The Entire Thought

The Importance of Children and Childhood

Jesus placed immense value on the dignity of children. In last week’s gospel he identified a child with himself and God the Father when he said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name welcomes me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me” (Mark 9:37). In this week’s gospel Jesus considers the purity of children to be virtually sacrosanct. He said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and her were thrown into the sea.” Let us never underestimate the power of our example, whether good or bad, upon the children in our community. Children grow up to make life-long choices based on their significant childhood experiences.
This is well demonstrated in the family of Linda Eatinger. In the story below which she submitted in honor of the Year for Priests, she tells of how her brother first experienced “the call.”

When we were little, we did not play Cowboys and Indians or Hide and Seek; we played Church. Joe, my oldest brother, was the priest. I, of course, was the nun who played the organ and sang the church songs. My younger brother was the altar boy. The altar was my mom’s ironing board and we made hosts out of bread with a cookie cutter and used grape juice for the wine. Joe won a trophy in a baby contest and it was used for the chalice and he had a red cape for the priest’s vestment. We played the Mass in Latin!!
My brother grew up and was ordained a priest in June 1977 for the Archdiocese of Denver. Father Joe witnessed the wedding of Dale and I two weeks after he was ordained and, later, the weddings of our brothers and sister. He baptized all of his nieces and nephews. He said a real Mass for our parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2000. Father Joe witnessed the sacrament of Matrimony for my daughter, Katie, and her husband five years ago. I was so proud of both of them. My brother Joe passed away April 25, 2007, after a three-month battle with cancer. I miss playing Church with him.

Linda Eatinger

The wonderful thing about“playing Church” is that whether we are children or adults, those being purified or those already sanctified, we are all still part of the Church. Jesus calls us to help each other on our common journey from being children of our parents to being children of God. The childhood games are not that different from the adult reality: We all have different roles to play within the Church, roles into which God is calling us to grow. He has bestowed on each one of us such dignity that we should treat each other as Jesus. God is calling us all back to our original innocence, the innocence of children who trust God completely and who freely abandon themselves to play in His garden of love.

Fr. Ernest Bayer

Entire list of Thoughts While Pastoring