19th Week, Saturday, Aug 19: St. John Eudes
Joshua 24:14-29 / Matthew 19:13-15
Joshua confronts the people; "Decide
whom you will serve."
A man named Sam went to consult a doctor about his ailing health. The doctor checked him carefully and said, "Sam, the best thing you can do is go on a diet, give up smoking, and start exercising daily." Sam turned and said, "Doc, I don't deserve the best. What's the second-best thing I can do?"
When the point of that story sinks in, we realize how much we are all like the Israelites in today's reading. We too know what we should do, but we don't do it. We vacillate and we compromise. We lack the courage and the discipline to "bite the bullet."
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Is there something in our lives right now that we are compromising? "Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Skill is knowing how to do it. Virtue is doing it." Thomas Jefferson
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At the occasion of the entrance of God’s people into the Promised Land, Joshua convokes them to renew the covenant. They must realize that by doing so, they opt for God, they make a decisive choice, and they commit themselves to God and his kingdom. Haven’t we taken the same option at baptism? We are bound to the God of the covenant, a God of tender love. To serve him is a response of love given in freedom.
Few people today take Jesus’ words seriously when he says: “To such as these little children the kingdom of heaven belongs.” Many, for example, discredit the spirituality of the little way of St. Therese of Lisieux. We speak of adulthood in Christ, of a human and spiritual maturity. And yet, true adulthood consists in what God wanted us to be in Jesus Christ, in being receptive to the Gospel. To the disciples, who have no use for children and who want to cut the Gospel to the measure of their petty ideas, Jesus holds up the child not as a sign of innocence but as a model of openness to God and to the Good News of his Son. It is the entrance ticket to the kingdom.
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A childlike trust
Jesus delighted in the children and demonstrated that God's love is ample for everyone, including children. He does not care about transgressing the norms that prevent the little ones from being appreciated and received into the fraternity. Jesus introduces a new way of seeing and appreciating relationships among people. Taking up the cause of the excluded and the little ones, he defends them. It is impressive to look at the Gospel accounts about Jesus' attitude towards children and the little ones.
Children have a lot to teach us. According to Jesus, children are not only to play a central role in the community's life, but adults can also learn from them. It is to such as these children, Jesus says, that the kingdom of God belongs. In order to enter God's kingdom, we should respond to the gift of the gospel with the trust and openness that children have.
The majority of adults believe that they know more than children. Yet young children typically see things as they are; they are not yet blinded by the messages of our grasping culture. We pray that we learn to know our limits. We pray for the young to grow strong in faith. There is no one who is unimportant to God. He comes to each person individually and uniquely that he might touch them with his healing love and power.
This Gospel text also indicates that the parents have to show the good spiritual instincts in their responsibility. This is what Pope Francis said: “‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them and went away” (Mt 19:13-15). How beautiful is this trust of the parents and Jesus’ response! How I would like this passage to become the norm for all children! It is true that by the grace of God children in grave difficulty are often given extraordinary parents, ready and willing to make every sacrifice. But these parents should not be left alone! We should accompany them in their toil, and alsooffer them moments of shared joy and light-hearted cheer, so that they are not left with only routine therapy” (Audience 8 April 2015)
They have to bring their children to Jesus. They need to teach them to pray, to go to Mass and above all, to learn that Jesus truly is their best friend with whom they can share everything. It is the greatest gift to give to children.
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Let us Pray: Lord our God, you love all that is little and humble.
As a child seeks refuge in the arms of its parents, may our strength be to let you carry us. Teach us through little children not to boast of anything we have or anything we have done but to be open to and receptive of your grace. For you are our greatness and richness through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen
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Saint John Eudes
Feast day August 19
John, born in Normandy, France, in 1601, was educated by Jesuits. He became a priest and joined a religious community, the Oratorians. Using his gifts as a preacher and confessor, he gave parish missions. He saw that parish priests needed support in becoming men of prayer and action. He held conferences for them in which he outlined their duties. Later, John started his own society of priests called the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. The members were dedicated to promoting good seminary training, which would form Christlike priests.
Christian love impelled John to feel compassion for the women who were trying to escape prostitution. He wanted a place for them to live, a refuge from their former way of life. To serve the women in these refuges, he established a society of religious women called the Congregation of Our Lady of the Refuge. It now serves the needs of troubled girls around the world.
Saint John Eudes has been called the Apostle of the Sacred Heart because he revived devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He died in France in 1680.
