A reading from the Book of Job
38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.
Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great!
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
18:1-5, 10
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
According to the tradition of the Church, we all have an angel with us, who watches over us and helps us to sense things. How many times have we heard: “But … this … I should do it this way, this will not do, be careful …”: so many times! And that is the voice of our travelling companion. (…) And when we do not want to heed his advice, to listen to his voice, it is like telling him: “Go away!”. Driving away our travelling companion is perilous, because no man, no woman can advise themselves. I can advise another person, but I cannot advise myself. There is the Holy Spirit who advises me, there is the angel who advises me. That is why we need them. This is not some fanciful doctrine about angels: no, it is reality. What Jesus, what God said was: “I will send an angel before you to watch over you, to accompany you on your journey, so that you do not go astray”. (…) Today, I would ask the question: how is my relationship with my guardian angel? Do I listen to him? Do I say “good morning” to him in the morning? Do I say, “Watch over me while I sleep”? Do I speak with him? Do I ask him for advice? He is by my side. We can answer this question today, each one of us: how is my relationship with this angel that the Lord has sent to watch over me and to accompany me on my journey, and who always sees the face of the Father who is in heaven? (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 2 October 2014)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 02 October 2026 –
A reading from the Book of Job
38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.
Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great!
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
18:1-5, 10
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
According to the tradition of the Church, we all have an angel with us, who watches over us and helps us to sense things. How many times have we heard: “But … this … I should do it this way, this will not do, be careful …”: so many times! And that is the voice of our travelling companion. (…) And when we do not want to heed his advice, to listen to his voice, it is like telling him: “Go away!”. Driving away our travelling companion is perilous, because no man, no woman can advise themselves. I can advise another person, but I cannot advise myself. There is the Holy Spirit who advises me, there is the angel who advises me. That is why we need them. This is not some fanciful doctrine about angels: no, it is reality. What Jesus, what God said was: “I will send an angel before you to watch over you, to accompany you on your journey, so that you do not go astray”. (…) Today, I would ask the question: how is my relationship with my guardian angel? Do I listen to him? Do I say “good morning” to him in the morning? Do I say, “Watch over me while I sleep”? Do I speak with him? Do I ask him for advice? He is by my side. We can answer this question today, each one of us: how is my relationship with this angel that the Lord has sent to watch over me and to accompany me on my journey, and who always sees the face of the Father who is in heaven? (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 2 October 2014)
A reading from the Book of Job
38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.
Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great!
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
18:1-5, 10
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
According to the tradition of the Church, we all have an angel with us, who watches over us and helps us to sense things. How many times have we heard: “But … this … I should do it this way, this will not do, be careful …”: so many times! And that is the voice of our travelling companion. (…) And when we do not want to heed his advice, to listen to his voice, it is like telling him: “Go away!”. Driving away our travelling companion is perilous, because no man, no woman can advise themselves. I can advise another person, but I cannot advise myself. There is the Holy Spirit who advises me, there is the angel who advises me. That is why we need them. This is not some fanciful doctrine about angels: no, it is reality. What Jesus, what God said was: “I will send an angel before you to watch over you, to accompany you on your journey, so that you do not go astray”. (…) Today, I would ask the question: how is my relationship with my guardian angel? Do I listen to him? Do I say “good morning” to him in the morning? Do I say, “Watch over me while I sleep”? Do I speak with him? Do I ask him for advice? He is by my side. We can answer this question today, each one of us: how is my relationship with this angel that the Lord has sent to watch over me and to accompany me on my journey, and who always sees the face of the Father who is in heaven? (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 2 October 2014)