Spending time with our children is like bringing God’s love home

May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit.

It is 14th August 2021. We reflect on Joshua 24:1-13 and the Gospel of Matthew 19:3-12.

We celebrate the memorial of St Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr.  Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar. When the Nazi guards selected 10 people to be starved to death in punishment, Kolbe volunteered to die in place of a stranger.  He believed and taught:  “The most deadly poison of our time is indifference.”  The vulnerable, the voiceless, the marginalized need our helping hand not by the mere assurance of words but by the valour of actions.   What do we do when we hear feeble and helpless cries and owes of the poor around?

The readings of the day speak about the commitment to the Lord by the families especially children.

John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States used to write a daily diary.  Having spent a day with his son Farooq Adams, he wrote it down, “I went fishing with my son and I wasted this day.”  The same day his son Farooq Adams also wrote in his diary; But, completely different one! Here is what Farooq Adams wrote in his diary: “One day I went fishing with my father in a nearby pond. I will never forget the day I fished with my dad. This is the most memorable day of my life.”

Yes, spending time with children is the liturgy of the family as we give importance to the liturgy of the Church.  How often we bring our children closer to the Lord?  Are we afraid to bring our families and children to Jesus and the Church?

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” How many families can consciously say such bold words of total surrender to the Lord?  We too are repeating the same mistakes as the people of Israel by going after petty gods we carry around secretly.   These days we too have our petty gods in the form of electronic gadgets augmenting all the intimate space supposed to be spent with the spouse and children.

In the Gospel, Jesus blesses the children and invites us to have the mind of a child in approaching God.  We can consider children as distractions, yet Jesus prefers them to be near Him.  Spending time with our children is like bringing God’s love home.  Though some people might call it a waste of time, yet it really makes the children feel included, celebrated and treasured in their presence.

When we were young, we too were so good and generous to the Lord.  As we have grown up, we have weakened our relationship with the Lord in giving extreme importance to trivial matters of life. We too all are children of God who need to have that mindset in order to experience the Kingdom of God.

Faith in God is more than mere comprehension of concepts and critical thinking. Faith is the expression of love towards the other as we experience the love of God.

May we truly take a call in responding like Joshua and bringing children closer to Jesus and the Church.  Have a lovely day.  God bless you.