26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
The Guardian Angels
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)
Ps 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8
Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
1st Reading: Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23
At length it was Job who spoke, cursing the day of his birth. This is what he said:
Cursed be the day I was born, and the night which whispered: A boy has been conceived.
Why didn’t I die at birth, or come from the womb without breath?
Why the knees that received me, why the breasts that suckled me?
For then I should have lain down asleep and been at rest with kings and rulers of the earth who built for themselves lonely tombs; or with princes who had gold to spare and houses stuffed with silver.
Why was I not stillborn, like others who did not see the light of morn?
There, the trouble of the wicked ceases, there, the weary find repose.
Gospel: Mt 18:1-5, 10
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in my name, receives me.
“See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.“
Reflections
Who is the greatest in the Kingdom and, by implication, in the Christian community, which is a sign of the Kingdom? Jesus answers the question very simply by putting a child in front of his disciples. To become the greatest is to become a small child. Why? They are totally open to learning. They are free to play and love. It is this quality that we need to enter the Reign of God. To be totally open and free to love are keys to listening to God. It is to see with open eyes and with open hearts. It is to receive everything that God wants us to have and to become everything God wants us to become. Furthermore, to welcome a person who has these qualities in Jesus‘ name is to welcome Christ himself.
The gospel moves from children to the ‘little ones‘. These little ones are not just children but the weaker ones in the community and they may be adults. But they are the ones who can be very easily manipulated and exploited by the powerful and dominant. The imperative is to care for the little ones and share with them the call to justice and compassion.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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