The purpose of this blog is to share how we do “small things with great love,” following Mother Teresa. There is so much packed in that quote. First, the reference to ‘small things’ brings to mind St. Thérèse‘s little way.’ Second, ‘love’ brings to mind the Catholic virtue of Love. For what I’m writing here, I want to focus on both—for reasons I hope that will be apparent.
Above all other Virtues—especially the Theological ones—we are called to love one another (see I Corinthians 13: 13). St. John the Apostle tells us in his Gospel that The Lord says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” But, what is Love, truly? The Catechism defines it in a nice way. But, as a romantic, I’ve always been drawn to how St. Paul defines it in his first letter to the Corinthians (13:4-8):
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”
I mention all of this for two reasons. First, as you’ll notice in my bio, I’m an academic. I can’t help but put together pieces of information to formulate a theory. That’s what God has called me to do–for reasons which I’m still trying to figure out. More importantly, though, putting together these pieces of information has truly helped me show every person—yes, every person, even those whom I have to try really really hard to like—love.
I can’t stress how hard this is. And, to be honest, to act as if I don’t struggle would be a disservice to my journey with Christ. I’m a sinner by nature, and I struggle every day to follow St. Josémaria Escriva’s dictum that we shouldn’t let people annoy us, but rather allow them to sanctify us.
This is where St. Thérèse’s (one of my favorite Saints!) insight comes in—do small things. But, notice that what is ‘small’ for us may be enormous for other people. While Truth is objective, The Lord blessed us with subjective preferences so that we could sanctify each other. So, how can we do ‘small things’ that matter to other people? I suggest we do something that means a lot to each of us. Let me provide my example.
I was primarily raised outside of my parents’ home, at several points by my maternal grandmother and aunt, and at several other points my paternal uncle. Both my paternal uncle and maternal aunt are my godparents. Times before this were dark. But, The Lord looked out for me when He put them in my life: they were the light.
Again, as St. John the Apostle (1:5) says “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” They always treated me like a son, not a nephew. My aunt is the person who bought me my first Bible. My grandmother with whom my aunt lived had me memorize my first Psalm—Psalm 23—which still gives me goosebumps to this day, as it did when I learned it at age nine. My uncle taught me how to be gentle, strong, and fear God, all at the same time.
As such, I have a great affinity for helping children who need it. I feel and believe that it is important to give to those who don’t have all they need—just like it was given to me. After all, my uncle and aunt didn’t have to take care of and raise me—just like St. Joseph didn’t have to be a wonderful foster father and husband to Christ and Our Lady, respectively. But, they did—without hesitation. To them, taking care of me might have been small. But, to me, this was—and still is—huge. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
I’ve noticed a similar response while being there for children who need it. Being there for children who need it is small for me. But, it’s an act of Love—and I’m sure you parents out there can attest to how much patience, kindness, and selflessness being there for a child is—and it means the world to those children.
The point of all of this is: doing ‘small’ things about which you are passionate or that mean a lot to you provide others with Love. Even more importantly, by doing these small things about which we are passionate, we can more easily build our way up to doing the ‘big’ things. This is like the lesson we learned in preschool: do the easy things first, then the hard things—as doing the easy things helps us learn to do the big things.
Truth be told, I may never get to the big things. Again, I’m a sinner. But, The Lord knows we may never get to these big things. That’s His job. All He wants us to do is to strive for those big things. St. Thérèse reminds us that we can do this by starting with the small, little things. Doing so will lead us closer to Heaven—and, if we are worthy, Sainthood.
