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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me be there for friends in hard times, without trying to fix them! Amen.

Jesus told the Apostles that He would soon die to save the world. They were sad and angry at losing Him, and Peter yelled, "That should never happen to you!" "Get away from me, Satan!" Jesus answered. "You're thinking like a person, not like God."

It hurts to see friends go through hard times. When a friend breaks up with someone, has a parent who loses a job or has a death in the family, you feel some of their pain yourself. You want to help, but it's hard to know how to act or what to say.

In this week's Gospel (Matthew 16:21-27), the Apostles were feeling Jesus' pain. Jesus was struggling with the knowledge that He would soon suffer and die on the cross - a terrible thing to face.

His friends, the Apostles, were struggling to understand that this had to happen in order for Jesus to save the world. They didn't want to lose Jesus, and they felt totally helpless to change the situation.

When someone is going through a loss or other struggle, even the best friend doesn't usually have answers. You can't fix what has happened - just like the Apostles couldn't fix what was happening to Jesus. (In fact, He yelled at Peter for trying!)

All you can do is be there for the person. If you talk too much, you might forget to listen - and your friend probably needs to talk. Sometimes, just hanging out and doing nothing can be helpful. Sending a text saying, "Hey, just checking in," and asking to get together can be helpful.

Don't take it personally if your friend isn't up for that yet, either. Even Jesus snapped at Peter when He was feeling emotional.

Hard times don't last forever - but a good friendship can. The Apostles learned that, when Jesus was no longer on earth, He'd still be with them from heaven!

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