Children’s Liturgy (Oratorial)
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion(Year B) 24th March, 2024
Preparing the worship space.
***before you begin, make sure that you have readers for the different roles in the Passion reading: You, an adult will be the narrator, good readers for Jesus and Pilate, and a few chosen readers to help lead small groups of younger children in the “priests” and the “crowd” parts. Have the parts ready for the children with highlighted sections***
Theme Colour: Red
Theme of the Day: Palms
Jesus treated like a King before His passion. 
==== 7:00 - 7:03 =3===
Entrance Song
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising
1 Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
give me joy in my heart, I pray;
give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
keep me praising till the break of day:
Refrain:
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
sing hosanna to the King of kings!
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
sing hosanna to the King!
2 Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
give me peace in my heart, I pray;
give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
keep me loving till the break of day:
[Refrain]
3 Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
give me love in my heart, I pray;
give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
keep me serving till the break of day:
[Refrain]
Ask: Do you know what week we are starting?
<Holy Week> and next Sunday we celebrate Easter, and still see how this is very true.
Welcome: Today we hear how crowds of people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem shortly before he was crucified. We have palms to remind us of how the people cut branches and laid them in the road before Him as they shouted with joy.
****We have some extra church services this week to remember the things that happened to Jesus before he died and rose again. We gather on Holy Thursday to remember His last supper together with His friends(Disciples). We gather on Good Friday to remember how He died for us. And we will gather again on Easter Sunday to celebrate His rising from the dead, His triumph over death. ****
//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*
Still Gloria is not sung at all during the Holy Week.
Opening Prayer:
Our God most high, we welcome you into our lives as the people of Jerusalem welcomed your son our Lord Jesus Christ, with respect, love and happiness. Help us to remember that you are in all people and help us to try to make them feel welcome. 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. In this reading, Isaiah talks about being tortured because he believed in God. He reminds us that even in the worst of times, God is with us and to never be ashamed to believe in God.
A prepared child/children come and take the reading.
First Reading is from the book of
Isaiah 50:4-7 (NRSVCE)
6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.
7. The Lord God helps me; therefore, I have not been disgraced; therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
“This is the word of the Lord”
All say “Thanks be to God”.
Say: God is with us, even when we are persecuted.
Say: Let us now focus on our responsorial Psalm:
< My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ...>3x
Introduce the Gospel
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the New Testament book of Matthew. It is called the passion. It is a long reading and we shall read parts of it together. This is the story of what happened to Jesus. It is a sad story. While we read, think about how you might have acted if you were living at that time.
....
Say: Usually we stand to get ready to hear the Gospel; today we will sit because this Gospel is a little different:
..with No Alleluia!! –
Still in this Holy Week, we shall not sing the Alleluia but can sing a song short song åwithout Alleluia.
Silently say: “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
Mark 15:1-39 (GNT)
Readers
Narrator--- Black Adult
Pirate--- Green Child
Jesus--- Red Adult
Crowd--- Yellow Children
Chief Priests---Grey Children
Centurion---- Blue Child
Jesus Faces Pilate
15 As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
2 So Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
He answered him, “You say so.”
3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Pilate questioned him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!” 5 But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.
Jesus or Barabbas
6 At the festival Pilate used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested. 7 There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion. 8 The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. 9 Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?” 10 For he knew it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead. 12 Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the King of the Jews?”
13 Again they shouted, “Crucify him!”
14 Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Mocked by the Military
16 The soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called the whole company together. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying him homage. 20 After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him.
Crucified between Two Criminals
They led him out to crucify him. 21 They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull). 23 They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24 Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. 25 Now it was nine in the morning[a] when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge written against him was: The King of the Jews.27 They crucified two criminals[b] with him, one on his right and one on his left.[c]
29 Those who passed by were yelling insults at[d] him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,30 save yourself by coming down from the cross!” 31 In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.
The Death of Jesus
33 When it was noon,[e] darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.[f] 34 And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”[g]
35 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “See, he’s calling for Elijah.”
36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered him a drink, and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37 Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he[h] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”[i]
“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: Do you think that the people who killed Jesus were all bad people? Or do you think maybe they might have been frightened into doing the wrong thing? Maybe they don’t really understand. <We know that Jesus forgave the people who killed him. He regularly forgives us too as long as we recognize what we do wrong and are sorry.>
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 welcome Jesus into our lives in other people, we pray together…
Prayer 1. We pray for world leaders: that they may be inspired by Jesus’ example to care for all people, especially those who are poor... We pray to the Lord...
Prayer2. We pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world: that we may look for Jesus within them and treat each other as we would wish to be treated... We pray to the Lord...
Prayer 3. We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may welcome all people with respect and love as Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem... We pray to the Lord....
Prayer 4. God of truth, we thank you for sending us your Son Jesus. Open our hearts so that we may welcome him in others and bring us together to make the world a fairer place... 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
