Sunday Connection

Gospel Reading
Mark 5:21-43 ( shorter form, Mark 5:21-24,35b-43)
Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus’s daughter from death.

Making the Connection (Grades 1, 2, and 3)

Jesus performed miracles to heal and relieve the suffering of people who were sick. Teach younger children that one way we can love and care for those who are in need is to pray for them to experience Jesus’ healing love.

Materials Needed

• none

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Invite children to share some things their parents do for them when they are sick. Say: When we aren’t feeling well, the people who love us want to help us feel better. Ask children to name some ways they help their loved ones when they are feeling down or unwell. (Accept all reasonable responses, such as “I give them a hug” or “I tell a joke to cheer them up.”)
2. Say: Today’s Gospel tells the story of a father named Jairus whose daughter is ill. He wants her to feel better, so he asks Jesus to help her.
3. Read aloud this Sunday’s Gospel in its shorter form, Mark 5:21–24, 35b–43.
4. Say: People told Jairus that his daughter had died. Jesus, however, told Jairus to have faith and not be afraid. Ask: What did Jesus do when he went into the little girl’s room? (He held her hand and told her to get up.) Say: Jesus performed a miracle and healed the child. She got up out of bed and was well.
5. Say: Jesus healed those who were sick and suffering, and he calls us to care for those who are in need. We show our care for others when we ask for Jesus’ help, just as Jairus showed his care for his daughter by asking Jesus to help her. We can pray for people who are sick or having a hard time. We can ask that they experience Jesus’ healing love and care. Let’s each take a moment to think of someone we would like to pray for.
6. Pray prayers of petition asking Jesus to share his healing love with each person the children name. Close by praying together the Sign of the Cross.

Gospel Reading
Mark 5:21-43 ( shorter form, Mark 5:21-24,35b-43)
Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus’s daughter from death.

Making the Connection (Grades 4, 5, and 6)

Watching other people suffer when they are sick can leave us feeling helpless. Our prayer for those who are sick is a way for us to ask for Jesus’ healing presence and to participate in the Church’s ministry to those who are sick.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Tell the children to think about a time when they were sick. Ask: When you were sick, did you have any special needs? If so, what were they? What did other people do to help you feel better? (Accept all reasonable answers.)

2. Ask: Have you ever helped take care of someone who was sick? What does it feel like to be with someone who is sick? (Accept all reasonable answers.)

3. Say: We are fortunate to have people who care for us when we are sick. Caring for people who are sick can be very rewarding, especially when we help them feel more comfortable. But it can also be discouraging because sometimes there seems to be little we can do to help them feel better.

4. Say: Today’s Gospel tells the story of a father who felt helpless because his daughter was sick. But he sought help for his daughter from Jesus. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel.

5. Invite one or more volunteers to read aloud today’s Gospel in its shorter form, Mark 5:21-24,35b-43.

6. Ask: What does Jairus ask Jesus to do to make his daughter well? (to lay his hands on her) What happens while Jesus is walking to Jairus’s house? (Messengers report that Jairus’s daughter has died.) What does Jesus do? (He tells Jairus not to be afraid; he continues to Jairus’s house; he says that the girl is only sleeping and he raises her, making her well again.)

7. Say: Jairus did something that each one of us can do; he asked Jesus to be present with a person who was sick. We can also pray for those who care for the sick, such as parents, nurses, doctors, and all people who work in the medical profession.

8. Conclude by inviting the young people to name people they know who are sick. Pray prayers of petition, asking Jesus to heal each person named by praying, “Jesus, heal us.” Conclude your prayer time by praying together the Glory Be to the Father.

Gospel Reading
Mark 5:21-43 ( shorter form, Mark 5:21-24,35b-43)
Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus's daughter from death.

Making the Connection (Grades 7 and 8)

Caring for the sick is an important way that Christians follow Jesus’ example. With faith in Jesus’ power to heal, we pray for those who are sick and for all those who care for them.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Ask the young people to name 10 careers in the medical profession (for example, doctor, nurse, x-ray technician, pharmacist). Write these on the board and ask the young people to describe how people in each profession contribute to the care of those who are sick.

2. Ask the young people to recall a time when they helped care for someone who was sick. Ask: What feelings did you have as you helped to care for this person? (Accept all reasonable answers.) Observe that caring for people who are sick is both rewarding and challenging.

3. Say: Today’s Gospel tells the story of a father who sought Jesus’ help because his daughter was very sick. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel.

4. Invite one or more volunteers to read aloud this Sunday’s Gospel in its shorter form, Mark 5:21–24, 35b–43.

5. Ask: What feelings might Jairus have had as he asked Jesus to make his daughter well? (Accept all reasonable answers.) What happens while Jesus is walking to Jairus’s house? (Messengers report that Jairus’s daughter has died.) What does Jesus do? (He tells Jairus not to be afraid. He continues to Jairus’s house. He says that the girl is only sleeping, and he raises her, making her well again.)

6. Say: Christians follow Jesus’ example by showing compassion and care for those who are sick. Just as Jairus turned to Jesus to heal his daughter, we pray for those who are sick, asking that Jesus comfort them, heal them, and give them strength. Like Jairus, we have faith in Jesus’ power to heal. We also pray for all those who care for those who are sick, including those who work in the medical professions.

7. Conclude by inviting the young people to offer prayers of petition for those who are sick and for those who care for the sick. Lead all to respond to each petition, “Jesus, heal us.” Then pray together the Glory Be or the psalm for this Sunday, Psalm 30.

Gospel Reading
Mark 5:21-43 ( shorter form, Mark 5:21-24,35b-43)
Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus’s daughter from death.

Family Connection

There are many ways in which we can compare the request for healing made by Jairus and the request of the woman with the hemorrhage. One comparison helps us think about prayer. Jairus asked Jesus for healing on his daughter’s behalf; the woman with the hemorrhage had no one to speak for her and bravely approached Jesus on her own initiative. In our prayers, we do both. We intercede for others’ needs, and we also courageously express our own needs to God. We find hope in Jesus’ response to both of these people, who sought him out in their hour of need.As you gather as a family, talk about some of the things you have prayed for this week. Notice that some of your prayers may have been for other people, and some of your prayers may have been for your own needs. In today’s Gospel we find encouragement for both kinds of prayer. Read together today’s Gospel, Mark 5:21-43. Talk about the similarities and differences between the two people who presented their needs to Jesus in this Gospel. Notice that both people received the healing they sought from Jesus. We want to pray for the needs of others and for our own needs with as much faith and hope as Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage did. Pray together in thanks and praise to God, who hears our needs and answers them, by praying today’s psalm, Psalm 30.