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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me learn what I need to, so I can have time to relax and play, too! Amen.

"Be happy if you have to work hard to stay close to God," said Jesus. "God's kingdom, heaven, belongs to you. Don't worry if you're sad; God will comfort you. Be happy if you're humble and want to follow God; God will be close to you. Be happy if you forgive other people; God will forgive you. Be happy if you work for peace; you'll be called children of God! Even if people hurt you for believing in God, be happy, because you'll go to heaven."

After holiday breaks and then snow days, a lot of kids aren't in the mood for school right now. You've kind of gotten used to not being there all the time.

Sometimes, you wish that teachers could just sum up what you have to learn for the year, and let you go drink hot chocolate and make snowmen!

In a way, this week's Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12) grants that wish. Jesus knew that He was packing a lot of stuff into His teaching; like your teachers, He had a lot to cover and not much time - and a lot of His students were impatient, too.

The Gospel reading sums up a lot of what Jesus wanted people to remember. In fact, this part of Jesus' teaching is so famous, it has its own name: the Beatitudes.

When the snow is beautiful and your attention is wandering in school, you know you have to try and listen to what's being taught. Jesus tried to hold the attention of crowds, too, so He summed up: Work hard. Remember that bad feelings don't last forever. Forgive people who hurt you. Be peacemakers. And in all of that, have faith that God understands what you're going through and is with you.

Jesus taught the Beatitudes, and people listened like kids in school. And then, maybe, they went off and played like kids on a snow day![[In-content Ad]]

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