LiViNG FAITH Daily Catholic Devotions Kids October November December 2012 Volume 7 Number 4 Living Faith Kids provides a daily reflection based on a Scripture passage from the daily Mass. With Mass readings listed at the bottom of each devotion, this booklet helps children pray with the seasons of the Church Year and thereby grow in relation with Christ and his Church. Mark Neilsen Editor; Julia DiSalvo, Kasey Nugent Editorial Assistants Connie Clark, Kathy Finley, Steve Givens, Fr. Ken Grabner, Maureen Kavanaugh, Fr. Joe Kempf, Karla Manternach, Kathleen Muldoon, Caroline Pignat, Marge Schumer, Katie Suarez Contributing Writers Michele Boland Designer; Jim Burrows Interior art; Ashley Benham Cover Art IMPRIMATUR Most Rev. Edward M. Rice Archdiocese of St. Louis 2012 by Creative Communications for the Parish Living Faith Kids is published quarterly in January, April, July and October by Creative Communications for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Drive, Fenton, MO 63026, a subsidiary of Bayard, Inc., sponsored by the Augustinians of the Assumption. Subscription rates: 1 year, $13 (Canada $17); single copy, $3.75 (Canada $5.25). Periodicals postage paid at St. Louis, MO. Canadian GST# is 84231 1870RT. Printed in the U.S.A. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Living Faith Kids, P.O. Box 292824, Kettering, OH 45429.
Welcome to LiViNG FAITH Daily Catholic Devotions Kids In this magazine, you will find Words from the Bible God speaks to us in Scripture. Living Faith Kids picks a short quote from one of the daily Mass readings to share. Daily devotions Daily prayer is a great way to build our relationship with God. The reflections in this booklet will help you pray each day with the Word of God. Saints, Seasons and More On holy days and special feasts, we add a little something extra often a puzzle or craft just for you. Enjoy!
Reading the Bible Our daily devotions begin with a passage from the Bible. Want to read more? The CITATION (sigh-tay-shun) will guide you to the reading in three easy steps: Book Genesis 8:22 1: Book. The Bible is divided into books. Check your Bible for a list of titles. Genesis 8:22 comes from the Book of Genesis. 2: Chapter. The first number is the chapter. Bibles usually show book and chapter at the top of each page. Genesis 8:22 is in Chapter 8. Chapter Verse 3: Verse. The verses are the last numbers. Verses are about a sentence long; you ll find the numbers in the paragraphs. Genesis 8:22 is verse 22 of Chapter 8. Ready? Set? Go! Practice by looking up Genesis 8:22.
Monday October 1 St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord! Job 1:21 Imagine losing your family, moving to a new state and contracting a serious disease all at once. You wouldn t feel like thanking God, but guess what he still wants you to! Job s story, as extraordinary as it is, reveals a deep truth: no matter what happens, God is in charge. Jesus asks us to follow him always. We call the Church the Bride of Christ, because it enters a loving relationship with God in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health Lord God, you always watch over me. Teach me to return your blessings whether you give or take away. 4 Job 1:6-22 Psalm 17:1-3, 6-7 Luke 9:46-50
Tuesday October 2 The Holy Guardian Angels Their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. Matthew 18:10 You re walking past an abandoned building. Keep out! reads the sign. You pause and take a closer look. What fun it would be to explore! Then you hear a small whisper: Don t even think about going in there! Is your guardian angel trying to tell you something? Today is set aside by the Church as a time to honor our guardian angels. Each of our special angels is assigned to lead us to good thoughts and actions and to save us from harm. Let s thank them today. My dear guardian angel, thank you for showing me the right paths. Help me to obey and follow them. Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 Psalm 88:2-8 Matthew 18:1-5, 10 5
Wednesday October 3 I, O Lord, cry out to you; with my morning prayer I wait upon you. Psalm 88:14 Do you jump out of bed when your alarm clock rings, or do you pull the covers over your head and beg for five more minutes of sleep? Whichever describes you, one thing is certain: Saying a prayer in the morning is a great way to start the day! Our prayers need not be long and boring. Even the Bible tells us that short prayers from the heart are best. We don t need to use big words or special prayer language. We can talk to God like we would with our best friend. Thank you for letting me awake to this new day, Lord. 6 Job 9:1-12, 14-16 Psalm 88:10-15 Luke 9:57-62
Thursday October 4 St. Francis of Assisi The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. Luke 10:2 In the Scripture above, Jesus speaks plainly: Teaching the world about God and growing the Church is not an easy task! Jesus told his disciples that it would be difficult to find people willing to help them do these jobs. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day we celebrate today, was definitely a laborer for Jesus. He worked tirelessly for the poor. He founded religious orders for the Church. In fact, he worked so hard that he is considered the patron saint for Catholic action. But there is still plenty of work left to do. My Jesus, what can I do for you today? Job 19:21-27 Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14 Luke 10:1-12 7
Friday October 5 Lord, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1-2 I used to imagine God as a stern judge who watched me and tried to catch me doing something wrong. That made God seem scary! Then in religion class, we studied some parts of the Bible. One of the psalms we talked about was Psalm 139. The teacher explained that God knew everything about us, even our thoughts. She explained that this showed God s perfect love for us. Read Psalm 139. Memorize your favorite verse. The next time you feel unloved, bring that verse to mind and feel God s arms around you. Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 Psalm 139:1-3, 7-10, 13-14 Luke 10:13-16 8
