FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I 31ST OCTOBER 2023  Rom.8:18-25; Ps.126; Luke 13:18-21 The syntax for building God’s Kingdom The first petition contained in the Lord’s Prayer is “Thy Kingdom come”. Here we pray that God’s kingdom should be established on earth and in our midst. This prayer is important because we begin from this earth to experience heaven. The establishment of God’s kingdom on earth is possible by the grace of God and the cooperation of man. In the gospel reading of today, Jesus reveals how this kingdom of God is being established on earth: it grows from littleness to greatness – it is never magical or automatic. The principles that guides heaven is love and constant connectivity with God. To establish these principles on earth, we must be ready to start little and be consistent. To love in this world, we may have to begin with loving our family members, then we grow to include our neighbours, school/work colleagues and business as

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 30TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.8:12-17; Ps.68; Luke 13:10-17 Remain in the “Synagogue” In the gospel reading of today, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. As he was teaching, he noticed the presence of a woman who was suffering from a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. We are not told that this woman walked up to Jesus to explain herself to him; neither are we told that she approached Jesus for healing. She simply came to the synagogue to worship God as is expected of all particularly on the Sabbath. What is striking about this woman is that she could still be law abiding even after suffering for eighteen years. One would have expected the woman to give up observing the law of Sabbath worship. She could have concluded that God is not in the synagogue; she could have given in to pressures to compromise her faith in one way or the other. Yet, this woman continued to observe the law. She still believed that

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THE 30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A 29TH OCTOBER 2023 Ex.22:21-27; Ps.18; 1Thess.1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40  _Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice_ (Ps.104:3) Take advantage of no one! The opening sentence of today’s first reading showed that the Lord himself was the speaker. From the content of the reading, we can easily decipher that the Lord was addressing the rich. The reading was a warning to the rich not to take advantage of the poor. The Lord warned that whoever oppresses the poor, in any way, will attract the wrath of God; particularly when the helpless poor cry to God for vengeance. If the Lord is speaking to the poor, then, given the present harsh economic situation of our country, the hunger and suffering in the land, we can easily excuse ourselves that the Lord is not speaking to us today. We can easily claim that we are the poor, on whose side God is. We may even want to further conclude that the Lord is clearly and directly speaking to those

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME. (SAINTS SIMON & JUDE) 28TH OCTOBER 2023 Eph.2:19-22; Ps.19; Luke 6:12-19 Faithfulness in Anonymity The gospel reading of today is Luke’s account of Jesus’ selection of his twelve apostles. It is only in Luke’s account that this selection was done after Jesus had spent some time in prayer. This variance from other gospels does not suggest a contradiction in presentation or that the account of the other synoptic gospels is less authentic; rather, it was the case that Luke had a special interest in highlighting the prayerfulness of Jesus. Other synoptic gospels had their focus too especially in relation to their audience. Today too, we celebrate the feast of two of the selected apostles: Simon and Jude. Interestingly not much is recorded about them. It is interesting because it is in this little record that so much can be said and learnt from them. God calls us to win souls for him but through different paths. Not all o

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 27TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.7:18-25a; Ps.119; Luke 12:54-59 Compassion for Sinners In the first reading of today, St. Paul cried out his inability to sometimes do the good he wants to do and his weakness in doing the evil he does not want to do. It is not too difficult to understand St. Paul because in one way or the other, we may have been in such situation too. Sometimes, it is when you have decided to give up a sinful habit that the temptation becomes fierce. Both good and bad actions are never without the will of man; if not, they will have no moral character. However, to overcome sin is not just a matter of the will alone but also of grace. To be holy is by the grace of God. Therefore, before you condemn someone who has done what you have not done yourself, first acknowledge that it is God’s grace that has been preserving you; and if you want to be more truthful to yourself, there may be some wrongs you have committed that t

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 26TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.6:19-23; Ps.1; Luke 12:49-53 The Wages of Sin is Death If you do not know the worth of something or someone, you will not be able to duly appreciate the value. One factor that largely contributed to the success of the transatlantic slave trade in Africa is the ignorant of the African as to the dignity of the human person. When the African man saw the beautiful things brought by the Europeans such as their wears, mirror, guns and so on, he was so fascinated that he counted it as nothing to give up his slaves to the white man. When he ran out of slaves, he went to capture freeborn and sold them out as slaves in return for what the white was offering him. If not for ignorance, he would have known that he was engaging in a self-destructive exercise. St. Paul tells us in the first reading of today that this is what happens to us each time we give in to sin. Every temptation is a lie. The lie told is that

