Listening with Humility

By Maria M. Johnson

I am currently fasting from the internet and social media. I’ve long known it to be an echo chamber that through selective follows does nothing more than reinforce whatever my opinion du jour happens to be.

Most of the time that’s fine. However, in matters of faith, it can get dicey. We are called to obey the Truth as taught by the traditions of our faith and the Magisterium of the Church.

We also have scripture, and not only the word of God as revealed to the writers of the Old and New Testaments, but the words of Christ in the many discourses recorded in the New Testament and Gospels.

I’ve long experienced the wisdom of this living tome that throughout history speaks to us in our time. Today’s Gospel is such a powerfully relevant reading.

Jesus teaches us three important things in this brief Gospel. First, he begins by praising the Father, from whom all things come. He gives us immediate context for everything we have and everything we are. The theme is implicit: thanksgiving and a spirit of gratitude.

Then, Jesus points out what I think is the difficult task for those of us caught up in the world: that God reveals the Truth to the childlike.

This sometimes comes as a surprise or at least some misunderstanding. To be childlike here is not an exhortation to be childish or immature, but rather, to receive with humility (and gratitude) like a child receives a meal or accepts the shirt put over her head when being dressed. Children accept all the actions performed for their well-being because they trust (and love) the parent performing these loving actions!

Jesus tells us the Father is our source of Good, that we should receive with childlike openness, and finally, that this Good News comes from Him through the Father!

Let us embrace the childlike humility that gives us the ears to listen. Amen.

About the author:

Maria Morera Johnson is the award-winning and best-selling author of My Badass Book of Saints and Super Girls and Halos. Her new book, Our Lady of Charity: How a Cuban Devotion to Mary Helped Me Grow in Faith and Love, is a spiritual memoir. Johnson is an international speaker, retreat leader, and contributor to various Catholic publications.