Friday – Solemnity of Sacred Heart of Jesus

Gospel – Matthew 11:25-30

Out of the Mouths of Children!

Walking the Streets of Jerusalem

 

Many years ago, when our daughter was barely 2 or 3 years old, we went to visit my Papa who was very sick.  We knew it was probably the last time we would have the chance to see him before he passed.  What amazed me during our visit was that Jaime seemed to go out of her way to get Great Papa to help her – get her dressed, tie her shoes, that sort of thing.  It was something that I hadn’t seen her do before.  It was like she was building up memories (for her, for him?, who knows). 

A few months later he passed away and, after we returned home from the funeral, I spent many a sleepless night grieving his loss.  One night, as I sat there wide awake and teary-eyed, Jaime came in and climbed into my lap.  She asked me why I was crying and I told her – I miss Papa.  She looked at me and simply said – you don’t need to cry, Papa is in heaven!  Out of the mouths of babies!!!

Today’s Gospel speaks of the need for us all to become like little children.  God has revealed Himself not to the wise but to the child-like.  Truth be told, as we grow, we all become a bit jaded, cynical;  we seem to develop this hard shell where we keep the world out and our emotions inside.  Jesus reminds us today that we need to become like that little child.  We need to keep that sense of wonder, that feeling of looking at things for the first time, fresh and clean and new.  We need to take the time to stand in awe of the simple things like a newly blossomed flower, the beauty of a rainbow, the touch of a loving hand.  Yes, that means stop and smell the flowers!

But that also means we need to let go of our burdens, to lighten our load, to not get so wrapped up in the stresses of life that we miss the obvious – God loves us!  We need to take on some of that self-lessness that a child possesses and move away from our own ego and self-importance.  Take that weight off your shoulders and find that child within.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Feast of the Presentation Gospel – Luke 2:22-40 We Are Family Church of St. Joseph, Nazareth 5 extremely short stories to start the day! Once all the people in a village decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer, all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That is faith. When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them. That is trust. Every night we go to bed without any assurance of being alive the next morning, but we still set the alarm to wake up. That is hope. We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That is confidence. We see the world suffering, but still, we get married and have children. That is love. Faith, hope, love, confidence and trust!   Sounds like a perfect list of values/virtues for a happy family! Today’s Gospel tells us of another family – the Holy Family going up to Jerusalem with the baby Jesus to present Him to the Lord in ...
Read more
Image
Sunday – Feast of Corpus Christi Gospel – Luke 9:11b-17 Loaves and Fishes Church at Tabgha Throughout those 2 years of isolation from Covid,   I really missed my St. Kateri community.   I missed my native brothers and sisters.   I miss crowding ourselves into the chapel on a Sunday morning for Mass.   And I miss our community potluck meal afterwards. I think that I missed that simple meal the most; it speaks volumes to me about the community and about the values that should define our lives.   I said a ‘simple’ meal but actually it’s more of a constant miracle.   Jody, our director, and/or Ginger provide the main course.   And that’s it!   All the rest – sides, salads, pasta, dessert, bread and drinks   - all of that is left to the community.   Bring something to share!   We never know how many people will come!   We never know what they will bring!   Ginger always calls it a “loaves and fishes” event! ...
Read more
Image
Tuesday - Third Week of Easter Gospel – John 6:30-35 Knead to Know Cooking Class Over the past month or so, I gathered together a couple groups of my altar servers for a cooking class!   They learned not only my recipe for zucchini chocolate chip muffins but how to make them from scratch!   And, YES, they took home their finished products, or at least the muffins they didn’t wolf down as soon as they came out of the oven!   It was a fun, wonderful (and messy) experience!   Who knew that cracking eggs and measuring out flour could be so ‘untidy’.   But it brought home the lesson that, in order to get those yummy muffins, it takes time, effort and a heaping cup of patience. And it reminded me not only of their loyal service but those long months of Covid when they missed their Mass ministry.   So from time to time during the pandemic, I stayed in touch with them by dropping off goodie bags filled with chocolate chip cookies, zucchini chocolate ...
Read more