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 25TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.6:12-18; Ps.124; Luke 12:39-48 Never Give up the Struggle It has become common to find people who defend and justify themselves in some wrongs they do. A man will drive wrongly on the road and still dare to raise his voice at another who attempts to correct him. This mentality has somehow been adopted in our moral life such that we sometimes create reasons why we cannot and will not drop some sinful habits. When we do this, we give ourselves the license to remain is such sins; a matter of self-deception. This was what St. Paul was referring to in the first reading when he spoke about sin reigning in our moral bodies. When we give up the struggle against sin, we allow sin to reign in us. Then, we become like the servant who was not found awake when his master returned in the gospel reading. Our beating will be severe because we knew quite well what the master’s will is but refuse to do it. We are God

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 24TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.5:12,15b, 17-19, 20b-21; Ps.40; Luke 12:35-38 Girded Loins; Burning Lamps Our Christian faith tells us that Jesus will come a second time; this time, he is coming to the judge the world and pay everyone according to his or her deeds. The time of his coming is not certain; what is certain is that he will come. In the Gospel reading of today, Jesus tells us that we must never forget this fact about him. The concealing of the time of his coming is for us to live lives of readiness. When a child performs excellently well at the end of the term's examination, he/she hurries home and anticipates the return of the parents to break the good news. When the reverse is the case, the child will even want to go to bed before the parents return. In asking us to anticipate his second coming, Jesus is invariably telling us to live good lives. When we live uprightly, we will anticipate him with Joy but when we liv

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Rom.4:20-25; Lk.1; Luke 12:13-21 Heaven is our Greatest Right Usually, when disputes arise amongst people, each person/party tells the story in his or her favour. The way you tell a story, reveals something about you. In today’s gospel, someone presented a seemingly problem before Jesus. Jesus did not see a problem but a distraction. Whether the person was on the right and the brother was on the wrong, was quite inconsequential. With the parable Jesus gave, we come to understand that what was really at stake was that the dispute over inheritance was preventing this person from being heavenly conscious. One thing we learn here is this: it is not in all circumstances you fight for your right. Before you fight for your right, first consider the consequences. If what it will cost you is your personal devotion towards God, then know that that right of yours will become an idol if your get it. For example, you lend money to a friend on trus

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 21ST OCTOBER 2023 Rom.4:13, 16-18; Ps.105; Luke 12:8-12 The Gift of God is God Himself Faith is a supernatural gift of God, and so, whatever is received through faith is also a gift. In today’s first reading, St. Paul tells us that the promise to Abraham that he will inherit the earth came to him through faith as against through the law. This does not mean that obedience to the law is unnecessary but that it is not our effort in obeying the law that wins us salvation but God’s grace that is bequeathed to those who believe. The promise made to Abraham reaches us too through faith which makes us children of Abraham. By law, we would have only merited this promise if we are the biological descendants of Abraham. Thus, we must be thankful to God because the graces we receive are freely given. When the responsorial psalm tells us that the Lord remembers his covenant forever, God is saying that his graces will forever remain fr

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 20TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.4:1-8; Ps.32; Luke 12:1-7 Gossip! During apprenticeship, a master exposes the apprentice to the challenges he/she will encounter when he/she becomes independent because the effectiveness of the apprentice when he/she becomes a master, will be dependent on his/her problem-solving capacity. This is actually what transpired in the gospel reading of today. The increasing number of the multitude may have elicited joy in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples. It is surprising not so for Jesus who ordinarily should rejoice more. Jesus saw a cankerworm that was capable to eating up any form of relationship and destroying any height of human effort into any adventure, if not properly handled. It is the cankerworm of gossip. The people who flocked round Jesus were not motivated by love. The good things they said to him became condemnations behind him. The Pharisees never liked him, yet they did not want him to perceive

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 19TH OCTOBER 2023 Rom.3:21-30; Ps.130; Luke 11:47-54 God is God of all Every action of God towards humanity retains its identity of a gift. This is the message of the first reading of today. The Jews were principally guided by the law and the prophets. However valid these were in relating the mind of God to the people, the people needed to also understand that they were not righteous on account of their observance of the law. If we want to evaluate our righteousness based on adherence to the law, we will not measure up, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The point here is not that human effort is not necessary in the struggle for salvation; No! We must struggle to keep the law; we must make effort to live holy lives; but we must always bear in mind that the fruits of our efforts is chiefly the outcome of Divine Grace. Therefore, we have no reason to boast or condemn others. In the first reading

