Children’s Liturgy Group Blog

Welcome to our blog. This is our 2008 advent project which we hope will give you an insight into our Sunday Liturgy Group discussions on the Gospel of the day. Please feel free to contribute and post your ideas alongside our own. We hope you enjoy it.

Sunday 2^nd November 2008

ALL SAINTS

After lighting a candle, we discussed the significance of 'All Saints’ day. We asked why we commemorate it, what a saint was and what sort of things must one have done to become a saint.

We decided that saints were ordinary people who recognised their own need of God. They led lives which were often full of personal hardship, danger and fear to create signposts to God for us. Their lives are templates of godliness and are set as examples to us all. They are role models and today is the day we remember them.

We spread a series of news stories out on the floor in front of us. They each reported a terrible tragedy or incident from around the world from either war torn countries or particular political conflicts to areas that have suffered an immense natural disaster. There were also reports on dramatic incidents closer to home here in the UK. We each took a story which we read in silence for a few minutes and then we in turn told the rest of the group briefly what our story was about.

We then read The Gospel Matthew 5:1-12

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and

was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

'How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall

be satisfied.

Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the

kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and

speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord

We discussed how the Gospel is different from most of what we read - more like an instruction manual or handbook – and that is precisely what it is. The Beatitudes, as they are often known, are our instructions on how to find and serve God.

We discussed the Gospel, relating it to the earlier news stories. How could we use its instructions to make a difference in our own lives, we asked ourselves?

We thought about our own role models: people living a life that impacts on others in a positive way, offering us hope and guidance.

We turned over the news stories to find on the back an image of a person. Some we recognised; others we didn’t, and those came with a description of who they were and why they were important. While we listened to the uplifting music: ‘The Saints Are Coming’ by The Skids, we considered how each person related to the news stories on the other side of the page and today’s Gospel, then shared our thoughts.