In this issue:
Jesus talks about the members of God’s family
Bible Accent: The Bible talks a lot about families
Saint for Today: St. Alban
Kids’ Club Essay Contest
Puzzle
Jesus talks about the members of God’s family
Reading of June 10, 2018: Mk 3:20-35
Jesus and his apostles were traveling around Galilee. Wherever they went, Jesus would heal the sick and drive unclean spirits from people.
One day, Jesus came home with his friends. As usual, a huge crowd gathered around him, and Jesus and the apostles couldn’t even eat a meal.
When Jesus’ relatives heard that Jesus was home, they made plans to seize him because they were worried about him.
“He is out of his mind,” they said.
The scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, thought that Jesus was possessed by an unclean spirit. They even suggested that Satan was giving him the power to remove unclean spirits from those who were possessed.
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons,” they insisted.
When Jesus heard what the scribes were saying, he summoned the crowd to him and began to speak in parables.
“How can Satan drive out Satan?” Jesus asked those in the crowd. “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder the house.”
Then Jesus told everyone about a sin that could not be forgiven: attributing to Satan things that are the work of the Holy Spirit.
“Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin,” he said.
Just then, some people in the crowd told Jesus that his mother and other relatives had arrived and were asking for him.
“Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus asked as he looked at the people gathered around him.
Jesus spread out his arms.
“Here are my mother and my brothers,” he said of the crowd. “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
Mark 3
Q&A
1. Who wanted to see Jesus?
2. Who did Jesus call his family?
Bible Accent:The Bible talks a lot about families
The Bible talks a lot about families.
For example, in the Book of Genesis, we read that God created Adam and Eve, the first family. Afterward, he told them to “be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gn 1:28).
God also talked about families in two of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20, he told the Israelites to honor their fathers and mothers and to be faithful to their spouses.
In Ephesians 5:33, the apostle Paul said that husbands and wives should love and respect each other. In Colossians 3:20-21, St. Paul also said that children should obey their parents, and fathers should not provoke or discourage their children.
Jesus talked about the sacredness of marriage in Matthew 19:1-6. And in John 19:25-27, right before he died on the cross, he made sure that his own mother was taken care of by one of his apostles.
During his ministry, Jesus also talked about being part of God’s family, which includes everyone who does God’s will.
So not only did Jesus see the biological family as important, but also the spiritual family — the members of his church, who might not even be related to one another.
Saint for Today: St. Alban
St. Alban lived in third-century Britain during a time when the Romans were persecuting Christians.
Even though Alban was a pagan, he helped a priest who was fleeing from the persecution. This priest wound up baptizing Alban as well.
When the Romans found out that he had helped a priest escape capture, he was arrested and killed.
Alban is believed to have been Britain’s first martyr. A cathedral and an abbey were even built on the hilltop upon which he is said to have been killed.
We honor St. Alban on June 20.
Kids’ Club Essay Contest
Kids, enter our essay contest for a chance to win a $25 gift card!
The essay question for June 2018 is: What does being part of God’s family mean to you?
Send your essay — including name, home address, telephone number, school and grade — to Catholic Courier, PO Box 24379, Rochester, NY 14624.
All entries of 100 words or less must be received by the Catholic Courier no later than 4:30 p.m. on June 20, 2018, to be considered for this contest. The winner, whose essay will be published in an upcoming print and online edition of Kids’ Chronicle, will be notified by phone.
Contest Rules
1. Essay content must be original and written by the entrant.
2. Essays cannot exceed 100 words in length.
3. Entrants must be no more than 14 years of age as of the last day of this contest.
4. Only one essay per entrant will be accepted during any given contest period.
5. Winners will be selected at the sole discretion of the Catholic Courier, and all decisions are final.
6. By submitting an essay, the entrant agrees to allow his or her name, grade level, school name and essay submission to be published online and/or in print at the discretion of the Catholic Courier.
7. Submitted essays that do not adhere to these rules, entries that do not include all required information or entries that are deemed inappropriate by the Catholic Courier will be disqualified.
8. At the discretion of the Catholic Courier, this contest may be modified or cancelled without notice at any time.
9. All entries become the property of the Catholic Courier.
Puzzle
