Day 14 – Love each other deeply
Morning prayer
Start you day with this prayer
Father, thank you that your grace is new every morning.
Lead me in your ways and fill my heart with your love and joy.
Help me to see others as You see them.
Father, I ask that You will bless every choice,
every reaction, every attempt
and every conversation I have to honour You.
(Silence)
Let your will be done.
Amen
Prayer station
Use this symbol to lead you in prayer for the day.
Symbol: Envelope
We pray for those who are without jobs, or who are afraid of losing their job.
May we be willing to help where we see someone in need.
Reflection
Read this reflection on the text for the day.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins – 1 Peter 4:8.As Christians we should love one another deeply because our love for each other makes it possible to look past our shortcomings. Christian love is different from romantic love. Romantic love is awakened by someone’s positive characteristics. We think someone is beautiful, handsome or pleasant. Our love is then a reaction to that enjoyable trait. Our love for one another as part of God’s family should be more than just a reaction to someone’s admirable characteristics. It should be a power that can accept – or cover – and change other people’s shortcomings. Christ loves us in spite of who we are or who we were; He loved us when we were still sinners. His love also renewed us so that our character and way of living can be transformed to be more like His. By accepting each other as Christ accepted us and by loving each other as Jesus loved us, our faith community becomes a place where people are accepted and renewed in a positive way. That is why Peter encourages us to, above all else, love each other deeply.
Jesus, give me a love for all people, no matter who they are. Let your love renew them through my love, as your love renewed my life. Amen.
Isaac’s Soap Opera
Watch this video with your children
Liturgy for life
See the ordinary things you do in and around the house as signs of God’s care.
What do you choose to fill your time with?
I believe that in this lockdown period many of us have an interesting experience of time. Maybe you feel that you have a lot of time because you do not have to rush to all your normal activities. Or maybe you feel as if you have little time because now you have to teach your children and keep them busy while you are also trying to work from home. Maybe you feel that you are not using your time constructively to do everything and learn everything that everyone else on social media is saying they are doing. All that tango, guitar and baking lessons … Everyone is trying new things. Or maybe you feel that time just stopped existing? You aren’t so sure what the date is or what day of the week it is.
Recently I listened to a podcast of the world-renowned marriage counsellor, Esther Perel, who spoke to a couple about the conflict in their marriage. Somewhere in the conversation the wife says rather hopelessly that time will probably heal their pain. Then Esther Perel stops her and her words really struck me:
“Time does not exist; it is about what we fill our time with.”
In other words, time itself has no worth; it is about what we do with our available time that counts. Time has the meaning we give to it. Today, sit with the people in your house for a few minutes and think about this time of year. It is Easter. Think about what Easter, Jesus’s death on the cross and his resurrection can mean to us in this time. Make time to remember: God gives us a new life, today.
Children’s activity
Play with your children.
Wow! 21 Days of isolation. 21 Days in which we’re only allowed to be in our homes (or gardens) and can only go out for the most essential things like food and medicine. It can be a little rough! All the things we usually do during the day, like school, sport, church … are not happening anymore. It can really confuse you and maybe even bore you a little. These daily readings will help you to spend some time with Jesus every day in a creative and fun way. You can do these readings and activities by yourself, with your siblings, or with your entire family. Ask one of the grownups to post your activity on Facebook so that others can enjoy it with you. Tag it with #solitudecalendar #churchtogether
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There are different kinds of love. There is romantic love, like the love between people who are in love. Then there is the kind of love we have for our pets that is completely different. The love that Jesus’ followers should have for one another and other people looks very different from other kinds of love, because we follow Jesus’ example of love. Jesus loves us, no matter who we are or what we do. This is the kind of love we should have for other people.
Can you think of more examples of the different kinds of love?
It is now Easter. How did Jesus show us how much He loves us in the first Easter events?
Activity
Learn 1 Peter 4:8 by heart. Create movements that fit the words.
Choose a place in your house and build a crucifixion scene there. You can look in your Children’s Bible for ideas or ask someone to help you to search for some ideas on the internet.
Creative prayer
Colour and reflect (Instructions are available under the picture)
INSTRUCTIONS
• Choose your art materials such as coloured pencils, coloured pens and koki pens. Any of these will work.
• Colour in the picture and do the activity.
TIPS
• Choose no more than five colours. If you’re unsure of which colours to use, take out all the colours and put them on the table. Close your eyes and pick up five.
• It may be easier for you to first start colouring the edges and not big blank spaces.
• Don’t stop halfway, especially if your reason for stopping is that you think your picture isn’t pretty. This is the purpose of the activity – to get your attention away from unnecessary thoughts like, “Am I doing this right?” and to focus on the people that you love.
• When you’ve finished colouring the picture, put the picture in a prominent place in your house, like your bedroom or in the kitchen.
Consider sharing your picture on social media with the hashtags #solitudecalendar #churchtogether
Thank you’s and testimonies
Share your testimony with us! Use the online form below.
We have been following this countdown calendar from day 1. It keeps us anchored and helps us with our routine every day. Our children of 9 and 11 are crazy about the program. Thank you for this!
– Juliette le Roux