---

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me do the right thing -- without needing a nudge from an adult! Amen.

Jesus and Mary went to a wedding where the guests drank all the wine. Knowing Jesus could help, Mary told Him, "They have no more wine." Jesus saw the jugs of water people used to wash up. "Have the waiter taste it," He said. The waiter did -- and said, "They've saved the best wine until now." The water had turned into wine!

"Say thank you." "Help her." "Do your chores." You're a smart kid; you usually know what the right thing to do is. But that doesn't mean you always do it right away! Often, a nudge from an adult -- especially one of your parents -- is what gets you to take action.

In this week's Gospel (John 2:1-11), we learn that even Jesus needed a nudge from His mother! In the story, Jesus hadn't yet started His work of teaching people about God. It seems like no one knew He could do miracles - except, of course, Mary and Joseph.

So, when Mary learned that the parents of the wedding couple had run out of wine and were embarrassed that they had nothing to serve the guests, she nudged Jesus to help.

When you know what to do, what's the reason you don't do it right away? You may not care: Someone else should do it. You may be distracted: It's hard to get motivated to empty the dishwasher when there's something on TV. You may be reluctant: Who wants to take out the garbage when it's freezing outside? You may be embarrassed: Someone needs help, but it's hard to put yourself out there and get involved.

We don't know whether Jesus was dancing at the wedding and didn't want to stop, or reluctant to let people know He could do miracles. Either way, a nudge from His mother got Him to do the right thing: He turned water into wine so people would have enough to drink.

After you starting doing the right thing, it's often easier to keep going. Once Jesus performed His first miracle in public, there was no looking back. He went from helping a group at a wedding to helping the whole world -- without another nudge from His mom![[In-content Ad]]

---