7th Week of Ordinary Time 2025 - Tuesday - Childlike humility and embrace of trials

 

Today we read the familiar Gospel passage of the disciples arguing about who will be the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom, but it is clear that their idea of greatness is far from God’s. True greatness in God’s eyes isn’t about attaining a seat of power, status or privilege. Rather, true greatness involves becoming like a little child before God—true power involves becoming a servant to every one. "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."

 Why does Jesus redirect the attention of the disciples to the posture of a child?

 A child does not approach the world with calculated strategies to rise above everyone else; instead, children living trustingly secure in the care of those who love them. By inviting us to become like children, Jesus teaches us that His kingdom values humility, tenderness, and simplicity of heart.

 Moreover, Jesus spells out that the path to true greatness is marked by service, not by accolades. Being “first” in His kingdom means pouring ourselves out for others—looking for ways to uplift, comfort, and accompany those in need.

 In the first reading from Sirach, God’s Word also makes it clear that we will need to embrace hardships to become the people God made us to be. We will have to practice patience, conflicts, hardships, and personal sufferings. “Prepare yourself for trials…in fire gold is tested,”

 Together the readings speak of a purification that is needed. We are to purify ourselves from the un-childlike behavior—the power grabbing, the attempts to live independently from God. And we are to embrace the purification the Lord sends us through our trials. True Christian greatness grows from a heart purified by adversity and shaped by a servant’s love. When we let go of self-centered ambition, fear of suffering for the sake of goodness, but truly trust the Lord in them, and seek to become “the servant of all,” we become truly great in God’s sight for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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With humble hearts, we turn to our loving Father, and we present our needs for the Church and the world.

For the Church: That all her members may seek to leading lives marked by humility and service rather than worldly ambition.

For leaders in society and government: That they may put aside selfish interests and seek the good of the most vulnerable, serving their communities with honesty and compassion

For those who face trials and hardships: That, like gold refined in fire, they may grow in faith and hope through their struggles, trusting that God is with them and working for their good. And for Holy Father Pope Francis in this time of serious illness.

For our parish community: That we may actively seek ways to serve, uplift, and comfort those in need, especially the lonely, the sick, and the marginalized

For our deceased loved ones and all the souls in purgatory: That they may be welcomed by the Lord and share in the fullness of His Kingdom, especially N.

Heavenly Father, hear these prayers and answer them in your mercy, for we make them through Christ our Lord.

7th Week of Ordinary Time 2024 - Tuesday - Ordinary Christianity is Extraordinary

 

After five weeks of Lent, Holy Week, the Paschal Triduum, Easter Sunday, seven weeks of Paschaltide, and Pentecost, we’ve returned to Ordinary Time.  We will observe Ordinary Time, from now until the end of the liturgical year in November.  

The major seasons of the liturgical year—Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter—bring with them extraordinary anticipation and preparations and the celebration of extraordinary events—the birth of Christ and his saving death and resurrection.

But let us not forget that in ordinary time, when we are considering the ordinary teachings of Christ throughout his public ministry—the Lord’s ordinary activity is anything but ordinary. 

Jesus Christ is God speaking to us and teaching us. And the words, lessons, and actions of his ordinary public ministry guide us to become extraordinary. The ordinary life of the Christian is extraordinary compared to the ordinary life of the world. 

The ordinary way of the world is broken and Christ offers extraordinary wholeness. The ordinary way of the world is foolish and Christ offers extraordinary wisdom. Left to its own devices, the world ordinarily sinks into chaos, man devolves into tribalism, selfish individualism, warfare over resources. But Christ offers another way—an extraordinary way—of order, unity, and peace. 

Today’s Gospel is a perfect example of the extraordinary way of Christ. The disciples are arguing about who will be first, who will be at the top of the hierarchy. They are arguing about power and status and privilege and greatness. In other words, they are thinking as ordinary human beings do—fighting over power.

But then the Lord illustrates another way—an extraordinary way—he says that true greatness involves becoming like a little child before God—true power involves becoming a servant to every one, being first means becoming last.  Becoming humble and servant-hearted will bring you wholeness, it will make you extraordinary—the sort of extraordinariness that is valued by God and truly longed for by the human heart. And everything else is a waste of time and contributes to the fallenness of the world.

As we transition back to Ordinary Time, we are reminded that the seemingly routine aspects of Jesus' teachings and ministry are profoundly transformative. Although the liturgical year features peaks of spiritual intensity and celebration, it is in the day-to-day application of Christ's teachings where the true extraordinariness of our faith is revealed. Ordinary Time offers us the space to reflect on and integrate the profound lessons of servanthood, humility, and the reversal of worldly values that Jesus espoused. 

These teachings guide us to live lives that starkly contrast with the ordinary ways of the world, providing a path to true greatness and wholeness God desires for us. As we embrace this period of Ordinary Time, let us cherish and apply these extraordinary lessons in our everyday lives, transforming our ordinary existence into an extraordinary journey towards spiritual fulfillment and unity with God for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That Christians may respond generously to the perpetual call to prayer, fasting, and works of charity. 

For our young people beginning summer vacation, that they may be kept safe from the errors of our culture and kept in close friendship with Jesus through prayer and acts of mercy.

That during this month of May, all people may turn their hearts to the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeking her aid and imploring her intercession with increased and fervent devotion, imitating her example of Faith, Hope, and Love.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord