IDEAS TO INSPIRE, GUIDE & STRENGTHEN YOUR DOMESTIC CHURCH AT HOME
WEEK OF MARCH 21
Guided Prayer at Mealtime
During this time, God is inviting all of us to strengthen our domestic churches. The prayer below is a simple, yet meaningful way to pray with your family during mealtimes that encourages you to relate this week's gospel reading to your own lives. Making a habit of praying as family is one of the most impactful ways to strengthen our faith. Dedicate one meal each week to praying together and start feeling your family grow closer to each other and to God.
GATHER: Begin simply by saying “Bless Us, O Lord!” and make the Sign of the Cross
LISTEN: Use a portion of the reading this week to read aloud.
Our Gospel for today is John 12:20-33. Many were very curious about Jesus, and even the Greeks asked to be introduced to him by some of Jesus’ disciples. He offers them an example of a seed and what needs to happen to the seed for something to grow. He was trying to help his disciples know that his death was approaching, and that it was very important for them to know that losing one’s life is not always an end, but a way to live. It was very difficult for them to figure out his message. Again, a loud voice spoke from above, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Pause a little,
SHARE: Invite each person at your table to answer.
It seems that Jesus has given his disciples yet another message, and again one that causes them to wonder, to be amazed, and even to lead to more questions. We can see from our perspective that Jesus was talking about what would happen soon, but his disciples felt a lot less sure. But they knew what happened to a seed or to a grain of wheat - it had to die to being one in order to grow into a part of an abundant harvest. That gave them lots of room to imagine what was in store. Life would begin with death; eternal life would be the promise offered to all who believe. Share some examples of things growing, especially as we see the change of seasons each day right in front of us. We are entering a time of hope, growth and promise - so, too, with Jesus’ invitation to follow him!
PRAY FOR: After sharing, consider all those you want to remember in prayer today.
Pray for each other and all those in need, and for all those looking for hope, for comfort or consoling. Include in your prayers this week those adults who are preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist at the Vigil on Holy Saturday night.
GIVE THANKS: Conclude with: "Bless Us, O Lord, and these your gifts which we are about to receive from your bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen."
Enjoy your meal!
Additional Ideas for This Week:
- Take the time to pray with us by using the Mass on our homepage.
- If you have special intentions that you would like to be included in our prayers, please email these to intentions@churchofthegesu.org. We feel it is important to be able to turn to your community in faith during the most troubling times. Since we cannot all be together to do so, we hope this invitation assists you on your journey.
FREE CHILDREN'S LITURGY OF THE WORD
St. Mary's Press is offering you and your families free access to Kids’ Liturgy, their digitally-led Children's Liturgy of the Word program. Parents can log in using any internet-connected device and engage their children in the included children's songs, a gospel reading, an active reflection and prayer for a full liturgical experience. By presenting the Word in a format and language that children can understand, we can continue to strengthen their faith and enliven the whole church community – even as we are apart.
To access this free resource, please follow the instructions below:
1. Go to https://mlearn.smp.org
2. Copy/paste the following login information:
Username: kidsliturgy@smp.org
Password: KidsLiturgy123!
* This is a universal login. Please DO NOT change the password!
You can also watch the free video walk-through of a Kids’ Liturgy session at the following link: https://vimeo.com/359125753.