“The Smallest Girl In The Smallest Grade” by Justin Roberts
The Craft 13
Prayer Intentions 14
Our Father Prayer Sign of Peace
Final Blessing 15 Prayer of Saint Patrick
Closing Song 16
“Joy, Joy, Down in my Heart” by Ernie Rettino
Breakfast With God is a flexible children’s faith formation program that creatively wraps prayer, song, a children’s story and craft, in a Gospel message.
This Breakfast With God Guide offers easy, step-by-step instructions for planning a Breakfast with God lesson in your home, classroom, parish or virtually on ZOOM. Each downloadable Guide focuses on a specific Gospel and Gospel theme.
The selected content and reflections have been produced by Catholic preschool teacher, Anne Krane and Fr. Quang Tran, S.J., hosts of the Breakfast With God Sunday morning program on ZOOM. This shared resource is a partnership between the Church in the 21st Century Center and the Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College.
WHY IT WORKS
EFFICIENT
Breakfast With God is turnkey and is perfect for the home, classroom, or parish. The virtual or in-person program can be administered in 30 minutes, or you can pick and choose segments from the overall programming model to fit your needs. (See pages 5 & 6)
HIGH-QUALITY
Breakfast With God is high-quality, interactive, faith-sharing programming for the whole family. Breakfast With God gives children vocabulary, accurate information about Catholicism and the Gospel message using language that is comfortable for them, and gives parents and teachers an example of faithsharing that they can emulate at home or in the classroom.
ACCESSIBLE
Breakfast With God provides an opportunity for children and families to interact. Children actively participate in answering questions, sharing prayer intentions and watching one another learn and make connections. Parents are given unintimidating catechesis that will make it more possible to continue the conversation with their children after the program is over.
COMMUNITY-ORIENTED
One of the central tenets of the Catholic faith is the belief that we are formed by communion and in community with one another. Breakfast With God connects families and classrooms searching for a space to reflect on their faith.
THE MODEL
WELCOME (2 minutes)
The host/s introduce themselves and welcome all participants to Breakfast With God.
OPENING SONG/PRAYER (1 minute)
Start with a “theme song” prayer that centers and refocuses participants on the reason to celebrate God.
GOSPEL PREVIEW (1 minute)
This is a sentence or two to prepare children for the Gospel message.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (1 minute)
Sing a children’s Hallelujah that involves movement and helps children recenter themselves and get ready to hear the Good News.
GOSPEL (2 minutes)
Find a children’s version of the Gospel, but if there is not an appropriate children’s version available, read it directly from the scriptures.
GOSPEL REFLECTION (2–3 minutes)
Reflect on the Gospel in a way that is geared to children.
CHILDREN’S BOOK (2–3 minutes)
Read one short children’s book that connects with the Gospel.
LITERARY CONNECTION (2 minutes)
A simple sentence or two describing how the characters or themes in the book were similar to the messages given to us by Jesus in the Gospel.
CRAFT (1–2 minutes)
A simple craft instruction using things that would be easily found in a home or a classroom.
PRAYER INTENTION (5 minutes)
Have the children get their prayer hands ready, and ask them to share their prayer intentions. After each intention, we “flap” the prayers out into the world with our hands clasped and flapping our elbows up and down.
THE MODEL cont.
OUR FATHER (1
minute)
Close prayer time with the prayer that Jesus taught us.
SIGN OF PEACE (1
minute)
Send peace and love to one another by creating gestures that communicate the message of that week.
ANNOUNCEMENTS (1
minute)
This is an opportunity to announce other events going on in your parish, school, or community.
FINAL BLESSING (1
minute)
Say a prayer to close out your time together. Use a prayer that involves gestures and movement to help make the final blessing memorable.
CLOSING SONG (1 minute)
Children love a sending forth that is upbeat and leaves them feeling energized and ready to move.
GOSPEL THEME: SPEAKING UP
Jesus teaches us that speaking out against injustice is an important calling that we have as Christians. We can follow this mission by acknowledging problems that we notice in our friendships, families, communities, and world.
OPENING SONG/PRAYER: JOHNNY APPLESEED
Words
and Music
By Kim Gannon and Walter Kent
GOSPEL PREVIEW
Today we hear about Jesus feeling frustrated because people were not treating God’s house with respect. He speaks out and lets people know that this has to change. Have you ever seen someone speak up when something was not fair or not right? Have you ever spoken out when you saw that something was wrong? It can be scary, and sometimes it’s hard to do. Jesus shows us the way in today’s Gospel!
