Alleluia!

Today is Easter Sunday and we invite you to participate in a special edition of the Children’s Liturgy.

This is for all the children and for everyone in our Community!

Every Sunday morning, our English-Speaking Community of the Parish of Luxembourg Notre-Dame, gathered at the Church of St Alphonse, invites the younger children to participate in their own version of the Liturgy…

Today, Easter Sunday, we invite the rest of the Community to join us!

1. Sorry

After greeting each other, we begin Mass by saying “sorry” for anything we have done wrong over the last week.

2. Prayer

We pray together in silence, focused on the candle, speaking directly to God.

However small we are, every one of us can speak to God in this way.

3. Thanks

During Lent, we have been preparing for the great feast of Easter.

It has been a sad time, for many reasons. We have not sung the “Gloria” … until TODAY!

Today we sing the “Gloria” with special thanks for the glory of God!

The following recording only works if you take part: you must clap after each “Gloria!”

4. The Gospel Reading (John 20: 1-9)

Please read this to your children:

Before sunrise on the Sunday morning, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb. As she reached the entrance, she saw that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. She ran to the disciples saying, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and another disciple, John, ran to the tomb and found it just as Mary had described, with the linen burial cloths lying on the ground. The cloth which had been wrapped around Jesus’ head lay rolled up separately from the other pieces of cloth. Peter went into the tomb first, followed by John.

Until this moment they had not understood the Scriptures which had said, “He must rise from the dead.” But now they saw, and they believed.

5. Reflection

We reflect on the Gospel reading through puzzles, drawings and readings in our worksheet: LOOK-Sunday-12th-April-2020.

Happy Easter!   Allelulia!

Starring David, David, Eva, Giacomo, Guglielmo, Jakub, Joana, Marko, Rehen, Rozenne, Sara and Teresa

Produced by the Children’s Liturgy team.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday and marks the beginning of the most important week in the Christian year.

We hear two stories from the Gospel of Matthew at Mass today.

The first is a joyous and happy one:

Jesus and his disciples arrived at the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem. He sent two of the disciples to the next village to collect a donkey and her colt.

“If anyone stops you, tell them that they are for me and will be returned”, he said.

And so it was that the prophecy was fulfilled: “Tell Zion’s daughter: see your King drawing near, humbly riding on a donkey and her colt.”

They brought the animals to Jesus, and put cloaks on their backs so that Jesus could ride on them. When the people heard that Jesus was coming, they laid their cloaks on the road and pulled branches off the palm trees to wave in the air. The crowds grew more and more excited, and shouted at the top of their voices, “Hosanna, Hosanna! Blessed is the one sent by the Lord.”

Excitement filled the whole city, and some people asked, “Who is this man?”

The people answered them, “It is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

“Hosanna!” means “Praise God!”

To find ways to make your own palm to wave for Jesus and praise God on Palm Sunday, click here: Palms for Palm Sunday

For a worksheet on this story from the Gospel, click here: CAFOD.

The second story is much sadder (see the extract opposite). It describes the final days of Jesus’ life before he died on the Cross. We will hear another version of it on Good Friday.

For a worksheet on this story from the Gospel, click here: LOOK-Sunday-5th-April-2020

The story of Jesus’ suffering and death is called “The Passion”. It is told in one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written:

5th Sunday of Lent — Year A

Today’s story from the Gospel is all about L I F E — about how God gives us life and about how Jesus gives us hope and love to live.

Watch the video of today’s Gospel story:

What do you remember about today’s Gospel story?

Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus who lives in Bethany is sick. Sadly, by the time Jesus gets there Lazarus is dead and has been buried for four days.

Jesus goes to the tomb and asks them to roll away the stone which was blocking the entrance. He tells Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Lazarus walks out, covered in the cloths that he was buried in.

How do you think Mary, Martha and the other people there feel when they see Lazarus walking out of the tomb? Why do you think Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead? 

Unfortunately sometimes, just like Lazarus in today’s gospel, people do get sick. When this happens they go to the hospital where doctors and nurses work hard to care for them and try to make them better.

We are hearing a lot about people being sick and the coronavirus in the news at the moment. It can be really worrying. Lots of things have had to change, and that can make us feel sad, especially if we miss our friends and family who we can’t meet up with at the moment.

Jesus knows how we feel. He felt very sad and cried for his friend Lazarus who he loved.

We are all doing what we can to keep ourselves and other people fit and well. We are very grateful for all the doctors, nurses and everyone who is working so hard to care for those who are in need.

One example is Sister Consilia, a pharmacist in Zimbabwe. When she was young she was really ill with a disease called malaria. She had to walk for four hours to get the treatment she needed. That’s a long way to walk for help when you’re feeling poorly.

Now she helps other people to get the medicine and help that they need when they are ill. She says, “Through treating and caring for them, I try to show them the love that Christ shows us.”

God gives life to us all. God created us and wants every single one of us to live a happy life, with all the things that we need to grow and be the best people we can be. And Jesus came to show us how to live, how to treat others. How does Jesus ask us to treat others?

[Text adapted from the Children’s Liturgy resources provided by CAFOD]

Downloadable worksheets:

• Look, the Sunday leaflet for children
• CAFOD

Our Children’s Liturgy during the 11:15 Mass each Sunday is a vital part of our community life. For many children, this is their only formal religious education. To make up for being unable to meet in person, we want to share with you each Sunday some resources so that you can organise your own Children’s Liturgy at home.

You can download the LOOK worksheet for today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, here: LOOK-Sunday-22nd-March-2020.

CAFOD (the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development in England & Wales) today organised for the first time a live-streamed Children’s Liturgy, the recording of which you can view here. You can download the related worksheet here.

The Children’s Liturgy always focuses on the Gospel of the day. Today’s reading is rather long, with a lot of important concepts, and may be difficult to explain depending on the age of your child. Here is a slightly shortened version nevertheless: Children Liturgy 220320. The core message is explained in the excerpt from LOOK quoted in the picture above.