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On Friday, October 18, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Luke, the Evangelist. As this Church Year winds down, we are preparing to begin Year C of the Sunday Lectionary Cycle. During Year C, we will hear Gospels primarily from the Gospel of Luke. Find more about Saint Luke here.
Those who use the Gospel Weeklies as a basal series realize the value of grounding every lesson in Sacred Scripture. Those who use the Gospel Weeklies as a supplement also recognize the value of our model of liturgical catechesis and of preparing young people to hear the Sunday Gospel proclaimed at Mass and broken open in the Homily. William O’Leary suggests ways to “soak” our lessons “in Scripture and thus bring about a more intimate encounter with Jesus Christ.” Find his article “Soaked in Scripture” here.
We recently celebrated the Feast of Saint Jerome on 9/30. Saint Jerome is especially known for translating the Bible into Latin, a version that became known as the Vulgate. He is also known for saying that “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
May we all seek to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, through our growing knowledge of the Bible. Amen.
Every week in the GROW newsletter, you will find helpful tips for teaching your Gospel Weeklies lesson, a reflection on the Sunday Gospel, and links to online resources.
Video of Sunday’s Gospel (Mark 10:35–45)
Use these videos as you discuss today’s Gospel. Please preview to make sure the videos are appropriate for your group:
• Holy Heroes
• Why Serve?
• Gospel Reading and Reflection for Kids
• Every Day Can Be a Sunday
Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope Resources
• Jubilee 2025 activities, handouts, resources, and more
Seeds
Lesson Theme: Those who serve are important.
For this lesson, you will need scissors, crayons, small envelopes, copies of the story coloring page, and a Church Year calendar.
We encourage you to bring a picture of your parish pastor so the children can recognize the leader of your parish family. If your pastor is available, invite him to come and say hello to your class.
Jesus uses the term servant in the Gospel, but the children will be more familiar with the word helper. Make sure that they make the connection of servant and serve to helper and help.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
• Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi
• Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole (Bible Bag)
Promise
Lesson Theme: Jesus wants us to be helpers.
For this lesson, make sure to bring 24-inch lengths or yarn or string (one per child) for the “What makes me important?” medallion activity. You may wish to have an aide or aides to assist with this activity. You will also need scissors, crayons, pencils, a hole punch, and a Church Year calendar. We suggest that you separate pages 1–2 from 3–4 in advance.
Jesus uses the term servant in the Gospel, but the children will be more familiar with the word helper. Make sure that they make the connection of servant and serve to helper and help.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
• Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi
• Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole (Bible Bag)
Good News
Lesson Theme: We are important to God.
For this lesson, you’ll need the Liturgy of the Word cards you used in the lesson for Sunday 9/29. You will also need to make a similar set of Liturgy of the Eucharist cards. The main parts of the Liturgy of the Eucharist are noted in the first paragraph of the What the Church Believes and Teaches box on page TG1-11: Offertory, Eucharistic Prayer, Lord’s Prayer (Our Father), Sign of Peace, and Holy Communion. Note that they appear here in the order they occur during Mass.
You will also need crayons, pencils, a Church Year calendar, and scissors. We suggest that you make one booklet in advance.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Video
• The 10 Commandments
Venture
Lesson Theme: Jesus asks us to serve.
This Sunday, Jesus reminds us that the greatest among us are those who humbly serve others. Remind the children that service is something everyone can do. Have student Bibles (one per child). Note that it’s often helpful to pair students together who are more and less familiar with Bible lookup. If time is limited, assign just one reading to each pair and have them report back to the group.
Other materials to gather are pens or pencils, four sheets of paper (marked 1–4), and a Liturgical Year calendar.
Make sure to invite each child to bring a photo or other memento of a deceased loved one to the next class session. If you will be inviting another class to join yours for the Dia de los Muertos prayer service, invite them to do the same. You might wish to prepare a note to send home with this information to serve as a reminder.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Video
• HBE Service Club Shrey Pothini
Visions
Lesson Theme: Great leaders love and serve as Jesus did.
This Sunday’s Gospel is about service. Emphasize that service is something anyone can do—and it is something we are all called to do!
Remember scissors to cut out the activity cards, pens or pencils, markers or colored pencils, and a cued-up recording of “The Servant Song” by Richard Gillard (find on youtube.com).
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
• Fr. Tomasz Gora Volunteers in El Paso & Shares His Experience
• The Common Good
• Catholic Social Teaching in 3 Minutes
Image credit: Corinne SIMON/CIRIC