As someone with a flower name, it’s probably no wonder that I’ve been drawn to the life and writings of the Little Flower of Jesus – St. Therese of Lisieux. And considering I’m the same age she was at the time of her death, I feel there is much I can learn from her short yet meaningful life.
I’ve been reading St. Therese’s autobiography, “The Story of a Soul,” on and off, but I find myself continually drawn to one passage in particular. And since it was on only the second page of my copy of the book, it drew me into her life and her story right away.
She writes: “I understand that every flower created by (God) is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, our Lord’s living garden.”
Again, I find myself drawn to the floral imagery, perhaps as a “Little Flower” myself. But more than that, I’m drawn to the simplicity of her writing, which reminds me that one does not need to do great and meaningful things to have a great and meaningful relationship with God and with one’s neighbors. Rather, it is not the scale or reach of the things we do that truly matter, but the depth of the love with which we do them.
Last week, while I was traveling, I chose to tune into a Mass celebrated by Fr. Mike Schmitz of Ascension Press and the Bible in a Year podcast fame. The Gospel reading, as well as his homily, focused on duty – something each of us must contend with.
We all have things we need to do, whether we actually desire to do them or not. We have to eat broccoli. We have to clean the bathtub. We have to call our parents every once in a while. And while we can’t necessarily choose not to do these things, we can absolutely choose how we want to do them.
Father Mike noted that simply “going through the motions” with our duties can often make us feel stuck – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be that way.
“We don’t have to stay stuck,” he said. The Gospel reading “implies that faith is alive, that faith is something we can actually grow, that if you feel stuck, you can actually do something about it – not only because we have God’s grace, but because you have agency.”
What we must do is reframe our thinking about our daily obligations. Think not of how much you dread changing your child’s diaper, but instead of how your child will feel when they are clean. Think not of how sick and tired you are of wearing a mask, but instead of how that small action can help protect the most vulnerable in your community.
The things we need to do may seem small or inconsequential to us, but they often mean so much more to those for whom we do them.
I’ll close as I opened: with a quote from St. Therese: “Miss no opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
Perspective is powerful. Will yours be one of duty or one of love?
Rose Brennan has just joined the Diocese of Bridgeport Communications Team as a Communications Associate. She lives in Stratford and is a member of St. James Parish.
