Day 15 – Do not judge one another
Morning prayer
Start you day with this prayer
Father, your Son suffered so, shed so much blood.
I was born with so many faults and my human nature is so filled with weakness.
Yet your Son died on the cross for me.
I know that your grace has the power to cleanse me of so many sins
And make me more and more like your Son.
Thank you for your goodness towards and love for me.
Help me, Father, te let it flow to other people.
(Silence)
Let your will be done.
Amen
Prayer station
Use this symbol to lead you in prayer for the day.
Symbol: Soft toy
We pray for children and women who are afraid and who feel unsafe when they are at home
May we continue to be in contact with our friends and family members and ask them how they are, even if we cannot visit each other in person.
Reflection
Read this reflection on the text for the day.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister – Romans 14:13.
It’s not difficult to find fault with others. All people have faults, after all. So if we appoint ourselves as judges over others, we would find enough reasons every day to judge them harshly. Often our critical attitude towards others is just a way to excuse our own bad behaviour. By breaking others down we feel better about our own shortcomings.
Paul calls us, along with the Christians in Rome, not to judge others for their mistakes and sins. He asks that we will live in such a way that they won’t make mistakes or sin anymore. Instead of enjoying the struggles and failures of others, we should ask ourselves if we didn’t contribute to the situation in any way. We should make ourselves vulnerable and confess to God every day by asking ourselves if there is anything in our life that makes our partner or children or friends stumble in their faith. In other words: Do our words, actions and attitudes build others up, or does it break their faith down?
Lord, keep me from the things that I do or say that negatively influence other people’s relationship with You. Teach me to use my words and deeds to empower others to strengthen and deepen their faith. 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.
Time stands still
It’s Easter. Because our world is so topsy-turvy, it’s sadly quite possible for this special time to just pass us by without us paying it much attention. It is possible for us to use actions in our home to remind us what Easter is about. I want to invite you to put in effort during Easter to experience God in a special way.
Jesus was crucified on Good Friday. Mark tells the story:
“And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last” – Mark 15:34, 37.
Set all your alarms (even those on your cellphones) to go off just before 15:00. Jesus breathed his last breath around 15:00. Stand or sit still for the next 5 minutes and think about Jesus whos was abandoned by God, so that God would never leave you.
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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It’s very easy to see other people’s faults, but when it comes to our own mistakes it’s not so easy to admit them. Today we celebrate Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified to take away our sins so that we wouldn’t have to point out each other’s sins anymore. Jesus came so that we can move our focus from all the things we do wrong to the things that glorify Jesus. This is why we should focus on helping to build up other people’s faith with our words, actions, and attitude.
Why do you think Jesus died on the cross?
What does it mean to build up or break down other people’s faith?
Activity
Get a few blocks or Lego’s. Try to build a high tower with the blocks, but before you put each new block in place, name something that will help to build up someone’s faith, like praying for them.
Build a cross scene. Make sure there are 3 crosses in your scene. Decorate the middle cross with words that describe everything Jesus does for us.
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.