Salesian Lenten Mission 11


Salesian Lenten Mission 11

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Salesian Missionary Animation
www.salesianvolunteers.org
St. Andrew Province
SUO
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February 6, 2011
Dear Salesians,
Greetings from the Missionary Animations Office!
As many of you know, the Missionary Animation Office is trying to promote the missionary spirit
among our young people. After brainstorming, reflecting, and praying we have determined
that this Lenten season would be the perfect time to create missionary groups in every
community. The question is, how?
Combining our ideas, efforts, and our zeal toward this project we have created a missionary
formation manual for our communities. We are hoping that this manual will serve as an
instrument to guide you through a memorable experience, as a leader in fostering the
missionary spirit of St. John Bosco.
As a first step, your community is asked to identify a group of six to ten young people who you
think demonstrate a natural gift of missionary spirit. This core group will meet for the first time
on March 11, 2011, the First Friday in Lent, and every Friday of Lent after that, with the
exception of Good Friday. The manual will guide you step‐by‐step thru the process of building
the core missionary group.
On Holy Thursday, and Good Friday the missionary group will visit the houses in the
neighborhood, and invite the families to join them in prayer. The short prayer service will serve as
a stepping stone to invite the families to join them in the Easter Vigil services on Holy Saturday.
I invite, and encourage you to adopt this program as your own, hoping that it can become a
meaningful tool in establishing a missionary spirit in, and for your community. The manual itself is
only a tool, and it allows for implementation and change according to the need.
As stated in the beginning, the objective is to, "promote the missionary spirit among our young
people". This is part of the legacy that Don Bosco left us, and we can do no less than make an
effort to live up to his life's philosophy and motto, "Da Mihi Animas, Cetera Tolle"
Your friend in Don Bosco
Juan Carlos Montenegro
Salesian Mission Animation Delegate.
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Contents
Lenten Mission Manual................................................................................................................................. 5
Objective: .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Important dates to keep in mind .............................................................................................................. 5
Our Logo.................................................................................................................................................... 6
We are a Missionary Church!........................................................................................................................ 7
What is lent? ............................................................................................................................................. 7
The Missionary Heart of Don Bosco! ..................................................................................................... 8
Jesus as a Missionary! ................................................................................................................................. 12
The Salesian Spirituality!............................................................................................................................. 16
A Salesian Spirituality............................................................................................................................. 16
Salesian Youth Spirituality! .................................................................................................................... 18
The Salesian Creed! ............................................................................................................................... 21
Salesian Youth Spirituality..................................................................................................................... 21
How to create a Prayer Service! ................................................................................................................. 22
How to prepare a Prayer Service............................................................................................................ 22
Time to Practice .......................................................................................................................................... 30
Liturgy of the Word/Commissioning........................................................................................................... 32
Briefing and Debriefing to be used Holy Thursday and Good Friday.......................................................... 35
Prayer Service example # 1 ......................................................................................................................... 37
TO FOLLOW THE WAY OF LOVE .............................................................................................................. 37
Prayer Service example # 2 ......................................................................................................................... 40
A FAMILY PRAYER SERVICE ..................................................................................................................... 40
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Lenten Mission Manual
This manual will guide you in creating and promoting the missionary animation in your community
through this 2011 Lenten Season.
Objective:
To promote the 'missionary spirit among our young people', thus creating a missionary / vocation culture
in our communities.
What is the main Goal?
The main goal is to outreach to the community by forming a group of young people who, on
Holy Thursday and Good Friday, will visit families within the community. In their visit, they
will share the word of God through a specially prepared prayer service. It is our hope that this
activity will allow the families to see the importance of hearing and sharing God's word with
others (evangelization). Secondly, it is our goal to show that prayer sharing of God's word may
also touch the hearts of those participating enough that they may see and accept God's
challenge to make a difference in our society by their witness.
Visiting homes in the neighborhood. What is that all about?
For our initial starting year we will ask our Coordinator of Youth Ministry to recruit families that
already belong to our parish or community, and are willing to welcome a group of young people
into their homes to pray with them. Any future prayer families may possibly be randomly chosen,
but for this year the process of choosing the families will be organized and planned.
Ideas for recruiting families can vary: announcements after Sunday masses can be made,
indicating what the intention of the missionary group does and how the families can help them,
flyers can be handed out, a few members can meet and greet the parishioners as they exit mass. Any
number of ways can be utilized to promote participation. Again, brainstorming is a good exercise
when seeking a variety of ideas.
Important dates to keep in mind
From present day until March 9th
Recruitment (invite young people to experience this missionary activity)
March 11th
March 18th
March 12th & 19th
1st Formation Meeting
Theme: We are a Missionary church
2nd Formation Meeting
Theme: Jesus as a Missionary
Church Announcement:
Ask for host families who receive missionary group into their home on Holy
Thursday and Holy Friday
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March 25th
April 1st
April 8th
April 15th
April 21st & 22nd
April 23rd
3rd Formation Meeting
Theme: The Salesian Youth Spirituality
4th Formation Meeting
Theme: How to create a Prayer Service
5th Formation Meeting
Theme: Practice Facilitating the Prayer Service
6th Formation Meeting
Commissioning
Missionary Activity
Participation in the Resurrection Mass
Notes
The 'Formation Meetings', which are the basis for accomplishing the objective of spreading the
missionary spirit, and making the sharing of the Word of God with others truly a lasting spiritual
experience are must be well planned and executed.
Items of Importance:
1. The CYM must have the permission slip from each young person who is part of this
missionary experience.
2. On the evening of the family visits the missionary group gathers together at the
community level and then proceeds to different family homes. It would be similar to a
“sending forth” mission.
3. Any member who is providing transportation must be at least 25 years old, and have a
proof of insurance.
4. The driver must carry all permission slips
Our Logo
This logo was created based on the 2011 Strenna, "Come
and See".
Look closely and you will see in the eyes of the young both
Jesus and Don Bosco.
As the young take on the missionary spirit they too will
make a difference in the world if they allow themselves to be
witnesses to Jesus in the Salesian missionary spirit of St. John
Bosco.
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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION
Lenten Mission 2011
Formation Meeting # 1
We are a Missionary Church!
Objectives
1.) To understand that we are called to be disciples of Christ as Don Bosco was, and help other
people to get to know Jesus. 2.) To lay the foundation of our Lenten Missionary experience,
understanding what is Lent and why as Salesians we want to visit the families at their homes.
