Do not hinder the children!

“People were bringing their little children to Him

to have Him touch them, but the disciples

were scolding them for this.”  - Mark 10:13

In 1887, at age nine, St Gemma Galgani, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart received the Love of her life in Holy Communion for the first time.  She innocently said to one of her friends afterwards, "I feel a fire burning here,"
and pointed to her breast. "Do you feel like that, too?" She couldn't fathom
that there was anything exceptional in her own experience. 

 

First Holy Communion at a Parish in France (March 1952)

 

Jesus says: "Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them" (Mark 10:14). He will not only touch the children but embrace and bless them, placing His nail-scarred hands on them (Mark 10:16). In contrast, Satan tries to keep children away from Jesus so his demons can molest and abuse them. What is Satan using now to keep children away from Jesus? 1. Entertainment — mass media, many popular websites, contemporary music, and especially TV, ignore Jesus, portray Christians in a distorted way, and promote a secular lifestyle.
2. Education — public education thinks it's compelled to ignore Jesus. Even Christian education is often so highly secularized that Jesus is often little more than a footnote. How many graduates of our Christian schools are true disciples of Jesus?
3. Religion — the average church is so far removed from authentic New Testament Christianity that it conceals rather than reveals Jesus.
4. Parents — many parents are so lax or confused about their responsibility as parents that they don't share their love for Jesus with their children and pray with them. They let their children be bombarded with anti-Christian propaganda and give Jesus the "silent treatment."

Reflection by John Hughes, Arizona