There was a popular movement in psychology advanced a few years ago for people to come into contact or to know their “inner child.” All sorts of self-help books were published that promoted this Jungian archetype. But I would like to suggest a spiritual dynamic to the hidden child in all of us. When we recalled our earliest experiences, there was a profound innocence and trust. Most parents protected their children from the dark side of life and from evil. That time of innocence resonated with the holiness and perfection of God. It was easy to believe. We trusted our parents and felt safe.
While we may not fully maintain our innocence, we should never forget that God is our heavenly Father and that we will always be his children. What the world strips away, God can restore. I suspect our yearning and pursuit for holiness is also a remembrance of what we were. When an infant is baptized, the minister of the sacrament will speak of the child as a young saint in our homes. Our life and discipleship seeks a recovery of this spiritual trust and perfection. As Christians, we remember the Christ Child in the manger. God enters the human family as weak and vulnerable and yet there is something powerful about the child. What will this child become? What shall he do? How will he change the world? Everything that God assumes in Jesus Christ takes on an eternal dimension. God is the everlasting child. Our restoration into the likeness of grace signals a profound unity with the divine child. Jesus speaks about this mystery as being “born again.”
Our Lord tells us that to follow him we must become like little children. All the sacraments, not just baptism, make this possible. When the old man in sin enters the confessional box, a child with his conscience made clean exits to offer his penance. The body grows old but the soul is made ever-new. The burden of the world is cast aside. Of course, God’s mercy does not leave a vacuum but rather fills with grace what was once possessed by iniquity.
The little-known but courageous figure of Shimei cursed and threw stones at King David, shouting, “Get out! Get out! You man of blood, you scoundrel! … And now look at you: you suffer ruin because you are a man of blood.” Faulted for the blood of Saul, David’s rule was now challenged by his son. David stayed the hand of his henchman, ready to kill the courageous and vocal critic. He acknowledged the possible judgment of God upon him. (see 2 Samuel 16:5-14)
Like David, we are all men and women of blood. Our innocence is spoiled by our sins. We look upon the crucifix and must acknowledge that we have blood on our hands. We are the murderers of Christ. We are all guilty. Our maturity in years does not necessarily mean that we have grown in the Lord.
I recall a frustrating teacher in school who told his pupils that they all began as “A” students with 100%. However, with every test and assignment, the points began to be subtracted. It was only with extra-credit assignments that lost ground might be regained. When it comes to our heavenly report card, it is only by divine mercy and grace that we might be restored to an earlier purity and perfection.
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A child naturally sees his parents as loving and non judgemental . He/She has an innocent wonder of it all.
The aged see the grace that Christ emits through his church, as the stepping stone towards a bonded holiness