By Newton Basumatari csc.
Readings: Is 41: 13-20; Mt 11: 11-15
The readings of the day invite us to respond to the needs of the people, who are poor and needy, so that by doing the corporal works of mercy, we may enter the kingdom of God. In the first reading, from the book of Isaiah, God assures his people that he is with them, and will help them. He promises to make the desert fertile and full of life, and to reveal his glory through his creation.
In the gospel, Jesus sees the last and the least. He not only sees these individuals, but is also present to them all the time. He cares for them. Similarly, Jesus wants us to have an eye and heart that sees the little or the least ones in our world. We need to reach out and help them in our own ways. Many saints have responded to the needs of their times, by serving the poor and the marginalized. They have shown us how to live the gospel values in our world.
This is what the gospel reading is asking us today. How can we respond to the pressing needs of society? Maybe, by small gesture of helping my neighbour, by giving a smile to the people whom I encounter in my life, by helping financially to pay school fees? To do all these things, one needs to have the virtue of humility, like John, the Baptist and the prophets who came before Christ and responded to the need of the hour. As we long to welcome him, let us prepare our hearts by practicing the virtue of humility in our day-to-day living.