JAN 26, 2025
Homeschool Resources Sunday Readings
Homeschool Resources Sunday Readings
- CHILDREN’S LITURGY
- KID FRIENDLY INSIGHTS IN SMALL STEPS
- CATECHIST Resources
- Handouts AND Activities
- READ-ALOUDS
- SERMON LESSONS
Prayer
Table
Symbols
GOSPEL
A Scroll: The scroll represents the teachings of Isaiah and Jesus’ proclamation of the Good News, highlighting the importance of Scripture in understanding God’s plan.
A Dove: The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus during His baptism, emphasizing the role of the Spirit in empowering Jesus’ mission.
A Globe: This symbol represents the universal nature of Jesus’ ministry, extending to all people and nations, as emphasized in the stories of the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian.
1ST READING
Open Book: This symbol represents the Word of God and the Israelites’ eagerness to listen and understand the teachings of the law.
A Heart: The heart symbolizes the emotional response of the people as they heard the Word of God and their commitment to understanding it.
A Handshake: This symbol represents unity and the coming together of the community to support and learn from one another.
2ND READING
Interlocking Hands: This symbol represents the interconnectedness of the body of Christ and the importance of each member’s unique gifts and talents.
An Ear: The ear symbolizes the call to listen and be empathetic towards one another, reflecting St. Paul’s emphasis on the unity and compassion within the community.
A Puzzle Piece: This symbol represents how each individual is an essential part of the larger community, illustrating the interdependence emphasized in the passage.
3rd Sunday of Year C
Mary Jo Cole
SOURCE: Mary Jo Cole’s YouTube Page
Father Glenn
Big Al & Father Joe
GOSPEL
Luke 1:1-4
- Introduction: This part introduces a man named Luke who wanted to write about Jesus’ life and teachings. He asked people who knew Jesus to tell him stories about Him so he could share them with others.
- Learning from others: Luke listened to the stories about Jesus, just like we can learn about Jesus from the Bible, teachers, and family.
- Writing it down: Luke wrote down everything he learned so that people could read it and learn more about Jesus.
Luke 4:14-21
- Growing in wisdom: Jesus kept learning and growing, just like we can grow in our faith by reading the Bible and listening to stories about Jesus.
- Jesus visits His hometown: Jesus went to the place where He grew up and visited a special building called a synagogue, where people gathered to learn about God.
- Reading from the Bible: Jesus read a story from the Bible, and it said that God would send someone special to help people.
- Sharing God’s love: Jesus told everyone that He was the special person God sent, and He wanted to help and show love to people who needed it most.
1ST READING
Nehemiah 8:2-4a
- Gathering together: Everyone came together to listen to a special book called the Book of the Law, which had rules and stories from God.
- Listening to God’s Word: A man named Ezra read the book to everyone so they could learn more about God and how to live the way God wanted them to.
- Helping each other understand: Some people helped explain God’s words so that everyone could understand it better, just like teachers and family help us learn about the Bible.
Nehemiah 8:5-6
- Happy to learn: When people heard God’s words, they felt happy and excited to learn more.
- Celebrating together: Everyone celebrated and shared food together because they were happy to learn about God’s rules.
Nehemiah 8:8-10
- Sharing with others: The people shared what they learned with others who didn’t understand, just like we can share stories from the Bible with our friends.
- Understanding the Word: The people wanted to understand God’s words, so they kept listening and learning.
- Being joyful: They were reminded not to be sad, but to be joyful and celebrate because God was with them.
2ND READING
1 Corinthians 12:12-30
- One big family: Paul tells us that everyone who follows Jesus is part of one big family called the body of Christ.
- Special gifts: Each person in the body of Christ has special gifts, or talents, given by God to help others.
- Working together: Just like parts of our body need each other to work well, people in the body of Christ need to work together and use their gifts to help each other.
- Caring for each other: When one part of the body hurts, the other parts help it feel better. In the same way, we should care for each other when someone in our church family is sad or needs help.
- Being a good team: God put us all together as a team. Some people might seem more important, but we all need each other to do our best work for God.