Saturday October 6 St. Bruno, Bl. Marie Rose Durocher I know that you can do all things Job 42:2 Job was a rich man. He had land, animals and ten children. But within a few days, Job lost everything. Enemy soldiers took his land and animals. A terrible storm killed his sons and daughters. As if that weren t enough, Job suddenly developed a horrible skin disease. Such troubles would be enough to make most people angry at God. But not Job! He had a deep faith that these tragedies could not shake. He believed that God would help him in his time of need. And God did. My God, I believe that you can do all things. Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 Psalm 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130 Luke 10:17-24 9
Sunday October 7 Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time God said: It is not good for the man to be alone So the Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. Genesis 2:18-20 My friends and I used to say, Girls rule; boys drool. Then for a while my best friends were boys. Now it doesn t really matter. You may think boys are icky or girls are annoying or even prefer your pets but nothing beats a good friend. God made us to live, work and play together no matter your gender, age, size, race, religion or ability level. Lord, unite your children. 10 Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 128:1-6 Hebrews 2:9-11 Mark 10:2-16
Monday October 8 You shall love the Lord, your God and your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 One day Jesus told a parable to help a scholar understand who his neighbor was and what it meant to love him. What might Jesus say to us about how we should show our love to God and to our neighbor? I believe Jesus might tell me a story about being kind and helpful to my family. He might include family chores among the things I need to do to show that love. What do you think Jesus would tell you? Who is Jesus asking you to love? How are you going to show that love? O God, help me figure out how I can best love my neighbor. Galatians 1:6-12 Psalm 111:1-2, 7-10 Luke 10:25-37 11
Theological Virtues Faith, Hope and Charity Virtues strengthen us to live good lives, and the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity (or Love) come to us as gifts from God. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about these special gifts: Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that the Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. ( 1814) Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. ( 1817) Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. ( 1822) 12
God-given Gifts Find these words in the word search below. Basilica Catechism Charity Faith Gift Grace Heaven Hope Love Strength Virtues V C H A R I T Y M I n F H B M P S R R V m D G W I O l T F A I T H e H n U G R A C E v O e E T N E J y o P v S K T F I G l E a B A S I L I C A e C s t r E n g t h Answers on page 111. 13
Tuesday October 9 St. Denis and Companions, St. John Leonardi Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me. Luke 10:40 Mom, make her help me. Dad, why do I have to do this all the time? Johnny never does. These complaints are like Martha s. Mary was doing her part in making Jesus feel welcome, and Martha was busy preparing the food. Martha wanted Jesus to tell Mary to help, but Jesus was happy that Mary was talking with him. Perhaps when we feel jealous of our brothers or sisters, we need to talk it over with Jesus too. Jesus, I don t like to feel jealous. Help me come to you when I feel that way. 14 Galatians 1:13-24 Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15 Luke 10:38-42
Wednesday October 10 [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray Luke 11:1 Jesus taught the disciples how to pray. He taught them to ask God for what they needed and thank him for what they had. God loves it when you talk to him. When you pray tonight, tell God about your day. Tell him what you liked about it and what was hurtful to you. Thank him for the good things that happened and ask him to forgive you for the things you did that weren t so good. If you feel you don t know what to say in your prayer, use the same words the disciples used: Lord, teach me to pray. Lord, teach me to pray. Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 Psalm 117:1-2 Luke 11:1-4 15
Thursday October 11 I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Luke 11:9-10 To whom would you go if you were worried about something or had a problem? You probably wouldn t go up to just anybody to ask for help. Even though it is hard to talk about our problems with another person, we all need one person we can go to for anything and at any time. Jesus tells us we can always come to God and that he will be there to help. He even tells us to be persistent, to keep asking God for what we need. God, help me to always remember that I can come to you with my problems. 16 Galatians 3:1-5 Luke 1:69-75 Luke 11:5-13
Friday October 12 Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite* in all their delights. Psalm 111:2 God filled our world with many wonderful things. Fall is a beautiful time to look around and praise God for all that you see. Our world is filled with many good things trees, flowers, grass, even the squirrels and bunnies that run around in our neighborhoods. God created it all and gave it to us. What a wonderful gift especially for us from God who loves us. God, thank you for the warm, crisp days of fall. Thank you for making a world where I can laugh and have fun. *exquisite (ek-skwiz-it): beautiful, delicate Galatians 3:7-14 Psalm 111:1-6 Luke 11:15-26 17
Saturday October 13 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. Galatians 3:25 No teacher?! No parents?! Party time, right? Think again. In biblical times, the disciplinarian was the Jewish law. Once people saw and believed in Jesus, they learned how to live by following its source: God himself. Those with faith are called disciples students, those who receive instruction and knowledge. See a similar word in today s verse? Both share a meaning that relates to learning. Jesus, I have faith. Teach me your ways. 18 Galatians 3:22-29 Psalm 105:2-7 Luke 11:27-28
Sunday October 14 Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time He said to him, Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor Mark 10:20-21 Why did Jesus love this man? Because he wanted to do more than follow a few simple rules. He was right: we can t earn heaven by being good. Jesus challenges him and us to go beyond what we have to do. Be generous; go the extra mile, he says. Treat your neighbor as yourself, just out of love. Can you take on this challenge this week? Wisdom 7:7-11 Psalm 90:12-17 Hebrews 4:12-13 Mark 10:17-30 19