NEXT SUNDAY IDEAS
Luke 14: 1, 7-14
nd
22 Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
"Musical Chairs"
Project Supplies: Bible, candle, music, chairs
Ideas:
 Gather the family together. Light the gospel candle and read the Gospel reading for next
Sunday. In most parts of the country, school is starting again. Are there new kids in your
class? Are you the new kid in the class? Either way, Jesus tells us to extend an invitation to
those we don't know. Do you think he means for you to ask the new kid in the class to sit
with you at lunch? Do you think he means for you to ask the new kid in the class to play with
you and your friends at recess times? Do you think he means for you to ask the new kid in
the class to come to play at your house on Sat.? He means just that. Make plans now to be a
friend to someone who has no friends.
 Parents, call your parish office. Ask to host a new family. Invite them to attend a parish
function with you and your family. If you are the new family, find another new family, and
extend an invitation to them to get acquainted in the parish together. God's people reach out
to each other. Pray that God will bless your effort.
 Play a game of musical chairs. Be prepared to give up your chair at any time, just like we
heard in today's Gospel reading. You never know in this game when you will be asked to
move to the left or move to the right or to move out. Set out a circle of chairs. One for each
person playing musical chairs. Put on one of the kids' favorite tapes. While the music plays,
players march around the chairs. The person in charge of music and chair removal, removes
one chair. When the music stops, the person without a chair, steps aside. The game continues
until two players battle over the last chair. The one to get the last chair is the winner. Enjoy!
Parents Part to Ponder & Pass on:
Humility is a child of true charity, of love. When we sincerely love our Lord, we will do everything in our
ability to esteem his children, our neighbors and the people around us. By placing others first before us,
we are placing Christ at the center of our service. It is more important to seek God's esteem than the
esteem of men. We will find that in extending ourselves to others, we will find a joy and peace as God
extends himself to us.
Saintly Focus: At the end of the alphabet we find Saint Zita and Saint Zosimus. Each of them started
out as a "nobody" at the end of the line. After faithfully attending to their duties as humble servants for
many years, both were surprised to be chosen to fill dignified positions, and are now honored as saints in
the heavenly kingdom. Christ the King delivers on his promises! It's likely that twelve-year-old Zita
intended to be a maid servant all her life, and she probably didn't realize her extraordinary talent. In the
13th century, girls seldom received a formal education, so the job as maid servant and nanny for her
employers' family helped support her parents and siblings, besides many poor beggars. Hard worker that
she was, it doesn't appear that she had any opportunity to socialize and be discovered by a handsome
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prince. Many a young lady would have become frustrated and developed an ugly personality, but not Zita.
Children flocked around her, as they would around anyone who so resembled Jesus' mother. Zita had
recourse to prayer rather than self-pity, and she found many things to pray about. Acceptance of menial
and disagreeable tasks and people would console Jesus who had to put up with so much indifference and
cruelty. Pleasing him was her happiness, and it brought so much joy to others that they began to look
upon her as a blessing and a saint. Since Saint Zita never betrayed their trust, the whole household
confided in her, and she spoke to God on their behalf for 42 of her 60 years on earth. By April 27, 1278,
they insisted that her glory be celebrated here and in Heaven!
Saint Zosimus almost reached 90 years on earth, all but the first seven being spent within the monastery
of Saint Lucy in Sardinia. How monotonous! No, he didn't see it that way. For 30 years, he faithfully
watched over the precious relic of Saint Lucy and tended the door so the other monks could pray
uninterrupted. His parents had placed him there, and he was still obeying their wishes and doing God's
Will. His faithfulness and obedience were precious in God's sight. Upon the death of the abbot, the bishop
of Syracuse saw in him holiness above all the other monks, and appointed him as their abbot. Surprise #1!
After the bishop died, the pope heaped upon Saint Zosimus the huge responsibility of simultaneously
serving as bishop. Surprise #2! By March 30, 660, God was ready to heap a well-deserved reward on
Saint Zosimus!
Answers to Proclaim:
Q. The last of the seven capital sins listed is sloth; What is it? Is it as serious as the other six?
A. It is probably far more common and more habitual. "Laziness" is a synonym. It involves neglect of
duties, procrastination, wasting time and effort. Spiritual sloth is worse, and it may go unnoticed till
real damage is done, like this: Avoidance of prayer leads to lukewarmness which leads to disgust with
devotion. This causes us to fail to be watchful, that creates a carelessness of heart and, in turn, gives
rise to the tolerance and acceptance of sin.
Dedication Prayer: Dear Jesus, let me make this day a special day for someone who needs a friend. Amen.
† Family Commitment: (write here how your family plans to live out the Gospel message this week)
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