LITTLE CHILD, LITTLE WAY

 LITTLE CHILD, LITTLE WAY

One moving scene in the film The Mission was that of a little child picking up the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament and continuing on with the procession after most of the adults of the village and tribe, along with the priests, were gunned down. It was more than just a case of the Lord calling a child over and placing him in their midst, as today’s Gospel passage tells us. It was also a case of the child showing the cruel world who the real King, the real Ruler, and the real Source of worldly power was!

It was a powerful image that seemed to give a direct answer to the Lord’s question: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” The scene left no doubt in anyone’s mind that the child was greatest at least at that point in time. Our saint yesterday, Therese of Lisieux, was one such “child.” She aimed for the lofty heights of holiness and union with her Lord and Master, while assuming the garb of utter simplicity, trust, and what she called “spiritual childhood.”

Grown-ups could be masters of deceit and deception. We can say “yes” when all we mean is really a “no”—or anything in between. We hem and haw while appearing prim and proper with our politically correct language. We talk about freedom of choice when what we really mean is the license to do what we want, when we want, where we want, regardless of what moral truth demands. And if someone stands up for moral truth, we label him or her as a bigot or a hopeless impertinent medieval mystic.

But the child that the Lord calls “greatest” is great for a very special reason that is God’s very own. The child is great because he is treated as such by no less than God, and such valuable treatment is shown by the fact that “their (guardian) angels in heaven always look upon the face of [the] heavenly father.”

A child-adult so simple, a child-adult so seemingly helpless and dependent in a good way on others—on God—is definitely on the way to greatness. Saint Therese, show us the way to greatness. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

What childlike quality do you want to have in your spiritual life?

Dearest God, help me to be like a child in my relationship with You. I need You, my Father!

Amen. Today, I pray for ____________________________