9 November 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:14
Hebrews reads Psalm 95 as a call for today: “O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts.” Israel in the desert did not enter God's rest because of disobedience. But the promise still stands: “a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God.” Every Sunday Qurbono is a foretaste of that rest, and every day is the “today” in which we can listen.
In the Gospel Jesus defends the little ones: children, the weak, the easily forgotten. Their angels always behold the Father's face. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one that strayed, and rejoices more over it than over the rest. The Father does not want even one of them to be lost. A parish is judged by how it seeks the one who is missing.
Theme: “Not one of these little ones should be lost.”
God's rest and the shepherd's search.
“O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,” Psalm 95:7–8
“So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;” Hebrews 4:9
Apply: Read the day's Gospel before checking your phone.
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11
“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:10
Apply: Pray for the children of your family by name.
“I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak,” Ezekiel 34:16
“So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:14
Apply: Call someone who no longer comes to church.
God's heart goes after the one.
Let ours go with him.
Take-home resolution: Visit or call one lapsed person this month.
Dear friends, on this Monday after Hudos Eetho Sunday, Hebrews reads Psalm 95 as a call for today: today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Israel in the desert did not enter God's rest because of disobedience; but the promise is still open (Hebrews 4:7–9).
In the Gospel Jesus says: take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father. Like a shepherd who goes after one lost sheep, it is not the will of the Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost (Matthew 18:10–14).
Today is the day to listen. Do today the conversion, the reconciliation or the prayer you have put off till tomorrow. And let us protect children and the weak, as the angels of God protect them. Amen.
Children, Jesus said every child has a guardian angel. Pray to your guardian angel today!
Good Shepherd, you seek the one who is lost. Soften our hearts to hear your voice today, keep us from despising the little ones, and bring us all into your rest. Amen.
The week after Hudos Eetho keeps God's people on the way. Hebrews speaks of a rest that still lies ahead, and of the “today” in which we must not harden our hearts. In Matthew the Father does not want even one little one to be lost, and the shepherd goes after the one that strayed. Entering God's rest and being brought back by the shepherd are one grace seen from two sides.
Setting.
Hebrews 3–4 is a sermon on Psalm 95, the psalm that warns, “O that today you would listen to his voice!” The generation of the desert heard the good news of the promised land but did not enter, because of disobedience. The author draws the lesson for Christians: the promise is still open, and the word “today” is spoken to us.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day.” (4:8)
In Greek, Joshua's name is Iēsous, the same as Jesus. The first Joshua led Israel into the land; the second leads his people into God's own rest.
“So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;” (4:9)
“Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.” (4:11)
Rest is a gift, yet we must strive to enter it. Grace does not make us idle; it makes effort possible.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, fulfils the spiritual truth of the sabbath and announces our eternal rest in God (CCC 2174–2175). St Augustine ends The City of God with the great sabbath that has no evening, where we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise (in substance).
Setting.
Matthew 18 is the fourth of Jesus' five great discourses, often called the discourse on life in the Church. It begins with the disciples asking who is the greatest, and Jesus puts a child among them. “These little ones” are the humble and weak members of the community. Luke tells the parable of the lost sheep about sinners and the joy of finding them (Luke 15:3–7); Matthew tells it about the care the Church owes to a brother or sister who strays.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.” (18:10)
The little ones have friends in the highest court. This verse is a chief scriptural foundation for the Church's teaching on guardian angels.
“So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” (18:14)
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism cites v. 10 when it teaches that from infancy to death human life is surrounded by the watchful care and intercession of angels (CCC 336), and v. 14 to show that God's love excludes no one (CCC 605). Many Fathers, among them St Gregory the Great, saw in the shepherd Christ himself, who left heaven to seek the lost human race (in substance).
Does each person have a guardian angel?
Yes. The Catechism quotes St Basil: beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life (CCC 336).