Regnum Christi

Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

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 becomes humble 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. What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my eyes and heart to see your love and live according to it.

Encountering Christ:

1. As a Child before Jesus: We place ourselves amidst the crowd as one of the children before Jesus. There is a certain appeal to his demeanor, his smile, his laugh. We are eager to be near him. He tousles our hair and teases us. We experience the joy of being carefree in his presence where there are no judgments, no expectations, and no harsh demands. He desires that we rejoice in his presence. Suddenly, we experience that others are annoyed at our presence. Jesus comes to our defense, and we discover in him our protector. We are safe under his gaze that seeks our company. We are not rejected, nor shunned, nor abandoned.

    

2. As an Adult before Jesus: We place ourselves before Jesus once again, this time as an adult with all of our past and present. We ask the Holy Spirit for light to see ourselves as he sees us, with all the times over the years that we have surrendered to worldly standards and justified living according to those standards. We now see that worldly objects of devotion and affection can stifle the reverence and humility we should feel towards God and the things of God. What paths have we taken that divert us from Jesus, the one, essential desire of our wandering heart? We ask for the grace to return to the simplicity of a child.

    

3. Worship in Freedom: The angels of Heaven live in the truth before God. Their entire being—understanding, will, desire—is truly present. They know themselves as they are: creations of God to whom they owe their existence. The truth sets them free to live a simplicity of spirit in which they express the highest form of liberty in a gesture of reverence and adoration before the throne of the Father. At this moment, we join them in this act of true worship. We ask to know ourselves as God the Father knows us, as his child whom he wills to bestow eternal life and love in the bosom of the Trinity. He does not wish for even one of his children to be lost.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me as I am, for making it possible to be a child of God in and through you. Transform my heart according to your own so I may freely and properly praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to recognize when the child in me is stifled by the immature adult. I will resist those temptations and remember that your saving grace is always present.

Jennifer Ristine is a consecrated woman of Regnum Christi dedicated to spiritual and faith formation through teaching, conferences, writing, and spiritual direction. While serving in Ancient Magdala she wrote Mary Magdalene: Insights from Ancient Magdala and “Nine Days with Mary Magdalene.”