Reflection for Sunday January 18 Feast of the Sto. Nino: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. 

Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

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Reflection:

Have we ever paused and gazed at the face of a child, and then looked at the face of a grown-up? Which one fills our hearts with greater joy? Almost instinctively, we would say: it is the face of a child—simple, trusting, and pure.

In the Gospel, Jesus reveals to us a beautiful and challenging secret for entering the Kingdom of Heaven: we must become like children—childlike. Why? Because children possess a purity of heart, a simplicity of intention, and an innocence that sees the world not through suspicion, but through trust. No wonder Jesus tells us that being childlike is the key to God’s Kingdom.

But if we are honest with ourselves, can we really say that we are childlike in the purity of our thoughts and in our freedom from sin? Who among us can claim that our thoughts are as pure as a child’s? Who among us can say that we are without sin? None of us—because we are all sinners. We stumble and fall through our words, our actions, and even our thoughts.

And yet, this is not a reason to lose hope. It is not too late for us to return to Jesus and become childlike once more before Him. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, He continually invites us to humble ourselves—to come before Him like a child who runs to his parents with complete trust and abandon the moment he sees them coming home.

This is the heart Jesus longs to see in us: a heart that does not pretend, a heart that does not hide, a heart that simply trusts and surrenders.

 So today, let us ask ourselves: are we willing to let go of our pride, our self-reliance, and our excuses, and run back to the Lord with the simple, trusting heart of a child? — Marino J. Dasmarinas