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I (ST. LUKE) 18TH OCTOBER 2023 2Tim.4:10-17b; Ps.145; Luke 10:1-9 Luke’s unique revelation of God Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. Luke was a native of Antioch and a physician by profession. This explains why his gospel gives more details about the condition of the sick and more miracles of the healing of the sick. He was consulted by St. Paul during an illness on his 2nd great missionary journey (cf.Col.4:14), thereafter, he was converted by St. Paul and became his companion recording and interpreting with the utmost fidelity the oral preaching and catechizing of the great missionary. Luke’s account of the gospel is unique for two main reasons. First, it was the only gospel that was written by a Gentile. All other gospels as well as New Testament books were written by Jews. Second, Luke’s gospel is the only New Testament book to be the first of the two part, with its companion found in Acts

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMEYEAR I (ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH Rom.1:16-25; Lk.19; Luke 11:37-41 Christ’s Flesh is the Hinge of our Salvation Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius emphasized Christ’s fleshy presence on earth even to the point of his death. He did this in defense against Docetism, a heretical school of thought that taught that Christ was not truly man; he only appeared to be man. This false teaching holds that since Christ only appeared to be man, all that he seemly experienced as man such as hunger and pain, were mere fictions. Obviously, this was another way of rejecting Jesus by accusing him of claiming to be who he is not. Ignatius stated emphatically that if Christ did not truly suffer and die for us, we are not truly redeemed. We are redeemed through the paschal mystery of Christ. Again, if Christ did not really come in the flesh, then the Christian martyr’s death is of no gain. Today, Docetism may not

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 16TH 0CTOBER 2023 Rom.1:1-7; Ps.98; Luke 11:29-32 Rather abide in the Giver of the Gift There is this episode of Emmanuella comedy wherein a Mathematics teacher was teaching some students (including Emmanuella) in the classroom. After a careful explanation on the syntax he wrote on the board, he asked if they understood him. He was surprised to see that virtually all the students never understood him, yet he thought he had taught wonderfully well. Needless to say that Emmanuella made the situation worse when she said that she has not understood mathematics since the previous term. The fact is, it can be frustrating when one’s effort is not producing the desired result. No one aims at failing. This situation was responsible for Jesus calling his generation an evil generation. Jesus’ experience is worse than that of the teacher in the illustration above, in that, his generation continued to flock around him as if they were interested in

HOMILY FOR THE 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 25:6-10a; Ps.23; Phil.4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14  _In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for length of days unending_ (Ps.23:6b) You are not indispensable, so serve God unconditionally The bullet points of the lessons of the today’s readings, particularly the gospel, are as follows: more than satisfying our earthly/material needs, God so earnestly desires the salvation of all (without exception); for this reason, He has prepare a place for us and continues to make us conscious of our heavenly inheritance; heaven needs us but heaven will remain heaven without us; heaven needs us but we must meet the necessary conditions for belonging there. In the gospel reading of today, Jesus used the symbol of a marriage banquet to illustrate the relationship or love that God has for man. The Church (man) is the bride of Christ the bridegroom. The unity of Christ and His Church becomes a wedding banquet where the bride is forever united with the

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Joel 3:12-21; Ps.97; Luke 11:27-28 The Blessedness of the Just As people and nations continue to drift away from the precepts of the Lord all in the name of civilization, it becomes more challenging and controversial to speak and act according to the commandments of God. It seems as though keeping God’s commandments will keep one poor, unpopular and unfree. The seemingly prosperity of the ungodly continue to tempt those who would have wanted to live by Law of the Lord. If we are true to our experiences of what is obtainable in the world today, we will have to ask: what do we really stand to gain by living by God’s commandments? Does the righteous have any advantage over the ungodly? Is the hope of the godly only eschatological? The answer to these and similar questions is contained in the gospel reading of today. The unnamed woman who raised her voice from the crowd, represent a close encounter with the Divine. She was able to perce

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jonah 1:13-15; 2:1-2; Ps.9; Luke 11:15-26 A better-you will surely manifest In the gospel reading, we find an attempt to assassinate Jesus’ character by accusing him of using the power of Beelzebul. This accusation was not only aimed at ridiculing his good works but also to disabuse the minds of the people from thinking that He is the expected Messiah. Again, if Jesus is using the power of Beelzebul, then there is nothing special about him. Clearly Jesus’ accusers were motivated by jealousy because Jesus was “outshining” them. The feeling of Jealousy is a temptation everyone experiences in one way or the other. If you have ever been in lime light as a result of your gift(s), and suddenly, someone comes, possessing a higher gift than you do, you will need real maturity and God’s grace not to act jealously. Funny enough, some persons justify such jealousy by making reference to the first of the 48 laws of power which says: Never outshin

