Little Benedictines

St. Benedicts Church, Cambridge OH. This is the parish connected to the school.

 "Therefore it shall be night to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God." -Micah 3:6-7

    This troubling pair of verses is addressed from God, through the prophet Micah, to the prophets who lead Israel astray by only speaking the messages that made them liked by the people, instead of speaking the messages of God. God tells these prophets, men who have been uniquely chosen by God to hear and share His words, that their gifts will be taken away from them for their failure to proclaim His true prophecies. 

    The role of prophecy, then, will be given to little children. To explain what I mean, I would like to tell you a story: I recently had my first day of school.

    I was 100% homeschooled my entire childhood, to the point where I can't remember a single time I even stepped foot in a classroom until college. A few days ago, I had my first day of school as I shadowed my seminarian brother and my vocations director as they taught at St. Benedict's Grade School and Middle School in Cambridge, Ohio. The day afterwards (my second day of school), I had the opportunity to teach second and third grade religion class with the guidance of my brother.

    Along with being incredibly fun (and incredibly exhausting-- I can't think of any job that requires more constant, diverse, and active awareness then teaching a classroom full of antsy eight year old's,) I was fascinated by a few of the ways the kids would act.

    First, the personalities of the kids were completely pure. Usually children are just barely learning enough self-awareness to realize that they exist on the same level as other people, so they haven't learned many of the methods that adults use to fit in with the rest of common culture. The kids were hilarious to watch and listen to because they did nothing that held back their personality. The teachers could pretty accurately generalize the personalities of all the kids-- the crier, the complainer, the prideful genius, the mouse, the goody-two-shoes-- because the kids hadn't figured out the poker face that adults learn to put on if they want to "succeed" in the workings of the world.

    Second, the kids had the capacity for very strong instincts and concrete understanding of morality. One of the teachers told me about how much sense it made to the kids for the Israelites to slaughter some of the tribes in their midst who sacrificed babies to idols. Those people are killing babies? That needs to be stopped! God said to destroy them completely? Let's waste no time in doing it now! A topic which, for adults, requires more time to understand (often rightfully so; we've spent longer seeing our own sins, and we also want to be prudent and not make rash decisions), very quickly comes to a conclusion in the mind of a child who's innate moral understanding is untouched by the constant confusion of Satan.

    Thirdly, the kids could be very surprising as they picked up what their teachers laid down. Listening to the stories of my brother, he explained how disheartening it could be when lessons about the faith would be passionately given by him, but the kids seemed unfazed. However, God would support him by giving him moments when the kids would unexpectedly understand lessons more deeply than he could have imagined, or would be putting the prayer he taught into practice with complete trust in the Lord. With innocent trust that frightens the mind of an adult, the kids would hear a difficult lesson, ask their questions, and then believe completely that would they have heard is correct. Even when the kids were rowdy and distracted, there would be moments in which they would be awestruck by the truths of the faith, and the love of the Lord for them. 

    Being a teacher of children is being a missionary. Truly, you are going to foreign lands of childhood to present the love of Christ to a people who have never heard it before. The field of the young is the most important missionary territory in the world; after all, it is found in every part of the world, and it is constantly forming the world.

    Because of this, Children are a vital strategic target for Satan. They are some of the most vulnerable of the world, and Satan knows that if he destroys children, he can destroy the world. The teachers at St. Benedict's school know that the school will be continually attacked by Satan, who is trying to do anything possible to bring the focus of learning off of God, and instead into confusion. Through the intercession of Saint Benedict, a patron both of exorcism and of schooling, the teachers have been fighting hard to defend the children against the attacks of the evil one. Many victories have occurred through the grace of God, for: 

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" -Romans 8:31

    God is defending His children. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18 how children must be our example for entering the kingdom of heaven, and that there are severe consequences for those who hurt a child. We too have a duty to join in prayer to defend children, born and unborn, against the attacks of Satan. Pray! Pray for their defense, not only for their sakes, but even for our own. We need the hope and example of children if we are to be true prophets of the Lord. Only if we are children can we receive the voice of the Lord with complete trust, and share it with the world with no stains of pride, for we speak the words of our Father in Heaven, not our own words. God will take His words away from those who are too self-centered and self-sufficient to rely on Him and to trust in His providence, and instead will give those words to little children; to those who only wish to love His words, and love Him. That is all we need, and He will take care of us.

    Mary, Mother of God, be our mother also. Teach us wisdom, teach us love-- teach us to be children of God.

    May Jesus, the little child of Mary, teach us how to suffer in this world for the sake of great love for God. The Father does not abandon His children, but glorifies them in His compassionate love.

    "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you." -Isaiah 49:15