If you are breathing a sigh of relief at the warmer weather, lighter mornings and evenings, and the not-too-distant promise of holidays – you are not the only ones! At this time of year, most children are beginning to feel that they’re growing out of their new classes and starting to prepare themselves for the challenges ahead.
This feeling of readiness and challenge is also shown in the Gospels – which jump back to a time before Jesus’ death and Resurrection and before Pentecost. Jesus had spent years preparing His disciples and they are now ready to be sent out to continue Jesus’ work. The assemblies in June inspire children that we too are challenged to continue Jesus’ mission!
This newsletter shares some of the content children will experience in school throughout June and suggests ways to support your family prayer times.
A Look Ahead…
Assemblies in June
The assemblies in June start with a celebration of two great feast days of the Church: The Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi. Here’s a taster of those and all the June Assemblies, with links to where you can read the Gospels and some prompt questions which you might like to explore further with your child/ren:
w/c 5th June
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life.” John 3:16
The Most Holy Trinity
This assembly helps children to explore one of the mysteries of our faith: the Holy Trinity. Through artwork and illustrations, children will learn about the community of love that is the Holy Trinity, and how we are made in the image of God – meaning we were created to love God and love one another!
- The Holy Trinity is a mystery of the Church and as such, we’re not required to give explanations but just to trust and believe. Perhaps you’d like to discuss with your child the image above or other images of the Holy Trinity and talk about each of the persons of God within their community of love.
- You might like to help reinforce your child/ren’s knowledge of the character of the three persons of the Holy Trinity by asking them to talk about: their favourite creature created by God the Father; their favourite parable (or teaching story) of Jesus; and their favourite gift or fruit of the Holy Spirit.
w/c 12th June
“Anyone who eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:58
Living Bread
This week we mark the Feast of Corpus Christi, where we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Through the lyrics of the communion song ‘Bread of Life’ and an imaginative reflection, children will explore how Jesus is living bread from heaven which feeds not just their bodies, but their souls too.
- Mass is a really important time for us to be reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice and allow Him to feed us, body and soul. Discuss Jesus’ words, “I am the Bread of Life” with your child/ren and take the opportunity to talk about the priest’s words and actions at the Eucharistic Celebration of the Mass. You could encourage your child to read and look out for the words of Jesus in the Eucharistic Prayer.
- Jesus feeds us with His Body in Holy Communion and He also feeds us with His Word and example in the Bible. Encourage your child/ren to think about how Jesus helps us to follow Him through our words and actions.
w/c 19th June
“The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to His harvest.” Matthew 9:38
Commissioned!
In the Gospel, Jesus sends His disciples on a mission to spread the Good News of God’s love. Through the example of Mini Vinnies, children learn that we are all commissioned to work together on the same joyful mission – to allow Jesus to shape how we think and act as we share God’s love.
- Throughout the Gospels, we see examples of Jesus’ compassion and love for everyone He met. The disciples learned from Jesus, and we can learn from Him too. You might like to share a favourite Bible story that highlights Jesus’ compassion and ask your child/ren to share their favourite.
- Being given an important job to do makes us feel trusted, valued and builds self-esteem. Perhaps you would like to discuss roles and responsibilities as a family and make this a week of important missions!
w/c 26th June
“Do not be afraid.” Matthew 10:26
Hearts of Courage
Through a story about being scared of a thunderstorm and the words of Jesus in the Gospel, children will see that everyone feels scared sometimes but that God loves us, Jesus guides us and the Holy Spirit gives us hearts of courage.
- Jesus had faith in His disciples, and this gave them courage as they set out on their mission. They would soon receive another boost of courage at Pentecost as well as many other gifts that would enable them to continue Jesus’ work. You might like to discuss with your child/ren the ways in which we can continue Jesus’ work every day through our words and actions, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We all experience times when we feel afraid or worried. This might be a good opportunity to explore those feelings with your child/ren and explain that focussing on the good things God gives us and putting our trust in God’s love and care can give us hearts of courage.
‘Bread of Life’
With kind permission from CJM Music, we are delighted to share with you a short extract from the communion song ‘Bread of Life’, as used in the assembly of the week commencing 12th June.
You might like to listen to and discuss this as part of your family prayer times on the Feast of Corpus Christi:
Prayer
“There is much to do and not enough helpers, so ask God to send more helpers.”
Matthew 9:37-38
The daily classroom prayers for the week commencing 19th June focus on the part we are all called to play in the mission of the Church.
The Gospel for this week shows Jesus instructing His disciples about their mission to spread God’s love through their words and actions, and calls them to pray for more helpers!
In these prayers, children are challenged to consider opportunities to fulfil their mission – being good disciples by spreading God’s love through their words and actions.
Perhaps you’d like to use this prayer from the assembly of that week as part of your prayer times at home:
Dear Jesus,
Open our hearts to your love so that we may love.
Open our eyes so that we can see those in need.
Open our hands to continue your work in our homes,
our school and our community.
Amen
Credits:
Created with images by Sunny studio - "Family having fun on summer vacation" • Laura Pashkevich - "Summer background with frame, nature of tropical golden beach with rays of sun light and leaf palm. Golden sand beach close-up, sea water, blue sky, white clouds. Copy space, summer vacation concept." • Love You Stock - "Beautiful sunset sky. Abstract sky background of worship of God and freedom concept. Religious beliefs"