Let’s begin with the Sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful. Light the fire of your love in them. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

At Mass this weekend, did you say hello to the priest after Mass? Priests are always happy to have people speak when they’re leaving church. That’s one reason the priest stands near the door when we leave, so we can greet him. ... Do you remember what color the priest was wearing? We’re going to play a game every week: “What color was the priest wearing?”

When a priest offers Mass, he wears special clothes. The clothes are called “vestments.” The biggest thing that we see is sort of like a poncho that the priest puts over his head. It’s called a “chasuble.” You can see the chasuble in this picture. If you were at church, do you remember what color chasuble the priest was wearing on Sunday? Try to remember, and color the chasuble.
[Give children the chasuble color sheets.]

Green! It’s "Ordinary Time." There is what we call the “church calendar,” and the priest wears different colors based on the church calendar. We’ll talk about that another time, but the time we are in now is called “Ordinary Time,” and the color is green.

We’re going to have another few minutes with Brother Francis. Let’s watch, “Who Made the World?”
Who Made the World/

Remember that we are going to talk about God here, every week. And remember that God made all things in the universe. God created us, and God loves every one of us. There is only one God -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, like the three parts of a clover leaf that all together make up one clover. 

Every Sunday at Mass, there are readings from the Bible. There are three readings. The first two readings are done by people we call “lectors.” The third reading is done by the priest. That reading is from a part of the Bible that we call “the Gospels.” The Gospels tell us about Jesus. They tell us what Jesus said and what Jesus did. There are four Gospels: the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, and the Gospel of John. They were written by four men. Can you guess what the names of those four men were?

The reading on Sunday was from the Gospel of Mark. In the Gospel of Mark, we learn that Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them. The kingdom of God belongs to them.”

Remember that we sometimes do prayers in church, where one person will read parts of the prayer, and everyone all together will respond? We did that last week with one of the prayers of St. Francis of Assisi. We’re going to say that prayer again. It’s on page 60 of your book, and we’re going to do it with one person reading parts of the prayer, and everyone all together will respond. The response is, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” Can we say that now? “Lord make me an instrument of your peace.” ... Okay. Let's start.  [Unit prayer on page 60.]

This week we’re going to do lesson # 10. It starts on page 93 of your book.
[Read and ask questions at times.]

Snack Time: Give snacks, and say the Grace Before Meals prayer:
Bless us, O Lord, and these gifts that we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(crackers and grape juice)

Puzzles from Children's Bulletin.

Coloring sheet: St. Francis graphic. Yesterday (Monday) was the feast day for St. Francis.


God made every one of us.
And God made ____’s little brother who is still inside ____’s mom’s body.
And God loves every one of us, and every little baby inside its mother.
As Catholics, we respect life, from the start until the end, from when we are just tiny babies inside our moms until we are old, old people.

This is a doll. It’s just a doll, but the doll is about the size of ____’s baby brother who is inside ____’s mom now. He has been inside their mom for almost seven months, since about when winter started going away. He can move around and can hear things that happen wherever his mom is. He can suck his thumb. He can tell when it’s really bright and light, and when it’s all dark. He hiccups. He sleeps, and he wakes up. And he is about this size now, at about seven months, but not this fat.

After he had been inside his mom for about only 13 weeks, he was about this big ["Kelly" doll], but he would have been curled up, with his knees bent up to his chest — something that this little doll can’t do. He would not have been standing up straight like this little doll. Just 13 weeks after God made ____’s little brother, his heart had been beating for 8 weeks. He had lips, and a nose, and eyes, and eyelids. He could blink his eyes. Teeth already were formed inside his jaw bone. He had fingers and toes and could open and close his hands. His fingerprints were forming -- the same fingerprints that he'll have when he's 6 years old, and when he's 60 years old. If you had been able to see him, you already could have told that he's a boy. He could turn turn somersaults and stretch out inside his mom.
... And what I am telling you is absolutely the truth. As Catholics, we respect life from when it begins, because a person’s a person, no matter how small.
[Give the children the little "Kelly" dolls to take home and dress.]

Closing prayers: Time to get ready to say good bye. :-) We'll begin with the Our Father. If you know the Our Father, please join in.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, please defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke the devil, we humbly pray.
And do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits,
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen

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