known to men; and all his Father’s commandments to keep.  He had to suffer, and to die for the sins of the world; that he might “open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.”  He was the busiest man that ever lived.  Nobody ever had so much to do as he had.  And yet, he was not too busy to attend to the little children.  He had time to give to them.  So he rebuked his disciples for trying to keep the children away from him.  He told the mothers to bring them near.  They did so.  And then, one by one, “he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them and blessed them.”  And when he had done this, as though that were not enough, he spoke those precious, glorious, golden words:—­“Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,” “verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”

These things are told us by three of the evangelists.  St. Matthew mentions them in chapter xix:  13-15.  St. Mark x:  13-16, and St. Luke xviii:  15-17.

On another occasion, when he was in the temple, the children sang hosannas to him as the son of David.  The chief priests and scribes were greatly displeased, when they heard it, and “said unto him, hearest thou what these say? and Jesus said unto them, yea:  have ye never read, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” Matt, xxi:  15, 16.  Here he quoted from the Old Testament (Ps. viii:  2) to prove to them from their own scriptures, that God loves little children, and delights to have them engage in his service, and sing his praises.

And there was one other occasion on which Jesus spoke about the children, and showed his interest in them.  This was after his resurrection.  We read about it in St. John xxi:  15-18.  He met his disciples, one day, on the shore of the sea of Galilee.  Peter, who had shamefully denied his Master on the night in which he was betrayed was present with them.  Jesus said to him, as if to remind him of his great sin, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” said the penitent disciple.  “Feed my lambs,” was his Master’s reply.  Here again, how beautifully Jesus showed his great love for the little ones of his flock!

From these different passages, we see clearly how dear little children are to the heart of our blessed Saviour!  He is the only great Teacher who ever showed such an interest in children.  And the religion of Jesus is the only religion which teaches its followers to love and care for the little ones.  The worshipers of the idol Moloch, mentioned in the Bible, used to offer their children as burnt-sacrifices to their cruel god.  Mahometans look upon their women and children as inferior beings.  The Hindoos neglect their infants, and leave them exposed on the banks of the Ganges, or throw them into the river to be devoured by the hungry crocodiles.  In the city of Pekin many infants are thrown out into the streets every night.  Sometimes they are killed by the fall.  Sometimes they are only half killed, and linger, moaning in their agony, till the morning.  Then the police go around, and pick them up, and throw them all together into a hole and bury them.