DAILY HOMILIES #Children

Jesus does not condemn the desire to be great, instead, he brought a little child into the midst of the disciples to illustrate that true greatness is not really about lording it over others but serving them and bringing oneself down in humility.

Silence helps to refine our hearts. For instance, we tend to listen more when we are silent, we tend to hear more and understand life better, we get to see the bigger picture and we get to look beyond our immediate problems. If God forced Zachariah to be silent, how much more would we profit if we decide to embark on silence voluntarily.

Our Gospel passage today contains a lot of names; these are the ancestral line of Judah. Not every person in this genealogy was outstanding, in fact, some of them were terrible sinners who did unthinkable things. What does this tell us? That God can work through anybody. Stop looking down on yourself. Every saint had a past and every sinner has a future. Say Yes to God today and let your past pass.

No matter how difficult it may be to love and honour your parents (and elders), bear in mind that it is part of what it means to follow the narrow door that leads to eternal salvation.

You may spend huge sums of money educating your children but if you fail to nourish them spiritually or fail to teach them how to pray, you could end up deforming them. It is sad to note that some parents go as far as offering bribes just so that their children can receive baptism and other sacraments without going through the rigors of catechism class. Whether we like it or not, a bulk of our problems in Africa arise as a result of the absence of morality among our populace. We have lost a sense of what is right and wrong. Our leaders do not think is it wrong to steal or divert funds meant for development. People are respected today not according to their contribution to society but according to the size of their pockets.

Respect Children. In fact, fear children. Jesus is saying to us, if you cannot respect the innocence and purity of children, at least, consider the fact that no child is without his or her angels sent by God to guard and guide them. Yes, there are invisible spirits around every child working all round the clock for their good. Be good to children and you will be blessed by their angels. If you want to experience the power of children, gather little children together, go down on your knees and ask them to pray for you.

God listens to all but that of a righteous man, that of an innocent child, that of a pure heart is different! In fact, as Jesus said: “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel passage “Let the children come to me.” This is a very important instruction. Allow your children to come to Jesus. Never assume that they would not understand. Come to think of it, if your children can understand cartoons (which they often consume excessively), what would stop them from understanding Bible Stories?

Let us teach our children to develop rich soils by cultivating in them the virtues of trusting in God, the discipline of hard work, the willingness to follow the more difficult route and the beauty of patience.

“No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven.” (John 3:27). How often do we remember this? How often do we ministers of God remember that we must decrease and allow God to increase in the hearts of our flock? How easy it is to hear terms such as: “My ministry, my altar, my church”, “I am in charge here.” etc.

Growing up as kids, we read a lot of story books which ended with the phrase: “And they lived happily ever after.” Most of us often make the mistake of assuming that after the wedding ceremony, everything suddenly falls into place by itself. This is not true. If your family is to be holy, then get ready to do the hard work; be prayerful, fear God, live a virtuous life, be faithful to your marital vows, love your spouse to the end. Remember, no one can give what he or she does not have.