July 12: Mass Mysteries Explained for Little Ears

Mass Mysteries for the Littlest of the Littles

God has CHOSEN us for a purpose. He has a plan!

Amos 7:12-15
Amos is another Old Testament prophet—similar to Ezekiel. Well, not similar, Ezekiel was probably weirder, but they were both prophets. 

In this passage, I love that Amos reveals that God took him from his normal, ordinary job, and told him to prophesy. Amos has nothing on his resume to prepare him for this position, but God chose him. I want my kids to watch for God calling them in their everyday lives and working to fulfill God's plan for them.

I know, Nick, it's terrifying.

Psalm 85:9-14 
The main barrier to this Psalm is the vocab. Grant us your salvation doesn’t come up in conversation at my house. Once you translate for your kiddos, they will be able to see that God’s kindness gives and forgiveness and peace, knowing that we will forever be with God.

Ephesians 1:3-14 
Saint Paul reminds the people of Ephesus that God chose us. God has a plan for us, and is revealing his mystery to us, so that we can be with Him. 

I love Paul's comment, "God has made known to us the mystery…” It is not for us to create understanding, or to figure it all out for ourselves. God will reveal what we need to know and we don’t need to have understanding of everything. 

It kind of looks like he's praying...but I think he' blowing his nose on his shirt. Keep it classy, Nick!

This is a great parallel to parenting. Sometimes, there are things that my kids don’t need to know. When Scott and I speak in grown-up code, Mady will try to understand what we’re saying. She’ll ask us what we meant. I’m sure she hates the answer when we say, we didn’t make it clear to you on purpose. You don’t need to know (or you NEED to NOT KNOW). So it is with God. I want my kiddos to seek out knowledge of God, but I also want them to revel in the mystery and the impossible!

Mark 6:7-13 
Jesus chose his twelve apostles and sent them out on a mission. He gave them 'authority' so they could be effective in their preaching. This means that they could now perform miracles in God's name.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of those apostles. They needed huge amounts of faith in order to pull this off! 

If Jesus told me that I could perform a miracle, it would take a great leap of faith for me to even attempt to cure someone. I'd rather hide in the background with my skills. I guess I’m not ready for that authority.

This is also a good moment to talk about the apostolic succession of the priest. The priests are now our ‘apostles.’ God gave them the authority to perform the Mass and the Sacraments. Cool!

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Saint Kateri is the first Native American recognized as a saint, and was canonized in 2012. She is the patron saint of the environment and is a terrific example for us on coping with adversity and praying, always.

Linking up at WFMW at Giving Up on Perfect, A Little Bird Told Me, and Creative Muster on Fluster Buster, and Whimsy Wednesday.
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14089811/?claim=6ekp2k3qc6v">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>