Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
July 2, 2017
Gospel: Mt 10:37-42
Jesus said to his apostles: "Whoever loves father
or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and
follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever
receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet (1)
because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a
righteous (2)
man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And
whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple - amen, I say to you, he will surely not
lose his reward."
http://www.usccb.org
The difficult words
(1)A prophet is
a holy man who shares special wisdom from God.
(2)Righteous
means good and just.
This week’s spotlight
“You too must think of yourselves
as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus."
In today's second reading from the Letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us
that Jesus destroyed sin and death by dying on the cross. By baptism and faith
in Jesus, we become God’s children and share in this victory. The waters of
baptism drown our sinfulness, so that we rise to new life. That means that we
need to die to sin, to defeat sin by lives of grace and holiness.This kind of
“living for God in Christ Jesus” will draw others to God, and lead us to the
glory of heaven.
“By the mystery of this water and
wine...”
During the Offertory, the Priest pours wine and a little water into the
chalice that saying, “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to
share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our
humanity." The Priest recalls that Jesus is both God and man, and prays we
may become more like him through the Eucharist. Mixing water and wine is an
ancient practice for making wine more
abundant, more palatable, and more polite (that is, it is less likely to
make one drunk). The mixing reminds us that our joys, symbolized by the wine,
are always mingled with a few tears. It also reminds us of the blood and water
that flowed from the side of Christ on
the cross.
Reflection
To love Jesus is to gain brothers and sisters!
Jesus asks us to love him more than our
families, more than our very lives! What does he mean by this? He doesn’t want
to take the place of our families. He wants us to change the way we love, to
love as God loves: welcoming the stranger, caring for others, putting God and
others before ourselves. When we love like this, we love Jesus more! We will
love our families even better than before. God is love. He calls us to
communion with one another in the family of the Church. True disciples of Jesus
do more than just “get along” with each other. They become brothers and
sisters, even to those in faraway lands. So, let's pray more for the family of
God throughout the world, and ask for help more often from our brothers and
sisters who have died. The more we love Jesus, the larger and closer our family
will be.
Discussion questions
1.What does Jesus tell his followers about loving him?
2.What does Jesus tell his followers about the cross?
3.How can followers of Jesus show kindness toward others?
4.What will happen to those who welcome people in need?
5. How can you show others that you are a member of God's family this week?
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. Through
this Communion in the Body and
Blood of your Son, Jesus, bring me closer to my brothers and sisters throughout the world. May all your children be
gathered together again at the banquet of heaven.
This week…
Prayers without borders
Too often we think only about our
own troubles. Learn the name of a world leader from another nation and pray
that God will help that leader work for peace and justice.
Pray for unknown
brothers and sisters
Ask your parents or your teacher (after class) to open
an atlas, or get out a globe. Pick one country, and pray for the Christians who
live there.
Crossword Puzzle
Source: usccb.org - Magnifikid - sermons4kids.com – rclblectionary.com –usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm