“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  After he placed his hands on them, he went away.  Matthew 19:14-15

Jesus offered this gentle rebuke to His disciples for trying to prevent the children from coming to Him.  Jesus makes it clear that these children are truly precious to Him and that He wants them each to receive the Kingdom of Heaven.  

One frequently missed aspect of this passage is that Jesus laid His hands on the children and prayed for them.  What a blessing!  An interesting question to ponder is this: What effect did the laying of Jesus’ hands coupled with His prayer have on these children?  These acts would have bestowed a tremendous amount of grace on these little ones.  Perhaps they did not realize what was happening, but they would have received much grace, nonetheless.

The same is true in our lives.  We will not encounter Jesus coming to us physically in the same way, laying His hands on us and praying for us.  But we do have something far greater!  We have the Savior of the World coming to us in Holy Communion, entering into our souls and nourishing us in ways beyond what we can ever imagine.

The power of His divine presence, coming to us in Holy Communion, is enough to transform our lives in powerful ways.  The problem is that we often receive Him without being fully open to His grace and mercy.  We easily come forward to receive His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and fail to fully open ourselves to the infinite depths of His tender mercy.

Reflect, today, upon the intimate touch of the Savior upon your soul as you receive Him in Holy Communion.  The power of that encounter is of infinite value.  Are you open to all that He wishes to bestow?  Renew your openness to Him and seek to allow Him to enter your soul more deeply next time you come forward to receive His divine touch.

My Eucharistic Lord, I love You and desire to open my heart more fully next time I receive You in Holy Communion.  May I open myself to all that You desire to pour forth upon me.  Come into my heart, dear Lord, and transform my life by Your gentle touch.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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