Learning to Say Yes

The young people will see Mary as a model of discipleship who was open to God's call.

The young people will be able to tell the story of the Annunciation and Visitation.

• Chalkboard, bibles

• Discuss with the young people the various ways to say yes. Ask: What are the different ways we say yes? (sure, why not, yeah, you bet) Write their answers on the board.
• Ask: What are some of the ways people say yes in other languages? (s?, oui, ya) Write their answers on the board.
• Say: Jesus was born because a very special woman said yes when God asked her to be the mother of the Savior. Let's look at the Scripture passage that tells the account of Mary's yes to God.
• Have volunteers do a dramatic reading of the Annunciation from the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38. You will need someone to be the narrator, someone to be the angel Gabriel, and someone to be Mary.
• Ask: What was the message the angel came to give Mary? (The angel told Mary she would have a son who would be called the Son of God.)
• Ask: How did Mary react? (with surprise and puzzlement) What words did Mary use to say yes? ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Luke 1:38)
• Ask: Who did the angel Gabriel promise would come to Mary? (the Holy Spirit)
• Discuss some of the ways Mary prepared for Jesus' coming. Ask: What are some things Mary may have done to prepare for Jesus' birth? (Answers will vary.)
• Say: Scripture tells us one way that Mary prepared. What did she do? (She went to help her cousin Elizabeth.)
• Ask: How did Elizabeth help prepare the way for Jesus? (She was the mother of John the Baptist.)

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Select young people with strong reading voices to do the dramatic reading.