Daily Gospel Reflection for February 25, 2017

Today's Gospel: Mark 10, 13-16

Have children and their noise ever bothered you in church?

We were in line to speak to our priest after Mass one Sunday, at a time when we had two toddlers under three. Ahead of us in line was an elderly lady who was clearly very upset. When her turn came to speak to Father, she let him have it. “Why can’t you tell the parents of those noisy brats to keep them quiet,” she ranted, “or tell them not to bring them to Mass. I couldn’t concentrate on my prayers or the words you were saying because of the noise.” Father gave her his best condescending pat on the back and mumbled some kind of sympathetic comment.

When we got to Father holding two noisy toddlers, Father chuckled and said, “I had to bite my tongue. What I wanted to say to her was, ‘That’s not a noise you’ll hear in hell.’”

Christ demanded that the children be brought to Him. Their unquestioning faith in Him is reflective of the faith He wants from all of us. It is the type of faith that will get us to Heaven. Children are open, eager and willing to soak up the Gospel like so many sunflowers facing the sun.

When we’re bothered by a child’s cry or a toddler speaking aloud during a quiet prayer, we need to remember that is the sound of the Kingdom of God. We should neither prevent children from being at Mass nor discouraging parents to bring them. My husband and I rarely used the nursery, when there was one, for our children. They grew to respect the Mass and even to love going to hear the Gospel. This is what Christ desires: That we bring our children to Him.

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Ponder:

Do you accept the Kingdom of God like a child or are you distracted by things that do not matter?

Pray:

Dear Lord, help me to accept Your Kingdom as a child. Let me feel Your embrace and Your blessing today.

Copyright 2017 Laurann Donahue

I am a homeschooling mom of five. I am a new DRE and a working mom, too. I love the Christ and His Church with a passion.