As a third-year medical student, my days are often filled with rushing from one clinical experience to the next while also trying to find time in between to do chores, study, spend time with others, and pray. In the quiet moments of my day, I try to focus on Christ and his call for me, even when the moment may not seem perfect.

In today’s gospel, Mark recounts Christ’s statement that “whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.” Here, Jesus reminds each of us to look to the most vulnerable, to see in them himself, and to serve him through our love for them.

During my recent pediatrics rotation, I was privileged to care for families while their children were in the hospital. During one of my night shifts, the attending physician and I were discussing the care plan for a five-week-old baby who had been in the hospital for three weeks due to poor weight gain. During his admission, the baby’s parents only came to see him a few times when it was required by law to maintain their parental rights. This child was the “most vulnerable among us,” and we, as his care team, were called to receive Christ through our care for him.

By spending time with him, I was able to provide a moment of peace for this baby, calmly serving him. While not all of us are called to the vocation of medicine, we are all called to open our hearts to the “most vulnerable” among us, and to receive them with such love as we ourselves would receive Christ. May we each continue to have the courage and conviction to do so even when we feel that our time is strained.