Sunday past, Jesus puts a child in the midst of the disciples. Children seem to have an easier time than adults with the God we cannot see (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
Mary told me about driving her three-year-old granddaughter to Sunday school. Mary said, “She was gibbering away and I’m not paying any attention, and all of a sudden her voice rises, ‘I can’t hear him.’ I asked, ‘Who were you expecting to hear?’ and she said, ‘God.’ I said, ‘And why would you expect to hear God?’ and she replied, ‘Well, I’m talking to him.'” Mary told her granddaughter that she would hear God in her heart and not out loud.
The weight of prophecy seemed to be too much for young Jeremiah; I am only a boy, he said. Yet the people did hear and listen to Jeremiah.
Where have you heard words of wisdom from a young person? Could you translate from their young vocabulary to a deeper statement or idea of faith? Mary’s granddaughter expected to hear God. We still can, too.
Thank you, God, for the gift of prayer. Help me hear you through my own heart or even through a child's heart. Amen. — SJ