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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me remember what you taught at Pentecost! Amen.


After Jesus died, the Apostles hid in a locked room to get away from those who killed Him. Suddenly, Jesus was in the room with them! "Peace be with you," He said, showing them the cuts in His hands and side to prove it was really Him. "Receive the Holy Spirit," He added, and gave them the power to forgive sins.

There are some days when you just don't know where to start. You're hungry; you have homework; your fish's tank needs to be cleaned; you're supposed to practice your saxophone lesson. You're so overwhelmed about what to do first, it's hard to get anything done!

If that's one day in your life, imagine how overwhelmed the Apostles must have been after Jesus died. He had told them to keep teaching people about God after He was gone, but in this week's Gospel (John 20:19-23), they were sad, scared and probably forgetting everything He taught.

When you don't know where to start, most kids take a deep breath and try to calm down. Panicking isn't going to help your homework get finished! Then you ask for help: praying to God, talking to your parents or calling a friend.

That's exactly what Jesus did. When He appeared to the Apostles, the first thing He said was, "Peace." He knew they were emotional and wanted them to take a breath and chill out a little. Then Jesus brought the Holy Spirit to guide them in teaching about God. We call the day when the Holy Spirit came "Pentecost."

Finally, Jesus gave them the power to forgive sins. Like a kid looking at homework, a dirty fish tank and saxophone practice, the Apostles needed guidance. Jesus told them their first step: Go be with people and help the ones who are hurting.

When you're overwhelmed, that's a good idea: Don't worry about everything you have to do. Pick any one thing and just do that, and see what happens![[In-content Ad]]

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