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 12TH OCTOBER 2023 Malachi 3:13-4:2a; Ps.1; Luke 11:5-13 The Flavour of Persistency! Yesterday, Jesus taught the disciples how to pray. Today, he continues that lecture by teaching on the need to be persistent in prayer. Teaching about persistency in prayer shows that Jesus is very much aware that sometimes our prayer request will not be meant as and when we desire them. Jesus is invariably teaching us that delay will definitely be our experience in prayer. However, we are not to interpret this experience of delay as God’s unwillingness to grant our request. There is a flavour persistency adds to Christian prayer, without which, our prayer life may not be rich. In the parable, Jesus talked about a friend who never wanted to help his stranded friend but later did due to persistency. We can misinterpret this parable to mean that persistency in prayer is powerful on the ground that it can change the mind of God. But that is n

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 11TH OCTOBER 2023 Jonah 4:1-11; Ps.86; Luke 11:1-4 Salvation more than Human Ego! Jonah has finished preaching the message of repentance in Nineveh. He has told them that in thirty days, the land will be destroyed for their sinfulness. Obviously, thirty days has passed and the land of Nineveh was not destroyed. This outcome did not surprise Jonah; only that he lamented that, knowing fully well that God is merciful, that was why he never wanted to preach such message. Jonah was not happy because, for him, he looked like a liar who has said something that never came to pass. For Jonah, this experience hampered on his credibility as a prophet and as a person; next time, people may not take him serious; they will make reference to his prophetic ministry in Nineveh that never came to pass. But the fact is that Jonah’s thought tailored along this path because he was more concerned about his ego than about the salvation of soul

Reflection/Homily for Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time 10th October 2023 Jonah 3:1-10. Psalm 130:1-2,3-4,7bc-8. Luke 10:38-42.  In the first reading, the people of Nineveh heard God's words as proclaimed by Prophet Jonah. They accepted it, reflected on it, and they had a change of heart and attitude. They repented, and the Lord was merciful to them. "When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it" (Jonah 3:10). In today's Gospel, the story of Martha and Mary presents two models of discipleship: of one disciple who "sees and does" and another disciple who "listens and hears." Both models of discipleship are important in our relationship with God. Jesus, in saying that, "One thing is needful. Mary had chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42) is not condemning Martha. One action precedes the oth

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 9TH OCTOBER 2023 Jonah 1:1-17;2:1,10; Jonah 2; Luke 10:25-37 Faith clarifies Mission One of the veritable ways God reveals himself to us is in the pages of the scripture and our life experiences. In today’s first reading, Jonah struggled with beholding one attribute of God: Mercy. When God asked him to go preach against Nineveh, he decided to decline and run away not because he was afraid of the people but because he knew that in the finally analysis, God will have mercy on them and not bring about what he has threatened. Clearly, Jonah had difficulty with accepting God (faith) as a merciful God just as some Christians today have difficulty in accepting Him as a working God or a suffering God (the cross). When faith is not perfect, mission is blurred. The call of Jonah had a twofold dimension. Going to Nineveh was both a call to repentance for the people and a fulfilment of the destiny of Jonah himself. Jonah knew the first

Reflection/Homily for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 8th October 2023 Isaiah 5:1-7. Psalm 80:8,11,12-13,14-15,17b,18 - 19. Philippians 4:6-9. Matthew 21:33-43. Theme: The Lord's Vineyard. The first reading and the Gospel use the image of a vineyard. In the first reading, Prophet Isaiah tells us that Israel is the Lord's vineyard that the Lord loved, but it yielded only sour grape. Despite the care and interest of God in Israel, Israel and Judah failed to carry out the will of him who had made them what they were. They produced bloodshed instead of justice and a rebellious outcry in place of true obedience. God's vineyard had failed him. In today's Gospel, Our Lord Jesus Christ takes up the same image of the vineyard but with a difference: Isaiah says that the vineyard will be destroyed; Jesus says that the tenants will be replaced and the vineyard will be kept. The tenants in the vineyard refused to remit the produce from the vineyard to the landowner. They compounded the

