7th Week of Ordinary Time, Friday (Cycle II)

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

"The Lord is compassion and love"

(Response to the Psalm)

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

Do you know what compassion is?

The word compassion comes from two Latin words, which mean "with suffer". To have compassion is to suffer with.

The Lord is compassion. The Lord suffers with us. He loves us so much that He never lets us have any difficulties alone; He is always with us whenever we are sad or upset or cross or any other ways of feeling that are not nice. 

What do you think of this? Whenever you feel not good, Jesus is there feeling it with you. Even better, He understands exactly how you feel, even if you don't understand it yourself! How wonderful that there is always someone who understands us so well, and who will never leave us alone when we feel bad.

Thank you, Jesus, for loving us so much. Thank you for being so close to us and understanding us so well when we feel bad.

(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."