Today we would have normally gathered together at Church, collected our blessed Palms, and walked together in a "procession" (like a small parade) celebrating Jesus' arrival. We would then take those blessed Palms and place them in our homes, cars, school, or other important places to us. Lately we've been staying home to stay safe, but that doesn't mean we can't find other ways to celebrate.
For this activity, you will need:
paper
leaves
glue
scissors
writing material
*Note: you can reinforce the paper or stick it as is with clear tape on a window or door.
You can hold up your Palm crosses with any branches you can source to be blessed during the Mass if you wish.
Optional worksheets:
Thank you for joining me today. Let's say a closing prayer.
Sign of the Cross.
Thank you Lord for letting us learn about this important day. Thank you Jesus for entering the town and making the sacrifices you did afterwards. We ask you to be with us and our loved ones as we observe this Holy Week. Guide us, watch over us, and keep us safe. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sign of the Cross.
Good morning everyone, let's stand and get ready to pray.
Sign of the Cross.
Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent, or Lazarus Sunday. Does that mean we are further from Easter or closer? (Closer). Easter is almost here! Next Sunday we will celebrate the Passion, or Palm Sunday. In today's gospel we look at another great miracle Jesus performed.
But first, let's all stand and stretch our hands way up high, shake out your legs and let's get ready to sing together (Jesus is The Rock On Which I Stand):
That was great! I wonder, how strong is a rock? Is it stronger than a biscuit? We can break a biscuit and even bite into it, but can we do that to a rock? (No) Is a rock stronger than a tea cup? If a rock and tea cup fall off the table, will they both break? (No, the tea cup will break, not the rock). If I was playing "rock, paper, scissors" what would happen if I played "rock" and my friend played "scissors"? ("Rock" would win)
Rocks must be really strong then, they're very hard to destroy. Could there be anything greater than the strength of a rock? What about how much Jesus loves us? I think Jesus' love for us is stronger than any amount of rocks in the world, don't you? How come?
Now let's stand for our Gospel reading today:
How did Jesus raise Lazarus from dead? Was it a magic trick? Was it a miracle? How do we know?
Let's try a little experiment to find out.
All you will need is a few old 5¢ coins, and a small bowl with 6 parts white distilled vinegar to 2 parts salt. Mix the vinegar and salt solution well before you begin. Take a good sniff! Does it smell lovely? 👃😵😏
Now let's begin. On the LEFT side of my water and vinegar solution, I have some really old, dirty looking 5¢coins. On the RIGHT side of my solution, I have a shiny and clean 5¢ coin.
How did I get a dirty coin so shiny and clean? Note that I did not rub it or scrub it at all.
Can you see the coin in the MIDDLE? It is UNDER the solution. If you look closely, you can see half of the coin is shiny and half of it is not. How did I do that? Is it magic? Is it a miracle?
I'm going to reveal the secret. I dipped HALF of the coin in the solution for a few seconds and took it back out. The vinegar and salt mix cleaned the dirtiness off of the coin, much like Jesus cleans our hearts of the wrong things we do.
Is this trick magic? Is this a miracle?
This is not a miracle. I've explained how I did the trick and I've shared how you can do it too. A miracle is something that cannot be explained and it's not like a magic trick or science experiment that everyone can do. No one can explain how Jesus performed the miracles he did or try to perform those miracle too. Jesus was the son of God and he used that power to perform miracles to help people because he loved us all so much.
Can I perform a miracle? Can you? Not likely. But you can try this at home and think about Jesus's miracles. Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and gave him a new chance at life, so too we clean these coins and make them shiny and new. This coin trick is not a miracle, but it's pretty cool huh?
Give it a try! Put your old coins INSIDE the solution and take them out after a few seconds. Do the coins look different the longer they stay in the solution? Your turn to find out!
Thank you for joining me today everyone.
Let's stand and get ready for our closing prayer.
Hands together, feet together, eyes closed.
Sign of the Cross.
Thank you Lord for letting us hear your Word today. Be with us through our week and remind us to let you keep working in us and washing away the parts of us that aren't so nice so we can let you shine, nice and bright, in our hearts, super clean and shiny. Help us to be helpful, kind, and loving to others just as you performed miracles like the one we learned about today because you loved us and wanted to show kindness and help people. We thank you for your amazing miracles Lord, and ask that you help us remember your awesome works so we can try to be awesome too! Bless us Lord, lift us up and our friends and families as we remember to love one another during this time of isolation and follow instructions to stay healthy and strong. In your Great and Holy name we pray Lord Jesus, Amen.
Good morning everyone, let's stand and get ready to pray.
Sign of the Cross.
Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Can anyone remember what season the Church is in? We are in the season of...Lent. Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A.
Can anyone remember when we did the song, "This Little Light of Mine" in a previous Sunday School class?
Let's sing it again, together!
What a great song! I would like everyone to look around at all the amazing things around us. Now don't look directly into any lights, but can you see the Sun shining outside? Can you see the light shining in the room you're in? It's bright, isn't it?
Now cover your eyes really tight. Can you still see the light? What do you see instead? I see darkness when I cover my eyes - no light here. But if we open our eyes; LIGHT! Isn't that really cool?
Let's stand for our Gospel reading today.
What are some things you are thankful you can see?
Thank you for joining me today boys and girls. Let's stand for our closing prayer.
Hands together, feet together, eyes closed.
Sign of the Cross.
Thank you Lord for allowing us to hear your Word and learn from it today. Help us to remember not to be blind to things around us, and even when we cannot see and are not sure about what is happening or what will happen next, we thank you for opening our eyes to see the light of the world, Jesus, present in every moment of every day even in simple ways like the Sun coming up every day to give us light or in kind people that open their hearts to help others stay healthy and safe. Continue to Bless us and watch over us Lord as we remember your Word through our week. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
