Jesus reveals for the second time that contrary to the popular expectation of a glorious Messiah, he will be handed over to men and will suffer greatly. As this saying is still hidden from the disciples, they still think as worldly people do, and so they argue among themselves which of them is the greatest.

To impress on them that the Kingdom of heaven is not about aspiring to be number one, Jesus presents to them a child, who in the Jewish society does not count for anything until he or she becomes of age: the child depends on his/her parents for sustenance, guidance, and protection.

To receive the Kingdom of heaven as a child means to be open to receive God’s grace with thankfulness, to be without guile, to be meek and humble. Like a humble, innocent, and trustful child, St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), declares to the world her discovery of the treasure of great price that is grounded in Jesus’ words: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven” (v 3).

She explains her spirituality of the “little way”: it is to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God as a little child expects everything from its father, to be disquieted about nothing. She shares, “Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God… Do all that you do with love.”

In prayer, she expresses her place in the Church: “Certainly I have found my place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love and in this I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.”

“Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!”

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.