Saturday within the Octave of Easter

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

"This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad."

(Gospel Acclamation)

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

Which day are we talking about?

Yes, Easter. Even though it is Saturday today and we celebrated Easter almost a week ago, it is still Easter. Easter is such an important day that we celebrate it for a whole week - each day as if it were Easter Sunday.

When you go to Mass on Easter Sunday and in the week of Easter, you should see that the church is decorated very beautifully. There might be many more flowers, extra candles, and lots of white and gold. Father will also be wearing very beautiful vestments. All of this reminds us how important Easter is.

What is so important about Easter?

On Good Friday, Jesus died, and for a very short time the Light went out of the world - but on Easter Sunday, He rose again, and now the Light can never go out again! It is with us always, and comes to us in a very special way in Baptism. We will talk more about Baptism another day.

From all time, God had planned for this wonderful day, to give us this wonderful gift. He loved us so much that He made this day, especially for us. It is a reason to be very joyful and glad!

Thank you, God, for wanting to give us this wonderful gift. Thank you for loving us so much. Thank you for making sure that the Light could never go out of the world again. Thank you for giving us that Light.

(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."