The Better Part

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the reflection.)...

(Adults, the Bread of Life discourse concludes this week. It is complicated--for adults as well as for children :) You could begin by...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, the full Gospel this week is complicated. This reflection for the 6-9 year olds focuses on the last four verses beginning with...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, the reflection for the 6-9 year old considers simply the raising of Jairus' daughter to life. You could begin by reading the...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child.) Mark 14.12-16, 22-26 Two Sundays after Pentecost, the Gospel reading returns to...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child, unless the child is a very fluent reader.) Matthew 28.16-20 For fifty days, we...

(Adults, almost always, I focus exclusively on the Gospel reading; however, for the feast of Pentecost, I think it is important for the...

Mark 16.15-20 This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Easter season. We know that for forty days following his Resurrection, Jesus appears...

John 15.9-17 In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus continues the parable of the True Vine. Last week, we thought about Jesus' invitation...

John 15.1-8 In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear Jesus tell part of the parable of the True Vine. This parable gives us so much to...

John 10.11-18 (Adults, you could begin by reading the whole scripture passage to the child.) For many of us, the parable of the Good...

Luke 24.35-48 We know that Easter is not just one day, but a whole season--seven Sundays long! We have a chance to listen to different...

John 20.19-31 The Gospel this week takes place on Sunday evening, the same day that Jesus is Risen from the dead, filled with the eternal...

Mark 16:1-8 When Jesus is born, a new moment begins in the History of the Kingdom of God. Never before, throughout all of creation,...

John 20:1-18 At the end of the Gospel reading last Sunday and again on Good Friday, Jesus' dead body is wrapped in linen cloths and put...

Mark 15.25-39 (full reading: Mark 14.1 - 15.47) This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week when, all over the world, the Church thinks...

(If your parish is using the readings from year A, please click here for reflection.) John 12.20-33 For many weeks of Lent we have been...

(If your parish is using the readings from year A, please click here for reflection.) John 3.14-21 In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus...

John 2.13-25 In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, the most holy city in Israel, to celebrate the Passover meal, the...

Mark 1.12-15 We have entered a new season in the church called Lent, a time of preparation for the great feast of Easter. At Easter, we...

Mark 1.40-45 In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus meets a person who has leprosy. This means he has an awful skin condition that is very...

Mark 1.29-39 Last week, we heard about Jesus at the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath day. His disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the entire Gospel passage so that the child hears it once in its entirety before we think about the...

Mark 1.14-20 Last week we heard St. John's account of how Andrew and Simon Peter become disciples of Jesus. This week we hear St. Mark's...

John 1.35-42 Last week, the Gospel took place by the Jordan River at Jesus' baptism. The Gospel for this Sunday takes place the very next...

Mark 1.7-11 We are coming to the end of the Christmas season, but we are still celebrating! Most people think Christmas ends on December...

Matthew 2.1-12 The second Sunday of the Christmas season is called the Feast of the Epiphany. "Epiphany" means that God reveals--makes it...

(Adults, you may want to use this reflection instead, written for the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple, Feb. 2nd, 2020.) Luke...

Luke 1.26-38 On the fourth Sunday of Advent, so close to the feast we are waiting to celebrate, we listen to the Gospel that marks the...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the...

(Adults, begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to the...

(Adults, I think of the 6-9 year old as in a time of KNOWING--knowing who calls them to build the Kingdom, knowing the rules of the...