloria!

GLORIA – Eco Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to the  Father...x2 To Him be glory forever!!x2 Alleluia Amen x2

Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to the 

Son...x2 To Him be glory forever!!x2 Alleluia Amen x2

Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to the 

Spirit...x2 To Him be glory forever!!x2 Alleluia Amen x2

Opening Prayer: Jesus, our teacher, help us to hear and understand what you ask of us, and to try to become the best people we can be. Amen.

===  7:14 - 7:19 ====

Liturgy of the Word

Introduce the first reading.

Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament book of Wisdom. We know that God is all powerful.  We trust in God’s justice and mercy. We trust that God will judge us fairly. In this reading, we also hear something about how we, God’s people, should act if we want to do good.  Listen closely to the reading and see if you can hear what it is.>  A prepared child/children come and take the reading.

 

Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19 (GNT) 13 All things are under your care, and there is no other god to whom you must justify your decisions.

¹⁶ Your strength is the source of justice. You can show mercy to everyone, because you are the Lord of all. ¹⁷ You show your strength when people doubt that your power is perfect, and you punish anyone who knows your power but dares to ignore it. ¹⁸ Even though you have absolute power, you are a merciful judge. You could take action against us whenever you like, but instead, you rule us with great patience. ¹⁹ By the things you have done you have taught your people that a person who is righteous must also be kind. You have given your people abundant hope by allowing them to repent of their sins.

This is the word of the Lord;

All say “Thanks be to God”. Ask: Did you hear anything special about how we should act?  <God tells us that if we want to be good, we will do what God does – we will care about others> Sometimes we get so involved with doing good things that we forget that what we are supposed to do most of all is love others.  

Say: Let us now focus on our responsorial Psalm:

< Lord, you are good and forgiving…> 3x

Introducing the Gospel

Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Matthew 13:24-30. Matthew brings us another parable to go along with the one from last week. Today we hear about some seeds which grow very well, both good crops and weeds.  The question is:  what do we do when it is time to harvest the crop? Remember that a PARABLE is a teaching story.  See if you can find out who the plants are and who the farmer is.

 

...with Alleluia!! –

WE SING WHILE STANDING AND WELCOME THE GOSPEL!!

You are welcome Lord of Lords,

 

You are welcome King of Kings  

You are welcome Lord of Hosts

You are welcome Prince of Peace..

<You are welcome here, Alle-lluia, Alle..lluia Might God!!!>x 2

 

 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. Matthew.

Glory to You, O Lord

 

Matthew 13:24-30 (GNT)  

The Parable of the Weeds.

 

24    Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ 

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:  Can anyone tell me about the plants, the good crops and the weeds?  <the good crops are people who follow God’s laws and the weeds are the ones who don’t>  Who is the farmer?  <GOD>  Who planted the weeds?  <the devil>  What happens next?  How does the farmer get rid of his problem?  <he waits until harvest time to make the judgment>  What might this mean to us?  <that it is God’s job to figure out who does right and wrong> Memory Verse: Mathew

“43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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: let us try to listen to Jesus as we pray together:

 

Prayer 1. Let us pray for all the clergy, that as they spread the message of love, as Jesus Christ instructed, people’s hearts may change to become like a good crop to be more fruitful. We pray to the Lord...

  

Prayer2.

Let us pray for all people that grow crops to feed themselves and to feed others: that they may have a good harvest to also get money out of it to cater for a better future.  We pray to the Lord....

 

Prayer 3.

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may help others to learn and do all that we can to be the best people we can be

 

Prayer 4. 

And for all of us gathered here, may our Lord, Jesus Christ be with us when we find things difficult, and strengthen us as we help each other, so that all people may have hope for the 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....

 

 

Fifteenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time (Year A) Sunday 16th July 2023

Children’s Liturgy (Oratorial)

Fifteenth Sunday in the Ordinary

Time (Year A)

Sunday 16th July 2023

Preparing the worship space

Colour: Green

Theme: The Sower.

Welcome: Today Jesus tells us a parable of the sower. It shows us how important it is that the seeds land on the right kind of ground to grow, but it also tells us something about ourselves and how we should be. Let’s listen and find out more.

==== 7:00 - 7:03 ===

Entrance Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZugvUQ4m90U

Be still, for the presence of the Lord,

the Holy One, is here;

Come bow before him now with reverence and fear: In him no sin is found - we stand on holy ground. 

Be still, for the glory of the Lord is

shining all around;

He burns with holy fire, with splendor he is crowned: How awesome is the sight – our radiant King of light!

Ask: What was last week’s theme? <

“Gentle and Humble….” < “ Jesus told us

that “Take my yoke and put it on you,

and learn from me, because I am gentle

and humble in spirit; and you will find

rest” 

//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 saythrough

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…

Oh Lord Have Mercy

//Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)

Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)// x2

Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy x2

//Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)

Oh Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)// x2

==== 7:11 - 7:14 ====

With a loud voice lets sing the Gloria!

