Menu
First Reading: Dt 31:1-8
When Moses had finished speaking to all Israel, he said to them, "I am now one hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the Lord has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan. It is the Lord, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the Lord promised. The Lord will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country. When, therefore, the Lord delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you. Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you."
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, "Be brave and steadfast, for you must bring this people into the land which the Lord swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage. It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed."
Responsorial Psalm: Dt 32:3-4ab, 7, 8, 9 and 12
R The portion of the Lord is his people.
For I will sing the Lord's renown.
Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!
The Rock–how faultless are his deeds,
how right all his ways!
R The portion of the Lord is his people.
Think back on the days of old,
reflect on the years of age upon age.
Ask your father and he will inform you,
ask your elders and they will tell you.
R The portion of the Lord is his people.
When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage,
when he parceled out the descendants of Adam,
He set up the boundaries of the peoples
after the number of the sons of Israel.
R The portion of the Lord is his people.
While the Lord's own portion was Jacob,
his hereditary share was Israel.
The Lord alone was their leader,
no strange god was with him.
R The portion of the Lord is his people.
Gospel Reading: ; Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in my name receives me.
"See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.
"What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not get lost. It is the same with your Father in heaven: there they don't want even one of these little ones to be lost."
Opening Prayer
Great and holy God,
you stoop down to us,
fallible and limited people,
and your preference goes
to children and the humble.
Give us the heart of a child,
unpretentious and receptive, trusting and believing,
that we may become wise with your wisdom
and grow up to the full human size
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
God promises that he will accompany his people when they enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.
Gospel Introduction
For Jesus, a child counts, as God loves what is little. They are the greatest in the kingdom of God, on account of their simple wisdom, their lack of pretension, their spontaneity and their humility. Sinners too are among the little ones, in another sense: low before God - what have they given him? Yet none of them should be lost. In us too the child should survive in the good sense. Are we not placing obstacles in the way of the kingdom on account of our sophistication and pretenses?
General Intercessions
- For those who are the greatest in the Church, that they may serve with great dedication and without looking down on them, the weakest, the poorest, those wounded in life, we pray:
- For all of us, that like Jesus, by loving them and praying for them, we may place in our midst children, the poor, the humble and all who serve, we pray:
- For those working in social welfare institutions, that they may provide shelter and much love for orphans and rejected and abandoned children, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, our Father,
your Son Jesus voluntarily gave up
all divine honors and privileges
to become one of us and to die our death.
He gives himself to us here
in the form of a humble piece of bread.
Give us the attitude of Jesus,
self-effacing and respectful
before you and one another
and available to all calls and all needs.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
No one as great as you, Lord our God,
has made himself as small as you;
no one as distant as you
has made himself so near to us in our weakness
as you in your Son Jesus Christ.
Make us see your Son
here in this eucharist and in everyday life.
Make us self-effacing and respectful
before you and before one another
in trust, hope and joy,
like Christ Jesus our Lord.
Blessing
Jesus tells us to change and to become like little children. This is not an invitation to become childish, but to learn from children to become spontaneous and trusting toward God and one another, admiring and grateful and expecting all that is good, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
