Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Mt. 19:14)
My son is a sweet, kind two-and-a-half-year-old who loves going to church, especially Holy Mass. He asks multiple times a week if he can go. When he is told he is able to, he runs to get his shoes and is out the door before anyone else.
At home, he loves to sing songs such as “Lift High the Cross” and “Joy to the World.” He can often be heard reciting prayers, especially as he sings or talks himself to sleep for nap or bedtime. He is the first to run and grab his rosary in the evening and was attentive for the duration of the Stations of the Cross last time we prayed it together. One day, I found him locked in my room, silently kneeling with his hands folded.
At church, he is learning so much through imitation. Signing himself with holy water, genuflecting, kneeling, standing, sitting. He loves kneeling and praying to Jesus and Mary in front of their statues. He has learned a number of the responses and prayers for Mass and will sometimes turn to me to ask questions about what is being said. Occasionally, he will even ask about something he heard in the homily days later.
But he is also two. Which means he does not have an hour-long attention span, nor even half an hour some days. And sometimes it is a trade-off between movement and silence: either he can be contained and will be loud, or he will roam in relative silence. I understand these can be distracting, as they are definitely distracting for me, but his growing love for God and the Mass and the people he meets there far outweigh the negatives. There are times when I want to cry from frustration for not being able to control him when he’s having a rough day, but there are also times I want to cry from joy and love when I see my small child kneeling in front of Jesus and Mary reciting his prayers. Because nothing is more important to me than the souls of my children.
When Jesus said to let the little children come to Him, He did not qualify the statement. He did not say “when they are quiet.” He did not say “when they are better behaved.” He did not say “when they are older, understand more, cry less . . .” I have to imagine the children in question were in some way disruptive, or they would not have been chased off in the first place. And Jesus welcomed them in that moment. He let the moment become “messy” and loud with the cries and laughter of children. He didn’t even tell them to wait until He was finished teaching the others, as if the children being with Him was of secondary importance to the education of the adults.
We are all His children. And we are all welcomed in every moment. With our messes in tow, with all our drama. We may not be overtly dramatic as a two-year-old throwing a tantrum. But we are also not told to wait until we have ourselves pulled together, can focus better, understand more, pray with greater intensity, etc.
Our children’s souls are just as important to Jesus and Our Heavenly Father as ours. Their lack of control and understanding does not lessen them. In fact, we are encouraged to be simple and loving as they are. And it is our responsibility—the parents’ first and foremost, but also each and every one of us—to guide these precious and vulnerable souls to God.
This includes allowing them to be in the presence, the real and Holy presence, of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. If being in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is good for our souls, it is good for theirs.
It is not our understanding or our capabilities that gives meaning and value to the Holy Mass or Eucharistic Adoration. We participate with more understanding than a toddler, yet in the measure of Truth and understanding, we hardly surpass them. If St. Thomas Aquinas, a renowned Doctor of the Church, could refer to his writings as “straw” (Christian History Institute), then I must certainly acknowledge my lack of understanding. There have been times I have been tempted to think, while hearing my son talk about the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, that “he is only two, he doesn’t really understand what he’s saying” in a dismissive way. Then I realize: neither do I. It is such a great mystery for all of us. We accept it and believe on faith, because Jesus told us it was true. A child is capable of that kind of acceptance as well. It is wise not to take too much pride in our understanding and abilities.
Recognizing that God is someone can help us realize that children are just as capable of forming a relationship with Him as we are. Before they are even born, children are capable of loving and being loved. Anyone who spends time around children cannot doubt their capacity to love. Let us introduce our children to God, the living God, early and often. Let us do all we can to provide opportunities for that relationship to grow, trusting God that He wants to be with them and to have a deep and meaningful relationship with them and that He will come.
Our children also encounter Jesus through their interactions with each of you. We ARE the Church, the body of Christ here on Earth. Never underestimate the effect a word or a glance can have on the person in front of you. We are meant to love the person in front of us in order to love God. That holds true even if the person in front of you is being disruptive or distracting. Do not miss these opportunities to love God because you think they are distracting you from prayer and worship.
Please know, when you see small children and their parents struggling during Mass, we are doing the best we can. We are introducing our children to the God we love, modeling good behaviors for them, managing other behaviors, and trying to worship and pray with you. Please do not make this an unwelcoming environment. As I mentioned before, every look and word can have a huge impact, whether positive or negative. So let us strive to love one another. When a child is interrupting your prayer, praise God that that little soul is there and see it as an opportunity to sacrifice and love in the way that Jesus is asking you to in that moment. Let us strive to have patience and love one another.
In Christ’s love,
A mother and fellow pilgrim
Photo by Danique Godwin on Unsplash