Twenty-Second Sunday of the Year [CYCLE B]

MAIN MESSAGE
[This is for reference only. Please do not read it at Mass]

Everyone desires to be a true follower of God - we all honour God in some way - by saying prayers,
going for Mass, putting up holy pictures on our walls, giving Christian names to our children, etc.

But today God says to us, 'You honour me with your lips and in outward ways, but I want your heart.'
If you really want to worship God, love Him with all your heart and love your neighbour also.

We focus on the psalm, which tells us how a true follower of God lives.

INTRODUCTION:
Celebrant: I have a question to ask you today:
• Which of you would like to be worshippers of God? (Hands up!) [Show of hands]
• What about your parents? Do you think they want to follow God? If you think your parents also want
to follow God, then put up two hands, one for
you and one for your parents. [Show of hands]
• It looks as if everyone wants to follow God and
worship him!
• We do different things to show we are
Christians. What do we do?
[We put up pictures and statues, go for Mass,
say the rosary, give Christian names to our
babies, make the sign of the Cross etc.]
• Today we are going to ask God a question. Look
at the poster. It says, “Lord, who can enter your
tent? Who will live on your holy mountain?”
That means, “Whom do you think are your real
followers? Who are the ones who will live with
FOLD CLOSED
you in heaven?” HERE
& OPEN ONLY
WHEN THE
PSALM
LITURGY OF THE WORD: IS TO
BE READ

Commentator: Moses gives an answer to

the question we are asking. Listen carefully.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8.
Psalm: 15:1-4ab. [The psalm is written on a poster
or projected so that the children can take it in
better. Different children take up the different verses
and all the children ask the question and say the
last verse together.]
Gospel: Mark 7:1-2; 5-8; 14-15. (Enact the gospel as follows:)
 Commentator: One day Jesus' friends came to have a meal with him.

[Jesus is seated at a table with 2 or 3 disciples. Some more of Jesus' friends come in together,
arms round each other. They wash their hands, dry them, sit down and begin to eat. Another group
of Pharisees and scribes stand apart watching and shaking their heads.]

Pharisee 1: Look at these unclean men! They are eating without washing the proper way!
Pharisee 2: Yes. They don’t follow God’s commandments!

Pharisee 3: As if they don't know that they are supposed to wash from special stone jars; first
hands upwards ... and then downwards. This leader of theirs doesn’t notice anything!
[The Pharisees walk towards Jesus and call out]
Pharisee 1: Jesus of Nazareth! We have come from Jerusalem to check on you. But we are not
very pleased with what we see !

Pharisee 2: Yes! Why do your disciples not follow our rules? Why are they eating with unclean
hands?

Jesus: [Stands up, looking angry, but calm] Oh, you hypocrites, people with two faces!
The prophet Isaiah spoke rightly when he said 'These people honour me with their lips, but their
hearts are far from me!' It is no use at all worshipping me, because they make their own rules and
forget God's commandments!'

[Jesus turns to the disciples and the congregation and speaks to them.]
Listen to me, all of you, and understand! It is not the outside that matters, but your inner heart. It
is not what you eat that makes you dirty, but it is bad thoughts inside you that make you dirty!

Celebrant: This is the Good News of the Lord.

Homily:
Celebrant: Let’s be quiet now and think about all we have seen and heard just now. [Silence]
• Jesus is asking you today to follow him with all your heart. He is happy to see your holy pictures and
to hear your prayers, but he says, make sure you truly love me and do what I ask:
• I want you to try and do what is right always; to be careful how you speak: always tell the truth and
never spread bad stories about others.
• Stop all grumbling and complaining about others: your parents, your teachers, your school prefects.
• Run away from those who try to make you do wrong things, but be friends with those who follow me.
Offertory:
Commentator: Do you want to be more like God, and become his true follower? Then join in as we sing
'More Love, More Power',

APPROPRIATE HYMNS PREPARATION REQUIRED:

• Practice the readings.
ENTRANCE: All the Nations of the Earth • Make ‘psalm’ poster and put up. Fold the
OFFERTORY: More Love, More Power poster so that only the question is seen at
COMMUNION: Sons of God the start. When it is time to read the
RECESSIONAL: Give Me Love in My Heart, Keep psalm, open it fully.
Me Loving • Practice Gospel enactment.
 FIR ST REA DING : A reading from the book of Deuteronomy:

Moses said, “People of Israel, listen carefully to the laws and commands that I am teaching
you. If you obey them, you will live, and you will take the land that the Lord God of your
ancestors is giving you. I am telling you what the Lord your God has commanded. Don’t add
anything or take away anything.
“By faithfully obeying these commands, you will show other nations how wise and
understanding you are. They will learn about these laws and say, ‘This great nation is very wise
and understanding.’
“No other great nation has a God who is close enough to answer their prayers, as the Lord God
does for us. And no other great nation has laws that are as fair as the ones I am giving you
today.”
This is the Word of the Lord.

ALLELUIA : Alleluia, alleluia.

The Father gave us birth by his message of truth,
That we might be as the first fruits of his creation.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL : A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Mark.

Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered
around Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands.
The Pharisees and all other Jewish people obey the teachings of their ancestors. They always
wash their hands in the proper way before eating. None of them will eat anything they buy in
the market until it is washed. They also follow a lot of other teachings, such as washing cups,
pitchers and bowls.
The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors
taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?”
Jesus called the crowd together again and said,
“Pay attention and try and understand what I mean. The food that you put into your mouth does
not make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth
are what make you unclean.
“Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in
marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. All these
come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God,”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.

NB. All Readings on this page are taken from the ‘Lectionary for Masses with Children’ canonically approved for use in the USA.