Children—the word alone is enough to make a smile appear on our faces, even involuntarily: everyone thinks of a child’s face dear to them, a son, a daughter, a grandchild…
Children signify sweetness, spontaneity, and freshness.
We can therefore understand why John Paul II, speaking of them, called them “heaven’s smile entrusted to the earth” and also “the true jewels of the family and society. They are the delight of the Church. They are like ‘the lilies of the field.’”
Jesus loves children deeply, and so does Mary, who predominantly chooses children to entrust with her messages at Lourdes and Fatima, for example.
Children know how to be pure, sincere, loyal, and faithful; children can teach adults the strength of faith, the importance of sacrifice, and the path to holiness.
Yes, because heaven is full of child saints: to name just a few, St. Agnes, St. Maria Goretti, the Servant of God Silvio Dissegna, and the two shepherd children of the apparitions at Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta, who fully welcomed and responded to the Virgin’s invitation. They prayed with faith, consoled Jesus, and sacrificed themselves for sinners.
On February 11, the novena to these two children, giants in faith, begins: with the book Novena to the Shepherd Children of Fatima, you can prepare to remember them on their feast day (February 20) and get to know them more closely. In addition to the novena, the book offers a biographical profile and points for meditation to reflect on their example.
“Children offer an example of innocence that helps us rediscover the simplicity of holiness,” St. John Paul II also said: let us try to imitate their freshness and their genuine joy!