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 7TH OCTOBER 2023 Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29; Ps.69; Luke 10:17-24 Be Joyful for the Right Cause Two days ago, we read of Jesus sending out the seventy others to preach in his name. He seemingly did not make it easy for them. First, they must have wondered if they will be able to do what Jesus has been doing; should they encounter possessed persons, will they be able to deliver them? What if the evil spirits overpowers them? Second, to make matter worse, Jesus instructed them not to go with anything for their sustenance (no purse, no bag, no sandals). Funny enough, Jesus did not assure them that they have His authority to overcome serpents and scorpions until they returned. The much He told them was that they were like lambs in the midst of wolves. Consequently, it becomes easy to understand the joy of the seventy as they returned from the mission; that they were not only unhurt but also successful. They could do what Jesus was

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Baruch 1:15-21; Ps.79; Luke 10:13-16 Miracle and Conversion God and man have longest entered into a covenantal relationship. On this relationship lies the fulfilment, peace and salvation of man. God has absolutely nothing to gain but everything to give. If man is not fulfilled as this covenantal relationship promises, then there is need to evaluate the level of commitment of each party in the covenant. The readings of today humbly but firmly reveal to us that a great deal of man's sufferings in the world is as a result of his unfaithfulness to his part in the covenantal relationship with God. Man continues to heed the old trick of the devil, namely, that if we sin against God, we will be better-off by becoming like God  Like the prodigal son, we continue to calculate that leaving outside of the realm of the father will be more fulfilling. The first reading tells us that all of us are guilty of this in different ways and to differe

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 5TH OCTOBER 2023 Neh.8:1-4a.5-6. 7b-12; Ps. 19; Luke 10:1-12 Know and Reflect the Word of God In the first reading of today, the people demanded that the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel, be read to their hearing. This demand was necessitated by the strong desire to hear from the Lord. Ezra obliged the people and read the Law of Moses to them for long hours. After reading, the Levites helped the people to understand the law. The actions of Ezra and the Levites enabled the people to understand the mind of God in the Law of Moses, and this spurred them into regret for their misdeeds. Today, we want to hear to hear from the Lord; today, some are consulting the bible in order to hear from God. But the challenge is that our minds are sometimes made up as to what we want the Lord to say, or, even when we read the bible, we focus on only those parts that promises us God’s blessings. The most appropriate dispositio

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI) 4TH OCTOBER 2023 Neh.2:1-8; Ps.137; Luke 9:57-62 Follow God unreservedly Followership has become a familiar concept in this advanced age of digitalization. People follow various celebrities on different social media handles. To follow someone, in this context, means to be a fan of the person. Followership, therefore avails one the opportunity to be abreast with the doings of the celebrity. But the fact remains that whenever we make the decision to follow anyone, there is always an inherent expectation. We can choose to unfollow a person when this expectation is no longer meant. In our spiritual life, Jesus wants us to follow him, but with the right expectation so that we do not end up unfollowing him when our unguarded expectations are not meant. So, in the gospel reading of today, Jesus tried to clarify the expectation of those who follow him. The first person willingly opted to follow Je

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (ST. THERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS)3RD OCTOBER 2023 Zec.8:20-23; Ps.87; Luke 9:51-56 God wants us to Trust Him “Train up a child in the way s/he should go and s/he is old, s/he will not depart from it”. The truth of this saying is shown in the life of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus whose memorial we celebrate today. The parents Louis and Zelie Martin in their early days, wanted to join the religious life. Though they couldn’t, they channeled this noble desire to the proper upbringing of their children. As soon as they were born, they were taught the way of the Lord. It was so beautiful that God accepted five of their offspring as religious. Little Theresa was one of them. St. Theresa’s notable virtues include: a childlike simplicity, utter humility, constant self-sacrifice and a boundless love of God and trust in him. She would always say: “From God, who is so mighty and so compassionate, one can never ask too much. One will

Reflection/Homily for Monday  26th Week in Ordinary Time 2nd October 2023 Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels.  Exodus 23:20-23. Psalm 91:1-2,3-4,5-6,10-11. Matthew 18:1-5,10. Three days ago, we celebrated the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Today, we give thanks for the presence of the guardian angels in our lives. From infancy to death, we are surrounded by the watchful care and intercession of the angels who are always before God. All our readings and the Psalm today make reference to the fact that we are surrounded by angels regularly. The first reading tells us, "Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared" (Exo.23:20). Today's Psalm says, "For you has he commanded his angels to keep you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11). Jesus warned his disciples his disciples in today's Gospel concerning children, "See that you do not despise one of the little ones; for I t