🌿 Tuesday, March 3, 2026
The Greatest Among You
Shall Be Your Servant

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Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II

✝️ Today's Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12

📖 The Gospel - Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus warns the crowds about religious leaders who say the right things but don't do them, who love the best seats and the public greetings and the impressive titles. And then He turns it completely upside down: the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

🙏 Gospel Reflection

Isaiah doesn't mince words in the first reading today. God says to His people, stop bringing me your empty offerings. Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Stop doing wrong, learn to do good. He's not attacking religious practice itself; He's attacking religious practice that has become disconnected from the heart and from how you treat other people.

The Pharisees and scribes were not bad people in the simple sense. They knew the law better than almost anyone. They prayed, they fasted, they tithed. But somewhere along the way, their practice had become about themselves rather than about God and neighbor. They loved being seen and honored. And Jesus gently but unmistakably says, that is not the kingdom. In the kingdom, the one who leads is the one who serves.

Why is it so often that we pour ourselves into something, our prayer life, our ministry, our daily work for the Lord, and somewhere in there a quiet little voice wants someone to notice. And Jesus basically says, watch out for that voice. Not because recognition is evil, but because once that voice starts driving your focus, the whole thing shifts away from God and toward self. We must humble ourselves in all that we do and stay out of the spotlight.

The Rosary has always been my anchor in this. When those beads are in your hands, there is no audience, no applause. There is just you and Our Lady and her Son. That is the posture Jesus is calling us back to today, humble, hidden, serving for love and not for the front row seat. For many years now, I have been sharing about living the Life of J.O.Y. Jesus 1st - Others 2nd - You (me) LAST. Living a humble life is actually very easy; simply stop posting and sharing every single thing you do. I used to post constantly about what I was doing; now, I mostly, if not more exclusively, post prayers and the Fatima Shrine activities. No spotlight on me, and I love it.

💭 Reflection Question

Where are you in your spiritual life right now? Has the quiet desire of wanting to be noticed crept in yet? What would it look like to offer that same action today, completely hidden from everyone? Only keeping it between you and the Lord. It’s actually very liberating.

📿 Today's Rosary - The Sorrowful Mysteries

Today's Focus Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar

Jesus, who commanded all of creation, allowed Himself to be stripped and beaten by the very people He came to save, the ultimate reversal of every human idea of greatness. As you pray these beads today, meditate on a God who chose the lowest place so that we might be lifted up.

🌹 Our Lady of Fatima - Today's Connection

Our Lady of Fatima chose three of the humblest children in Portugal to carry one of the most important messages heaven has ever sent to earth. She did not go to the bishop's palace or the university. She went to a dusty field where shepherd children were playing. That is the Fatima version of today's Gospel: God consistently bypasses the front row and goes straight to the servant's seat. If you ever feel too small or too ordinary to be used by God, let Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta remind you that Our Lady thinks very differently about such things.

🕊️ Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, strip away every hidden hunger for recognition in me today. Teach me to serve without keeping score, to give without looking for applause, to lead from the servant's seat rather than the front row. Make me the least, and in Your kingdom, that is everything. Amen.



©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS

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Want to know more about My Spiritual Journey?
Read My Story: An Invitation To Read My Story - My Testimony

Location: Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA

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