Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
February 26, 2006

Intermediate Session
Hosea 2:16b, 17b, 21-22
Mark 2:18-22

Opening Prayer

Let us pray.
O God,
You love and care for each and every one of us.
Help us to love one another as you love us.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.

Opening Life Reflection

The theme for today is God’s love for us. To begin, provide materials and pictures from nature and set them on a table in the center of the room. Invite the children to examine the materials and think about how the objects might show God’s love for them. Then invite the children to choose an object that reveals God’s love for them. Have volunteers share what object they chose and why. Discuss:

• What helps you to understand how much God loves you?
• What do you believe about God?
• Where do you learn about God?

Allow time for discussion. The beauty of creation helps to show us what God is like. Yet, God is so much more then we can imagine. As we grow in faith, we grow in our understanding of how much God loves us.

Listening to the Word of God
In today’s Old Testament reading, listen to find out how God is described.

Read Hosea 2:16b, 17b, 21-22.
Allow for silence.

Scripture Discussion Starters

• How is God described?
• Why is the term husband used to describe God’s relationship with the people?
• How does God show love for the people?

In today’s gospel listen to Jesus describe himself as a bridegroom.

Read Mark 2:18-22.
Allow for silence.

• What question is asked of Jesus?
• Why does Jesus describe himself as a bridegroom?
• What will happen on the day that the bridegroom is taken away?

Scripture Background

Provide 2-3 minutes of background information on the readings using the Catechist Background section.

In the first reading the prophet Hosea uses marriage as a symbol of God’s loving relationship with Israel. God is faithful and God’s love is constant. In this passage, God the bridegroom calls the chosen people back to faithfulness.

In today’s gospel the image of a wedding banquet is used to symbolize Jesus as the promised Messiah. The notion of Jesus as bridegroom shows the reign of God to be a celebration of faithful love, of joy, and of life. The images in today’s gospel point out that Christianity is to be celebrated and lived.

Questions for Deeper Reflection
• How does God show love for us?
• Why is Christianity something to be celebrated?
• What does it mean to live as a Christian?

[If you are not going to continue with the doctrinal discussion, proceed to the Gospel in Life.]

Doctrinal Discussion Starters
God’s Love for Us
God is so much greater than we can ever imagine. However we can know God. We have been blessed with an experience of God in creation, throughout salvation history, and finally in Jesus Christ, sent to save us because of God’s great love for us.

Scripture describes God as loving and faithful. The images that describe this loving God are often drawn from marriage and family life. The images found in the Old and New Testament help us to imagine God by showing us what God is like. Some of these images include “spouse,” “father,” and “mother.”

Hosea uses the image of marriage to describe God’s loving relationship with Israel. A famous image of “mother” to describe the relationship between God and the people is found in Isaiah. The prophet asks, “Can a woman forget her own child? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). Such images of mother show that God is compassionate, as a mother is compassionate toward her children.

In the New Testament Jesus refers to God as his “Father.” Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God as to their loving Father (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:3). The image of a close and faithful friend is also used to describe the love of God for us. “I have called you friends,” Jesus says to his disciples (John. 15:15.).

God is a loving and personal God who cares for each of us. We are greatly blessed. We can love one another because God has first loved us.

• What does the image of mother tell you about God?
• What does the image of father tell you about God?
• What does the image of friend tell you about God?

Sacrament Connection
The Sacrament of Marriage is a sign of the faithful love that God has for us. The love uniting a baptized man and woman in marriage is a sign of Christ’s everlasting love for his Church.

Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
At Home Family Guide, theme 12
Grade 4, chapters 1 and 2
Grade 5, chapters 2 and 5
Grade 6, chapter 4

Connecting to Faith First®
At Home Family Guide, theme 12
Grade 4, chapters 1 & 2
Grade 5, chapters 2 & 5
Grade 6, chapter 4

The Gospel in Life
This week, look around and see what more you can learn about God?