Let the children come...

Jesus said, "Let the children come to me..." ~Matthew 19:14

When small children are with their father, they do not keep asking questions, nor do they constantly ask for something else; they may be a little better behaved than usual in their playing; they tell him what they are doing, and the4y have the feeling, which is probably never completely expressed, that the tower they are building will turn out taller with a grown-up nearby than if they were alone. Then they ask their father to tell them how things were before, and they never tire of finding out everything they can grasp; they want to become like him; they look for points of contact, make comparisons; they try in their very modest way to imitate their father a little.

Father, give us the grace to become like these little children. Do not let us constantly disturb the gift of Your presence with our demands. Let us lean instead to come closer and closer to You in the silence of prayer and to let You work, so that through You the task You give us may come into being and flourish.

~Adrienne von Speyr in Lumina and New Lumina