Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 25, 2025
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Having raised six sons together with my wife, I think I understand what Jesus went through as he journeyed with the apostles through Galilee. He tried to explain what he was about to experience and that after all the suffering and death, he would rise again. But the apostles did not understand. Instead of engaging with Jesus to try and discern the meaning of what he was telling them, they turned to arguing amongst themselves over who was the greatest.
That scenario played out countless times in my own family. My wife and I would try to explain to our sons some facets of life they needed to know, but either because they did not understand or were simply not interested, they gave no indication they knew what we were talking about. And like the apostles, the boys would invariably resort to arguing among themselves, often over who was the best at one thing or another.
But as Jesus explained to the apostles, and as we tried to convey to our sons, being the best or most important is not what life is about. God does not measure us by our status here on earth. Throughout the gospel, Jesus tells us that what truly matters is how we treat one another, how we make life better for others, and how we put the needs of others above our own.
Jesus tells the apostles that by receiving a child in his name, they receive him. What was Jesus trying to convey? I believe that Jesus used a child to get his message across because children are vulnerable, and they are dependent upon others for their well-being. Jesus was telling his disciples we must receive and serve the vulnerable and those in need. Accepting that direction, it becomes clear that service to others is the path to greatness in God’s eyes. It is by being a servant that we receive God.
Prayer
My Lord and my God, I want all too often more than I deserve. I find myself acting in a childish manner, taking the toy I want and taking it now. You call us to grow up, to be not childish in selfishness, but child-like in simple trust that God knows and loves best. We are not very good at being the first to trust. Perhaps we can be humble at being among the last to understand God’s ways. We pray this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saint of the Day
St. Callistus Caravario is a 20th-century martyr, having offered his life to spread the faith in China.
He was born near Turin, Italy, in 1903, and was quiet and reflective as a child. Even as a youth, he had a regular practice of prayer. He loved his mother very much and remained in close contact with her throughout his life by writing many letters.
He was educated at a school opened by St. John Bosco some 50 years earlier. Callistus served at morning Mass every day and was at the top of his class. He was encouraged to join the community of Salesian priests who staffed the school.
In 1922, Bishop Versiglia, who worked in the foreign missions, visited the school to share his experiences in China with the community there. “Bishop, you will see me in China,” Callistus told him.
When the rector of the school went to the mission territory in China, Callistus begged to follow him. Soon, he was writing back to his mother that he was teaching the catechism in Chinese.
He was sent to Macao and then to Timor, where his example of goodness and discipleship encouraged many people. “My good mother,” he wrote, “pray that your Callistus may not be just half a priest but completely the priest.”
In 1929, he was ordained by Bishop Versiglia and entrusted with the mission in Linchow. He promptly visited all of the families in the area and connected with the children there.
The political situation in China had been worsening since 1927 with civil war between the government and communist forces. Persecutions began and foreigners and Christians were targeted.
In 1930, Callistus was accompanying Bishop Versiglia as he traveled through the Linchow mission by boat on a pastoral visit. Some young boys and girls traveled with them. A group of communist rebel pirates stopped the ship, and demanded that the group hand over the girls. Bishop Versiglia and Callistus refused.
The two were overtaken and bound. They had time to hear one another’s confessions before being shot on this date.
St. Callistus Caravario, the missionary to China who died defending the people he loved and served, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Callistus Caravario is in the public domain. Last accessed December 5, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
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