Jesus’ heart is just so evident in today’s gospel. Surely we can all relate to this scene. Jesus was probably speaking to a group of people and the little children were pulling at their parents that they wanted to see Jesus. They may have been fussy and loud and aggravating to the adults around them but all they wanted to do was to see Jesus. The adults were so big they probably couldn’t get a good look at him. Once one of the children started doing this, it probably caught on.Have you ever noticed the babies crying at mass? Once one of the babies starts to cry, it often “catches on” with the others and before you know it the rest of the little babies start to fuss too. If you happen to be sitting near them it can get quite aggravating though, especially if they start crying during Father’s homily. Something like this was probably going on while Jesus spoke too, except it was the little children who were fussy.
The disciples didn’t seem to know the right thing to do about it though. Jesus got upset with them for trying to stop the children from coming to him. “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”
You can’t really help being reminded of our new Pope Francis.He seems to do things that are a little out of character too. When he first became our new Pope he stepped out of his comfort zone and much to the dismay of his body guards, held a little boy in a wheelchair and kissed him and gave him his blessing as well. It was a very famous photograph that traveled all over the world, showing the tenderness our new Pope has for his people and especially the children. Pope Francis had just been elected our new Pope when he went to a juvenile correctional facility for the Holy Thursday mass and washed the feet of the teenagers there. This was a huge break in our long standing traditions and it upset quite a few of the faithful too, but where could he have learned this objectionable behavior from? Isn’t it wonderful that we have a new Pope who isn’t afraid to “break the rules” in order to show love to the children too? Our hearts are awakening to this new, genuine warmth that Pope Francis has for all of us too.
The first reading today explains how much God loves his people too. The entire reading from the book of Sirach shows how precious we are in God’s eyes. The scriptures say that He “made them in his own image” and that is what the catechism teaches too. That we are “made in the image and likeness of God”. We are deeply loved and treasured by God and he gave each one of us an inherent dignity that no one can ever take away from us. We should also remember that our children are made in the image and likeness of God and always respect them and treat them with dignity. Both God and the Lord Jesus Christ treated them this way and have set the example for how we should treat our children.
The Psalm today says “As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him”. The Lord is kind and compassionate with us and we should be kind and compassionate with our own children and the children in our parishes and communities that we live in. They may be a little aggravating at times, but so were we during our own childhood. Hopefully our parents and other adults in our lives treated us with respect and kindness, but even if they didn’t, we can still choose to imitate Christ and follow the example he set for us. The Gospel says “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.And he took them upon his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.”
If you do not have children of your own, or if your children are grown now and you miss them, perhaps you would consider volunteering a little bit of your time to spend with the children at your church or the community you live in. The parish always needs catechists and youth ministers and chaperones for youth functions. There are also many troubled teenagers that really needs someone to talk to, especially at the juvenile detention centers. They need mentors and role models and someone to listen to them and maybe help connect them back to their faith in God again. And there are many literacy programs that need adults to help teach children to read too. None of these ways of showing your love for children are a huge commitment of time though.
Jesus stopped what he was doing for a few minutes to show the little children that he loved them and our new Pope Francis did too. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from them? Today would be a good day to show a little extra patience, time and attention to the children in our own lives.
(For information about Catholic volunteer opportunities worldwide that cares for little children go to: www.catholicvolunteernetwork.org.)
