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, do you remember what color the priest was wearing? Remember, when a priest offers Mass, he wears special clothes. The clothes are called “vestments.” The biggest thing that we see is the “chasuble.” 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 again, because it’s "Ordinary Time" on the church calendar. The priest wears different colors based on the church calendar. In “Ordinary Time,” the color is green.

Do you remember who 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,” people in the parish who volunteer to read. The third reading is done by the priest. That reading is from the gospels. The gospels tell us about what Jesus said and what Jesus did.

The reading on Sunday was from the Gospel of Mark.
In the Gospel of Mark, we learn that Jesus said, “For God, all things are possible.”

Let's try something:

First, we’re going to take a big breath of air in and then hold it.

Ready? I'll do it with you. On three: One… two… three… BREATHE IN and HOLD!

[Say the following without expelling much air:]  -- Now that you're all full of air, WITHOUT LETTING GO OF THE AIR YOU HAVE, try  to breathe in another HUGE breath!  1, 2, 3, GO!

[NOTE: Try to breathe in more air.]

Ok, you can go back to breathing normal.

Could you breathe in as much air the second time as you could the first time?

Why not?

You could not get as much air because you were still holding on to that first breath of air.

The way breathing works is that you have to LET GO of the first breath in order to be able to take the next breath.

If you think about it, we’re letting go of something we need before we have the next amount of that thing we need. We have to trust that there will be more air for us after we expel our breath, after we breathe out.

In the scripture story that the priest read to us on Sunday, there was a story about a man who asked Jesus how he could better receive what God offered. Jesus told the man to let go of the thing that the man thought he needed, so that the man could receive from God the next thing that the man needed. ... That sounds a little like breathing, right? Let go of one breath, so that you can have the next breath. ... But, for the man who was talking with Jesus, it was too hard for him to let go, and he walked away from Jesus. Jesus understood that it was hard to let go of something you really want and hard to trust that God will take care of you, but Jesus said, “For God, all things are possible.”

Remember that we sometimes do prayers in church where one person will read parts of the prayer, and then everyone all together will respond? We’re going to say a prayer that way again. It’s on page 144 of your book, and we’re going to do it with one person reading parts of the prayer, and everyone all together will respond. ...  (I’ll tell you how to respond.)  ... [NOTE: Do unit prayer on page 144.]

There’s a song that was playing when class began, and I have the words to it. I think you might be able to read a few of the words. I’m going to play the song again, and we’re going to sing along with it.

[NOTE: Play “We Are Marching” via the computer. The song is at the Christ In Us site.
It’s under “Grade 1,” then under “Unit 4.” Once on the “Unit 4” page, scroll down to “Encounter,” and you’ll see a circle with a musical note inside the circle and the words, “We Are Marching.” Click on that, and you’ll see the words and can listen to the song being sung. We will use this song, along with printed words for the children. The words are simple, and the repeat of the pattern can help with reading.]

This week we’re going to do lesson # 18. It starts on page 161 of your book.

[NOTE: Ask the children what they see in the photo on page 161; there is a family that appears to be praying before a meal. Read the lesson. Help the children do activity at bottom of page 163. Continue reading at page 164. Have the children repeat the “Glory Be to the Father” line by line. Ask questions 1, 2, and 3 on page 167. ... Encourage the children to pray at home with family — perhaps as simple as saying, “Thank you God for this food,” before they begin a meal, or saying, “Thank you God for this day and for a safe place to sleep,” when they go to bed at night.]

Snack Time: Give the 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.  (snack: crackers and grape juice)

We’re going to see a little movie about Jesus while we have our snack. It’s a Brother Francis movie:
Play Brother Francis’ “Who is Jesus?”
https://watch.formed.org/adventure-catechism/videos/adventure-catechism-2-who-is-jesus-1

Coloring sheet: The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.


[Clean-up time. Send home the Children's Worship Bulletin.]

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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