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Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus presents a child as the model for his disciples. Jesus has just laid out for his disciples what is going to happen to him in Jerusalem, how he will be rejected, tortured, and killed. Oblivious to this, the disciples are discussing who among them is the most important. For Jesus, the path to greatness lies on the road to Calvary, to self-forgetting love; for the disciples—and for most people of most ages—it lies along the road to ego inflation. 

What is the antidote? A child is proposed as a kind of living icon to these ambitious disciples. We notice first how Jesus physically identifies with the child by placing him by his side. It is as though he is saying that he himself is like a child. How so? Children don’t know how to dissemble, how to be one way and act another. They are what they are; they act in accordance with their deepest nature. 

Why was this story of Jesus’ identification with children preserved by all of the synoptic Gospels? Somehow it gets close to the heart of Jesus’ life and message.

Gospel Reflections

Meditate on Daily Gospel Reflections from Bishop Robert Barron

26th week of Ordinary Time

Monday

September 26

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Sunday

September 25

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25th week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

September 24

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Friday

September 23

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Thursday

September 22

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Wednesday

September 21

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Tuesday

September 20

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Monday

September 19

Read

Sunday

September 18

Read

24th week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

September 17

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Friday

September 16

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Thursday

September 15

Read

Wednesday

September 14

Read

Exaltation of the Cross

Tuesday

September 13

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Monday

September 12

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Sunday

September 11

Read

23rd week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

September 10

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Friday

September 9

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Thursday

September 8

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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Wednesday

September 7

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Tuesday

September 6

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Monday

September 5

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Sunday

September 4

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22nd week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

September 3

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Friday

September 2

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Thursday

September 1

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Wednesday

August 31

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Tuesday

August 30

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Monday

August 29

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Sunday

August 28

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21st week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

August 27

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Friday

August 26

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Thursday

August 25

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Wednesday

August 24

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Tuesday

August 23

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Monday

August 22

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Sunday

August 21

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20th week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

August 20

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Friday

August 19

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Thursday

August 18

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Wednesday

August 17

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Tuesday

August 16

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Monday

August 15

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Assumption of Mary

Sunday

August 14

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19th week of Ordinary Time

Saturday

August 13

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Friday

August 12

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Thursday

August 11

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Wednesday

August 10

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