Cup and Dish
Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Luke 11:37-41 – After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you."
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
How about that coming from a dinner guest! Jesus is very serious about wanting us to live genuine lives. He wants us to be clean on the inside, not just look clean. This is a great reminder of the importance of doing a daily Examine, an Examination of Conscience at the end of the day, where we consider our sins, confess them and apologize to God, and pray and resolve to do better with God’s help the next day. And this is also a great reminder of our need for Confession. Most Catholics don’t make it a priority to get to Confession regularly, even after they have sinned seriously. They approach Communion looking clean to everyone else, but inside they are caked with sin.
Our family needs to take the Sacrament of Confession seriously. We need to try to go more regularly. God wants us to encounter Him in His mercy, and He wants to clean us from the inside out. Imagine Him as our dinner guest…what joy it would be to hear Him say: “Inside you are filled…with Me!” During prayer, let’s examine our consciences as well as we can and plan to go to Confession soon.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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