- Using our gifts: We should use our gifts to help others and make our church family strong, just like each part of our body does its job to keep us healthy.
3rd Sunday of Year C
“Hey, That’s Me!”
Kid Talk
Hi friends! Today, I want to tell you a story from the Bible about a man named Jesus and his special mission from God. One day, Jesus went to church in his hometown. Someone gave him a really old piece of paper called a “scroll” to read out loud. When Jesus read the scroll, he discovered that it was about a very special person.
The scroll said that this special person would be a good helper, a loving friend, and someone who shares happily, speaks with kindness, and loves all of God’s creatures, big and small. As Jesus kept reading, he realized that the scroll was talking about him! He felt so excited because he knew that God had chosen him to help people, heal them, and teach them about God’s love.
Jesus told everyone in the church, “Hey, this is me! I’m the person God promised to send. I’m here, and I’m ready to do this important work!” The people were amazed, and they knew that Jesus was special because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, which helped him do God’s work.
I love this story because it reminds us that God has a special plan for each of us too! When we go to church or talk to God, we can ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up with love, kindness, and the power to do good things for others. This way, we can help people just like Jesus did, and that makes us Christians.
So remember, friends, God has a special mission for all of us. Let’s be good helpers, loving friends, and show kindness to everyone, just like Jesus!
I hope you enjoyed the story! Before we go, I want to share a little song with you that reminds me of Jesus’ special mission:
“Here I am, Lord. It is I, Lord. I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.”
These images above are the property of Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing who have granted THE WORD THIS WEEK permission to use them for educational and ministry use only. These images are covered using a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
SOURCE: Free Bible Images
Catechist
Magazine
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Luke 4: 14-15 for Children
SOURCE: Bishop Mark O’Connell
Luke 4: 16-22 for Children
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The Religion Teacher
Children’s Script
Animated Videos
OSV Family
Activities
Choose one of the following OUR SUNDAY VISITOR activities as a way to further reflect on the Sunday readings:
Activity 1: Bible Honor Spot
Jesus is present in Sacred Scripture. Make a special place of honor for your family Bible. Let it become a reminder to the family of Jesus’ presence. Family members can take turns during the week reading a favorite Scripture passage before the evening meal.
Activity 2: Candlelight Reflections
Gather the family together and light a candle. Allow time for each family member to reflect on a time when he or she felt Jesus’ presence in a special way. Have each person tell about the experience.
Activity 3: Photo Album Stories
ake out pictures from your family photo album and give one picture to each family member. Share the family stories in the pictures. Talk about how Jesus is present in the life and love that you share as a family.
Activity 4: Scripture Statements
Have each family member write one or two statements from Scripture that they will live out this week. Post the statements on the refrigerator. At the end of the week, before dinner, talk about what each family member did and how he or she felt Jesus’ presence during the week.
SOURCE: Our Sunday Visitor Life Long Catechesis
RELATED PAGES:
OSV Kids provides children’s books and an engaging monthly activity booklet, OSV Kids, to help little ones form a relationship with Jesus Christ that grows as they do.
OSV Podcasts is your place for conversation and connection. Discover a community of Catholic content producers committed to exploring Truth in a way that unites and invites.
3rd Sunday of Year C
Children’s Crafts
Download 8 1/2 x 10 (PDF)
SOURCE: Ministry to Children – – Permission granted for any non-profit use. Written by Kristin Schmidt. Scripture from ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001.
Gospel Worksheet
Download 8 1/2 x 10 (PDF)
S.D.C. is a Catholic Society that works in the field of Catechesis and the spreading of the Word of God in different ways. READ MORE
SOURCE: SDC Sunday Liturgy Resources
3rd Sunday of Year C
Catholic Kids Bulletin
Download 4-pages (PDF)
The Kids’ Bulletins are a resource for Catholic kids who would like to have some fun while learning about the readings from the Sunday Mass every week. (Ordinary Form) They are made by a mom in Canada who is happy to share them with anyone who can use them to help learn or teach about the truth and beauty of the Faith.
