Children remind us to see and welcome Jesus with pure joy
by Sister Lynne Marie Simonich
On this Respect Life Sunday our Gospel tells us the disciples were upset that children were being brought to Jesus for a blessing. Jesus tells them: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Mark 10:14). Aren’t children curious and filled with wonder and excitement? They trust and look at the world with new eyes. They are open to life and all that life offers them. Imagine the joy children brought to Jesus and the joy Jesus brought to them. No wonder he wanted them near him.
- What would our world be like if we all took on those child-like qualities?
- How do we bring joy and hope to our fragile world?
“…the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
When I became "GraMa" Nov. 10, 2007, and saw my first grandchild for the very first time, I received -- and gave -- a most incredible and amazing kind of love that I had not known before. It was as if I was "in the Garden of Eden," looking into the "First Creation ....." I started telling people that God gives "GraMa hormones ....." :)
When my second grandchild was three years old, the Fall of 2011, I wrote, "Through the heart of a three-year-old child is my way to G O D."
There was no other way to describe the 'experience' of being loved by, with, and for -- and loving so completely, so full-heartedly, so extremely and extravagantly -- a child, 'pure gift-of-God.'