Saint John Bosco, Priest
Saturday of week 3 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5
The words of Jesus invite us to understand discipleship not as a climb toward importance, but as a journey of inner transformation toward simplicity, trust, and humility. To become like little children is to let go of the need to control, to prove, or to dominate, and to rediscover a heart that depends entirely on the Father. Children do not calculate their worth; they receive life as a gift, trust those who love them, and live with openness and wonder. This is the conversion Jesus asks of every disciple: a continual unlearning of pride and self-sufficiency, and a gradual learning of trust, docility, and love. In welcoming a child, Jesus reveals that true greatness in the Kingdom is found in welcoming vulnerability, weakness, and simplicity, first in ourselves, and then in others. Like Saint John Bosco, who built his mission on confidence, patience, and tenderness toward the young, we are reminded that holiness grows where hearts are formed gently, not forced. Discipleship, then, is a daily choice to become smaller so that God may be greater, and to allow childlike faith to shape our way of relating to God, to others, and to ourselves. Let’s reflect: Am I willing to let go of pride, control, and self-importance in order to follow Jesus with the trust, humility, and simplicity of a child?
Don Giorgio