A friend of mine once preached on this Gospel. As he read the words of Jesus, “Let the little children come to me,” a little girl suddenly leapt up from her pew and stood beside him at the ambo. Unsure of what to do, he gently patted her on the head and said, “Thank you, you can go back to your parents now,” and off she went. It was a sweet and touching moment—until we realize that this little girl may have been the only one in the church that day who truly embodied the heart of a Christian.
A Christian is one who obeys the words of Christ. In her innocence and simplicity, when the child heard Jesus speak, she acted. She didn’t hesitate or worry about making a scene, embarrassing her family, or suffer in any way. She simply heard God’s call—“Come to me”—and went. There wasn’t even a second thought about what would happen when she got there. Implicitly, she trusted that God would speak again and everything would be fine, because whatever God calls us to is always good.
This is the way Jesus calls us to live. It is why He presents children as models of the heavenly life. So often, our hearts are divided. We hear God’s voice—whether during Mass or in the midst of our daily lives—but we hesitate. We weigh His invitation against the demands and distractions of life. We ask ourselves, “Is it worth it?” Do I really want to give up this habit, this comfort, or this relationship to follow the path God has laid before me? But this hesitation is absurd. It is not a stranger offering us an uncertain promise—it is the infinite God who offers us eternal life and boundless joy. Nothing in this world can compare to what God offers, so there is nothing to deliberate. We need only to accept His call and trust in His providence. Children understand this. They let go of the supposed complexities of life and follow.
We can do the same—if we pray. The world constantly clamors for our attention, but it is not all-powerful. God is. He alone can free us from the distractions that crowd our minds. He alone can grant us the simplicity and purity of heart we need. But we must ask. In prayer, the soul encounters God directly and is transformed. Touched by His presence, the soul comes to know Him, to love Him, and to desire Him above all else. The more the soul is immersed in prayer, the more everything else fades away, until only God remains—the one thing necessary.
“Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Jesus means what He says. It’s time to begin praying with the heart of a child.