Donkey, Episode 7 (12/4/2021)

Episode 7: The Donkey That Carried Mary

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey..." Zechariah 9:9

I have worked very hard for my owner, but I wasn’t prepared for a journey through the desert that has taken months. Mary and Joseph needed to get to Bethlehem. So, I helped carry Mary and some of their supplies. After Bethlehem I thought we would return home. But now we’ve traveled to Egypt to escape King Herod!

Joseph shares water with me and allows me to stop and graze when we find a few blades of grass. The sandstorms are harsh. I want to go home, but I hear the angels whisper to me, ‘just follow our voices. We will guide you.’ 

Mile after mile, I keep steady to protect Mary and her newborn baby. They must be very important people! There are angels guiding us, and a bright star lighting our way. How lucky am I to carry Mary and her baby! It’s a very special job even though it makes me tired and is taking a lot longer than I expected!

As your family prepares for Christmas there may be some special jobs around the house that you can help with. They may take longer than you expected, and they may make you tired, but learn from me and don’t be afraid to do those special jobs with a joyful heart for Jesus!

Lord, help us during these days of Advent to be generous in serving you and serving others. Give us strength to do even the smallest of things with great love. Amen.

Prayer Starter for Parents

"It’s a very special job even though it makes me tired and is taking a lot longer than I expected!" Sometimes the things God asks us to do are hard, tedious, and can take a while. And sometimes we may not even get thanks or an acknowledgment when we do it. Parents, you know this very well since much of what you do to take care of your kids and provide for them is hard, tedious, and without many thank you's. But when we love someone, we are willing to do all of that because of the love we have. It's the same in our relationship with God. We love him, so we're willing to do things that may be tiring, difficult, and hidden from the applause of others. One of the best lessons you can teach your children is that real love works this way. Real love is willing to do the hard and tiring things for no other reason than love. 

For your prayer starter today with your kids, here's an idea: spend a couple minutes together thanking God for the difficult, tiring, and not super-pleasant things that others have done for you. This may take a little encouragement, but help them to think about the loving things others have done for them recently: a parent or older sibling unloading the dishwasher, a teacher who spent time preparing a lesson at school, a police officer or fire fighter who works long shifts to keep us safe, the person who took time to clean up the kitchen, etc. With your kids, take a moment to thank God out loud for those people and for what they have done. Then, ask the Lord to help each of you to be more generous in loving others that same way. You can do that by asking the Lord to help you practice real love the way he has taught us through St. Paul:

Pray this out loud together:

Jesus, help us to love others the way you have taught us:
"Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous, it does not brag,
and it is not proud. 
Love is not rude, is not selfish,
and does not become angry easily.
Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 
Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices over the truth. 
Love patiently accepts all things.
It always trusts, always hopes, and always continues strong."
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7)