Preparatory Prayer:
"0 God hear my Prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth . . . the Lord is the protector of my soul." Psalm 53.
Setting:
Our divine Lord has all day long been at the beck and call of everyone who had need of Him. He has given Himself, with complete disregard for His own arrangements, listening to all, healing, speaking as never man did speak. He is exhausted as He draws near a small town, and Peter and the rest of His twelve are looking forward to a respite at last; they are hungry and want food; they are tired and hope soon to take their wellearned rest. But they are due to be disappointed. Word has preceded them into the town that Jesus of Nazareth is coming that way and at once everything else is forgotten. As always happens, "the whole countryside is stirred." There is an exodus to meet Him, and especially delighted, it would seem, were the little children. His coming would mean, at least, that they would not be sent to bed as early as on other nights. It is going to mean ever so much more to them and to myself as I join them to go forth and meet Him.
Fruit:
Childlikeness in my relations with my heavenly Father; understanding of my obligation and privilege as a trainer of youth.
1. A smile of delight shines in the face of Our Lord as He sees the children coming out to meet Him. His fatigue and hunger He forgets, for children form a class which clearly holds a special place in the love of His Sacred Heart. Peter and the other eleven are indignant enough, and we can sympathize with them. This is no hour for these youngsters to be crowding here; far better for their parents to take them home and put them to bed, and allow the Master and His apostles to remain alone till morning. It is easy to see these wellintentioned men bustlingly, officiously pushing the people and gesticulating to the children to go back to where they came from.
During all this time Jesus remained in the background. It is only now He comes forward, and, standing there in the center of the dusty road, He extends both arms wide, countermands Peter's directions and invites the little children to gather around Him. They need no second invitation. Is it too much to see a glint of satisfaction in the eyes of some of them as they look up and walk past Peter? Of course, they knew that the Christ Who was their friend would not allow them to be dispatched in this summary fashion. Peter capitulated, so did the rest of the apostles; there was nothing else they could do.
Jesus was "much displeased" at the treatment shown the children; He embraced them, laid His hands upon them and blessed them; He declared that they were to be allowed to come to Him because the kingdom of heaven is of such as these. It was only recently He had explained to the apostles that whoever would receive such a little child as one of these would receive Himself. But they had forgotten. That was the occasion too when those weighty warnings had been spoken against those who would scandalize one of these that believed in Him.
So the special love and anxiety He has for little children is plain to be seen. It explains the very serious view He expects parents to take of their responsibility to train the characters of those who are so dear to Him. "What greater thing is there," asks St. John Chrysostom, "than to train the minds and mould the character of youth? A skilled artist or sculptor is worthy of our admiration for the work he turns out. But it is my considered opinion that the person who excels in the science of educating the young does a work far more excellent than artist or sculptor or any other man or woman."
Pharaoh's daughter, on discovering the infant Moses in the bulrushes, handed him over to his mother with the words: "Take this child and nurse him for me." A like injunction is given by God to the parent and also to the Catholic teacher. It is a sacred task; it must be evident that Our Lord is anxious in quite a peculiar manner about how it is done. "I sometimes think," writes Saint Teresa, "how grateful [children] will be to their mother when they find themselves with the fruition of eternal joys which she was the means of procuring for them, and also of the additional joy of that mother when she sees them. The contrary will be true of parents who have not brought up their children as children of God - and they are more His than theirs - when such parents meet their children in hell, uttering curses and in agonies of despair."
If this sounds oldfashioned in our smart twentieth century, it might be worth while recalling that truth is unchangeable. This is not the place for a long dissertation on the ways and means and the difficulties of training young people today. This is my meditation when, as I watch the loving anxiety of Jesus for little children, I beg Him to make me realize my own share of responsibility. If I recall my childhood I can scarcely doubt the influence on me of father and mother and teacher. Children are more impressionable than we realize. My influence for good or for evil in their future lives is incalculable.