A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[176] Isa 11:1-10 Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 Luke 10:21-24

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” (Lk 10:21)

Every time I go home for break, I can expect a few things: being woken up early, being hugged and climbed on, and being called upon to play “House”, “Ballerina”, and “Princess” multiple times a day. Not your idea of a typical break, I know, but that’s how I spend most of mine with my little sisters. While that tends to get tiring after a while, today’s gospel made me realize what a gift my little sisters give me each time I visit.

An invitation to be childlike.

In college, and in the real world I presume, things like necessity, practicality, discipline, and professionalism often stifle creativity, imagination, and the lightness of heart we remember from childhood. It’s unbelievably easy to get caught up in the paper that’s due tomorrow, the presentation due next week, or the millions of things that clamor for our attention each day.

Is it any wonder, then, that we can feel so far away from God sometimes, simply because we have so many “important” things taking up our time, energy, and thoughts?

Each time I go home, my sisters show me how to be a child again. When we walk somewhere together, we don’t just walk to reach a destination, we walk to soak up the day. Often my sisters pick up leaves, flowers, or little rocks and sticks as we walk along; they remind me of the wonder and beauty in the little things all around us, particularly in nature.

When we play, they invite me to leave the parameters of my usual thinking and jump into the realm of imagination, where we become ballerinas, fairy princesses, or explorers. And when I babysit, my sisters trust that I will take good care of them while our parents are out. They never worry about whether I’ll forget to feed them lunch, or whether I can help them if they get hurt. They know that I love them and will do everything I can for them until our parents return.

To them, every moment is a chance to experience the fullness of life, to live creatively and vibrantly, and to be awed by the beauty and complexity of the world all around them. And probably without thinking about it, they invite the richest experience of love into their hearts by fully trusting that my parents and I will take care of everything they need.

Jesus invites us to live like little children, to step out of our worlds of academia, work, and adulthood, and appreciate his beauty and majesty in the little things all around us. He teaches us that it is in having the faith of a child that we begin to understand and experience the depth of the Father’s love for us, as much as we humanly can, of course. His is a love that surrounds us through the creativity of nature, the quiet and simplicity of feeling small, and the assuredness that he will provide for our every need. He is our Father and we are his children.