This meeting should take place any day of the first week of Lent after ash Wednesday.
Meeting Schedule
7:00 pm
7:15 pm
7:40 pm
8:00 pm
8:10 pm
8:20 pm
Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer
Formal Presentation
Group Discussion
Group Sharing
Closing Thoughts/good night
Closing Prayer!
Useful-Additional Information
What is lent?1
Lent is the penitential season of approximately 40 days set aside by the Church in order for the
faithful to prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. During
this holy season, inextricably connected to the Paschal Mystery, the Catechumens prepare for
Christian initiation, and current Church members prepare for Easter by a recalling of Baptism
and by works of penance, which could be, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Even in the early Church, Lent was the season for prayerful and penitential preparation for the
feast of Easter. Though the obligation of penance was originally only imposed on those who
had committed public sins and crimes, by medieval times all the faithful voluntarily performed
acts of penance to repair for their sins.
Ash Wednesday is the clarion call to ‘Repent and believe the gospel’ (Mk 1:15). For the next
forty days, the faithful willingly submit to fasting and self-denial in imitation of Our Lord’s
forty-day fast in the desert. It is in these dark and still nights, these desert-times, that the soul
1 Source: www.catholicculture.org “The Mystery of Lent”
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experiences its greatest growth. There, in the inner arena, the soul battles the world, the flesh
and the devil just as Our Lord battled Satan's triple temptation in the desert. His battle was
external, for Jesus could not sin; our battle is interior, but with a hope sustained by the
knowledge of Christ’s Easter victory over sin and death.
His victory is our renewal, our ‘spring’ - which is the meaning of the Anglo-Saxon word,
‘lengten’ or Lent. In this penitential season we have the opportunity to make an annual
spiritual ‘tune-up’, a 40-day retreat with Our Lord.
The Missionary Heart of Don Bosco!2
We may safely say that Don Bosco can be listed among the great missionaries of the 19th
century, even though he was never personally on the missions "ad gentes". (Out of their native
country)
"It can be said", wrote Eugene Ceria, "that the missionary idea grew in him". It is an idea that is
intrinsic to his vocational plan as a Founder, and coextensive with his whole existence. At first
it was present in embryo and he was hardly conscious of it, but then it gradually took on a
form that became progressively clearer and more distinct.
The same thing is said in more incisive or delicate terms by both Fr Paul Albera and Fr Philip
Rinaldi, who trace back Don Bosco's missionary vision to his dream at the age of nine.
The foreign missions, wrote Don Albera, "were always a burning aspiration in Don Bosco's
heart, and I am quite sure that Mary Help of Christians, from her first motherly revelations to
him while he was still a boy, had given him a clear intuition in this regard... He spoke about it
continually to us his first sons; we were filled with wonder and felt ourselves carried away by a
holy enthusiasm... At the bedside of young John Cagliero who was dying, Don Bosco saw the
Patagonians waiting to receive redemption at Cagliero's hands, and he foretold his recovery
and revealed in part what the future had in store for him".
And Don Rinaldi said in his turn: "In commemorating that first dream of our venerable Father
we have implicitly celebrated the centenary of the beginning of the whole of Salesian work;
because we may say that it was in that first vision that he was consecrated as the apostle of
youth, the father of a new religious family, a missionary to non-Christian; that vision it was
that stirred up also in his heart a lively desire for religious life and the evangelization of
pagans".
The missionary ideal in fact, that had been alive in him from the time of his secondary school
studies, developed and matured with the passing of time.
At the end of his period of pastoral formation in the College of St Francis of Assisi in Turin
(1844), he was thinking of entering the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin, who had opened a
2 AGC# 336 – Don Viganó
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flourishing mission in Vietnam, so that he could soon become a missionary, and for this he
began to prepare himself by prayer and the study of the appropriate language. Don Cafasso, his
spiritual director, let him go along on this line for a while, but then at an opportune moment
said a decisive "no" and bade him stay in Turin, where he found him a post at the refuge of the
Marchioness Barolo, where he could concern himself with large numbers of young people. He
obeyed, and Providence guided his steps. But his apostolic work among the young, far from
quenching his missionary zeal, shed fresh light on it and gave it a new and original slant.
We know that missionary undertakings, reported in the Archives of the Propagation of the
Faith one of his favorite sources of reading material made a deep impression on him. There
were so many souls to be saved, and he felt that in some way he shared the responsibility for
them.
From 1848 Don Rua and others had heard him exclaim more than once: "Oh, if only I had lots
of priests and young clerics! I would send them to preach the Gospel in Patagonia and Tierra
del Fuego...”
He was often seen, during those same years, looking at a map and heaving a deep sigh at the
thought that" so many regions were still lying in the shadow of spiritual death".
When after indescribable sacrifices he was finally able to launch his missions (1875: the
Congregation's greatest enterprise!) his missionary heart exulted, and he seemed to give them
the whole of his eager attention: "From then onwards", wrote Don Albera, "the Missions were
at the center of his heart and he seemed to live only for them... He talked about them with
such enthusiasm that we all marveled and were deeply edified by his burning ardor for souls".
With no less intensity Don Rinaldi, drawing on memories of the distant past, wrote: "In his
great heart there had been accumulating for years on end the apostolic ardor of a Francis
Xavier, nourished by a heavenly flame that was revealing the future to him through dreams...
For me there has never been a missionary as zealous and tireless in his propaganda as he was. I
can still see him, the loving Father, in the distant memories of my Salesian vocation, precisely
in those years when his missionary fervor was at its height; and it has left an indelible
impression on me: he was a true missionary, an apostle devoured by a passion for souls".
But Don Bosco was not satisfied to keep the missionary ideal to himself; he passed it on to his
Congregation (and Family) as an essential element of his spiritual and apostolic patrimony. A
memorandum he sent in 1880 to Pope Leo XII is quite explicit: "The foreign missions have
always been a cherished concern of the Salesian Congregation".
It was his wish therefore that his foundation should be also truly missionary "ad gentes".
It will be worth our while to consider, albeit briefly, some of Don Bosco's dreams that
manifest very dearly his plans as a Founder.
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Prepare in Advance
1. Ask a young person to lead the opening prayer. It has to be simple and from the heart.
We invite the young person to think about the problems that that they have and to pray
for them.
Night Outline
7:00 Welcome and Introductions
Welcome the participants as they arrive, and make sure everyone gets a name tag.
