First Sunday of Lent (A)
Jesus fasts for forty days and is tempted
The Word This Week
In the Cycle of Sunday
Notes for Readers
First
The reader is telling a story - so be a storyteller. This story from Genesis will be familiar, which makes it harder to read to a congregation: when we are familiar with a story we can tend to switch off slightly. The reader will have to make a special effort to engage the congregation. For example, without acting, try to make the voice of the serpent sound different from the rest of the reading - remembering that temptation is meant to be attractive! Also try to emphasise the goodness of the Lord God in the first two paragraphs. Slow down for the last lines, where Adam and Eve realise what they have done: Then, the eyes of both of them were opened / and they realised that they were naked.
Second
Note: ask whether the long or short version is to be used.
This is a very complicated reading: it will need careful preparation. Some sentences are very long - make sure you think about where to breathe and pause. For example, theres one very awkward sentence you might decide to read like this: If it is certain / that death reigned over everyone as a consequence of one mans fall / it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, / will cause everyone to reign in life / who receives the free gift / that he does not deserve / of being made righteous.
Sunday Mass Sheet
This is a two-sided A4 Mass Sheet, which when folded lengthways will give you a thin booklet. Please feel free to download this pdf file and print it out for Parish use.
Wordsearch
Click on the link to get this week's Gospel based Wordsearch. Feel free to copy and paste it into your parish publications.