Weekly Kids’ Reflection in our Parish Bulletins – Comments on these reflections can be sent to heykids23@gmail.com
Hey Kids! Bulletin Article – January 19, 2025
Hey, Kids! – Have you ever just flipped through a newspaper? I realize modern times has many of us reading the news from our phones, but the newspaper is a reliable source that is available, no matter if you have wi-fi or not. The newspaper often reports on good news, bad news, sports, weather, stories and more. It is a great way to keep up with what’s happening in the world around us.
The Bible is a lot like a newspaper. It gives reports from moments in history and tells stories of things that happened a long time ago. What if we read the Gospel today like it was an article in a daily newspaper? Today’s story is from the Gospel of John. The word Gospel means “Good News,” so let’s imagine that we are reading an article from the Daily Galilean or The Jerusalem Times. Listen to this headline: “Wedding Guest Turns Water Into Wine.” Wow! That sounds interesting; let’s read the rest of this story!
On Tuesday, a woman named Mary was in Cana to attend a wedding. A large number of guests, including her son, a man named Jesus, also attended the wedding. Guests at the wedding were reportedly having a good time until the host ran out of wine. At that point, it seemed that the happy celebration might turn into a disaster. Some of the wedding guests thought that perhaps Jesus might have a solution to the problem, so they reported to Him that they were out of wine. When told about the problem, Jesus at first seemed unwilling to do anything, but after some encouragement from His mother, He finally agreed to help.
Eyewitnesses at the wedding reported that Jesus noticed several large water jars nearby and instructed some servants to fill them with water. After the jars had been filled with water, He told them to dump some of the water out of the jars and take them to the man in charge of serving the wine. When the wine steward tasted the water, he discovered it had been turned into wine. Wedding guests were amazed at the turn of events and said that the wine was the best they had ever tasted. As a result of this miraculous event, many people are following Jesus everywhere He goes, and many believe that He even is the long-awaited Messiah.
Well that made a pretty good news story, didn’t it? Do you know what is great about this story? Just as Jesus performed a miracle by changing water into wine at the wedding celebration more than 2,000 years ago, He is still working miracles in the hearts and lives of people today. If you will let Him, He will work a miracle in you and you can share with those around you.
Let’s Pray: Dear Jesus, work a miracle in all of us today. Amen.
Hey Kids! Bulletin Article – January 12, 2024
Hey, Kids! – Many of us do not remember the day we were baptized into the Catholic faith. Most likely you were a baby when that special day happened; you were dressed in all white and your parents and guardians probably invited their closest relatives and friends to celebrate with them. When you were baptized, you received your very first sacrament. Your parents or guardians wanted you to become a part of the Catholic faith community and free you from original sin. We are all born with original sin. When we are baptized, we are given grace by God and washed clean of our original sin.
If you are reading this and have not been baptized, you do not need to worry about not being a part of the Catholic church – you are still welcome! You can get baptized when you and your parents and guardians believe you are ready, and you can always ask them to help prepare you for this special sacrament.
Many people thought John the Baptist was the Messiah because he lived a very holy and pure life. Many people were baptized by John because they liked how much he loved God and wanted to go to heaven. John knew that Jesus was very special, so when John heard Jesus was going to the Jordan River, John did not expect Jesus to ask John to baptize him. John even tried to stop Jesus from being baptized by him. John was very confused. He thought that JESUS should be baptizing people and not BE the one being baptized. However, this is what makes Jesus so wonderful! Jesus always wanted to set an example for us.
We must remember that Jesus was sent by God to show us the way to heaven. Jesus knew he was the Son of God, and he wanted to honor his Father. He wanted to show people how important it was to be baptized, even for the Son of God. Jesus said, “For now, this is how it should be because we must do all that God wants us to do.” Jesus was simply saying that he wanted to do what God wanted.
John was very humbled by Jesus, and he did baptize Jesus in the Jordan River. When the baptism was complete, the heavens opened up and John saw the Spirit of God, looking like a dove, coming down on Jesus. A voice coming from heaven said “This is my own beloved Son, and I am very pleased with him.”
The important thing about Jesus’ baptism is that, by his example, he showed us how to get to heaven. Jesus didn’t want anyone to be confused about what they should or should not do.
Let’s pray: Thank you, God, for the wonderful gift of Baptism. May we continue to live our lives to serve our Father in heaven.