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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me pick friends who have lots of good qualities. Amen!

John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, "There's the Lamb of God!" Right away, two men named Andrew and John asked Jesus, "Teacher, where are you staying?" Jesus answered, "Come and see." Andrew told his brother, Peter, "We have found the Messiah, who'll save the world!"

Think about your friends. Why do you like them? What makes them people you want to hang around with, more than some other people you know?

You might be thinking, "She's nice to everyone." "He's really funny." "We like lots of the same things." Real friends are people you're drawn to because of their good qualities.

This week's Gospel (John 1:35-42) is about seeing someone and knowing right away that He'll make a great friend. Jesus only has to show up where John the Baptist, Andrew and John are, and they feel drawn to Him.

A good friend is generous. Jesus is already sharing His talents, teaching people about God and spreading the word to everyone He meets that God loves them and wants to be part of their lives. He's also healing people who are sick and troubled. He's inviting people to follow Him and learn more.

Some friends are people you want to hang around with because they seem very special. You're impressed by how nice they are to everyone. They might be the center of every crowd, telling jokes, or people who quietly do good things. Either way, you want to be like them.

That's definitely true in the Gospel story. People see Jesus and, even without Him saying anything, they can tell He's a great leader. John the Baptist and Andrew seem to know already that Jesus will save the world. Jesus is also a person who quietly does many great things; sometimes, He tells the people He helps not to say anything about what He did for them.

Picking friends should be easy: Look for the people you want to be like because they are good. Great friends are all around you![[In-content Ad]]

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