Introduce yourself.
7:08
Quick Opening Prayer
Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young
people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of
the cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.
Note to Leader: In order to have a nice prayer it is important to accompany the young
person in the process of creating the prayer.
7:15 Formal Presentation
At this time the facilitator needs to explain what Leant means and what the
“missionary” heart of Don Bosco is. After these two concepts are explained, the
facilitator allows time for questions.
Once all the answers are given, the facilitator invites the group, to divide themselves
into small group; This will lead us to our next activity activity-group discussion group
discussions.
7:40 Group Discussions
Please ask the different groups to answer the following questions:
1. What did I learn today?
2. What am I going to do, to make this Lent especial?
8:00 Group Sharing
Invite the young people to share what they discussed in their small groups.
8:10 Closing Thoughts
At this point, the facilitator will present the Lenten Missionary Experience as a personal
spiritual time that will lead us to be closer to God. This moment that will improve our
lives, this moment can make the difference in others peoples life.
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The facilitator may want to read the following:
As you can see, Lent is a time that God gives us to become better human beings, it is
also a time for resurrection, which means a time where we can reignite the flame of
God in our heart, the same flame that Don Bosco had in his heart.
This lent we wanted to be different, we want to go and share who we are with the
families in our neighborhood, we want to be able to share Christ with them. And this is
why you are here, I want to invite you to get out of you comfort zone and make the
difference in others people life. On Holy Thursday and Holy Friday, we are going to
visit some families of our neighborhood and we are going to pray with them and for
them.
Would you join us?
8:20
Closing Prayer
Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the
prayer with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all
the intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father,
and Hail Mary
Note:
Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!
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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION
Lenten Mission 2011
Formation Meeting # 2
Jesus as a Missionary!3
Objectives
1.) To really get to know Jesus Christ as a Missionary; 2.) To learn that we are also called to be
his disciples, and missionaries by discovering the humanity of Jesus, empathizing his
compassion for those in need 3.) To know that Jesus walks with us today as we reach out to
those in need.
Meeting Schedule
7:00 pm
7:15 pm
7:40 pm
7:50 pm
8:10 pm
8:20 pm
8:30 pm
Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer
Who is Jesus? activity...
Formal Presentation
Scripture Study
Group Sharing
Closing Thoughts/good night
Closing Prayer!
Recourses Needed
Make copies of Jesus Activity for each participant
Bibles or copies from the bible passage listed bellow
Night Outline
7:00 Welcome and Introductions
Welcome the participants as they arrive, and make sure everyone gets a name tag.
Introduce yourself.
7:08
Quick Opening Prayer
Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young
people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of
the cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.
3 This formation is based on “Jesus and compassion for the poor” published by YouthWorks and available through a
subscription to Youth Ministry Access.
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7:15 Who is Jesus? Activity
Distribute the, “Who is Jesus?” handout: Ask participants to fill them out individually.
When the group has finished filling out their sheets, have them post their sheets,
around the room. This will allow for exploring one another’s ideas about who Jesus
was.
When everyone has returned to their seats, ask for their feedback on the activity. Was
the task of describing Jesus as a teen, an easy or difficult one? Why? What struck you or
impressed you about the responses you read?
7:40 Formal Presentation
Please incorporate the following points:
Church teaching presents Jesus as someone who is both fully divine and fully
human.
If we accept this as true, it means that connecting with Jesus shouldn't really be
all that difficult. If he is truly human, Jesus is more like us than different from
us.
Describing the qualities that make up the person of Jesus, then, shouldn't be
much different from describing the qualities we respect in the good people
around us-not just in the Mother Teresas or John Paul IIs of our world—but
also in our friends, family, work- or schoolmates, and neighbors.
Offer an example, "If Jesus is really human, he must have a sense of humor like
Teresa's, which gets all of us laughing and feeling better about ourselves." Or,
"If Jesus is a wonderful, fully human person, then he's got to be like my friend
Paul. Paul really stands up for what he believes in, even if it’s unpopular and
sometimes it means he’s standing alone!"
Invite group members to provide examples of their own that help paint a clearer
picture of what Jesus must be like.
Lead into the next activity by noting that another important way of learning about Jesus
is to shift our attention to what his friends have to say about him, and what he has to
say about himself. Images of Jesus found in the Gospels will speak for themselves.
7:50 Scripture Study
Please divide the following scriptures among the groups, asking them to read together
and answering the following questions: 1.) what does this passage tell us about the
person of Jesus? 2.) What does this passage tell us about the principles which Jesus
lived?
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Matthew 9:18-26
Matthew 9:35-36
Mark 1:50-45
Mark 10:4652
Luke 9-:10-15
Luke 13:20-17
8:10 Group Sharing
Ask young people to share what have they learn from this activity.
8:20 Closing thoughts/good night
Make the connection on how Jesus was able to serve people who were in need, and how
we can make the difference visiting the families and praying with them. This Lenten season
will be different; will be a moment of purification that will help us to get closer to God...
8:20
Closing Prayer
Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer
with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the
intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and
Hail Mary
Note:
Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!
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Jesus Activity!4
Imagine Jesus, not as a full-grown adult, but as a still-growing teenager, 15 or 16 years of age.
What, do you suppose, he thought about himself? What did his family and friends thing of
him? Imagine you are each of the persons listed below. How would you describe the teen
Jesus?
I’m Jeremiah (Jerry to my friends), Jesus’ best friend. When we’re not at school, or working
our part-time jobs, we’re inseparable. To me, Jesus is...
My name’s Rachel. I’m 15, and live down the hill from Jesus. I’ve known him for a long time
and think he’s cute, but...
I’m Mary, Jesus’ mom. To me, Jesus is just....
I’m Jesus, still in my teens, and wondering where life will take me. When I think about the
future I feel...
4 Youth Ministry Access - Service Education 1 “Jesus and compassion”
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Formation Meeting # 3
Formation Meeting # 3
The Salesian Spirituality!
The Salesian Spirituality!
Objectives
1.) To deepen the understanding of our Salesian Spirituality. 2.) To get to know who we are as a
Salesians. 3.) To realize that we belong to a wider community that is present all over the world.
Meeting Schedule
7:00 pm
7:15 pm
7:30 pm
7:45 pm
8:00 pm
8:20 pm
Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer
Activity - The Salesian Creed
Formal Presentation
Group Sharing
Closing Thoughts/good night
Closing Prayer!
