We should never get discouraged at seeing our own faults and imperfections because in
today's gospel, we see how imperfect the apostles are. They've been receiving formation from our
Lord for a couple of years now, and as our Lord is talking about the suffering that he must undergo,
that he will be mocked, scourged, and crucified, what is on the mind of the sons of Zebedee and
their mother but glory? She asks on behalf of her disciples, and she asks on behalf of her disciples,
her sons. In fact, there's another gospel that says that they were the ones who asked.
But in any case, they're concerned about sitting at our Lord's right and at our Lord's left.
They're not thinking about humble service or suffering for the sake of Christ, but rather
they've got their minds set on glory, on elevating themselves above the other ten.
And we see in the other ten that they're not exempt
from their own imperfections because instead of bearing patiently with the imperfection of the
two, instead the rest of them were moved with indignation against the two brethren. And so
our Lord halts the procession and gathers them together to teach them about humble service,
that they, although desiring to be greater,
this needs to be sought after through humble service. And he makes the comparison about
the Gentile rulers, how they lorded over them and they are simply interested in grabbing power,
probably like many of today's politicians. But our Lord says,
let it not be that way among you, but whoever shall be the greater among you, let him be your
minister. And he,
that will be first among you, shall be your servant. And so that's why we call our Holy Father,
and he calls himself the servant of the servants of God. And so this is what something that we
should all strive to do and be, is humble servants one to another. We see the same thing in the saint
that we commemorate today, Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother, because before he entered religion,
this is from
Butler's Lives of the Saints. It says that he was inordinately vain and passionately devoted to the
pleasures of the world, so much so that his teachers and companions were incredulous when he
announced that he would enter the Passionist order immediately upon his graduation. So we see that
Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother had to run his course of perfection as well,
and yet his was a short course to run because he died still very young. And what was it that
sanctified him? It was simple fidelity to the rule, nothing extraordinary, no extraordinary phenomena
in the life of Saint Gabriel, but his simple fidelity to the rule. All right, so this, we can
also learn from this, from these two things.
Humble service to one another, simple fidelity to our rule if we are religious, and if we're not
religious, simple fidelity to the duties of our state in life, whether it be at work, or as wife
and mother, or whatever it may be. And if we do these things, then we too can become the saints
that God wants us to be. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
Ad précédum.
Misericordes oculum, a nos tondertem ed estum benedictum
fructum ventris tu sui.
Thanks for watching!