The week of February 18th – During the month of February, your family will focus on the virtue of kindness. Each week you will gather together and reflect on God’s kindness and the ways you can be kind to yourself and to others. Find a time this week to gather as a family, say a prayer, read or listen to a prompt, respond as a family to what you have heard and then act on the suggestion for the week.
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February Virtue Kindness: showing others they are valuable by how you treat them
What is a virtue? A virtue is something that God does in us to change the world around us.
GATHER together in prayer
LISTEN through scripture; readings; stories; music; videos
RESPOND to what you have heard
ACT in service to what God is calling you to
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GATHER
Gather together as a family and pray this prayer:
Gracious God,
Give us a passion
for being kind
towards ourselves,
towards others,
and towards all of your creation.
Be with us,
we pray,
and help us to be ever mindful
that our acts of kindness
– no matter how small –
spread your love
in the world. Amen.
LISTEN
Have one person in your family read Matthew 25:35-40. This Bible passage can be found online at Bible Gateway via this link: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A35-40&version=NIV
Then watch the YouTube video entitled “Simple Act of Kindness: School Lunch” via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULd2uHXRiSs&index=4&list=PLw-9ybYAnOPHM7zPC8O44mtx9swp8QTOx
RESPOND
There are many ways to be kind. Some are easy like the acts of kindness we can show our friends and family. But while it’s important to be kind to those we know and love, it is equally as important to extend our acts of kindness beyond the boundaries of our family and friends. Jesus reminds us that we need to feed, clothe and be with people who are in need. And not just people like us. Jesus calls us to kindness in action towards all people, especially those who are overlooked and neglected.
ACT
As a family, decide to reach out to someone in need. Even if you’ve helped others or supported an organization in the past, look for a new and different way to reach out. Challenge yourselves to extend yourselves outside your comfort zone. Talk about how you will decide what you should do in a world that has so many needs. Pinpoint a need your family feels is most important to address right now. Figure out how to educate yourselves about the need and the people it affects. Then do what needs to be done to show kindness in action.
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Food for Thought
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him. Proverbs 14:31 (Bible)
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi
What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other. George Eliot
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40 (Bible)