Useful-Additional Information
A Salesian Spirituality5
The journey of education reveals progressively to young people an original plan of Christian life
and helps them to understand its implications.
The youngster learns a new way of being a believer in the world, and arranges his life around
certain perceptions of faith, choices of values and gospel attitudes: he lives spirituality.
Research into "Salesian youth spirituality", adapted to new times, reached historic depths in the
SGC and GC21. The GC23 is now re-launching it in our communities and among youth.
Research still goes on, but the reality has been there for a very long time.
It finds a first formulation in the dream at the age of nine years. "Make yourself humble, steadfast
and strong". In this way the young John Bosco received in Mary a mother and teacher who was to
be at his side in his mission to the young.
Later in the Valdocco environment under Don Bosco's inspiration there flourished various
expressions of holiness and life in the Spirit. The biographies of Dominic Savio, Francis Besucco
and Michael Magone describe the youthful sanctity of the first Oratory; it has been officially
recognized by the Church and is offered to all young people through the canonization of Dominic
5 GC 23
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Savio and the beatification of Laura Vicuña. On the other hand, our tradition has always spoken of
the Preventive System as a spirituality project. In the concept of "reason, religion and loving
kindness", fused by the "grace of unity" into a single experience, are to be found the content and
method of spiritual proximity and encouragement.
The "Companion of Youth" and the various "Regulations" written for pupils in Salesian houses,
carry in the simple context of daily life what is called for by Salesian spirituality.
"Salesian" does not imply here the distinctive mark of a certain group; it indicates, rather, the
charismatic source linked with the spiritual current of the humanism of St Francis de Sales,
reinterpreted by Don Bosco in the experience of the Oratory.
is a "youth" spirituality
At Valdocco there was ample opportunity for the young to exercise leadership among their
companions in every sector of life, even to the extent that the youngsters were called by Don
Bosco to be with him "founders" of a new Congregation.
On their side they helped him to begin, in the context of everyday experience, a new style of
holiness tailored to the typical requirements of a boy's development. In this way they were to some
extent both disciples and teachers at the same time.
In all Salesian communities today, as happened yesterday in Don Bosco's Oratory, spiritual
commitment is born of a meeting that breeds friendship. This leads on to a continuous point of
reference and group situation in which the implications of the baptismal vocation can be more
deeply understood and the journey begun to maturity of faith.
"I want to stay with Don Bosco" expresses the choice of a particular way of growing in the life of
the Spirit: experience of Christian life precedes systematic reflection on it.
and therefore an "educative" spirituality
Putting the youngster, with all his lively energy, at the center of the educator's attention as a
practical criterion for the choice of a process to be pursued, manifests the fundamental
characteristic of youth spirituality: it is an educative spirituality. It is addressed to all young people
without distinction, and gives preference to the poorest of them.
Taking up the challenge of those who remain outside or at a distance and of those for whom faith
is irrelevant to life, requires the educators to stay alongside the young and share their experiences.
"Love what the youngsters love," Don Bosco repeats to the Salesians in the present-day situation,
"so that they will come to love what you love."
To promote the growth of the young to the fullness of life after the measure of Christ the perfect
man, is the goal of Salesian work.
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Salesian Youth Spirituality!6
It’s based on the following points:
1. SPIRITUALITY OF ORDINARY DAILY LIFE.
Daily life inspired by Jesus of Nazareth (cf. C 12) is the setting in which the youngster
recognizes the presence of God who is at work, and lives out his personal realization of the
fact.
2. SPIRITUALITY OF JOY AND OPTIMISM.
Daily life is lived in joy and optimism, without prejudice to commitment and responsibility
(cf. C 17.18).
3. SPIRITUALITY OF FRIENDSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS.
Daily life is recreated by the Risen Christ (cf. C 34) who gives reasons for hope and leads
to a life that finds its fullest sense in Him.
4. SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION IN THE CHURCH.
Daily life is experienced in the Church (cf. C 13.35), as the natural setting for growth in
faith through the sacraments.
In the Church we find Mary (cf. C 20.34) who goes in front, accompanies and inspires.
5. SPIRITUALITY OF RESPONSIBLE SERVICE.
Daily life is presented to the young as a setting for service (cf. C 32), both ordinary and
extraordinary.
Always Happy with Christ in the Church for the world!
Prepare in Advance
2. Ask a young person to lead the opening prayer. It has to be simple and from the heart. We
invite the young person to think about the problems that young people have and just to
pray for them.
6 GC 23
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Night Outline
7:00 Welcome and Introductions
Welcome the participants as they arrive, and make sure everyone gets a name tag. Introduce
yourself.
7:08
Quick Opening Prayer
Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young
people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of the
cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.
Note to Leader: In order to have a nice prayer it is important to accompany the young
person in the process of creating the prayer.
7:15 Activity – The Salesian Creed
The facilitator needs to distribute to the young people handout #1. You can find it at the
end of this document. Divide them into small groups, and ask them to read and analyze
what the Salesian Creed is saying to them.
Please invite them to reflect in the following questions:
Do I feel identified with this Creed? Yes, No Why?
How can I live this Creed?
Once reflected, they will be invited to read “creatable” the creeds aloud for the general
assembly. This will easily identify by its content the most creative group.
7:30 Formal Presentation
Please present to the young people what the Salesian Youth Spirituality is. Be sure to cover
the 5 characteristics of the Salesian Youth Spirituality described above, and present the
following phrase: Always Happy with Christ in the Church for the world! Which
summarized our Salesian Youth Spirituality.
7:45 Group Sharing
Invite the young people to share what they have learned from the Salesian Youth
Spirituality. Please ask the following questions:
1. What did I learn today?
2. Am I living the 5 characteristics of the Salesian Youth Spirituality?
3. How does the Salesian Youth Spirituality challenge me?
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8:10 Closing Thoughts
The facilitator closing the section by making the connection with the Salesian Lenten
Mission; Our Salesian Youth Spirituality is challenging us to have a responsible service,
and the Salesian Lenten Mission is a perfect moment for us to accept and fulfill this
challenged.
8:20
Closing Prayer
Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer
with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the
intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and
Hail Mary
Note:
Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!
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Handout # 1
The Salesian Creed!
We believe that God loves the young. This is the conviction which is at the origin of our
vocation, and which motivates our life and all our pastoral activity.
We believe that Jesus wants to share "his life" with young people: they are the hope of a
new future, and in their expectations they bear the seeds of the Kingdom.
We believe that the Spirit is present in them and that through them he wants to build a
more authentic and human Christian community. He is already at work in individuals and groups.
He has given them a prophetic task to carry out in the world which is also the world of all of us.
We believe that God is awaiting us in the young to offer us the grace of meeting with him
and to dispose us to serve him in them, recognizing their dignity and educating them to the
fullness of life.
Salesian Youth Spirituality
Always Happy with Christ in the Church for the world!
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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION
Lenten Mission 2011
Formation Meeting # 4
How to create a Prayer Service!
Objective
To teach the young people how they can create a prayer service
Meeting Schedule
7:00 pm
7:15 pm
7:45 pm
8:15 pm
8:30 pm
8:40 pm
Welcome, quick opening prayer
Formal Presentation
Group Practice / Putting a prayer service together
Large group presentation
Closing Thoughts/good night
Closing Prayer!
Useful-Additional Information
How to prepare a Prayer Service7
STOP AND REMEMBER
Why is this a good time to celebrate?
What have we been doing together?
What has happened?
What needs to be remembered?
Who needs our prayers?
What shall we celebrate? What shall we pray about?
CONTEXT AND FOCUS OF PRAYER
WHO will be present in this prayer?
WHAT is the occasion of the prayer?
WHERE will the prayer be held?
WHEN will the prayer be held?
HOW will the space be used for prayer?
7 By Anne Shore
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How will this prayer fit within the larger theme of all prayer – praise and thanksgiving to
God
What theme will focus the prayer – is it related to a unit of study, to the liturgical season, to
peace, love, service etc.
YOU AS LEADER OF PRAYER
BE PREPARED, PLAN EXPERIENCES AHEAD OF TIME
PRESIDER RATHER THAN TEACHER, become focal point of sight, sound, gesture,
participation. Prayer not performance. Words are powerful – be aware of words used,
human inclusive language, images of God. Every prayer needs beginning, middle, end.
GATHER
GATHER THE STUDENTS FOR THE CELEBRATION
The first movement of prayer helps those who are gathered to become aware of their relationship
with God and with each other. It helps the group to gather and pray together within a particular
theme and liturgical season. As the group comes together to pray what set up, decor, class
preparation, welcome, call to prayer, processions, actions, gestures, music, singing, proclamations,
litanies or other preparations and elements will help this to occur? How will you gather for this
prayer today? How will the space and environment invite prayer?
PRAYER TABLE front of class or where students can gather around for prayer. Liturgical
season coloured cloth, candle, bible, religious elements needed for the prayer. Do not
clutter the table, and only put on it what is directly connected to prayer of the day. o Table
can be returned to a corner of the room after prayer and other religious articles can be
placed on it. Again, do not clutter, change what is on it regularly and have the liturgical
season represented by cloth colour and other symbols.
SIGN OF THE CROSS – all celebrations begin with this
SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT
o Opening song, music
o Opening prayer
o Call to prayer and response
o Processions, gestures, actions
o Proclamations
LISTEN - TELL THE STORY
The next movement of the prayer gives the youth a chance to hear the scriptures and, if you want,
current stories which allow reflection on how God is active and alive in our lives. What scripture
reading, current reading, psalm, witness story, storytelling, sharing, music, song, action, drama,
reflection will speak about what you want to say about Go, the ways of God or the Kingdom of
God.
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SCRIPTURE IS ALWAYS PART OF THIS MOVEMENT
OTHER READINGS can be included after scripture is proclaimed
STORY CAN BE PROCLAIMED by single reader, group/choral reading, mime with
commentary, skit, or other creative ways.
ALWAYS READ FROM BIBLE AND MENTION WHERE SCRIPTURE IS FROM
BEFORE SCRIPTURE READING: Reader - The Lord be with you. Class – And also
with you.
END OF SCRIPTURE READING: Reader - This is the word of the Lord. Class –
Thanks be to God.
SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Readings, drama, video clips
o Personal stories, witness reflection
o Music, songs, psalms
o Gestures, dance, litanies
o Silence
RESPOND / RITUAL
The third movement of prayer reminds us that it is not enough to just hear the word of God, we
must keep it. How will we respond to our awareness of how God continues to love us
unconditionally? This movement of the prayer is how the students are responding to the scripture
they have just heard in the Listen movement.
KEEP AGE APPROPRIATE
SYMBOLIC ACTIONS INVOLVE WHOLE PERSONS – engage as many senses as
possible
IF HANDS, STONES, PAPER ETC. TO BE USED, make sure to have enough for every
student to participate with a few extras in case. When using a bowl of water or other
container, make sure it is large enough for all the children to see. Abundance is a good
message to give
SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Spontaneous, composed, intercessory
prayers; familiar such as lord’s prayer or one children create
o Gestures, dance, mime, tableau
o Creating something
o Use something like cut-out hands, tree, wreath for children to write on
o Draw, paint
o Anoint, sign with cross, bless with water, etc
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SEND FORTH / CLOSING
The final movement of prayer sends us forth with a renewed sense of our mission to live the
Gospel each and every day. Prayer helps us to focus on the big picture but also on the simple ways
that each of us needs to be a disciple to those around us. How do you want to end this time of
prayer?
o SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Spontaneous, composed, familiar,
traditional, student created prayers
o Music, song, actions, gestures
o Blessing, commissioning, exchange sign of peace
o Procession
END WITH SIGN OF THE CROSS
STEPS TO PREPARING GROUP PRAYER / RITUAL
STEP ONE: GATHER RESOURCES
• Word resources: bibles, books of poetry, reflections, other books of services
• Music resources: hymnals, tapes & CD’s, boombox, instruments
• Environment resources: candles, cloths, other things to decorate
• Planning resources: people, worksheets, pens, etc.
STEP TWO: DEVELOP A PLANNING TEAM
• Choose a planning leader
• Choose a presider for the prayer
• Pray as a team for guidance
STEP THREE: CONTEXT AND FOCUS OF PRAYER
• WHO will be present for this prayer?
• WHAT is the occasion of prayer?
• WHERE will the prayer be held?
