February 21, 2023

Mk 9:30-37

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 

Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Rejoice in the Gifts of Others

How many people are interested in being the greatest? Many people are in a seemingly never-ending fight to be considered the best. We do this for good reason. Those who are considered the best are often seen as indispensable, meaning the last ones to be kicked out of the group. We spend so much of our energy trying to be secure, and often that results in us competing to be the best. We compare ourselves to those around us and despair over our inadequacies. It’s exhausting. Jesus offers us a way out. Instead of us competing and comparing ourselves to those around us, Jesus calls us to have the attitude of the child. Instead of seeing others' talents and fighting to be better than them, let’s look up like a child would to the parent, view others as superheroes, and rejoice in their gifts.

—Alex Hale, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic from the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

Prayer

Prayer for Generosity

Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve as you deserve,
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To labor and not to seek to rest,
To give of myself and not ask for a reward,
Except the reward of knowing that I am doing your will.

—St. Ignatius of Loyola