In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18, verse 3-5, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Then in the next chapter, Matthew 19:14, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.

I recall an image of Jesus sitting on a rock with children climbing all around him. It could be from a Children’s Bible I would look through when I was younger or perhaps a picture I saw at Church; regardless, it has been with me for many years. I’ve thought of the image and the scripture often.

When I was in the 2nd - 5th grade, I attended Our Lady of Fatima Parochial School. There were days when I’d be dropped off for school in time for me to sneak into daily Mass. As a child I didn’t really know that it was daily Mass; I think I thought Mass was going on continuously like at St. Peter’s in Chicago. I remember coming in and being in awe of the adults who were there. When the Lector would read the Psalm and hold out their hands for the crowd to repeat, I’d scramble around, looking for a worship aide or something that would help me find the words they were saying. I couldn’t wait to be like the adults who knew the words to the prayers!

As a child, I wanted a faith deeper and stronger like the faith I saw in these adults who gathered for daily Mass. I couldn’t wait to be older so I could be a part of the club! However, when I spent time reflecting on the passages from the Gospel of Matthew, I came to understand that the faith I had as a child was more pure than the faith I’d come to know as an adult.

As an adult, it became more about what I had to do or needed to instead of what I wanted to do. My intentions changed or at least my understanding of my intentions had changed. I’d go to Mass because that was what we did and I’d pray the rosary because it’s what we did; the child-like excitement and desire to be close to Jesus wasn’t there like it had been when I was sneaking into Mass before school.

Today, I feel like I understand the message Jesus was trying to get across to the Disciples when he told them these things. Adults can get wrapped up in expectations and agendas, they think if they do this and then God will do that. This is not how God operates. Adults can become distracted by temptations or believe we know better and begin to have delusions of grandeur so as to leave God out of the picture all together!

Children on the other hand have complete trust, don’t question and are pure. When a child encounters a new person, they welcome them without judgement or don’t question what this person can give to them. No, they smile and give them a “high-five” or “fist-bump” or wave to say hello.

Of course the kingdom belongs to the children or those with a child-like faith! There is no expectation or agenda, simply love. This is the Jesus within each of us. Blessed Your Children…may we learn from them the simplicity of faith!