• WHEN will the prayer be held? (Time and liturgical season)
• What theme will be the focus of the prayer
STEP FOUR: BRAINSTORM AND CHOOSE PRAYER ELEMENTS AND DEVELOP
MOVEMENTS
• words & readings – scripture, stories, personal witness
• music & song
• actions and gestures
• environment & décor
• gather
• listen
• respond
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• send forth
• ensure full active participation
STEP FIVE: PRAY THE PRAYER SERVICE, EVALUATE
Prepare in Advance
3. Make sure that you have read the useful-Additional information before the meeting starts
Night Outline
7:00 Welcome
Welcome the participants as they arrive.
7:08
Quick Opening Prayer
Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young
people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of the
cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.
7:45 Group Practice
Once the presentation is finished, the facilitator has three options: 1.) First option Divide
the group into 4 small groups and ask them to prepare a prayer service; one group will take
care of gather, another of listening and so forth. 2.) Second option is to do the same process
with the large group, so everybody will be involve in this process. 3.) Third option is to ask
each group to prepare their own prayer service.
The main idea is to prepare a prayer service for the families who are to be visited during
Holy week. This prayer service should be practiced in the next meeting.
If the facilitator decided to have a large group preparation, after finish go to closing
thoughts and closing payer.
8:15 Large Group Presentation
In the case that the facilitator decided to go ahead into the small groups, here they have the
time to present what they have been working on. The presentation should explain the
order of prayer service.
8:30 Closing Thoughts
Please make sure to empower the young people to be ready for next week’s meeting. Ask
them to be prepared to facilitate the prayer service in front of the group. It will be a good
time to ask the following questions:
1. What did I learn today?
2. What am I going to do, to make this Lent especial?
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8:40
Closing Prayer
Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer
with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the
intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and
Hail Mary
Note:
Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!
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GATHER
Handout # 1
GATHER THE STUDENTS FOR THE CELEBRATION
The first movement of prayer helps those who are gathered to become aware of their relationship
with God and with each other. It helps the group to gather and pray together within a particular
theme and liturgical season. As the group comes together to pray what set up, decor, class
preparation, welcome, call to prayer, processions, actions, gestures, music, singing, proclamations,
litanies or other preparations and elements will help this to occur? How will you gather for this
prayer today? How will the space and environment invite prayer?
PRAYER TABLE front of class or where students can gather around for prayer. Liturgical
season coloured cloth, candle, bible, religious elements needed for the prayer. Do not
clutter the table, and only put on it what is directly connected to prayer of the day. o Table
can be returned to a corner of the room after prayer and other religious articles can be
placed on it. Again, do not clutter, change what is on it regularly and have the liturgical
season represented by cloth colour and other symbols.
SIGN OF THE CROSS – all celebrations begin with this
SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT
o Opening song, music
o Opening prayer
o Call to prayer and response
o Processions, gestures, actions
o Proclamations
LISTEN - TELL THE STORY
The next movement of the prayer gives the youth a chance to hear the scriptures and, if you want,
current stories which allow reflection on how God is active and alive in our lives. What scripture
reading, current reading, psalm, witness story, storytelling, sharing, music, song, action, drama,
reflection will speak about what you want to say about Go, the ways of God or the Kingdom of
God.
SCRIPTURE IS ALWAYS PART OF THIS MOVEMENT
OTHER READINGS can be included after scripture is proclaimed
STORY CAN BE PROCLAIMED by single reader, group/choral reading, mime with
commentary, skit, or other creative ways.
ALWAYS READ FROM BIBLE AND MENTION WHERE SCRIPTURE IS FROM
BEFORE SCRIPTURE READING: Reader - The Lord be with you. Class – And also
with you.
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END OF SCRIPTURE READING: Reader - This is the word of the Lord. Class –
Thanks be to God.
SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Readings, drama, video clips
o Personal stories, witness reflection
o Music, songs, psalms
o Gestures, dance, litanies
o Silence
RESPOND / RITUAL
The third movement of prayer reminds us that it is not enough to just hear the word of God, we
must keep it. How will we respond to our awareness of how God continues to love us
unconditionally? This movement of the prayer is how the students are responding to the scripture
they have just heard in the Listen movement.
KEEP AGE APPROPRIATE
SYMBOLIC ACTIONS INVOLVE WHOLE PERSONS – engage as many senses as
possible
IF HANDS, STONES, PAPER ETC. TO BE USED, make sure to have enough for every
student to participate with a few extras in case. When using a bowl of water or other
container, make sure it is large enough for all the children to see. Abundance is a good
message to give
SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Spontaneous, composed, intercessory
prayers; familiar such as lord’s prayer or one children create
o Gestures, dance, mime, tableau
o Creating something
o Use something like cut-out hands, tree, wreath for children to write on
o Draw, paint
o Anoint, sign with cross, bless with water, etc
SEND FORTH / CLOSING
The final movement of prayer sends us forth with a renewed sense of our mission to live the
Gospel each and every day. Prayer helps us to focus on the big picture but also on the simple ways
that each of us needs to be a disciple to those around us. How do you want to end this time of
prayer?
o SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Spontaneous, composed, familiar,
traditional, student created prayers
o Music, song, actions, gestures
o Blessing, commissioning, exchange sign of peace
o Procession
END WITH SIGN OF THE CROSS
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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION
Lenten Mission 2011
Formation Meeting # 5
Time to Practice
Objective
The main objective of this formation meeting is to have time to practice, so every young person
should feel comfortable leading the prayer service. They will be the ones who are going to visit the
families, and they are the ones who will be leading the family in prayer. This is their opportunity
to practice facilitating group prayer.
Meeting Schedule
7:00 pm
7:15 pm
8:00 pm
8:20 pm
8:30 pm
Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer
Practice
Feedback
Closing Thoughts/good night
Closing Prayer!
Night Outline
7:00 Welcome
Welcome the participants as they arrive.
7:08 Quick Opening Prayer
Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young
people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of the
cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.
7:15 Practice
Please make sure that every participant has the opportunity to practice and lead the prayer
service, remember they will be the people who run the prayer service with the families.
8:00 Feedback
Provide a constructive criticism,
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8:20
Closing Thoughts
Here you have the opportunity to encourage them, and to help them to appreciate what
they are going to be doing in their communities. It is not our work but Gods work, and we
should be proud of it.
