“Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven…”

The little child that Jesus mentions didn’t have pride to stop him from coming to Jesus. He humbly went near Jesus when he was called because he knew who Jesus was. He was ready to listen and to follow.  Jesus wants us to be like children if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven. He does not want our pride to get in the way of our coming closer to him. He wants us to listen and to follow what he tells us to do. As we grow older, to listen to the Word of God is not easy because it does not only mean to lend it an attentive ear, but also to open our heart to it and to put it into practice.  “To open our heart” means to continue growing spiritually to know Jesus more and to follow him more closely.  Putting it into practice is even harder because we have become worldly and have our set ways of doing things. 

Children are accepting, forgiving and open to love. St. Jane Frances de Chantal had the virtues of a little child. When her husband was killed in a hunting accident after seven years of marriage, she fell into depression. For the sake of her four children’s future, she was forced to live with her fierce father-in-law and his wicked housekeeper. Through her spiritual guide, she listened to the Word of God and with his guidance, she found peace and happiness when she learned to accept her situation. In spite of her father-in-law and his housekeeper, she became cheerful at home. She ultimately forgave the man who killed her husband and even became the godmother of his child. 

Like St Jane Frances, we also experience tragedies and storms in our life but if we open our hearts to God and learn to forgive like a little child, we will find happiness and peace.  St. Frances believed that the secret to happiness was in “throwing ourselves into God as a little drop of water into the sea, and losing ourselves in the Ocean of the Divine Goodness.”