St Albans Catholic Church Finchley Childrens Liturgy Content

St Alban’s Catholic Church, Finchley Children’s Liturgy Content from… https: //cafod. org. uk/Education/Children-s-liturgy https: //sermons 4 kids. com/

Hi, this week’s Liturgy of the Word has been prepared by Christine, Liz, Yvonne and Annette. Look out for more fellow catechists next week! Please get in touch with your comments and photos (not including children’s faces please) of the activities. Email finchleynorth@rcdow. org. uk Children’s Liturgy Annette Christine Liz Yvonne

Why is the advent Power. Point purple? Purple is the colour that is associated with advent as in ancient times purple was the colour of royalty because purple dye was costly and rare. So the liturgical colour of Advent is a symbol of looking forward to welcoming the coming of a King.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B. Do you have a candle and perhaps a cross? Why don’t you collect them and join together as a family to welcome Jesus. The symbolism of the Advent wreath is beautiful. The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life. The significance of the candles can be found on the next slide. Let us light the candle, make the sign of the cross and say… Dear God, Thank you for the big, round world Thank you for the sea. Thank you God for all my friends, Thank you God for loving me. Amen

Let us read today’s Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, To accept the words of your Son. Alleluia! Our Alleluia (sung to the tune of ‘If you’re happy and you know it. . ) Alleluia, alleluia praise the Lord! As we listen to the story. Let us praise him for his glory, Alleluia, alleluia praise the Lord!

Gospel: Luke 1: 26 -38 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!” Mary was deeply troubled by the angel's message, and she wondered what his words meant. The angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!” Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be? ” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God. Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old. For there is nothing that God cannot do. ” “I am the Lord's servant, ” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said. ” And the angel left her.

Gospel reflection: What do you remember from today’s reading? The angel Gabriel comes to tell Mary that she will have a very special baby, that he will be the Son of God and will be called Jesus. How do you think Mary felt when she heard this news? Mary was frightened at first. Her life was going to change forever. But she trusted in God and said “yes” to all that God asked of her. The angel Gabriel is God’s messenger to Mary and he brings some very important news. Have you ever been told a very important piece of news? Who was the messenger? Was it someone in your family, a teacher or a friend? What did they tell you? For example was it about a new baby brother or sister, or was it that someone was coming to visit? Or something else? How did you feel? Were you happy, excited, sad or frightened? God wants us all to be his messengers in the world. To share the message that God loves everyone and that we are all part of one global family.

How do you think we can prepare ourselves to meet Jesus? Advent is the special time of the year when we prepare ourselves to welcome Our Lord as the infant Jesus. We take the time to show our love for Him in many ways and we can show we are ready to meet Jesus through: • • helping everyone, sharing our belongings including everyone in our games being kind and not arguing giving money to the poor thinking of others praying more visit https: //cafod. org. uk/Education/For-families/Family-Advent-

Activity 1 and 2

Activity 3 If you would like to make a paper plate angel as an extra activity, here is an idea for you. You will need a paper plate, colouring pencils, paper to draw a face and paper to draw around your hands for wings. You will also need scissors. 1) Colour the plate in both sides 2) Fold two sides over as in the photo to make the body of the angel 3) Cut out and decorate a face and stick it to the top of the angel’s body 4) Draw round your hands and get a helper to cut the hands which will form the wings and then stick them on the back of the angel’s body. 5) You have a Christmas angel!

Closing prayer: God of love, help us to be your messengers on earth, showing your love for all people in everything that we do. Amen.