1. Family Love…

2. This weeks Gospel reading talks about the bond between family…
John 19:25-27
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.

3. Jesus entrusts his Disciple to love and care for his mother once he has died. This shows us that anyone can be family! If we all love each other and we are there when people need it the most –aren’t we all family?
What do you think?
Watch me!

4. Two Families
Everyone’s family is unique it its own way. Below are the stories of two different families. Read the stories and then as a group consider the discussion points.
Anika’s Family
Anika was sad. She couldn’t remember if she left her favourite headscarf at
her mom’s house or her dad’s house. It was so hard to keep track. Anika’s
mom and dad got divorced three years ago. That means that they are not
married to each other anymore, but she knows they both still love her and
older brother Abdul. Anika wishes her dad still lived with them. He could
always make her laugh when the other kids teased her about wearing her
traditional headscarf. Now she couldn’t even find her favourite one. When
Anika’s parents got divorced, her dad moved to a new house. Last year,
Anika’s dad married a lady named Claudia. Anika’s dad and Claudia just
had a baby named Sami. That makes Sami her half-brother. He is really fun
to play with! Anika likes going to both parents’ houses because they both
have fun things to play with. Her mom lives in an apartment and it has a
hamster and a play kitchen. Her dad lives in a huge house with a trampoline, a big dog named Puddles and now Baby Sami. Anika loves her family, even though living in two different houses means she can’t always find her favourite things!

5. Aaron’s Family
Aaron feels so happy. Today is the day his mum is going to graduate from college! Aaron’s mum’s family didn’t have enough money to send her to university when she was younger, so she had to wait until she made money herself. Aaron’s mum is raising him and his sister Emma by herself. Since she doesn’t have a lot of money, they live with their grandma, too. Their grandma stays with them when Aaron’s mom is at her job or her uni classes. Sometimes Aaron wishes he saw his mom more, but he knows she is going to uni, so she can get a better job. He hopes that they will have more money when she gets a new job. Aaron feels embarrassed because he wears clothes and trainers with holes in them since they have no money for new clothes. Sometimes they don’t even have money to buy food. If she gets a new job, maybe she will buy Aaron a phone, Aaron can’t wait! Aaron’s grandma always tells him that they are rich with love! He is going to clap the loudest when they call his mom’s name at graduation today!

6. Discussion points (in pairs)…
1. Discuss two things that are the same about both Anika’s family and Aaron’s family.
2. Discuss two things that are different about both Anika’s family and Aaron’s family.
3. Discuss one thing that is the same about your family and Anika’s or Aaron’s family.
4. Discuss one thing that is different about your family and Anika’s or Aaron’s family.
5. Both Anika and Aaron have felt a little sad or embarrassed by feeling different from other kids. What advice
would you give them?

7. Prayer God has made all of us alike, yet different in so many ways.
People in our place of work, and in our school, come from different backgrounds and all have very different families.
Many of us have different customs and speak different languages. Each and every one of us has a different way of reacting to any given situation.
Teach us to show respect for all those who have entered our lives and accept them for who they really are--Children of God.
Amen