Blessed Are You — An All Saints’ Day reflection for Children’s Liturgy of the Word at St. Victoria
29 children attended today’s session and we sat in a circle on the floor. I brought my baritone ukulele to help teach the beatitudes from today’s gospel reading. We began with an introduction to the lesson:
Can anyone tell me what day it was yesterday? It was Halloween, a day known as All Hallows’ Eve in our Catholic tradition. It is the day before we celebrate All Saints Day.
The word hallow can refer to making something holy or it can refer to a saint, someone who is holy and close to God. A saint is something we want to be.
Did anyone go trick-or-treating on Halloween? All 29 children raise their hands.
I hold up some candy wrappers: Butterfingers, Almond Joy, Kit-Kat, and Reese’s. I ask the children to identify each candy by its colorful wrappers.
Did you fill up on candy for Halloween? Yes!! Now, raise your hand if you were still hungry today even after eating all that candy yesterday. Yes. Everyone is still hungry for more food, especially Halloween candy!
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us that we are blessed with an everlasting happiness when we hunger for him. Just as our bodies hunger for food, our souls hunger for the love of God who made us. It is only God who truly satisfies our deepest hunger, more than any Halloween candy could do.
Next, we pray: Jesus, you taught us to live like you. You said, “Blessed are you who follow me, children who walk in my grace. Yours are my hands, my eyes that see. Yours is my tender face.” Amen.
I invite the children to prepare to listen to Jesus’ message. I will be singing a reflection from Matthew’s gospel, Chapter 5, as I strum on my ukulele. Jesus teaches us that we are blessed when we choose to live by following God’s way, even when it is hard. When we are blessed, we are made holy and we experience the happiness of being close to God.
As I sing our gospel message, the children join me in singing the refrain.
GOSPEL: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. ALL Respond: Glory to you, O Lord.
When Jesus saw a large crowd of people, He went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples gathered around Him, and Jesus began to teach them. Here is what Jesus said:
The Gospel of the Lord. ALL Respond: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
We consider how we can put the message of the gospel into practice:
· How can we bring peace or kindness to someone this week?
· What is one way you can live more like Jesus?
We end with a prayer before the children go to tables to color a picture of Jesus teaching the children about Living God’s Way.
We pray to thank Jesus for teaching us: Jesus, you want us to remember that God blesses us when we choose kindness, mercy, peace, and love. You bless us even when we are sad and when life is difficult. Thank you for blessing us. Amen.