Sunday Connection

Gospel Reading
Mark 1:40-45
Jesus cures a person with leprosy, who reports his cure to everyone.

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

Younger children are beginning to learn the difference between right and wrong. We can support them in making good choices.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Ask: What are some ways that your parents ask you to make good choices at home? (Accept all reasonable responses, including “Go to bed on time,” “Follow the rules,” and “Be kind to my sister or brother.”) Are there ever times when you don’t feel like making the right choice? Do you choose to do the right thing anyway? Why or why not? (Accept all reasonable responses.)
2. Say: In today’s Gospel, we hear about a good choice that Jesus made. He was approached by man who had leprosy, which is a horrible skin disease. It can be spread from person to person. Today it can be healed with medication, but in Jesus’ day, people who had leprosy were considered unclean and had to live away from everyone else. They couldn’t be touched. Let’s hear what happened when a person with leprosy asked Jesus for help.
3. Read aloud today’s Gospel, Mark 1:40–45.
4. Say: The man asked Jesus to heal his leprosy. Ask: What did Jesus choose to do? Why? (Jesus chose to heal the man. He took pity on him.) Say: No one was supposed to touch people with leprosy. But Jesus made the good, loving choice to heal the man. He calls us to make good, loving choices too.
5. Say: We can make good, loving choices at home, at school, and at church. We can remember that Jesus helped others and calls us to be helpful and kind.
6. Close by praying that Jesus will help us make good choices and be loving and helpful to others. Then pray together the Lord’s Prayer.

Gospel Reading
Mark 1:40-45
Jesus cures a person with leprosy, who reports his cure to everyone.

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

Older children have learned how to make routine daily choices. They are continuing to learn the more difficult process of moral decision making. Through Jesus’ healing of the man with leprosy, we can teach older children the importance of making choices that help others.

Materials Needed (Grades 4, 5, and 6)

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings (Grades 4, 5, and 6)

1. Say to the group: You have so many choices in the course of the day that you may not even realize how many decisions you make. Let’s list some of the decisions that you have made since you woke up this morning. Make a list together. (choosing what clothes to wear, choosing what to eat for breakfast, and so on)

2. Say: Most of us have become pretty good at making good choices that relate to our daily routines. But sometimes we are faced with a choice that is more difficult.

3. Say: In today’s Gospel, Jesus is faced with this kind of choice. A man approaches Jesus, asking to be healed. Jesus was faced with the choice of whether to heal him or not.

4. Read aloud today’s Gospel, Mark 1:40-45.

5. Ask: What did the man want Jesus to do? (cure his leprosy) Why might Jesus not want to do this? Remind the students that leprosy is a disfiguring skin disease and that in Jesus’ time, people with leprosy were not permitted to have contact with people who did not have the disease. What did Jesus decide to do? (He healed the man with leprosy; he touched him as part of the healing.)

6. Say: As Christians, we face similar choices with the decisions that we are asked to make. We have the choice to love, the choice to help, or to do nothing. We show the depth of our faith when, like Jesus, we choose to love and to help, even when this is difficult for us.

7. Conclude by praying together that we will have the courage to help and heal others, even if doing so is difficult. Pray together the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Gospel Reading
Mark 1:40-45
Jesus cures a person with leprosy, who reports his cure to everyone.

Making the Connection (Grades 7 and 8)

As they mature, young people become more aware of the needs of others. We can encourage them to express their faith by showing compassion and making choices to help others.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Ask the young people to think back over their week and recall a time when someone expressed a need and asked for their help.

2. Tell the young people to use this situation to consider these questions about our response to people in need: What feelings did you experience when you were asked to help? How did you respond? Are there times when you would rather not get involved when someone asks for your help?

3. Say: When someone asks us for help, we are faced with a choice. We can choose to help, or we can decide not to help. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is faced with such a choice when a man with leprosy asks for his help. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel.

4. Invite a volunteer to read aloud this Sunday’s Gospel, Mark 1:40–45.

5. Ask: What did the man ask Jesus to do? (to make him clean, to cure his leprosy) Why might Jesus not want to do this? (Accept all reasonable answers; if necessary, remind the young people that leprosy is a disfiguring skin disease and that in Jesus’ time, people with leprosy were not permitted contact with those who did not have the disease.) How does the Gospel describe Jesus’ response to the man’s request for help? (Jesus was “moved with pity.”) What did Jesus choose to do? (He touched the man with leprosy and healed him.)

6. Say: Jesus felt compassion for the man with leprosy, and he chose to show his compassion by his actions. When we hear of the needs of others, we often feel compassion toward them. Then we must choose how we will respond. We show ourselves to be true Christians when, like Jesus, we demonstrate compassion by our actions, giving help when we are able.

7. Conclude by praying together that we will take opportunities to show compassion to those who ask for our help. Encourage the young people to identify a choice they can make this week to show compassion to a person they know to be in need. Pray together a Prayer for Generosity.

Gospel Reading
Mark 1:40-45
Jesus cures a person with leprosy, who reports his cure to everyone.

Family Connection

Today’s Gospel invites us to think about the choices we make as individuals and as a family. Jesus was faced with a choice in today’s Gospel. By choosing to heal the man with leprosy, Jesus showed God’s compassion for the sick and the outcast. The man knew that Jesus had a choice and that Jesus could reject his request. He may have expected that Jesus would not help him. The social taboos regarding leprosy certainly gave him little on which to base his hope. In the person of the man with leprosy, we see an image of all those in need. The sick and the outcast of our world are watching us, to see if we as Christians will choose to extend ourselves to others in need of healing and compassion.

Gather with your family and talk about some of the choices you have made as a family. (where to go on vacation, what activities to do together, how to spend our evenings, and so on) How does your family go about making these decisions? What do your choices communicate to others about your family’s values? In today’s Gospel, Jesus was faced with a choice. Read today’s Gospel, Mark 1:40-45. In choosing to heal the man with leprosy, Jesus chose to show God’s compassion and mercy. All our choices reflect our faith, and others are watching. Conclude in prayer together, asking God to help your family show compassion to others in your family decisions. Pray together today’s Psalm, Psalm 32, or pray the Prayer for Vocations.