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:
Hallelujah- Your Word O Lord, be in my mind, and on my lips and in my heart.
GOSPEL:
John 2:13-16
Jesus and the Money Changers
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
Other Gospels:
• Matthew 18:15
• Matthew 6:7
• Luke 12:3
• John 14:27
• Luke 1:37
• John 3:20
• Luke 17:3
• Luke 11:28
• Matthew 6:24
• Luke 18:35
GOSPEL REFLECTION:
When I was younger I had a very special book. It was a beautiful book all about the saints and I loved to look through the pictures and read all about God’s special friends. It had been given to me by my Godparents and I did my best to take good care of it.
One day I took it to school and I left it out, and one of the other kids drew in my book. How do you think I felt? I was so angry. They didn’t understand how special the book was… and they were not treating it with respect. I was so upset, and I told the kids that did it that they should never do that to a book, especially one that didn’t belong to them and with the teachers support, they apologized and promised not to do it again.
Today in the Gospel, Jesus saw some adults who were selling things in God’s house, which is not what God’s house is for. He probably felt a little like how I had felt seeing the kids write in my special book. He needed to tell them that what they were doing was wrong, and make sure they stopped.
Sometimes we see things that we know are wrong, and we want to speak up. Sometimes there are bullies at school who are being mean to other kids. Sometimes we see people cheating on a test or not giving others a turn. Parents, sometimes we see things going on at our jobs or in our homes that aren’t right. And sometimes we see larger things happening in our community that we need to speak out against- like pollution, racism, and greed. Jesus reminds us that we need to speak out against these big problems, and try to make the world a better place.
CHILDREN’S BOOK: “THE SMALLEST GIRL IN THE SMALLEST GRADE”
By Justin Roberts
Literary Connection:
I chose this story because the little girl, Sally, saw some really unfair things happening at her school. Kids were pushing, not taking turns, and not being very kind to one another. Sally notices, and decides to speak up. Even though she was small, and no one had really noticed her before, she found her voice and was brave enough to speak out and make her school a happier and safer place for everyone.
After she spoke up, others were able to do the same, and the kids in the school were able to be more respectful of one another and work together as a community.
Jesus calls us to speak up for others, to speak up against bullying, injustice, and unfairness. When he saw the people selling things in the temple, he spoke up and stopped the people from making those poor choices.
This week, Jesus’ mission for us is to notice when there is a problem, and do something to change it. If it’s something small, like speaking up for a friend at school or making sure that someone gets a turn- or something bigger, like helping pick up trash or write letters to local governments to support causes that are important to you. This week, let’s do our best to speak up.
Other Books:
• “Speak Up”- Miranda Paul
• “Say Something”- Peter Reynolds
• “One”- Kathryn Otoshi
• “Mixed”- Arree Chung
• “Hunter’s Best Friend At School”- Laura Malone Elliott
• “Get Up, Stand Up”- Bob Marley
• “Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type”- Doreen Cronin
• “If You’re Going To A March”- Martha Freedman
• “No Voice Too Small”-Lindsay H. Metcalf
• “What Can A Citizen Do”- Dave Eggers
THE CRAFT:
To remind ourselves to speak up for others, we are going to make some picket signs! Picket signs are used by people who march for a cause they believe in- it is another way of speaking out against injustice. You can put words or pictures on your sign, and put them up in places that you or others will see throughout the week.
Think about a cause that you think needs some attention, and draw or write about it on a piece of paper. Tape that paper to a popsicle stick, and you’ve got yourself a sign! Some examples of signs might be “Love one another!” “Don’t litter” or “No bullying!” These signs will help you and others make better choices, and they are a great way to speak out. Another way to speak out is to pray
PRAYER INTENTIONS
As we get our prayer hands together, pray for anyone who is feeling unwelcome, especially people in new jobs and new schools. Let’s flap our kindest and loving thoughts to them out into the world.
(Have the children share their own prayer intentions. For each prayer intention shared, have the children put their prayer hands together and then flap them up and down and then send them off to God. If you are doing the program through Zoom, children and parents can enter their prayer intentions on chat.)
OUR FATHER
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
SIGN OF PEACE
Send a peace sign, or a sign language I love you, give a welcoming wave, whatever gesture might serve as a reminder of the mission of the week.
FINAL BLESSING
Prayer of Saint Patrick
God we love you, we know you love us, Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Amen.
(Have the children repeat each line of the prayer.)
