Advent & Christmas

A Liturgically Sound Celebration
by Mary McEntee McGill

Your parish children’s Christmas Mass
can be meaningful and memorable, but
it takes careful planning. The following
will help you create a liturgically sound
children’s Christmas liturgy to celebrate
the Nativity of the Lord.

We all have beautiful and treasured
memories of Christmas children’s Masses.
In our preparations for these special liturgies,
however, we sometimes face a strong pull to
emphasize the pageant.

by Mary McEntee McGill

In selecting music for your children’s
Christmas Mass, give careful attention to
liturgical, pastoral, and musical considerations.
The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops offers clear guidelines for the
selection of music for divine worship. In
their directive titled “Sing to the Lord:
Music in Divine Worship” (November 14, 2007),
they outline three judgments to be applied
to the selection of music.

Advent Wreath
by Shelia Kearney

Your students can make a simple Advent
Wreath for family or classroom use. A holly
and berry reproducible template is provided.
This is the second activity in the Gifts from
the Hearts of Your Students series. Look
for more activities in the coming days.

Gifts from the Hearts of Your Students
by Sheila Kearney

This Advent Season, lead your students toward a deeper appreciation for gift-giving by providing them with opportunities to make simple gifts. Gifts from the Hearts of Your Students series (coming over the next few weeks) offers ideas, how-to, and resources for simple gifts your students can make.