"Do Not Despise One of these Little Ones"

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. (Matthew 18, Verse 10).

On June 27, 2026 I posted an article on Catholic365 about needing to pray not only for the unborn children but also for those children here among us who could use a little more love and support from their parents and guardians.  Then three days later while authorities were executing a search warrant in Hamden, Ohio 16 children were discovered living in deplorable conditions with their parents and grandparents.  The County Sheriff stated “most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children”.  Let that statement sink in.

These children were not even capable of speech. It is heartbreaking.  This discovery only a few days after my original article reinforced my belief that vulnerable children - some of whom are in dire conditions - need to be prayed for every single day.

Shortly after the Ohio discovery, on July 6, 2026 Philadelphia authorities went to a home with a search warrant related to terroristic threats and found two children ages 5 years and 8 months living in squalor with no running water in the home.  Several firearms were also discovered. In both these incidents no extended family or neighbors were aware of mistreatment and if it were not for the unrelated warrant issues in each case, all these children might never have been discovered.

How many other children not only in the United States but around the world are living as captives within their families?  How many are waiting for the day they will be rescued or sadly, not even realize that this is not how it is supposed to be? How do local officials deal with opening the door and seeing these stricken children?  How does social services find homes for children in such a fragile state? Anemic parenting is one thing but adults treating children worse than livestock is crushingly evil.

This is not a new problem, yet the daily internet news cycles are making all of us more aware of how prevalent it is.   Let us ask the Holy Family, the role model for all families, to intercede on behalf of these children who should feel safe in their own homes and also keep in our prayers those who are tasked with picking up the pieces and making them whole again.