Gospel (Mk 9,30-37) - At that time, Jesus and his disciples were passing through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know. In fact, he taught his disciples and said to them: «The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him; but once killed, after three days he will rise again." However, they did not understand these words and were afraid to question him. They arrived in Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them: "What were you arguing about in the street?". And they were silent. In fact, on the street they had argued among themselves who was bigger. Sitting down, he called the Twelve and said to them: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And taking a child, he placed him among them and, embracing him, said to them: «Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever receives me does not receive me, but he who sent me."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus always walks with his disciples. He has a strong sense of community. He is never alone, except when he retreats in prayer. Moreover, after calling the disciples individually or two by two, he immediately "constituted" them into a community (Mk 3:13-17). There is no individual Christianity. Jesus shows us that his life has always been communion. Thus he helps his disciples to live in his spirit. Today's Gospel tells us that, when they arrive home and find themselves alone, far from the crowd, Jesus makes the disciples understand how great their distance from the Gospel is. In those days, Jesus was much more anguished than them because of the death that awaited him. The disciples, fearful more for their fate than for that of their master, had instead started discussing who should be the greatest among them. Jesus, descending almost to their level, does not despise the desire they have to excel, but reverses its meaning: the first, in the Christian community, is the one who serves. It is the absolute primacy of love that must reign in Christian communities. This command was so important in the conscience of the first communities that in the Gospels this phrase of Jesus is reported five times. After this statement, Jesus takes a child, places him among everyone and embraces him. Obviously it is a physical center but above all a center of attention. The little ones - understood as children, of course, but also as weak, poor, alone, defenseless - must be placed at the centre, that is, in the very heart of the community: in them, in fact, the Lord himself is made present.