Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18, 1-5; 10, 12-14
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 becomes humble 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.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”
Be Childlike, Not Childish
1. The greatest among you. To grow and to truly believe in Christ, you need humility and simplicity. Today, God suggests we try to live simply and stop complicating our lives so much. In this world, chasing wealth, positions, or recognition makes things harder and harder, and we forget that the key is to live a simple life and love what we have. There’s a popular expression that goes, “I don’t have everything I want, but I love everything I have.” Love your people, your family, and those who are with you every day.
2. Don’t look down on anyone. Today, Jesus asks you to include everyone and help ensure no one feels left out—neither from your life nor from the Church. I propose a simple gesture: “treating others kindly”. It’s so simple, yet so hard at the same time. It’s crucial to treat people with kindness, to look them in the eye when you’re talking (instead of at your phone screen), and to be respectful to everyone. If someone disagrees with you on certain topics, there’s no need to attack their private life or make fun of them. Today, Jesus encourages us not to exclude anyone and to treat everyone well.
3. Shepherd. It’s wonderful to win over and seek souls for Jesus. So many of our brothers and sisters have hearts full of God and want God to touch other hearts! Today, you and I are called to shepherd and reach out to those who don’t know Jesus or have drifted away from him. Remember that for God, nothing and no one is lost; He is constantly searching. So we need to help him, because there are many sheep scattered out there, and you can go visit them, uplift them, and bring them to Jesus.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
