Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I love you with all my heart and place all my trust in you. Help me to remember that you are my Creator and I am a creature made in your image and likeness.

Petition: Lord, grant me true humility, so as to follow your invitation to become like a child.

Gospel: Mt 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."

1. Being the Best.

 

The disciples approached Jesus with a question that is remarkably similar to a desire that many of us might have, who is the greatest? Implied in this question is another, what do we have to do in order to be the first in the Kingdom?

 

As human beings we naturally desire to transcend our natural circumstances and rise to greatness; the human spirit is created for excellence. Since Christ is the most excellent man that has ever existed, his answer to this question is important. Christ is different from the world, but his difference does not consist in telling us not to seek a higher place in the Kingdom, but in the way he gives us to conquer that place. He says that to do so a man must humble himself like a little child.

 

We then have to ask ourselves, do I accept his answer and am I satisfied with his answer?

 

2. Become Like Children.

 

Christ illustrates his answer by calling over a little child. Picture that child with Christ. What is it about becoming like this child that will make us the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? The answer is true humility.

 

Every child instinctively knows that he needs his parents, he trusts them, learns from them, he is happy to be with them, he imitates them, he is like them..., and the first step towards our personal holiness is to develop our relationship with God in the same way. It means to humbly accept that we are totally dependent on God, that without him, we would not exist. This is the truth, and we cannot advance in the Kingdom except in the truth.

 

This is the type of relationship God wants to have with us, one of trust and confidence. This is the atmosphere of the Kingdom.

 

3. The Angels.

 

The angels also teach us about humility as the key to our greatness. They had to be humble too. As pure spirits, angels lack the weaknesses of flesh and thus were created higher than men, so for an angel to serve us (as our guardian angels do) they must be very humble. Some theologians maintain that when the Father announced his intention of raising humanity above the angels through Jesus being born of a woman and embracing human nature, one angel refused by saying I will not serve. This angel, Lucifer, has become the icon of pride and rebellion. So, if Christ can humble himself to take on human nature, and if angels can humble themselves to serve human beings, why do we find it so hard to humble ourselves and become like little children? Humility is the challenge of our greatness in Christ!

 

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I beg you for the gift of true humility. Help me to see that apart from you I can do nothing. Help me to see that everything I have, I have received from you and that I am dependent on you for all things.

 

Questionnaire:  This optional questionnaire is intended to help you evaluate your life in light of the inspirations God just gave you in these moments you spent with him in prayer.

 

1. Does my prayer life reflect a childlike dependence on God or am I focused on a "co-equal partnership"? What do I need to do to reflect humility and trustful surrender to him in prayer?

 

2. In what ways do I resist accepting my dependence on God or on other people? Why?

 

3. How is God asking me to serve him that may require some humility on my part? If I have resisted up until now, what is the next step in my surrender to his will in this area?