Becoming Childlike

 4th Oct 2022

The Feast of St Francis of Assisi. 

After a life dedicated to pleasure and worldly pursuits, often quite evil, Francis had a conversion and gave his life to God. Trusting in his Father God, he gave all his riches away, and lived a simple life. 

Do I  see, in his life, that Francis was answering that invitation from Jesus to become like a child? 

 Matthew 18:1-5 – Reading for feast of St Theresa of the Child Jesus 1st Oct

The disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

 So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said,

‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never 

enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this

 little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

    ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.’

In this scene we can imagine lots of little children playing in front of Jesus and his disciples. And Jesus calls one of them to himself. We don’t know how old, maybe four or five. Unlike the disciples who are clearly ambitious and competitive and thinking about their positions in the Kingdom they think Jesus is building, the little child has no anxiety or worries.   And we see, Jesus again correcting the misunderstanding of the disciples. They, like us ourselves sometimes, are concerned about unimportant things.  He tells them, they have to change, to become like little children. What’s this about? What does Jesus mean?  What gifts do children have, what are they like, that allow them to be great in the kingdom of Heaven? innocence? dependence? humility, honesty? Simplicity? 

  One catholic writer says: “The clear heart and the simple honesty of a child makes us sit up and pay attention and smile in admiration. Small children know they are utterly dependent on the people who care for them, to nurture and sustain them. In telling us to become like little children, Jesus calls us to open, trusting dependence on God, knowing that God will meet our needs – sometimes needs we do not even realise we have.” It’s children’s nature to trust.

Jesus sets the bar for entrance into the kingdom high: we must change; change is always difficult. Change and become like little children. Let’s pray for light and wisdom to see where we need to change.  Being childlike is completely counter cultural today as it was for the apostles.  We too, are often completely engrossed with ourselves and our importance.

In one of his homilies in  his book Friends of God, St Josemaria tells us, “Be very childlike! the more childlike, the better. I speak from my experience as a priest, who has had to pick himself up many times in these past thirty-six years (how long and yet how short they now seem to me!) which have been spent striving to fulfil a very precise requirement of God's Will. There's one thing that has helped me always, the fact that I am still a child, and I am always climbing onto my Mother's lap and finding refuge in the Heart of Christ, my Lord.    Serious falls, of the kind that can do great damage to the soul, at times almost irreparable damage, can always be traced back to the pride of thinking oneself to be grown up and self-sufficient. In such cases, people seem almost incapable of asking for help from those who can give it: not only from God, but also from a friend, or from a priest. And the poor soul, alone in its misfortune, sinks into confusion and loses its way.  Let us beseech God, right now, never to let us feel self-satisfied, but rather that we grow ever more desirous of his help, his word, his Bread, his consolation and his strength:  foster your hunger, your ambition to be like children. Believe me, it is the best way to conquer pride; and it's the only way to make our conduct good, great hearted, divine. Remember what Jesus said, 'Believe me, unless you become like little children again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.'  

St therese and her little way of spiritual childhood:

St. Therese once wrote that she could not understand how anyone could be afraid of a God who became a child. Knowing she would never be perfect, she went to God as a child approaches a parent with open arms and a profound trust. St. Therese translated "the little way" in terms of a commitment to the tasks and to the people we meet in our everyday lives. She took her assignments in the convent of Lisieux as ways of manifesting her love for God and for others. She worked as a sacristan by taking care of the altar and the chapel; she served in the refectory and in the laundry room; she wrote plays for the entertainment of the community. Above all, she tried to show a love for all the nuns in the community. She played no favourites; she gave of herself even to the difficult members. Her life sounds so routine and ordinary, but it was steeped in a loving commitment that knew no breakdown. It is called a little way - being simple and direct - yet it calls for amazing fortitude and commitment. 

We are children of God.

I am a daughter of God. This is the beautiful truth.