Wow

Today at Mass, there was a little girl, maybe 3 years old. She was oblivious to the custom of silence observed by everyone else during the Liturgy of the Word, chattering rather audibly to the chagrin of her mother during the readings. Although I found her to be a bit distracting while I was lectoring, I must admit that I enjoyed watching her attempt to sing the Gloria. She studied her hymnbook with aplomb and--although it was evident that she could not read--sang nonsense words with a gusto that praised God in her own little way.

The best part, however, came during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Fr. Alexei said the words of institution: "Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you." He then elevated the host for us all to see, at which point the little girl remarked in a stage whisper, "Wow!" As I inclined my head to bow, I caught the eyes of some of my peers, and we all shared a smile at the sincere wonderment that had been expressed upon observing transubstantiation. "Amen," I thought to myself, my mind jumping to Luke 18:

People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, "Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it."

Ah, that we all might cultivate such childlike wonder.