Children’s Liturgy

We offer Children’s Liturgy at all three weekend Masses during the school year. Children age 3 to grade 3 are called forward at the beginning of Mass and then sent out with a catechist to learn about the day’s readings. Please remember to bring a small donation for our Kid’s Collection.

1. Make the sign of the cross (In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit).
2. Play the music and sing the song:

“The B-I-B-L-E.  Yes that’s the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God.
The B-I-B-L-E

3. Show your children the parts of the Bible:The two main parts of the Bible are the New Testament and the Old Testament.
   The first part of the Liturgy of the Word at church is the first reading which is from the Old Testament
   We then read or sing a psalm which are poetry/songs of concern, prayer, praise
   We then hear the second reading which is a letter from the New Testament
   Finally, we hear the gospel, which is the good news of the death, burial, and  Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. The Bible bag:At church we have something in the ‘Bible bag’ that relates to this weeks Gospel reading. The bible bag can be any kind of container you like that you can’t see into.  Maybe a lunch bag or a purse would work.If you want to do this, I will have a suggestion for you each week for your ‘Bible Bag’. So this is where you can pull out the thing in the bag and ask if anyone can guess what this item has to do with today’s liturgy. If they can’t guess, tell them we will try and guess again after the Gospel reading.
5. Tell what the reading for today is (see page 3) and find it in the bible. You can explain about the 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and show how to find the reading in it.
6. Read today’s reading: either the full reading from your bible or the possibly shortened version from this lesson. Show your child how we make a cross on our forehead, our lips and our heart as we say ‘Glory to you Lord’. At the end of the reading, say ‘Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ’.
7. Review the item in the Bible Bag if necessary and try to figure out what it has to do with the reading.
8. Go through the lesson shortening it as necessary for your children. (see the next page)
9. Do the Five Finger Prayer:
   1. Thumb = Pray for family
   2. Pointer = Pray for teachers and doctors
   3. Middle = Pray for leaders
   4. Ring finger = Pray for the sick and dying
   5. Pinky = Pray for those who are sad and lonely
10. You can end with a song like ‘Jesus loves the Little Children” and then do the activity on the last page.

Make the sign of the cross again at the end.