Children's Liturgy Guide

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B · Ordinary Time

What Do We Love Most?

Reading: Mark 10:17-30

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

A man who had many things asked Jesus what he needed to do to be with God forever. Jesus loved him and asked him to share his things with people who needed them, but the man felt too sad to let go of what he had.

Key Points

  • Jesus looked at the man with love before asking something hard
  • The man had many possessions and found it very difficult to give them up
  • Jesus teaches that loving God and others is more important than holding onto things
  • When we put God first, we receive blessings we cannot even imagine

Background

This Gospel presents the encounter between Jesus and the rich young man. The man asks about eternal life and has kept the commandments, yet Jesus perceives something holding him back from full discipleship. Jesus looks at him with love before issuing the challenging invitation to sell everything. The man's sorrow reveals how possessions can become obstacles to following Christ. Jesus then teaches the disciples that while this is humanly impossible, with God all things are possible. The theology of detachment and the radical call to discipleship are complex. For children, emphasize that Jesus loves us and wants us to love him and others more than our stuff, and set aside the harder teaching about salvation being impossible for the rich. Focus on the concrete image of the man walking away sad because he loved his things too much to follow Jesus.

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 Jesus, thank you for loving us so much. Help us to love you more than anything else and to share what we have with others. 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.

Have you ever had a really special toy or treasure that would be hard to give away, even to help someone who needed it?

Example: I have a stuffed bunny that I got when I was a baby and I sleep with it every night and I would be really sad if I had to give it away.

Bridge to the reading: Sometimes we love our special things so much that it feels hard to let go of them. In today's reading, we will hear about a man who had many, many things, and Jesus asked him to do something very hard with them.

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 did the man ask Jesus at the beginning of the story?

    Example: The man asked Jesus what he needed to do so he could live with God forever in heaven.

  2. How did Jesus feel about the man when he looked at him?

    Example: Jesus loved the man very much, and he looked at the man with love in his eyes.

  3. What did Jesus ask the man to do with all his things?

    Example: Jesus asked the man to go and sell all the things he had and give the money to poor people.

  4. Why do you think the man walked away feeling sad instead of following Jesus?

    Example: The man walked away sad because he had so many nice things and he did not want to give them all away, even for Jesus.

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 feels when we love our toys or games more than we love being kind to others?

    Example: It might feel kind of stuck and not very good inside because we know sharing and being nice is the right thing to do.

  2. What is one way you could share something you have with a friend or someone in your family this week?

    Example: I could let my little brother play with my building blocks even though I really like playing with them by myself sometimes.

  3. When you pray, how could you ask Jesus to help you love him more than your favorite things?

    Example: I could tell Jesus that I love him and ask him to help me remember that he is more important than my toys.

Recap

Today we heard about a man who asked Jesus how to live with God forever. Jesus loved him and asked him to share his things with people who needed them. But the man felt too sad to let go of what he had. Jesus wants us to love him and love others more than we love our stuff.

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 children who do not have enough toys, clothes, or food, that people will share with them and show them God's love, 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 loving us and teaching us today. Help us to love you more than anything and to share what we have with others who need it. 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

What Do We Love Most?

Mark 10:17-30

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.

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

Words to find

  • Jesus
  • love
  • share
  • treasure
  • follow
  • man
  • give
  • heart
  • happy
  • sad
  • God
  • kind

ChildrensLiturgy.org