For the Kingdom of God is... living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We have loads of great ideas for busy parents and families, including videos, games, and fundraising ideas.
Help children to explore and reflect on the Sunday gospel with our resources.
Use our range of prayers to pray for all our sisters and brothers throughout the world
Alex in Bolivia drawing a picture
We are made in the image and likeness of the Creator and so we are called to be creative.
Use these ideas to explore some different ways of expressing your imagination and creativity with your family, and reflect on how these gifts draw us closer to God.
This prayer uses building blocks such as Lego® or an equivalent.
Each family member takes one brick. What can you make with your piece? It has the potential to be a house, a car, or a rocket, but to fulfil that potential it needs other pieces. In the same way, each of us has unique gifts and if we bring them together we can build something amazing. Say which gifts you recognise in each other.
Spend some time as a family discussing Saint Paul's words to the Romans. How can we live a life of goodness, peace and joy and so build up God's kingdom? How can we reach out to our brothers and sisters throughout the world in love?
Use some building blocks to build something inspired by this, and as you do, pray God will help you to build his kingdom. You might like to display your creation for some time as a reminder of the prayer.
For this activity, each family member needs a piece of play dough or plasticine. To make your own, this recipe should make four balls:
250g plain flour
50g salt
130ml water
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 drops liquid food colouring (optional)
Combine the plain flour and salt. Mix in the water, food colouring and oil and knead well.
If the consistency is too wet, add a little more flour.
When each family member has a piece of play dough, the invitation is to shape it in different ways in reponse to the following prayer prompts:
A ball - Thank God for the gift of creation and ask him to help your family and all people to care for the earth.
Divided into two or more pieces - Think of all the places where people are divided by war or disagreement. As you bring the pieces back together pray that God will bring peace and healing. You may wish to reshape the pieces into a dove or another symbol of peace.
A rainbow - Many people put rainbows in their windows as a sign of hope during the pandemic. Offer your hopes to God and pray for a fairer world for all people.
Stretched out as far as it can go - Pray God will help you to reach out to those in need.
A heart - Pray for the people you love and the people who love you.
Your own shape - Finish by shaping the dough into something to express your own prayer.
