Mercy
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 12:1-8- Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Have you not read in the law…”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
There is an important principle to note in Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees. The commands of God are all for the good of man. In the Gospel, the disciples were hungry on the Sabbath, so, naturally, they ate something—the wheat in the field they were in. The Pharisees tried to accuse the disciples of working on the Sabbath because they picked wheat. Jesus’ answer shows that these rules (of not working on the Sabbath) weren’t set to restrict or harm man, but to free and help man.
All the commands and instructions of God are like this. When God tells us not to do something we think we want to, it is because He knows it would ultimately hurt us. Or when God tells us to do something that we don’t think we want to, it is because He knows it will ultimately help us. We have to see His instructions as those of a loving Father. And we have to understand that we, like little children, don’t always know what is best for us. During prayer, consider what rules we should better follow (like resting more on Sunday), and how following these rules can make us happy?
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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