Religious Education 

WEEKEND GOSPEL

GOSPEL     Mark 1:1-8

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Make straight the paths of the Lord.

The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah:

Look, I am going to send my messenger before you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice cries in the wilderness:

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight,

and so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey. In the course of his preaching he said, ‘Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’

 A beginning point for discussion of this week's Gospel with children:

• Who is the prophet in today’s Gospel who spent time in the desert?
• What did he do?
• John the Baptist told people they must be sorry for the things they had done wrong so they could be ready to meet Jesus.
• What things do we need to be sorry for?
• How can we change our ways so that we can be ready to meet Jesus?