The Gospel for today addresses the question:  Who is the Greatest?  The setting is a discussion of Jesus with the disciples.  The text says:

“An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side, and said to them:  “Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me.  For he who is least among you all is the greatest.”

Talk about being attentive to the presence of the Lord in our midst…….Jesus puts it very clearly to us:  God is present in everyone we meet.

God’s standards are certainly not the world’s standards.  The world’s standards are so often based on the financial worth or position of power that a person has.  You can see it all the time:  the CEO’s of large companies, the rich and famous, the elite of society are admired for their wealth, their power.

Haven’t you been in a group of people and felt the change in dynamics when someone with status or wealth enters the conversation?  Special attention is paid to their words.  When someone else speaks ­ without such wealth or power ­ the words are heard, but not so quickly attended to.

If we had the presence of mind to keep our internal attention focused on the fact that God is present in every person, we would welcome all people equally in our conversations, our lives.

Let’s take time today to monitor how we greet and treat people.  Do we greet and treat people with the same respect, same courtesy?  Are we attentive to God in our presence all the time?

This is a good day to do some internal checking.  It is also the feast of St. Vincent de Paul who served the needs of the poor in the name of Christ.  St. Vincent de Paul is a good role-model for all of us.