Using the Lectionary for Masses with Children
by Carolyn Watson
Teachers and religion coordinators in Catholic schools have important roles in creating meaningful liturgies for their students. The liturgical calendar has many saint's days and feasts; so too, the school calendar lists community events and activities. There is so much potential to connect our liturgical prayer to school life and learning and to our teaching themes. So it is great to know that we have a resource at our disposal to help with choosing appropriate readings and psalms.
Having spent seventeen years as a religion coordinator in three different schools under Brisbane Catholic Education, I know the importance of a liturgical prayer life in schools and the significance of making connections with topics being studied in Religious Education lessons. By far, the best resource to have at hand is the Lectionary for Masses with Children (LMC). Even as a principal, I still consult this resource for suggestions of readings to pick up on significant themes within the community.
Having spent seventeen years as a religion coordinator in three different schools under Brisbane Catholic Education, I know the importance of a liturgical prayer life in schools and the significance of making connections with topics being studied in Religious Education lessons. By far, the best resource to have at hand is the Lectionary for Masses with Children (LMC). Even as a principal, I still consult this resource for suggestions of readings to pick up on significant themes within the community.
The LMC volumes for the three-year Sundays cycle are the basis for the Children's liturgy of the Word celebrated in many parish Masses. The LMC volume for weekdays will be mostly used in a school context. It is divided into five parts. The first part is for the liturgical seasons and for each season offers a range of themes. Parts two and three offer the possibility of celebrating the saints and other feast-days, either with proper texts or readings from the commons. Part four has readings for the sacraments (useful when the children are preparing for confirmation, communion or reconciliation). Finally there is a collection of biblical texts for Masses for various needs and occasions - beginning and end of the school year, peace and justice, refugees and so on.
The LMC is compiled to ensure that children can hear the word of God proclaimed in a way that that is suited to their age and understanding. Using the LMC means that we have the possibility of choosing readings that match the topics that are found in the Religious Education curriculum. Catholic schools are also working on ways to highlight specific charisms that may be associated with their patron saint or a religious order that has had a connection with the school. Eight charisms have been identified through this work in our schools: Love, Service, Hope, Compassion, Justice, Reconciliation, Courage, and Peace. These charisms can also be readily found in the pages of the LMC.
By way of example, let me focus on the readings for Ordinary Time; they are grouped according to themes with suggestions for a First Reading, Responsorial Psalm and Gospel. This means that when Masses or class liturgies are being prepared, themes can be chosen with appropriate scripture passages so that they match the Religious Education focus of the class or another school event. The current Brisbane Catholic Education Religious Education curriculum has a concept map for each year level, naming the big ideas for deep learning and surface learning. Education offices in other dioceses may do this a bit differently, but my example from Brisbane will give you an idea of what you can do in your own context.
This table takes some of the themes from Ordinary Time and shows how to connect them with Religious Education topics from different year levels. It is likely that the LMC (at least the weekday volume) is already in your school library.
In any case you can have access to it all through the electronic library Liturgia. This is undoubtedly the easiest way to get hold of this resource, to make it available to your teachers and use it with your children.
In any case you can have access to it all through the electronic library Liturgia. This is undoubtedly the easiest way to get hold of this resource, to make it available to your teachers and use it with your children.
Relevant connections can be made with ease to topics being studied and school worship with suitable scripture can be integrated into the work of the classroom. Having a range of themes in the Lectionary means that students are exposed to a variety of scripture passages and enables you to avoid repeating a few favoured scripture texts.
I highly recommend the Lectionary for Masses with Children to you. It is a wonderful resource to have on hand when preparing prayer and liturgies in schools.
Relevant connections can be made with ease to topics being studied and school worship with suitable scripture can be integrated into the work of the classroom. Having a range of themes in the Lectionary means that students are exposed to a variety of scripture passages and enables you to avoid repeating a few favoured scripture texts.
I highly recommend the Lectionary for Masses with Children to you. It is a wonderful resource to have on hand when preparing prayer and liturgies in schools.
Text by Carolyn Watson, principal at St Rita's Catholic Primary School in Victoria Point, Queensland
Images from Unsplash and Pixabay. Used under license/ with permission.
Images from Unsplash and Pixabay. Used under license/ with permission.
This article first appeared in Liturgy News 49(2) Winter 2019