‘Let the Little Children Come to Me’

Dear Jesus, Lots of Greetings and Kisses!

            A little girl of six-and-a-half years, and declared Venerable? Yes, it is true. Antonietta Meo, affectionately called “Nennolina,” was an Italian girl who died at the age of six-and-a-half (15 December 1930 – 3 July 1937). She was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. Born in Rome, Antonietta was a vivacious child, well-liked for her kindness, charm, and joyful spirit.

            At the age of five, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer. To stop the metastasis, her leg was amputated and replaced with a wooden prosthesis. She died a little later from the same illness.

            Antonietta is famed for her “love letters” to Jesus and Madonnina (Our Blessed Mother) which she began when she was about five-and-a-half years old, at first dictating to her mother and later writing by herself.  Her 162 letters were addressed at various times to Jesus, Mary, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, some saints and to her own family members.  They show a depth of love and grasp of Christian mysteries truly outstanding for a child.  Reading them, one is reminded of the words of Jesus: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Mt 11:25).

               During the months in preparation for her First Communion, she wrote: “Oh child Jesus!...I kiss you and can’t wait to receive you in my heart -- I am waiting for you for so long!...Jesus come soon into my heart. Thanks and kisses from your Antonietta” (Letter 8).  Addressing Our Lady, she writes, “Madonnina, You are good… Take my heart and bring it to Jesus. Oh Madonnina, You are the star of our heart.  Antoinetta” (Letter 3).  After her leg was amputated, she prayed: “Dear child Jesus, You are good!...Help me, do me this favour, give me back my leg if you want. If you don’t want, Fiat voluntas tua (let your will be done)” (Letter 9).  Expressing her desire always to be close to Jesus, she wrote, “Dear Jesus, I want to be Your flower and Your lamp the (tabernacle) lamp that burns day and night and is never put out, the flower that is above the altar always beautiful and open and that never dries out….” (Letter 140).

                        Her final letter, addressed to “Dear Crucified Jesus,” includes these words: “Dear Jesus. Thanks that You have sent me this illness because it’s a way to arrive in Paradise…. give me the strength necessary to stand the pains that I offer for sinners…  tell the Madonnina that I love her so much and that I want to be with her on Calvary because I want to be Your victim of love... Dear Jesus, I send you lots of greetings and kisses. Antonietta of Jesus” (Letter 162).

            Antonietta’s life forces us to ask a serious pastoral question: if children are capable of holiness, are we explicitly inviting them to become saints?

            Speaking to the children of Italian Catholic Action three days after declaring Antonietta venerable, Pope Bendict XVI said: “Her life, so simple and at the same time so important, shows that holiness is for all ages: for children and for young people, for adults and for the elderly.”

Can Children Be Saints?

            Until quite recently, the Church did not customarily canonize children unless they were martyrs, such as the Holy Innocents, or unless they died heroically defending their chastity, like St. Agnes, killed at thirteen, and St. Maria Goretti, killed at eleven. It was commonly thought that children lacked the “maturity” to understand and freely choose a virtuous life, or the time required to practise virtue to a heroic degree.

            Vatican II, however, teaches that the call to holiness is universal. Holiness is our response to God’s love, made possible by the Holy Spirit, by which we love God and others. In Baptism, God comes to dwell in us. Because God is love, His indwelling makes us capable of loving as He loves. When fire touches a piece of iron, the iron absorbs the fire’s heat, becomes hot, and can, in turn, heat other things. Similarly, when God dwells in us, we share in His love and become capable of loving with His love. This grace is given to every baptized person. Therefore, everyone—including children—is capable of holiness. If God dwells in the baptized child, then the child is capable of divine love. As Lumen Gentium teaches: “all are called to sanctity … all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (nos. 32, 41).

            Since theological opinions differed regarding children’s capacity for heroic virtue, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints undertook a careful study and, in 1981, issued the “Instruction on the Causes of Beatification of Adolescents.” It states: “If, therefore, the vocation of the baptized to holiness is universal, there is no reason why adolescents should be excluded a priori… heroic holiness, practised by very many adults, can also be practised by adolescents.” Here, “adolescents” include minors between 7 and 14. And there could be significant variations in this age range depending on culture and the child’s upbringing. The maturity expected of children is not adult maturity, but relative maturity—proportionate to their physical, psychological, and spiritual development. They are expected to practise virtue not as adults do, but according to their age.

            For this reason, the Church today teaches that children can practise virtue heroically according to their age and can indeed become saints. The canonization of the Fatima children Francesco aged eleven and Jacinta aged ten, and Carlo Acutis, who died at fifteen, reflects the application of this principle.

            Indeed, if the Holy Spirit already dwells in the baptized child, we should not be surprised to find in them not only the capacity for holiness but also a genuine desire for it — quietly stirring, waiting to be named.

Children Desire to Become Saints

            Often, we think that children have no desire to become saints, and it is not appropriate to propose holiness to them.  This is not true.  Fr Ilio Carrari was the confessor and spiritual director of Carlo Acutis.  He says that when Carlo “was six years old, a few months before making his First Communion, Carlo saw Jesus, who smiled at him and blessed him.”  Carlo would ask Fr Ilio to pray for him, “so that God may make me holy.”

            Blessed Eusebia Palomino FMA narrates an experience when she was about seven years old.  In the school, her teacher had explained the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. The next day, she went to the mountain with her mother to gather firewood.  As they were coming down the mountain, Eusebia recollects: “I was descending the mountain crazy with joy.  It seemed to me that I was Isaac. I began to tell my mother his story… Isaac was a victim. If he had died he would have gone straight to Paradise. I am not a victim but I would so much like to be one: a victim pleasing to God, as the teacher says, because, mama, I feel such a great desire to be holy that it gives me no rest.”

            Children are indeed capable of great spiritual desires when these are awakened and guided.  If we recollect, we may realise that we too had such desires as children.

Let us Invite Children to be Saints

            When we invite children to holiness, we are not placing a burden upon them; we are naming the deepest truth of their Baptism. The desire expressed by little Eusebia — “I feel such a great desire to be holy” -- is not exceptional. It is often present, though unarticulated, in the hearts of many children. They are capable of generosity, sacrifice, and authentic love for Jesus when these are proposed with simplicity and joy.

            The Church has clarified that children can truly practise virtue according to their age. The remaining question is pastoral rather than theological: do we explicitly invite them to become saints — in our families, our schools, our catechesis — a parent saying it directly, a teacher naming it naturally? If we raise the horizon before them, many will rise to meet it. Let us take Jesus’ words seriously, “Let the little children come to me,” (Mt 19:14) and lead them into a real friendship with Him, trusting that the Holy Spirit is quietly at work in their hearts.

Blurbs

“My God, I choose everything, I will not be a Saint by halves …” -- St Théresè of Child Jesus’s childhood desire

“I must become a saint … I can have no peace inside until I really begin to do so.” -- St. Dominic Savio when he was 13 years old.

Children are indeed capable of great spiritual desires when these are awakened and guided.  If we recollect, we may realise that we too had such desires as children.

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