GLORIA – Eco

Glory to God, Glory to God,

Glory to the Father...x2 To Him be glory

forever!!x2 Alleluia Amen x2

Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to the Son...x2

To Him be glory forever!!x2 Alleluia Amen x2

Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to the

Spirit...x2 To Him be glory forever!!x2 Alleluia

Amen x2

Opening Prayer: God of life, help us to

hear your word, to understand it and to grow to live our lives the way you call us to. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

=== 7:14 - 7:19 ====

Liturgy of the Word

Introduce the first reading.

Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament

book of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 55:10-11)., we

hear about rain and snow falling to the earth. Do rain and snow have anything to do with the seeds we are talking about today? <they provide the necessary water to help the seeds germinate>

Does anyone know what a comparison is, what it means to compare things? <to see how two

things are alike.>

A prepared child/children come and

take the reading.

Isaiah 55:10-11 (GNT)

10 “My word is like the snow and the rain

that come down from the sky to water

the earth.

They make the crops grow

and provide seed for planting and food

to eat.11 So also will be the word that I

speak— it will not fail to do what I plan for

it; it will do everything I send it to do.

This is the word of the Lord;

All say “Thanks be to God”.

Ask: Isaiah compared rain and snow to

something completely different. Did anyone

hear what it was<his words>? <rain and

snow fall to the earth and help the seeds

grow. Little ones, listen to Isaiah’s words

and grow in knowledge of God>

Say: Let us now focus on our responsible Psalm:

< The seed that falls on good

ground will yield a fruitful

harvest…> 3x

Introducing the Gospel

Say: Today we hear Matthew telling us

about one of the PARABLES that Jesus

told. Can anyone tell me what a

PARABLE is? <a teaching story> Jesus

taught many things using PARABLES.

Today’s PARABLE is about a sower. What was the sower doing? He was planting using a method called SOWING. (Swing your arm in a wide circle like the farmer would scatter seed.) The seeds fell in

different places and grew in differing

ways. Keep in mind Isaiah’s comparison

about the rain and the snow and listen

to this PARABLE.

...with Alleluia!! –

WE SING WHILE STANDING AND

WELCOME THE GOSPEL!!

YELELE YELELE HALLELUIAH. [G]

Chorus: Halleluiah, Helleluiah x3 Yelele

yelele Halleluiah.

1. Eyende mbele, Halleluiah x3 Yelele yelele

Halleluiah.

2. Moto, moto, Halleluiah x3 Yelele yelele

Halleluiah.

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. Matthew.

Glory to You, O Lord

Matthew 13:1-9 (GNT)

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus left the house

and went to the lakeside, where he sat

down to teach. 2 The crowd that

gathered around him was so large that

he got into a boat and sat in it, while

the crowd stood on the shore. 3 He used

parables to tell them many things.

“Once there was a man who went out to

sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in

the field, some of it fell along the path,

and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some

of it fell on rocky ground, where there

was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted,

because the soil wasn't deep. 6 But when

the sun came up, it burned the young

plants; and because the roots had not

grown deep enough, the plants soon dried

up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn

bushes, which grew up and choked the

plants. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil,

and the plants bore grain: some had one

hundred grains, others sixty, and others

thirty.”9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if

you have ears!”.

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:

Say: When the farmer scattered the

seed, where did it fall and what

happened? <along road – birds ate

them, rocky ground, sprouted but didn’t

have strong roots, thorn bushes – grew

but got choked out, and the good soil –

produced a lot of food> Did anyone

hear what the seed was compared to?

<Jesus’ words>

Say: If Jesus was talking about his words

falling in the places where the seeds fell,

what might that mean?

*Along the road – people who don’t listen at all,

*Rocky ground – people who hear but can’t (or won’t) apply it,

*Thorn bushes – those people whose lives are so crowded (by necessity or by choice) that they can’t apply Jesus’ message,

*In good soil - those who listen and take the message to heart and grow> We all

have to choose what kind of soil we want

to be and work hard to be there.

Memory Verse: Mathew 13:8

8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and

the plants bore good grain.

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: let us try to listen to Jesus as

we pray together:

Prayer 1. Let us pray for the church; For Pope

Francis, Arch Bishops Priests, and all the clergy, that as they spread

the message of love, as Jesus Christ instructed,

people’s hearts may change to become like a

good ground so that they do God’s will. We

pray to the Lord...

Prayer2

Let us pray for all civil leaders throughout the

world but most especially our leaders in

Uganda, May the good Lord, with the help of

the Holy Spirit guide them to be the seeds that

fell on the fertile ground, to bring about a

hopeful change within the hearts of their

people. We pray to the Lord...

Prayer 3.

Let us pray for all people that grow crops to

feed themselves and to feed others: that they

may have a good harvest to also get money out

of it to cater for a better future. We pray to

the Lord....

 

Prayer 4. Let us pray for all our relatives and

friends who have died, especially for whom we

remember in a special way at this Mass,

Eternal rest grant unto them oh Lord, and let

perpetual light shine upon them.

We pray to the Lord...

Prayer 5. And for all of us gathered here, may

our Lord, Jesus Christ be with us when we find

things difficult, and strengthen us as we help

each other, so that all people may have hope

for the 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