The Bread of God’s Word
Meditating on God’s word during Lent is an excellent way to nourish our spirits and the spiritual development of those we teach.
Photo from Photos.comWe do not live “on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3). In our gospel for the First Sunday of Lent (Year A), we hear Jesus quote these words from Deuteronomy. Catechists might want to use this gospel text to encourage children and their families to read the Scriptures daily, especially during Lent.
Bread for the Spirit
Early in the season of Lent, take some time during your religion session to focus on Matthew’s story of the temptation of Jesus (Mt 4:1–11). Children love the story because it is action-packed and easy to grasp. For younger children, the catechist might limit the story to verses 1–4, the first temptation. After telling the story, focus on the beautiful image of the bread of God’s word, which feeds our spirits every bit as much as ordinary bread feeds our bodies.
Be sure the children realize that we find God’s word in the Bible. With older children draw the parallel between the bread of the Lord’s word and the bread of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, both of which feed our spirits, especially during the Mass. In conversation with your group, suggest that one effort we might make during Lent would be to read a passage from the Bible every day.
Read, Reflect, and Pray
Every time the children come for their religion session during Lent, act on your resolution by reading a Bible text. The text can be brief, even a single verse, followed simply by a few moments of silent reflection. The catechist might begin the reflection by having a child read Jesus’ words from Matthew 4:4, which quotes Deuteronomy. (Refer to the beginning of this column.) Conclude the reflection with this prayer.
“Loving God, thank you for your life-giving word. Just as bread nourishes our bodies, your word nourishes our spirit. Open our minds and our hearts to your word. Help us remember your word and apply it to our lives.
“We ask this in the name of Jesus, who has told us that we do not live by bread alone but on the word that comes from you. Amen.”
Family Bible Reading
Encourage the children to talk to their families about daily Bible reading during Lent. The following is a meal prayer that children and their families might use to remind them.
“Loving God, thank you for the food we have before us. Bless those who bring this food from the fields to our homes. Bless those who prepared this food. Bless us who eat it, and those who do not have enough food. Even as this food nourishes our bodies, remind us that you nourish our spirits with your word.
“We ask this in the name of Jesus, who tells us that we do not live by bread alone but on the word that comes from you. Amen.”
Send home copies of this meal prayer, along with the explanation of its intention to encourage daily Bible reading. Urge families to read Bible stories with their children in the evening, drawing the stories from a children’s Bible.
For older children, who might prefer to read on their own, suggest they read a passage from Mark’s gospel every day. You might choose to divide this shortest and simplest of the gospels into the proper number of segments so that the children will finish reading the gospel by the end of Lent. You can also send very good readers to the Catholic bishops’ website, where they can find the readings for the weekday and Sunday liturgy.
Mary Catherine Berglund is Minister of Children’s Liturgy at St. Bridget’s Parish in Richmond, Virginia. She is the author of Gather the Children, The Pastoral Press.
