Children's Liturgy Guide

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A · Ordinary Time

Love Everyone, Even When It Is Hard

Reading: Matthew 5:38-48

Leader Prep

Don't worry about doing this perfectly. If the children hear one good idea about God, Jesus, prayer, kindness, forgiveness, or the Gospel, this time has been worthwhile.

Summary

In this reading, Jesus teaches us something surprising. He says we should be kind and pray for people who are not kind to us. Jesus wants us to love everyone, just like God loves everyone.

Key Points

  • Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us
  • God sends rain and sunshine on everyone, good people and those who do wrong
  • Jesus calls us to be like our Heavenly Father who loves all people
  • Loving only people who love us back is easy, but Jesus asks us to do something harder and more special

Background

This passage from the Sermon on the Mount presents Jesus' radical teaching on non-retaliation and love of enemies. The commands to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile were countercultural challenges to honor-based retaliation. Jesus grounds this ethic in divine imitation: God's indiscriminate providence (sun and rain for all) models the universal love disciples must practice. The perfection mentioned refers to wholeness or completeness in love, not moral flawlessness. For children, emphasize that Jesus wants us to be kind and pray for people even when they are not nice to us, because that is how God loves everyone. Set aside the complex discussion of non-retaliation ethics and the nuances of the Greek word 'teleios' (perfect/complete).

Session Flow

Opening Prayer

Invite the children to pray with you, then read the opening prayer below. If many don't know the sign of the cross, teach the whole group.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Dear God, thank You for loving every single person in the whole world. Please help us learn to love others the way You love us, even when it is hard. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Warm-up

Ask the warm-up question before the reading. There are no wrong answers; this is just to help the children connect today's reading to their own lives.

Has anyone ever been unkind to you, maybe at school or at home? How did that make you feel?

Example: One time a kid at school said something mean about my drawing and it made me feel really sad and I wanted to say something mean back to them.

Bridge to the reading: It can be really hard when someone is unkind to us, and we often want to be unkind back. In today's reading, Jesus teaches us something surprising about what to do when people are not nice to us.

Read the Scripture

Read the day's selected passage aloud. The full Scripture text is not included here. Use a Children's Lectionary if your parish has one available. A children's Bible may also be helpful for younger children. Otherwise, read from a standard lectionary, Bible, or USCCB.org. Read slowly, with short pauses.

Reading Questions

Ask the questions conversationally. You do not need to use every question if time is short. The example answers are for leader preparation, not scripts or required answers.

  1. What does Jesus tell us to do for people who are mean to us or hurt us?

    Example: Jesus says we should love them and pray for them, even when they are not nice to us at all.

  2. Jesus talks about God sending sun and rain. Who does God send them to?

    Example: God sends the sunshine and the rain to everyone, both good people and bad people, because He loves everyone.

  3. Why do you think Jesus says it is easy to love people who already love us?

    Example: Because when someone is nice to us, it feels good and we want to be nice back to them, so that is not hard.

  4. Jesus says we should try to be like our Father in heaven. How does God love people?

    Example: God loves everyone in the whole world, not just people who are good, but everyone no matter what they do.

Application Questions

Use these questions to help the children connect the reading to their own lives this week. Simple, concrete answers are best.

  1. How do you think it would feel to pray for someone who was unkind to you?

    Example: It might feel kind of weird and hard at first, but maybe after praying I would feel better inside.

  2. If someone at school says something mean to you, what is one kind thing you could do instead of being mean back?

    Example: I could walk away and not say mean words back, or I could tell them that hurt my feelings.

  3. This week, who is one person you could pray for, even if they are not always nice?

    Example: I could pray for my little brother because sometimes he bothers me but I still love him a lot.

Recap

Today we heard Jesus teach us something that is hard but very important. He said we should love everyone, even people who are not kind to us, and we should pray for them. Jesus wants us to love like God loves, because God sends sunshine and rain to everyone. When we love people who are hard to love, we are being like our Father in heaven.

Prayer of the Faithful

Before returning to the assembly, invite the children to share their own prayer intentions. Their prayers may be serious, simple, funny, or very specific. After each child's prayer, the group may respond: "Lord, hear our prayer." Lastly, include the suggested prayer below.

For all children who find it hard to be kind to someone who has hurt them, that God will help them love like Jesus, we pray to the Lord.

Closing Prayer

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank You, Jesus, for teaching us to love everyone. Help us this week to be kind to people even when it is hard, and to pray for those who are not nice to us. Make our hearts big like Your heart. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

ChildrensLiturgy.org

Love Everyone, Even When It Is Hard

Matthew 5:38-48

Word Search

Optional activity: use the word search after the discussion if you have time, or send it home with the children. The words relate to today's Children's Liturgy Scripture passage.

U R C Q F K I C C H B T S N V
D F I V J P P C Y A R P U M P
V N A J V C Z R B T M R N F S
F J I T W H N D M R R A S X U
U U K K H D Z Z Z A Q H H W S
C C J Z D E E J A E H T I H E
M S M I Q C R B D H E S N M J
N N G Z I T B J O M Z W E Q A
D I G Y P O U N Y X M M I W N
K J A T E V I G R O F K A T U
T N I R W V K H Z A U C O V W
G E V E R Y O N E V T L S B K
B B B A P X D O P Q W J B K O
F N E U G M J Z Q N A F I Q R
D I J E N E M Y V E V O L C S

Words to find

  • love
  • pray
  • kind
  • Jesus
  • heart
  • enemy
  • sunshine
  • rain
  • Father
  • forgive
  • everyone

ChildrensLiturgy.org