Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 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.”
There is an angel who watches over you and protects you
1. The greatest. This is the opening question, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
and the key is to be like children. By this I don’t mean physically or being childlike. I mean having the capacity to be amazed and to be open to what’s new. I’m referring to spiritual life. To be great demands the ability to learn to say words like: “I don’t know” or “I was wrong”. When you know how to say that, then you’ll be great, because you open yourself to learn.
2. Despise. Today we’re going through difficult times as a Church. There is division, destructive criticism even among ourselves. Indeed, instead of protecting one another, we attack one another. What would St. Paul say? But, we also arouse contempt. Many people have left the Church because they have felt despised, because we have rejected them. We have belittled people who came to meet and know Jesus and instead of helping them to do that, we have dumped activities on them, like selling raffles to raise funds and rearranging the pews. Until one day they say, when are we going to read the Bible, when are we going to pray the rosary, when are we going to adore the Blessed Sacrament?
3. Angels. Today we celebrate our Guardian Angels, those who take care of us every moment of our life. Each one of us has an angel who watches over us and walks with us along our path to Heaven. Start bonding with your guardian angel today. How about trying to talk to your angel? Have you already given your angel a name? Are you conscious of their presence?
What’s more, I invite you to end this meditation by praying together: “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.”
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
