In the gospel of today Jesus tells the story of two men who went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the upholder of the law, and the other a tax collector (Lk 18:9-14).  The prayer of one is received by God, the other is not.  One goes inward and puts his glance on himself, on his own conversion; the other looks at his neighbor, he does not go inward. 

The ‘new’ is already stirring, are we humble enough to perceive it inside and out?  First in our immediate landscape, meaning within ourselves and within our sisters.  Then the ‘new’ lingers well beyond us.  The nature of God is love, which includes change, transformative change, and these grounded in humility. 

“You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and have revealed them to the little ones,” says Jesus (Mt 11:25). Jesus is praising his abba for revealing the mysteries of God to the little ones, that is to children. If we look at the posture of children and compare it with the posture of the so-called ‘wise and learned’, what is Jesus praising in this text?

(Above - recently discovered Salvator Mundi, by Leonardo Da Vinci)

In other years: Saint Katharine Drexel (1858-1955)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 28 Unlawful Association with the Excommunicated
Mass: Si 27:4-7; Resp Ps 92; 1 Co 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45