In the spirit of S. Joseph Calasanctius, Confessor
Feria Quarta infra Hebdomadam XI post Octavam Pentecostes
IV Augusti – III. classis
As the Church commemorates the feast of Saint Joseph Calasanctius, the humble founder of the Pious Schools and tireless protector of children, the sacred liturgy offers us two readings that, though centuries apart in context, converge on the divine wisdom that exalts humility and innocence. Let us contemplate Wisdom 10:10–14 and Matthew 18:1–5 with the heart of a spiritual father, as Saint Joseph Calasanctius surely did, drawing from the living wellsprings of the Fathers of the Church.
✠ Wisdom 10:10–14 – The Righteous Delivered by Wisdom
The inspired author of the Book of Wisdom speaks of Wisdom as a guiding presence that preserves the just man through trials: “She conducted the just, through the right ways… kept him strong against his enemies, and in a strong conflict gave him the victory.” The Church Fathers, seeing in this passage a veiled reference to figures like Joseph of Egypt and Moses, also discern the prefiguration of Christ Himself—the Just One par excellence—whose obedience and hidden suffering became the pattern for all the saints.
St. Ambrose, writing on Divine Wisdom, notes:
“Sapientia non tantum docet, sed etiam ducit. Non ostendit viam tantum, sed tenet manum justi per pericula.”
(“Wisdom not only teaches, but also leads. She does not merely show the way, but holds the hand of the just man through dangers.”)
— De Officiis, I.36
In this way, Wisdom is not abstract but profoundly personal, dwelling with the just and raising them from abasement to glory. So it was with Saint Joseph Calasanctius, who bore many persecutions from within and without his own Order. Maligned and even suspended, he suffered silently, imitating Christ, trusting in Divine Wisdom rather than human vindication.
Indeed, the concluding verse of the pericope speaks of God’s final triumph: “The Lord tried him, and found him worthy of Himself: He gave him strength in his struggles… and gave him a perpetual glory.” How fitting for today’s saint, whose work with children was nearly suppressed, only to be exalted posthumously by the Church.
✠ Matthew 18:1–5 – Becoming as Little Children
Our Lord responds to the disciples’ worldly question—”Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”—by placing a child in their midst and declaring, “Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The Greek verb here translated as “be converted” (στραφῆτε) implies a radical turning—a complete change of direction.
St. John Chrysostom, always a piercing commentator on the Gospel, remarks:
“Non simpliciter dixit ‘parvulum,’ sed ‘quem vocavit, statuit in medio eorum’; ut magis flecteret animos eorum exemplo et figura pueritiae.”
(“He did not merely say ‘a little child,’ but called and set one in their midst, to more deeply move their hearts by the example and image of childhood.”)
— Hom. in Matthaeum, 58.2
For Chrysostom, the Lord’s action is catechetical: the child is not an ornament but a living lesson. The child possesses no ambition, no rancor, no sense of entitlement—traits the Fathers saw as signs of the fall.
Saint Hilary of Poitiers draws the moral further:
“Pueritiae humilitas in regno caelorum praeponitur senectuti superbiae.”
(“The humility of childhood is preferred in the Kingdom of Heaven to the pride of old age.”)
— In Matthaeum, cap. XVIII
How this mirrors the mission of Saint Joseph Calasanctius, who believed not merely in instructing children but in being spiritually converted by their innocence. For him, the school was not only a place of education, but a sanctuary of grace. In stooping to teach the little ones, he elevated his own soul to childlike sanctity.
✠ The School of Wisdom and the Kingdom of the Child
Together, these readings show us that Wisdom leads through trials, and childlike humility opens the gates of the Kingdom. In this light, the life of Sanctus Josephus Calasanctius stands as a living bridge between the two. He followed Wisdom through the fires of slander and exile, and he made himself small among the small, thus becoming great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us conclude with the words of the saint himself, who once wrote:
“If from tender youth children are instructed in piety and letters, it must be firmly hoped that a happy course of life will follow.”
May we, then, become pupils in this divine school—learning from Wisdom, walking with the Just, and becoming, in the eyes of Heaven, as little children.