"I'm Telling Jesus on You!!!" And other things kids can tell us about Faith

Tales from the Road Series

"I'm telling Jesus on you!" he gruffly whispered into his younger sister's ear. She glared back at him with a defiant, mischievous smirk…but she did stop squirming around.

Apparently, the threat carried some weight.

A curious scene unfolded before the Blessed Sacrament at St. John the Evangelist Church, which had been converted into the Perpetual Adoration Chapel for the National Eucharistic Congress.

I had been sitting off to the side for a time when little children began haphazardly making their way to the foot of the altar, most at the prompting of their parents and a handful of Dominican Sisters…but a few others finding their way alone, much to their parents' exasperation.

It was quite a scene.

It was captivating to watch the little children gaze at the Blessed Sacrament in their innocent way. Many accepted by Faith that this was indeed Jesus Christ Present before them. Others, the younger ones, moved about as two-foot-tall people generally do—erratically.

One by one, they came.

Some sitting, some kneeling, but all studying intently the Blessed Sacrament before them.

Childlike Faith.

Not childish, but pure.

Full of trust, wonder, and awe.

Free from the weight of the world that rests upon the shoulders of us all as we cross into the world of adulthood.

Jesus 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."

So there I sat amidst the children at the foot of Christ under the towering church ceilings, watching and learning.

A few things that struck me.

There was a quirky little blond girl who only wanted to take the flowers in front of the altar and place them beneath the Blessed Sacrament…there was an urgency about her movements and a level of precision that you wouldn't expect from a toddler.

The woman who poured the fragrant oil on the feet of Jesus came to mind.

Giving freely, lovingly, and joyfully to Christ—a virtue among virtues, to be certain.

Then there was a boy who ran up to the altar and immediately fell prostrate on the cold, marble stairs…demonstrating a level of uninhibited piety not so common in us self-conscious grown-ups.

And, of course, there was the little boy who reprimanded his littler sister.

Perhaps he trusted that Jesus would bring justice or that he might 'fix' her behavior. But beneath it all, he saw Jesus as the authority—and apparently, so did she.

All of this brought back a memory from the Archdiocese of New York's Eucharistic Congress earlier this year. A relic of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, housed in a large wooden case beside the altar, drew a young girl who, weaving through the crowd, knelt and began to pray with fervor and intensity. Her words were known to God alone, but her Faith was as clear as day.

I'll leave it at this.

It's incredible how surrounded we are by Faith. And you don’t have to look too hard to find it.

It's in the actions of those whose hands and hearts help others, the Rosary Beads hanging from rear-view mirrors and the uncomplicated Faith of a young child...

A Simple Faith...

A Faith worth striving for…

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the storms of life, the trials, and distractions.

It’s easy to lose our way and overcomplicate things

But a child's simple Faith—a portrait of trust, love, piety, joy, and awe—is a beautiful reminder of Faith at its most basic.

Simply, Jesus and you.

We, the children of Our Father.

Perhaps we would do well to consider this and pray for the Grace to aspire to such Faith.

Such great Faith…

The Faith of a Child.

I wish to express my sincerest thanks to the crew at EWTN—Montse Alvarado, Shannon Mullen, and Kara West—for making these trips possible. Be sure to visit the National Catholic Register, Catholic News Agency, and all of the EWTN channels for continuing coverage of the Eucharistic Revival.