Page 3 - Weekday LIturgies for Children

weekday liturgies for children
Homily Ideas
Visual: a ute or other wind instrument
begin the homily with a song about Mary, such as “hail Mary: Gentle woman.”
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show the wind instrument and ask how it works (someone blows air through it). explain that some- one once compared Mary to a reed or a ute be- cause she let God’s breath work through her.
she said yes to God’s messenger, the angel Gabriel, and she agreed to be the Mother of God. she was puzzled about how this would be, and she probably knew there would be su ering involved. still she said yes. God was able to do great things through Mary, just as a musician is able to make beautiful music through a ute.
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explain that Mary was not proud and pu ed up about her important role. as the one who would give birth to the Messiah everyone was waiting for, she could have been self-centered. instead, she reached out to others. one of the rst things Mary did was to give service to an older relative named elizabeth who was pregnant. Mary, carrying christ within her, went to help someone. she did what Paul in the rst reading tells us to do: she comfort- ed someone in great need.
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Tell the children that when elizabeth told Mary she knew she was God’s mother, Mary broke out in a song of praise to God that the church prays every day in its o cial evening prayer. is song of praise is called the Magni cat.
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Point out that in her song Mary predicted that God was about to overturn the old way of doing things. e weak would become powerful, and the pow- erful would be made weak. Mary foretold that be- cause of God’s goodness to her, everyone would call her blessed. ask: when do we call Mary blessed? (in the hail Mary). you might have the children pray the hail Mary now and raise their hands when they reach the part that calls Mary blessed.
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comment that in her song, Mary praised God for the good things God did, especially for keeping the promise to send a savior. she praised God for being just and merciful. ask: what are some things we could praise God for? how can we praise God? Mention that the angels praised God the night Jesus was born. ask what they said (glory to God in the highest).
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Mention to the children that as they prepare their hearts during advent, they should be making them into hearts full of praise.
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