SOURCE: Catholic Kids Bulletin
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Catholic Mom
Download Activity (PDF)
Enjoy Catholic coloring pages, lesson plans, Mass worksheets, puzzles, and more to help you prepare for Sunday Mass. These activities, prepared by the Catholic Mom Sunday Gospel Team, are free for you to print and share with your family, classroom, or parish.
SOURCE: Catholic Mom
GOSPEL
In today’s Gospel, Saint Luke speaks about how he and many people have begun compiling a record of events to teach about Jesus Christ. Saint Luke invites the listener to be attentive, to listen not only with their ears but also with their heart. Later in today’s Gospel, Jesus reads aloud from the scroll of Isaiah and announces words of great hope. He finishes the reading by saying Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing, thus highlighting the importance of the attentiveness of those who listen to the Gospel.
SOURCE: Markkula Center
1ST READING
As the people of Israel come out of exile in Babylon, they wish to hear the Law of Moses. In this passage, we see that the people have opened their hearts in prayer with a renewed attentiveness to God’s law. The people are so attentive that they weep because of their past sins and because they have realized that the law was given to them not as a punishment but so that they can be taught and led. We experience this need to be attentive so that we can also hear, learn, seek to change our behaviors, and be joyful for the opportunities that we are given.
SOURCE: Markkula Center
2ND READING
In today’s passage from 1 Corinthians, we meet a community that has been fractured through various controversies, including some individuals believing that their gifts are greater than the gifts of others. Saint Paul calls the community to be attentive to the richness that comes when all gifts are appreciated for the way that they build a community. He uses the analogy of the body by saying that many parts make up the body, and that none of these parts are greater than the others. Instead, they all are necessary for the body to function. He invites the community to be attentive to the collaboration that is needed for the healthy and holy function of any community founded in Christ’s love.
SOURCE: Markkula Center
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The Action Bible
Book of the Week
Word of the Week
Attentiveness
The Attentive Lion
The Attentive Lion tells the story of a young lion named Leo who lives in Africa with his family and friends. Rose and Crown are two of his good friends who he loves to play with. However, Leo has a difficult time paying attention to his friends when they tell him things, such as how to get to the magical flowers at the top of the mountain. Throughout the story, Rose and Crown help Leo listen and be attentive to important instructions.
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Sermon Lesson
SOURCE: Ministry to Children
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Sermon 4 Kids
Many Parts, One Body
OBJECTS: Hokey Pokey Song
Do any of you know the “Hokey Pokey” song and dance? (Pause for answers.)
It goes like this (Invite kids who know the song to sing along):
“You put your right hand in. You put your right hand out. You put your right hand in, and you shake it all about. You do the Hokey Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.”
After the left hand, you follow the same instructions with your left foot, right foot, and your head. At the end, you put your “whole self” in! What a fun dance!
But can you imagine what would happen if you were doing the “Hokey Pokey,” and your left hand refused to do the “Hokey Pokey” because it wanted to be the right foot?
Or what if the head said, “I don’t need any of you. I can Hokey Pokey all by myself!”
SOURCE: Sermon 4 Kids
3rd Sunday of Year C
Sermon Writer
Being a Part of the Whole
OBJECTS: none
Our lesson today gives us a lot to think about. In the Bible the apostle, Paul tells us that just as our bodies have many parts, “so it is with Christ.”
Paul gives us examples so we can understand what he means. If your foot says “I am not a hand so I don’t belong to this body” what would you say? Your reply would probably be: I need you foot so I can walk. You are as important as my hand.
Then the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to this body.” Again you would feel that you need both – eyes to see and ears to hear. Both are important.
Paul asks us to think about this: What if your whole body was an eye? Wow, what a silly thing to think about, but it helps us understand that we need all the parts of our body to be able to see and hear and feel and smell and taste.
When you become a Christian you are an important part of what the Bible calls “the body of Christ” (12:27). Just as God arranged all the parts of our wonderful bodies, God also arranges us as parts of his body (his church). We are each born with different abilities and talents. When we use our talents we are like parts of a body, all working together to serve and bless others.