19 July 2022 · 2022-07 newsletter
The title above is actually a whole book presented as a retreat of some 300 pages by Fr. Kentenich on the topic of Childlikeness. Using the principle of ‘Lectio Divina’ which is a way of saying “Where will I start Lord?” I opened the book at ‘The Content of Childlikeness’ which begins on p58. To this point, Fr. Kentenich has being laying out two themes – “Childlikeness is the Way to Heaven” and the second discusses the question “What does Childlikeness involve?” He starts from here explaining ‘the content of childlikeness’ which starts from a central statement by our Lord which can be summarised in his edict that “Unless you become like little children you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven”.
Father then adds to this that the full statement should include “Unless you change” – convert “and become like little children” you cannot enter the kingdom. Father describes this as a negative and a positive because childlikeness involves being constantly reformed and transformed till we possess, “1. A new, divine, Godlike being of a child. 2. A new, noble, Godlike, attitude of a child.” This, he says, is what we need to enter heaven.
Fortunately, because we are born again by water and the Holy Spirit, in other words ‘baptised’, this places us in the position of having the ‘Blessed Trinity’ within us and as a result continually imparts to us something of the divine life. St John in 1 John 3,1. states “Now see what love the Father has shown us; for we are not only called children of God, but that is what we are”. St Paul in Romans speaks of “God’s Spirit bear(ing) witness in our spirit that we are children of God. Father goes on to say, “How noble it makes one feel when I am convinced I am not just another person on the street but rather a child of God!” Fr. Kentenich understood his entire priesthood to be in the light of service to God and others: Throughout his life he was inspired by a single great ideal: God and souls. For him all else was secondary. All else was resolutely ordered and subjected to this great idea of his life.
Think of the children you know, your children, your grandchildren and ask yourself do they point me toward God? Children often remind us of paradise. What is paradise? Walking and talking with God! What a child possesses in an imperfect manner, we have to acquire in a perfect and lasting manner. Reality is that “Whoever sees me must be drawn to God!” My task to stay this way, is to learn to live constantly close to God, under the principle of “Restriction as much as necessary, freedom as much as possible, but cultivation of the Spirit as much as possible”, because we are all called to be “A Unique Prophet of God”.
Father’s idea of ‘cultivation of the Spirit’ means the cultivation of the spiritual life and the ‘right spirit of community’. To achieve this we need formation and study, common reflection on God’s action in our lives (as in a group meeting), spiritual striving, devotional acts, cultivation of lifestreams and currents, times of grace (such as Covenant Days,) and prayer.
We cannot ignore how sin threatens to cloud all of the above. Father does not neglect this in the 60 page chapter on the topic of becoming childlike and concludes the chapter on how ‘a childlike attitude’ is the key to keeping effective childlike love. He says we need to earnestly avoid sin, to be vigilant of the moments that crop up and catch us unawares, to hold fast to a sense of contrition and keep ourselves on the straight and narrow by having a spirit of penance. We also need to have a profound aversion to sin, fearing nothing more than it, and to realise that nothing is more painful than sin because it cuts us off from the love of God within us. Childlikeness must drive us to constantly implore the Blessed Mother to send us the Holy Spirit to open in us childlikeness in full measure because ‘Unless we change and cultivate a tender, effective childlikeness we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven”.
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