November 27, 2006
There is a story of a religious sister who was often sad and struggled with bouts of depression. She often overworked to try and “ignore” these feelings, hoping that all the activity would enable her to hide from the pain she was experiencing. By the time evening came around, this sister was exhausted. There was another sister in her community who noticed her sadness and thought and prayed on how she could comfort her sister. But it was always after Compline that she noticed this. (Compline is the night prayer of the Church, and in their community the sisters were prohibited from speaking with one another until the next morning.)
However, determined to comfort her sister, she stood in the hallway, waited for her to pass by, and instead of speaking, gave her the biggest smile she could. A few years later the smiling sister died. There was no one to greet this other sister with a smile, a smile which seemed to make her troubles vanish and enabled her to sleep in peace. The sister who was determined to comfort this other sister with a smile was Saint Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower.
Oftentimes I think we become convinced that the only way to really help people is by donating a large sum of money to a third world country, adopting some refugee children, or doing something extraordinary that requires many resources or a large amount of time. Yet, let’s face it, who has a large sum of money to donate or an extra amount of free time in their life? Since many of us probably do not, it is easy to become discouraged and start to believe that there is really nothing we can do.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Ordinary life, with its ordinary people and its ordinary situations, is the “playing field” where all of us will grow in holiness, if only we are open and awake enough to see those who are around us. Daily life is sufficient for our growth in holiness; it is the soil where we can grow to become saints. The most important thing is to do whatever you are doing, to be wherever you are, but to do it and be there with great love.
There are no excuses. Everyone has people around them, whether it is family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or just people we meet casually through the day at a store or in a parking lot, who are hurting and are in desperate need of that love that Christ calls us to bring to the world. And yet, the solution doesn’t demand money, a certain intelligence, a lot of free time, or that you be an eloquent speaker. It can be as easy as a smile, a simple “hello,” or “thank you,” or even a sincere “God bless you” when you leave.
The other day, Br. Giuseppe and I spent our day off from the seminary in the library working on a paper and studying. After we both got tired we decided to go for a walk and admire the fall scenery that surrounds the seminary. About halfway through our walk, Br. Giuseppe turned to me and said, “You know, you don’t have to be moving to be going somewhere.” We stood for a moment in silence and I thought about how true it is. I think something similar can be said about holiness; you don’t have to be an extraordinarily complicated person to become a saint—being an extraordinarily simple person is enough.
Peace and blessings in the Lord,
Br. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR
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