How Are We Being Changed By Christ?
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Mark 4:26-34 - Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“…[It] is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants…”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
The Roman Catholic Church is the strongest and the longest continually-operating institution in the world. It outlasts and overcomes wars, nations, attacks from the outside (and sadly, sometimes from the inside), and evils of all kinds. It exists almost everywhere on earth, but most vibrantly in believers’ hearts. But it wasn’t always this way. It started, basically, with twelve ordinary men. These were the men to whom Jesus “explained everything” in private. These men were changed by Christ, and then they went out and changed the world
The world can change again. It can change for the better. But these changes won’t happen through the US government or any other human institution alone. If it happens, it will happen by way of ordinary men and women like us whose lives have been changed by Christ. For example: look at the impact John Paul II and his legacy are having on the Church and the world. What the world needs is saints. What the world needs is for us to be is saints. How are we being changed by Christ?
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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