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Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 25, 2023
Hearing the Word
Matthew 10:26-33
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said to the Twelve:
"Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father."
Reflecting on the Word
Do you know how many hairs are on your head? God does-he knows you better than you know yourself. There is nothing that you can hide from him, and you don't need to hide because God knows all of you and he still loves you.
Sometimes there are things about ourselves that we are afraid to have others know, afraid they might not like us anymore or think badly of us. Our actions or choices don't change how God feels about each of us, his beloved son or daughter. How does that make you feel?
Adapted from Celebrating Sunday for Catholic Families
Discussing the Word
ON THE WAY TO MASS
What does it say about God that he knows all secrets and even all the hairs on your head?
ON THE WAY HOME FROM MASS
If God knows everything about you, even how many hairs are on your head, what does that tell you about what he feels for you?
Adapted from Celebrating Sunday for Catholic Families
Living the Word
"Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Have your children copy this Scripture passage on paper and then draw a picture of themselves. Ask your children to draw strands of hair and count them together. Try counting each strand of hair on their heads. Can you finish counting? Talk about how God our loving Father already knows how many actual hairs on our head we have. What does that say about how intimately he knows us?
Adapted from Celebrating Sunday for Catholic Families