Today is the
feast day of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, also
known as St. Thérèse of Lisieux or St. Thérèse “the little flower.” We associate St. Thérèse with the
spirituality of the ‘little way’ – living out God’s call for us, practicing our
love for God in the everyday, mundane, seemingly insignificant, parts of our
lives. At the end of every Mass, we’re
told to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord”.
When I think of this directive, what comes to mind immediately is loving
my friends and family, using the resources of time, talent, and treasure I have
to serve the needs of my community, and to advocate for justice. What St. Thérèse might invite us in response
to this end of Mass instruction might be more challenging.
This raises
a couple of questions we might ourselves:
How might we practice love when responding to an annoying email at
work? Can dishwashing (my least favorite
chore) be a task done in love? Can
washing our face or brushing our teeth be a time to praise God?
According to
St. Thérèse, the answer is yes, and up to us to make it so. Dishwashing is one of my least favorite
chores, but if I use that time to offer gratitude for the food that nourished
me and pray for all the people who had a hand in that food being a part of my
meal then this mundane task becomes prayer and a response to God’s love. You might be familiar with those annoying
emails, but what difference would it make if we took a moment to breathe, to
ask for the grace we need in the moment, and to respond to the email with more
patience? I can tell you from experience
it makes a noticeable difference!
Years ago,
the chore I absolutely hated was mowing the lawn. We had a dog then, too, so I would have to
start by getting out the shovel and cleaning up after him. I hated stepping in his mess, or worse yet, tracking
it into the house. Then I would trim
around the house, and edge the lawn, all of this while the dog would try
(unsuccessfully) to play with me. Every
week, it was the same routine—clean up after the dog, trim, and edge. But for some reason, as soon as I brought the
lawn mower out of the garage, my thoughts would often turn to God. Maybe because I mowed the lawns on Sundays,
my only day off. Or maybe it was because
when I was a child my mother taught me to offer my suffering up to God whenever
I was doing something I didn’t like to do.
Whatever the reason, I used this time alone to pray my rosary. It made the task more palatable—even, in a
way, more meaningful for me. Even so, I
was ecstatic the day we hired a gardener to take over the chore!
Back when I
had to drive hundreds (sometimes thousands) of miles each week for work, that
simple task could become very mundane very quickly. It became the perfect time for prayer. In fact, sometimes I even tried singing my
rosary, just for variety. I know that
God understands that saying the rosary by rote can get to be boring and
tedious, so I hoped that He didn’t mind if I “jazzed” it up a little bit now
and then. Again, praying and offering up
even my boredom and exhaustion somehow ‘elevated’ my spirit and made my prayers
seem more worthwhile, which in turn made my interactions with others more
loving when I reached my destination.
Imagine the
people Jesus sent out in the Gospel (Luke 10:13-16). They were to make way for Jesus and to not
only set the place but prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival. I imagine that they too considered the little
ways, along with the big tasks, that they were called to do in a way of living
out God’s love.
“Today, may there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly
where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing that you are a
child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.” –St. Thérèse of Lisieux
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