Things to talk about:

• In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus talks about wheat and weeds. What does the wheat represent? What do the weeds represent? 
• Why do you think Jesus doesn’t want to pull up the weeds until the harvest?
• When have you witnessed or experienced God doing an amazing thing with something small?

Things to do:

• Outdoor Activity: Pull weeds in your garden or landscaping. Make it a competitive family activity to see who can pull the most weeds and award a prize for the winner. Be sure to instruct children on the difference between weeds and plants/flowers!
• Clean out your garage, shed, or storage area, and consider giving things away to Goodwill. Alternatively, sell old things and consider using your proceeds to purchase something for your new outdoor sacred space.
• When you go to Mass this weekend, count the number of hymns that contain the word “wheat”.

Closing Prayer

“Heavenly Father,Help me look into the fields of my own life to see what is growing. When I see a mixture of weeds and wheat, I pray You will guide me to develop and grow only the good in myself. May I become the wheat destined for eternity. In Jesus’ name, I pray Amen.”

Name anyone who needs prayer, reply, “Lord, hear our prayers.”  Close with the Sign of the Cross.     

Catholic Insight

The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast which leavens the bread are wellknown parables that point to God’s ability to bring about great things starting with something small and seemingly insignificant. In fact, that is a theme found throughout the Bible. The entire Jewish race begins because of Abraham and Sarah’s faithfulness. The boy David defeats the giant Goliath. The small band of Hebrew slaves escapes the mighty Egyptian army. An unwed teenager says yes to bearing the Son of God. God is born into a stable and wrapped in rags because his parents are poor refugees. Jesus reminds his disciples to have hope and trust that God can and does, work through small things to do great things.

On the other hand, the parable about the wheat and the weeds seems to make a different point. We must have patience when we experience good and evil existing side-by-side in our world. Just as the farmer had no control over the fact that weeds were growing amidst his wheat crop, we have no control over bad things that happen to us. We can do all that is possible to cultivate the good (by sowing good seeds), but we have to live with unexpected and disappointing outcomes. As the farmer teaches his crew, it is not their job to sift out the bad from the good. Ultimately that is God’s job. In the meantime, God invites us to live, and still grow together with the bad in the world.