Gospel (Lk 17,7-10) - At that time, Jesus said: «Which of you, if he has a servant to plow or feed the flock, will say to him, when he returns from the field: «Come quickly and sit at table»? Will he not rather say to him: «Prepare something to eat, put your clothes around your waist and serve me until I eat and drink, and then you will eat and drink»? Will he perhaps be grateful to that servant because he followed the orders he received? So you too, when you have done everything you were ordered to do, say: «We are useless servants. We did what we had to do."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The Lord speaks to the disciples about him. It is an intimate dialogue that Jesus wants to practice with each of his disciples, even with us. He knows them one by one, he has called them to follow him and lives with them. He knows well that they easily leave room for pride in their hearts and that they have a great sense of self, or that they can feel good and protagonists of their undertakings. He therefore urges them to deal with what servants are called to do. Unlike the master, they are not the first in the house, but rather the servants. None of us are masters of our own lives; only the Lord is. Life is given to each of us so that we can enjoy it not only for ourselves but spend it for the good of all. We have received much as a gift, without merit: health, well-being, peace, intelligence, love, faith. We are not owners of all these assets, but custodians and administrators. Jesus also presented himself as one who serves, and not as one who must be served. And in the Last Supper he showed it unequivocally, taking on the appearance of the slave who washes his master's feet. The disciple, following this example of Jesus, is called to serve, and as Pope Francis has often recalled, "he who does not live to serve does not serve to live". Living with this spirit of service frees one from the prison of selfishness, of the anxiety of accumulating goods and satisfaction for oneself. The disciples know well that they have received everything and must return everything to him. This is the meaning of being useless servants. The Lord has chosen us and entrusted us with a task that we are called to carry out, not in order to fulfill ourselves but to serve his dream of love in the world, knowing that we receive everything from him and without him we are truly "useless" , that is, without force.