“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me (Mt 18:3-5).

The above response Jesus gave was to the disciple’s question regarding, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Jesus offered an unexpected response, as children had no esteem, honor, let alone greatness in the cultural realm of his time. Jesus was also not pointing out so much the innocence of children, but emphasizing that children were completely dependent on others for their very survival.

If we are to embark or stay on the journey that will lead us to the Kingdom of heaven, we need to do the same. Jesus is inviting us to give up our control, our apparent, self-sufficiency, and surrender all we are to God and place our dependence on him alone. We are to depend on God as would an infant or young child depends on his or her parents.

Very young children also have not developed a defensive filter and they say what is on their mind, often with precise insights! How often do we do the opposite by automatically responding in a defensive manner, thinking about how we will be received or fearing an ulterior motive from the question? Jesus has taught us that our yes is to be yes, and our no is to be no, and anything more is from the evil one (cf. Mt 5:37). As his disciples, Jesus calls us to be humble, to admit to our sins, our mistakes, to confess, correct, learn from them, and so mature in the spiritual life.

We grow in humility when we depend on God and place our trust in him. Doing so, we will experience the truth and see through our own rationalizations for accepting apparent goods instead of that which is truly good. Having turned away from the false promises and turned toward the truth, we will mature and begin to discern between what St. Ignatius of Loyola calls the competition of goods – choosing between those things that are indeed good, but accepting only those that align with God’s will for our unique station in life.

Trusting in God for everything and depending completely on him will also make our lives much simpler because we will no longer be chasing after that which is really not helpful or healthy. We will also come to accept that what we have, is a gift from God. From this place of gratitude, we will experience more peace and more rest, or as St. Jane de Chantal’s offers: “How blessed is the person who, in tranquility of heart, lovingly maintains the sacred sense of God’s presence! For this person’s union with divine Goodness will continue growing perpetually, though imperceptibly, and will fill her whole spirit with its infinite sweetness…”

Photo: When we allow ourselves to be childlike we can also embrace wonder again!

Link for the readings of the Mass for Tuesday, August 12, 2025