A NEW COMMANDMENT Sunday, May 17, 2020

OPENING PRAYER: Gather your family around your sacred prayer space. This can be any place where you and your family can be together, quiet yourself and pray. Be sure to have a cross, a Bible, perhaps some fresh flowers from your garden or yard (it’s okay if your little ones pick those lovely yellow dandelion weeds!) and a candle. Remember, if you’re lighting a real candle to use proper safety practices and blow out the candle when you’re finished praying! Again, as we are still in the Easter Season (this is the Sixth Sunday of Easter), a white or gold cloth will finish your prayer space off nicely. Open with the Sign of the Cross. Loving Father, let your spirit fill us with your life And make our hearts burn with the flame of faith and love Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. THEME BREAKDOWN: We continue to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, as it we enter the Sixth Sunday of the Easter Season. God loves us and we too will live with God when we leave this worldly existence. God’s Holy Spirit reminds us of that love and how we should respond to it. OPENING ACTIVITY: Let each family member cut out 2-3 hearts out of red or pink construction paper. Place in a basket or container and leave on your prayer table. DISCUSSION: Begin by inviting family members to name those who showed them love this past week. How did they do so? Then ask your family members in what ways they showed love to others? Let them give you responses. Before proclaiming the Gospel, ask your family members to listen for what Jesus is asking them to do. Gospel Acclamation (Twinkle, twinkle, little star) Listen, listen to God’s Word, God is speaking, He is near. Alleluia, sing His praise. Alleluia, hearts we raise. Fill us, fill us, with your love. Send your Spirit from above. A reading from the Gospel of St. John. Open your Bible and read John 14:15-21 This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Spend a moment in silent reflection. Then ask your family members what Jesus is asking them to do. (Follow His commandments.) In fact, He asked us to do that how many times? (2..once at the beginning of the Gospel reading and a second time at the end of the Gospel.) What are we showing Jesus when we follow His commandments? (That we love Him!)

Invite your family members to name off some of Jesus’ commandments. These are best reflected in the Ten Commandments (given to us by God through Moses) and the Beatitudes (given to us by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount...remember our first on-line lesson plan?). But we can also find examples in Jesus’ life as revealed in the New Testament where he taught about love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion and care for others. Jesus actually lived out what he taught. Have you ever heard the saying “talk the talk walk the walk?” This means a person should support what they say not just with WORDS (talk the talk) but with ACTIONS (walk the walk). Actions really do speak louder than words!! If you need a refresher course on the commandments, here they are in children’s terms: 1. Put God first. 2. Use God’s name with respect. 3. Remember Sunday is God’s day. 4. Respect your parents. 5. Do not hurt other people. 6. Be faithful in your marriage. 7. Do not steal. 8. Do not lie. 9. Do not be envious of others. 10. Do not be jealous of other people’s property. After recalling some of Jesus’ commandments, remind them that all of the commandments and laws can be summed up in what Jesus called the New Commandment, sometimes referred to as the Great Commandment: “Love one another as I love you.” Pass around the basket full of hearts from your prayer table and let each family member take 2-3 from it. Explain to them that this week’s Gospel is about loving each other as Jesus loves us. This week, every time a family member sees someone do or hears someone say a loving thing to another family member, then he or she is to give that family member a heart. Ask family members to keep the hearts they are given in a special place. (If you need to make additional hearts to refill the basket, that’s awesome!) At the end of the week, plan to share a family meal. Have everyone bring their hearts with them. As you share your meal, let family members reveal who gave them hearts and why. This is a great time to express love as a family! When everyone has had an opportunity to share, gather all the hearts together and either tape on a piece of poster board or a large section of cardboard to form one LARGE family heart! Write at the top, “Love one another as I love you!” Display your family heart proudly! Other things you can do as a family include:

• Make hearts using sidewalk chalk in your driveway.

• Bake or decorate heart-shaped cookies or bake a heart cake for your Friday or Saturday evening dinner (yummy!).

• Extend the love of Jesus to family members and friends by sending a handwritten note telling them that you are thinking of them and that Jesus loves them.

• Complete the Love Word Search Activity from St. Mary’s Press. It is a downloadable activity as part of this lesson plan.

For on-line computer activities, check out games.childrensbulletins.com. Use the secret code QSKT71 for children ages 3-6 and secret code TXG535 for children ages 7-12. The secret code changes each week so watch for the new code to access fun new games! After you’re done with your fun family faith activity(ies), please sure to finish up you’re the New Commandment lesson plan with a Closing Prayer. CLOSING PRAYER: Begin with the Sign of the Cross. Read a line then have the rest of the family members repeat: Most holy God, (repeat) Your Son Jesus cared for the disciples (repeat) And for us so much (repeat) that He promised to send the Holy Spirit. (repeat) Help us to show our thanks and our love (repeat) by keeping your commands. (repeat) We ask this in his name. (repeat) Amen.

See next page for Mass times and website locations!

AND NEW FOR ALL FAMILIES!

New from The Pastoral Center Publishing Company! We have been granted a one-year subscription to their on-line

weekly Family Worship Service. It is not intended to replace

Mass but allows you to pray together as a family. It looks like

a children’s Liturgy of the Word. It has prayer, scripture, music, videos to help you understand the Gospel reading4

I think you will truly enjoy it! I did! Here’s the link...let me know what you think!

Email me at deborahpearson@holyspiritcc.org with your thoughts and/or comments.

http://worship.pastoral.center

And remember, even though we can’t go to Mass during this �me,

you can watch Mass on TV this Sunday together as a family!

10 a.m. Mass with Fr. Eugene at Holy Spirit

Live Streamed on our YouTube Channel at www.holyspiritcatholic.com

10 a.m. Mass (Español) - Canal Univision 23

Loca�on: h1ps://www.youtube.com/dallascath

Facebook.com/dallascath

11 a.m. Mass with Bishop Edward Burns and Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly (English)

KDFW Fox Channel 4

and

12 noon Mass with Bishop Edward Burns and Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly (English)

KDFI Channel 27 (rebroadcast)

Loca�on: TBA

EWTN—7 a.m. and 11 a.m.

h1ps://www.ewtn.com/tv/shows/sunday-mass-live

Weekly Daily Mass Live Streamed with Fr. Eugene

Tuesday-Saturday at 9 a.m.

And check out these great website for resources before Mass each Sunday for the

readings and Mass booklets!

www.catholicicing.com

h1ps://www.cathdal.org/readings