Our Lady of Lourdes Church and School

A Look at Children's Liturgy of The Word

Perhaps you have seen the Presider calling forward the children after the opening prayers (the Collect) during the 9:00AM Sunday Mass. The priest invites the children to go to a different place to hear the words from scripture in language they can more easily understand. To help the children encounter Christ, the Church lets them hear his Word at their level of understanding. He calls on the assembly to bless them as they leave the church, following the book (Word) and the candle (light of Christ).

To quote from the Mission Statement for Children’s Liturgy, we believe that “Children embody the Holy Spirit by their baptism…and we honor and trust the child’s unique spiritual experience of God revealing Himself to each child.”  Children’s Liturgy “offers children within our community the opportunity to encounter the Word in such a way that the Gospel becomes alive and integrated into their daily lives. (Their) experience of God is formed through spirit-filled rituals, symbols and gestures, music and stories of our (faith) tradition in a reverent atmosphere.”

The children process to Stroup Hall and are welcomed by song and an adult leader who has prayed and prepared him or herself to break open the Word with the children.  To name a few of the adult lay presiders who generously give of their time are Karen Akana, Janice Nardella Krzewinski,  Patricia Montanez, Mary Roehrick, Sylvia Tasner, Patti Whisnant, and Brian Young.  These adult lay presiders proclaim the Gospel and then help the children to better understand how these readings and words of Jesus can become part of their lives. The insights the children share with one another and what they think Jesus is saying to them are beautiful testimonies to their trust in God and their desire to live their faith.

To name a few of our youth lectors, who attend grade school and high school, are:  Owen Anderson, Sean and Kelly Blatter, Pauline Dacunos, Ashley Dourian, Olivia Relatos, Nick Walker, and Daniel Young. The youth proclaim the 1^st reading for each Sunday as well as the Prayers of the Faithful.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word meets on Sundays, during the months of September through June, for ages six to fourteen. Look for the poster colored by the children and the children’s bulletins, Lovingly folded by Katie Akana, in the narthex. This program is a great opportunity for your children, designed to help them grow in the Lord.
We give thanks to God who relies on us to tell children the Good News. 

For information contact Mary Roehrick  at 818-701-0807  or  Karen Akana  at 818-885-1870.  Email:  childlit@ollnr.org