Wednesday of Week 15 in Ordinary Time
Liturgical Colour: White
Year: A (II)
First Reading — Isaiah 10:5–7, 13–16
Assyria's arrogance and coming ruin.
The Lord of hosts says this:
"Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, the club brandished by me in my fury! I sent him against a godless nation; I gave him commission against a people that provokes me, to pillage and to plunder freely and to stamp down like the mud in the streets.
But he did not intend this, his heart did not plan it so. No, in his heart was to destroy, to go on cutting nations to pieces without limit.
For he has said:
'By the strength of my own arm I have done this and by my own intelligence, for understanding is mine; I have pushed back the frontiers of peoples and plundered their treasures. I have brought their inhabitants down to the dust.
As if they were a bird's nest, my hand has seized the riches of the peoples. As people pick up deserted eggs I have picked up the whole earth, with not a wing fluttering, not a beak opening, not a chirp.'
Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it, or the saw more strength than the man who handles it? It would be like the cudgel controlling the man who raises it, or the club moving what is not made of wood!
And so the Lord of Hosts is going to send a wasting sickness on his stout warriors; beneath his plenty, a burning will burn like a consuming fire."
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 93(94):5–10, 14–15
Response: The Lord will not abandon his people.
They crush your people, Lord; they afflict the ones you have chosen.
They murder the widow and the stranger and put the orphan to death.
Response: The Lord will not abandon his people.
They say, "The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed."
Mark this, most senseless of people; fools, when will you understand?
Can he who made the ear not hear? Can he who formed the eye not see?
Response: The Lord will not abandon his people.
For the Lord will not abandon his people nor forsake those who are his own.
For judgement shall again be just and all true hearts shall uphold it.
Response: The Lord will not abandon his people.
Gospel Acclamation — cf. Matthew 11:25
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
Alleluia!
Gospel — Matthew 11:25–27
You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children.
Jesus exclaimed:
"I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.
Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection
One of the greatest spiritual dangers is believing that we no longer need God. It rarely happens all at once. More often, it develops quietly as success, knowledge or experience convince us that we are in control. That is exactly what happened to Assyria in today's first reading. Having enjoyed military victories and great power, its king believed everything had been accomplished through his own intelligence and strength. He forgot that every ability he possessed had ultimately come from God.
Isaiah uses a striking image to expose this pride. An axe cannot boast about the trees it has cut down because it is only effective in the hands of the one who wields it. Likewise, our talents, opportunities and achievements are gifts entrusted to us. They are never reasons to place ourselves above others or to imagine that we are self-sufficient.
The Gospel presents a completely different way of living. Jesus praises the Father because the deepest truths of the Kingdom are revealed not to those who are impressed with their own wisdom, but to those who approach God like little children. Children know they need help. They ask questions, trust those who love them and are willing to learn. Jesus is not praising ignorance; He is praising humility.
That distinction matters today. We live in an age where information is available within seconds. We can search almost any question online, yet having information is not the same as possessing wisdom. Wisdom begins when we recognise that there are things only God can teach us. A humble heart remains teachable because it knows it has not reached the end of the journey.
This applies not only to our relationship with God but also to our relationships with one another. Pride often closes the door to growth. It makes it difficult to apologise, to accept advice or to admit we were wrong. Humility, on the other hand, creates space for healing. It allows us to listen before speaking, to learn from others and to recognise that every person we meet has something to teach us.
The Responsorial Psalm offers reassurance for those who choose this path. "The Lord will not abandon his people." The world may celebrate power, influence and self-promotion, but God remains close to those who trust Him. His faithfulness is not dependent on our achievements but on His unchanging love.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that humility is the foundation of prayer because it acknowledges that everything we have is received from God (CCC 2559). It also reminds us that pride was the beginning of humanity's first sin, while true freedom is found in trusting God's wisdom above our own (CCC 397–398). Every day we are invited to choose which voice we will follow—the voice of self-reliance or the voice of the Father.
Perhaps today's readings encourage us to pause and ask ourselves a simple question: Am I relying more on my own strength than on God's grace? The answer may be found in how we begin each day. Do we first turn to our plans, our worries and our abilities, or do we first place ourselves in the Lord's hands?
The humble heart is not weak. It is confident because its confidence rests in God rather than itself. That is the kind of heart Jesus says is ready to receive the mysteries of the Kingdom.
One Line to Carry Today
The heart that humbly depends on God will always see further than the mind that depends only on itself.
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