Weekly Kids’ Reflection in our Parish Bulletins – Comments on these reflections can be sent to heykids23@gmail.com
Hey Kids! Bulletin Article – April 28, 2024
Hey, Kids! – Have you ever noticed that when Jesus was teaching, he often told stories to help his followers understand what he wanted them to learn? The Gospel for today is another shining example of these stories. This story was about grapevines. He chose the grapevine for this story because in the land where Jesus lived, there were many grapevines. Jesus knew that his followers would know a lot about grapevines. I don’t know if you have ever seen a grapevine, but there are two parts to the grapevine. There is the vine, and there are many branches growing out of the vine. The grapes grow on the branches. That is pretty much like any fruit; they grow on the branches. The only way that a branch can have fruit on it is for it to remain connected. If a stem broke off, anything growing on it would wither away and die.
Recently, I was working in the yard and I found a branch laying on the ground. I realized it had no leaves and no sign of life left in it. If it had come from a nearby fruit tree, it would never have had any fruit on it. That is what Jesus wanted his followers to understand as he told his story about the grapevine. He wanted them to understand how important it was for them to stay connected to him. He told them, “I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me, you will have much fruit, but apart from me, you can do nothing.” Jesus wants you and me to produce fruit in our life. He wants us to be kind, gentle, generous and loving to each other. Do you believe we can do that on our own without Jesus? NO WAY!
Just as the branches must be connected to the vine before they can produce fruit, you and I must stay connected to Jesus to produce the good fruit that God expects of us. If we keep our life connected to Jesus, we will grow. When we stay connected to Jesus, we will try our best to please him, and to do good instead of bad. Just like a grapevine produces delicious fruit, our life will produce beautiful gestures of peace, forgiveness and love that we can give to one another. But if we separate from Jesus, we may do things that go against everything Jesus taught us.
Let’s pray: Jesus, help us to remain faithful as we stay connected to you, and follow your teaching. Amen.
Hey Kids! Bulletin Article – April 21, 2024
Hey, Kids! – A shepherd is someone who takes care of sheep. If you are familiar with sheep, they can be very calm animals. They need a shepherd to watch over them because other fierce animals can attack them. A good shepherd will protect his flock and risk his own life to save one of his animals from a wolf or other hungry animal. When Jesus told the people that he was “the good shepherd,” he wanted them to understand that he was there to help them, not hurt them. He wanted the people to follow him, like sheep follow their shepherd, so that they would learn how to live in peace with one another. He also wanted them to understand that he would risk his own life to save them and us!
If you have ever owned a pet – you are something like a shepherd. You take care of your pet by making sure it has enough water, food and exercise to keep it healthy. If you ever see that your pet is in danger, I am sure that you will do your best to protect it. So, imagine this love for your pet. That is how God loves each and every one of US – but even more!
This is an amazing way for Jesus to explain how we are like sheep. If you have ever seen sheep in a flock, there are many for the shepherd to watch over. The shepherd cares for all of the sheep, without exceptions. They belong to him and his job is to care for them, and love each and every one of them the in the same way.
Jesus wanted us to understand that God loves us in the same way. Even though there are billions of people living in the world, He watches over each and every one of us. He wants to lead ALL of us to him. Even though some of us will wander off and not follow him, he will never abandon us. He will always welcome us back into His arms as long as we promise to follow him and love him.
People will come in and out of our lives. They may try to lead us away from Jesus. They may get us to do things that go against what our parents teach us and what God teaches us. God understands that this can be hard for us – that is why He sent Jesus to us. He sent Jesus to teach us how to get to heaven to be with God.
Let’s pray: Jesus, help me to be like a good shepherd and to lead others to You. Amen.