Why Jesus said ‘Let the children come to me’
Jan. 21—Feast of the Sto. Niño
Readings: Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 98, Response: The Lord is King; let the many isles be glad; Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18; Gospel—Mark 10:13-16The Feast of the Sto. Niño is a very special feast for us Filipinos. Historically, it is the oldest devotion in our Catholic faith, with the Sto. Niño de Cebu as the first Catholic religious image to arrive in the Philippines, together with the Cross of Magellan.
The Sto. Niño, Our Blessed Mother and the Señor Nazareno are the three biggest devotions of our church and people.
The feast and the Gospel for today remind us of the importance given to children by the Lord. Jesus loved and valued the little children.
The importance of loving and valuing children will be our first point for reflection. The second point will focus on championing some specific advocacies for children. The third point is the importance of the family and the community.
Championing children
The Lord gave a very clear and powerful message on loving and valuing children: “‘Let the children come to Me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.’ Then He embraced the children and blessed them, placing His hands on them.” (cf. Mark 10:13-16)
Our national hero, Dr. José P. Rizal considered them, the youth, the hope of the nation.
Mahatma Gandhi said: “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children … The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children.”Nelson Mandela powerfully summarizes it: “The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.”
Rizal, Gandhi and Mandela echoed across time and cultures the love and value Jesus gave to children. It is an eternal precept on how we are to regard and care for them.
This brings me to my second point, championing some specific advocacies for children, namely, proper nutrition, education and safeguarding.
The problem of stunting in the Philippines remains unchanged for several decades now. Close to 30 percent of children below 5 years old are stunted due to malnutrition of the mother during pregnancy, and subsequently, the child.
The body and the brain are stunted because of this, which leaves the child with a lifelong disability. Before 5 years old it is possible to reverse this if addressed early or mitigated, at the very least.
Concrete action
Education remains a basic tool for and a basic human right of the children to achieve their full human potential, including becoming active and productive members of society.
Mandela put it so clearly: “Educating all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances at building better lives.”
In March 2019, Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter on the protection of minors and vulnerable persons. Dioceses all over the world are putting in place safeguarding policies and programs because of this letter.
There are many parallel initiatives by the church, the state and nongovernmental organizations to protect children from various abuses like human trafficking and bullying.
All three advocacies require a whole nation’s approach for us to address these. First, prevent the negative effects and then reverse toward what is ideal.A key element in this is our third point for reflection, the family as the foundation of all of these efforts.
Building our families into safe and sacred spaces remains a priority, ensuring a caring environment where, according to Chris Lowney, there is greater love than fear and opportunities for people to achieve their full human potential.
On the Feast of the Sto. Niño, I pray we will seriously reflect on these points. May our prayer and reflection, our celebration inspire us to take concrete action to love and value the children of our society, the children of the world. —Contributed INQ
