From the responsorial psalm: “Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to my outcry; hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:46-50)
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”
Although beset by a host of tragedies and evildoing from Satan, Job remains faithful to the Lord as he hears from a messenger all that he has lost, including possessions and sons and daughters. “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away,” Job says, “blessed be the name of the LORD!” The disciples vie for a place of honor as his followers, but Jesus recognizes the deception that pride leads them into. By placing a child in their midst, Jesus shows the disciples that humility matters and that accolades and honors don’t. The least among you is the greatest.
God, help me understand my place within my family and my community. Give me the grace to discern how to receive Jesus in the people you place before me. The least, the poorest, the heartbroken—help me see them and at the same time see Christ in them. Help me put aside the pursuit of honor so I can more readily hear and respond to your will in bringing forth your kingdom. Saint Jerome, pray for us!
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.