The Last Penny
Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 5:20-26 - Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors…But I say to you…”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Jesus refers to the Law as an authority for His listeners. But above the Law, He refers to Himself as the authority: “But I tell you…” Jesus is the authority on everything because He is God. His words and actions, His Life, Death, and Resurrection fully reveal God to us. Though He has been fully revealed, this doesn’t mean we fully understand Him. The Holy Spirit continually guides the Church through history to understand better and to unpack fully what has been revealed to us in Christ.
The teaching body of the Church (called the magisterium) teaches about all that Jesus did and said through two different forms of revelation: Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. These are meant to stand together. We must understand the Bible through Tradition, and Tradition through the Bible. In these ways the Church is very careful and thorough, while our personal opinions can tend to be very narrow. If we want to follow Christ as the authority in our lives, we need to learn to trust the careful guidance of the Church.
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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