Mt 11,25-27 – Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – Memory
“I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things hidden from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to little ones.” This prayer of Jesus in today’s Gospel tells us what the secret is to truly understand the life and will of God.
The secret is to make yourself small. But being small doesn’t mean being naive, immature or incapable of reasoning. Evangelical smallness is an interior attitude. It is the willingness to trust, to listen, to be corrected. Little ones don’t assume they know everything, they don’t think they have nothing left to learn. They live with an open heart, ready to receive what reality and God want to teach them. The real obstacle to spiritual life is not our fragility, but our presumption.
As long as we are convinced that we have already understood everything, no one can teach us anything anymore. As long as we think we always know what is right, we become incapable of listening. Pride closes us, while humility makes us receptive. This is why becoming small enormously accelerates our spiritual journey. Those who are humble do not waste energy in continually defending their imageone’s own ideas or one’s reasons. He can recognize a mistake, change direction, ask for help, start again. Docility makes possible what presumption prevents: letting oneself be led.
Jesus himself shows us this path. The Son lives completely turned towards the Father. His strength comes from relationships, listening and obedience. Because of this evangelical smallness is not weaknessbut the freedom of those who do not need to be self-sufficient and for this reason they open up and trust.
