Mass of the Lord's Supper, Holy Thursday

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

"This is my body, which is for you."

(From the First Reading)

(Read the quote, then each line slowly, with pauses to allow the children (and us!) to reflect on the questions.)

The Mass of the Lord's Supper is a very special day for us. We celebrate the first ever Mass, when Jesus gave Himself - His Body in the bread, His Blood in the wine - to His disciples.

Ever since then, Jesus has given Himself in the bread and the wine, at every Mass. There are thousands of Masses each day where He gives Himself, because He loves us so much!

He calls us to share in this precious gift, as often as we can. Maybe we're not old enough yet to receive Him in our bodies, but we can still receive Him in our hearts. When we get a blessing from Father, we can tell Jesus that we love Him, that we want Him in our heart, and that we look forward to the day we can also receive Him in our body.

What a wonderful gift, to be given the Body and Blood of the Good Shepherd.

You could say a special prayer now, telling Jesus that you are so happy He has given us His Body and Blood, and that you're looking forward to seeing Him at Mass, or at the Good Friday service.

Thank you, Jesus, for this wonderful gift of Yourself.

(Allow any spontaneous prayers, perhaps leading by example. 3-6 year olds relate most naturally to God through prayers of praise and thanksgiving; 6+ will have started thinking about their needs and the needs of those around them in prayers of intercession. Some children may also just want quiet time to speak with God in their hearts.)

(Sing a simple hymn or chant if your children like singing. Or even if they don't ;) This can also be done at the beginning. )

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."