In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches us how to be a good disciple through the parable of the blind leading the blind. Before we point finger and judge others, we need to look at fixing ourselves first.
Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and our minds. Fill us with your peace, love, and understanding. Help us to hear God's message today and recognize His voice in our daily activities. Amen
Jesus told his disciples a parable,“Can a blind person guide a blind person?Will not both fall into a pit?No disciple is superior to the teacher;but when fully trained,every disciple will be like his teacher.Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?How can you say to your brother,‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;then you will see clearlyto remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.For every tree is known by its own fruit.For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,nor do they gather grapes from brambles.A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bwv3-yqyH8 (attributed to Catholic Kids Media)
Ask: What does Jesus say we should do before we remove the splinter in our brother’s eye? (Remove the wooden beam from our eye.)
Say: A wooden beam is much bigger than a splinter. Just like the saying about pointing our finger, Jesus is calling attention to the fact that if we focus our attention on other’s faults, we do not notice our own. He calls us to examine our conscience and act as he would have us act rather than focusing on what others are doing.
Say: We are good disciples when we model Christian love and make good, moral choices. When we see someone do something that we think is wrong, we do not have to participate. We can be a positive influence by showing a different way to act. Ask: Can you think of some examples? (Accept all reasonable answers, such as “If we see someone excluding another child, we can include the child and be kind to him or her.)
Distribute the Peace Prayer. Pray the prayer aloud together.
Father in heaven, for the sake of bringing others closer to you, we give you today, all that we think and do and say, and we join it with all that was done by Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen
