From the responsorial psalm: “Let my prayer come before you, Lord. Daily I call upon you, O LORD; to you I stretch out my hands. Will you work wonders for the dead? Will the shades arise to give you thanks? Let my prayer come before you, Lord.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 18:1-5, 10)
The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Jesus responds to the disciples’ question about where greatness lies. In inviting them to humble themselves, he places a child before them to serve as an example. The kingdom of heaven is theirs and those whose humility is like theirs. Jesus asks us to receive the childlike in his name, and through that we receive him. About the reality of angels—”their angels,” as Jesus says—he leaves no doubt. They look eternally on the face of our heavenly Father.
St. Gertrude’s Prayer to One’s Guardian Angel: O most holy angel of God, appointed by God to be my guardian, I give thee thanks for all the benefits which thou hast ever bestowed on me in body and soul. I praise and glorify thee that thou condescended to assist me with such patient fidelity, and to defend me against all the assaults of my enemy. Blessed be the hour in which thou were assigned me for my guardian, my defender and my patron. In acknowledgment and return for all thy loving ministries to me, I offer thee the infinitely precious and noble Heart of Jesus, and firmly purpose to obey thee henceforward, and most faithfully to serve my God. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.