Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, you we thank you for giving us Jesus to be our Light. Help us to follow Him and be thankful that His light shines on us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sorry Song (to the tune of If you’re happy and you know it)
When we say that you are sorry, God forgives.
When we say that you are sorry, God forgives.
If our sins are large or small,
God will still forgive them all.
When we say that we are sorry, God forgives.
Then sing the Gloria (tune of Row, Row, Row your Boat)
Praise, praise, praise the Lord, Praise our Father dear.
As we listen to his word, feel his spirit near.
Gospel – John 6:51-58
The Lord be with you. All: And with your spirit. (teach them this)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. All: Glory to you, O Lord.
(teach them this)
Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live for ever. The bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”
This started an angry argument among them. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way, whoever eats me will live because of me. This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate. They later died, but those who eat this bread will live for ever.”
(Gospel passage taken from Good News Translation®
Suggestions for the Discussion
Have you ever brought something special home for your parents or carers that you made in school or you bought them as a birthday gift? Maybe they put the drawing on the refrigerator or put that special birthday gift on a shelf where they could see it often. These things remind them of how much you love them and they think of you every time they see that special something. Jesus wanted to give us something very special of himself before he ascended to heaven after his resurrection so we could remember Him and today we have another feast to celebrate that. It is the Feast of Christ’s Body and Blood. We also call it the Eucharist. We share the Eucharist together to remind us that we are all united. do you know what a chalice and a host are? These are the items we use at Mass that hold or
become Christ’s Body and Blood. The chalice is the cup and the host is the bread (wafer).
There are two main parts of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. Both parts are very important. When we are able to go to church, we share the Liturgy of the Word during Children's Liturgy at the same time that everyone else is sharing it right in the main church. Then we go back for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Who knows what happens in the Liturgy of the Eucharist? The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus. Is that hard to believe and how do we know it's true? Because Jesus told us in the Gospel. In our Bible story today, Jesus told the people ""I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." Even before we have made our First Communion when we can only get a blessing, we still get to share in the Eucharist and welcome Jesus into our hearts.
If we feed our hearts with the bread of life, we will grow closer to Jesus, just as He wants us to. How else can we grow closer to Jesus? Read the Bible, pray every day, be kind, helpful, caring, respectful, forgiving, don’t be tempted to follow what we know is wrong, remember to ask for forgiveness for our mistakes, listen to our parents, carers etc., pray for all the doctors, nurses and medical workers who are working so hard at the moment, pray for our world and be thankful for all we do have.
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