Saturday of Week 7 Year 2

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us: "‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’" Why would Jesus consider a little child as being part of the Kingdom of God?

Children are seen as weak and vulnerable in the eyes of society. Yet such weakness and vulnerability is seen as important elements for one to be part of the Kingdom of God. When one is weak and vulnerable, one would trust God more, just as a little child trusts his or her parents for care and security. So when we look at the sort of qualities a little child has, we can begin to understand what Jesus is trying to tell us. Jesus is telling us that we should become like little children, always depending on God's providence. When we become like little children, we learn to let go of our pride, ego, and prejudices, and grow closer towards being part of His Kingdom.

Saturday of Week 6 Year 2

One of the challenges that some of us face is to control our tongue and know when to speak and when to keep quiet. When we see someone doing something which we perceive to be wrong, we have the strong urge to talk to another person about it (in other words, to gossip with someone else), or swiftly condemn the person with so called righteous indignation. However, how many of us are willing to take the trouble to check the facts carefully, and if really found to be true beyond reasonable doubt, are willing to approach the person to address the issue? Or do we conveniently lash out or condemn the person, thinking that we are right in doing so?

In today's reading, St. Paul cautions us: "So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it does great things. Think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a whole wicked world in itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation. Wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish can all be tamed by man, and often are; but nobody can tame the tongue – it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison. We use it to bless the Lord and Father, but we also use it to curse men who are made in God’s image: the blessing and the curse come out of the same mouth. My brothers, this must be wrong."

From the reading, we can clearly see that the tongue may be tiny, but it can cause a lot of damage to oneself and to others, if we do not learn to control it properly and speak only when and where necessary. May we strive towards keeping our tongue under continuous check, so that we may use it properly and correctly to build ourselves and others, and give God the glory.