Sunday Connection

Gospel Reading
John 6:60-69
Simon Peter confesses his faith that Jesus alone has the words of the eternal life.

Making the Connection (Grades 1, 2, and 3)

Younger children are still learning how to live their faith. We can support them by showing them how they choose every day to live as a disciple of Jesus.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Ask children: What would you do if you saw someone at school making fun of another child? (Accept reasonable responses.) Ask: How might you help the child who had been made fun of? (Accept reasonable responses.) Say: Those are loving responses. When we speak and act out of love, we are being Jesus’ disciples in the world. Ask: What are some other things we do to show that we are Jesus’ disciples? (Accept reasonable responses.)
2. Say: When we believe in Jesus and follow God’s rules, we are choosing to be disciples. We have good relationship with God and with our friends and neighbors. We shine God’s light on the world.
3. Read aloud today’s Gospel, John 6:60–69.
4. Ask: Did everyone choose to be Jesus’ disciple? (No.) Say: Simon Peter and the other Apostles did choose to be Jesus’ disciples. Simon Peter tells Jesus what he and the other disciples had come to know about him—that Jesus came from God the Father and Jesus could lead them to eternal life.
5. Say: Jesus teaches us how to live and shows us the way to life forever with God. We show others we are his disciples when we do kind and loving things, like helping a child at school. We can pray for Jesus to help us grow in our faith. We can learn more about Jesus by reading the Bible, praying, attending Mass, and listening to grown-ups whom we can trust.
6. Close by praying the Act of Faith. Then pray together the Sign of the Cross.

Gospel Reading
John 6:60-69
Simon Peter confesses his faith that Jesus alone has the words of the eternal life.

Making the Connection (Grades 4, 5, and 6)

Most older children practice the faith because this is a commitment that their family made for them. Today’s Gospel offers an opportunity to talk about the importance of making a personal decision to claim this faith as one’s own.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Invite the young people to talk about why they are Catholic and why they think it is important that they celebrate Mass and participate in the Church’s faith formation.

2. Say: If you were baptized as an infant, your parents spoke for you in making a profession of faith in what the Catholic Church teaches about Jesus. Your parents also promised to teach you about our faith in Jesus. For many of us, this is why we celebrate Mass and participate in Church activities, because it is important to our parents and our families. Eventually, each of us makes our own decision about why and how we will express our faith in Jesus.

3. Say: For the past several weeks, we have heard Jesus teach about himself in our Gospel. In particular, we have heard Jesus teach us that he is the Bread of Life. In today’s Gospel we hear how those closest to Jesus responded to these words.

4. Invite one or more volunteers to read aloud today’s Gospel, John 6:60-69.

5. Ask: Did all of Jesus’ disciples accept his teaching? (No, many of Jesus’ disciples could not accept his words and went away.) Who did accept Jesus’ teaching? (the Twelve; Simon Peter) What did Simon Peter say that the Twelve had come to believe about Jesus? (that Jesus came from God; that Jesus could lead them to eternal life)

6. Say: As we grow in our faith, we will make our own choices about living our faith. But we can’t do this without God’s help and the help of the community of faith, the Church. We pray that God will help us be like Simon Peter and the disciples who chose to follow Jesus.

7. Conclude in prayer together asking God to increase in us the gift of faith. Pray together the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed.

Gospel Reading
John 6:60-69
Simon Peter confesses his faith that Jesus alone has the words of the eternal life.

Making the Connection (Grades 7 and 8)

Young people are beginning to claim the faith of the community as their own. Today’s Gospel offers an opportunity to explore what this means in the life of a disciple of Christ.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Invite the young people to name some things that our Church teaches about Jesus. Invite a volunteer to write this list on the board. Review the list together. Affirm those things that are part of our faith about Jesus and correct any items that might need to be restated.

2. Say: If you were baptized as an infant, your parents spoke for you in making a profession of faith in what the Catholic Church teaches about Jesus. Your parents also committed themselves to teaching you about our faith in Jesus. But each of us must accept as our own what we have been taught about Jesus.

3. Say: For the past several weeks, we have heard Jesus teach about himself in our Gospel. In particular, we have heard Jesus teach us that he is the Bread of Life. In today’s Gospel we hear how those closest to Jesus responded to these words.

4. Invite one or more volunteers to read aloud today’s Gospel, John 6:60-69.

5. Ask: Did all of Jesus’ disciples accept his teaching? (No, many of them could not accept his words and left.) Who did accept Jesus’ teaching? (the Twelve; Simon Peter) What did Simon Peter say that the Twelve had come to believe about Jesus? (that Jesus came from God; that Jesus could lead them to eternal life)

6. Say: As we mature in our faith, we learn to accept the Church’s profession of faith as our own. But we can’t do this without God’s help and the help of the community of faith, the Church. We pray that God will help us be like Simon Peter and the disciples who chose to follow Jesus.

7. Conclude in prayer together asking God to increase in us the gift of faith. Pray together the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed.

Gospel Reading
John 6:60-69
Simon Peter confesses his faith that Jesus alone has the words of the eternal life.

Family Connection

When a child is baptized, the parents speak on behalf of the child in professing the faith in which the child is to be baptized. The parents promise to teach their child this faith so that they may one day accept this faith as his or her own. In the example of Simon Peter, we learn that each person must also make his or her own profession of faith in Jesus as the one sent by God to save us. We pray for our children as they mature in the faith that they may learn that Jesus alone has the words of eternal life and that they may choose to follow the way of Christian discipleship.

As you gather as a family, talk about promise that parents make at their child’s baptism to teach their child about Jesus and the faith of the Church. Talk about the importance of this promise to your family and about some of the things that you are doing to try to honor this commitment. In today’s Gospel we hear Simon Peter speak about what he has come to believe about Jesus. Together read today’s Gospel, John 6:60-69. Pray together that each person in our family will grow in his or her faith that Jesus is the one sent by God who alone has the words of eternal life. Pray together the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed.