“At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: ‘Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them, and said: ‘Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.’”
St. Peter, over the last few chapters, has received a particular eminence, and seems to be the favorite amongst the Apostles, and so they come to Jesus asking in what true greatness lies in His eyes. When there is a question that arises, it is the duty of the bishops and Church leaders to go to Jesus with one heart, and when there is a question in your heart, Theophila, you need only go to the great ones that have come before: “In the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days prudence. With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding” (Job 12:12-13), for you need not start from the beginning, as the Church has been blooming and stretching out her branches for centuries, and so you can reach all the higher on the shoulders of those that have come before: “Thy stature is like to a palm tree” (Canticle 7:7). The more you come to know your Beloved, the more you will love Him, and so going to Him with any question, either by prayer, reading the Scriptures, or looking through the writings of the Doctors of the Church, or even better, a combination of the three, you only draw closer to Him: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8). Now, Jesus does not want one to try to separate from the flock, to strive in ambition and lose the bond of love and communion: “For the body also is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14), and He shows this and many other lessons by presenting them a child, rid of passion, filled with innocence, with no inhibition to acts of love, relying entirely on the one that looks after them and trusting in their goodness, and tells His Apostles to be like unto this child. It is a call to be childlike in these aspects, not in behavior, relying on the Father’s goodness like a precious child, while being wise in all manner of goodness: “I would have you to be wise in good, and simple in evil” (Romans 16:19). You are called to leave the cloak of evil deeds far behind, not even giving them a thought, that you may instead focus on painting the masterpiece of a well-cultivated love: “’Be of good comfort: arise, he calleth thee.’ Who casting off his garment leaped up, and came to him” (Mark 10:49-50). Children delightfully speak the truth in all things: “Putting away lying, speak ye the truth every man with his neighbour” (Ephesians 4:25), don’t harbor coldness but are free and joyful: “Then the children are free” (Matthew 17:25), when they’re injured are healed by a kiss and then happily go back to their activities: “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth” (Canticle 1:1), do not look at others as objects or irritations but as someone with whom they can share the things they enjoy: “Doth a candle come into be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick?” (Mark 4:21), and believe the things said to them: “Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Therefore, Jesus calls them to be converted from this ambition they felt and simply have the joy of children at play together. It is said in the wisdom of the Desert Fathers that one monk asked an elder why things ran smoothly in times past whereas they had seemed to grind to a halt in their time, and the elder replied that in times past, all the members of the community built each other up, warming each other with the beauty of love, whereas in the time in which they were speaking, there was much bitterness: “Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamour, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32), for one kind word from you may entirely rejuvenate the heart of another, inspiring them to keep going and bear their cross with a reinvigorated joy. St. Francis de Sales once encountered a nun attempting to attain love through humility, wherein he responded that he sought to attain humility through love, for love is given to you freely and need not be earned: “[Your Father] maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), and by attempting to make every person you encounter leave more loved and happier than when you found them, giving to all who ask of you, you will be brought exceedingly low, singing songs of joy the whole time: “Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise” (Psalm 32:3). Now, when someone receives you for the goodness that radiates from you, seeing your love and your life and wanting to join with you in your mission of love, they are not receiving you, but Christ in you, for the Divine Sculptor has made you into a beautiful lamp: “As the potter’s clay is in his hand, to fashion and order it” (Ecclesiasticus 33:13) and put His light inside: “If we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Therefore, it is a call to let the Most Holy Trinity adorn you with magnificence and many spiritual gifts: “God is able to make all grace abound in you; that ye always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8), many of which are returns to childlike innocence, while retaining the beautiful things you have cultivated in your life, that what is naturally good in you may be adorned with what is supernatural: “Thy neck as jewels. We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver” (Canticle 1:9-10). Let these things then shine, letting nothing inhibit your love of God and others, but put flowers of love in all things you do and every word you say, that you may walk with glee in the footsteps of your Father as His little child: “Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God” (1 John 3:2).