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

Primary Session
Mark 2:18-22

Opening Prayer

Let us pray.
Thank you, God, for showing us how much you love us.
Help us to grow closer to you each day.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.


Opening Life Reflection
The theme for today is God’s love for us. Provide magazine clippings of families and friends showing love for each other. To begin, invite the children to examine the pictures and discuss what they show about God. Provide blank sheets of paper and glue for each child, and invite the children to make collages to show how they imagine God. Discuss:

• What is God like?
• How do you learn about God?
• What helps you to understand how much God loves you?

Allow time for discussion. Our families and friends help to show us how much God loves us. Yet, God loves us more then we can ever imagine.

Listening to the Word of God
In today’s gospel listen to Jesus describe himself as a bridegroom at a wedding.

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

Scripture Discussion Starters
• What does Jesus tell the people about a wedding celebration?
• 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 gospel using the Catechist Background section.

In today’s gospel Jesus uses the image of a wedding celebration to help the people understand who he is. Jesus wants the people to know that it is time to celebrate because the promised Messiah is present. Jesus tries to teach the people that he is God’s promise and presence with them.

Jesus describes himself as a bridegroom to help the people understand that God is with them. The notion of Jesus as bridegroom at a wedding shows the reign of God to be a celebration of faithful love, of joy, and of life. The images in this gospel point out that Christianity is to be celebrated and treasured.

Questions for Deeper Reflection

• What happens at a wedding celebration?
• How do you celebrate your belief in Jesus?
• Why is Christianity something to be treasured?

[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 in scripture that describe this loving God include “spouse,” “father,” and “mother.”

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 in the New Testament to describe the love of God for us. “I have called you friends,” Jesus says to his disciples (John. 15:15.).

God loves and cares deeply for each of us. We are greatly blessed. We can love one another because God has first loved us.

• How is God like a mother?
• How is God like a father?
• How is God like a friend?

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 1, chapter 1
Grade 2, chapter 1
Grade 3, chapter 2

Connecting to Faith First®
At Home Family Guide, theme 12
Kindergarten, chapters 1 & 2
Grade 1, chapter 1
Grade 2, chapter 1
Grade 3, chapter 2

The Gospel in Life
This week look around at all of creation and see what it tells you about God.