Our Great Journey
This week our theme is “Walk the Walk” based on Matthew 21:28-32, Mateo 21:28-32
Opening Prayer:
Prayer of St. Francis (His feast is October 4)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
In addition to our prayers from the heart, our prayer for October is the Act of Contrition. Please pray this prayer daily to learn. This should be one of our nighttime prayers.
Using the Bible, invite a family member to read the Gospel aloud.
Things to talk about:
- Tell why you think which son was right?
- What does walk the walk mean? Do actions speak louder than words?
- Why are the actions of the second son worse than those of the first son?
- What does this story teach you about the mercy of God?
Things to do:
- This week may a sincere effort to follow through on what people ask you.
- Focus on your actions this week to make sure they reflect the love in your heart.
- Take your pet to the pet blessing on Saturday, October 7, 10:00 a.m. by the St. Francis Garden.
- If you don’t have a pet, sit down with your family and create a list of blessings, writing down everything for which you are grateful. Add the list to your prayer table/space.
Trivia Question of the Week…. Who designed the first nativity set? (Hint: His feast day is October 4)
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for your love and patience with us. Give us the gift of selflessness this week, we pray that our actions and the way we treat others reflects the love in our hearts. Help our actions to be the same as our words, if not louder. We will promise to do our very best to Walk the Walk. Amen.
Catholic Insights
This Gospel contrasts what it means not to just say yes but also to follow through on God’s word.
In this parable, Jesus is teaching the Pharisees about their inability to recognize the kingdom of God. He tells a parable and poses a question. They answer correctly, but it convicts them for their failure to heed the call of John the Baptist.
The situation Jesus poses is rather straightforward. Given the same task by their father, one son asserts his disobedience in words, but then obeys in his actions; the second son obeys with his words, but disobeys in his actions. The question that Jesus poses is pointed and direct: Which son did what the father wanted? All would agree that “actions speak louder than words” and that even if his words were disobedient, the son who did the work as ordered did the father’s will.
Jesus’ conclusion is also direct. The chief priests and elders, the ones who speak most often about God, did not act accordingly. They did not respond to the message of repentance announced by John the Baptist with a change of heart. Instead, John’s message was heeded by those you would not expect to repent—tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners. Because of their actions, these sinners will enter the Kingdom of God ahead of the religious leaders.
Jesus could ask us the same question. Do our words indicate our obedience to God? If not our words, do our actions? God desires a full conversion of heart, that our actions (and our words) will give evidence of our love for God. This week make an effort to follow through on things people ask of you. Let’s pray for each other to Walk the Walk.
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