8:20
Closing Prayer
Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer
with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the
intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and
Hail Mary
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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION
Lenten Mission 2011
Formation Meeting # 6
Liturgy of the Word/Commissioning
Objective
To have a prayerful moment where the participants will offer to God their energy, love and fears
for the Salesian Lenten Mission
Meeting Schedule
7:00 pm
Liturgy of the Word and Commissioning
A commissioning Ritual8
Gathering: Music
Call to Worship/Introduction
Opening Prayer
Lord and Creator of all, we thank you for all the gifts you share with us and with the young
people in our community. We ask you to watch over them, to guide them, and to energize
our spirited efforts to bear your good news to youth. As always, we ask this prayerfully in
the name of Jesus, our liberator and our model for ministry. Amen.
Proclamation of the Word
Reading One: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-20
Responsorial: Psalm 16: 1-2, 6
Reading Two: Matthew 9: 35-38 or John 1: 35-45
Calling of those to be Commissioned
The presider, or some other commentator (e.g., deacon), briefly describe the role(s) to be
played by those to be commissioned in the community. He or she mentions the youth
missioners goals, functions, and responsibilities. The ways by which these ministers were
called into service might also be shared. The presider, then, calls each person to be
commissioned by name, inviting all to proceed to a central, visible place before the
assembly.
8 CMD leader worksheet 35 available through a subscription to Youth Ministry Access.
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Homily
At the conclusion of the homily, the homilist should ask the assembly to indicate its
recognition of and gratitude for these persons (and their offer of service) through applause,
or by some other means.
Instruction and Dedication
The presider, the other liturgical ministers, and all within the community-present are
invited to extend their hands in prayer over those to be commissioned.
Prayer (Presider)
Having generously responded to the Spirit, to our youth, and to our whole faith
community, you each are called by us to your service. We pledge you our support, our
gratitude, our appreciation, our deep hope. We urge you to bear faithfully the
responsibilities for the ministry for which we authorize you.
Commissioning
Addressing each volunteer leader twice, the presider carriers forward...
name , will you selflessly fulfill the role and duties of minister to our community in
parish ?
Volunteer Leader: I will, with God's help.
name , will you do so at all times to the best of your ability, using and sharing your
gifts, as we together strengthen the church and journey toward the kingdom?
Volunteer Leader: I will, with God's help.
When all have been addressed, the presider commissions the group of ministers.
In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, friend and brother to all youth, and on behalf of the
Salesians, I hereby commission you publicly to serve as missionaries in this Holy week. We
pray that you find much peace, hope, and courage in your service.
Each of the newly commissioned steps forward to receive a sign/token of appreciation and
support for the community (Salesian Missionary Animation t-shirt.) Once again, applause
from all would be appropriate.
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Final Prayer
All stand, as the names of all those commissioned are read aloud to the assembly. Then,
following time for quiet prayer, the presider concludes:
Lord and Creator of all, we praise you and call upon you, in faith, to guide these ministers
to adolescents. Energize them, inspire them, support them, and be with them always
through your spirit. May their generous service be a happy sign to us all of your loving care
for our community and a reminder of the great promise which our young people bear. We
ask you for all in the name our liberator and model, Jesus Christ.
All: Amen.
Music/Adjournment (or proceed with Liturgy of the Eucharist).
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Meeting # 7
SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION
Lenten Mission 2011
Briefing and Debriefing to be used Holy Thursday and Good Friday
Objective
To have a clear understanding of what they are going to be doing.
Meeting Schedule
6:30 pm
7:00 pm
9:00 pm
9:15 pm
9:30 pm
Welcome / Opening Prayer
Go to visit the families
Come back to the Salesian Place
Debriefing
Go home!
Prepare in Advance
Please go over the check list:
Activity
ok
Make sure that you have enough
drivers
Comments
Make sure you have a copy of the
driver license and insurance
coverage
Make sure that all the drivers are
over 25 years old
Make sure that the drivers have the
permission slips of the participants
Make sure that the drivers have
names and directions from the
families that are going to visited
Make sure to have all the cellphone
numbers from all the drivers
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Night Outline
6:30 Welcome/Opening Prayer
Here we have the time to empower our young people. Please meditate with them on the
following scripture:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to
pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express"
(Romans 8:26).
They will be praying for the families, and they need to know that God is sending them.
7:00 Go and visit the families
Time to do God’s work
9:00 Come back to the Salesian Place
Everybody will gather in our Salesian place, and we will give the opportunity to our young
people to talk, to express their feelings
9:15 Debriefing
Please ask the following questions:
How did you feel?
Please share with us anything that grabbed your attention while you spend time with the
families?
Did you find God in the families?
What is God asking from you?
Have you ever thought to become a Salesian Volunteer?
9:30 Go Home
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Prayer Service example # 1
TO FOLLOW THE WAY OF LOVE9
Place on the floor a block puzzle already assembled to show a large heart with varied pictures of a loving
family life enclosed within it. On the backside of this puzzle should be the face of Jesus which will be revealed
at the time of sending during this prayer.
GATHER
All: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Presider:
Thank you, God, for all that happened today
for all the surprises and the sameness that
made this day unique.
Thank you for the challenges of family life
that reminds us daily to put our hope in you.
Thank you for making it possible for us
to gather each moment into your love,
by following your way of dying and rising to new life.
All:
God of all creation, inspire us to love and grow to be the persons you created us to
be. Help us to shoulder the burdens that come in loving one another, and bless our
efforts with renewed life and joy as a family. We make this prayer through Christ,
our Lord. Amen.
LISTEN
Communal Reading:
Excerpts from Follow the Way of Love, A Pastoral Message of the U.S. Catholic Bishops to
Families on the Occasion of the United Nations 1994 International Year of the Family
(Read antiphonally, side A and side B alternating)
A: Love brought you to life as a family. Love sustains you through good and bad times.
When our Church teaches that the family is an "intimate community of life and love," it identifies
something perhaps you already know and offers you a vision toward which to grow.
B: Jesus promised to be where two or three are gathered in his name (cf. Mt 18:20). We give
the name church to the people whom the Lord gathers, who strive to follow his way of love, and
through whose lives his saving presence is made known.
9 Created by Judy Alvarez
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A: A family is our first community and the most basic way in which the Lord gathers us,
forms us, and acts in the world. The early Church expressed this truth by calling the Christian
family a domestic church or church of the home.
B: What you do in your family to create a community of love, to help each other to grow,
and to serve those in need is critical, not only for your own sanctification but for the strength of
society and our Church. It is a participation in the work of the Lord, a sharing in the mission of
the Church. It is holy.
A: The profound and ordinary moments of daily life – mealtimes, workdays, vacations,
expressions of love and intimacy, household chores, caring for a sick child or elderly parent, and
even conflicts over things like how to celebrate holidays, discipline children or spend money –
all are threads from which you can weave a pattern of holiness.
B: As Christian families, you not only belong to the church, but your daily life is a true
expression of the church….No domestic Church does this perfectly. But neither does any parish
or diocesan church. All members of the church struggle daily to become more faithful disciples
of Christ.
A: Remember, a family is holy not because it is perfect but because God's grace is at work in
it, helping it to set out anew everyday on the way of love.
RESPOND
Quiet Reflection: What change must you make to follow more faithfully the way of love in your
family?
This reflection can be deepened by a private or group reading of the family Examination of Conscience based
on I Corinthians 13:1-13 Examination. This examination can be adapted to suit varied family age groups.
Soft background music would add to this reflection period.
SEND
After period of self-examen invite individuals to express their commitment to love in their family by turning
over a square of the puzzle. When all have done so, complete turning over of all puzzle pieces if need be, and
reflect on how when we follow the way of love we become Jesus for one another.
Concluding Prayer:
Presider:
Let us pray to be signs and bearers of God’s love for our family at home and for all
those we meet. Please stand.
Remember that the God of Love is with you. Bring to mind this loving presence within you and
around you as you pray the following:
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Touch your fingertips to your forehead, and repeat after me:
Open my mind to remember your presence.
Touch your fingertips to your mouth, and repeat after me:
Open my mouth to speak your wisdom.
Touch your fingertips to your heart, and repeat after me:
Open my heart to extend your love.
Hold both hands out, open, palms up, and repeat after me:
Open my hands to serve you generously.
Holding arms wide open, and repeat after me:
Open my whole being to you.
Make a deep bow to the loving presence in you and in each person here.
Let us pray together:
Father, strengthen us in your love as we seek to be Christ for one another. Help
us to grow in your likeness and together become the family you have created us
to be. May we share your goodness and love with each member of our family,
and together may we bring this light to the world. Amen.
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Prayer Service example # 2
A FAMILY PRAYER SERVICE10
GATHER
Readers: (assign two voices to alternate stanzas) If Jesus came to your house,
I wonder what you'd do?
Yes, if Jesus came to your house,
to spend a day or two,
If He came unexpected,
just dropped in on you.
I know you'd give your nicest room
to such an honored guest,
And all the food you serve to Him
would be the very best.
And you would keep assuring Him
you're glad to have Him there,
That serving Him in your home
is joy beyond compare.
But when you saw Him coming,
would you meet Him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome
to your heavenly visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in?
Or hide some magazines and put
the Bible where they'd been?
Would you turn off the radio
and hope he hadn't heard?
And wish you hadn't uttered
that last loud hasty word?
And would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus just walk right in,
or would you rush about?
And I wonder, if the Savior
spend a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing
the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying
the things you always say?
Would life for you continue
as it does from day to day?
And would your family conversation
keep up it's usual pace?
And would you find it hard each meal
10 Adapted from SYLC Resources
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to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing,
and read the books you read,
And let Him know the things
on which your mind and spirit feed?
And would you take Jesus with you
everywhere you'd planned to go?
Or maybe would you change your plans
for just a day or so?
Would you be glad to have Him meet
your very closest friends,
Or hope that they would stay away
until His visit ends?
And would you be glad
to have Him stay forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great relief
when He at last was gone?
Oh, it might be interesting to know
the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person
to spend some time with you.
Presider:
O God, our Source of Life, be with us as we gather to consider where we are and who you call us to be
for others. Help us to be open to you and to one another that we may experience this moment of prayer
as one family in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
LISTEN
(This proclamation may be done as a skit.)
Presider: Let us open our minds, hearts and our ears to God’s word.
Narrator: A reading from the gospel of Luke.
Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Enters Jesus.
Now there was a man in the town named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector
and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see
him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.
Crowd gathers in front of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus jumps up and down to see Jesus
without any luck.
Zacchaeus: I can’t see! I want to see Jesus! Please, let me see!
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Narrator:
So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who
was about to pass that way.
Zacchaeus steps on a chair trying to see over the crowd.
Zacchaeus: Jesus! Over here! Jesus! Up here!
Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus.
Narrator: When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to the man,
Jesus:
Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.
Zacchaeus climbs down
Narrator: And so Zacchaeus came down quickly and received Jesus with joy.
Zacchaeus runs to Jesus and gives him a warm hug.
Zacchaeus: Jesus! Thank you! You are most welcome at my house. I am honored for you to
come to my house.
Narrator: When the crowd all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
Crowd:
Did you hear that?
Jesus has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.
What? Are you kidding me?
Does Jesus know who that guy is?
Narrator: But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
Zacchaeus: Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted
anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.
Jesus:
Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of
Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.
Narrator: The Gospel of the Lord.
All:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
RESPOND
Presider:
As Jesus goes into Jerusalem, he encounters a tax collector. Unlike others who hate tax
collectors, Jesus welcomes and befriends Zacchaeus. He saves Zacchaeus from his sins and
Zacchaeus receives God’s grace for his change of heart and action.
There’s a great conversion in this passage. Conversion is not about changing to someone
whom you are not. It’s about a profound change in one’s belief and attitudes. It’s about a
change of heart and a change in living. The conversion that Jesus is calling us to requires
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our whole body, not just our minds but our hands and feet as well—how we act and
connect ourselves in our families and community.
Think for a moment. Think about those in your family or community whom you have a hard
time liking, even those you may feel at times are your “enemy.” Now think and ask
yourself whether or not you can welcome them into your home, if you can make them feel
at home. Can you look beyond your dislikes and see the goodness in them? When you
look at them, are you able to use your loving eyes?
Like Zacchaeus, what do you need to sacrifice in order to welcome Jesus in others into your
daily life?
SENDING FORTH
Create a family covenant: invite the family to reflect on one thing they can change to be a more
welcoming home for Christ in others (within or beyond their family circle).
“As For Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord”
Joshua 24:15
Family Commitment:
Signatures:
Closing Prayer
Presider:
Jesus our Good Shepherd, you have invite each and every one of us to welcome one
another as you welcome us. Help us to be good news for one another, especially those
with whom we live. Help us to grow and live always in love and joy with you and others.
We ask this in your name.
All:
Amen.
Concluding Song: I Will Follow, by Chris Tomlin
http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=1816362
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