Father/Mother: Let us begin with the sign of the Cross.
All: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
All: Dear Jesus, we are here to spend a few minutes with you in prayer. We want to pray for ourselves, our friends and neighbours and for everyone in the world. We know that you came to call all of us to know, love and serve your heavenly Father so that we would be one big, happy family.
Parent: Jesus, be close to us now as we pray to the Father in the words you taught us.
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Parent: Jesus, we want to pray to your Mother too. We want to remember how the angel told her she was to be your Mother. We want to remember how she went to Elizabeth who praised her for saying to God, "Be it done to me as you wish." That was saying a big "yes" to God. We want to ask Mary to pray for us because we know, Jesus, that if we are close to her, we will be close to you.
All: Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Parent: Jesus, as God, you were in existence before the world was made. Then you became a human being with Mary as your mother so that you could tell the world how you and the Father and the Holy Spirit together love all of us and want to share your holy life with us. all praise to this Most Holy Trinity.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
Parent: (Name) will you read for us that we will have something special to think about?
(Here mother or dad asks someone to read a Bible story selected from the following.)
Bible Stories
The Annunciation - Luke 1:26-38. The Visitation - Luke 1:39-80. Jesus' birth - Luke 2:1-20. Jesus' baptism - Mark 1:3-11. Cana - John 2:1-11. Cure of Leper - Mark 1:40-45. Feeding Crowd - Matthew 15:32-38. Ten Lepers - Luke 17:11-19. Labourers in Vineyard - Matthew 20:1-16. Merciless Servant - Luke 18:21-35. Pharisee and Tax Collector - Luke 18:9-14. Good Samaritan - Luke 10:29-37. Good Shepherd - John 10:1-21.
Parent: Let's talk a little bit about the story. Would you like to tell the story yourself? Did you like the story? Who were the good people in the story? Were there any bad people in the story? Suppose you had been there; what would you have done?
(Here mother or dad gives each one a chance to answer. At the end, he or she can talk briefly about a lesson that can be learned from the story.)
Parent: I think now that we should pray for our family and for all families. We can begin by remembering the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. They had their good times and parties and they had their hard times too, like when it rained every day for a week, or when Jesus went to Jerusalem and got lost, or when St. Joseph was sick, or when their friends were sick. But they were happy because they loved each other and were kind and helpful to each other. So let us pray that God will help us to be a kind and loving family with each one trying to obey God and to help one another.
(The following paragraphs may be added occasionally.)
Of course, the Holy Family had relatives and friends, and they cared about them too. We remember Mary went to stay with Elizabeth when she was going to have a baby. And St. Joseph was a carpenter and was always fixing things for the neighbours. And Jesus, besides being a young boy was also God, so he was always being good to others. Imagine living next to Jesus! Could he ever help you with your homework! So let us pray for our friends and relatives that God will bless them and keep them from harm.
When Jesus grew up and left home to go around preaching about God the Father and his love for us all, he remembered how happy he had been with his family and tried to make everyone understand that we are really one big family, with God as our Father. he talked about being kind, about forgiving those who hurt us, about taking care of the hungry and those who have no families of their own. So let us pray for everybody in the world and especially for those who have no one to care about them.
There were men and women who listened to Jesus and prayed with him for those who were poor or sick or hungry or did not know that God the Father loved them. Jesus said to many of these men and women, "I am glad that you are praying with me. But I would like you to work with me too." So the apostles and others went around preaching about God's love. Other men, and some women too were busy helping the sick and feeding the hungry and teaching the children. As we grow up, Jesus says to us, "I am glad that you are praying for your family and for others. I would like you to work with me too." To some he says, "I want you to get married and teach your children to be good and loving." To some boys he says, "I would like you to be priests when you grow up." To others he says, "I would like you to be religious brothers when you grow up." To some girls he says, "I would like you to be nuns when you grow up." And to still others, boys and girls, he says, "I would like you to grow up to be single people working in the world and helping me to make others understand that God loves them." So let us pray that as we grow up, we will try to know what Jesus wants us to be, and we will be ready to listen to him.
CLOSING PRAYER
All: Dear Jesus, we pray with you to the Heavenly Father for all the men and women and children of the world, those who live with their families and those who do not. Make us kind and generous to one another and protect us with your loving care. Mary, our Mother and good St. Joseph, keep us close to Jesus so that we too will be a holy family.
Amen.
Parent: Now let us close by asking God's blessing. May almighty God bless us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

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Stations of the Cross
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A Guide for Confession
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