From Talks for Children
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"Master, it is good that we are here..." St. Luke, 9:33
All. or at least most, of Catholic boys and girls have heard of the Little Flower of Jesus. Her name was Therese. When she was a little girl she one day found a tiny bird floundering on the sidewalk. It had fallen out of its nest and was badly bruised and battered. It was a linnet, a small bird that sometimes has gray or red or white feathers.
"We must take it home," said Therese. "If we leave it here it will die or be killed."
She petted the little head of the poor bird, which looked up at her with its big brown eyes as she whispered: "Never mind, little linnet, soon you will have a nice home. . . you can have Goldie for a playmate."
Goldie was a beautiful canary. You have all seen a canary. Don't they have a bright, shiny coat? Goldie had plenty to eat and even had his own little bath tub. And could he ever sing!
Soon the little linnet grew well and strong. He and Goldie became great friends. He even tried to sing like Goldie, but at first the linnet's voice was weak and squeaky, because the linnet is not a good singer like the canary.
But every day he tried again, and every day the little fellow sang better. One day Therese asked her father to listen. A bird was singing in the other room. Her daddy thought it was Goldie.
"I think Goldie's voice is getting better every day," he said.
Therese smiled as she took her daddy by the hand and said: "Come with me."
Mr. Martin, that was Therese's father, looked and looked. It wasn't Goldie singing; it was the linnet. "I never heard of anything like this," he said, "but it only proves what you can do if you try hard enough."
Therese grew up to become a great saint, the Little Flower of Jesus, and no doubt she often thought of her little linnet and how hard it was for him to sing like Goldie. She thought of that when she found it hard to be like Jesus. She kept on trying.
Birds are like that. If one kind of bird stays with another kind of bird, he starts to act and fly and sing like the other bird. Boys and girls are like that, too. If you live and play and walk to and from school with other boys and girls you gradually talk like them and do everything like them. That is why it is so important to pick the right kind of friends to play with.
We have often told you to avoid, to keep away from bad company. Today I want to tell you to find and go with good boys and girls. There are plenty of them.
There are boys, for instance, who like good, clean sport. They like to play baseball and football and basketball. Go with those boys. Others like to talk about airplanes and to make them and fly them. Go with those boys. Ask them all about their airplanes. Ask to see where and how they make them.
Then there are boys who like to work with radio. They know quite a bit about it. And it is so interesting. Ask them to show you how a radio works.
Other boys like to hike and hunt and fish and swim. Some have a hobby like cutting wood into all kinds of shapes. Some boys like to collect stamps. Talk to those boys.
You wilI have more fun with them, I promise, than with boys who don't know how to do those things, or who don't want to learn.
And there are girls, too, who like to do interesting things. Some of them know a little about sewing and making dresses, even if it is just for their dolls. Play with those girls. Others like to cook and some like to play the piano or the violin. That is the kind of girl you want to go with.
Choose for your playmates boys and girls who go to confession and Holy Communion often, boys and girls who like to have fun at home instead of roaming around the streets. Play with children who like to read or play music or sing. Play with those who do not curse or tell dirty stories.
Be with the best and you will be among the best. Today we see Jesus taking three of His special friends up on a mountain. There Jesus showed Himself to them in a shining, radiant brightness, something like He will look in heaven.
St. Peter was so happy that he cried out: "Master, it is good that we are here..."
St. Peter knew it was good to be with Jesus. Stay close to Jesus and those who love Jesus, and you will be happy like St. Peter, St. James and St. John.
May you always be able to say, no matter where you are, no matter what company you keep, may you always be able to say: "Lord, it is good for me to be here."
Remember the linnet of the Little Flower. He learned to sing by living with a canary. You can learn to be good by living and playing with good boys and girls. That is what Jesus wants you to do. Amen.
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Adapted from Talks for Children
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1948)
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